…
Jiang Rao usually lives a life of luxury. She does nothing but idleness nine out of ten days. She is used to being lazy. After the two trips there and back, her ankles feel sore before she even gets home, and her arms are tired from pushing the wheelchair.
I really don’t know how she could endure all the sins in the dream.
When he got home, the first thing he did was to rest on the couch, burying his little face in the pillow. He was like a lotus leaf crushed by a rainstorm in summer, as lazy as a boneless person, and he didn't even like to lift his arms.
The maid Mingshao took off her cotton satin shoes that were covered with snow and mud, and looked at her lazy look, feeling pity and confusion.
"Look how tired the girl is. She could have just asked a servant to send him off. Why did she have to tire herself out? The girl is doing it herself. I'm sure she cares too much about that man."
Jiang Rao thought about the boy's indifferent face and shook her head gently, buried in the pillow.
I just did this little thing, how can I say I care too much?
She was thinking about looking for him again tomorrow.
He is as cold as ice now, but if she treats him well day by day, the ice will melt one day, and then he will no longer be angry with her and his brother.
Jiang Rao became more and more sleepy. Her eyelids gradually closed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, hugged the blanket, and looked regretful.
She said she always felt like she hadn't done anything.
She forgot to give the boy's purse to him.
She has a habit of losing things!
Jiang Rao was no longer sleepy. She slid down from the couch, made a bitter face, dressed herself again, took her purse and went out.
…
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky again. The snow was not heavy, like a layer of light haze.
The rustling sound of snowflakes falling on the branches and the voices of children playing mixed together and reached Jiang Rao's ears.
The further west we went, the clearer the children's joyful laughter became.
The sound of their conversation sounded like they were having a snowball fight.
"The snowball in my hand is the biggest"
"What's the big deal? I throw the most and most accurately."
"Hmph, let's throw it again and see who throws it more accurately this time."
Jiang Rao couldn't help but laugh when listening to these childish words.
It’s so nice and full of vitality.
But when she turned a corner and saw the direction in which the children playing in the snow were throwing snowballs, her smile froze at the corners of her lips.
The snowballs thrown by the group of children were aimed at the boy.
His wheelchair was stuck in the snow. He held on to the wheels tightly with both hands and was struggling to turn the wheelchair forward. However, a threshold blocked his way. The wheels of the wheelchair were shaking, and it seemed that if he was not careful, he would fall to the ground.
From the time she left until she came back, his position seemed to have not changed.
The muscles in his arms were tense due to the exertion, and his sleeves were stretched to form faint lines. His shoulders were covered with snow, and his back was covered with dark and light patches, covered with broken snowballs. His back was upright yet seemed lonely.
Jiang Rao hurriedly ran forward to hold his wheelchair and brushed the snow off his shoulders. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her moist almond eyes widened and she shouted angrily at the group of children in the snow, "How can you bully others like this?"
The children laughed and didn't care, with no shame on their faces, and they all said, "That's a cripple, it's worse than a lame man. If the crippled rubbish has the guts, just throw the rubbish back."
It was as if something in Jiang Rao's brain exploded with a buzzing sound.
She glanced down at the man in the wheelchair.
He was gloomy and silent, his eyes were like pools of dead water, and he showed no reaction.
It's like...it's like I'm used to it.
Jiang Rao felt a sudden bitterness for no reason and was so angry at the abominable behavior of these children that her whole body was shaking.
She found it difficult to vent her anger, so she quickly made several snowballs and threw them at the group of children, tooth for tooth.
Suddenly, the group of children scattered and disappeared behind the corner of the house.
But the snowballs Jiang Rao threw didn't go far. Her strength was too weak and her aim was poor, so she missed any of them.
The children popped their heads out again, making faces. "Lululu, you are just like that cripple, you are also a waste, a waste!"
Jiang Rao was so angry that her eyes turned red.
Rong Ting glanced at her.
The ridiculous feeling is even worse.
Since she has already got what she wanted, why should she ask for it back.
Instead, you have to pretend to help him and act like you are sincere.
Apart from the jade talisman, all he had left was his life.
His fists fell on his knees, clenched tightly, and the blue veins were visible. Her neck was slender, and if she was really like what she showed when throwing the snowball just now, with his current strength, he could kill her.
Jiang Rao met his gaze, but was stunned.
