Chapter one

On a day in early summer, when evening came, torrential rain would suddenly fall.

The sky was gloomy and dark clouds pressed down on the dignified and imposing Palace walls. The originally magnificent Palace darkened under the cover of the dark clouds, as if it were a huge cage, trapping the people inside firmly.

In the spacious bedroom, the curtains seemed very old, thick with dust. It had originally been a hot day, but one could actually feel a chill. Clothes and jewelry were scattered on the ground, as if a catastrophe had just happened.

The male omega knelt on the ground and looked up at the figure in front of him.

This man was in his thirties, but his face carried the wear of harsh years. Between his brows was heavy tension, and his eyes were like stagnant water, deep and cold, carrying an unshakable hatred yet shedding no tears.

"Your Highness, please." The eunuch beside him held the white silk in his hands and spoke with impatience. "I am still waiting to report to His Majesty."

Kim Taehyung's eyes landed on the eunuch and after a long silence, he slowly opened his mouth in a hoarse voice. "Xiao Li-zi, when I promoted you, you were still nothing but a dog at Gao GongGong's side."

The eunuch arrogantly raised his head. "Your Highness, the present is different from the past."

"The present is different from the past..." Kim Taehyung muttered, then suddenly laughed bitterly. "What a good 'the present is different from the past'!"

Just because of that one sentence, "the present is different from the past," the servants and officials who once respected him could now order him around. Because of "the present is different from the past," he now faced a three chi long white silk poised above him, ready to end him. What was the past and where did the present begin? Was it when Mei Jimin entered the Palace? Or when the Crown Prince was deposed? Or when his eldest child died tragically in marriage? Or when he returned to the Palace after being a hostage in the Qin country for five years?

From 'the past' to 'the present,' from the rightful Alpha of the court to a powerless omega, it was all because of one sentence from Fu Yoongi! The entire court could shift at his whim, rivers and mountains of Ming Qi could turn upside down! What a good 'the present is different from the past'!

The bedroom door creaked open, and a pair of dragon-embroidered boots stopped in front of Kim Taehyung. Above them, the corner of a bright yellow robe peeked.

"Seeing as you have served this empire loyally for twenty years, I will grant you an intact corpse. Be grateful." The emperor's son said.

Kim Taehyung slowly raised his head and looked at the man standing above him. Time had left no mark on his face. He was still striking, still the rightful Son of Heaven. He was the man Kim Taehyung had been devoted to for twenty years, the Alpha who had fought alongside him through hardships. And now he said, "We will grant you an intact corpse. Thank me."

"Why?" Kim Taehyung asked with difficulty.

He did not answer.

"Why do you want to wipe out my entire family?" he demanded.

Kim Taehyung had admired the late emperor's son, who had nine sons, each with their own merits. He had disregarded his own family's warnings, falling in love with him. He had devoted himself entirely to supporting Prince Ding, from a pampered omega who knew nothing to a trusted partner in court affairs. On the day Fu Yoongi ascended the throne, he was recognized as Empress-like in honor-a figure respected and revered.

He had believed he was the most glorious omega. But the princes' rebellion had just been quelled, the empire's foundation was unstable, neighboring countries schemed, and to secure peace, Kim Taehyung had voluntarily gone as a hostage to the Qin country. His children were only a month old when he left. Fu Yoongi had even promised, "I will personally bring you back."

Five years later, he finally returned to Ming Qi, only to find Mei Jimin, beautiful and talented, in the Inner Palace.

...

Mei Jimin, was the Omega son of an official Yoongi had met during the Eastern Expedition. Yoongi liked his compliance and cleverness and brought him to the Palace. Jimin bore a Prince, Fu Sheng, for Yoongi. Fu Sheng, an Alpha, was deeply favored by the Emperor, while Taehyung's son-the Crown Prince, Fu Ming-was neglected.

Yoongi had once declared in front of all civil and military officials:

"Fu Ming's temperament is too soft. Fu Sheng is truly my son."

His words were a clear declaration to replace the Crown Prince.

Jimin's scent had always been sweet, gentle, comforting-but now it twisted, bitter with fear and rage. In the Palace, he and Taehyung had fought for ten years. Jimin had repeatedly gained the upper hand, even convincing Yoongi to marry Taehyung's son, Princess Wan Yu, to the Xiong Nu. The Xiong Nu were violent, aggressive Alphas, and Wan Yu died mysteriously during the union, cremated immediately. Everyone whispered, but as the Omega mother, Taehyung could do nothing.

