Return of the Pearl

After Qianlong's sharp rebuke, they looked at each other with guilty expressions. Qianlong even mentioned in the court that the queen had attempted to murder Ziwei.

Qianlong's move was undoubtedly to stop the gossips of the people, because Qianlong had recently heard that some people questioned the affairs of Erkang and Ziwei, saying that they had secretly made transactions with each other. Qianlong also proved their innocence in the court.

With both witnesses and evidence, Qianlong also brought the palace maid back to the palace. Not only that, Qianlong also investigated the Queen's secret murders of the sons born to other concubines, and there was solid evidence for each case.

All the ministers were speechless. The matter of deposing the empress could not be changed. The atmosphere in the court today was really depressing and it was hard to breathe. The emperor's thundering methods were really hard to cope with. After the ministers left the court, they all wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads with handkerchiefs, as if they had just experienced a thrilling storm.

Kunning Palace

The queen originally still held on to a glimmer of hope as thin as a veil. There was a faint but tenacious light in her eyes, which was full of her full expectation for a miracle to happen and her eager desire for a turnaround. However, fate was always so fickle and cruel. She never expected that what she would wait for in the end was Xiao Luzi's figure.

Xiao Luzi was seen holding the imperial edict in his hand, walking towards the queen with heavy and slow steps. Every step he took seemed to step on the queen's heart, making her heartbeat faster and more uneasy. His figure gradually became clearer in the queen's eyes, but it seemed as if it brought the verdict of fate, causing endless despair and fear to surge in the queen's heart.

The imperial edict in Xiao Luzi's hand was like a heavy shackle, about to be put on the queen and drag her into endless darkness and pain. Every movement of Xiao Luzi seemed so heavy and so resolute, as if mercilessly announcing the end of the queen's fate.

Xiao Luzi slowly came before the queen. As the imperial edict was unrolled, the bright yellow silk shone with dazzling light in the sunlight. His voice was cold and ruthless, as biting as the north wind in winter. He read out the imperial edict word by word. The voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, and every word was like an icy knife, mercilessly piercing the queen's heart.

Every word in the imperial edict was like a heavy mountain, pressing on the queen's heart and making her breathless. It clearly stated that the queen would be banished to the cold palace and still not allowed to have any food or drink.

At this time, the queen had not eaten for a whole day and night, and not even a drop of water had touched her lips. Her lips were as dry and cracked as the land that had been dry for a long time, with cracks clearly visible. Her face was as haggard as a sculpture eroded by time, as if she had aged a dozen years in an instant.

Her once beautiful face was now filled with fatigue and sorrow, her eyes filled with despair and helplessness. Her long hair, like a waterfall, had also lost its former luster and was scattered messily over her shoulders, adding a bit of desolation and sadness.

The queen's face instantly turned as pale as paper, without a trace of blood, as if the vitality of life was drained away in an instant. The only remaining hope in her heart was like a fragile bubble, which dissipated without a trace the moment the imperial edict was unfolded.

At this moment, the queen's eyes were full of fear and despair. It was the powerlessness to fight against fate and the deep fear of the future. Her eyes were wide open, full of disbelief and sadness. Tears were rolling in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to fall. Her body trembled involuntarily, like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, shaky and as if she would fall down at any time.

The Queen screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice as mournful as a cuckoo weeping blood, filled with grief, indignation, and unwillingness. She shouted hysterically, "I am the Queen! I am the Queen! You can't treat me like this!"

She waved her hands wildly in the air, as if making a final struggle with fate, trying to grasp the glimmer of hope that was about to disappear. Her fingers twisted and her nails dug deep into her palms, as if she wanted to vent the pain and despair in her heart in this way.

However, these people turned a deaf ear to her cries. Their faces were expressionless and their eyes were as cold as ice. They dragged the queen away indifferently.

During this heartbreaking process, the Queen and the Twelfth Prince met unexpectedly. The Twelfth Prince stood there quietly, his eyes filled with deep sadness and helplessness. The sadness was as surging as the tide, and the helplessness was as deep as the night.

He watched helplessly as his Empress Dowager was dragged step by step towards the cold palace, his heart filled with pain and helplessness. The pain was like an arrow piercing his heart, and the helplessness was like a drowning man struggling in the vast ocean.

At this desperate moment, Nara saw the twelfth prince, as if she saw the last ray of hope. She used all her strength and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Yongji, go and beg your father to let me out of the cold palace!" Her voice was filled with her infinite expectations for her son and her unwillingness to succumb to fate.

The Twelfth Prince listened to Nara's cry, tears welling up in his eyes, his lips trembling, but he could not utter a word. His heart was full of contradictions and struggles. He knew that he could not change anything, but he could not bear to see the Empress Dowager suffer. He could only watch the Empress Dowager being dragged away in silence, his heart filled with endless pain and sorrow.

Xiao Luzi stood aside and reminded coldly with an expressionless face: "Nara, you are no longer the queen. You can no longer call yourself this palace. Take away!" His words were as cold as ice, and his eyes were filled with bone-chilling indifference and determination, without a trace of pity or sympathy.

After Xiao Luzi finished speaking, he walked up to the Twelfth Prince with firm steps and bowed respectfully. The Twelfth Prince nodded slightly. His face was full of solemnity and sadness. He seemed to have thousands of words in his heart, but he didn't know where to start.

The emperor did not give any clear decree regarding the twelfth prince's whereabouts, so the twelfth prince remained in Kunning Palace.

Xiao Luzi was seen leading Nara towards the cold palace step by step. Each of his steps was so heavy and resolute, as if each step was stepping on Nara's already broken heart, making her miserable and almost collapse.

The door of the cold palace slowly closed behind them. The dull sound seemed like the death knell of fate, completely isolating the Nara family from everything in the outside world. The tightly closed door separated prosperity and loneliness, hope and despair, and also separated the Nara family's former glory from its current desolation.