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

In the morning, Shen Qingruo sat under the bare old tree in the courtyard of the Cold Palace.

A fresh snow fell last night, covering the ground in a thin layer. Against the pale light of the sky, it added to the desolate atmosphere.

Between her slender fingers, she held a slightly worn sachet.

The fabric has faded somewhat, but the exquisite twin lotus embroidery on it remains elegant.

This is the only memento her mother left her.

It was the same one that General Wei was wearing on the city wall that day.

He remained unmarried for the rest of his life because of his mother.

But he didn't know that the person he longed for had already passed away in the previous autumn.

At that time, she thought, her mother died without ever seeing that noble man even once, let alone a glance of pity.

But now that I think about it, I doubt my mother even cared.

Shen Qingruo gripped the sachet tightly, lost in memories.

A year ago, in the desert royal court, she had just come of age, and it had been less than three months since Yun Wan passed away.

Outside the tent, the wind and snow howled, and inside, the charcoal fire burned brightly, yet it could not dispel the coldness in Shen Qingruo's heart.

Dressed in plain white mourning clothes, she knelt in the corner, listening to the sounds of peace talks coming from the front.

"The Great Liang has betrayed us and attacked our granaries. We must avenge this, but the harsh winter is unbearable, and our people need food to save their lives." The minister's voice was heavy.

"What did Daliang say?" A clear, cold voice rang out; it was Shen Wangxi.

He sat in the main seat, his posture upright, yet even in the warm tent, he seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.

"They demanded that Your Majesty send the princess to marry into a foreign land, as a sign of the two countries' sincerity in seeking peace."

The tent fell silent instantly.

Everyone knows that the most precious person to Shen Wangxi, the king of the desert, is his eldest daughter, Shen Jingyan. She is the most dazzling pearl on the grassland, even rarer than a prince.

As expected, Shen Jingyan immediately stepped forward and declared loudly, "Father! The Great Liang is cunning; this marriage alliance is unacceptable!"

"Your daughter begs to serve you! One day, I will personally conquer the Great Liang for my father and for our desert!"

Her words were flamboyant and passionate, brimming with a self-assured arrogance.

Shen Wangxi looked at her, her usually calm eyes filled with warmth.

He neither immediately agreed nor objected.

At this moment, a minister whispered a suggestion: "Your Majesty, Princess Jingyan is a treasure of our desert, and it is indeed not appropriate for her to go."

"My Princess Qingruo of the Great Desert is also of noble birth and wealth, so perhaps..."

All eyes, seemingly unintentionally, fell on the slender figure dressed in mourning clothes in the corner.

Shen Qingruo lowered her head, her long eyelashes concealing the bitterness in her eyes.

A princess of high status and wealth? Only now does anyone remember that Shen Qingruo was also a princess of high status and wealth?

But who doesn't know that the only people in Shen Wangxi's heart are his beautiful queen and the princes and princesses she gave birth to, while her mother is just a servant from Daliang, and Shen Qingruo is just an accident after she got drunk.

She hadn't even finished her mourning period for her mother when this group of people plotted to send her away for a political marriage.

If Shen Jingyan can't go, does that mean Shen Qingruo has to go?

Shen Wangxi's gaze finally swept over, her eyes calm and unwavering.

"Aruo," he said, his voice devoid of emotion, "go."

Without asking questions or offering comfort, just two words casually decided her fate.

Shen Qingruo raised her head and looked at the high and mighty man.

She saw his aloof and peerless face, and saw her own insignificant reflection in his eyes.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something.

I wanted to say I was still in mourning, that my mother had just passed away...

In the end, all the words stuck in his throat, turning into a silent sob.

He doesn't care at all.

In his eyes, the only value of this daughter, who was born out of his expectations, was perhaps to be used in times like these to obtain the much-needed provisions for the desert.

"Yes, Father," she heard her own weak voice reply, and she lowered her head again.

The wind and snow outside the royal court grew even heavier.

A breeze seemed to be picking up in the courtyard of the Cold Palace.

Shen Qingruo slowly loosened her grip on the sachet and tenderly stroked its patterns.

In the past, she was always the one who was abandoned.

But now, things are different.

She is not Shen Wangxi's daughter.

He doesn't deserve it either.