1 Here’s a more detailed version while keeping it concise: After my parents died in a tragic accident, I was sent abroad for five years of secret, intensive training before finally returning to take my place as the head of the Knight family. At a high-profile auction, I intended to buy gifts for my relatives—until the final item was unveiled. The moment the red cloth was pulled away, my blood turned to ice. Inside a massive black iron cage was my older sister, heavily pregnant, on the verge of childbirth. My grandmother sat in the audience, tears streaming down her face in despair. Behind my sister’s husband stood his ex-wife and their daughter, both smirking with satisfaction. “Jasmine and her mother tried to care for you,” my brother-in-law sneered, “yet you humiliated them, throwing money at their feet. Since you have so much to spare, why not light a sky lantern to save your granddaughter?” My sister cried for help, but no one dared intervene. Five years away—and they dared treat a Knight like this? Did they truly believe I was gone? Our butler was frantic. “Young Master, I’ll get the auction house president over here right now. We’ll have them release her and then make them kneel and apologize.” My eyes darkened. “Wait. I want to see exactly what they plan to do to my sister.” To dare to lay a hand on a Knight right under my nose… they must have a death wish. A chorus of lewd laughter erupted from the men in the audience as they openly appraised my sister. “As expected of the eldest daughter of a prestigious family. Even pregnant, she has a certain charm.” “Mr. Monroe, are you really willing to auction off your beautiful wife for your friends’ entertainment?” My grandmother was trembling, her eyes shooting daggers of pure hatred at the man on the stage, Felix Monroe. “Felix, if it weren’t for Iris willingly donating a kidney to you all those years ago, you would have died from renal failure!” “And when your company was on the verge of bankruptcy, it was Iris who used all her savings to help you get through it!” “You’re ungrateful, and now you’re doing this to her because of another woman! Do you even have a heart?” Felix just sneered. “She did all of that willingly. What does it have to do with me? You two humiliated my ex-wife and daughter, which is the same as humiliating me!” “The grand finale of this auction,” he announced with a flourish, “is one night with my pregnant wife, Iris Knight.” “Damn, this is getting exciting!” someone shouted. My grandmother’s eyes rolled back, and she almost collapsed. “Stop the act,” Felix’s ex-wife, Helena, chimed in. “Weren’t you two so high and mighty when you were trying to kick Jasmine and me out?” “So what if Jasmine accidentally pushed her? Was that any reason to throw us out on the street?” “She tried to push Iris down the stairs! She wanted to kill her and the baby!” my grandmother’s voice trembled with a residual fear. A five-year-old child with such a vicious mind. If they had called the police then, Helena and her daughter would have been arrested. All she had done was offer them money to find another place to live, simply to protect her granddaughter. “Your precious granddaughter is pregnant. Besides being auctioned off for a night, she and her baby can be sold together.” “The Knight family is so rich. Why don’t you light three heavenly lanterns to save her?” Helena added, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. “Lighting a heavenly lantern isn’t that easy. Each one costs over a hundred million. The Knight family has been bled dry. Their prestigious name is all they have left.” “You and your precious granddaughter are living hand-to-mouth, surviving on welfare checks. Lighting a heavenly lantern is a pipe dream.” “And don’t even think about getting the money back from Felix. You gave it to him willingly. Without an IOU, we don’t acknowledge it.” Helena watched my grandmother’s face grow even paler, and she laughed with satisfaction. My eyes narrowed. Since when were my grandmother and sister so poor they had to rely on welfare? I stared at Helena and her daughter, Jasmine, standing behind Felix, and my fists clenched. The limited-edition jewelry they were wearing… I had specifically bid on those pieces at an auction abroad to send to my grandmother and sister. I looked at my grandmother’s hands, calloused and rough, her skin peeling. She was so thin she was just skin and bones, and she had aged visibly. Inside the cage, my sister’s eyes were bloodshot. She looked like she wanted to tear the three of them apart. What Helena said must have been true. What on earth had happened in the five years I was gone? The Knight family was once as wealthy as a small nation. And my grandmother had her own powerful family backing her. How could they have fallen so low? “Investigate. I want to know everything that has happened in the last five years.” “Yes, Young Master.” For five years abroad, I had been undergoing the family’s secret training, living on the edge of life and death every single day. The only contact I had with home was through my uncle, who I would call in secret to check on them. But two years ago, his phone went dead. I had to accelerate my progress, and the moment I inherited the position of head of the Knight family, I rushed back. From the cage, my sister’s heart-wrenching screams echoed through the hall. “Felix, you bastard! How could you do this to your own child?” Felix was unfazed. “I have Jasmine. One daughter is enough. As for the baby in your belly… it’s not going to have the Monroe name anyway.” “But she is your wife! You’re the one who willingly married into the Knight family!” my grandmother cried. “Old woman, if you don’t have the money to bid, then get out. Don’t waste everyone’s time.” My sister’s eyes filled with despair. The men in the audience were perverts. After one night with them, it was uncertain if she would even wake up alive. “If the two of you kneel and apologize to them, I might consider letting her live.” My grandmother gritted her teeth in fury. “You want me to kneel and beg you?” My sister screamed in desperation, “Grandma, no! You can’t!” Jasmine suddenly burst into tears. “Daddy, they’re bad people! They said I was an unwanted burden and should just die!” Hearing this, Felix’s gaze turned icy. My grandmother steadied herself against a chair, slowly rising to her feet. She raised her bidding paddle, her voice trembling but resolute. “I… I want to bid!” 2 I stared at my grandmother in shock. I knew she couldn’t even produce a thousand dollars right now. Her monthly welfare check of five hundred wasn’t even