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

Inside Yilan Palace, Shen Qingruo did not go to sleep.

She was in the dance studio, wearing a white dance dress and with her bare, snow-white feet, slowly dancing on the carpet.

Without music, her dance steps carried a carefree melancholy, unlike her former gentle charm, instead possessing a kind of cold and lonely quality like a fairy under the moon.

Her skirt swirls open, revealing her delicate, fair feet, which appear even more tender and white against the dark velvet carpet.

Shen Wangxi waved to stop the palace servants from announcing the arrival, and when she walked in alone, this was the scene she saw.

The alcohol made his heart race, and as he gazed at that slender figure, he felt that the dance was more captivating than any he had ever seen before.

And the lingering melancholy about her made her like a delicate orchid shrouded in mist, making him want to tear through that layer of indifference and see her bloom for him.

Shen Qingruo noticed his gaze, stopped dancing, turned around and saw him. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she did not bow as usual. She just stood quietly without saying a word.

Shen Wangxi walked up to her in a few steps, his breath, which smelled of alcohol, brushing against her cheek.

He stared at her, his voice low and husky: "Consort Zhao has become arrogant and spoiled, refusing to kneel before me. She deserves to be punished."

Shen Qingruo frowned slightly, turned her face away, and remained silent.

Shen Wangxi's gaze fell on her bare jade feet, the snow-white skin seemingly glowing under the blanket.

He suddenly squatted down and grabbed that delicate jade foot with his large hand.

"Ah!" Shen Qingruo exclaimed softly, feeling the burning heat from his palm on her feet. She staggered backward, but luckily her back was pressed against the vermilion pillars in the hall.

She tried to pull her foot back, her voice trembling with panic: "Your Majesty, you mustn't..."

Shen Wangxi ignored her, his fingertips caressing her delicate instep, and then he lowered his head and lightly touched her calf with his thin lips.

Shen Qingruo trembled, both ashamed and anxious. She instinctively lifted her foot and gently kicked his shoulder, trying to push him away. "Let go..."

Shen Wangxi remained unmoved, his eyes revealing an undisguised aggression born of drunkenness, and his voice was frighteningly deep: "Such disregard for the Emperor deserves severe punishment."

Before he could finish speaking, he leaned down and moved closer to her, following the way her leg was resting on his shoulder.

Shen Qingruo opened her eyes wide in horror, unable to believe that he would be so presumptuous.

Trapped between the beams and pillars, her struggles were futile. Her composure finally crumbled, her eyes quickly reddened, and tears silently streamed down her face.

The flickering candlelight inside the hall illuminated the entangled figures beside the beams and pillars, the woman's delicate, white feet finally resting limply on the ground as she pushed against them.

……

After an unknown amount of time, the night deepened, and only one lamp remained lit in the inner hall of Yilan Palace.

Shen Qingruo, wrapped in a brocade quilt, stood with her back to Shen Wangxi, her slender shoulders trembling slightly, her suppressed sobs pitiful.

Shen Wangxi had sobered up considerably, and seeing her like this, his heart clenched.

He hugged her from behind, reached out and gently stroked her messy black hair, then touched her cheek.

"Don't cry, Aruo." His voice was low and hoarse, filled with guilt. "It's my fault. I drank too much and couldn't control myself, that's why I did that."

When he touched her, Shen Qingruo trembled, but her crying grew louder.

She felt a pang of bitterness as she recalled his earlier coercion and the unresolved issues between them.

"I want to leave the palace..." she choked back tears, her voice muffled. "I don't want to stay here anymore..."

Shen Wangxi panicked and refused firmly, "No!"

"Aruo, I will not allow it!"

He used force to turn her body around, forcing her to face him.

He saw tears streaming down her face, her eyes and nose red from crying, which pained his heart.

Shen Wangxi cupped her delicate face, softening his voice and coaxing her: "Yun Wan is long gone, and your biological father, Wei Zheng, is my enemy. He is now in dire straits and has vanished without a trace."

"You are all alone, without any relatives or friends. Where will you go after leaving the palace? How can I be at ease? How can I bear to part with you?"

Shen Qingruo shook her head and remained silent, sobbing.

Shen Wangxi looked at her, his heart aching even more, and continued to whisper, "A'Ruo, have you forgotten what you said? You said you liked me, admired me."

"Then treat me as your only support, stay by my side, stay in my palace, wouldn't that be better?"

"Isn't this what you used to think?"

Shen Qingruo finally looked up at him, her voice choked with emotion: "Things are different now than before..."

"What's different?" Shen Wangxi pressed, wiping away her tears with his fingertips.

"Nothing has changed, Aruo. In fact, I love you even more now, and I cherish you in my heart."

Shen Qingruo looked at him, her tears flowing even more fiercely, sobbing uncontrollably: "But His Majesty still has others in his heart, the Empress, the Eldest Princess, and Prince Xiaoyao, they are all more important than Aruo."

"Every time something happens, Aruo is the one who gets abandoned. She couldn't even keep her child." She broke down completely when she talked about her child.

"Aruo is really tired. She doesn't dare to like you anymore, and she doesn't want to stay in this palace anymore."

Shen Wangxi felt a dull ache in his heart. He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, his voice heavy with sorrow:

"Nonsense! You've already secretly stolen most of my favor, don't you know it?"

"As for the Empress, she has been married to me for many years and has never abandoned me in times of crisis. She is a wife whom I must respect."

"Ayan is my own daughter, we are connected by blood, I really cannot bring myself to harm her."

"But Aruo, I promise I will never let them bully you again."

Shen Qingruo buried her face in his chest, silently weeping. He had made promises many times, but in the end, he always stood on the other side.

Shen Wangxi sensed her disbelief and felt powerless. He could only gently stroke her back again and again, clumsily repeating:

"Aruo, please trust me just this once, just this once more, okay?"

Shen Qingruo kept shaking her head, no longer knowing how to trust him.