The sky was already gloomy, and when Huo Du entered the palace gate, Bai Xue finally fell.
He raised his eyes to look at the sky, deliberately letting the snowflakes fall into his eye sockets and melt into his eyes.
-Things change day by day, only the temperature of ice and snow remains unchanged.
Huo Du leaned on a white jade cane and walked slowly on the palace road, his back was always straight, without the slightest bending. The palace maids and eunuchs who passed by on both sides of the palace road all stopped when they passed Huo Du and bowed their eyes respectfully.
There are too many rumors in the palace about the Crown Prince, and most of them are terrifying rumors. And his usual gloomy and cold appearance seemed to confirm those groundless rumors.
Even so, the palace people still had to admit that the majesty that His Royal Highness exuded in his gestures was unmatched by other princes.
Even...he lost a leg.
The snow was getting bigger and bigger, and Huo Du's hair was covered with a layer of snowflakes.
He stared coldly and walked towards the imperial garden—
Everyone, including Le Zhi, thought that Huo Changyun hurriedly announced that he entered the palace to resist the imperial order. And Huo Du was very clear in his heart that the reason was not here.
The snowflakes melted underneath, and Huo Du's black hair soon became wet.
The corners of his lips gradually twitched, and his heart became clear: Laba was coming, and it was the day when his father, the emperor, expressed his affection once a year.
In the imperial garden, red plums bloom, appearing even brighter in the silver and white.
At a glance, Huo Du saw Huo Changyun standing in front of the red plum tree with his hands folded behind his back.
The red plum tree was planted by his mother.
He approached slowly and stood beside Huo Changyun, neither speaking nor salute. And Huo Changyun didn't care about him either, his eyes still fell on the plum blossom tree, without moving at all.
The Imperial Forest Army patrolled the palace city, passing through the Imperial Garden one after another, but Huo Changyun and Huo Du kept standing. There seems to be a cold and hard barrier around the two people, making people afraid to get close.
The palace maids, the eunuchs, and the imperial guards were all cautious, not daring to make a sound, and even the slightest sound of footsteps.
Until twilight, the night lights began to light up in the palace...
"Du'er." Huo Changyun finally spoke, his voice seemed to be covered with frost, "It's approaching the anniversary of your mother's death again. Are you still unwilling to see her this year?"
Huo Du curled his lips and said casually, "It's enough to have the royal father to see her."
Hearing this, Huo Changyun lifted his eyelids, glanced sideways, and said nothing.
Huo Du was used to being wanton, and he didn't bother to accompany this person who was pretending to be affectionate but hypocritical to continue acting. The cotton boots turned slightly, and he turned to leave...
"That Lezhi, do you still like it?"
"I like it." Huo Du took a step, and seemed to be interested, with a smile in his tone, "Thanks to the emperor's willingness, otherwise how could Erchen be intoxicated by the gentle town?"
Huo Changyun frowned and snorted coldly, "Oh, is that right? Since you have already experienced the joy of male, female, and female love, why are you resisting the decree today? Isn't the blessing of Qi people bad?"
"Tsk." Huo Du smiled disdainfully, and sneered in a low voice: "My father first gave my son a Xi Shi, and then a Dong Shi, are you dizzy?"
After a pause, he focused on his eyes, as if he had thought about it seriously, "If the emperor really wants to bestow the blessings of his sons and ministers, why don't you give me Xia Feitai too... Stunning, that is called the blessing of Qi people."
"You bastard! Get out!" Huo Changyun was so angry with his fascinated expression that he felt suffocated.
Huo Du didn't care.
Go go go.
Until he walked out of the palace gate, Huo Du finally released the fist hidden in his sleeve. Due to too much force, a deep red mark was embedded in the palm of the palm by the nail...
The fake smile disappeared, and his expression was as cold as water.
What Huo Changyun said earlier seemed to be casual, but in fact it was a hidden temptation. Huo Changyun wouldn't care about his refusal to accept the imperial edict of marriage, what he cares about is why he refused the edict.
When Huo Changyun said the word Lezhi, Huo Du's heart sank suddenly. Over the years, he didn't even care about life and death, but just now, his chest cavity was filled with fear, and it hurt from suffocation.
—Looks like his ribs are hurting.
If he hesitated for a moment just now, with Huo Changyun's sensitive and suspicious personality, he would definitely be able to detect his thoughts...
Huo Du's opponent was never Huo Xu, but his father, Huo Changyun.
He has been planning for many years, and naturally imagined a failed result.
But it's just death, he can afford to lose.
Anyway, even if he wins, he will die.
Everywhere is dead.
Then play.
But today, the choking pain in his chest made Huo Du suddenly sober—
He can't afford to lose.
Prince's Mansion.
"Meow~"
Le Zhi sat leaning on the bed, staring blankly, until Xiao Xue Tuan in her arms pressed her head against her palm, wagging her paws and tail mischievously.
The soft fur stroked the palm of his hand, Lezhi returned to his senses, and looked at the burning candle on the table—
This was the red candle that Linyue had lit after serving her and grooming, and most of it had been lit by now.
Le Zhi hugged Huo Xiaoli and got up and stayed on the bed, walked to the window, and looked at the darkness outside the window. Her eyes were dumbfounded.
—Why hasn’t Huo Du come back yet
Fortunately, there is no other news from the palace.
No news is the best news.
Suddenly, there was a sound of heavy footsteps outside the door, accompanied by the slight sound of a cane hitting the ground.
Le Zhi turned around suddenly, put down Huo Xiaoli, and hurried to the door. When she reached out to open the door, the door was pushed open from the outside...