enough for them to eat properly. But if she couldn’t pay, they would break her legs. The auctioneer released my sister from the cage and fastened a collar around her neck. She desperately tried to cover herself with her hands, but it was futile. “And now, we begin the bidding for one night with Mrs. Monroe. The starting bid is one cent.” A deafening roar of laughter erupted from the crowd. “One cent? Did I hear that right? That means any man here can have her!” “This is the eldest daughter of the top-tier Knight family. Back in the day, her line of suitors stretched all the way to France.” “Mr. Monroe is a generous man. This is practically a free gift!” “I’ll bid ten thousand!” The bids climbed rapidly, quickly reaching half a million. Felix took out his phone and projected its screen onto the large display. “We’re already at half a million. I’ll throw in a little bonus.” The screen showed my sister, heavily pregnant, in a series of seductive poses, her private areas pixelated. “My god, that’s so vulgar. I never would have guessed the prim and proper Miss Knight was so wild in private.” “That body is incredible. I love pregnant women. She’ll be fun to train.” “One million!” My grandmother glared at Felix and his family, her face contorted with rage. But he was busy draping a coat over Helena’s shoulders and buying ice cream for Jasmine, a perfect picture of a happy family. “Two million!” “Five million!” “I’ll light a heavenly lantern!” my grandmother screamed, then collapsed back into her chair, her face turning an even more ghastly shade of white. “Mrs. Knight, you want to light a heavenly lantern?” Helena sneered. “Can you even afford it?” “We have to verify your funds first. If you don’t have the money, don’t blame these men for not being polite to an old woman like you.” “I have the money. You can verify it anytime.” Helena burst out laughing. “Stop bluffing. If you had money, would you and your precious granddaughter be picking through leftover vegetables at the market?” My grandmother ignored her, taking out a family seal and handing it to the auctioneer. “Please, verify.” “It’s a waste of time. You’re just a shameless old woman, using your age to cause trouble here.” Before Helena could finish, the auctioneer slammed his gavel. “Congratulations to Mrs. Knight for successfully lighting a heavenly lantern! The night with Mrs. Monroe belongs to you.” Helena was dumbfounded, her face twisting into a hideous snarl. “You must be mistaken! How much can a stupid old seal be worth?” Felix’s eyes were fixed on the seal. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he crushed the wine glass in his hand. 3 Seeing the seal, I remembered it was the heirloom of my grandmother’s family. There was only one in existence, the most precious thing she had owned for years. The seal could be used to borrow fifty million from the bank, but the price was permanent excommunication from her family. After all, anyone who would cash in their family’s heirloom was no longer worthy of being a member. She wouldn't have sold it, severing ties with her own family, unless she had no other choice. But for something so valuable to be exchanged for such a small sum… she had clearly been taken advantage of. The president of the auction house was kneeling before me, trembling like a leaf, sweat pouring down his face, too terrified to even breathe. On the auction floor, the lecherous men were grumbling with disappointment. “To let some old hag light the heavenly lantern.” “Damn it, I wanted a taste of that beautiful pregnant woman. Now it’s all ruined!” The auctioneer smiled and told them to be patient, because something even more explosive was coming. “Tonight’s second grand finale item is… Mrs. Monroe’s body!” “According to the medical report provided by Mr. Monroe, Mrs. Monroe has a rare blood type, RH-negative. She can be purchased for use as a private blood bank.” A fresh wave of gasps rippled through the hall. RH-negative blood was incredibly rare. Those who had it were often kept under the protection of powerful families. For an ordinary person to own a walking, talking blood bank was like a dream come true. It was a truly fitting finale for the auction, and everyone was eager to bid. “Such a rare blood type… If I buy her and have twenty kids with her, won’t I have an infinite blood supply?” “Exactly! And as long as she doesn’t die, she can keep having babies. The world record is fifty-eight.” “Plus, I can have some fun with her too. Two birds with one stone. Perfect!” The men surged forward, their grimy, stinking hands reaching out, groping my sister’s body. My grandmother, enraged, grabbed her cane and started swinging wildly at their heads. “You old hag, how dare you attack us! You’re asking for it!” A fist stopped mid-air. It was Felix. He spoke in a cold, warning tone. “Don’t cause trouble here. Don’t forget, the new owner of this place is ruthless. You don’t want to cross him.” “Once the bidding is over, these two are ours to do with as we please. Whether they live or die is up to us.” The men exchanged glances and, for the moment, backed down. “You old hag, we’ll deal with you later. I’m buying your granddaughter’s life. I bid ten million!” “Twenty million!” “Forty million!” My grandmother collapsed onto her chair. On the stage, my sister’s eyes were filled with utter despair. Helena was triumphant again. “You don’t have the money to save your precious granddaughter this time, do you? I’d say lighting that first lantern was just a final, desperate struggle.” “You lit one heavenly lantern. You can’t possibly have the money to light a second one. Just wait and watch your granddaughter become a living blood bag.” “Light… light the heavenly lantern!” My grandmother raised her bidding paddle, mustering all her strength to shout the words. My sister stared at Felix, tears of blood streaming from her eyes. She hated him with every fiber of her being. Their years of love and companionship had all been a giant lie. Before they were married, Felix had hidden the fact that he was divorced, presenting himself as a caring, successful professional. It was only after my sister had given him everything that he revealed his true colors. Felix sneered. “See that? This is what you get for insulting my ex-wife and daughter.” My sister closed her eyes, letting the bloody tears trace a path down her cheeks. She hated herself for giving her heart away so easily, and now she was dragging her only remaining family down with her. In that moment, she broke down, sobbing. She regretted everything…
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