This is chapter 26! Hehehe, it's almost 30! I can't believe it. That means I would've written about 60k words(if each is at least 2k).
Anyway, please read on! :)
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She was urgently taken from her serenity in her palace, by a group of eunuchs, who acted so rudely and roughly that she felt extreme humiliation. She certainly felt that she has never done anything wrong. Now, she is thrown on the floors, hard, but of course no one cares about all the physical pain. When she looks up, she finds herself being in Consort Shine's palace, kneeling, and beside her is Consort Shine herself, while in front of her are Emperor and Empress. Up to this point, she is still oblivious about everything, literally she is the innocent one.
But one thing that scares her most, is Emperor's eyes who seem to carry so much danger, as though he could kill someone just by looking at him. And currently, he is looking at her, as if he wants her dead.
"W-what is going on?" Concubine Shine stutters in fear, her eyes wander around in the room, where she finds so many servants kneeling, but none dares to lift their head up.
No one seems to intend to answer her, and the seriousness of the atmosphere drives her almost insane. She wants to know the truth, she wants to know what is actually going on, she is oblivious of everything yet she is being put through such a heavy suspense.
"How could you not ask for forgiveness right now?" A voice, that she deems familiar, that she thinks is supposed to be protecting her, hisses in a low tone full of contempt. She turns her head to her left, finding her Aunt, Consort Shine, glaring at her with so much of hatred. For that moment, she could not recognise that woman at all. She only knows her Aunt to be someone who never fails to show kindness and dears her, though all of those are her mere assumptions she made during the times she live in the palace. Indeed, Consort Shine has never shown her true colours to her.
"A-Aunt...? What do you mean..?"
"You are the one who poisoned Concubine Leanne to death, right?" Consort Shine continues, making sure that her tone never falters. It is just sacrificing someone useless to protect herself, it is nothing wrong. She has done acts more inhumane than this, she has done so much that it feels like a routine to her. But everything, is for her revenge.
"W-what? Concubine Leanne is dead?" Surprise is clearly present in her eyes, for she has not been enlightened to the news of her rival's demise. Up till several days ago, she still saw Concubine Leanne arrogantly walking around the palace's premises, as though she was flaunting her pregnancy. Now, she has left this world, with a baby in her stomach.
"You are still pretending to know nothing about this!" Emperor slams his hand on the table, so loud that it surprises everyone in the room, especially Concubine Shine. Her heart beats extremely rapidly, and sweat could not stop travelling down her forehead. How did everything become like this? Why am I being accused of poisoning Concubine Leanne? She thinks, but there seems to be no one to answer her questions.
"Bu-but, Your Majesty! I am innocent! I did not poison Concubine Leanne!"
"There is already a witness! Are you still trying to escape this crime?!"
"Witness..?" Concubine Shine whispers to herself. Then she understands, that she has been framed. She is definitely innocent, but if the Emperor labels her the criminal, she is the criminal, no matter what.
However she is not going to just let the real murderer accuse her just like that.
"I did not, Your Majesty! There must be someone who is trying to frame me! Your Majesty! Your Majesty could ask my lady-in-waiting! I really did not!" She lifts her hand and points at her lady-in-waiting, a considerably young girl dressed simply, who seems to be in immense fear. She herself is eyeing the Emperor, with teary eyes, as though she is hoping for the Emperor to notice the innocence in her. However, his facial expression is cold, extremely cold.
"You, tell the truth. If you lied, you and your family will be executed, all." Emperor diverts his deadly faze from Concubine Shine to her lady-in-waiting, awaiting the truth. Meanwhile, that pitiful girl takes several quick glances at Consort Shine, who in turn only looks at her from the corner of her eyes. But that girl understand very well what that expression of Consort Shine means.
"Concubine Shine...forced me to keep silent about e-everything. Your humble servant dares not lie to Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please pardon your humble servant!" That girl hurriedly kowtows in the direction of the Emperor, crying in fear, her head touches the floors. Concubine Shine's eyes are wide-opened as she gapes, though no words seem to be able to escape her lips. She is too taken aback, by the betrayal of her lady-in-waiting she brought from home, whom she has always thought to be loyal.
"You traitor!" She screams as she pushes that poor girl in fear strongly. Hearing those words, Consort Shine only chuckles inside her heart. Those are the words she wants to listen, and Concubine Shine just stupidly acts like how she predicts. Those words carry so much meanings, and Consort Shine understands that the Emperor would only look at it from one perspective.
"What a good Concubine you are." Emperor hisses with so much of hatred, his fists clenched extremely tight that it whitens. A tear escapes Concubine Shine's eyelids, but they will never work against him, not even once. She, pathetically, crawls towards the Emperor, hugging his legs, crying and begging for justice, but all to no avail.
"Your Majesty! I am innocent! Really! Your Majesty! I-" Emperor kicks her, hard, that she falls onto the floors, almost hitting her head. Everyone in the room watches her acting so pitifully. All the servants feel guilty, but they would be the ones to die if they speak the truth. So, all of them could only close their eyes, pretending that nothing is happening, that they are not involved in anything.
"Guards! Take this wrench down! Throw her into the Cold Palace!" He mentally blocks the noises coming from outside his body, for he does not want to listen to them. Despite his attempt in doing so, he still could catch the sounds of Concubine Shine screaming for him and struggling under the forceful and rough grips of the palace guards. Was that how Magnolia reacted when she was taken away by the palace guards?
