Sabrina stood up for an instant but shrank back in pain. She gritted her teeth and ended up standing once again.

With no clothes prepared in the empty room, she had no choice but to wrap herself in the quilt and stagger toward the door.

The emperor, clearly concerned, said, “You need to lie down immediately! Your injuries are severe and you haven’t had any medicine. Come on, you need to focus on your recovery!”

Upon hearing that, Sabrina had to turn her head in his direction.

Seeing Sabrina in tears, the young emperor immediately panicked.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, too concerned. “Does it hurt? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Her voice hoarse, Sabrina replied, “Your Majesty, do you know who I am? I am just a person with a low status. Why do you have to care and treat me like this?”

With that, the young emperor smiled, his gaze gentle and calm.

In his calm and soothing voice, he replied, “We are all humble people here. Who is nobler than whom?”

He added, “In this palace, even though I am the emperor, I lack a powerful guard commander, let alone compared to a general. However, since you have come to me, we are together. I will do everything to care for you.”

Clouded with confusion, Sabrina almost couldn't grasp what the emperor meant by his words. She allowed the emperor to help her settle onto the low couch. Just then, the palace door burst open with a loud bang.

Out of the blue, the man with a piercing gaze glared sharply at the young emperor, who was still holding her hand.

A cold, harsh voice cut through the room, “Sabrina, are you truly so cheap? Are you so desperate for men that you seduce anyone?”

Snowflakes swirled into the hall with the wind. The tall, sturdy figure in a black robe stood in the snow, framed by the dim, backlit hall.

She couldn’t make out the man’s expression clearly, only the sharp angles of his jaw and the tight line of his lips.

“Damien, I didn’t!” Sabrina tried to explain.

Still, Damien walked in, a chill following him that made Sabrina flinch involuntarily.

The young emperor couldn’t help but frown as he saw the scene.

“General, what you’re saying is too harsh. Sabrina is injured and can’t bear the cold. You burst in like this!” The young emperor explained.

For an instant, his cold gaze darted into the emperor.

“Oh? And then what?” Damien questioned, his tone dripping with contempt. “Do you still want to control her?”

Damien, a towering and fierce general with a bloodied battlefield history, made the young emperor, still a teenager, look pale under his cold, sharp gaze.

Yet, the young emperor stepped before Sabrina and shouted, “General, you are being rude! Since Sabrina entered the palace, she has belonged to me. Do you think I can’t control her?”

Meanwhile, Damien's deep, clear eyes darkened. He scrutinized Sabrina inch by inch.

Terrified, Sabrina clutched the young emperor’s clothes hem and whispered, “Don’t say anything. He’s in a fit of rage.”

Since Sabrina's mother’s departure, she had never been cared for like this. She couldn’t bear the thought of Damien punishing the young emperor because of her.

But as soon as she spoke, Damien's anger flared even more. He took several steps forward and yanked Sabrina to her feet.

“So what if you’ve been sent to the palace? Do you intend to seduce His Majesty and have him turn against me? Sabrina, your tactics are not small!” Damien said as if he had uncovered all the secrets she longed to hide.

Sabrina’s face went deathly pale and she stared at Damien in disbelief. “Damien, that doesn't cross my mind! I never had an intention like that!”

Damien ignored her and taunted, “Why don’t you do it again in front of His Majesty? Let him see if he’ll still protect you while you cry out like this!”

“Damien! What do you think of me? How could you do this?” Sabrina trembled in pain, biting her lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing Sabrina’s desperate tears, Damien felt a twisted satisfaction.

He raised his hand and pinched her chin, forcing her to tilt her head and look at him, asking, “What do you think I take you for?”

Sabrina was stunned. The pain felt her heart crumble into pieces, making her tremble all over.

Damien's smile grew increasingly cold and they asked again, "You wanted to marry and leave the Steele Family that simple? I won't give you what you want!”

He added, “You're now the lowest palace maid, vulnerable to anyone who wishes to trample on you or torture you. Until you're driven to despair and forced to end your own life!”

Sabrina cried so intensely that she struggled to catch her breath. Glaring at Damien with anger, she declared, “I won't give up! I promised my mother that I would live my life to the fullest and never commit suicide! It never crossed my mind!”

As soon as the time came, she would clear her mother's name from the sin she never committed, escape Damien's trap and find true happiness elsewhere.

Sabrina couldn’t believe her mother had indeed poisoned Martha Steele, Damien's late mother.

Her mother had been gentle, wanting to raise her well and marry her into a good family.

It was hard to believe that her mother had murdered Martha out of jealousy.

In one blink, Damien laughed out loud and said, “This is not something you can decide.”

Outside the window, the cold snow drifted again, slowly covering the gloomy and oppressive palace.

The vermilion walls and blue tiles stood stark against the white snow, creating a bleak and hopeless scene.

Meanwhile, Sabrina had a long dream.

Back then, it was on her fourteenth birthday.

Martha didn’t like her mother but wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for her.

She even asked the butler to allocate funds for her birthday banquet and invited many close friends as guests.

Steele’s mansion was filled with laughter and joy before.

He tenderly combed her hair, teasing that he’d kiss her in two years.

Sabrina’s cheeks flushed, though his thoughts were on Damien, who was thousands of miles away.

Years ago, Sabrina had always thought that it would only be Damien if she ever wanted to marry. She had no one in mind that could level him.

The birthday banquet started on a joyous occasion, laughter echoing in the four corners of the wall.

When Sabrina was about to speak with her best friend, Astrid Smith, a tragedy destroyed everyone's night.

The Steele Family’s secret guards burst in that moment, seizing her amid the crowd’s screams. They dragged her roughly to the main hall and threw her to the ground.

“Murder!”

