Chapter 1
Late at night, the world lay in silence. A few clouds veiled the moon, but it climbed to the treetops, peeking out again. Round and pure like a jade plate, it seemed to cleanse the world of all its filth.
Everything was still, as if time itself had frozen in the night. Only the moonlight, spilling through the tree branches in scattered silver glimmers, hinted that time was still flowing in this vast quietude.
A rustling sound came from the trees—the flapping wings of a night owl. It shattered the silence, slipping through the window into the ears of the young girl in the bedroom.
Yun Yue pulled the brocade quilt up to her chin, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes. The quiet made every sound more pronounced. Beyond the owl’s wings, she could hear the pounding of her own heartbeat.
Thump-thump, thump-thump—like war drums, faster than the quick steps of a Hu Xuan dancer.
Her chest tightened, as if her disordered heart was about to leap out.
Yun Jun Prince’s Manor, Huancui Pavilion.
Yun Yue was clad in a thin nightgown, her delicate figure trembling uncontrollably.
Before supper, Aunt Qiu from Huaiwen Hall had come by and left a tray. Atop the tray was the sheer nightgown now on her body—offering little concealment.
“The heir has ordered the Third Miss to keep a lamp lit for him tonight,” Aunt Qiu had said. She was the prince’s heir’s wet nurse, having served Yun Qing’s side for years, earning his absolute trust and loyalty.
As a woman, she felt sympathy for Yun Yue. But on the other hand, the heir was the child she had personally nursed. For the sins he committed, all she could do was try to make amends in her own way.
Every time after the storm had passed, she did her best to care for the young girl, body and soul.
“Gugu, can I… not leave the lamp on?” The young girl, still innocent and ignorant of the world, naively hoped that pleading might spare her.
Aunt Qiu’s heart nearly melted at her soft, delicate voice. But when the heir had made up his mind, there was nothing she could do. She could only sigh lightly and say, “The heir’s orders cannot be defied.” His words were law—absolute and unchangeable.
Aunt Qiu gazed at the young girl’s breathtaking beauty with a deep sense of pity. Sometimes, beauty itself was a sin.
The Third Miss of the Yun family was not born of Yun Jun Prince himself. Her mother had once been the most renowned beauty in the capital, a woman who captivated the entire city. Yun Yue had inherited her mother’s stunning looks—the kind that could enchant any man.
A delicate forehead, arched brows like a moth’s wings, teeth like a string of pearls, hands soft as spring buds, shoulders slender as if carved, a waist as fine as silk, and a figure as graceful as a swaying willow. She was like a budding flower, half-shy and half-blooming, waiting for someone to pluck and claim her.
“The heir has always been fond of the Third Miss. If you go along with him, be a little sweeter with your words, you might suffer a little less.” The moment Aunt Qiu said this, a deep sense of shame welled up within her. She felt like a brothel madam, forcing an innocent girl onto a dark path.
“But…”
Ever since Yun Yue had come of age, leaving a lamp on had become a silent message—a secret signal for her elder brother’s midnight visits.
Her coming-of-age ceremony had been held in the warmth of spring, when flowers were in full bloom. That day, Yun Jun Prince had been overjoyed, inviting the Grand Princess as the guest of honor. Nearly all the powerful and noble families of the capital had gathered at the event. He had even rented out the entire Changchun Garden, hosting a grand banquet with a hundred tables. In the capital, not even a prince’s daughter had ever received such honor.
Yun Jun Prince was somewhat foolish. Weak in character and estranged from his first wife, he was indifferent to his own children but showered endless affection on Yun Yue, a daughter who shared no blood with him.
Her coming-of-age banquet had even been grander than the Second Miss’s.
Because of this blatant favoritism, the Second Miss had always harbored resentment toward Yun Yue.
Fortunately, she had been married off to Jiangnan, far from the capital, sparing her from witnessing this disgraceful scene.
Prince Yun of the Jun Prince Manor was a foreign-noble prince of Hui Kingdom. The old Prince Yun had earned his title by following the founding emperor in battle and was granted a hereditary princedom in Huiyang. However, his foundation was shallow—his family was wealthy but lacked deep-rooted influence, making them merely nouveau riche in the capital.
For years, the Yun Jun Prince Manor had been in decline until the heir, at thirteen, took to the battlefield. At fourteen, he claimed his first military merit, and from then on, he fought his way through the ranks, restoring his family’s former glory.
Everyone knew that the real master of the Yun Jun Prince Manor was no longer Prince Yun—it was the heir.
Such a grand banquet could never have been held without the heir’s approval.
Yun Qing, the heir to the Yun Jun Prince Manor, was the most feared man among the noblewomen of the capital.
Five years ago, the Mo Bei tribes waged war against Hui Kingdom, pushing their forces all the way to Youzhou. The heir of Yun Jun Prince Manor set aside his books and joined the army, heading to the frigid wastelands of Mo Bei, where he endured brutal, inhumane warfare.
By the time he returned to the capital, everything had changed. A new equal-ranking wife had been installed in his household alongside his mother, and he had gained a stepsister with no blood ties to him.
Most assumed that a ruthless battlefield killer like him would resent his newly acquired sister.
Yet, no one expected Yun Qing to be unusually attentive toward her.
Even Yun Yue herself had never imagined—
That her elder brother harbored desires beyond what was proper.