Chapter 144
Chu Yanyu had been taken care of by the Crown Prince. Piao Xue had been bathed and wiped by Wang Xi and Little Conch several times. Its fur was white and shiny, and there was no trace of dirt on its body. The Crown Prince had even asked the servants in the cat and dog room to check on the cat several times. They all said that the cat was fine, but the Crown Prince still didn’t allow Li Yu to get close to the cat.
Just because Chu Yanyu had once put the black dog’s blood on Piao Xue, the Crown Prince was still worried that something would happen to the fish, even though Li Yu had emphasized countless times that he wasn’t afraid of Daoist priests or black dog’s blood.
It was hard to convince a stubborn person. Li Yu also knew that the Crown Prince was doing this for his own good. If it wasn’t black dog’s blood this time, the Crown Prince might not have let him touch it.
Got it! Li Yu had an idea. “Then can you help me carry it?”
It was said that the husband and wife were one. The old man had carried it before, so wouldn’t it be the same as him carrying it?
The Crown Prince was speechless.
The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment. He had rejected Xiaoyu many times, so he knew that Xiaoyu was giving in. For safety and for Xiaoyu’s happiness, he had to agree to this request.
The Crown Prince agreed. Wang Xi was all smiles as he handed the cleaned Piao Xue to the Crown Prince.
Piao Xue had already given up resisting after being tormented several times. It ate dried fish if there was any, and curled up if there wasn’t any. Piao Xue was confused when it was suddenly picked up.
Then, it was pushed in front of a tall man.
Piao Xue: “Meow!”
Piao Xue recognized the man and was about to explode. It kept meowing.
The Crown Prince didn’t like Piao Xue either. He stiffly carried the cat.
Piao Xue opened its mouth to bite, but the Crown Prince glared at it. Piao Xue was terrified. It recalled the fear of being dominated by the Crown Prince and didn’t dare to move. It was held by the pair of hands that were like iron pliers.
The Crown Prince signaled Wang Xi with his eyes. Wang Xi smiled until the corners of his mouth kept twitching. He handed over a dried fish with trembling hands.
The Crown Prince put the dried fish in front of Piao Xue’s mouth. Piao Xue didn’t dare to not eat it. It took two bites in fear, and for the first time, the dried fish didn’t taste good.
“… Feed it,” the Crown Prince said.
The Crown Prince and the cat looked at each other with disgust. After completing the task, he put the cat down.
Piao Xue immediately picked up the dried fish and hid behind Eunuch Wang.
Li Yu sat in his chair. He was so amused by this scene that he couldn’t speak.
The Crown Prince went to bathe first and changed from head to toe. Only then did he come over to hug the fish that was laughing so hard that it was about to pass out at any moment.
What’s so good about holding a cat? The crown prince thought to himself that he still preferred holding a fish.
Because of Chu Yanyu, Piao Xue temporarily stayed in the crown prince’s residence for a few days and enjoyed a life of luxury. It didn’t like to play with rabbits, nor did it like to chase after ducks. It would often curl up on the wall, sleep, and bask in the sun.
In the end, it was still incompatible with the Crown Prince’s Residence.
A few days later, the Drifting Snow Cat suddenly disappeared again.
It must have gone to find its master, Li Yu thought.
In the past, Piao Xue didn’t recognize the path, but she should be able to recognize it now.
Li Yu asked Wang Xi to go to the Cold Palace to confirm Piao Xue’s situation. Wang Xi went, and when he returned, the cat was already at Madam Chou’s side. It was really strange. Piao Xue was listless in the crown prince’s residence, but it ran around excitedly in the Cold Palace, catching butterflies and mice. It was lively and lively. Even if Madam Chou was in a bad mood and scolded it, she couldn’t chase it away.
Madam Chou didn’t have any dried fish, so she often fed Piao Xue leftovers. However, Piao Xue tasted as good as the dried fish.
Every time Wang Xi went to the Cold Palace, he would bring dried fish to Piao Xue. This time was no exception.
Madam Chou knew that Wang Xi often came to feed her cat, so she whispered a few words with Wang Xi. Wang Xi also told her that Chu Yanyu had used Piao Xue to frame the crown prince consort, but the crown prince consort didn’t pursue the matter.
Wang Xi originally hoped that Madam Chou would be grateful, but Madam Chou’s expression darkened as she said coldly, “We are unlucky people. The crown prince consort’s kindness is beyond our reach.”
She meant that she didn’t want Eunuch Wang to come again.
