I woke up in my bed. Not sure what really happened to me. "Your Highness—do you need anything?" a voice asked me. I turned around , rubbed my eyes for a clear view. It was— Li Xiaoyu , my eunuch. "oh I do not. " i answered. I stretched out my arms and look out for the place I'm in cause , I'm still not able to figure out where I am. "Xiaoyu.." I called my eunuch. "Yes your Highness" —"....Where are we now??"."Oh-Your Highness it's His Majesty's palace" . "What?!".."What am I doing here?!??". I stomped my feet in the ground and searched for him from the doors. "Where would we find him now??". "Your Highness , His Majesty must be in his room right now but it's too late." "I don't care, Come with me" How could he just kidnap me over here in his own palace that Brat!! —This sentence was revolving around my head as I walked. "You are not allowed to enter the room Your Highness" His Majesty's guards stopped me. "I want to see the king , it's really urgent." And then Hong Yu opened the door." You are welcomed You Highness" and bowed to me."Rise". Xiaoyu followed me as I entered the king's room. He was in his bathrobe , looking even more handsome than I thought."What brought you here?"—the king asked but I didn't heard it at first as the whole world stopped infront of me and all I could see was him — in a white bathrobe , water dripping down on his bare chest his wet messy hair and that tiny but infectious smirk he pulled. "Your Highness" Xiaoyu shaked me letting me come back to senses. "Your Majesty , why am I in your palace right now this late at night??"—I asked with anger on my nerve. "….planning to kidnap me??". He smirked as if my words were some compliments to him. " Seems like 'Your Highness' has forgotten about what happened".He said looking carefree still glancing at the book on his desk. I looked at him astonished. " What has happened??" ".... Xiaoyu??". "Your Highness you were drunk at lost all control on yourself and...". She stopped as if she didn't wanted to continue further. "and? And then what ???tell me?". "Your eunuch doesn't seem to have the courage to say it so, let me say it....." "....you were drunk, so drunk that you lost control on yourself and kissed me on the mouth in the court." This can't be real .I gave him a glance of disapproval."Still don't believe me ??" "Turn over" —he ordered. He half removed his bathrobe , came towards me. Steps slow yet powerful , he came closer to me ." What are you trying to do ?" —My voice cracked as I tried to move further. He stopped at turned aside showing his bare neck with e mark of hickey "See? It was done by you." " You are lying" "Why would I lie ? To you??" "....Even if your my concubine you are not allowed to kiss or even touch me without my permission. Your parents were searching for you to give you a beating so I kept you here to save you. UNDERSTAND?"."uhmm..o..ok..". I ran out of that place as soon as possible. Is it really that I kissed him??I don't think I would ? Was I really drunk? That much " Xiaoyu,was all that the king said true ??" . "—Yes your Highness".

"Your Highness"— a voice startled me as I just woke up from bed in the morning. "hmm..". "Your Highness , Empress Yin has asked to take you to her. " The eunuch bows a little and started to pull me ."No , you can't what have I done??" — i tried to loosen their grips but they keep on gripping harder. They pulled me in the roughest way possible. Empress Yin sat in the throne like she is the only one left on the world and everyone were under her foot. But this time I guess I am going to be under her feet. 😭 I knelt infront of her and kept my head low. "Greetings , Your Highness" —My voice so soft that it is barely audible. "What do you think you are Concubine ??" — she asked me as if I've done the worst possible thing. "I did nothing wrong Your Highness, as a concubine of His Majesty I just kissed him and nothing else ." although I sounded a bit rude and.... Anyway I like it. I'm so proud of myself. "You..." "...How dare you talk to me like that ??" . "Tie her and give her her 50 beatings". What 50 BEATINGS I would die till that. "What ?? 50 beatings??"— " Are you scared and still don't feel any guilt of what you've done??"—she asks me in a fierce tone which left me numb. "I'm sorry , you may continue the punishment Your Highness ". They let let me lay on the wooden plank and tied me up. Just by imagining what would happen next my nerves just got tightened up. The eunuchs started. And the the first strike stole my breath even before the pain gas arrived. It occured , a moment after , hot , searing and spreading like fire across my back. And all I could do was just to dig my fingers into the plank. The second strike stroke — harder , crueler . A hoarse escaped my throat not quiet a scream but a strangled gasp. By the third blow my mind began to blur. Each lash was a wave of red heat, colliding over the last until I could no longer tell where one pain ended and another began. Sweat beaded on my body, rolling down to mix with the dust beneath my face. My body burned, yet my fingertips were cold. I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out, tasting the metallic tang of blood. The humiliation cut deeper than the stick—the knowledge that I was watched, judged, reduced to nothing but a body enduring pain.The strikes paused yet I wished it hadn't. The stillness made the throbbing worse, the ache more vivid. My back pulsed with every heartbeat, each breath scraping through my throat like glass. A voice, low and cold as thunder over distant mountains, sliced through the night.

“Enough.”

The courtyard froze. The eunuchs dropped to their knees as the air itself seemed to bow. Heavy boots crossed the stone with measured authority, each step echoing through the trembling silence.

I did not dare to turn around. My vision was swimming from pain, my back slick with blood and sweat. But I knew that voice— I would know it even if I were dying. The weight of command, the undercurrent of restrained fury—it could belong to no one but him.

“Who ordered this?"

His Majesty’s tone was soft, but every syllable was laced with danger. No one answered. The eunuch’s breath came in quick, terrified gasps. “I said—who touched her?”

The stick clattered to the ground.

He moved forward, the scent of sandalwood and cold steel filling the air. He knelt beside me , and I felt the brush of his robe against my shoulder—warm, heavy, grounding.

My body trembled. “Your Majesty…” Her voice cracked, thin and hoarse.

