"Prepare, and roll the camera!"
The machine focused on the two at the center. Anne Hart, clad in a red silk dress adorned with phoenix patterns, sat on a stone bench under the wutong tree. Her long hair was tied up, with black locks cascading like a waterfall behind her, slightly fluttering as the breeze blew.
The lines at the corner of her eyes were sharp, her gaze proud and cold. She casually lifted her eyes to look at the unexpected visitor before her—Yvaine.
Anne Hart invited her with a smile.
"It’s been three years since we last met, hasn’t it? Hah... truly, the world is full of surprises. Who would have thought that the little palace maid I rescued on a whim back then would now become the Empress of the harem. It’s a pity that I might not live to see it."
Anne Hart spoke as if discussing an insignificant matter unrelated to herself. With her fair hands, she picked up the wine pot and filled two cups. She pushed one in front of Yvaine, while she lifted the other to her lips, sipping leisurely.
Yvaine was angered by her indifferent attitude, slamming the table in fury, and shouted: "Do you not feel any remorse at all?"
"For years, the Emperor has treated you so well. How could you bear to hurt him ?! After ascending to the throne, he named you the First Princess Anne Hart, granted you a residence, yet you’ve done so many outrageous things. The imperial table was piled with a thick stack of impeachment memorials against you, yet the Emperor hasn’t even glanced at them, let alone punished you."
"He is your brother. His lifelong brilliance is being ruined at your hands, yet you still seek rebellion, seek betrayal? Anne Hart, do you have any heart at all?"
The wine cup crashed to the ground, making a sudden clear sound of "pa," as droplets spilled and dripped onto the floor.
Anne Hart slowly curled her lips into a mocking smile.
She found it laughable. Her gaze suddenly darkened, with a sharpness flashing from the depths of her eyes.
"Who has no heart after all?"
"He bestowed on me the title and residence, yet even when I cane-beat his harem beauties to death, he didn’t punish me. Why? Because of his guilt! Among eight brothers, four died by his hands, the third was exiled to the frontier. The seventh, a mere military officer, was made a civil official and never used properly. The tenth became a cripple, staying confined in his residence all day, never stepping out. Only the youngest twelfth brother is untouched by him due to his young age. As for the remaining sisters, they were all married off to faraway foreign lands once they came of age. Who truly has no heart?"
"How did the royal brother ascend the throne? He stepped upon the corpses of family members to get there, how could I not hate him!"
Anne Hart’s eyes turned red with a chilly hate flashing beneath.
Yvaine clenched her fists, aggressively questioning:
"Even if you succeed in your rebellion, what then? Do you want the Prince stationed at the borderlands to become Emperor, or the Seventh Prince? Or maybe the half-cripple Tenth Prince? Can you guarantee that after this power struggle for the throne, they still have the will to become Emperor? Or is it that—"
Yvaine elongated the last note, her eyes sharply narrowing: "You intend to ascend the throne yourself?"
"To ascend the throne myself?" Anne Hart let out a scornful laugh, "With the royal brother gone, of what use is the throne to me? Since he values the empire more than family, since it is this empire, this power that changed him, I will destroy this empire!"
"You!" Yvaine’s eyes widened in disbelief, "You’re mad! Crazy! Have you considered the consequences of your actions, the displacement and suffering it will cause the common people, how many families will be torn apart, how great a disaster this will bring?"
"What does that have to do with me?"