My name is Ayao, a courtesy name given to me by my mother.
He was born in the palace, favored by his father, the emperor, and ate delicacies from land and sea, and wore gold and silk.
Every single item in the palace is a rare treasure, equivalent to ten years' harvest for an ordinary person.
"Why are you here, Yao? Are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry, I miss my mother."
"Mother misses Yao'er too."
The woman, elegant and graceful, picked up a piece of plum blossom jade cake with her fingertips and said, "Try it."
Ayao smiled innocently, "It's delicious."
He can have whatever he wants to eat, and even if he wants the stars in the sky, someone will pluck them from the sky.
He was very happy then, and he thought that life would continue like this forever, but everything changed.
That day, a troop of soldiers surrounded the palace gate. The emperor slapped his mother and flew into a rage.
"You wicked woman, how dare you use witchcraft to harm the prince! You have wasted my sincere heart!"
"Guards, take Consort Chen to the Cold Palace. No one is to see her without my order!"
The mother pleaded tearfully, "We've known each other for so many years, you know my true nature. How could I dare to do such a thing? Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly."
The Emperor wouldn't listen. "Guards! Take him away!"
The mother was banished to the cold palace, and the servants either died or found other masters.
In an instant, he was left all alone in the vast palace, and the former prosperity was gone.
Ayao took off his brocade clothes and put on rough hemp clothes, and he didn't know where his next meal would come from.
The food delivered was either thin or rotten; if you were lucky, there were pickled vegetables.
At first, he wasn't used to it.
To survive, you must eat!
He became invisible in the palace, ignored and uncared for, and no one dared to offend his father, the emperor.
They spend their days with the sky and their nights with mice.
In deserted places, rats are large and numerous, their bodies thicker than his arm.
Ayao was terrified and mumbled in his sleep to bolster his courage, "Don't bite me, please don't bite me..."
Some rats are docile, while others are ferocious, tearing off large chunks of flesh with a single bite.
Having lived with rats for a long time, he could tell at a glance which rats would bite.
Two years passed in this way, and because of the slander of a eunuch, the emperor ordered him to be thrown into a temple.
"The sixth prince is possessed by an evil spirit and needs to cultivate in a temple for five years to purify the evil spirit in his body."
Ayao knew that the eunuch did it on purpose.
He was powerless to resist and could only wander.
Because of the sixth prince's status, the monks dared not do anything to him, and Ayao lived a few peaceful days.
As time went on, the monk discovered that his father, the emperor, disliked him, revealing his true colors.
"You brat, you've been eating, drinking, and staying at the temple for free for so many days, get up and get to work!"
Ayao huddled in the corner, his hands on his lap, his eyes filled with terror.
What are you doing?
"stand up!"
The fat monk smiled maliciously, "There's a river outside. Fill the water vat today, or you won't get any food."
He threw two buckets at Ayao and chased him out.
After hesitating for a moment, Ayao resigned himself to walking towards the river.
The strong bully the weak, and the monks are no exception.
He was too weak, so he was bullied.
If he doesn't fetch water, the monks will never let him off the hook; they will surely find ways to torment him. It's better for him to go out.
Now that winter has arrived, the ground is covered with a thick layer of snow.
Wearing only a thin shirt, Ayao walked through the cold wind, his cheeks turning purplish-red from the cold, and the soles of his feet bleeding.
He picked up the water and desperately tried to walk back, his legs sinking into the snow, but he still dared not stop.
Because he wanted to live.
After one night, Ayao developed a high fever.
The monks were afraid he would die in the temple, so they didn't go too far, but they always insulted him.
"You're a complete waste! You can't even carry water properly! The Emperor wouldn't like someone as useless as you..."
At first, Ayao would get angry, but after hearing it a few times, he wouldn't get angry anymore.
He covered his ears and pretended not to hear.
The fat monk pried open the thin hand and grabbed his ear hard. "I'm talking to you! Did you hear me?"
Ayao dared not disobey and whispered, "I heard you."
His eyes reddened, and glistening tears clung to his eyelashes, making him appear lonely and vulnerable, evoking pity in people.
The fat monk grumbled, "Such a young age and already trying to seduce people. I hate this pathetic look the most. Who is she trying to fool?!"
Ayao shook his head, "Master Huijing, I didn't mean to ignore you, I'm not feeling well... please don't hit me... sob sob, I miss my father."
Fat monk: "Go, go, go fetch them."
Ayao nodded and ran to open the back door of the temple.
Monks may appear to be vegetarian and chant Buddhist prayers in public, but in private they may be eating meat and even engaging in sexual activity with women.
A voluptuous woman swayed into the house, covering her mouth and letting out a bell-like laugh.
The fat monk was overjoyed and hugged her, kissing her repeatedly, without any regard for the little boy next to them.
"You guard the gate!"
Ayao squatted at the door, pressed his ears, and ignored the chaotic noises.
...
"The abbot's prayer beads are missing! Who stole them?!"
The fat monk, feeling guilty for his thievery and afraid of being discovered, immediately shifted the blame onto the boy.
“Monks don’t lie, it must be this kid!”
“He was the only outsider in the temple. I saw him sneak into the main hall.”
"He must have stolen the prayer beads!"
Ayao desperately tried to explain, "No, it wasn't me."
No one believed him; they were convinced he had stolen the prayer beads.
During his years in the palace, he witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships.
During his two years at the temple, he learned to feign pitifulness.
From beginning to end, he was an outsider, an outsider who could be thrown away once something went wrong.
The monks pressed, "Hand over the prayer beads! Hand them over now!"
Ayao no longer wanted to be cowardly and became unusually resolute.
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