The woman on the broken bed was agitated and furious. She spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, unable to utter a single word, only able to stare wide-eyed at the elegant and noble woman before her!
The Imperial Noble Consort waved her hand to dismiss the servants in the room, then rose and approached the bedside, looking down condescendingly at her.
"The Rong Household and the Xin House were once like robes and hats, with the two families living harmoniously."
"But when my Xin House fell from grace, your Rong Household just stood by and watched as my Xin House suffered a disastrous decline."
"Today I have merely allowed you to experience this feeling of your family's destruction. How is that wrong?"
"Now that you are about to die, I see no harm in telling you the truth."
"Your exiled clansmen - I whispered in the Emperor's ear and arranged for them to be executed by the most severe punishments, thrown into the wild forests as food for beasts."
"My confidants reported back that their screams were perhaps the most delightful sounds in this world."
"Now the Rong Household, which once prospered, has paid the price for your foolishness."
"Rong Dai, it is you who brought death upon the Rong Household. Do you still not understand?"
The Imperial Noble Consort smiled radiantly, her voice sounding like a devil, chilling people to their core.
"You entered the Prince's residence at thirteen and became the nation's mother at sixteen. The Rong Household was full of exceptional people, yet you alone are an utter fool!"
"I truly envy you. I did not have your good fortune, with father, brothers, and sisters paving the way for you all along."
"Yet what have you done?"
"Your elder brother performed great military service on the border, but just for a momentary slip of the tongue, he was exiled."
"Your second brother was covered in battle glory, but just for wording a memorial too radically, his legs were broken, leaving him a cripple since."
"Your father, the grand general who pacified the nation - tsk tsk...no integrity in his old age."
"And your elder sister willingly became a concubine just for your sake."
"You see, they all did this to ensure you could steadily fulfill your role as the nation's mother!"
The Imperial Noble Consort articulated each word with a smile, remembering these events even more clearly than the woman herself!
"Yet what did you do? Fearful of damaging your conjugal relations with the Emperor, considerate of your position as Empress, you didn't even plead with the Emperor on their behalf."
"I truly feel sorry for the Rong Household!"
"Tell me, what use is raising a worthless daughter like you?"
"The Rong Household's fate today is not the fault of others, only the fault of you, the Empress, for being too stupid, too weak, too selfish, and caring too much about the Emperor's favor."
"I didn't even have to exert any effort, just whisper a few words by the Emperor's side, and I could bring utter ruin upon your Rong Household."
"Rong Dai, you are truly pathetic. If not for the Rong Household's deep roots and connections..."
"A woman like you can barely fulfill the role of principal wife, how could you compete with me?"
The Imperial Noble Consort scoffed contemptuously at her!
The woman on the broken bed was so angry her veins bulged and her face was ferocious, yet she could not utter a single word!
"I was kind enough to have your father and brothers' unfinished bones collected, so you can properly mourn them and fulfill your filial duty."
The Imperial Noble Consort seemed to have tired of speaking, and waved her hand for a eunuch to bring up a small jar.
The small jar contained a few blood-stained bones with scraps of flesh still attached, bearing the clear marks of being gnawed by beasts.
The woman on the broken bed turned purple, vomiting up a lump of dark purple blood!
"Oh right, the Emperor also said that after you are deposed, you will lose the privilege of being buried in the imperial concubines' mausoleum. I have selected a prime feng shui location for you."
"I remember the Empress loathed mountain climbing, but I happen to love it, so after you die, Empress Rong, you will be buried in a remote mountain forest in the distant southwest."
"With no clan or offspring left, and no one to remember you, just a lonely grave."
"Also, the imperial child in your belly...I was in an amused mood that day, and wanted to see what it looked like when a woman endured a agonizing childbirth. So I had the medicine that secured your pregnancy tampered with, adding ten times the amount of abortifacient."
"Empress Rong, competing with you was truly boring in the extreme, you are far too stupid, I cannot even muster any interest."
"This is for the best as well, for you to go early. Remember to be smarter in your next life."
The Imperial Noble Consort's voice was icy and charming. The smile on her exquisite face was so cruel.