His eyes are black and beautiful, and whenever there is a little emotion in them, their gaze becomes bright.
This also allowed her to clearly see the disgust, aversion and bloodiness in his gaze.
She had only been gone for a moment when his attitude was clearly different.
Jiang Rao felt like crying but had no tears. Had she offended him again?
Looking at oneself
Jiang Rao's fingers had touched his shoulder, but suddenly she seemed to understand something and retracted them.
She guessed that she had bumped into him and made him unhappy.
After realizing this, Jiang Rao took great pains to move him into the house.
I was afraid of hurting him, but I didn't dare touch him.
During the whole process, Rong Ting endured the pain in his legs and silently observed and guessed, trying to figure out what she wanted to do.
After entering through the wooden gate and stepping into the small square courtyard, she wanted to take him into the house, but he refused to let her in.
Jiang Rao stopped after hearing his words, and just lowered her head dejectedly, looking around the courtyard.
This place is more deserted and narrow than Jiang Rao had imagined.
The whole yard was covered with snow and no one cleaned it.
The yard was empty except for a few moldy firewood standing in the corner of the west wall. The door and window frames were covered with cobwebs. After opening the door, the four bare white walls appeared, and when the wind blew through, this empty room looked like a huge tomb.
The whole house was filled with a dark, damp and cold atmosphere, and it didn't seem like a place where people lived.
The place where he, a young master, lived was actually not as good as the one where her servants lived.
What kind of young master is this?
The servant named Wang Zhou disappeared. Jiang Rao looked left and right and pursed his lips, "Where is your servant? He clearly promised me to take you back to the house."
Rong Ting finally lost all his patience at this point.
His fingers clenched together, veins bulging, and he stared at her thin neck that looked like it could be broken with one hand. A faint bloodthirsty aura floated up in his eyes, mixed with unwillingness.
If his legs had not been frozen in the snow just now and he was too weak, and he didn't know whether she was pretending or not, and didn't know whether he could take her life at once, why would he endure it and not take action?
"What exactly are you here for?" he asked in a deep voice, his fingers quietly turning the wheelchair, moving closer to Jiang Rao, his cold gaze entangled in her neck.
Jiang Rao was turning her head around to look for Wang Zhou. When she heard his question, she slowly turned her head back, thought for a while, and then knocked her head in surprise, "I almost forgot again..."
She searched in her bosom in annoyance and handed him the purse. "I saw that your purse was dirty, so I asked the maid to wash it, patched the torn parts, and replaced the jade pendant inside. But I was in such a hurry when I sent you back just now that I forgot to give it to you. Now I'm replacing it with you."
Rong Ting was stunned for a moment.
In the palm of the little hand that was open in front of him was the purse that contained the jade talisman.
The skin on her palms was red from the cold snow because she had just caught a snowball.
He misunderstood her.
Rong Ting loosened his clenched fist, and the blue veins on the back of his hand gradually faded.
Thinking back to her actions that he thought were hypocritical, he felt a little complicated for a moment.
But the look he gave her was still as cold as a blade, without emotion, without feeling, and even without trust. It was full of cold scrutiny, and he was still on guard.
The tip of her nose and the corners of her eyes were a little red, and even her breathing was light. Her beautiful eyes seemed washed with water and were timid, just like the cowardly and frightened expression of a small animal seeing a hunter.
Afraid of him? He is a disabled person, what is there to be afraid of?
Jiang Rao had prepared a speech in her mind before she came here, and had thought of all kinds of words to get close to him, but when she really saw him, she was as nervous as a rabbit walking into a wolf's den, and she couldn't say a single word she had prepared.
When she was glanced at by his cold eyes, she suddenly remembered the scene of revenge and abuse by him in her dream, and her knees began to tremble uncontrollably.
His eyes seemed to be murderous...
She didn't want to stay here any longer. She would come back to offer warmth and support after she had gathered her courage.
Jiang Rao suppressed her fear of him, stuffed the purse into his hand, and whispered, "Purse... now that it's yours, I'll leave."
After saying that, he ran to the door as quickly as possible and quickly grabbed the door handle.
At this moment, I heard a voice of thanks from behind me.
Jiang Rao was stunned and stopped.
Then he reacted and turned around with bright eyes.
But she saw the young man with his back to her, his thin and lonely figure sunk in the dark shadows of the room.
Instead, he looked indifferent and extremely cold.
