Chapter 9 Catsnaps? ?
When Cui Yan led Cui Xiao, who was dressed neatly and ready to enter the palace to express his gratitude, to Yanshou Hall to "say goodbye" according to etiquette, the old lady Zhou on the sickbed suddenly let out a rapid and harsh "ho ho" sound from her throat!
Her right hand, which was as skinny as a chicken claw and covered with brown spots, suddenly burst out with amazing strength from nowhere.
He suddenly stretched out his hand from under the brocade quilt, and like an iron clamp, he grasped the hem of the brand new brocade robe that Cui Xiao had just put on tightly and convulsively!
“Xiao… Xiao…”
Her crooked lips moved with difficulty, saliva dripping, and her cloudy eyes stared at Cui Xiao, filled with deep resentment and unwillingness, and her throat burst out with unclear but extremely stubborn syllables.
"Wai...wai...quickly! Stay...here!"
The force was so strong that it deformed Cui Xiao's clothes and almost pulled him down! A foul odor mixed with the smell of medicine, old age, and the smell of death and decay hit him in the face.
Cui Xiao was caught off guard and staggered. He looked at his grandmother's hideous face, which looked like a devil from hell demanding his life, and felt the cold touch and huge pulling force of the hem of her clothes, which carried the breath of death.
A chill instantly shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head! No matter how clever and cunning he was, no matter how many life and death experiences he had, he was still frightened by this pure, naked malice, his scalp tingling and his face turning slightly pale.
Cui Yan stood beside his son.
From the moment he stepped into the room, his resolute face, which had relaxed a little due to his son's impending entry into the palace, was covered with a layer of frost again.
At this moment, seeing his mother resorting to such despicable means to stop him at the last moment, and seeing the horror that flashed across her son's face, Cui Yan's anger exploded like an oil depot that was ignited!
He took a step forward, and his tall body instantly blocked Madam Zhou's resentful gaze.
Without any hesitation, without even looking at his mother's distorted face, Cui Yan's right hand, which had chopped countless enemies on the battlefield, was thick with joints.
It stretched out as fast as lightning, carrying an irresistible, cold force, and slashed fiercely on the wrist of Madam Zhou's withered claw!
A slight but clear sound of bones dislocating was heard, which made one's teeth ache!
“Ugh—!”
Old Madam Zhou let out a short, shrill howl, like a night owl weeping blood. The severe pain made her withered claws lose all strength in an instant, and they fell limply, with her wrist twisted at a strange angle.
Cui Yan withdrew his hand, as if he was just brushing away a mosquito or fly that was blocking his way.
He didn't even look at his mother who was twitching violently and screaming in pain and anger on the bed. His cold eyes were like two cold blades drawn from their sheaths.
He swept his eyes over the people and servants from the second house who were silent and pale in the room, and finally landed on Cui Xiao, with a barely perceptible warmth.
His voice was not loud, but it was like the clanging of metal, carrying a resolute and inviolable authority, and it resounded clearly in the dead silence of Yanshou Hall:
"The imperial decree has been issued, with thunderous force! Cui Xiao is to enter the palace immediately to accompany the study. This is the emperor's order! You all——"
His eyes swept over the people in the second house again, with an undisguised warning
"Are you planning to disobey the imperial order, or are you planning to take on this heinous crime for the old lady?!"
The words "disobeying the imperial order" and "heinous crimes" were like a thousand-pound hammer, hitting Cui Jun and Wang's hearts hard.
The two men's faces turned pale as paper in an instant, their whole bodies trembled, and they subconsciously avoided Cui Yan's all-seeing gaze, not even daring to breathe.
Old Madam Zhou on the bed was also completely crushed by this undisguised threat and the severe pain of the broken wrist. All that was left was desperate, intermittent wails, and she could no longer utter a single clear syllable.
Cui Yan said no more, grabbed his still dazed son, turned around and strode out of this cage that exuded endless decay and malice.
The heavy curtain fell behind them, completely isolating the suffocating atmosphere of Yanshou Hall.
The gate of Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, with its mottled red paint, which symbolized its former glory but could not conceal its decadence, slowly closed behind Cui Xiao, letting out a dull sigh.
