She Was Cast Aside, Until She Carried the King

Then, the other princes took turns choosing their spouses.

The young ladies from noble families inside the palace were all filled with anticipation, but when the princes' gazes swept over me, they all avoided me as if I carried some ominous plague.

After all, I was the one who was publicly rejected by Darius, the most promising successor to the throne. In their eyes, I must have some unspeakable problem, otherwise why would such a high-quality marriage partner discard me like trash?

Several princes who had initially shown some interest in me only glanced at me briefly before turning to other pure-blooded wolf girls with ordinary bloodlines.

Some princes even raised their voices in private discussions: "Who would dare to accept someone rejected by His Highness Darius? If it affects the succession of their lineage, it would be a great loss."

Those words were like poisoned needles, piercing my ears one by one, sending chills down my spine.

I stood in the empty corner of the hall, watching the other women's joyful expressions as they were chosen, and then thinking back to my past life as a pure-blooded silver-haired woman who was the center of attention. The contrast between then and now felt incredibly ironic.

In the end, the entire selection ceremony for the imperial concubines came to a close, and I was left all alone, ignored by everyone.

Three days later, Darius held a grand wedding for Elara. The road from the high-ranking wolf palace to the ordinary pure-blooded wolf clan was covered with ten miles of red bridal procession. The grandeur of the procession and the richness of the rewards were far more impressive than when he married me in my previous life.

The people along the way stopped to watch, all marveling at Elara's good fortune. Despite her humble origins, she had managed to marry into such a wonderful family, and what was even more remarkable was how much her husband doted on her. She was truly blessed.

What chilled me to the bone was that, in order to make Elara worthy of the status of a high-ranking prince, my father issued an edict on the spot to bestow the title of matriarch of the clan upon Elara's mother, completely forgetting the vow he had made to my mother years ago that he would never establish an empress.

My mother was the most noble silver-haired pureblood in the clan. She was willing to marry into my father's family for the sake of a marriage alliance between the two clans. She worked hard all her life, but in the end, she was abandoned after her vows were broken.

The moment I heard the news, I sat in the empty palace and felt that even my father's love was so cheap and mercenary.

In contrast, I went from being a revered silver-haired celestial princess to becoming the laughingstock of my tribe overnight.

This was not my fault, but the wolf clans of the four seas and eight wastelands are all talking about it behind my back.

Some people say that I am not as innocent and naive as I appear on the surface. Perhaps I have long lost my purity and am a shameful woman. Otherwise, why would His Highness Darius prefer to marry a mixed-race woman rather than a pure silver-haired pureblood like me?

At first, I treated these rumors as jokes and didn't take them to heart.

After all, the innocent are innocent, and I have a clear conscience.

But gradually, the rumors became more and more outrageous and vicious. Some said I was promiscuous, repeatedly having affairs with adult wolves in the clan, and being caught in the act; some said I was naturally lewd, and during my mating season I was sexually unsatisfied, even entangled with several men at the same time; and some even fabricated details of my illicit relations with low-class mixed-blood wolves, making it sound very convincing.

These filthy words flooded me like a tidal wave, leaving me nowhere to escape.

I know perfectly well that all of this was Darius's doing—after his rebirth, he not only wanted to avoid me, this "useless" silver-haired pureblood, but also to completely ruin my reputation, ensuring I would never have a chance to recover, in order to cover up his debt to me in his previous life and make his choice of Elara seem more "reasonable".

Elara must have been involved in all of this; she was eager for me to be disgraced and forever live under her thumb.

Even if I knew the truth, I was powerless to refute it.

Darius is a high-ranking prince with immense power; his words carry absolute authority. Elara is the newly crowned princess; with his backing, no one dares to offend her.

Even if I stand up to defend myself, no one will believe me. Instead, I will be seen as someone who is angry and embarrassed and trying to cover up the truth.

I could only watch helplessly as my reputation grew worse and worse, and as those suitors who used to fawn over me and fawn over me now kept their distance. They would even deliberately take a detour when they encountered me, as if having any connection with me would tarnish their reputation.

In this vast community, I have become truly alone, without even a single person to confide in.

The chill in my heart layered upon layer, tightly enveloping the pain of my past life and the humiliation of this life, making it almost impossible for me to breathe.

So I've been waiting for an opportunity, a chance to strike decisively, and it's about to come.