9. Puppy
She arranged Qingzhu to live in the former Yun Mansion. Her mother was honest and upright, and although it was a mansion, it did not look grand.
When Yun Zhihe gave him some silver and handed him the indenture, Qingzhu looked a little confused, pursed his lips, and walked forward.
"Qingzhu wants to serve Madam Yun, even as a servant."
She had no shortage of people to serve her, so she shook her head and thought that it was not easy for a man to live in this world, so she arranged for him to stay in the Yun Mansion.
Qingzhu just stared blankly at Yun Zhihe's departing carriage, and vaguely remembered the cold and calm look on the woman's face.
He scoffed, as if laughing at himself.
He always thought that all women in the world were the same, heartless and lustful. Even if Madam Yun was a beautiful woman, wasn't she seduced by his pot of tea?
But he realized that she seemed to have no interest in him at all, only a condescending pity.
It's like looking at a lovable little animal, with tenderness and respect, but without a trace of unnecessary affection.
It was too late for Yun Zhihe to go back, so she returned to her palace. After hearing what others said, Azhi hesitated and whispered to herself.
"Miss, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was reprimanded by the Grand Tutor. After you left, His Majesty summoned His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I don't know what happened, but His Majesty was furious, and the Crown Prince didn't seem... very happy either."
"He wants the palace maid to call you over..."
She said this in a tactful way. To be precise, the prince should have left with tears in his eyes.
Yun Zhihe frowned when she heard this. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Go to the East Palace."
It was already getting darker, and the palace people were sparsely populated. She had just stepped into the inner hall of the East Palace when she heard a sob.
It sounded like Xuanyuan He's voice, soft and hoarse, suppressing his sobs.
Yun Zhihe suddenly remembered when she first arrived at the palace. The third prince was small and round, but looked frail, with a pair of calm dark eyes, and he didn't look like he would cry easily.
Empress Xianfeng was imprisoned for committing a serious mistake. Although the late emperor was incompetent, he was cruel in dealing with the Xuanyuan family. The previous dynasty had fought fiercely, and the harem was no exception. She was imprisoned on the grounds of dereliction of duty and jealousy, and died in depression.
As a result, the third prince was also not favored. Without a biological father to raise him, he was adopted by an unfavored emperor, and anyone could bully him.
Later, when the previous emperor passed away, Xuanyuan Ying ascended the throne. He was able to have children and was busy fighting for power. He had no time to pay attention to Xuanyuan He and was still bullied.
When she realized this fact or when the skinny child hugged her and cried, the little boy followed her eagerly as soon as she arrived at the palace, and later protected her a little.
It was not until the court officials realized the uniqueness of Xuanyuan He, who had integrated the bloodlines of two families, that they gradually began to pay attention to him, and then they became estranged.
In a trance, I took a few steps closer to the sobbing sound.
The young man was dressed in the uniform of a prince, squatting in the corner of the table with his lips pursed. His handsome body curled up into a ball, and he whimpered and cried like a cat.
He always liked to hide in places like this. Yun Zhihe softened her heart a little and squatted down. With a gentle look on her extraordinary face, she coaxed him.
"Your Highness, please come out and stop crying."
Xuanyuan He looked up at her, his dark eyes deep and suddenly misty, his voice hoarse, "Madam Yun... I..."
"Why is Father still... not satisfied... I've tried my best, wow..."
The tip of his nose was red, his eyes were rosy, and his thin fingertips carefully touched Yun Zhihe's fingers.
"Sister Zhihe... I don't know, uh, why... Father has been always angry lately."
His voice began to sound faintly depressed.
"He, uh, doesn't seem to like me..."
Yun Zhihe sighed lightly. His Majesty was too... eager for quick success. He was just a delicate young boy, and it was already a genius to have such knowledge now, but he was forcing his growth too fast, wishing to teach him all the responsibilities of a monarch.
Madam Fu Ya was the same. She was demanding things of Xuanyuan He like crazy, and she was still not satisfied even after he did his best.
She softened her voice and let him touch her hand, "Your Highness has already surpassed many people, there is no need to feel inferior."
"When Zhihe was your age, he wasn't as knowledgeable as you are."
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan He slowly looked up at her, but still couldn't stop crying. He sobbed and wanted to burrow into Yun Zhihe's arms. The boy's body was thin, and one could already feel the protruding bones.
This feeling made Yun Zhihe dazed for a moment. She vaguely saw the child in her arms also snuggling into her arms in the same way. She lowered her eyes and sighed for a moment.
Xuanyuan He buried himself in Yun Zhihe's arms, his dark eyes dim and unclear, hiding some ripples. He sniffed and asked in a hoarse voice.
"Sister Zhihe... do you like Father?"
Yun Zhihe paused, not knowing why he asked, and replied softly, "Your Majesty is wise and virtuous, and is loved by the people of the world."
He casually wrapped his fingertips around Yun Zhihe's hair, watching the hair slowly fall and tangle again, with a look of disdain on his face, then he restrained his expression and said.
"Father, it seems that I like Sister Zhihe very much..."
He curled his lips again, put his arms around Yun Zhihe's waist, and his voice suddenly became low.
"I saw Sister Zhihe's portrait in his study last time."
Yun Zhihe suddenly choked, his breathing became a little trembling, and then he quickly calmed down and spoke to Xuanyuan He indifferently.
