Chapter 001: A Pitiful Plea

Crescent Moon Kingdom. Moon City. Prime Minister’s Residence.

Night.

“Sister, I beg you, for the sake of the shared blood that runs through your veins and theirs, please spare the children! They are innocent. If you want the position of the main wife, I will give it to you—just please, spare my children...”

The desperate, heart-wrenching cries echoed through the small courtyard. A woman in a white dress knelt on the ground, pleading bitterly. In front of her stood another woman, idly picking at her nails, looking down at her with utter disdain and a triumphant gleam in her eyes. The kneeling woman continued to kowtow, hope lighting her gaze, as she begged for mercy for her two children.

A few steps away, a boy’s hands were bound and strung up between two wooden posts. He was bare, his throat already hoarse from crying. Terror filled his young eyes, and his small body trembled uncontrollably.

Next to the posts, another woman clutched an infant in swaddling clothes.

“Sister, weren’t you always so arrogant, flaunting your status as the general’s legitimate daughter? And now? Now you kneel before me like a dog, begging me to spare those bastard children of yours. How could I, as your elder sister, let them live and be the subject of ridicule?”

“The position of main wife? Do you think I need you to grant it to me? Sister, take a good look at the situation. Stop pretending to condescend and offer me charity. You are in no position to do so.”

“Look—what is this? The ink is barely dry!” The woman drew a paper from her bosom. Two bold characters leapt from the page: Divorce Decree.

The woman on the ground shook her head in disbelief. Impossible. An Rong would never do this. He loved her so much, was always so gentle—how could he write her a divorce decree? It must have been this woman’s doing, behind his back—it must be her!

She was not mistaken. Leng Yiran glared at Leng Yiyun, hatred burning in her eyes. What had she ever done to deserve this?

The woman seemed to grow more delighted as she spoke, her lips curling into a vicious, triumphant smile as she leaned closer to the woman on the ground. Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction and cruel pleasure.

“Leng Yiyun, why? Why are you doing this to me?” The woman on the ground stared up at her, distraught. Her dirty, disheveled hands reached out, but the woman kicked her aside, sending her sprawling with a sickening crack—the pain of a broken rib contorted her face.

“Why? Sister, apart from the halo of being the general’s legitimate daughter, what else do you have? What can you do? In what way am I inferior to you? The only difference is that I was born a concubine’s daughter!” Leng Yiyun laughed as if she had just heard the greatest joke in the world, her laughter echoing into the night and chilling the soul.

“Dear sister, thanks to your noble birth, An Rong was able to help His Majesty ascend the throne and secure his position as Prime Minister. And now, I can remain by his side forever. Now, An Rong has no more need of you. Your work is done—you ought to step aside! Isn’t that right, An Rong?”

As she finished speaking, a man stepped out from the shadows of the courtyard, walking unhurriedly and lightly, his face expressionless.

“An Rong, please save Xin’er and Chen’er!” The woman on the ground reached out to him like he was her last lifeline, hope flaring in her eyes. Her children would be safe at last!

But in the next moment, the man’s reaction cast her into the deepest abyss.

He walked over to Leng Yiyun, gently drawing her into his arms. His hand caressed her waist lovingly, his eyes soft with affection. “My lady, you may do as you wish.”

“Oh, you’re awful!” Leng Yiyun giggled, her cheeks flushed, coy and bashful.

That single word—“my lady”—chilled Leng Yiran from head to toe. He had not spared her, or their children, even a glance. Not once. Those were his own flesh and blood.

“Husband, I beg you, save the children—they are your own!”

“Father... save me... save me...” The boy’s broken, raspy cries for help drifted over, but the man remained unmoved.

“Sister, do you hear me? I am the Prime Minister’s wife now, and you—you are nothing but a discarded woman nobody wants! Who knows whose bastards those children really are?” Leng Yiyun nestled proudly in Lu Anrong’s arms, her malicious smile spreading wider and wider, until the woman on the ground slumped into utter despair.