Chapter 3

Xiao Heng knelt in front of my father and brother's graves, promising to marry me as his wife.

Seeing his earnest demeanor, I hesitated repeatedly, but still returned to the Prince Manor with him.

But although he said he would marry me, he did not go through the marriage rites with me.

In the entire Prince Manor, except for him, no one knew of my existence.

Xiao Heng was always very busy and was troubled by the political parties in court due to his unauthorized dispatch of troops to eliminate bandits.

I felt guilty for causing trouble for him and was considerate of him in every way.

So much so that when he said his mother was seriously ill beyond treatment, hoping to use my blood as a medicinal guide, even though I had never seen his mother in the Prince Manor, I still agreed without hesitation.

Every three days, the manor physician would come to take a bowl of blood from my heart.

Over the years, the wound in my heart had never healed.

Xiao Heng would only take time out of his busy schedule to look at me once after taking my blood.

His attitude became more perfunctory each time, the warmth from the Medicine King Valley seemed like just a dream to me.

I thought I did something wrong, but never imagined he would deceive me.

Until a year later, when I accidentally encountered Xin Yun, who should have been killed by the bandits, in Xiao Heng's study!

That day, Xin Yun was frightened by my sudden intrusion and fainted on the spot due to a heart attack.

For the first time, Xiao Heng lost his temper with me, scolding me for approaching his study without permission.

I had never seen him so furious and anxious, even when I got hurt, he never lost composure like this, and it was all for Xin Yun.

My heart ached fiercely, yet I dared not question Xiao Heng.

I feared he no longer loved me, and even more feared he would never want to see me again.

Having grown accustomed to depending on him, I couldn't leave him anymore.

I tried my best to please him, even voluntarily suggesting that Xin Yun could be his second wife.

But he pushed me away, declaring he would announce to the world and marry Xin Yun with grand ceremony.

He wanted Xin Yun to be his main wife.

Then what about me? What am I?

From then on, Xiao Heng no longer set foot in my courtyard.

And I also found out, the one who needed my heart's blood as a medicinal guide was Xin Yun.

At first, I couldn't accept it at all, until I heard the servant's gossip, learning Xin Yun and Xiao Heng were childhood sweethearts.

I turned out to be the third party between them.

I nearly collapsed, yet afraid Xiao Heng would really leave me, to cater to him, I began using my own blood and medical skills to brew medicine for Xin Yun.

Just to exchange for a brief glance from Xiao Heng.

And I lived up to expectations, managing to alleviate Xin Yun's heart condition.

That night, Xiao Heng unprecedentedly came to my courtyard, drunkenly saying he was happy, and held me tightly.

After that night, I became pregnant.

Just as I was about to tell him this good news, he banished me to the desolate mountains.

In the desolate mountains, I earned the villagers' respect with my medical skills, they sympathized with me, allowing me to rest and nurture my pregnancy.

I gradually forgot about things at the Prince Manor, no longer expecting Xiao Heng to pick me up, just focusing on giving birth to the child.

But before the child was born, Xin Yun's clutches reached me first.

I was tortured to death, becoming a wandering ghost unable to find closure for five years.

Five years later, he actually wanted to use my daughter as a medicinal guide too?

While I was lost in thought, Xin Yun held onto Xiao Heng's arm, feigning compassionate concern, "Ah Heng brother, although little junior sister didn't show signs of pregnancy before she left home... but in case, I mean just in case... the child really is yours?"

Her pretended worried words instead cemented Xiao Heng's belief that the daughter wasn't his.

He, with an indifferent look, ordered the guards to forcibly take the daughter from Grandma Li's arms.

The daughter's terrified and sharp cries echoed at the village entrance.

"Let me go, let me go, you big bad guy, sob sob sob..."

Xiao Heng ignored the daughter's crying and screaming, directly ordering: "Go ahead, draw the blood!"

The guards pinned down the daughter, and the doctor immediately stepped forward, a cold dagger slicing through the blood vessel on the daughter's wrist.

Watching the bright red blood drip from the daughter's thin arm into the porcelain bowl.

My long-dead heart once again felt a piercing pain so real it was tangible!

"Ah ah ah! Xiao Heng, stop, make them stop, you beast, she's your daughter!"

But it was all in vain.

The boundary between life and death had long stretched between us.

No one could hear my heart-wrenching cries.

One bowl, two bowls, five bowls...

As the blood flowed continuously, the daughter's face also grew paler and weaker.

I kept howling, my soul passing through everyone's bodies, but ultimately could only helplessly fall seated in front of the daughter.

Meanwhile, the doctor's apprentice set up a tent nearby, beginning to brew medicine for Xin Yun with the daughter's fresh blood.

The sky and earth changed color, a violent wind swept through.

The daughter seemed to hear my cries, looking towards me across the distance.

"Mother... have you come to fetch me?"