PART 1: The villain's poorly told story

Life in the palace was always complicated. Shen was born when the world was covered with snow. His mother, who loved him immensely, died during childbirth.

Shen's mother was a very beautiful woman, she was the first love of the king of Gongmen, they both loved each other passionately. She was naive and thought this would last forever but he was vicious and cruel, so his true nature was soon revealed when he noticed that the queen did not become pregnant. He swore loyalty to her but gradually distanced himself from her and finally one day named the first of many concubines. The queen's heart was broken, and she suffered even more when for no apparent reason she was moved to the farthest and most neglected pavilion in the palace. 

Very soon the king's recent concubine showed herself to be even more cruel and ambitious, with her wiles she got rid of the other concubines as she wished to become the queen at all costs. But despite her attempts to convince the king to grant her this title, she did not succeed. She even tried to have a son to be favored, but the king did not agree. 

An heir was crucial, not having one meant power struggles and instability. So he thought of having one from a concubine... however he could not dare, perhaps because of the love he felt for the queen. Enmeshed in this dilemma he kept his distance from the queen hoping that his feelings would diminish. 

Meanwhile the enraged concubine spent her time torturing the queen. Very often she would go to visit her with a smile on her lips and then "accidentally" sprinkle her tea on her and mock her for the indifference shown to her by the king. Getting no reaction in response, feeling even more frustrated, she increased her hatred every day. 

The kingdom went to war, it was a fierce confrontation but they were victorious. The first thing the king did when he returned was to visit the queen. She healed his wounds and gave him peace, only at her side could his majesty forget the cruelty of war. This irritated the concubine tremendously, and she rant and ragefully took it out on her servants. On multiple occasions she requested an audience with the king but he would only evade her by being very curt with her. The concubine knew how ruthless his majesty could be, so she did not dare to insist. 

There was a time of relative peace between the lovers, the king recovered from the horrors of war and the two were reconciled. Very soon, however, he was to travel for a time outside the kingdom on political business. 

Taking advantage of his absence, the concubine let out all her pent-up anger, harassed and tortured the queen. She noticed that she was pregnant and feared for the life of her child, so she fled from the palace. In spite of everything, she was very happy about her pregnancy, she had even decided on the name. As fate would have it, on the day of the delivery the king finally set out on his return. 

The birth was difficult, fearing for the life of the mother, the servants who had accompanied her, took her to the palace, but despite the efforts of the doctor, the queen died. 

The king arrived late because the snow had delayed him, he looked for the queen only to receive the tragic news.

He looked at the now lifeless body of the person he loved the most, he felt lost and empty, he shakily touched the now cold face of the queen, feeling an enormous darkness. 

That day the king felt a terrible disgust and hatred for the white snow, she had prevented him from saying goodbye to the most important person in his life. He mourned for a long time, during which time he completely ignored the existence of the little prince, who was cared for by the maidservants. 

Shen shared his mother's striking beauty. Upon seeing him, the king remembered the weakness he felt for the only woman he had ever loved and was overcome with hatred when he imagined again touching that cold skin and pale face, he could renounce having an heir if he could save her. 

The prince's albinism only angered him, for apart from the physical resemblance to his mother there was nothing to indicate that he was her son. 

On the other hand, the concubine was ecstatic about her new title as queen, but hated to see the lineage of that unpleasant woman. She would not feel safe until she too was gone. Now, as queen, she was unwilling to allow that woman's son to take the position of king of Gongmen.