I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

The gates of the Duke of Wei's mansion slowly opened.

A small blue cloth cart without any markings was already waiting outside the door.

Xu Miaoyun did not turn around. She lifted her skirt and stepped onto the carriage.

"Go to the East Palace."

She said one last thing.

The carriage curtain fell, shutting out the heart-wrenching cries behind them.

It also severed her last attachment to this world.

The carriage traveled at a leisurely pace through the streets of Yingtian Prefecture.

The wheels rolled on, pressing down on the bluestone pavement, making a monotonous and dull sound.

Inside the carriage, Xu Miaoyun sat quietly, like a lifeless white jade statue.

She knew that this departure would be a final farewell.

She bid her final farewell to her father, her mother, and the home where she had lived for more than a decade.

Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial.

I cannot be there to celebrate your happiness, nor can I care for you in your old age and see you off in your final days.

I only wish that in the next life I can still be your daughter.

At that time, my daughter will definitely be obedient and never be willful again.

And you, Zhu Muying.

You bastard.

You untrustworthy liar.

You promised me.

You promised to take me to see the sunrise over the East China Sea and to admire the moonlight over the West Lake.

You promised to draw my eyebrows yourself for the rest of your life.

Now, you're going to die.

How am I supposed to watch the sunrise and moonlight all by myself?

How am I supposed to survive in this vast world all by myself?

So don't even think about going alone.

The road to the underworld is too dark and too cold.

I'm afraid you'll be lonely.

I'll come keep you company.

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the East Palace.

Xu Miaoyun lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the tall and majestic palace gate and the solemn-looking imperial guards in front of it.

There was no fear in her eyes.

She lifted her skirt, got out of the car, and walked step by step toward that door, which for all women symbolized both supreme glory and endless shackles.

"Please inform Her Highness the Crown Princess."

She spoke calmly to the eunuch guarding the gate.

"Tell them that my old friend Xu Miaoyun has come to say goodbye."

The Eastern Palace, Yuqing Palace.

Crown Princess Chang was pacing back and forth in the palace, looking uneasy.

She held a book in her hand, but she didn't turn the pages even once.

Her heart had already flown to the distant Meridian Gate.

Her husband, her fifth uncle, and the glory and future of her entire Chang family all hang by a thread at this moment.

"Mother, mother..."

A child's voice tugged at her clothes.

Chang lowered her head and saw her four-year-old son, the eldest grandson of the emperor, Zhu Xiong Ying, looking up at her with a delicate and beautiful face, his eyes full of worry.

"Mother, why are you unhappy? Do you miss Father?"

Although Zhu Xiong Ying was young, she was exceptionally intelligent and perceptive.

He could sense that something was very wrong with the atmosphere in the palace today.

The usually kind and gentle palace maids and eunuchs were all in a hurry, their faces filled with panic, and they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Looking at her son's innocent face, Madam Chang's myriad sorrows were temporarily suppressed by her maternal tenderness.

She knelt down, pulled her son into her arms, and gently stroked his head.

"Mother isn't upset, Mother is just...worried about your father and your fifth uncle."

She did not hide it from her son.

She knew that being born into the royal family meant that there were some things Zhu Xiong Ying had to learn to face from a young age.

"What's wrong with Fifth Uncle?"

Upon hearing "Fifth Uncle," Zhu Xiong Ying's eyes lit up immediately. "Has Fifth Uncle won another great victory and is he coming back? What fun things will he bring me this time? A fine horse from the Western Regions, or a luminous pearl from the East China Sea?"

In Zhu Xiong Ying's young mind, his fifth uncle, Zhu Mu Ying, was an omnipotent hero.

He was tall and handsome, and every time he appeared, he carried with him the scent of sunshine and gunpowder, as well as countless novel gifts.

He would lift him high above his head and poke him with his stubble-covered chin until he giggled.

He would teach him to ride a horse, teach him to shoot arrows, and tell him that a man should aspire to travel far and wide and be loyal to his country.

In Zhu Xiong Ying's view, his fifth uncle was much more interesting than his father, who was always gentle and refined and lectured him with grand principles.

Hearing her son's expectant words, Mrs. Chang felt a lump in her throat and almost burst into tears.

How could she tell the child that his invincible fifth uncle was now being treated as a traitor, imprisoned in the dungeon, and could be beheaded at any moment?

How could she tell the child that his kind and loving father was kneeling outside the Meridian Gate, fighting a life-or-death struggle against his grandfather to save his younger brother?

She couldn't bear to let such a young child experience the filth and cruelty behind imperial power.

"Ying'er,"

Fighting back tears, Madam Chang said softly, "Your fifth uncle... he's run into a little trouble. But don't worry, your father will go to help him. They're brothers, they'll be alright."

"Really?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded as if she understood, "When will Father come back? I miss him."

"Soon, your father will be back soon after he finishes his business."

Chang forced a smile.

Just then, a personal maid rushed in from outside the hall, looking flustered, and whispered a few words in her ear.

Chang's expression changed drastically in an instant.

"What did you say? The Xu family's daughter is here? And...and she's dressed in all white?"

The maid's head was bowed low, her voice trembling with tears: "Yes, Your Highness. Miss Xu is waiting outside the palace gates right now, saying... she requests to see you. Judging from her appearance..."

"What?"

"They've come...to attend a funeral."

The maid finally mustered her courage and uttered those two words.

With a "boom," Chang felt her mind go completely blank.

Attending a funeral?

Could it be that things have already... at the Meridian Gate?

