Some were sad with their ill-fated lives but I'm not. I want to detached myself from life; be numb and stay unfeeling. I know from the very beginning that Mother hated me as she hated Father Emperor. Mother won't let me forget that fact— by giving me the bitter congee every night.

"I want to be a good person for my son. I also want to be a good mother. But Your Majesty took everything away from me. You are the one who made me a monster!"

All the servants looked at us with their condemning eyes. They didn't bother concealing netheir their profound contempt to Mother nor their pitiful gazes to me.

"You told me, if I give birth to your child, Your Majesty will spare Yichen's life. Yet in the end, you still ordered his assassination!" Mother kneeled infront of Father Emperor, laughing and crying at the same time.

I heard from the servants, before Mother became one of the thousand beauties by Father Emperor's side, she used to have a fiance but that person died because of father.

"Who do you think you are to deprived me of my happiness?" When Mother reached her hand to me, I accepted it with a big smile.

"This child.. must die, Your Majesty." Just like whenever I beg Mother to stop the pain after eating the congee, she'd give me a kiss on the cheek as she let out a scornful smile.

"This is.. what they called motherly love."

"Mother."

When Father Emperor sent Mother to the Cold Palace, finally the pain stopped. However the consequence of not eating my mother's congee was.. my title as a prince.

"Her biological mother poisoned him." Whenever I passed by, the palace maids would talk in whispers.

"It's the Invisible Prince. Look at those dead-fish eyes."

"Idiot. Don't feel bad for him. We don't have rights to pity him because he's no better than us. Ah no, he's in the worse position than us slaves."

Neither my own biological mother nor Father Emperor cared about me; so why would all those servants think that I'd be grateful if they start noticing me?

Even if people says that the deadly poison was coursing through my veins, as long as they won't say that it's Mother's; I really won't mind.

For years, I was accustomed to sleeping and waking up in hunger. Some days, I'd even faint.

But I refused. I refused to die.

Even though, I am poorer than a beggar; more miserable than a prisoner; more wretched than an orphan and more pitiful than a stray dog, I.. also want to live.

"Ignore him. Do you plan to offend the crown prince? Let's stay away from him or else we'll be implicated."

My shabby palace lack of many things that's why I hate winter. During winter, aside from food, I would need to beg for coals and blankets to the crown prince. The Imperial Household Department would only send few things to this ignored prince, making me want to hack these plum blossom trees infront of me; to fight the winter.

"That's it, beg." Li Rui smirked.

The crown prince have a lot of things, even servants and guards under him. But that's not the reason I envied him. Li Rui was surrounded by people who cared for him; the Empress Dowager even Father Emperor also liked him a lot.

"Are you okay?"

The first time I saw her, I thought she was a ghost— a twelve-years old ghost; her black hair was in large contrast of her pale skin. She was even wearing a white clothing.

This small girl reminded me of the favorite flurry white animal owned by the crown prince that I saw last time— that rabbit.

"He must have done something wrong that's why he got beaten. His clothes are old and torn. He also smell awful." Said the girl wearing a servant clothing.

I was hungry. I was starving for three days. I took a piece of chicken from the imperial kitchen. When the eunuchs caught me for stealing, they beat me until finally my vision began to fail and my body numb.

The ghost girl ignored her maid and asked me again: "Do you need help?"

It wasn't the first time someone acted like they cared, like they give a damn about me.

"Who is he, my lady? A servant?" The other maid also asked the ghost girl.

I planned to ignore them. I shifted my gaze away when my stomach grumbled loudly.

The two maids laughed. I lowered my head in embarrassment. The two only stopped laughing when the ghost girl took the food container from one of them and placed it down on the ground beside me.

"You must be hungry. Here." Her voice was gentle as if she was coaxing a child.

"B-but my lady, you brought them for His Highness the Crown Prince."

'The crown prince?'

"Jin'er, the crown prince won't mind."

"B-but the crown prince.."

Eunuch Xu and the other eunuchs came. "My lady, please forgive this servant. The crown prince must be furious. I made him wait for the lady's arrival. Because of my tardiness, I'm afraid this slave can't keep this head of mine anymore."

