Summary
I am the Noble Consort just cast into the Cold Palace.
He is the Emperor who just issued the decree in hysterics.
I kneel on the ground, my face burning with pain, my belly cramping and twisting.
My cold sweat finally panics him. Cold-faced, he asks if I am all right. Before I can snap back at him, everything goes black.
As consciousness fades, I know he has started shrieking again—not cursing me this time, but roaring for someone to fetch the imperial physician.