Little Mo Baiwei curled up among several children, enduring their punches and kicks.
During this, she struggled to fight back, but the others outnumbered her, pinning her down and preventing her from getting up from the ground.
The pain grew worse, more bruises and swelling appearing on her snow-white, delicate skin.
The young Mo Baiwei cried as she was beaten, her struggles proving futile.
Gradually, the pinned Mo Baiwei stopped struggling and simply lay on the ground, letting them hit her.
Her pale green eyes grew dull, her once-cute face now smeared with dirt and tears, gray and filthy.
Her clothes were torn during the beating, revealing bruised skin beneath the shredded fabric.
She had already given up hope.
Watching this from not far away, Mo Baiwei clenched her fists tightly, familiar memories flooding her mind.
Just as little Mo Baiwei was about to lose consciousness, an authoritative voice came from the distance, making the children turn their heads.
This memory didn’t originally exist.
In her recollection, the little Mo Baiwei had only looked strangely toward the source of the sound before losing consciousness and knowing nothing more.
When she woke again, she was already in her own bed in the palace.
Back then, the Queen had explained that palace guards passing by had rescued her and brought her back to the palace.
In truth, Mo Baiwei had always fantasized that it was her aunt who had come to save her.
But the Queen had always denied it, declaring that with Mo Baiwei’s status, it wasn’t worthy of her personal attention.
But thinking about it, that made sense.
The Queen didn’t care much for her as a half-breed either.
Given what the Queen did to her later, it couldn’t possibly have been her who came to the rescue.
Half-breeds weren’t unheard of in elven history, but a half-breed like Mo Baiwei who developed a tail was the first case, leading to her suffering more extreme discrimination than other half-breeds.
Even the Queen, her own blood relative, was no exception.
Yet, after that authoritative voice rang out, Mo Baiwei felt astonished, staring quietly into the distance, trying to see who it was.
Soon, an elven woman in opulent robes approached.
That voice was far too familiar.
Her attire was adorned with golden leaves, and she wore a gleaming golden crown upon her head.
This splendidly dressed elven woman was extraordinarily beautiful, the kind of beauty that could bring ruin.
Her every movement exuded nobility and authority, yet within that lofty dignity hid a trace of allure.
“In broad daylight, you bully a defenseless little girl?”
The Queen walked up to the nine children, her voice icy.
“Did your parents not teach you to be decent people?”
“Who are you?”
A little boy asked.
At his age, he hadn’t seen the Queen before.
Looking at the lavishly dressed woman before him, he instinctively thought she was just a rich young lady.
“Hmph, who am I?”
The Queen glanced at the boy, then looked away.
“Attendant.”
“Your servant is here.”
An elven man in dark green formal wear stepped forward, bowing respectfully.
“Go find out who the parents of these brats are.”
“As you command.”
Upon receiving the order, the elven man immediately walked into the distance, his figure disappearing from the scene.
“What’s your relationship with this freak?”
A little girl asked, staring at the noblewoman before her, a sense of unease growing in her heart, a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
“My relationship with this freak?”
Hearing this, the Queen couldn’t help but chuckle.
She walked over to little Mo Baiwei and gently nudged her face with the tip of her shoe.
“My, you’re in a sorry state, being called such things by these commoners, with no dignity at all.”
“As for me, I am the aunt of the ‘freak’ you speak of.”
Then, the Queen turned, looking at the children before her with interest.
“The freak’s aunt?”
The little boy pondered the noblewoman’s identity upon hearing this.
They hadn’t seen the Queen before and didn’t know her, but they knew all too well who this “freak” was—she was the current princess.
But because she was a half-breed, they could bully her without consequence.
After all, their fathers would handle everything in the royal court, using her mixed blood as an excuse to smooth things over.
“If you’re her aunt, then you must be from the palace too, right?”
The little boy thought for a long while but couldn’t figure out the connection, only deducing that the other party was from the palace.
“Quite clever.”
The Queen laughed lightly, then crouched down to look at the boy.
“So it seems you know her status?”
“So what if we do? She’s just a half-breed, no one’s backing her.”
A chubby little boy snorted disdainfully.
“Since you’re her aunt, don’t you think having a half-breed is shameful?”
“Shameful? A little, I suppose.”
The Queen seemed to think seriously for a moment before speaking slowly.
“But I don’t want her to be bullied by anyone either.”
Hearing these words, Mo Baiwei, standing nearby, trembled violently, staring at the Queen in disbelief.
Could such words really have come from that bastard Queen? The more she listened, the harder it was to believe.
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, the man who had left earlier returned, holding two pieces of paper with writing on them.
Hearing the man address the noblewoman as “Your Majesty,” the surrounding children, no matter how foolish, immediately understood her identity.
Your Majesty?
Could this noblewoman be the Queen?
They immediately stopped their actions toward Mo Baiwei and knelt on the ground with a thud.
“Queen, we were wrong.”
The little boy was quick-witted.
Even in his fear, he mustered the courage to speak.
“Oh? What were you wrong about?”
The Queen looked at him, slightly surprised.
When ministers in the royal court knelt before her, they didn’t dare speak without her permission.
Yet these little brats could still find their voices.
Should she call it courage, or just the ignorance of youth?
“We shouldn’t have bullied Her Highness the Princess.”
The little boy hurriedly explained.
“Very good. Knowing what you did wrong is enough.”
The Queen nodded with satisfaction, then said to the man beside her, “Take them away. Have their parents summoned in a few days.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
After the man led the children away, the Queen turned her gaze to little Mo Baiwei, who still lay on the ground, a complex look in her eyes.
She slowly reached out, picked up little Mo Baiwei, stood up, and walked into the distance.
Mo Baiwei stared blankly at this scene, seeming unable to believe it.
How could the bastard Queen suddenly appear to save her? It made no sense.
The Queen was usually the one who tormented her the most.
The idea of her saving her felt utterly impossible.
Turbulent emotions churned within Mo Baiwei, making her feel an overwhelming sense of unreality, as if everything were a dream.
—
Mo Baiwei sat up abruptly in bed, gasping for breath, her heart still racing as she stared at the inn’s window.
Sunlight now filled the room, illuminating it brightly.
A warm breeze blew in through the window, bringing her comfort.
Her clothes were in disarray, as if someone had torn at them.
After staring blankly for a while, Mo Baiwei finally came to her senses.
‘Did I… dream again?’
She shook her slightly dizzy head, murmuring softly.
Recalling last night’s dream, she smiled self-deprecatingly.
‘It seems I’m still too dependent on my aunt. Even though she treats me like that, I still subconsciously dream of her.’
‘Even though my aunt hates me too.’
Yet, thinking of her aunt standing up for her in the dream, Mo Baiwei couldn’t help but let a faint smile curl at the corner of her mouth.
If only the dream were real.