The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

Within a few days, certain rumors began to quietly spread in the capital.

The rumors were quite detailed, saying that His Majesty was wise and brilliant, but unexpectedly, he was cuckolded by a lowly maid in his early years.

Princess Qingruo, who was just brought back from Daliang, was not of royal blood at all, but was an illegitimate child conceived by that maid in an affair!

The rumor was so shocking and insulting that it gradually stirred up a storm and reached the ears of those who were interested.

The message was eventually presented to Shen Wangxi's desk.

The commander of the secret guards knelt below, his voice low and menacing: "Your Majesty, these rumors are intended to tarnish Your Majesty's reputation and shake the foundations of the nation."

Shen Wangxi stared at the secret report, his handsome face covered with frost.

No man could tolerate such an insult, not even Shen Wangxi.

He didn't believe that Yun Wan, that silent and timid woman, would have the guts.

And Shen Qingruo, that little daughter who always looks at him with longing eyes? Isn't she his bloodline?

He found it absurd, preferring to believe it was a despicable tactic by the enemy intended to tarnish his reputation.

Shen Wangxi's voice was cold: "Investigate."

"Investigate thoroughly! I need to know everything Yun Wan did sixteen years ago, including who she came into contact with."

He wanted to see who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

As soon as the Emperor of the Great Zhou issued his decree, all the old stories from sixteen years ago were brought up and reported.

When all the evidence came together, pointing to the unbelievable yet plausible truth, even Shen Wangxi was stunned, followed by anger at being fooled.

The secret report clearly stated: Yun Wan was not an ordinary maid, but the legitimate daughter of Yun Wenhan, the Grand Tutor of the former Liang Dynasty.

Sixteen years ago, she and Wei Zheng, the young general of the Marquis of Wei's mansion, had already developed feelings for each other and even secretly tasted forbidden fruit.

After being discovered to be pregnant, out of fear of family punishment or perhaps to find a lover, she went alone to the front lines of the war between the two countries.

They eventually got separated and wandered to the desert, where they became servants.

To protect her unborn child, she took advantage of the kindness of the Desert Queen, Ulan Yun, and followed her. Then, she staged a drunken accident, successfully making everyone believe that the child in her womb was Shen Wangxi's.

Looking at the irrefutable evidence, Shen Wangxi found it absurd and laughable.

He actually raised Wei Zheng's daughter for sixteen years?

The man who held a knife to Shen Qingruo's neck on the palace wall was actually her biological father.

So to sum it up, Shen Wangxi, the mighty king of the desert and now the emperor of the Great Zhou, was not only manipulated by this woman Yun Wan, raising someone else's child for nothing, but also, not long ago, was tricked by that biological father and daughter, who let the most elite Wei family army of the Great Liang escape right under his nose.

Shen Wangxi clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hands became visible.

He always thought that his youngest daughter was at most a little wronged and had some ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, she, like her mother, had been playing him for a fool from beginning to end.

Before long, the doors of Qingyi Hall were pushed open by a great force.

Shen Wangxi strode in, his usually calm and composed face now displaying undisguised anger.

Shen Qingruo was sitting by the window reading a book when she was startled by the noise, causing her hand to tremble and the book to slip and fall to the ground.

She looked up and saw his angry expression, and found it somewhat amusing.

He ignored her obedience and her longing and admiration.

But when it comes to his authority and his male dignity being challenged, his reaction is surprisingly intense.

Hate is indeed much stronger than love.

Regardless of what she was thinking, Shen Qingruo outwardly appeared oblivious and began, "Father..."

She had barely uttered a word when he coldly interrupted her with, "How long are you going to keep up this act?"

Shen Wangxi walked up to her in a few steps and threw a stack of secret reports at her. The papers scattered all over the ground. "Look, take a good look at the good thing your good mother has done."

Shen Qingruo trembled at his shout, and looked down blankly at the papers scattered on the ground.

She picked up a few of them, her eyes scanning the words on them: about Yun Wan's identity, about Wei Zheng, about her background.

Her face gradually turned pale, and she looked up at him with tearful eyes: "No, am I not Father's daughter?"

Her eyes were filled with confusion and heartbreak, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads, wetting her delicate skin.

Seeing her like this, Shen Wangxi's anger at being fooled burned even brighter, feeling that she was too good at pretending.

"Still pretending!" he said harshly. "Don't you know you're Wei Zheng's daughter?"

"That day on the palace wall, you and your biological father were putting on an act for me, weren't you? You conspired to stage that elaborate ruse, just to let the remnants of the Wei family army escape, completely fooling me. You two are truly cunning!"

He stared at her, his eyes filled with disgust, and in a moment of impulse, he blurted out hurtful words: "The thought that I've still felt pity for you all this time makes me sick!"

The word "disgusting" stopped Shen Qingruo from crying. She simply opened her expressive eyes wide and stared at him blankly.

The admiration that had been there before was gone from those eyes; only sadness remained.

She just kept looking at him, her lips moved, but she didn't explain.

Shen Wangxi felt a sudden jolt of unease under her gaze, and a strange sense of irritation washed over him.

Has he wronged her? The evidence is irrefutable, and she still wants to use this act to gain sympathy?

Shen Wangxi frowned in annoyance, not wanting to see her feigned pitifulness any longer, and abruptly turned around, preparing to leave.

Just as he took a step, a soft voice sounded behind him, "Shen Wangxi".