He took a deep breath, and the spring air outside the palace wall, smelling of catkins and dust, rushed into his lungs, bringing with it an unprecedented sense of freshness and freedom.
He turned around and took one last look at the old and high-hanging plaque "The Imperially Built Weiyuan Marquis Mansion". A complex light flashed across his peach blossom eyes, and then turned into a clear and firm look.
He straightened his back and followed the eunuch who led the way, setting foot on the palace road that led to the center of imperial power and also to an unknown fate.
The towering palace walls isolate the hustle and bustle of the city, leaving only a solemn and breathtaking silence.
The soles of the boots made a hollow echo as they stepped on the polished golden brick floor.
Cui Xiao's heartbeat was as clear as a drum in the vast silence. He tried hard to maintain the calm demeanor that a child of an aristocratic family should have.
The corner of his eyes could not help but look around curiously - the towering eaves of the palace outlined cold and hard lines under the blue sky.
The vermilion palace walls stretch endlessly, and the expressionless Jinwu guards in armor are like clay sculptures and wooden carvings.
The air was filled with ambergris and an indescribable, cold scent of power.
The eunuch who led the way brought him to a relatively secluded palace garden, where a plaque with the words "Xiefang Palace" hung on the lintel.
This is the residence of the Third Prince, Liu Chang. Unlike the grand and magnificent residence one might imagine, Xiefang Palace appears exceptionally quiet, even a little deserted.
There are several magnolias in full bloom planted in the courtyard, with white petals scattered all over the ground and a delicate fragrance floating in the air.
The eunuch went in to report. After a moment, the palace door was gently pushed open a crack.
Cui Xiao straightened his clothes and prepared to salute. However, what emerged from the crack in the door was not the majestic prince or the solemn palace maid he had expected, but a small face... so pale that it was almost transparent.
He was a boy of about thirteen years old, with an extremely thin figure. He was wearing a moon-white uniform, which made him look even thinner.
He had a pair of extremely clean and clear eyes, like an unpolluted mountain stream. At this moment, he was looking at Cui Xiao cautiously with a bit of timid curiosity and unconcealable surprise.
The most eye-catching thing was that he was holding tightly in his arms a snow-white, palm-sized little rabbit with eyes as clear as rubies...?
Cui Xiao's prepared words of respect were stuck in his throat. This... was the Third Prince, the adopted son of the current emperor?
The difference between him and the image of a prince surrounded by nobles and attendants was too great. He didn't know how to react.
The young man holding the snow rabbit seemed to be a little nervous about Cui Xiao's brand new brocade robe and overly "standard" demeanor. He subconsciously hugged the rabbit in his arms tighter, and the snow rabbit moved its ears uneasily.
A faint blush crept across his pale cheeks, like the petals of a newly opened peach blossom in spring. His voice was soft, cautious and tentative, yet revealing a genuine joy:
"You...you are the one that Mammy mentioned...the one who can play the crocheted string...Cui Xiao?"
Cui Xiao's brain froze for a moment.
How did his father, Cui Yan, the iron-blooded marquis renowned in the court, introduce his son, a man of both civil and military talents, when he spoke to the Third Prince's mother in order to secure him the position of tutor?
Looking at the Third Prince's pure eyes that were not stained by dust and full of expectation, and then looking at the little snow rabbit in his arms that was also looking at him curiously with its ruby eyes,
The slight tension in Cui Xiao's heart caused by the gloom of the Marquis' Mansion and his first entry into the palace strangely dissipated.
The corners of his mouth lifted uncontrollably, revealing a brilliant smile that had a touch of the carefree and cunning nature of a young man from the capital. He even subconsciously touched his nose.
"Uh... back to Your Highness, I know a little bit about sledding... I know a little bit." He paused, his peach blossom eyes curved into crescents, and added with the youthful energy.
"Cricket fighting, Cuju, sword dancing, boxing, archery... these are things I'm more adept at. I wonder if Your Highness would be interested?"
The clear eyes of the third prince Liu Chang lit up instantly, like stars suddenly lighting up in the night sky.
He took a small step forward, holding the snow rabbit in his arms. A pure, unclouded smile spread across his face, and he nodded vigorously.
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