Tuoba Mingyue gently stroked his brow, and for a moment, she was so worried that she didn't notice the man's fingers moving...
-
In the dream, the flames of war were raging and blood was flowing like a river...
“Run! Run…Ah!”
“Mercy…”
"Surround all the palace gates and kill all the members of the Dongling royal family!"
The blood-stained palace.
The palace maids and eunuchs ran around in panic, but there were rebels with swords everywhere, and no matter where they ran, they could not escape death.
The strong smell of blood hung in the air, shrouding the atmosphere in gloom.
"kill!"
"Don't let any of them go!"
"ah!"
Amidst the chaos, an old woman jumped into the pond holding a two-year-old child.
"Mother..."
"Your Highness, let's go."
"Mother, I want Mother!"
Bang!
The moment he jumped into the pond, he watched helplessly as the rebels rushed in and stabbed the concubine to death with a sword.
"Mother—"
The pond was filled with running water and connected to the moat outside the city. I opened the secret door made of iron mesh underwater and swam out at the risk of drowning, but was then washed out of the city by the water.
The old lady was dying.
The little boy sat on the ground in a panic, looking towards the direction of the palace. Smoke rose straight into the sky...
The Dongling Kingdom was destroyed.
The State of Chu rose.
Every household closed its doors. The Chu army strictly investigated traitors and remnants of the previous dynasty. Even literati who wrote poems and essays about the previous dynasty would be picked out. For a time, everyone was in danger.
"You thief, how dare you steal my buns? I'll beat you to death!"
At the street corner stall, the vendor was holding a rolling pin and beating the old lady severely.
The old lady protected the child in her arms tightly:
"Eat quickly, eat faster."
"I'll beat you to death!"
No one would care about two beggars who were equally destitute. If a nobleman's carriage passed by, they would throw down a few copper coins, but they would not have time to grab them because the beggars who were guarding nearby would rush over:
"mine!"
“I saw it first!”
"Don't grab it, it's mine!"
The old woman was protecting the little boy. She was beaten and kicked until her head was covered in blood. She looked miserable. Just then, the soldiers and guards on the long street came with spears to clear the way.
“Get out of the way!”
"The royal guard, all who are not here, please stand aside!"
The people on both sides knelt down hastily and kowtowed to the newly enthroned King of Chu.
The old lady held the little boy's head down, and was inconspicuous in the crowd. The neat and majestic team slowly came over, and the little boy quietly raised his head.
On horseback, the King of Chu, dressed in a dragon robe, looked young and majestic, and the team following behind him was huge and mighty.
"Today is the autumn hunt, the royal family is holding a grand ceremony..."
"Look, even the youngest of the five princes has come out to participate."
"This fifth prince is also pitiful. He lost his mother at a young age and was born prematurely, and his health has always been poor..."
His eyes followed closely.
In autumn hunting, swords and knives have no eyes.
Due to a moment of carelessness, the tents in the rear caught fire and the Fifth Prince was choked to death by the thick smoke. The palace maids who were serving him were frightened out of their wits. This must be a serious crime that would involve the entire nine generations of the clan.
At this moment, a young boy appeared:
"If you want my whole family to survive, from now on, I will be the fifth prince."
The palace maid reported that the fifth prince had a burn on his face and the imperial physician said he needed to rest for three months.
When the King of Chu was about to go for a visit, urgent news came that the Fifth Prince had broken his leg while climbing a tree.
At this time, some ministers could not help but dissuade him:
"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I hope you will forgive me. When the fifth prince was born, his mother died. Now there have been a series of accidents during the autumn hunt. I am afraid that I have offended you..."
The King of Chu thought for a long time and decided to keep the fifth prince outside the palace, and he was not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned.
Qingfengju.
The location was remote and quiet, but he was a prince after all, so the emperor assigned a lot of people to serve him. It was okay in the first year, but gradually, those eunuchs didn't care anymore:
"Really? Let us wait on this useless person here. What's the difference between this and waiting to die?"
"This jerk, he just sits there all day long like a dead man, and he's a burden to us..."
"There's nothing to gain..."
"It would be better to just die!"
The courtyard was extremely quiet. A young boy sat in a wheelchair, not saying a word. He watched the leaves rustling in the wind and the birds fluttering in the sky. There was something very deep in his eyes.
The emperor never summoned the fifth prince, and the eunuchs became emboldened. They served him stale food and cold dishes, beat him, scolded him, and simply stopped serving him:
"waste!"
"Eat, eat, eat. Why don't I eat you to death?"
"Consider this half bun a reward from me. Just don't starve to death, hahaha!"
As slaves, they never thought that there would be a day when they would trample on their masters. This sense of accomplishment made them very happy and they even fell in love with this feeling.
From beating and scolding at the beginning to directly stealing items from Qingfengju and selling them for silver.
There were five people serving every day, but now only one person comes every two or three days, throwing down two hard steamed buns and leaving.
The beggars around gradually became interested in the people living in Qingfengju:
"Who lives in there?"
"It's such a big house, but he doesn't look like a noble at all."
"How about... let's take it away!"
"This big house is ours!"
Seven or eight beggars bravely rushed into Qingfengju, robbing and smashing things, even overturning a chair and kicking the boy off the steps:
"Hey, I'm telling you, this place is our home now. If you know what's good for you, you'd better get out right now!"
“Get lost!”
The young man lay on the ground, propping up his upper body, without moving a muscle, and looked at these people calmly with his dead eyes.
Several people were frightened.
"What are you looking at? Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
"Brother, it seems like he can't move his legs!"
"So you're a cripple. How dare you look at us like that? I'll beat you to death!"
"Hit him!"
Seven or eight people surrounded him, punching and kicking him, and stepping on his broken leg, "Waste! Bah! Waste!"
“What are you doing!?”
Outside the door, a childish cry was heard. The young master holding the birdcage had a rosy face and a delicate appearance, but when he saw this scene, he flew into a rage.
"Who are you?"
"Mind your own business!"
The young master was furious: "You are bullying the weak with your numbers, and you think you are right? Let me meet you!"
He threw the birdcage away, jumped down five steps and flew up.
"ah!"
“Ah!”
“Hmm!”
“Someone come… ahem! Someone come, Eighth Brother, Eighth Brother! Help me… ah!”
The young master lay on top of the boy, protecting him with his body, and endured the punches and kicks from seven or eight people.
Fists like raindrops.
Holding his head, unable to bear it any longer, he shouted:
"I am the Ninth Prince!"
The beggars were stunned for a moment, but then they continued to beat them:
"Who are you kidding? Would the Ninth Prince come to a place like this?"
"You two, a cripple and a liar, are a perfect match!"
"Ninth brother, ninth brother, I'm here to save you... Aaaa! Why are you hitting me too? Eight of you are hitting three of us? That's not fair... Aaaa! If you hit ninth brother, you can't hit me!"
"It's a handy thing!"
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