She dared not think any further; immense fear and sorrow gripped her heart instantly, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

Do not!

Will not!

My fifth brother is incredibly lucky; he's survived countless near-death experiences. How could this happen...?

And the Crown Prince, her husband, he...

"Mother, what's wrong? Your face is so pale."

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at her mother's face, which had suddenly turned deathly pale, and grabbed her hand in fear.

The son's voice brought Chang back to her senses from her immense terror.

No, I can't panic.

I am the Crown Princess, the mistress of the Eastern Palace, and the mother of Xiong Ying.

Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Quick! Invite her in!"

Chang gave instructions to her maid, her voice still trembling slightly, but she had regained her composure.

She handed Zhu Xiong Ying to the wet nurse beside her and whispered, "Keep a close eye on the little prince and don't let him run around."

Then, she straightened her clothes, straightened her back, and walked quickly towards the outside of the hall.

No matter what, she had to see Xu Miaoyun first and find out what had happened.

This silly little sister has a strong personality, and she's really afraid she might do something foolish.

The heavy palace gates of Yuqing Palace slowly opened.

The afternoon sunlight, somewhat glaring, shone in, casting a slender, white shadow on the ground.

Madam Chang narrowed her eyes and recognized the person who had come.

Xu Miaoyun.

She stood there quietly, bathed in sunlight, yet separated from the rest of the world by an insurmountable barrier.

She wore the simplest coarse mourning clothes, the white of which looked so out of place and so desolate against the backdrop of the magnificent palace.

Her face was deathly pale.

Those once bright and clever phoenix eyes are now like two dry wells, no longer reflecting any light.

Chang's heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by a large hand, causing her unbearable pain.

The Xu Miaoyun she knew wasn't like this.

The Xu Miaoyun she knew was the most dazzling pearl of Yingtian Prefecture.

She was the daughter of a military family, a woman of great courage and spirit, a remarkable woman who could ride horses across the grasslands with Zhu Muying and chat and laugh in the military tent.

But the person in front of me is clearly someone whose heart has died, someone ready to rush to the underworld at any moment...

widow.

"Sister Miaoyun..."

Chang's voice choked with emotion.

She strode down the steps, disregarding the demeanor of a crown princess, and grabbed Xu Miaoyun's hand, which was as cold as ice.

"What are you doing? Silly child! Things haven't even gotten to that point yet, how could you... how could you wear this!"

Before Chang could finish speaking, she could no longer continue.

Because she saw that after Xu Miaoyun saw her, her eyes, which had been empty and lifeless, finally showed some emotion.

Immediately afterwards, two lines of clear tears, like beads from a broken string, rolled down her beautiful phoenix eyes without warning.

She didn't cry out, and her expression didn't even change.

She stood there quietly, letting her tears stream down her pale cheeks and fall into the dust in front of her.

Those silent tears are more heart-wrenching than any loud, wailing sobs.

"Sister-in-law..."

Xu Miaoyun finally spoke, her voice hoarse, like a blunt knife cutting back and forth in Chang's heart.

She looked at Madam Chang, and slowly, bent her knees.

With a "thump," he knelt heavily on the cold stone slab.

"younger sister!"

Chang was so frightened by Xu Miaoyun's sudden kneeling that she almost lost her soul.

She quickly bent down to help him up, saying urgently, "What are you doing! Get up! Let's talk inside the hall! The ground is cold!"

But Xu Miaoyun remained kneeling there like a stone statue, completely still.

Her knees were rooted to the ground, and no matter how much Chang pulled or tugged, she couldn't lift her up even an inch.

Chang was both anxious and angry, and tears streamed down her face.

"Why are you so stubborn, child! Do you know how much it hurts me to see you like this! Get up!"

Xu Miaoyun simply shook her head. She raised her face, streaked with tears yet still breathtakingly beautiful, and looked at Madam Chang, saying each word clearly, "Sister-in-law, Miaoyun has come today not to beg you, nor to cry and plead."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a cold, resolute determination, as if everything in its place was about to perish.

"I only want to tell you one thing."

"My husband, Zhu Muying, is loyal and righteous, and devoted to the country and its people. Now, however, he has been framed by treacherous people and is imprisoned, his fate unknown."

The way she said "husband" was so natural and so matter-of-fact.

They had already paid their respects to heaven and earth and were already the most intimate couple in the world.

Chang felt another sharp pain in her heart.

"I know, I know everything..."

She choked back tears as she said, "I know my fifth brother's character better than anyone. The Crown Prince knows it too, and we're all trying to find a solution..."

"It's too late."

Xu Miaoyun gently interrupted her.

"Sister-in-law, I know you and His Highness the Crown Prince treat my husband well. But this time, it's different."

Her gaze drifted towards the distant, majestic Forbidden City, her eyes filled with endless sorrow and mockery.

"This time, the one who wants him dead is none other than the most unyielding and ruthless person in the world."

"So, he's dead."

She stated this cruel conclusion in a statement of fact.

Chang's body swayed, and she almost lost her balance.

She knew that Xu Miaoyun was right.

This is the most despairing part.

"so……"

Xu Miaoyun's gaze returned to Chang's face. Suddenly, a raging flame ignited in those tearful phoenix eyes. That flame was love, hate, and a deep-seated obsession.

"I, Xu Miaoyun, swear to Heaven today!"

"Although I have not yet been married to the Prince, from the moment His Majesty arranged our marriage, I, Xu Miaoyun, am the Prince's person in life and in death!"