She thought that if he said thank you, all the grudges between them would be written off.
Overthinking.
Jiang Rao lowered her head dejectedly, turned and left.
Rong Ting lowered his eyes, his gaze always fixed on the purse in his hand, but his ears were listening to her footsteps.
She was very small and her steps were small and light, but she walked very fast. The snow made a crackling sound when she stepped on it, and the footsteps gradually faded away.
Until, I could no longer hear it.
He turned around and saw a yard full of snow.
On the white snow, there appeared a series of small footprints.
He looked down at the purse in his hand, and slowly closed his slender fingers, holding it tightly in his palm.
No one had ever made him a purse.
This old purse has been dirty since the day he picked it up.
But now, there is an unprecedented cluster
New and clean.
…
At night, the north wind was raging.
The shabby wooden windows could not withstand the cold wind at all and creaked in the wind. The temperature inside the house was as damp and cold as outside, and the white wall was useless.
In the darkness, Rong Ting was in so much pain that cold sweat broke out on his face.
Wang Zhou from next door was snoring loudly, and he huddled up in the quilt, shivering.
I accidentally rolled under the bed. I wanted to stand up by holding on to the bed, but I didn't have the strength to do so. I had to resign myself to lying on the ground.
The ground was freezing cold, and the quilt he was covering himself with was thin, with almost no filling, and it did not provide any protection from the cold, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.
He stared at the long night with his dark eyes. It was all black and chaotic, and he seemed to have returned to the cold nights of his childhood.
The night when he was locked up in the cold palace by his royal brothers.
Countless concubines had been hanged or died of illness there. They locked the door and wouldn't let him out.
The sound of the wind, like the cry of a ghost, rushed in through the broken hole in the window. The thin boy had to curl up under the table to block out the cold wind.
In the darkness, there was the sound of mice gnawing. He curled up under the table, staring at the door without blinking, hoping that someone would open the door.
What awaited me was a whole night of darkness and dampness.
This kind of dying night, where one is hanging on for dear life, goes on endlessly, night after night. When it ends, it will start again, as if it wants to drain away all hope, and it never stops.
Now that he has grown up, he looks at the door without any hope that anyone will come.
Just hope that dawn will break sooner, and the sun will come out to warm our bodies.
The Imperial Palace.
Inside the Jinxiu Palace, there were heaters burning on all four sides and in the center, making it as warm as spring. All the furnishings in the room were luxurious and noble. There was a little hot wine on the table, and the aroma of wine and food filled the air.
Emperor Zhaowu, Empress Jiahe and the twelve-year-old Seventeenth Prince sat together having a midnight snack, and they were in great joy.
Seeing that the atmosphere was very good, Empress Jiahe smiled and said to Emperor Zhaowu, "Little Seventeen has been practicing archery diligently recently and has improved a lot. Would Your Majesty like to take a look?"
Emperor Zhaowu was quite fond of archery. Upon hearing this, he immediately became interested and asked the eunuch to bring arrows and targets.
The queen thought that if her son could show off his skills in archery, he would surely be favored by the emperor. She felt delighted and smiled.
The seventeenth prince rubbed his hands together, rushed forward excitedly, shot an arrow, but it missed the target and hit the wall.
It was just one arrow, and Emperor Zhaowu didn't say anything, but the Queen's face immediately became embarrassed.
Then the seventeenth prince shot another arrow into the air.
The queen's face became increasingly frosty.
Among the last ten arrows, only one arrow was close to the bull's eye.
The queen was extremely anxious and wished she could try it herself for her son.
I told him to practice well, so how come he ended up like this?
The expectant smile on Emperor Zhaowu's face gradually faded, and his dissatisfaction was evident.
The queen smiled awkwardly and excused her son, "Xiao Shiqi has been very busy with schoolwork recently, and he has been working very hard. I think he is a little tired."
Emperor Zhaowu frowned, "Archery also depends on talent, it is not something that can be mastered simply by hard work. Little Seventeen may have other strengths, there is no need to dwell on this."
He tapped his fingers on the table unhappily, and suddenly changed the subject, asking, "How is Xiaojiu these days? I remember that he is very good at archery."
The queen was stunned.
Emperor Zhaowu had many children, a total of seventeen. Excluding those who died young, twelve of them are still alive.
