Xue Ke's delicate hands had frozen purple, and her long hair clung messily to her pale face.
She looked at the damp, dilapidated commoner's shack before her, reeking of mold and rot.
Xue Ke's psychological defenses completely collapsed. She crouched in the corner and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
She had grown up in the deep palace since childhood, never once needing to lift a finger.
Wherever she went, countless maids and servants surrounded her. When had she ever seen such filthy, chaotic places inhabited by the common rabble?
But now, she was no longer the Heaven Dou princess adored by all. She was not even as well off as the daughter of an ordinary wealthy merchant.
Prince Xue Xing leaned against a damp brick wall covered in moss. His once neat beard and hair were now streaked with white and disheveled.
He neither cried nor shouted. He merely stared emptily at the gray sky, allowing the cold rain to beat against his deeply lined old face.
"Retribution... what retribution..."
Xue Xing let out a hoarse, almost hysterical chuckle.
"I fought my whole life, schemed my whole life...
Guarding against Xue Qinghe, guarding against Spirit Hall, plotting my entire life...
And in the end, even our ancestors' mausoleum became territory of the Spirit Hall Empire."
Xue Xing turned to look at Xue Beng, who was madly pounding the ground in the mud. His voice was filled with despair and numbness.
"Stop howling, Xue Beng.
Save your strength."
Xue Beng suddenly raised his head, his face covered in mud and tears, and roared madly at Xue Xing.
"Uncle!
How am I supposed to stay calm?!
I've become a commoner!
I've become a lowly commoner!!"
"What is wrong with being a commoner?
Commoners can stay alive!"
Xue Xing rushed over, grabbed Xue Beng