Ashes of the Phoenix Palace

“Your Highness, do you acknowledge your wrongdoing?”

That voice, laden with undeniable authority, swept through the silent air like a biting winter wind, echoing deep within Xiao Chenbi’s memory. Each word seemed edged with splinters of ice, scraping harshly against her ears.

Now, Xiao Chenbi felt her spine crash heavily against the iron spikes behind her. The cold, unyielding metal pierced her flesh with malicious intent, spreading sharp pain throughout her body until her consciousness began to blur.

In her haze, time seemed to reverse. She was transported back a decade—into a solemn palace suffused with an austere atmosphere. Her mother, the Empress, sat atop the throne, gaze icy and severe, her eyes burning straight through Xiao Chenbi. Every syllable from her mother’s lips was clear and forceful, as if an icy blade stabbed at her heart. The sound reverberated throughout the empty palace, enveloping the world in its severity.

Night had fallen like a heavy velvet shroud, blanketing the earth. All was silent, save for the wind weaving through the streets, moaning mournfully. The crescent moon hung high, radiating a cold and profound light, like a thin frost or a razor-sharp blade poised above the darkness, threatening to slice open the endless night.

That chill, silvery moonlight poured onto the thick, rough stone walls of the Imperial Prison, casting a faint blue glow that flickered uncertainly, as if countless wronged souls were sighing in the darkness. Each gleam seemed to be a spirit lamenting its endless suffering, drifting and lingeri