Prologue

Warning: Content unsuitable for children and for those with weak mentality, there is a suicide and self-harm present in this chapter, please skip out if found uncomfortable.

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Droplets of rain can be heard from the outside of an abandoned courtyard. There is a deafening silence that is present inside.

From a person's perspective, one might think that no one is living inside this place as everything seems to fall down entirely, the sign is almost unreadable, the woods are barely intact.

Inside this abandoned courtyard is a woman in her late-twenties. Her hair falls down everywhere from where she is laying. Her eyes are misty, lips pale but that does not hide her exquisite beauty. With her different irises, a pair of sapphire and amethyst orbs looking outside the window. Her small nose, fragile cheeks, and pale lips, one might mistook her for an exiled immortal from above, but no- this woman is Xu Xiang An. She is the abandoned consort of the third prince- Nanlong Xie.

All over this woman are assorted books, she killed time by reading every book inside the abandoned library near her place. She never went out of this place for 12 years. She doesn't know anything about the outside world, all she have is this isolated courtyard, and herself.

The servants seemed to forget about her since they stopped sending foods 2 years ago. She barely makes it by eating the fruits that's present at her courtyard's garden. She doesn't see the point of confronting the servants for their negligence since even her husband- the master, seems to have forgotten about her entire being.

Xiang An let out a cold chuckle, if it was years ago, just by thinking of this man- her husband, her heart will beat uncontrollably with the excruciating pain that comes with it since she knows that the man does not hold any affection for her. Now, she feels nothing. She doesn't know when it started, probably from the time that she got isolated in this courtyard but she does not feel any emotions, regret? No. Love? No. Hatred? No. Sadness?

No.

There is nothing, her heart is hollow, like a deep abyss void of any emotions. But isn't it good? Since she carry no ill intent for those who have wronged her. Even for the one who have annihilated her entire family that year.

Her windows are wide open and she can see what lies outside clearly. The rain stopped, only pure darkness is left off of that sad rain. She gets up, and made her way towards that window.

She can't help but to ask, in all these years, what did she live for? For her, it's better if someone wronged her to death, at-least she will feel anger, loathing, and hatred but no. They've left her here, on her own with nothing.

No hope, no dream, no love, and no emotions. It is worst than what she had felt all those years of yearning for love.

She stood there for a while, when suddenly a glisten caught her attention. She looked at the source and found out that it was her Jade Guqin that was broken into pieces. The shards are everywhere that she just kept at the corner of the courtyard and covered in blanket. But the wind blew the blanket off and revealed those shards.

She unconsciously went and pick up a shard. The shiny yet sharp jade shard contrasts with her porcelain pale arms. She though to herself, "Since the heavens gave her a sign, must she do it?".

She has thought of ending her life multiple times before but it was the first time that she did not feel any hesitation, as if this is the right thing to do.

She cut her arm with shard slowly, blood seeped out off her arm. There's no pain. She crunched her brows and cut herself more. Huh. There really is no pain.

She tossed the shard away as she slowly made her way to her bed. She can feel her consciousness fading away slowly. She sat up and rest her head on the corner of the bed while humming.

Suddenly, the image of those ethereal mountains and lovely scenery came to her head, those were the paintings that she saw in the Xu Manor when she was young. She though, "How nice would it be to see those scenery for myself, but it's too late." She chuckled, "Maybe in my next life."

Crickets' sound can be heard after, sounded as if they're crying for the lonely soul that just passed. Hoping that her next life she shall find her happiness.

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