She frowned and said with concern, "Don't be afraid. This is nothing serious."

The ghost girl paused again. "Eunuch Xu, do you know this servant? Can you call the physician for me to check his wounds? They must've hurt."

'Hurt?' I'm fine though. I know.. I will be.

"That.."

"What is it?"

Eunuch Xu replied, "He's not a servant my lady. He.. is this empire's fourth prince."

For a moment, the little girl appeared confused.

Then I watched how her smile fell, a horrified expression on her face. Her eyes like a candle in the wind; its flame that once was burning brightly, now dimmed. Its flame became transient and fragile then finally, it got extinguished without a warning.

"My lady? My lady, what's wrong? You looked pale."

The girl they addressed as Lady staggered to her feet. She quickly covered her face with her both hands, her whole body started trembling.

"My lady!"

At first, I was confused. How can the fainting of a mere noble girl can caused such commotion inside the palace?

Imperial physicians were called. The panic-striken servants all rushed out to help while two guards pinning me down to the ground.

"Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Rui ignored everyone and directly pointed his sword towards me, panting in anger. "If something happens to her, I will have your head!"

Before I was thrown to my shabby palace, the thirty lashes first made my back sore and numb.

I groaned in pain when one guard kicked me hard to my stomach. "Your Highness, that person is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Left Prime Minister; she is Lady Bai Suxin."

Another royal guard added, "The lady is the biggest candidate for the Crown Princess position for she was raised by the Prime Minister House to become empress."

They both smirked. "Offending the Lady is like offending His Highness the Crown Prince. So be careful, Prince."

That night, the kitchen staff refused me food again. I crawled in pain to my bed and curled myself to sleep, stomach grumbling in hunger.

That was how the 'Invisible Prince' became the 'Bullied Prince' or sometimes, people called me the 'Dog Prince.'

"Your Highness is wrong. For me, Your Highness is no different from a beggar in the street."

Her words were sharper than knives. This girl had the ability to cut people's chest open and pulled their heart out by her words.

There it was again. The impression of bleak emptiness. The lady looked at me but she wasn't really looking at me. My eyes followed the tears that trickled down her cheeks.

When she noticed me staring at her in shock, her laugh bubbled up. Wiping her cheeks, she said: "Tsk. You're so pitiful that it makes me cry."

'Her poisonous tongue..'

"Your Highness, do you need help?" Bai Suxin offered with a twinkle in her eye.

Her words had my heart frozen again. Don't make that face. Don't pity me. I don't need your help. I don't need it. Leave me alone!

'Do you really not know?' If you come any closer, I'm going to break you. I'm going to.. devour you.

Greed. Desire. Thirst.

"Bai Suxin, why are you so cruel?"

She's sparkling and glittering. 'You are always smiling. Why are you so kind to everyone? Don't smile. Stop. Stop smiling."

"How dare you look at my woman?!"

'Your woman?'

The person who is carrying you right now; the one you're smiling at and the one you're coaxing, did he deserve it? 'Why is my heart throbbing?'

Did the crown prince do something to deserve it? Just because I'm the the dog prince, that's why you're treating me so differently.

"Don't worry, Lady Bai." Then Li Rui turned his head to me. "Get up. You're lucky that Lady Bai is here. Don't let me see your face again."

The wet soil on my hands, I heard the thunder tumbled down. I was alone again. Despite the rain and cold, my eyes glinted. My heart was set on fire. 'Why do I feel like I've been abandoned?'

"Bai Suxin, I don't need your help. Leave me alone!"

I swear, once I become strong.. I will make everyone pay including you.. especially you.

"Bai Suxin, I'm going to gnaw your bones and promise to swallow every bit of you."

'Please don't say no to me. Please fall inlove with me.' Those words almost came out from my mouth. I'm a pathetic stray dog. The eldest daughter of the Prime Minister House got the dog prince wrapped around her little fingers. She blew me away.

"Li Rui, wait for me. No. I promise, I will come to you."

I gritted my teeth— an urge to kill. I was seething silently. When it comes to this poisonous woman, I hardly.. can control my emotion.

Let go– that's what Li Rui said. I smirked as I stared at Bai Suxin's terrified eyes. "Never."