"Zhi He's figure is ordinary. Perhaps His Royal Highness has mistaken her, or perhaps she is another woman."
He just frowned slightly.
Xuanyuan He didn't say anything else. His cheeks, wet with tears, turned slightly red. He hid his smile and rubbed Yun Zhihe's chest again.
He was not wrong.
Such an old man fell in love with the promising lady Yun, he could laugh about this for the rest of his life.
Pathetic and ridiculous.
Xuanyuan He is not as calm and fair as he appears. When he was a child, he followed Yun Zhihe because he could get good treatment if he cried in front of her.
Later, he was named the crown prince, but he deliberately avoided getting close to that woman because he felt that she disturbed his mind.
He always treats everyone with a clear and gentle demeanor, is kind and polite to everyone, and treats everyone as well as he treats himself.
The same goes for that stupid second prince and the hypocritical eldest prince.
He would feel uneasy and angry when he saw it, so he deliberately distanced himself from her.
Xuanyuan He still remembered how she looked when he first saw her. They were playing the game of pitching a pot with children, but they didn't throw the ball into the pot, but into him.
The children tied stones to the arrows so that they could hit him better.
He knew that his treatment would get better if he followed these children. At that time, the palace was deep and quiet, and Xuanyuan Ying had just ascended the throne and had no time to deal with the beauties in the harem.
The palace is filled with the beauties of the previous emperor, and the resources are even more unbalanced. The palace people have also learned a lot of skills to put down the weak and praise the strong.
The emperor who adopted him had long since fallen out of favor and was somewhat insane. He particularly disliked him and would curse him to vent his anger if he did not do well.
His share was completely deducted, and he had to go without food. He could only reluctantly follow behind the group of princes' children and get some preferential treatment if he was recognized by them.
Some children of low status would take turns playing the game of tossing pots, and that day it happened to be his turn.
The others invited Yun Zhihe to play tossing pots with them. His eyes were obviously red and filled with tears, but he still gritted his teeth and invited her in a hoarse voice.
He knew that this little girl had a special status, so these children respected her a little more, and their soft voices were a little flattering.
"Yun, Sister Yun, do you want to play?"
He will never forget the surprise on Yun Zhihe's face at that time.
He remembered that Yun Zhihe angrily waved away the group of children, pulled his hand and ran all the way to the Shengchen Palace, rushed in panting, his little face flushed red.
Speaking to the man on the high seat, his voice was as clear as the sound of jade being struck.
It's nothing more than a lack of management in the harem, high and low status, and contempt for imperial power.
At that time, Xuanyuan Ying lowered his eyes to look at him, pitifully as if he were looking at a stray dog on the roadside, with pity but also with a sense of avoidance and disgust for the dirtiness.
He could not forget Yun Zhihe holding her hand, nor could he forget the disdainful look the man on the high seat cast down his eyes for a moment, as arrogant as a phoenix.
It was obvious that he was just an old man with disgusting intentions towards young girls.
Xuanyuan He couldn't help but start laughing.
When he discovered the secret, he laughed so happily that tears flowed down his face, wetting his palms. He hadn't laughed like this in a long time.
What would happen if that woman knew?
Isn’t it true that the look in his eyes when he looked at Xuanyuan Ying was just like the way Xuanyuan Ying looked at him back then, full of disgust and disdain.
What if the woman you like is taken away by your stepson?
Will he cry?
Xuanyuan He really wanted to see the good show, so he deliberately angered Fu Ya and Xuanyuan Ying, notified the people in her courtyard, and found an opportunity to cry in the arms of this stupid woman.
Xuanyuan He was not the stray dog that Xuanyuan Ying hated, he was a mad dog. The beauties of the late emperor were not buried alive with the emperor, but after Yun Zhihe complained about the "human pitching pot", all of them were sent to the temple by Xuanyuan Ying.
Over the years, he has dealt with a lot, both openly and secretly. Sometimes it was food poisoning, sometimes it was death from illness, but no one cared, just like the little him back then.
He personally fed poison to the emperor who had abused him, and then watched with indifference as the man struggled to death. His throat made a "ho ho" sound, and his expression was hideous and terrifying, like a ghost from hell, dying with his eyes open.
She gently covered his eyelids with her fingertips and sighed slowly.
"Now we're even..."
He could still remember that man wanted to dig out his eyes like a madman and screamed in pain because of his dark eyes and deep gaze.
What...it's all because of you, Your Majesty, that you didn't come to see me! You killed the Queen and now you're trying to kill me! What's that look in your eyes? I'm going to gouge your eyes out! —Such words.
Xuanyuan He remembered it clearly and it always echoed in his dreams.
In fact, there was no joy in revenge. The man had long forgotten who he was. He only remembered that the late emperor was still alive, living when he was most favored.
When she saw him, she ran towards him, fell down and crawled over again, hugged him and coaxed him madly, "My dear prince, my good prince... let your father hold you..."
Xuanyuan He looked at him numbly, then had someone strangle him, poured poisoned wine into his mouth, sprinkled the poison on his wrist, and then stared at the man's dead body in a daze.
So boring.
He pretended to be clear-headed and dignified, but he was already corrupt inside.
He felt the warmth from Yun Zhihe's body and slowly closed his eyes, but he still couldn't help wanting to laugh.
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