The Rebirth of the Vengeful Empress from a Military Family

Chapter I: After Annihilation

Chapter I: After Annihilation (废后)

During the early summer, sudden onslaughts of rain always fell once night descended.

The desolate skies stifled the Palace's grandeur with its rumbling clouds and shrouded its once-magnificent halls with darkness, making the Palace seem like an enormous cell that imprisoned the people inside it.

In the large chambers, thick layers of dust made the curtains seem old. Despite the heat, the people inside felt cold. Clothes and jewelry littered the floor as if some disaster had just run through it.

A lady crouched on the ground, her eyes fixed on the doors in front of her.

Although this lady was only in her thirties, her face already resembled that of an old woman's. Her brows were wrinkled with deep hostility. Her eyes were filled with unending hatred. Those pair of eyes seemed like a well that had long dried up; incapable of shedding tears, as dead as stagnant water.

"My Lady, please." The eunuch beside her held a bolt of white silk. His tone belied his impatience. "This Eunuch must still to report to His Majesty once this is done."

Shen Miao's eyes landed on that eunuch. Her mouth remained shut for a long time before her hoarse voice slowly reminded, "Xiao Li-zi, you were still a dog beside Eunuch Gao when This Palace promoted you."

[T/N: This Palace (BenGong; 本宫) is the pronoun used by the Empress, members of the Imperial Family, and High-ranking Consorts of the Imperial Harem to refer to themselves. This honorific implies the statement 'In the Name of This Palace's Owner' and is used by the aforementioned people in part because they normally have their own palace that they run.]

The eunuch arrogantly raised his head. "Your Grace, the past is no longer the present."

"The past is no longer the present..." Shen Miao whispered. Suddenly, she tossed her head back and broke into peals of laughter. "'The past is no longer the present', excellent!"

Because 'the past is no longer the present', she had once been a woman whose words everyone, whether servant or courtier, had to yield to and respect. Because 'the past is no longer the present', she had now been gifted a meter of white silk to end her life. When did the past become the past and when did the present become the present? Did it happen when Lady Mei entered the palace, when the Crown Prince was deposed, or when the Princess met her tragic fate on the long road to her arranged marriage? Or was it when she came back to the Palace after five years of being the Qin Empire's hostage?

Why had the 'past' turned into the 'present'? Why has an Empress become deposed? It was all because of Fu Xiu Yi! Because of him, the entire Imperial Court changed their stance and the empire, Ming Qi, distorted the truth! 'The past is no longer the present', excellent!

The heavy doors of the chambers creaked open and a pair of boots embroidered with dragons appeared in front of Shen Miao. When she looked up, her eyes saw a bright gold robe.

"Because you have followed this Emperor for twenty years, this Emperor will allow you to have an intact corpse. You should thank this Emperor for his kindness," he told her.

Shen Miao slowly raised her head higher and looked at the tall man in front of her. Time had left no traces on his face. It remained as handsome as it had been when all of this began. Such a wise sovereign and such a righteous son of Heaven. She had foolishly loved this man for two decades. She had tirelessly helped this husband of hers through trials and tribulations for years. And now all he told her was, "This Emperor will allow you to have an intact corpse. You should thank this Emperor for his kindness."