Chapter 1
Winter, 1213 AD.
Snowflakes were drifting outside the window. A woman in white sat by the window, gazing at the scenery outside. Tears streamed down her face, forming teardrops on the pear-patterned table.
“Queen, I’m sorry to disturb you.” A high-pitched voice spoke. It was the voice of a male servant. To Una Rhodes, it sounded extremely harsh.
The downcast queen snapped, “Get out!”
Ignoring Una Rhodes’ resistance completely, the male servant simply carried the tray inside the house and placed the items on the table.
On the vermilion-colored tray lay three feet of white silk, a cup of poisoned wine, and a dagger.
“My lady, I was merely acting according to the king’s orders. I hope the queen will understand.”
The servant had a smug smile on his face. Although it was still the same flattering smile he usually wore, there was a hint of sarcasm in it.
“I want to see the king.” Frowning slightly, Una Rhodes clearly didn’t believe the servant’s words.
“The king is very busy. Princess Eirwen has given birth in the palace. The king is rushing there right now. I’m afraid he won’t have time to deal with you.” The male servant wore a slightly cheerful expression on his face.
Princess Eirwen, whose real name is Eirwen Rhodes, is the adopted daughter of General Rhodes and the stepsister of Una Rhodes.
What a clever trick! Una Rhodes laughed twice, her meaning unclear.
Her gaze swept over the items on the tray in front of her. Una Rhodes suddenly stood up and knocked everything on the table to the ground.
The teacups were shattered all over the floor. All that remained was the sound of bubbles forming as the poisonous wine in the cups corroded the wood.
The servant was also frightened by this attitude. He quickly stepped back two steps, with a hint of annoyance and anger in his voice: “Please don’t refuse the toast and then be forced to drink as punishment. The king still cares about you, which is why he’s allowing you to leave with some dignity.”
Snatching the dagger from the ground, Una Rhodes held it in her hand, pointing the blade threateningly at the male servant a few times, with a fierce expression on her face.
“If you keep staying here unnecessarily, I won’t hold back!”
Looking at Una Rhodes, who had a pale face, slightly disheveled hair, and red eyes that resembled those of a madwoman, the male servant was also terrified.
He was just carrying out orders. There was no need to risk his life for it.
Looking at Una Rhodes’s reaction, it seems she’ll never be able to accept this reality in time. She must be completely unhinged.
“The king has arrived!”
Tripping over the door frame, the male servant quickly knelt down, staring at the bright yellow sole of the foot before him, and immediately cried out, “Long live!”
“Stop making a noise!” Robert Johnson, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, glanced impatiently at the male servant at his feet. He then drew his sword from the hand of the guard standing nearby.
A flash of blade light ensued, and the precious Persian carpet was splattered with bright red blood. The servant never closed his eyes in death, his face twisted with terror.
With the still-bloodied blade pointed at Una Rhodes, Robert Johnson wore a mysterious smile on his lips.
“King, I’m innocent!” Watching the blood drip from the blade onto her skirt, Una Rhodes’s voice trembled uncontrollably.
“What urgent matter does the queen have?” With gentle, considerate words on his lips, Robert Johnson used the dagger in his hand to lift the person before him by the chin.
Seeing Una Rhodes’s face turn pale in an instant, Robert Johnson felt a sudden urge for mischief. He moved his knife slightly, leaving a bloodstain on Una Rhodes’s neck.
Unable to stop trembling, Una Rhodes tried hard to control her fear. She looked up at Robert Johnson with firm eyes and said, “I have not committed adultery with anyone.”
“Oh?” He replied absentmindedly. It seemed like Robert Johnson didn’t take this matter seriously at all.
In Una Rhodes’s eyes, hope reignited once more. As long as Robert Johnson believed in her, it was still possible to make things right.
After all, she was Robert Johnson’s most beloved woman. He doted on her above all others. Robert Johnson and she had known each other since childhood, and he had always treated her with great affection.
Drunk at the New Year’s banquet, Una Rhodes went to a side room to rest with the help of a maid. There, she was drugged by thieves. When she woke up, she was in a terrible state.
Standing before them were the ministers and concubines led by Robert Johnson. Una Rhodes had no way of defending herself. Fortunately, since the matter involved the reputation of the royal family, it was ultimately dropped.
Once she turned around and found the person who tried to kill her, Una Rhodes would surely tear that person to shreds!
Even though Una Rhodes had towering anger in her eyes, she had to suppress all her emotions in front of Robert Johnson.
“King, please believe me. I truly haven’t committed adultery with anyone. We’ve known each other for over twenty years. Don’t you trust me?”
At that moment, Una Rhodes couldn’t care less about her dignity. She knelt down, stepped forward, and grabbed the dagger in Robert Johnson’s hand.
“I trust you,” Robert Johnson leaned forward and whispered in Una Rhodes’s ear, “because I’m the one who arranged this.”
Una Rhodes stared in disbelief, clearly unable to believe that the man she had loved for over a decade could actually say such things.
It turned out that Robert Johnson had arranged everything. What exactly had she done to offend Robert Johnson?
“How do you think my throne came into my hands? The former king, that old fool, favored his sixth brother as his heir. If I hadn’t heard that your sixth brother admired you, I never would have used sweet words to win your heart and bring you into my palace. How else would your sixth brother have handed over the kingdom to me?”
With wide eyes, Una Rhodes was filled with disbelief as Robert Johnson choked her and forced her to drink the poisoned wine.
“Let me make it clear to you: Princess Eirwen will become the queen in your place, your dear sister.”
Gently slapping Una Rhodes across the face, Robert Johnson’s intention to humiliate her was clear. As if to vent his anger, he picked up the dagger and stabbed Una Rhodes in the abdomen.
Blade after blade, blood splattered before Una Rhodes’s eyes. She felt like she was dying of pain, yet she had no strength to struggle.
Looking at Una Rhodes’s body lying prostrate at his feet, Robert Johnson dropped his sword without any expression on his face. He took a handkerchief from the hand of his personal servant and wiped the blood from his hands.
“The Duchess of the Sun behaved immorally. She was given three feet of white silk and forced to commit suicide in the Sun Palace.”
With those words, Robert Johnson stepped over Una Rhodes’s body and left the palace.
Una Rhodes hates it!
Watching her own body slowly soften on the ground, watching Robert Johnson cover up the cause of death with a blank expression, watching the yellow handkerchief slowly descend and cover her pale face.
Una Rhodes couldn’t understand why Robert Johnson would go to such lengths to bring her to death.
he was the person who shared her bed, yet they had completely different goals in mind. He was even scheming against her. Una Rhodes could only regret that she had been so blind.
Rumors say that after the Duchess of the Sun died, blood flowed from her eyes. It seems there was some injustice involved, but no one dared to investigate. No one even dared to enter the Sun Palace; the palace maids avoided it at all costs.
……
Spring, 1215 AD.
The Sun Palace rarely saw living people. A person clad in silver armor opened the doors of the palace’s main hall. The blood that had spilled inside had long since dried up.
After a moment of silence, the person slowly knelt on one knee, took out a jade hairpin from their bosom, and kissed it gently.
She had a terrible headache, as if her head might explode. Accompanied by shivers, Una Rhodes suddenly opened her eyes.
