Rain poured relentlessly over the capital of the Eastern Empire. The gray sky hung low above the city, pressing down with a suffocating gloom, while the heavy drops fell like thousands of needles striking the stone courtyard of the Grand General Jiang's Residence.
In the middle of that rain-soaked courtyard, a woman knelt.
The downpour drenched her without the slightest mercy. Her clothes were completely soaked, clinging tightly to her slender frame. Long black hair hung in disarray, strands sticking to her pale cheeks and neck.
The woman knelt silently in the vast courtyard of the Grand General's residence.
The rain continued to fall without mercy.
Around her, countless pairs of eyes watched. No one moved to help. No one showed the slightest hint of sympathy. They stood beneath the long corridors of the residence, sheltered from the rain, watching her as if they were enjoying a spectacle.
The guards stood rigid with cold expressions. The servants whispered among themselves, occasionally covering their mouths to hide mocking smiles. Members of the Jiang family looked down upon her with eyes full of contempt and disdain.
As though her suffering was nothing more than entertainment.
That woman was Shu Heshan.
Now, Shu Heshan struggled to hold back her tears.
Her sobs were nearly drowned out by the roar of the rain, yet the trembling of her shoulders betrayed the emotions she tried desperately to suppress. Her body shivered violently from the cold, pale fingers pressing against the wet stone ground to support her weakening body.
Her eyes were swollen and red.
Marks of the whip covered her back and arms. Dark crimson lines were visible beneath the thin fabric of her soaked clothing.
Her knees were nearly ruined after kneeling for hours.
The cold, unforgiving stone had torn her skin open. Rainwater mixed with thin trails of blood that slowly seeped down.
The pitiful woman endured everything.
Yet nothing hurt more than being distrusted by the one she loved.
Just once.
Just once, Shu Heshan had hoped that someone from the Jiang family would stand beside her and say they believed her.
But that hope was nothing more than a foolish dream.
Even her own husband, the young general Jiang Yuan, did not believe her.
Let alone trust.
She had never even received the slightest bit of concern from him.
Much less something called love.
During the seven years of her marriage to that young general, Shu Heshan had never once experienced the warmth or support expected between husband and wife.
For seven years, their relationship had been as cold as strangers who merely happened to live under the same roof.
Even the night they shared together had only occurred because of an unexpected incident.
That single night had given them a son.
Aside from that, they remained nothing more than strangers in the same residence.
Their son was named Jiang Shanyu.
The child had been born a year after their marriage.
Six years had passed since then.
Yet Shu Heshan had never been given the chance to show even the simplest affection to her own son.
She had only touched him once.
The moment she gave birth to him.
After that, she could only watch him from afar.
Slowly, Shu Heshan lifted her gaze.
Through the blurred curtain of rain, her eyes met the figure of Sheng Yunlei.
The woman known as the shining moon of the Jiang family.
Shu Heshan's tired eyes narrowed slightly when she saw her son, Jiang Shanyu, being held by Sheng Yunlei.
Her hand instinctively clenched into a fist.
The veins on the back of her hand tightened, her nails nearly piercing her own palm.
Sheng Yunlei walked toward her slowly.
Each step was graceful and composed.
Meanwhile, Jiang Shanyu remained standing beneath the shelter of the corridor, his small body dry and warm beneath the protection of the grand residence.
Sheng Yunlei stopped directly in front of Shu Heshan.
A large umbrella held by a servant shielded her entirely from the rain.
Her gown remained spotless.
Her expression remained calm.
A faint, cunning smile slowly curved across her lips.
That smile was clearly visible to Shu Heshan.
"Shu Heshan, how pitiful it must be," Sheng Yunlei said softly, "to see your husband return from the border camp after so many years, only to believe the rumors that you were unfaithful."
Her voice was gentle.
Almost swallowed by the rain.
Yet it was clear enough for Shu Heshan to hear every word.
Sheng Yunlei lowered her gaze slightly, looking down at Shu Heshan's drenched and miserable figure.
Meanwhile she herself stood elegantly beneath the umbrella, as though they belonged to two entirely different worlds.
How could Shu Heshan have forgotten?
There had always been a cunning woman in the General's residence who constantly worked to ruin her.
This woman was the moonlight of the Jiang family.
Years ago, when the Jiang family had been falsely accused and nearly punished by the Emperor, it was this very woman who helped clear their name.
All thanks to her father, Sheng Rou, the Emperor's trusted minister.
Because of that, the Jiang family respected her deeply.
As for Shu Heshan.
She was merely seen as someone who had suddenly disrupted the peace of the Jiang household.
It had all begun with the sudden imperial decree of marriage.
Back then, Shu Heshan truly loved Jiang Yuan.
With reckless courage, she had begged the Emperor to grant her a marriage decree.
She had believed that love could change everything.
Who would have thought...
That the moment she entered the General's residence as his wife, countless misunderstandings would follow.
Day after day passed.
Year after year passed.
Shu Heshan had tried for so long to prove her sincerity.
Again and again she tried.
Again and again she was rejected.
Not a single person believed her.
Slowly, Shu Heshan smiled bitterly.
Her head lowered as she stared at her own reflection in the shallow puddle beneath her.
Raindrops continued to fall, breaking that reflection into countless ripples.
In that blurred reflection, she looked utterly miserable.
Utterly broken.
Far from being good enough.
Perhaps she had never even been enough at all.
A single thought echoed endlessly in Shu Heshan's heart.
Was she truly destined to never feel even the smallest fragment of happiness?