After all, Marquis An and the crown prince were enemies, and this relationship couldn’t be repaired. Madam Chou also disliked the crown prince. This time, Piao Xue was used by Chu Yanyu because the crown prince’s residence had taken care of Piao Xue, which attracted the attention of people with ulterior motives. Madam Chou realized this and didn’t want to be too involved with the crown prince’s residence.
Wang Xi could only pass on Madam Chou’s words. Li Yu sank into silence for a moment.
He remembered that Madam Chou had secretly been brought into the residence and asked them to take care of Piao Xue. At first, when Wang Xi went to feed the cat, Madam Chou didn’t stop him. Why did it change now?
Maybe Piao Xue’s disappearance made Madam Chou realize the hostile relationship between them.
… Forget it.
Li Yu just wanted to thank Piao Xue. He could ask the crown prince to help him hold the cat, but people had to make a choice. If this would affect or make things difficult for the crown prince, there was no need.
“That’s good. Piao Xue has already gone back,” Li Yu said to Wang Xi.
Wang Xi heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Li Yu would be unhappy, so in order to please his master, Wang Xi said some other things.
“… This time, when I went to the Cold Palace, I met someone else,” Wang Xi said with a smile.
“Who?” Li Yu didn’t react for a moment.
“It’s Chu Gui. Ah, this old servant has a bad memory. That person surnamed Chu has no status and is now a commoner. This old servant saw him.”
… Was it Chu Yanyu?
Li Yu had almost forgotten about this person. Ever since Chu Yanyu was beaten and banished to the Cold Palace, he didn’t take the initiative to ask about him.
Wang Xi saw that he had no intention of stopping him, so he continued speaking.
“This old servant almost couldn’t recognize his current appearance. But after going to the Cold Palace, it’s no wonder …”
The way to survive in the palace was about connections and relationships. This was especially true in a place like the Cold Palace where there was basically no hope of leaving. For example, there was still the Marquis An Estate outside the palace. Although Marquis An himself was no longer useful, as long as the name of the Marquis An Estate existed, even if they couldn’t take care of Madam Chou, it was still better than nothing.
As for those who really didn’t have a backer and were disliked by the emperor for doing wrong, they were only left with the fate of being tortured by the eunuchs and palace maids in the Cold Palace.
Those who had some money on hand could live a slightly better life. Those who didn’t have money on hand were just struggling to get by.
When Chu Yanyu first arrived at the Cold Palace, he originally had some valuables on him, but because he had just been beaten, he couldn’t move. He could only watch as most of his valuables were instantly divided up by the envious eunuchs and eunuchs.
These eunuchs were like hungry wolves. Even if it was a bracelet, they would break it into pieces and snatch it away. Chu Yanyu couldn’t stop them and had to treat his injuries. He wanted to invite a doctor and take medicine, but after being cheated a few times by people he didn’t know, he basically didn’t have much left.
There was an eunuch who knew a little about medicine in the Cold Palace. He casually took his pulse, took away the last of his money, and gave him a few commonly used plasters.
The ointment had saved his life, but it couldn’t save his leg. Because he had dragged it out for too long, his injured leg had left sequelae. He walked with a limp, and the scars from the whipping didn’t fade away. But at least he was still alive.
Chu Yanyu now lived in a room with half of the roof collapsed. Every morning when he woke up, he had nothing to do. The only thing he could do was to look at the sky with a pair of empty eyes.
How good would it be if he didn’t expose the crown princess and anger the crown prince?
How good would it be if he didn’t enter the palace and become an imperial concubine?
How good would it be if he followed the crown prince in the beginning?
How good would it be if … he didn’t know the sixth prince?
If he didn’t, these things wouldn’t have happened. But these fantasies had already become Chu Yanyu’s consolation.
The Cold Palace only provided two meals, and both were distributed by the Cold Palace’s chief steward. Those who had money and backing would naturally get a better share.
However, in order to treat his injuries, Chu Yanyu spent the last of his money. He didn’t even have a piece of valuable material left on him. When the chief steward saw that he didn’t have anything left, he gave him some leftovers. Chu Yanyu ate them like he was chewing wax. Even so, he had to eat because if he didn’t eat, he would starve for an entire day. After one meal, another meal, he could go back to sleep.
On this day, he had just finished his meal when someone suddenly came looking for him.
Chu Yanyu was wondering why someone would think of him. Ever since he entered the Cold Palace, he hadn’t seen a single one of his trusted subordinates. However, when he thought of Hong ‘er, these people probably wouldn’t have a good ending. As for the others, he was already in such dire straits, so why should he care about them?