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The two best friends are just together, sitting on the wooden bed-frame that is covered with a piece of old, greying cloth, catching up on the times during the four years that they have lost, when all of a sudden the doors to the room is slammed open, and comes Madam Leanne, her eyes are red, anger and hatred is overflowing.
She lunges forward to Jade, her hand raises abruptly as a loud sound of slap could be heard in the room. Surprised, Rowena hurriedly grabs her arm, yet the poor girl is being pushed back on the floors, roughly and mercilessly.
"You WITCH!" Madam Leanne screams as she attempts to send another slap to Jade. Jade reflexively closes her eyes, ready to receive another slap. But when nothing comes down to her cheeks, she slowly and carefully opens her lids, finding Lord Leanne holding back Madam Leanne who seems to have lost herself and gone berserk, like an insane person. It is a horrible sight to behold, for both Jade and Rowena.
"Calm down!" Lord Leanne's voice roars in the room, loud but definitely not enough to calm Madam Leanne down.
"How could I calm down?! How could I come down when Lily has died?!" With all the strength she has left, she breaks free from Lord Leanne forcefully, then again lunges towards Jade, pushing her so strongly on the wooden bed that she would definitely develop a bruise.
"Concubine...Leanne...died?" Words of disbelief escape Jade's lips, her eyes turn glassy for a moment, for she could not believe the truth. Until a few days ago, she was still alive. She still saw her in the palace's garden taking a stroll.
And now she is gone, from this world, without any warning, just like that.
"Yes! Lily died, yet you are here being all happy because you will be married soon! You witch! Witch!" Madam Leanne hurls thousands of curse words and swears at Jade, but none of them enters her mind at all. Not even one. How could someone just die so suddenly? She thinks. How is it possible for someone who was not sick, who was so healthy to die just like that? Why is this world such a scary place?
"How...did she die?"
"Concubine Shine poisoned her, but she is only sent to the Cold Palace! Why did His Majesty not just kill her?! My poor Lily and her baby..." Tears after tears slide down her cheeks and mess up her painstakingly-done makeup, which then shows how much she actually have aged. Faint wrinkle lines are showing, strands of hair are loosely hanging from her hairdo. She, who usually cares a lot about her appearance, now looks unrecognisable. She is indeed, still a mother after all. A mother who would cry for her child.
"You!" She raises her index finger, pointing at Jade with contempt, gritting her teeth as her blood boils with anger. She wants to vent out on someone. And it will be her, the slave she bought many years ago.
"I will not let you marry happily! Let me tell you! Your parents died! They died of starvation! Their corpses were rotting, they looked horribly ugly, animals devoured their body! They did not even have proper burial! I saw them dead, but I just left them be, because they were just like you, useless slave!" Words leave her mouth as she frantically screams and struggles in Lord Leanne's arms. Those words, however, ring in Jade's head, repeatedly, like a never ending echo, which takes her almost forever to digest. But when she has finally understood her words, her whole body weakens as though she has lost her soul. The tears she has been trying to hold back, pour over her eyelids and she chokes, helplessly. Rowena immediately pushes herself up from the floors and rushes to Jade's side, blocking her view of Madam Leanne who is still struggling to free herself from Lord Leanne. But he is, despite his relatively old age, strong enough and harshly drags her out of the room, almost like a rag doll, before ordering the servants around to close the doors.
"Rowena...she...she said...my parents..." Her voice trembles with every single drop of tears that escape her eyelids, which drops down her cheeks so quickly, in such a melancholic way. Those tears fall endlessly, like a waterfall. She has always expected it, the news of her parents' death. Because surviving in the world outside, as a slave, is like throwing a living human into pits of fire, where he would die no matter what. However, she still holds onto that little hope of her parents still living. Now, her parents are really gone. But at least, she wants to them to at least have proper burial. The answer to that is clearly a no. Instead of a burial, their corpses were eaten by animals. This world is indeed cruel.
"It is okay. It is fine. Do not listen to her." Rowena gently places her arms around Jade, herself fighting the urge to cry with her. But in the end, a tear, only a tear, comes down from her eyes, as she silently cries in her heart for her friend. Wails could be heard throughout the room, for hours. It is the wails of a child, who has lost her parents.
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"What a merciless and cruel woman indeed, that witch from the Shine family is." She says, suddenly, as she moves her feet for a stroll around her palace's gardens, her fingers gently brushing past the plants covered in pure-white snow. Lis carefully places her steps in the snow, making sure not to trip with her long dresses, as she follows her master obediently.
"Consort Shine actually frames Concubine Shine. This just shows that she will not even show mercy towards her family members, as long as she can save herself." Lis adds on as she takes further more steps, following behind her master who seems to be distracted by the two birds chirping on a low tree branch of a cherry tree.
"She is really becoming more and more unpredictable." Empress stops her words for a while, before again continues, "It is good too. At least we have taken down her apparent ally. Anyway, she would not be completely free of the guilt. She is Concubine Shine's Aunt. She has failed to educate that pitiful innocent girl. His Majesty will never forget this."
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Okay, I really don't know why but I haven't been feeling like writing. :/ I need to grasp the feels back before I can write again, but that isn't easy ugh...
Anyway, isn't it just so wow that Jade finds out about her parents' death when she's gonna be married soon?
That's all for this chapter. See you in the next one! :)