Married to the Cruel Emperor

　　Behind her, her family begged for mercy and cried for help. 　　Her parents were old. A few days ago, her father had told her that he was looking forward to his retirement. In another year, their family would have been able to return home. 　　Her younger brother was just seven years old. He was most certainly innocent of all this. 　　Elizabeth finally bent down and knocked heavily on the cold ground. 　　\"Please, Duke, please spare my family.\" 　　Arthur Mu dropped his eyes slightly and looked at her in front of him. His tall body stood still. \"Haven’t you eaten? Why can\'t I hear you kowtow? \" 　　Elizabeth increased her pace and let her forehead touch the ground as she kowtowed. \"I beg the Duke to spare my family.\" 　　\"Do it again!\" 　　\"I beg the Duke to spare my family!\" 　　\"Again!\" 　　Elizabeth knew that Arthur Mu just wanted to torture her. Behind her, everyone else was begging for mercy. She suddenly clenched h

　　\"You\'ve taken everything from me. Now I just ask you to spare Camille.\" Elizabeth stabbed her own face. She shivered in pain. 　　Jessica couldn\'t believe it. She looked at Elizabeth lying on the ground. Why does this woman have such decisive courage? Even after having lost so much, she still had her wits about her. 　　Throwing away the silver hairpin, Elizabeth raised her head and looked directly at Jessica Mo\'s eyes. \"Now, can you rest assured? Even if Arthur Mu finds out, with my scarred face, he would never look at me again.\" 　　Before Jessica could react, the door suddenly opened. The cool air poured in, and with it, Arthur strode in. 　　Seeing this scene, Arthur frowned slightly. \"What\'s the matter?\" 　　\"Lord Duke!\" 　　Jessica Mo, who reacted first, rushed into Arthur\'s arms. Before he’d had a chance to say a word, her tears had already streamed onto him. 　　\"Why are you so alarmed? Don\'t be afraid, I’m here.\" Arthur Mu s

　　\"Miss, let me do the rough work.\" In the noisy kitchen, Camille was crying as she chopped vegetables. 　　\"What are you crying for? I\'m fine, aren\'t I?\" Elizabeth spoke as gently as she could, and managed a weak smile on her face. She wasn’t much of a cook, so she had to support her maid who was doing the actual cooking. 　　Her mistress had gone through so much yesterday, and had finally passed out on the bed. But the lady of the house had asked for her sister’s cooking. Elizabeth had to force herself to get up, and drag her body to the kitchen. 　　\"But, miss...\" 　　The old woman, who was ordered to watch them, interrupted. \"What are you waiting for? Are you really going to let Duchess and Mr. Duke wait?\" 　　Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen with an iron bucket. \"I\'m going to fetch water and wash the dishes.\" Although the snow had stopped, the wind blew fiercely, piercing the air with its whistling. It hurt her face. Elizabeth was very thin

　　As she lay on the cold ground, Elizabeth dreamed of a young Arthur Mu. 　　The beautiful scenery of wild flowers on the hillside has distracted her. She has lost sight of her father. The boy is out hunting. He is by himself. 　　Arthur’s facial features are more delicate. His long hair, thick and silky, is pulled back in a bun. He is much shorter. 　　After trying to hunt down a hare, the boy has fallen into a hunter\'s trap. Elizabeth walks past, and happens upon him, trying to break out of the trap. He is crying in pain. 　　Arthur, thinking that Elizabeth might lose her wits and fall into the trap herself, screams for her to move away. She ignores him and moves closer. She has already pulled out her needle and thread. She squats beside him. 　　“I secretly took this from my mother,\" she tells the boy. She looks straight at him, staring him in the eye. \"It may hurt a little. Just a little bit. You can bear it.\" 　　\"Aren\'t you afraid?\" The boy lo

　　Although Elizabeth survived, she had a high fever and was constantly drifting in and out of consciousness. Arthur would come to see Elizabeth every day, sneaking past his wife. Every night after he had coaxed Jessica to sleep, he would come to Elizabeth and stay with her until dawn. For some reason, during this period of time, he could only sleep soundly when he was by her side. 　　Elizabeth’s lips had cracked. She woke up after somebody had put a few drops of water on it. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and in the candlelight, she could vaguely see a figure sitting on her bed. The man seemed to be Arthur. She thought, maybe she was really ill and confused. 　　The boy who had sworn to himself that he would marry only her. He was but a part of her past, he could never come back. And yet even though he had been the one to hurt her, he sat at her bedside. 　　Upon seeing that she had opened her eyes, he asked, \"Does it still hurt?\" Even Arthur was surprised at himself. W