STIGMA

In the Princess' Mansion in the Imperial City of the State of Ning, a woman knelt on the ground in front of the highest turret. She didn't feel the cold the night brought nor the harsh drizzle that fell mercilessly.

She was beautiful, with her pale complexion and silken black hair. But her eyes seemed hollow. She clutched a baby in her arms. She seemed worried about his bruised face and his shallow breathing. Every breath seemed to be his last.

"Please go back, Princess Yun Shang. The Emperor's Son-in-law will not see you." Lian Xin was guarding the turret's entrance. She had been Princess Yun Shang's most trustworthy court maid since her childhood.

The sky tore open as Yun Shang's heart broke; drenching her and everything around her. Clenching her teeth, she pulled at the cloak. She wanted to protect the baby from getting wet. When did it start? Yun Shang thought in a trance. When did everyone she trust start to betray her one after another?

Her face remained unmarred from falling tears. Maybe all her tears had already dried up? She had cried so bitterly in the past that now, even at the severest pain she could feel in her heart, she couldn't shed a tear.

Yun Shang kowtowed before Lian Xin three times, "You have been my maid for over a decade, Lian Xin. I always treated you nicely. Now, please. I just want to see the Emperor's Son-in-law and ask him to send for a physician to cure my baby. It's my baby, and also his..." Yun Shang's voice was hoarse.

"Your Highness, there is no use in pleading with me. The Emperor's Son-in-law has already ordered that no one should interrupt him..." Lian Xin stood under the eave and looked at the kneeling woman. A sneer emerged at the corner of her mouth. That's all you deserve Your Highness.

Yun Shang held the baby's cold little hand in hers as she thought. All her mounting bitterness and anger culminated into impulsivity. She rose to her feet and dashed toward Lian Xin. This was beyond Lian Xin's expectation. She braced herself, but the Princess was strong. She fell over with an "aha." Yun Shang took the opportunity to open the turret door and dash upstairs.

"Oh, no, no, no. You are not allowed to go up..." Lian Xin frowned and touched the aching parts of her body, "Hum! What do you think you can achieve by going up there?" she shouted after the Princess. "Do you really think that the Emperor's Son-in-law and Princess Hua Jing will send for a physician for your child?"

Yun Shang ran up the stairs. As soon as she set her foot on the last flight, she heard Hua Jing, "Emm..." "Aha..." "Don't touch that. Ahh..." "Jingran..."

Yun Shang felt dizzy. Her hands felt so weak she thought she'd drop her baby. She had to lean on the wooden banister to support herself.

Eventually, she found the strength to climb the last flight of stairs. She elbowed the door open, and clenched her teeth to suppress her pain.

"Who dares enter..." A man's panting voice ricocheted off the stone walls. Yun Shang shrank back at the sight of the two naked figures.

"Get out!" Mo Jingran roared in fury after seeing Yun Shang standing at the doorway.

Yun Shang opened her mouth, only to find that she couldn't speak. After taking a few labored breaths, she managed to whisper, "Huan'er is sick. Please find a physician for him, my Lord."

"Hum." Mo Jingran took a second to consider her request. Before Mo Jingran could scold her again, the woman beneath him rubbed his chest playfully. He caught her somewhat malignant smile and returned the gesture. She said, "Jingran if my little princess sister wants to see us, then let her. Why not bind her to a chair so she can watch our lovemaking?"

Mo Jingran's mouth curled into a cold grin. He left the bed and found a rope. "Put Huan'er on the table. After you watch, I will send for a physician to treat Huan'er's illness."

Yun Shang hesitated for a little while. Knowing that there was no other way out, she numbly nodded. Nobody in the Princess's Mansion would support her now. Yun Shang put the baby on the table, and sat on the chair by the bedside. Mo Jingran strolled up to her and tied her hands with the rope.

When Mo Jingran returned to the bed, the naked woman reached out with her legs and hooked them around his waist. Her toes fondled his back gently. A fire ignited in his eyes. He gave a mighty thrust, and the woman beneath groaned as he entered her.

The woman looked at Yun Shang. She flashed her most charming smile, "Look, my little princess sister. Let your elder sister teach you how to wait on a man hand and foot."

Mo Jingran burst into a roar of laughter, before continuing with his quick rhythmic thrusts.

In an instant, the gasps and moans of lovemaking permeated throughout the room.

Yun Shang felt as if her heart was being sliced, one cut after another. In her trance, she could even hear the sound of the wounds being lashed upon her.

So, this is the Emperor's Son-in-law I picked for myself, and with him, lies my elder princess sister whom I have always worshiped and respected.

A long while had passed; long enough for a bar of incense to burn itself into ashes. Yun Shang looked at the baby on the table. His face seemed paler and his eyes were lusterless. She was getting worried. Tears finally fell from her eyes, "Please, Emperor's Son-in-law and Princess Sister. Please save my baby. He is dying, please..."

"You're so annoying. Why do you have to be so noisy?" Mo Jingran abruptly turned his head and shouted at Yun Shang. Getting off the bed once again, he walked towards Yun Shang but stopped to look at the baby on the desk, "Dying, right? " "If he's dying, then why did you bring him here? "

Having said those words, Mo Jingran took the baby, opened the window, and threw him out.

"No... !" Yun Shang was so shocked that she stood up. She had forgotten that she had been bound. The ropes pulled her back and she fell to the ground.

"Baby... My baby... Baby!" Regardless of the pain she felt, Yun Shang screamed. Her scream was so heartbreaking that anyone that heard it could feel her sorrow.