Return of the Pearl

This matter eventually reached the ears of Emperor Qianlong. After hearing it, Qianlong was shocked as if struck by lightning. He could not believe that Nara would do such a cruel thing. After all, even a tiger would not eat its own cubs, but Nara was so cruel that she wanted to kill the twelfth prince.

Qianlong was furious, and the rage in his heart erupted like a volcano. Originally, he just wanted to let Nara starve to death alone in the cold palace as a punishment for her, but now, what she did was too cruel, and Qianlong could no longer tolerate it.

Qianlong was furious and immediately ordered the beheading of all of Nara's relatives to vent his hatred. Afterwards, he ruthlessly issued an order to punish Nara by burning her to death, an extremely cruel punishment.

When the execution came, Nara was tied tightly to a huge wooden stake, unable to move at all. The executioners first poured a large amount of thick grease on Nara's body, so that her entire body was covered with grease. Then, they lit a piece of oil-soaked cloth and slowly moved it towards Nara's body.

As the flames on the cloth gradually approached Nara, she began to feel the burning pain vividly. The flames slowly spread over her body, and her skin was scorched with a sizzling sound. Puffs of black smoke rose up. Nara struggled and twisted in pain, letting out extremely shrill screams. The sound echoed in the air, making people's hair stand on end.

The flames burned more and more fiercely, and Nara's body was gradually swallowed by the flames. Her face became distorted and hideous, as if she was a demon crawling out of the abyss of hell. Her screams gradually became weaker and finally disappeared in the endless pain. The whole execution process was cruel and bloody, which made people unable to bear to watch, but it also made people deeply feel the tragic consequences brought about by the crimes committed by Nara.

Qianlong issued such a cold-blooded order that all the concubines and palace maids in the harem, except Yun'er, must go to watch the execution. In an instant, the harem was shrouded in a haze of fear and panic.

The entire harem seemed to be caught in a vortex of chaos and terror. All the concubines looked frightened. Some were trembling with fear like fallen leaves in the autumn wind; some had dull eyes, as if their souls had been pulled out of their bodies; others collapsed to the ground, their faces as pale as paper, and they lost consciousness; some people could not bear the fear in their hearts and began to vomit uncontrollably, with filth scattered everywhere. The scene was horrific. In this atmosphere filled with fear and panic, the harem seemed to have turned into a gloomy and terrifying purgatory.

Among all the concubines, Concubine Ling's psychological quality is indeed remarkable. However, facing all this, she also feels a little overwhelmed. She never expected that the emperor would use such swift and decisive means to intimidate the harem. The powerful deterrent force made her terrified.

There were thousands of thoughts and ideas in her mind. Her desire for power and status, and her expectations for the future were all suppressed at this moment. She thought to herself that the emperor's actions were too harsh and chilling.

She knew very well that under such power of thunder, any movement on her part could bring about a catastrophic disaster, so she could only bury her thoughts deep in her heart, not daring to reveal them at all. She told herself that this was not the time to take risks, and she did not want to end her life so easily.

The twelfth prince stood far away, like a silent statue, staring quietly at the cruel scenes playing out before his eyes. He witnessed all this happening quietly, with complex emotions surging in his heart like a raging sea.

His mother blamed him for not pleading for mercy, but he knew in his heart that pleading would be futile. Moreover, his grandfather's family had also suffered tragic deaths because of this, which made him feel extremely sad and helpless.

In this quiet moment, his thoughts were in a tangle of complexities. He couldn't help but wonder if the Empress Dowager would regret what she had done. Was she also filled with remorse at this tragic end?

After the noisy and chaotic crowd gradually dispersed, the twelfth prince walked forward slowly with heavy steps. His eyes were full of sadness and compassion. He carefully collected Nara's body. After all, Qianlong did not issue a clear order on how to deal with Nara's body, so the twelfth prince resolutely decided to take her body away.

The Twelfth Prince bent down and used his own hands to dig a pit for Nara bit by bit. His movements were so slow and firm, and each one was filled with his deep respect and remembrance for Nara. Finally, the pit was dug. He carefully placed Nara's body in it, and then gently buried it with soil so that she could rest in peace. During this process, the Twelfth Prince's heart was filled with endless sadness and sorrow.

Suddenly, a feeling of endless sadness surged in the heart of the Twelfth Prince, like a huge wave. This sadness seemed to completely swallow his entire heart, making him deeply trapped and unable to extricate himself.

He took heavy and slow steps, step by step, and arrived at the Jianjia Palace with difficulty. There, his heart was filled with deep desire, longing to see the emperor, because in his heart, there were too many words that had been suppressed for a long time, like a sharp thorn stuck in his throat, making him feel like he had something stuck in his throat and couldn't feel relieved unless he spit it out. The eagerness almost tore him apart.

When Qianlong learned that the twelfth prince had collected Nara's body, a barely perceptible fluctuation flashed across his deep eyes, and then he nodded slightly.

His face still had that calm expression, without revealing too much emotion, nor saying even a single word, as if he already knew what was happening and had acquiesced to it all.

But now, when Qianlong learned that the twelfth prince wanted to see him, a subtle change appeared on his calm face. He was slightly stunned at first, as if a little surprised, and then a trace of doubt and curiosity surged in his heart. An imperceptible emotion flashed across his majestic face, perhaps a hint of surprise, or perhaps a hint of emotion.

He frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then opened his thin lips and uttered a word calmly: "Xuan." This word seemed to have a thousand pounds of power, echoing in the air, and also foreshadowing the upcoming meeting.