That winter, Chu Minghuan was five years old. His mother fell ill, but the palace maids who served them did not go to find an imperial physician for them. This was because the emperor had long since abandoned his mother, and no one cared about the mother and son.
The mother was delirious with fever and wouldn't respond even when Chu Minghuan called her.
Anxious, Chu Minghuan took advantage of the maids' inattention and secretly slipped out of Zhongling Palace, intending to seek help from someone on his own.
However, instead of finding someone to help, he was stopped by several children who were building a snowman.
Apart from his two elder brothers, everyone else here should call him "Imperial Uncle" according to the rules. Although he is young, his seniority is not low.
However, simply because his mother was a palace maid, and because the emperor didn't care about them at all, none of the people in the palace who were used to flattering the powerful and belittling the weak took him seriously.
Especially since he was being stood before a group of pampered young nobles. They threw snowballs at him, pushed him to the ground, poured snowballs down his collar, and buried his head in the snow…
The snow was so cold; the chill seemed to seep into one's very bones. Chu Minghuan was both cold and afraid, and struggled incessantly.
In the midst of this stalemate and struggle, Chu Minghuan accidentally knocked over the snowman next to him, breaking one by sitting on it and knocking off another.
This infuriated the princes and grandsons, who used the excuse that Chu Minghuan had knocked over their snowman to demand that he become their snowman.
Chu Minghuan naturally refused, but they outnumbered him and he couldn't possibly defeat them, nor did he dare to.
"You wanted to invite the imperial physician, right? That's easy. Just be a good snowman for us, and I'll call the imperial physician to examine your mother tonight."
“But if you dare to run, I’ll have your legs broken and then plant you in the snow, it’ll be the same.”
These threats worked; Chu Minghuan dared not run anymore, since he couldn't escape anyway.
He squatted in the snow, hugging his knees, while the people laughed and piled snow on him. The cold snowballs leaked into his collar again and again, making Chu Minghuan shiver uncontrollably.
The thirteenth prince kicked him hard: "What are you doing? The pile you just put on has fallen again! How can you be so useless!"
Chu Minghuan felt like he was freezing to death, but he dared not resist, because if he did, he would be treated even more brutally, and he was terrified.
No one will help him, and even if he dies here today, no one will care.
Chu Minghuan grew colder and colder, but at a certain critical point, he suddenly found that he could no longer feel the cold.
My body has become stiff and numb.
Even his consciousness gradually became hazy, and the laughter and noise around him seemed very far away, as if separated by something, making it impossible for him to hear clearly.
Am I going to die?
Am I going to die?
Someone please help me...
He thought this to himself, but dared not have any hope at all, because no one would save him.
In this deep and vast palace, the death of someone like him was no different from the death of an ant.
No one cares whether an ant lives or dies.
But just as he thought he was about to die, a voice suddenly and vaguely sounded in his ear—
What are you doing?
It was because of this voice that the violence inflicted on him stopped instantly. The princes and grandsons ignored him and rushed to surround the newcomer.
They were as cruel and arrogant to him as they were to that other person. They surrounded him, laughing and coaxing him, appearing all kind and benevolent, as if they hadn't been the ones who had just bullied Chu Minghuan.
Chu Minghuan opened his eyes with difficulty and saw a boy approaching. He was wearing a cloak made of snow fox fur, but his skin was whiter than the fox fur on the cloak and the snow under his feet.
Chu Minghuan had met this person before; he was different from everyone else in the palace. His mother had repeatedly warned him that he had to be mindful of rules and etiquette in the palace and that he shouldn't do anything inappropriate, listing a whole host of such things.
However, these rules and regulations always seemed to lose their binding force on this person. Chu Minghuan had secretly met the other party many times, and each time the person threw those rules and regulations behind him, causing chaos in the palace.
For example, he could climb trees to pick fruit, fly beautiful butterfly kites, or climb on the roof and refuse to come down, while a bunch of eunuchs and palace maids below were anxiously pacing around, but he still ran and jumped freely on the roof.
His laughter always carried far, making it instantly recognizable, and even Chu Minghuan was drawn out to see it.
He often wondered when he could live like that, with such freedom and ease.
He even couldn't help but ask the young eunuch who took care of his daily needs. The young eunuch squinted and said in a high-pitched voice:
"Hmph, she is His Majesty's most beloved concubine, whom he cherishes and pampers. You are not even worth a single hair of hers, so what are you dreaming of? You are just delusional."
Is this just wishful thinking?
Perhaps.
He and his mother lived in constant fear, their survival uncertain, so how could they talk about freedom or doing as they pleased?
He secretly envied and was jealous of that young nobleman.
But now, that pampered young noblewoman bent down and stretched out her hand to him: "Aren't you cold? Get up."
Chu Minghuan glanced at the people around him, too afraid to move. He was afraid they would pounce on him again and throw him back into the snow; it was too cold, and the snow was choking him, making it hard for him to breathe.
Moreover, his hands must be very, very cold. If such cold hands were to touch the young nobleman, he would surely suffer frostbite. The emperor would be angry then, and he and his mother would be in even worse shape.
The young nobleman smiled, his eyebrows curving into a soft arc. Without asking Chu Minghuan's opinion, he forcefully pulled him up.
Chu Minghuan was completely frozen and could barely stand, so the young noblewoman picked him up and instructed the eunuch behind her:
"Quickly prepare some hot water and invite Physician Wang over!"
The little nobleman had a faint fragrance, a scent Chu Minghuan had never smelled before, and it was particularly pleasant. It also made one feel at ease.
He instinctively gripped the boy's cloak, trembling and struggling to speak, "Mother... is... sick..."
Having been frozen in the snow for so long, my throat felt like it was being damaged; every word I spoke felt like a knife scraping against it.
"Okay, I understand," the boy lowered his eyes and gently comforted him, "I will ask the imperial physician to take a look. You should get some sleep, little imperial uncle."
Whether it was intentional or not, he pronounced the last three words very softly and slowly, like a non-malicious teasing, with an undisguised smile.
"..." Chu Minghuan's face flushed, and he dared not look at him again. Then he fell asleep in a daze.
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