Xiao Ziwu has been an overlooked figure since childhood.
Throughout the palace, the maids and eunuchs kept their distance from him, fearing that getting too close would taint them with his bad luck.
The concubines and princes would insult and curse him, and if they were even slightly unhappy, they would vent their anger by bullying him.
Who told him to have a convicted woman, a concubine, who failed in her assassination attempt on His Majesty?
Faced with all sorts of oppression and tyranny, the emperor turned a blind eye and completely ignored it.
This caused the respect that the palace maids and servants showed him to gradually diminish.
From then on, no one cared whether he had warm clothes to wear in the winter or a thick blanket to cover himself at night.
This situation continued until he was five years old.
At that time—
He was kicked in the knee by Consort Shi!
The heavy bottom of the flowerpot landed on the child's tender skin, instantly breaking the skin. Large, swollen, dark purple bruises looked particularly gruesome against the surrounding fair skin!
The boy's breath hitched; the excruciating pain brought him to his knees. He was kicked onto the bluestone slab, his small body trembling slightly.
The child's clear black eyes were already filled with tears, but he deftly wiped them away with his little hands, not daring to leave a single drop.
Because the child knows in his heart that even if he sheds tears, these people will not sympathize with him in the slightest.
Instead, it will only invite endless ridicule...
The child held back his tears, then looked up at the woman before him pleadingly, "Please let me... let me see my father."
Their young faces were full of hope.
He walked for a long time before finally arriving here. His tender legs were covered in blisters, which were then broken open and were now bleeding profusely.
This is the only way his father could go to the banquet. He could only catch a glimpse of his father if he waited here before dark!
Her soft little hands were pressed tightly against her chest, and even though she had just been kicked to the ground, she instinctively protected the birthday gift she wanted to give to her father.
This is a wood carving he spent three months working on; it's a small dog that's just beginning to take shape.
The child's small hands couldn't hold the carving knife properly, and the carving wasn't very lifelike; you could only barely make out the shape of a dog.
This wood carving was a birthday gift he had prepared for his father, the emperor, after a long period of time.
He named the little black dog "Fulu" and found it by chance in a flower bush. It has been with him for more than a year.
He really liked the little black dog.
The vast palace was quiet and secluded, and only Fulu was willing to keep him company.
Even if it stomps its feet into the ink, leaving dark footprints all over his calligraphy practice book, ruining the book he spent an afternoon practicing.
Then, with its big, wet eyes, it stared at him innocently, which softened his heart. He could only carefully clean its dirty little feet, pick it up and let it play by itself, and then rewrite the calligraphy copybook.
He wanted to tell his best friend to his father, so he carved a wooden sculpture in the likeness of Fu Lu to give to his father.
The next moment.
A cold laugh came from above—"Heh, you little brat."
It interrupted all his fond memories.
Xiao Ziyan was still young and did not have the humble gentleman demeanor that he would usually pretend to be when he grew up. At this moment, his little face showed undisguised disgust and mockery.
He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Xiao Ziwu, who was lying in the middle of the stone road like a dead dog. Seeing his cowardly appearance, where he held back his tears and dared not cry, he felt a surge of satisfaction.
Consort Shi retreated to the side obsequiously, completely different from the fierce and vicious person who had just kicked and shoved Xiao Ziwu!
"You dare to appear before the Emperor?"
"If Father sees you, he'll probably eat two less cups of wine at dinner."
Such vile words were hurled at Xiao Ziwu one after another!
But he didn't feel embarrassed. Being treated like this was nothing new to him. If he spoke up, he would get beaten up again.
He wasn't afraid of being beaten, but he was afraid that when his father passed by, his disheveled and dirty appearance would displease his father even more.
So he didn't speak.
The bluestone path was freezing cold. He endured the pain in his feet and knees, closed his eyes weakly, and held the wooden carving on his chest tightly with his small hands.
This gesture of cherishing him only drew Xiao Ziyan's sidelong glance. "Hold him down!"
Two strong and burly eunuchs stepped forward and held down his struggling arms.
The small wooden carving he was clutching tightly to his chest was snatched away by Xiao Ziyan!
The wooden puppy carving has two lines of childish characters carved on its back: "Congratulations on Father Emperor's birthday, and may Father Emperor be in good health."
The crooked and messy handwriting carries the child's most sincere wishes.
Then came another disdainful sneer... "Tch, luckily I discovered it early, otherwise you would have completely disgraced our royal family!"
After saying that, Xiao Ziyan forcefully threw the small wooden carving into the Thousand Carp Pond.
With a "thump."
The wooden carving fell into the pond, causing ripples to spread across the surface and startling the koi carp, which scattered in all directions. The carving slowly sank to the bottom of the pond and soon returned to calm.
The child's eyes turned red with shock and pain, and tears welled up in his dark eyes again. But he was powerless to resist, as his short arms were tied behind his back by two burly eunuchs, which tightly restricted his movements.
The eunuchs and palace maids watching from all around let out muffled sneers, seemingly laughing at how unworthy the little wooden carving was.
The Second Prince's actions saved face for the royal family, which is truly gratifying!
Time passed second by second.
Xiao Ziyan didn't have time to waste with him, so he led his entourage to the palace banquet first.
Only the two eunuchs remained, still restraining Xiao Ziwu's small body, preventing him from moving.
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