Although he didn’t know who the other party was, to remember him at this time was already taking care of him. Chu Yanyu straightened the coarse clothes on his body and walked out of the room. What greeted him was a loud and crisp slap, causing Chu Yanyu to stagger.
“Slut, you actually dare to harm my cat!” Chou shi’s long, shapely eyebrows furrowed as she cursed.
Chu Yanyu’s mind buzzed like a swarm of bees flying past.
Slowly, the sound became softer and softer. He could only see Chou shi’s lips moving, but he couldn’t hear what she was cursing.
To the side, a snow-white cat sat on the ground and licked its paws in boredom.
Chou shi muttered something and took out a bottle from her sleeve. She splashed the contents of the bottle at Chu Yanyu …
“Master, this old servant has finished speaking.”
Wang Xi vividly described the interesting events of the Cold Palace and waited for Li Yu’s instructions.
“Eunuch Wang, are you saying that Chou shi beat up Chu Yanyu?”
Li Yu was a bit confused. How did Chou shi find Chu Yanyu? Was this considered a fight between villains?
No matter what, Noble Consort Liang Liang was mighty! Chu Yanyu didn’t have the strength to truss up a chicken, so he shouldn’t be able to beat Chou shi …
Li Yu selfishly hoped that Noble Consort Liang Liang could teach Noble Chu a lesson. Hiding dog blood on a cat was too disgusting!
“Master, Chou shi not only beat up Chu Yanyu, but she also brought a small gift for him.” Wang Xi smiled mysteriously.
Don’t misunderstand. Chou shi didn’t splash any medicine, but a bottle of dog blood. She was giving him a taste of his own medicine.
If Chu Yanyu could get dog blood, why couldn’t Chou shi do the same?
Chu Yanyu’s punishment was given by the emperor and the crown prince, but this bottle of dog blood belonged to Chou shi. They couldn’t be confused.
Chu Yanyu was immediately splashed with a fishy smell. Even the people in the Cold Palace who hadn’t bathed for many days had to take a detour when they saw him.
The Cold Palace didn’t have the conditions to bathe. Chu Yanyu was about to go crazy. He could only get water from the well to wash himself. However, after washing himself several times, the smell still didn’t dissipate.
“… This old servant heard that the Cold Palace now calls him the walking dog blood jar,” Wang Xi said.
Li Yu was speechless.
Li Yu wanted to laugh but felt that it was rude, so he could only cough a few times.
As for Chu Yanyu, he originally planned to mind his own business. Who asked him to be the first to cause trouble? This was probably the result of harming others and himself …
Also, there was no need to think that he stole the crown prince.
Long ago, when he was a fish, he realized that the crown prince didn’t like Chu Yanyu.
The crown prince liked him, and he also liked the crown prince. He wouldn’t let the crown prince down. Green Tea Chu should just stay where it was cool!
Li Yu told Wang Xi not to report Chu Yanyu’s news anymore. A person’s time was limited. Instead of spending it on unrelated people, it was better to think about his son.
His old enemy, the crown prince’s position in the Ministry of Rites was gradually on the right track. He wasn’t as busy as before. Perhaps the emperor couldn’t bear to see the crown prince so leisurely, so the Ministry of Rites quickly arranged for the crown prince to be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. The crown prince always had endless things to do, but as long as he was free, he would immediately return to his residence to accompany Li Yu.
As for the children, they often went to the imperial study and the crown prince’s residence. Recently, they had even started to learn to use chopsticks.
Li Yu was bored to death from taking care of the fetus, so he wanted to find something safe and interesting to do.
“Gonggong Wang, what do you think if I make the children and the crown prince’s heart lunches?”
The children had to go to the imperial study every day. Li Yu combined using chopsticks with studying and thought of making the children’s heart lunches.
And he had made the crown prince before, so he was familiar with the process!
Li Yu rubbed his palms together, planning to give the children and their father a surprise.
The children didn’t like to eat cucumbers, so he said that being picky about food was a bad habit. How about he make the cucumbers that even the children’s father praised?
Wang Xi:!!
Wang Xi had the fortune to taste the crown prince consort’s cooking once. The taste was indescribable. Fortunately, the crown prince had ordered the entire residence to be unified, so the crown prince consort didn’t know how bad the food he made was …
Originally, this matter had passed for a long time. Wang Xi thought that the crown prince consort’s status was noble and she was pregnant, so she probably wouldn’t think about it. But who knew that not only did she think about it, she wanted to make it immediately!
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