In the gloomy dungeon, there was however a white tent.

The cell door opened, and steady footsteps slowly entered.

Lan Ling suddenly lifted her head. The familiar sound of footsteps, he had come after all. She thought that she would never see him again in this life.

She slowly stepped out of the tent. Her walk was very difficult. Long chains on her feet swayed and made sounds. The heavy shackles perforated her ankles, and the blood on her bloomers had already congealed into hard strips. With each step she took, the spikes on her shackles scratched her legs, causing more blood to seep out.

"What are you here for?" Lan Ling asked softly, her long eyelashes trembling.

"I came to see you," he said in a deep voice, reaching out to pull her closer.

Her steps faltered, and he abruptly pulled her. The sharp spikes on her shackles pierced into her flesh, once, twice.

She bit her lip tightly, suddenly breaking into a cold sweat. He abruptly tore off her white cloak, revealing the light-colored undergarment beneath.

Ling Feng lowered his head to look at her; her belly was a little bloated.

Lan Ling let out a hoarse cry that shattered the night, her face pale, her lips clenched. Her feet were soaked in fresh blood.

Ling Feng examined Lan Ling up and down, his eyes fixed on her slightly protruding belly. He said coldly: "He won't come to save you. The news that you are carrying his bastard child has been spread by me long ago. The sentence you will receive tomorrow has also been announced. He didn't come. Are you disappointed?"

"Who is your Majesty referring to, and why should he save me?" Lan Ling asked calmly.

Ling Feng pinched her chin forcefully. This was a stubborn woman.

Lan Ling gave a soft laugh, tears gathering in her eyes.

He raised his eyebrows and laughed, then with a forceful pull, he ripped off her top, looking at her as if she was a delicious dish on the table.

Instinctively, she shielded her belly, her hands pushing him away. Angered, he roared, "You dare to despise me?"

His aloof gaze traveled up and down her body, stripping her of every last shred of dignity.

She curled up, trying to make herself smaller.

A smirk graced his lips, growing colder as he hoisted her sideways and tossed her onto the bed.

Fighting back desperately, she tore and kicked out, blood flowing liberally from her feet. He pinned her hands down, attaching her ankle chains to the foot of the bed. Leaning over her, he watched the large teardrops form in her eyes, "Your body is mine. I do not have to love you, but you are forbidden to love anyone else. Betray me, and you face death. Do you understand?"

His tone was nonchalant, a subtle smile playing on his lips, but his eyes reflected icy coldness.

She was sullied, yet he harbored an insane desire for her.

In a fleeting moment, Lan Ling felt a trace of love from him, because the hatred he felt for her hinted at underlying love. "Ling Feng, I have only ever loved you, I have never betrayed you. This child is yours, why won't you believe me?"

"A child of uncertain origin, I will not accept. I am not lacking in heirs. Ling Chen himself admitted it, what excuses do you have left?"

Lan Ling closed her eyes. Once upon a time, Ling Chen said he liked her, and nothing more.

"Ling Feng, have you ever loved me, even just a little?"

Ling Feng remained silent.

"So there is not even a bit. Ling Feng, can't you lie to me to ease my heart? Even if it is a lie, I would like to hear it."

Ling Feng stayed silent, even to lie was beneath him.

The heavy shackles chafed against her skin. Lan Ling’s face had already turned deathly pale, but she could only return his smile. At the unbearable points of pain, she let out muted cries for temporary relief.

"You can feel pain, too?" Ling Feng's fingers curled slowly, round and round.

Blood dripped down, as Lan Ling bit her lip.

The unsettled tremor in her eyes couldn't stop as she tried to move back, but her waist was tightly held by his palm, not allowing her to move a single inch.

"Ling Chen's two attacks and numerous exchanges were all to get you, and you still won't admit it? Like this, you still want me to love you? There are countless women in my harem, who dares to rebel against me like you do? However, I'm curious, if Ling Chen knew about our current situation, what would he do?"

Blood gushed from under Lan Ling, her stomach felt like it was being stabbed. He glanced at the large pool of red beneath her; his eyes were clear, with no traces of emotion.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Queen's womb is unstable, she wishes to see you!" A sharp, low voice came from outside the prison door.

A brief pause appeared in his gaze, his hands held her shoulders, full of hatred, and he pulled out.

He paused for a moment, turned back to look at her and finally left the cell in silence.

His love was always for the Queen - her half-sister, Lan Yu.

Lan Ling looked at her barely covered body, not wanting to appear disgraced in front of everyone tomorrow, so she tore a tent and fashioned it into a piece of clothing to wear.

At present, she was only nineteen years old, still in the bloom of her youth, but her heart was already riddled with sorrows.

Lan Ling leaned in the corner, her eyes were empty. If she could start over, would she still love so recklessly?

Lan Ling was the illegitimate daughter of the Grand Marshal. In fact, she couldn't even be considered as an illegitimate child, she was the child of her father Lan Jing Tian and a woman outside. Her mother was the daughter of the master of Qing Yi hall. She gave birth to Lan Ling before marriage and died shortly after. Lan Ling grew up in her maternal grandfather's house in Mo Shan until she was thirteen.

At the age of thirteen, she realized that her father was the famous Grand Marshal Lan Jing Tian of the prosperous country.

That very year, she was brought to the Marshal's mansion. Thirteen-year-old girl met nineteen-year-old Third Prince Ling Feng for the first time. The girl who grew up in the mountains fell in love at first sight with this orchid-like man.

In winter that year, Ling Feng was trapped in the Floating City by the Fourth Prince, Ling Chen, unable to break through for a month. His supplies and ammunition were on the verge of exhaustion.

At that time, Lan Ling was utterly in love with him. Despite Ling Chen's consistent expressions of love towards her, she ultimately chose Ling Feng, rejecting Ling Chen — a man of great stature who immersed himself in pleasure daily.

Lan Ling went back to Mo Mountain to seek help from her grandfather. He dispatched fifty thousand troops to aid Ling Feng.

His condition was that Ling Feng should marry Lan Ling as his chief wife, and that when Ling Feng gained power, the position of the queen would be hers. Ling Feng agreed.

Her grandfather, along with her uncle and Lan Ling herself, lifted the siege of the Floating City with the troops and drove Ling Chen out of the north of the river.

Not long after, the emperor passed away and Ling Feng ascended the throne, changing the kingdom's name to Da Xing.

However, after becoming emperor, Ling Feng did not fulfill his promise to make Lan Ling the queen. The position of queen was left vacant for half a year, eventually given to Lan Ling's sister, Lan Yu — his deepest love.

Now an emperor, he had the power to offer the best to the one he loved.

Lan Ling was granted the title of Noble Consort Lan.

Now, the noble consort was to be sentenced to the punishment of heart gouging — a penalty that no one had ever seen practiced before.

The mere thought of it could send shivers down one's spine. During the execution, the heart would be exposed for all to see, a punishment degrading, especially for a woman.

It seemed the emperor truly despised this consort.

Lan Ling's crime was the unforgivable act of colluding with external enemies.

However, the actual sin that led the emperor to sentence Lan Ling to this severe penalty was only known by the queen, Lan Yu, and a few of the emperor's confidants.

The next day, it snowed. Lan Ling was in the prison cart, barefoot, her feet a dark red. She was draped with a white cloth, her face pale, lips purple, shivering, but her eyes were still bright.

She lifted her head, and snowflakes fell on her face, instantly melting into water.

On the city wall, standing under a yellow beaver cloak, looking as elegant as a divine figure, was none other than Emperor Ling Feng. Beside him stood a beautiful woman in a dark red fox fur cloak - his queen, and also Lan Ling's sister, Lan Yu.