Volume Three, Chapter Thirty-Six

She lowered her head to glance at her feet, covered in black ash and cinders, and her scorched dress, then knelt and bowed properly. Yet the command to rise never came. He left her kneeling there, bent low in that awkward posture, for a long, long time. Only when her legs began to ache and go numb did she realize His Majesty was punishing her.

She could only remain on her knees, the cold floor of the Imperial Villa's great hall filling her vision. The entire hall was silent. Suddenly, His Majesty's footsteps sounded, slowly approaching her, one measured step at a time. A pair of Dragon-Head Shoes embroidered with gold thread entered her view, followed by the hem of his Dragon Robe trailing on the floor. She sensed him crouching beside her, his gaze moving over her inch by inch. His breathing deepened, and he spoke with a cold laugh rising from his throat.

"Xiaojing is playing a joke on me, isn't he?"

"..."

"He must be trying to take revenge on me. Because of Rongrong, because of the Prime Minister's Residence, because I didn't trust him. Look, he has so many reasons to take revenge on me, so he's using Xiaoru to do it. That's what this is, isn't it?"

"What does Your Majesty want me to say?" She remained bowed low, never lifting her head.

"Xiaoru is so clever. How could you not know how to please your sovereign? Come, say something I want to hear."

She paused, then said, "Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with the Young Master. I was the one who forced him."

"...You know perfectly well that isn't what I want to hear."

Ignoring his words, she touched her forehead to the floor and continued, "I have lost my chastity and