When Crown Prince Yun woke up, it was already three days later. The sun was shining on his body. He had stopped bleeding long ago and had been properly bandaged. Although his wound began to scab, the pain was still there, reminding him of the truth that he didn’t want to face.

As soon as he was awake, the eunuchs and palace maids watching him all night rushed to inform the Noble Consort. While Crown Prince Yun was still overwhelmed by the pain physically and mentally, the Noble Consort had arrived and hugged her son.

“My son, you finally woke up. You had no idea how scared I was when you came back that day.”

“Mother, Xier saw me kill the Mengs. She’ll never talk to me again.”

“That bitch. How dare she hurt my son! I’m going to kill her.”

Hearing that, Crown Prince Yun pushed the Noble Consort away despite the pain, “Mother, no one can hurt Xier. I won’t let anything bad happen to her, even if it is at the cost of my life.”

“My son, you are being silly! Is it worth it for a woman who wants you dead?”

“It’s worth it. Mother, I’m telling you for the last time. No one can hurt her. That’s where I draw my line.” But ironically, he was the one who hurt her the most. Crown Prince Yun didn’t know that compared to wounds on the body, those on one’s heart were much more painful.

Without Master Meng in his way, the entire Congress fell under the control of the Prime Minister and the Noble Consort. Just six days after the Mengs were slaughtered, Crown Prince Yun ascended the throne. Naturally, he became King Yun, the new ruler of the Kingdom of Yun. Sitting on the throne, the most powerful position of the kingdom, in the magnificent audience hall in the royal palace, the young king now felt something indescribable.

On the ground knelt the officials. After they shouted three times, “long live the king”, King Yun answered, “Rise.” At that moment, he did enjoy the feeling of absolute power as if he was standing on top of the world. But when he left the audience hall in the royal palace, the sense of vanity slowly faded. King Yun had lost the happiness he had before. After all, he was the one who hurt his beloved girl, destroying the only genuine love of his life.

Gradually, he also started to realize something. Even though he was King Yun, the noblest person in the entire kingdom, he was just a puppet. He couldn’t order to take his beloved woman back to the palace. Even all the political affairs were under the control of the Prime Minister and his mother. King Yun finally tasted the same bitterness as his father, old King Yun, once did. Yet, he was in a worse position. At least old King Yun didn’t have a mother to control him in the name of love, and he had Master Meng as his helper. What about King Yun now?

His mother had become the Empress Dowager. He had expected how manipulative his mother would be on the kingdom affairs and how intimate she would get with the Prime Minister, but there was so much beyond his imagination. Before the death of old King Yun, the two adulterers kept their affair a secret. But now, the Prime Minister visited the bedroom of the Empress Dowager casually. What’s more, many male entertainers directly stayed there, claiming they were performing songs and dances for the Empress Dowager.

Since his enthronement, King Yun hadn’t enjoyed any privilege. Now on top of that, hearing the rumors from home and abroad, he felt extremely humiliated. He was disgusted by his mother’s behaviors, but there was nothing he could do at that time. What made King Yun even more disappointed was that his closest siblings even tried to kill him through poisons or assassins. King Yun had realized no one in the big palace, or the world would treat him sincerely anymore.

One month passed, but for King Yun, it seemed as long as a century. Every day in the palace, he couldn’t stop thinking of Meng Xi and the happiness they used to have. He didn’t dare to see her. The only thing he could do was to listen to the reports from those he sent to protect her secretly.

During this month, Meng Xi started working in the brothel that used to belong to the Mengs and became the top courtesan. However, she hadn’t received any clients yet. She was not stupid. As a previous businesswoman, she knew what was going on. But she just felt ridiculous from the bottom of her heart. That person lied to her, killed her family, and now he thought these little tricks could compensate for all that. Meng Xi was clear that King Yun was behind it!

She remembered it well that all men who tried to get close to her were then approached by the confidential guards sent by King Yun. After being invited to go hiking, they were stripped naked and left in the wild. Those poor men even had a hard time returning to Huaiyang City.

But Meng Xi also knew how to deal with it. She would never follow what King Yun wanted her to do just like that!

For a month, she couldn’t sleep at night, for the death of her dead family had already been engraved in her bones. Lying in bed every midnight, tears flowed down her cheeks and soaked her clothes but never washed the hatred in her heart off. She hated King Yun, the person who turned their love story into a joke. It was because she loved him deeply that her heart was unbearably broken by the hatred. Since King Yun still wanted her, she decided to ruin herself as revenge on him.

The auction of Courtesan Meng Xi’s virginity was held a week later. She knew King Yun wouldn’t be able to stop her since he didn’t have the power yet. This time, she decided to walk down the cruelest path. Meng Xi planned to torture him by destroying herself. This was the only revenge she could do on him now.

