Qi Rong walked in the boundless darkness, with not a single glimmer of light in sight. He seemed to have returned to his childhood, to the time when he had a fight with his elder brother, Qi Xiao.
He admired his elder brother greatly and loved to pester him. But since his elder brother was the crown prince, he always had a lot to do and often left the palace. So the times he could accompany Qi Rong were few.
That day was Qi Rong's eighth birthday. The queen mother had prepared a grand birthday banquet for him. The palace was filled with all kinds of things he liked, and there were also many lively and interesting acrobatic shows. However, what he was most looking forward to was the arrival of Crown Prince Qi Xiao.
Because, a month ago, before Crown Prince Qi Xiao left the palace, he had promised Qi Rong that he would return to the palace on his birthday and prepare a most special birthday gift for him.
Qi Rong waited and waited, full of anticipation. But until the banquet was over, he still hadn't waited for his brother.
He was very angry and sulked under the quilt, refusing to see anyone.
It was not until the palace servants thought he was asleep and quietly left that he crawled out.
Wrapped in the quilt and bare - footed, he walked in the cold and dark palace. All kinds of ghost legends instantly flooded into his mind.
The more afraid he was, the more he felt as if someone was following him behind. When he quickened his steps, the person also sped up; when he slowed down, the person stopped.
Just then, all the lights in the palace corridors suddenly went out. Except for the bright white moon in the sky, there was only darkness before his eyes!
"Crown Prince brother, you're a big liar who breaks your promise! I'll never talk to you again! I never want to see you again!"
The fear in front of him and the grievance in his heart made him burst into tears and shout out all his dissatisfaction.
However, just as he finished shouting, Crown Prince Qi Xiao suddenly appeared behind him. He picked Qi Rong up and put him on his shoulders.
"Do you really never want to see me again?"
Crown Prince Qi Xiao looked up at him with a smile in his eyes.
"I've spent a lot of effort preparing this birthday gift for you."
The moment he saw his brother, Qi Rong was first overjoyed, but then his face sank.
"You're lying! You're a man of no faith!"
He had promised to come back himself, but what he sent were just those useless things! There was no sincerity at all!
He was so angry that he turned his head and didn't want to talk to anyone!
"Really? Then take a look at this."
Instead of getting angry at Qi Rong's sulking, Crown Prince Qi Xiao smiled and straightened his face, pointing at the sky outside the palace enclosure mysteriously.
Qi Rong stared at the dark sky and frowned in disgust.
"There's nothing interesting. It's just a moon."
But just as he finished speaking, he heard a 'whoosh' sound, and a firework 'banged' and exploded in the sky! Then there were two, ten, and finally hundreds of fireworks blooming in the sky together. They were so gorgeous that they lit up the whole night sky like daylight!
The fireworks lasted for nearly half an hour. Qi Rong looked up at the sky happily and didn't feel bored at all.
"Do you like it?"
Crown Prince Qi Xiao carried him on his shoulders as if he never felt tired. Qi Rong hugged his brother's neck and nodded vigorously.
That was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his life!
Time flew by, and winter came in a blink of an eye. There was a plague in the north, and the people were living in dire straits. Despite the obstruction of the court officials, Crown Prince Qi Xiao insisted on going to the north in person to quell the disaster and soothe the people's hearts.
Finally, the disaster was successfully resolved, but Crown Prince Qi Xiao died on the way back to the imperial city!
It was the first time Qi Rong saw his father shed tears. His mother was immersed in grief day and night and became extremely thin.
Qi Rong didn't believe that Crown Prince Qi Xiao had been infected with the plague. He couldn't believe that such a smart and powerful person could die just like that! He believed that his elder brother was still alive. He sneaked out of the palace several times to look for him, but in the end, all he waited for was his elder brother's remains...
For half a year, he neither spoke nor showed any emotion. Even when his father, just like when he was a child, held him on his lap and asked him if he wanted to be the crown prince, he just shook his head indifferently.
In his heart, the only crown prince was his elder brother!
The scene changed. He was curled up in a dark and confined cabinet. A palace servant tightly covered his mouth from behind and firmly held his shoulders.
He couldn't move or speak. He could only watch through a tiny crack as Qi Hong forced his father to drink poisoned wine with his own hands, and his mother died miserably under his sword! The whole palace was filled with corpses and screams!
His eyes were blood - red, and he bit his tongue until it bled. Finally, he was knocked unconscious by the palace servant and dragged out of the palace through a dog hole.
But even so, Qi Hong still didn't intend to let him go.
In order to legitimize his usurpation of the throne, Qi Hong framed his mother and him with false charges. He was thrown into the streets to be a beggar, and Qi Hong sent people to assassinate him several times.
But in the end, he managed to escape every time, which tempered his current ruthless and iron - like character!
His life was exchanged with the lives of many people, so he couldn't die easily!
Because he not only had to live up to his parents' expectations! He also had to make Qi Hong pay for his crimes in blood!
Qi Rong came out of his memories and slowly woke up from the darkness. Hearing a rustling sound of footsteps, his cold eyes instantly shot towards the door.
At this time, the hunter's wife was holding a soup bowl. Just as she lifted the curtain and came in from outside, she immediately met a pair of cold and sinister eyes. She was instantly startled by the intimidating aura.
She quickly steadied herself and held the soup bowl firmly in her hand, which almost spilled. Her simple face was full of kindness.
"Sir, you're finally awake. Here's some freshly cooked meat soup. Would you like to have a bowl with your wife?"
"Wife?"
Qi Rong frowned. Seeing that the woman meant no harm, he let down his guard. His deep black eyes scanned the surroundings. Finally, he found Yun Xi sleeping in his arms.
Silently watching Yun Xi snuggle closely to him, looking as dependent as a fledgling bird, Qi Rong's eyes softened immediately, and he unconsciously raised the corners of his lips.
The woman was stunned to see the man who was as cold as ice and as frightening as a wild beast just a moment ago now smiling with a beauty comparable to that of an exiled immortal.
She was even more convinced that their assumption was right. This beautiful and well - dressed man and woman were either husband and wife or lovers.
Because a person's eyes couldn't lie!
Qi Rong sat up, thanked the woman, and took the meat soup from her hand.
Looking at Yun Xi still sleeping in his arms, looking like a kitten that might die at any moment, Qi Rong gently pulled up the corner of the quilt for her and felt annoyed.
"May I ask how long I've been asleep and how I got to this place?"
In his last memory, he and Yun Xi had entered a cave. Yun Xi insisted on bandaging his wound, and he just closed his eyes to rest. After that, there were no more memories.
The woman took back the bowl, glanced at Yun Xi in Qi Rong's arms, and said with a sigh.
"Sir, you've been asleep for two days. It was your wife who carried you all the way here!"
"You don't know. It was snowing so heavily at that time, and there were wild beasts outside. Your wife, with such a small and thin body, carried you for who knows how long. Both of her knees were worn out. I felt so sorry for her! She managed to hold on until she saw us and then fainted. She's still sleeping..."