Phoenix Rests in Chang’an

Chapter 4: Blood-Stained Blossoms

Not long after, a tragic rumor spread through the palace—Jiang Ruoli, driven by jealousy, had caused Consort Rong’s miscarriage. The accusation spread like wildfire, and whispers of her jealousy echoed in every corner of the palace. Xiao Changyan’s fury was like a storm, his wrath unimaginable. His eyes burned with anger and disappointment as he confronted her.

“Ruoli, you have truly let me down,” he said, his voice cold and harsh, each word like a knife cutting through her heart.

Jiang Ruoli, kneeling before him, felt as though the weight of the world had fallen upon her. Her voice trembled as she tried to explain, “Your Majesty, I did no such thing… I would never harm her, nor our child.”

But Xiao Changyan’s gaze remained unyielding, filled with distrust and disbelief. The man she had once adored, the man she had devoted her entire heart to, now stood before her, his face a mask of anger and rejection. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine as he turned away from her, not even sparing her a second glance.

Without another word, she was cast out of his sight, sent to the Cold Palace—a place for the forgotten, where even the sun’s warmth seemed to be denied. Stripped of all her status, privileges, and hopes, Jiang Ruoli was left to face her fate alone. Her life, once filled with possibilities, now seemed empty, her heart shattered. She had loved him with all her being, yet in the end, she had been reduced to a mere pawn in the political games of the palace.