Hearing Bai Wutong’s feigned, condescending words, Consort Jin felt a blaze of rage surge to her throat, nearly consuming her entirely.
Her eyes bloodshot and her face flushed deep red, she heaved, her chest rising and falling violently. "Bai Wutong! You snake-hearted wretch, you’ll meet a miserable end! If not for you, that siren, meddling in everything, how could I have fallen to this wretched state? The Emperor and I were deeply in love; which of the new palace maids dared to act insolently before me? Only you, with your despicable, underhanded schemes, stole everything that belonged to me! This position of Empress should have been mine, and the Emperor’s first child should have been mine to carry—I alone was fit to be the Crown Prince’s mother! But now? It’s all ruined. My brilliant life, all ruined by you!"
The more Consort Jin spoke, the more agitated she became, her voice turning hoarse and shrill, bordering on hysteria. Recalling a dream from the night before, her eyes misted over with tears. In that dream, Bai Wutong had never appeared at the selection ceremony. She had remained the most favored consort, with the Emperor doting on her and granting her every wish; no one dared show her the slightest disrespect. Even when she could not conceive, the Emperor had tenderly adopted a child from the royal clan for her to raise. The frail Empress had passed away shortly after, and Consort Jin had ascended to the throne of Empress, becoming the mother of the nation. The sce…
Chapter 400