diskusbooks Chapter 226 Ingratitude and Deceit (First Encounter Extra Chapter)
Chapter 226 Ingratitude and Deceit (First Encounter Extra Chapter)
In winter, the first snowfall in the capital was exceptionally heavy.
The capital city was even colder at night.
The chill penetrated through the thin clothing, seeping into the bones and freezing both legs until they were numb.
The wound on my thigh was throbbing with pain.
Gu Yao had been kneeling outside the palace road of Chuxiu Palace for almost two hours.
They were covered in a thick layer of snow.
The palace maids and eunuchs who passed by would glance at him, either mocking or pitying him, and then quickly leave.
Gu Yao, a young eunuch who had only recently entered the palace, had no relatives or friends there.
No one pleaded for him.
No one cared whether he lived or died.
Hunger and cold made Gu Yao's eyelids heavy.
He looked at the deserted palace road at night and glanced up at the sky above the palace.
It was square and dark, as if it wanted to lock away a person's three souls and seven spirits, suppressing them in this dark hell, so that they could never be reborn.
I'm afraid I'm really going to die here today.
Gu Yao thought to himself.
Will I be able to see my parents, the housekeeper, and my sister Pei'er?
But I haven't taken my revenge yet.
Gu Yao felt little fear of death, but rather a deep sense of resentment.
Why are those hypocritical scoundrels allowed to live so well?
He was not reconciled.
The stain on his family has not yet been cleared, and his parents' heads are still shamefully displayed at the execution ground. How can he, as their son, watch his parents suffer such humiliation?
He was not reconciled.
I'm really not willing to accept this.
The boy's hands, red and swollen from the cold, scratched a bloody mark on the palace path.
That chill seemed to penetrate through the bones and into the internal organs.
It made him tremble all over, and he felt cold.
My vision was also unusually blurry.
I guess I'm really going to die.
Gu Yao felt his consciousness being gradually swallowed by darkness.
On this cold night, lying unconscious on the palace road, I suppose the eunuchs will come to sweep away the snow tomorrow and carry me to the mass grave.
In this deep palace, human life is the least valuable thing.
Dying is no different from eating or drinking.
But I'm still not satisfied.
His family's century-old reputation cannot be lost in his generation.
No way.
The thin boy nestled in the thick snow, the swirling snowflakes falling on him and gradually covering his gray eunuch attire.
So be it.
What's the use of being unwilling?
No matter how unwilling he was, no one came to save him.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, slow down!"
Gu Yao suddenly heard children's laughter coming from afar.
"Auntie, you don't need to hold me. Do you think the glass lantern that Father Emperor gave me at the palace banquet is pretty?"
"It's beautiful, this glass is absolutely gorgeous."
Gu Yao's ears twitched slightly, and a faint hope rose in his heart.
Children are soft-hearted; perhaps they can save themselves.
He waited, waiting for the person to walk to the palace gate.
A faint cry for help was emitted.
"Help, help."
The child being led by the palace maid stopped making a sound and turned to look; beneath the layer of snow, there was a wisp of gray.
The child was a little anxious and stretched out his hand, "Grandma, there's someone over there who looks like he's about to die."
The palace maid who was with the young prince frowned. She hadn't expected that after leaving the palace banquet with the young prince ahead of time, this little eunuch would still be here when they returned.
The young prince even caught them in the act.
The palace maid frowned, wanting to take the child back to the palace. "Didn't Your Highness say you were sleepy? Why don't you go back and rest? This little eunuch, I'll ask the imperial physician to take a look, okay?"
Gu Yao closed his eyes and felt that the sound was sometimes near and sometimes far, and somewhat indistinct, but he still managed to make out the general idea.
Children are soft-hearted, but these palace maids might not be.
If he lets them leave, he might really die here.
We can't let them leave.
He heard the palace maid call him Your Highness, but he didn't know which Your Highness it was.
He parted his stiff lips and, with all his might, whispered for help, "Your Highness, help me."
The child frowned, biting his fingers in a dilemma, caught between the urging of the palace maid and the cries for help from the young eunuch.
He turned to his personal maid, "Granny, let's save him. He's so pitiful, it's so cold, he'll die."
The palace maid seemed somewhat helpless and gently squatted down.
"Then we shall do as Your Highness says. You two, go and help him up."
Gu Yao felt as if he had been dug out of the snow, and his body felt somewhat weightless.
"Little eunuch, where are you from?"
The child's voice was soft and gentle, tinged with worry.
Gu Yao looked up and saw only a dim, yellowish light.
I can't see the face of the person in front of me clearly.
"Wash, the laundry department."
The child seemed worried and shouted at the attendants, "Didn't you hear he's from the laundry department? Quickly send him back and fetch the imperial physician!"
Gu Yao's consciousness was hazy, and he felt his body being violently shaken.
After everyone finished their work, even though the surrounding area was already warm with firelight, he still felt extremely cold.
Even the cracks in my bones are letting in drafts.
He couldn't help but shiver and trembled on the bed.
"Little eunuch, don't die! Quick, quick, feed him the medicine!"
A warm current soothed his cold lungs, and his thin body stopped trembling.
The child breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the man bustling around anxiously, the palace maid frowned. "Your Highness, you've been out for a long time. When the palace banquet ends, Her Highness will be worried if she can't find you."
The child seemed conflicted, glancing at the person on the bed.
In the dim candlelight, Gu Yao's incomparably beautiful face looked sickly, and her pale face, which had been frozen, gradually regained its rosy color.
It seems they've recovered.
This little eunuch is really handsome.
The thought flashed through the child's mind, and he secretly blushed.
Feeling a little embarrassed, she turned her head away and awkwardly rubbed the tips of her ears.
The child nodded, somewhat regretfully, "Alright then, let's go back. Mother will be worried soon."
Looking at the beautiful glass lamp in the palace maid's hand, he felt that what he used to like very much, he didn't like as much anymore.
This glass lamp isn't as pretty as the little eunuch.
Before leaving, he grabbed the exquisite glass lamp and placed it in front of Gu Yao's bed.
The little girl squatted by Gu Yao's bedside, looking at the person in front of her up close, and found him even more pleasing to the eye.
He sighed softly, reached out and poked the boy's face; it was soft and cool.
Even though the boy didn't say anything, he still felt a little embarrassed and agitated.
Realizing what he had done, the child silently withdrew his hand. He glanced at the glass lamp, then at the boy in front of him.
Some people want to keep others by their side.
He whispered in the boy's ear, "Little eunuch, I'm saving my favorite glass lamp for you as a betrothal gift. When I grow up, will you marry me?"
No answer.
The child lowered his eyes, looking somewhat regretful.
Then he raised his head again, as if somewhat sulking, "My mother said that as long as you have someone you like, you can propose to them. If you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement."
Children's words can be somewhat childish and unruly.
After saying that, she quietly blushed.
Reluctantly, she got up and walked towards her palace maid.
"Granny, let's go."
What he didn't know was that while Gu Yao was unconscious for several days, the exquisite glass lamp had already been stolen by other eunuchs in the courtyard and sold outside the palace.
Gu Yao woke up after a long sleep but couldn't remember who had taken him back.
Three days after the palace banquet, Consort Zhen was banished to the Cold Palace for harming the prince.
The young tenth prince also suffered as a result.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Yao paused, though he should have felt a surge of joy.
After all, he was forced to kneel outside the palace by the people of Chuxiu Palace and nearly died.
But for some reason, I felt a little uncomfortable.
He kept his head down, still acting as a little eunuch.
There are still several palace ladies' clothes to be delivered today.
If we don't hurry, we'll miss lunch again.