Chapter 236 Xiao Wuyun Imprisoned

Seeing her like this, the old palace maid couldn't bear it any longer and lowered her voice to advise, "Your Highness! Forgive this old servant for speaking out of turn! Times have changed. His Majesty has now ascended to the throne. Your Highness and His Highness are living in seclusion in Lingnan. The only thing you can rely on is His Highness! If His Highness were to suffer any mishap... Your Highness's future honor and security would be left without any support!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, bringing some clarity to the Empress Dowager's frenzied mind.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the wine cup. After a long silence, she impatiently waved her sleeve and said, "Fine! Then... give him a bowl of thin porridge to keep him alive!"

The old palace maid, feeling as if she had been granted a pardon, quickly replied, "Yes, ma'am! This old servant will take care of it right away!"

He then hastily withdrew.

As Consort Chen watched her departing figure, the restlessness in her eyes gradually transformed into a near-desperate madness.

She slammed the wine cup to the ground, the sound of it shattering startling all the musicians and dancers, who trembled and dared not look up.

The old palace maid, accompanied by her personal maid, walked through the overgrown backyard to a storeroom in the most secluded corner of the palace.

The place was damp and dark, and the doors and windows had long been nailed shut with heavy wooden planks, leaving only a small door with three heavy iron locks.

The old palace maid gestured for the maid to wait outside the door, while she herself shakily took out three keys and opened them one by one.

The heavy iron chain slipped, making a piercing sound.

She pushed open the wooden door, and a musty smell hit her.

It was the height of summer, and outside the door, the heat was intense and cicadas were chirping incessantly, but inside the door, it was like a cold tomb, with a chill that cut to the bone.

She stepped inside carrying a small food box.

By the dim light filtering in from the doorway, she saw Prince Shou, Shu Shao, huddled in a corner on a pile of tattered straw mats. His body was so thin that all that remained were bones covered in pale skin, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch.

However, right beside him was a neat stack of thick paper, along with a worn-out brush and a dried-up, cracked inkstone.

The paper was covered with dense writing, the ink slightly blurred due to dampness, and the strokes, though trembling and distorted due to extreme weakness, still stubbornly revealed a clear and unyielding spirit.

Granny An felt a pang of sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

She hurried forward, knelt down, and said in a choked voice, "Your Highness, this old servant...this old servant has brought you food."

Shu Shao slowly and with great difficulty raised his head, as if the action had exhausted all his strength.

Her pale face was devoid of color, her lips were dry and purplish, and only her eyes remained unusually calm in the dim light.

He glanced at the food box, then looked at Granny An, his voice hoarse: "Granny An... is it her? Is she finally afraid I'll die?"

Granny An was heartbroken and pleaded earnestly, "My dear Prince! You...you must just soften your stance and apologize to the Dowager Consort! Since arriving in Lingnan, Her Highness's temperament has deteriorated significantly, and now...alas, if I may be so bold as to speak disrespectfully, Her Highness is already half-mad! If you continue to stubbornly resist like this, next time...next time, if something truly happens..."

Upon hearing this, Shu Shao struggled to raise his eyes, his weak voice carrying a clear mind and stubbornness: "Granny An, you want me to admit my mistake... but what mistake did I make?"

He took a breath and continued, "Back in the capital, although my elder brother was the crown prince, he always took good care of me. The Empress Dowager... never criticized or harmed me. It was my mother... who was unwilling to be just a concubine. What she wanted to fight for was the position of empress, and even the honor of empress dowager! She forced me to fight for the position of crown prince, which did not belong to me. For this... how many innocent people were indirectly killed? Even my elder brother's eldest son, who was not yet a year old... was not spared."

At this point, Shu Shao's voice trembled slightly, and his eyes revealed pain and guilt: "But after my brother ascended the throne, he did not hold a grudge against me for this. He granted me the title of Prince of Shou according to the regulations, bestowed upon me a fief, and even allowed my mother to accompany him, thus preserving her honor as a Dowager Consort. This is already... an immense act of leniency."

He looked at Granny An, his eyes filled with incomprehensible resentment and sorrow: "Why does Mother still harbor resentment and curse my brother and the Empress Dowager every day? I only... I only said the truth that 'my brother is kind and benevolent, and we should behave ourselves.' What... what's wrong with that?"

Upon hearing these words, Granny An opened her mouth, but found herself speechless.

Your Highness's words are all reasonable, but how can the grudges and grievances within the deep palace be explained by the word "reason" alone?

She could only sigh heavily and push the bowl of porridge forward again: "Your Highness, please have some porridge first... Your health is important."

Shu Shao lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on his pale face.

Just as he was almost swallowed by despair, Ah Bao's emerald green eyes and Lu Zhaoruo's gentle face suddenly appeared before his eyes.

She seemed to hear her clear, spring-like voice: "At this time next year, under the third pillar of the Zhuque Bridge in the capital, I will be holding this half of a copper coin, waiting for you to come and make a pact. Remember, before that, if one day you encounter an eternal night without dawn, or a clear day without darkness... you must remember, we still have a promise."

"You can't break your promise."

His solemn promise from that day still echoed in his ears: "Thanks to Madam Lu's kindness, I will keep my promise and wait for the day when the contract is signed."

yes.

He had made a prior agreement with Madam Lu.

We must not starve to death here; we must not die here.

The will to survive was rekindled like a spark.

He raised his eyes and nodded gently to Granny An.

When Granny An saw that he was willing to eat, she was overjoyed and quickly and carefully helped him sit up.

After finishing a bowl of thin porridge, a faint trace of life finally returned to Shu Shao's face.

Granny An dared not linger. Looking at the dilapidated and desolate room, and then at the eight-year-old prince who should have been pampered and noble, being tortured like this, she felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She whispered, "Your Highness, please bear with it. This old servant... will go to the Dowager Consort and plead for you again."

"Granny An..."

Shu Shao called out to her softly.

How could he not know that if Granny An went to plead for mercy, it would most likely provoke even greater anger and humiliation from his mother?

He wanted to live.

He wanted to see the person who had given him warmth and made promises.

Faced with this predicament, it seems that only one humiliating path remains—to bow down and admit one's mistakes.

He silently apologized to his elder brother, who was far away in the capital: "Brother, I'm sorry. In order to keep the promise, Shao... has no choice but to submit for the time being."

Then, he raised his face, his expression still as cold and aloof as snow, but his eyes had become calm and revealed a resoluteness that was beyond his years.

He said softly to Granny An, "There's no need to trouble you, Granny. Take me... to see my mother."

Inside the bedchamber, the Dowager Consort Chen was entangled with her newly acquired dancer. The curtains were drawn low, and her breathing had just calmed down.

Suddenly, a trembling voice from outside the palace announced that Prince Shou had come to apologize.

Upon hearing this, Consort Chen not only remained calm but also gave a smug, cold laugh.

She patted the dancer's cheek lazily and said softly, "Be good and wait here."

He then put on an outer robe, loosely tied the belt, and strolled leisurely to the outer hall.