“Do not speak.” His hand hovered over my back, hesitating when he saw the welts—raw, purple, cruel. He opened my ropes and shifted closer, taking me by the shoulders and gently drawing me against him. I winced, but he caught me before I could fall. For a long moment, he said nothing—only held me, his thumb brushing away the streak of blood at my lip.

“Fetch the imperial physician. Now, "commanded, his voice dropping low enough to make the guards flinch.

She wanted to speak, to tell him she was fine, but the words dissolved on her tongue. The pain was distant now, dulled by the warmth of his touch.

“Who gave the order? " He asked again, his voice low but sharp enough to draw blood.

The head eunuch fell to his knees, trembling. “Your Majesty… it—it was by Her Majesty the Empress’s decree.”

For a long, terrible silence, no one breathed. The Emperor’s gaze darkened. His hand, resting against the armrest, curled into a fist.

Empress Yin seated gracefully before a burning incense table.

He stopped before her, the hem of his robe brushing the polished floor. “You ordered the punishment of Concubine Yue.”

The Empress’s gaze flickered, just for a moment, before she smiled faintly. “She overstepped her place. I merely sought to remind her of it.”

“She is mine to discipline,” he said, voice steady, eyes unreadable. “Not yours.”

“Yours?” The Empress’s smile thinned. “Your Majesty forgets she humiliated the imperial bloodline.”

The silence that followed was heavier than thunder. “And you, Aunt, have forgotten your limits.”

For the first time, the Empress’s poise faltered. “You dare speak to me this way?”

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze colder than the winter river. “I dare, because I am the Emperor. And because I will not permit you to touch what belongs to me again.”

The words hung between them—icy, final.

Then, more quietly, he added, “Do not test me, Aunt. Even blood cannot shield you from consequence.”

He turned before she could answer, the long sweep of his robe trailing behind him. The fragrance of incense clung to the air, but beneath it lingered the faint scent of fear.

Beside , I was still sitting on the bench , resting my head on the wooden wall.

His Majesty returned to me.

I tried to rise but he stopped me gently. " Rest" — He said softly.

For the first time since the beating, my heart trembled not from pain, but from something far more dangerous: the warmth of being protected.And I liked it.

.................................................

' Rest 'His Majesty said, but I don't dare to after the help he gave me. Inside the chambers I stirred the pot of rice noodle soup with careful hands. The steam rose in soft curls, and for once, her fingers did not tremble. I had spent hours perfecting it—the same dish I once made as a common girl before the palace walls swallowed my life.

"What are you preparing for so long, Your Highness ? Seems quite special ". Xiaoyu asked who has been standing beside me helping. A soft but full of the greatest gratitude smile appeared on my face.

" You know I'm not someone who owes I'm preparing my special - rice noodle soup for His Majesty ". I said excitedly.

" It is my way of showing gratitude, of saying what I could not bring myself to speak aloud: thank you for saving me. " —I whispered under my breath but loud enough to make her heart.

I reached the palace. It was dark but not too late. "I want to meet His Majesty". I said to the guards who were standing still like a statue unbreakable so focused on their duty to protect their king. The enormous door craved with beautiful lights shone brightly through the moonlight.

 His Majesty let me entered, I knelt, eyes lowered.

“I’ve prepared something myself tonight,” I said softly. “I wished… to repay your kindness.”

He regarded me with that familiar quiet intensity, then took a seat. The warmth between us was fragile, tentative—like sunlight peeking through storm clouds.

I poured the soup into his bowl. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw the hardness in his expression ease.

But when he lifted the spoon to his lips—everything changed.

He froze. His pupils dilated slightly, the spoon clattering back into the bowl. The head eunuch stepped forward in alarm, sniffed the broth—and turned pale.

“Your Majesty! This… this soup is laced with poison!”

The room erupted into chaos.

My heart stopped. “No—! That can’t be—!”

The Emperor’s chair scraped sharply against the floor as he rose. His expression darkened into something I had never seen before—rage, disappointment, and beneath it, something like pain.

“Do you think me a fool?” His voice thundered through the chamber. “After everything I’ve done, you try to kill me?”

Tears welled in my eyes, I didn't want to cry. My voice trembling. “I swear upon my life—I didn’t—!”

“Silence!” he roared. “Your selfishness knows no end. I defended you before the court, against my own blood—and this is how you repay me?”

The guards burst in, their armor clattering. I stumbled forward, hands outstretched, desperate. “Your Majesty, please! I would never harm you! Someone must have—”

“Enough!”

His gaze was cold as winter steel. “From this moment, Concubine Yue is stripped of her title and sent to the Cold Palace. Let her reflect on her sins there.”

My breath hitched. The world tilted around me as two guards seized my arms.

“No… please…” I whispered, my voice breaking. “You don’t understand…”

But he had already turned away, his face hidden in shadow.

As I was dragged through the corridors, the drizzle turned to steady rain, washing the blood and dust from the stone path. I looked back one last time, and through the open doors, saw him standing by the untouched bowl—the steam fading, the warmth gone.

He did not look behind.

...----------------...

The Cold Palace lay on the farthest edge of the imperial grounds—where the sun rarely reached and time seemed to stand still. Once it had housed favored consorts, its halls filled with laughter and silk; now it was a grave of broken dreams.

When they threw me inside, the heavy doors groaned shut behind me, sealing me away from the living world.

The air was damp and smelled faintly of mildew. The roof leaked when it rained. My silk robes, once brilliant, hung heavy and dull against my skin. The night winds crept through the cracks, biting through layers of thin blankets.

Days blurred into nights, and nights into endless silence. No attendants came. No warmth of light or voice. Her meals were left outside—cold rice, a bowl of thin oatmeal, sometimes forgotten altogether.

...****************...