And now, it had all come to this day.

Yoongi issued the Imperial Edict accusing the Kim family of rebellion.

The Crown Prince was deposed and forced to suicide.

Taehyung, the Omega, was deposed and handed three feet of white silk.

He barely whispered:

"Why?"

His scent burned through the room-fear, despair, and the faint traces of his suppressed heat, the deep Omega instinct trying to break through but restrained by the elixirs and cold control Yoongi forced upon him.

"Yoongi... do you have a conscience? We've been mates for more than twenty years. I have never wronged you. When you ascended the throne, my Kim family helped you. When the Xiong Nu invaded, I wrote the surrender letters. When you sought the ministers' support, I knelt and begged for you. I went to a neighboring kingdom as a hostage, suffering humiliation... What did you give me?

When Jimin wanted Wan Yu to marry, you drafted the decree. She died at sixteen!

You favor Fu Sheng, neglect Fu Ming.

Now you've slaughtered my family... Why?"

Yoongi's expression remained cold. His Alpha scent surged subtly, dominant, intoxicating, controlling, as if marking the space, marking all present-staking claim even in Taehyung's broken body.

"The matter of aristocratic families was already decided. The Kim family's merits were too high. I persuaded Imperial Father to spare you another twenty years. That alone was grace."

Taehyung's knees buckled. Grace? He could barely hold in the heat rising in his body, his suppressed Omega instincts screaming for safety and revenge at once.

"Grace?" he choked, voice cracking, heat leaking from his pores despite the suppressant.

"You never spared the Kim family out of mercy. You only used us to fight for the throne. Now the kingdom is stable, and you throw us away. Yoongi... how can you be so cruel?"

Yoongi's scent deepened, sharp and intoxicating. He stepped closer, dominance radiating, making Taehyung's Omega body tremble despite rage.

"Take care of yourself."

He flicked his sleeves, leaving the room-but his scent lingered, a mark of control Taehyung could never forget.

Taehyung fell to the ground, trembling. All his instincts screamed: mate, Alpha, betrayal. Ten years of fighting Jimin for Yoongi, ten years of trying to secure favor-all a lie.

He coughed violently, blood in his mouth, Omega hormones flaring weakly, suppressed by the potions he had relied on for decades.

A voice soft and cruelly sweet echoed:

"What's wrong, big brother? You look so pitiful."

Jimin approached, Alpha dominance radiating, yet tempered with Omega cunning, scent a subtle mix of victory and mockery. Behind him were two more sons, Kim Qing and Kim Yue, also Alphas, their scents sharp, predatory, filling the room. Taehyung froze.

"Kim Qing... Kim Yue?"

"His Majesty summoned us. No need to panic. You've enjoyed fortune, but now it's our turn. His Majesty treats us well." Kim Yue smiled, scent pressing against Taehyung like a predator closing in.

Taehyung's heart raced. All those years, the alliance had been set in motion. He had been a pawn. The suppressed Omega instincts flared violently, heat surging despite the suppressants.

"You delayed everything for today?" he gasped.

Kim Qing's lips curled.

"We never recognized the First branch as family. You've enjoyed your privileges long enough. Now the Crown Prince is dead, the Princess gone, the First branch destroyed-you will follow them to the Yellow Springs."

Jimin stepped forward, Alpha scent thick, marking the room and Taehyung even in death, lips curved in a cruel smile.

"Older brother, the kingdom is stable. You should retire."

Ten years of struggle-Taehyung lost everything.

His son, his daughter, his clan-all gone.

He hissed, Omega voice raw:

"If I do not die today... you will remain nothing but concubines!"

Jimin tilted his head.

"Chen GongGong, do it."

The eunuch grabbed Taehyung, wrapping the white silk around his neck. Pull. Snap. The scent of his blood filled the room, mixing with the Alphas' lingering dominance. His suppressed heat flared one final time, desperation, rage, and instinct all colliding.

"My son... my clan... gone. All gone. Fu Yoongi...Mei Jimin... Kim Qing... Kim Yue... every one of you... if there is an afterlife, a debt of blood must be paid with blood."

Taehyung's last thoughts were dark, primal, Omega instincts screaming: "When I die... I will die with you."

Even in death, the Alpha scents lingered-marks of power, dominance, betrayal, and the promise of revenge in the afterlife.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***