Brothels at night always seemed extravagant and hazy, attracting numerous men who were fascinated by that lifestyle. The biggest and busiest brothel in Huaiyang City was especially lively tonight, with its threshold almost destroyed by the crowded customers. They were there just for the beautiful and unique girl Meng Xi, who was once a noble lady and now became a prostitute. Taking her virginity was the dream of countless men!

Although Meng Xi was just a prostitute now, her power as Miss Meng was still there. Moreover, although the brothel was now owned by the royal family, the procuress and many staff hadn’t been replaced. Consequently, Meng Xi still got to do whatever she wanted.

Dressed in a somewhat see-through white gauze dress, Meng Xi let her white underwear show beneath it. The clothes outlined her perfect curve, and the vague scene appeared more tempting and mysterious than a naked body. Was this still Meng Xi, who was known to be innocent, generous, and bold as a man? Seeing her unfolded beauty, nearly all of the customers there got a nosebleed. Like a moth flying to fire, they would die in Meng Xi’s arms.

No well-born girls dared to be so bold. Those who had met Meng Xi couldn’t associate this foxy figure with that dashing girl. Obsessed but sorry at the same time, they couldn’t help thinking how pitiful it was to see a legendary girl turn into a men’s toy.

Having made up her mind, Meng Xi was still a little nervous, especially in such an outfit. Raised up as a lady, she had to close her eyes to suppress the shame she felt. Forcing herself to smile, she walked onto the stage. Her faked expression made her more pitiful and less frivolous.

Meng Xi stepped onto the middle of the stage and spoke softly. The faint shyness in her voice made it sound sweeter, “Thank you for coming tonight. I’ll be waiting in my room for my Mr. Right.” Said she. Glancing at the audience secretly, she didn’t see King Yun among the crowd. As she walked slowly to her room, she felt an indescribable sense of loss. Suddenly she realized how foolish everything she did was, but now there was no way back.

The procuress watched Meng Xi slowly walking down the stage, feeling sorry for her. She had known her since Meng Xi was a kid. Surprisingly, this high-born girl was the only one who didn’t look down on the procuress because of her job and treated her sincerely. Meng Xi had gone through too much, and now she even decided to sell her own virginity. The procuress had tried to comfort her and stop her, but she didn’t listen. Even so, the procuress was willing to cooperate to make her feel better, but she insisted on choosing a man for her. She didn’t want the one who paid the most to get into Meng Xi’s room. Over the years, having met all kinds of men, the procuress knew if a person was sincere or not. At last, she selected someone reliable in her opinion.

The door was gently pushed open. Looking at the man who walked in, Meng Xi, who was extremely nervous, felt a little bit surprised. “Young Master Jin, why are you here?”

“Xier, you don’t want to see me here?” Looking at the girl he really loved, Young Master Jin kind of felt lucky. But at the same time, he was deeply sympathetic with her.

How long hadn’t they seen each other? Since Young Master Jin got married, he had not seen Meng Xi again. It was not that he couldn’t do it, but that he didn’t dare to. Having already been into her, he was afraid that he would fall deeper. Young Master Jin thought that if he had a wife, he would no longer miss her so much. But he only missed her more than before. Even on his wedding night holding his wife, he couldn’t forget about Meng Xi. That night, he closed his eyes and regarded his wife as her while sleeping with her.

He knew it was unfair to his wife, but he couldn’t control his heart. Later, when he had no feeling for his wife anymore, he never touched her again. In fact, the moment Young Master Jin was worried about the consequences of his feeling for her, he had already loved Meng Xi too much. For the happiness of his beloved girl, he pushed her into the embrace of his good friend Crown Prince Yun.

Young Master Jin didn’t know that after Crown Prince Yun won Meng Xi’s heart, he didn’t cherish it at all. If he had expected it, he wouldn’t have stepped back from their relationship. At least, by his side, Meng Xi would not be so heartbroken.

When Young Master Jin learned of the tragedy of the Mengs, he went to their mansion, but he was too late. At that time, everyone from the family was dead, and the soldiers were moving their corpses away. Fortunately, they buried them properly. The deceased was gone, but he was afraid that Meng Xi, his beloved girl, would suffer worse things than death.

Having never stepped into brothels, Young Master Jin came to this largest one in Huaiyang city every night just to find Meng Xi. But she didn’t know it, nor would she know. Young Master Jin never paid for a girl. Sitting in a corner she couldn’t see, he watched her and accompanied her silently. When he saw her selling her virginity, he was so anxious. He didn’t want Meng Xi to degrade herself, but he didn’t expect the procuress would let him become the lucky one.