Imprisoned in the Deep Palace

The day the city fell, flames blazed into the sky.

The empress, her hair loose, staggered beneath a length of white silk. Her crown lay shattered.

"Please, Your Majesty, make your final journey..."

The only eunuch there knelt beside her, his voice hoarse as he wiped away his tears.

Hearing the rebel cavalry in the distance, the empress thought of all she had done for her realm since ascending the throne at fourteen: working from dawn to dusk, never resting, and burning the midnight oil. It had all been for nothing. It was over. It was all over.

She decided she would rather die than surrender.

She put the white silk around her neck and kicked away the stool.

The dynasty changed, and peace returned to the land.

The new emperor was perceptive and mighty, a natural-born genius.

Now and then, someone would mention the former empress who had taken her own life and sigh that beautiful women brought calamity, and women should never rule as emperor.

The new emperor would only smile faintly.

At night, he went to the deepest part of the palace, behind nine layers of gates.

Door after door concealed a woman imprisoned within.

He sat down, legs spread, as a cold current stirred in the darkness.

His golden dragon robe, the color of the imperial throne, represented supreme power.

The former empress, bound in chains, knelt before him, wearing a dragon robe of her own.

"Have you made up your mind?"

He smiled coldly and lifted her chin. The emperor's face was right before her.

"Who would have thought the former empress hadn't died, but had become a golden songbird in the inner palace?"

"The new emperor has ascended the throne. Your identity will remain hidden forever, and you will be imprisoned in the palace for life."

*Coercive romance, emperor x empress, fictional setting inspired by the Ming dynasty

*Not a female-dominance story. Coercive romance, coercive romance, coercive romance

Date: 2025-08-20

Theme: Live your life in your own way.