Rong Ting was the ninth among the seventeen princes and princesses. His biological mother was just a palace maid of low status, but because of her outstanding beauty, she attracted the attention of Emperor Zhaowu. She was favored by the emperor and became pregnant. Unfortunately, she was unlucky and died during childbirth.
Rong Ting lost his mother when he was born, and was raised by Empress Jiahe shortly after his birth.
People all say that Empress Jiahe is gentle and polite, and treats other people's children as her own, but few know that she is gentle on the outside but a vicious person at heart.
Although she adopted Rong Ting, she only wanted Emperor Zhaowu and the world to praise her for her magnanimity. She hated the palace maid for stealing his favor and never really treated him as her own child. She took her revenge on Rong Ting.
Even though Rong Ting was raised by her, he was like a person without a mother. He was poorly clothed and fed, neglected, helpless in the palace, and as humble as a weed.
He has been weak since childhood, with a withdrawn and taciturn personality, hiding behind the crowd and being very inconspicuous. When he was thirteen years old, foreigners came to pay tribute to the court. To everyone's surprise, he won three consecutive competitions against adult men of the foreign tribe, making a sensation.
When hunting, the young man drew the bow and never missed his target, full of energy and vigor.
This made Emperor Zhaowu very pleased and he praised it endlessly.
This made Empress Jiahe extremely fearful.
Unlike the previous dynasties, Da Zhao made the legitimate son the crown prince. The throne was passed down to the virtuous rather than the legitimate son. Emperor Zhaowu had never appointed a crown prince. If, in the end, her own son, Xiao Shiqi, was outshined by the son born to a lowly palace maid, how could she bear this?
During the autumn hunting last year, she sent assassins to secretly shoot Rong Ting's legs. She also said that the situation in the capital was chaotic and the murderer had not been caught, and she was afraid that there would be more trouble. She also said that the countryside was quiet and suitable for recuperation. She repeatedly promised that someone would prescribe medicine for Rong Ting according to the prescription written by the imperial physician, and sent Rong Ting to the countryside.
Over the past year, Emperor Zhaowu had never asked a single question. Today's sudden question caught Empress Jiahe off guard and she broke out in a cold sweat.
But she had been tempered in the deep palace for many years, and had long since developed extraordinary determination and character. She quickly suppressed her fear, calmed down her face, and replied: "I send people to ask about Xiaojiu every month. The people who came back this time said that Xiaojiu's legs have recovered well, but it will take some time for them to get better."
Emperor Zhaowu was suspicious, "Xiaojiu has been gone for a year, so why do we have to wait for such a long time?"
The queen pinched her palm, her eyes dimmed, and she answered calmly, "During the autumn hunt, Xiaojiu was seriously injured by an assassin. The deepest part of the wound even exposed the tendons and bones. Even the imperial physician said that it would not be easy to recover. Letting him recuperate for a few more days will also be good for his health."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhaowu showed a bit of regret on his face, and instructed: "Next time you send someone to send him his monthly allowance, pick out more good herbs from the Imperial Hospital and send them along. Although the countryside is quiet and suitable for rest, the quality of the herbs is probably not as good as those in the palace."
The queen lowered her eyes, looking extremely gentle, considerate, and eloquent. "Your Majesty loves his son very much. I will share your worries. I will ask the Imperial Hospital to send some herbs over. Next time you ask someone to visit Xiaojiu, bring them with you."
Emperor Zhaowu nodded with satisfaction, had some midnight snack, and then left Jinxiu Palace.
Queen Jiahe watched him leave gently until he turned the corner and her face suddenly changed.
She recalled how she had just asked her son to behave well in front of Emperor Zhaowu, but ended up having his talent despised. This in turn reminded Emperor Zhaowu of Rong Ting, and he was filled with regret and hatred. His eyes turned cold and vicious, as if they were filled with poison.
She punished the seventeenth prince to sit facing the wall for half an hour, then called a maid over and ordered her to throw all the herbs she had just brought back from the Imperial Hospital into the gutter outside the palace to feed the homeless stray dogs.
…
The cold wind continued all night until the dawn.
Rong Ting's legs were pressed against the cold ground for the entire night. The constant pain made him restless and he couldn't sleep all night.
When daybreak came, he lowered his eyes to look at his two weak injured legs. His eyes were dark and his gaze was as cold as water.
His leg injury worsened.
I'm afraid it will be completely useless.
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