“Poison! Jealousy!”

“That wretched person committed suicide out of guilt! This is her suicide note!”

"Yes, this is her handwriting! It's really similar to how she writes and no one can replicate it. Only her! Such a despicable person; she actually dared to poison and murder Martha!”

“And this wretched Sabrina! Which lady in the capital would let a concubine bring in a proper lady to befriend the wealthy? The lady was so kind, hosting her birthday banquet and inviting guests. How could her mother do this? It’s madness!”

Mockery, curses and contempt filled the air.

Bound to a stool and beaten mercilessly, Sabrina cried out, "My mother didn’t... please! Don’t accuse her falsely! My mother didn’t do it!”

With no evidence to clear her name, Sabrina was helpless. No one supported her mother, only her.

Damien, whom she had admired so deeply, tortured her to death as soon as he returned home, turning all her admiration into endless fear and hatred.

Sabrina sobbed uncontrollably and tried desperately to escape. Still, when Damien caught her, he was like a cold, ruthless devil, inflicting unimaginable cruelty.

“Sabrina, this is what you owe me. You will never escape from my grasp, not in this lifetime!” Damien roared.

Once again, Sabrina was lost in despair in her dream. She struggled but couldn’t move. She wanted to sob in pain but couldn’t shed a tear. All she could do was curl up in a ball.

The warm pavilion felt as comforting as spring. A nurse replaced the wet cloth on Sabrina’s forehead, but she stayed unconscious, crying and mumbling, “Don’t let me go.”

With that, Damien's face darkened. Sabrina’s body burned hot in his hands, making his eyes heavy with worry.

He felt a surge of irritation and angrily demanded of the imperial physician, “Why isn’t she awake yet? How did you prepare the medicine? I want answers!”

Damien's rage concealed his true feelings.

The imperial physician didn’t dare wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“Sabrina is too weak, lacking vitality and strength. She has been overly active and caught a cold,” he said cautiously.

Sabrina's pulse showed a slight sign of miscarriage, hinting at possible joy. Still, the time was too brief to be certain and the physician dared not say more.

Later on, Sabrina mumbled, her crying slowly subsiding. A faint whisper of “Your Majesty” slipped from her lips. Upon hearing her voice, Damien's expression darkened on her.

It was as if Sabrina was too focused on the emperor.

“Since I can’t die, there’s no need to make a fuss! I’m just a person with a low status, a palace maid! Why are so many people gathered here? Are you all bored? Get out of here!” Sabrina exclaimed out of the blue.

Damien remained too cold, with his eyes starting to darken.

He cast one last glance at Sabrina on the bed, then, with a sleeve sweep, ordered, “Remove her and throw her into the Wintershade Palace! Assign someone to watch and ensure Your Majesty doesn’t come near. The East and West Palaces are for concubines. One palace maid is enough for the Wintershade Palace!”

As time passed by, Sabrina woke up in the Wintershade Palace.

The music of the emperor’s wedding could be heard outside the Wintershade Palace, but inside, it was eerily quiet.

In the lonely hall, only a deaf and mute old woman stood guard. When she noticed Sabrina, she excitedly gestured.

Exhausted and haggard, Sabrina could barely rise and struggled to understand the old woman's gestures. She didn't comprehend what she meant by her gestures.

She had always been physically weak, her health deteriorating at the age of fourteen.

Now seriously ill and failing to care for herself, her body had rapidly withered. When she lifted her arm, her skinniness was striking.

Sabrina smiled bitterly. She feared Damien wouldn’t need to force her; she might not have long to live anyway.

Could it be that until her death, she would remain trapped in Damien's grasp, never genuinely living for herself?

Time dragged on for more than a month.

Damien did not come to see her again. He imprisoned her, forbidding her from going out or allowing the young emperor to visit.

Sabrina felt a deep sadness, finding her situation both ridiculous and pitiful. As soon as she touched her wrist, her heart suddenly raced.

“This pulse,” she mumbled under her breath.

No one knew that her mother had a basic understanding of medicine and Sabrina had learned about it from her mother. She even felt her pulse; it seemed odd, but she was on cloud nine.

Sabrina’s breath caught and an intense sensation spread through her heart; whether sadness or joy, she couldn’t tell. Gradually, an absurd thought began to take shape in her mind.

As days passed, a group of people forcefully smashed the door of the Wintershade Palace.

“How did the young lady end up living in the Wintershade Palace as a palace maid?” one of them sneered. “If it were me, I would have preferred to end my life sooner to avoid such humiliation!”

Lately, Sabrina's head had been growing increasingly dizzy.

Reluctantly, she looked out the window at the sound and saw a beautiful woman dressed as a noble concubine leading the way.

Sabrina slowly sat up, put on her dusty coat and, surprised, asked, “Astrid?”

The visitor was her best friend from the Steele residence, the niece of Martha and the eldest legitimate daughter of the minister’s family, Astrid Smith.

A palace maid shouted, “How dare you! In front of Noble Consort Smith, you don’t even kneel! Someone, drag this palace maid, Sabrina, out and must be punished for being disrespectful!”

The deaf-mute nanny tried to intervene but was roughly shoved aside by the three burly palace maids.

Sabrina was dragged off the low bed in silence and thrown harshly into the cold snow.

Dizzy and disoriented, Sabrina carefully shielded her belly and struggled to rise. However, Astrid stepped forward and cruelly crushed her hand with her embroidered shoes adorned with pearls and gemstones.

“Sabrina, do you still think I’m your good friend?” Astrid asked, with her brows raised in disgust.

With the crisp sound of bone cracking, Sabrina couldn't help but let out a painful cry.

The pain from her fingers was as intense as a broken bone, but she was weak all over and couldn't even escape.