"you're back?"
There was involuntary joy in his tone. Le Zhi reached out and grabbed his wrist through her narrow sleeves, and a burst of cold and wetness came, she couldn't help frowning.
When Huo Xiaoli saw the familiar figure, he rushed to Huo Du's feet excitedly, holding his head up and rubbing lightly.
However, Huo Du's clothes had long been soaked with snow water, and the dry and fluffy fur was wet and cold, and the soft fur was instantly pulled into a ball.
"Meow!" Huo Xiaoli called out unhappily, then turned and ran away in disgust.
Lezhi did not run. On the contrary, she tightly held Huo Du's wrist with one hand and touched his forehead with the other hand, and when she touched a icy cold, a slight annoyance appeared on her face, "It's snowing heavily outside, Your Highness. Why don't you use an umbrella!"
Hearing the familiar soft voice, Huo Du smiled, and moved Lezhi's hand away without looking, so as not to pass the cold to her. He slowly walked towards the bathroom, "I'll go to Muze first."
"The water in the bathroom is cold, and it's been too long to boil the water." Le Zhi grabbed his soaked clothes again and said, "Go to Tangquan Pond?"
Huo Du smiled, put his hand on the back of Le Zhi's hand and patted it lightly, motioning her to let go, "Okay, I'll go by myself."
Hearing this, Le Zhi frowned, and the worries he had accumulated for most of the day instantly turned into anger.
- People who were talking nonsense before entering the palace have now become calm and serious.
Okay.
Le Zhi snorted, but didn't let go, "What? Does His Royal Highness dislike me for touching it? Well, as long as you say something, I promise not to touch you again."
Oh, there are ninety-nine times left.
Go dream!
Huo Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was too embarrassed to talk about him, obviously her own temperament was also very strong.
This is a good thing, it shows that in front of him, her fear and timidity are less and less.
He couldn't help but think that Lezhi might have been like this in the past.
Coquettish and sassy.
"Let's go." Huo Du let her continue to pull, and wanted to go out.
"Wait!" Le Zhi let go of his hand, hurried to the closet, took a thick cloak, and put it on Huo Du...
Standing in the snow for most of the day, both body and mind are frozen. But at this moment, Huo Du felt a surge of warmth entering his heart.
I don't know if it's because of the cloak or because of her.
After the two returned from Tangquan Pool, the night became darker.
After putting down the bed curtain, Le Zhi covered her cheeks, and there was still some residual heat. She regrets it a little bit, she shouldn't be in a hurry just now, she has to follow him...
Anything serious, it's all fake. As soon as he took off his coat, he leaned in front of her with a pair of smiling eyes—
to benefit.
…
The scenes just now appeared clearly in front of him. Le Zhi took a deep breath, it must be that the temperature of Tangquan Pool was too high.
Fortunately, her sanity is still alive.
Fortunately, she ran fast.
Closing her eyes hard, Le Zhi forced herself to stop thinking about it. Go to sleep, just go to sleep.
Xu was frightened all day, and Lezhi quickly fell asleep. I don't know how long it took, the breathing of the person beside him gradually decreased, and there was some pain in the deep voice.
Le Zhi had been sleeping for a long time, and would wake up as long as there was a slight noise.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, raised her hand to touch Huo Du's arm... Across the bedclothes, she felt cold.
Obviously I just soaked in the soup spring...
Her heart trembled, and Le Zhi woke up instantly. She got up and tore the bed curtains aside, letting the dim candlelight from outside penetrate into the bed. She approached Huo Du and asked softly, "Is Your Highness uncomfortable?"
"It's okay, you sleep with you." Huo Du answered lightly without even opening his eyes.
Le Zhi didn't believe it. She raised her hand and touched his cheek, forehead, neck... Huo Du's body was unbearably cold, and there was still a little cold sweat on his forehead.
Where is nothing, this is clearly a big deal!
"What's wrong?" Le Zhi's face turned pale with fright, and his voice trembled. For a long time, Huo Du still didn't speak. She was so anxious that she grabbed the waistband of his crimson pyjamas, bit her lip and asked, "If Your Highness doesn't say anything, I'll look at it from place to place."
Le Zhi's question was aggressive, but his heart was actually very empty. If he still refuses to speak, she doesn't dare to really take off his bedclothes...
Hearing the words, Huo Du opened his eyes, and a layer of darkness covered his lacquer eyes. He gave Lezhi a deep look, and finally compromised, saying concisely, "Legs."
On the eve of Laba Festival every year, Huo Du was in so much pain, whether it was the pain in his leg or the pain in his heart... He couldn't tell the difference. This year, the pain is even worse, perhaps because of standing in the cold snow for too long today.
Le Zhi hurriedly leaned over and pushed his trouser legs up...
This was the first time she had taken a closer look at his stump leg, which looked no different from a normal calf. But Le Zhi could feel the weakness of his calf. She reached out and touched it gently... Finally, she found the source of the cold all over his body.
His legs were as lifeless as ice cubes fresh from the ice cellar.
There was a deep dark red scar on the calf, and Le Zhi unconsciously reached out and stroked it... Her movements were very light, for fear of hurting him.
But the fog in front of her is getting heavier and heavier...
"It doesn't hurt."
Huo Du's eyes were always on her face, and before she could ask, he answered first.
This is true, the meridian has been broken, and his calf has long been unconscious. Occasionally there is a dull pain, but it's just a phantom pain behind the stump.
"Who hurt you?"
As soon as the words came out, Le Zhi was stunned. This question is right, obviously out of proportion.
- She is overstepping the line.