The night breeze was blowing, and a crescent moon hung high on the branches, coating the dilapidated palace courtyard with a layer of silver light.
The light was cool and shallow, falling on the bare old trees in the yard, on the fallen leaves that had not been cleaned in time, and on the holed window paper, showing desolation and decay everywhere.
A gust of cold wind blew and the window sash crackled.
A hoarse and unpleasant female curse sounded in the room.
A thin figure ran over from behind, entered the house, and tried to close the window.
But he was too short and couldn't reach the window sash.
The child struggled for a while with all his strength, and finally turned around in annoyance, took off a wooden stool with one leg missing and went to the window.
He stood on the shaky stool and carefully pulled the window over.
Snap.
Finally the window was installed.
The child laughed happily.
However, the next moment was filled with joy and sorrow - the trembling stool fell with a clang, throwing the child backwards.
There was a stinging pain in the palm of the hand, and the child hissed. He quickly raised his hand to check, but there was a broken piece of porcelain stuck in the palm of his hand.
With their fingers linked to their hearts, tears filled the child's painful eyes.
Mother smashed something again.
Mother and son lived in this cold palace, with no one caring about their life and death, and food and supplies were in short supply. There were only two tea bowls. The mother smashed one a few days ago, and now she smashed the other one.
What can I drink tomorrow?
The child frowned and pulled out the broken piece of porcelain from his palm, crying uncontrollably from the pain.
But he didn't dare to cry.
Normally, when his mother was in a good temper, she would always taunt him, and when she was in a bad mood, she would punch and kick him.
He didn't know why his mother treated him like this.
He has been here since he was a child, and has been dependent on his mother for as long as he can remember. When he raises his eyes, he can only see the sky at the four corners of the withered palace walls.
The palace people said that his mother contradicted his father and was thrown into the cold palace.
Anyone who enters this place will never be able to leave, and will have to die here.
Then he... he probably wouldn't have had the chance to go out and see how mothers and children get along outside.
I will live here forever from now on.
But he is only five years old this year.
What is the concept of a lifetime...?
Ignorant and naive children simply cannot understand.
The woman on the bed began to curse "God is a thief", cursed the injustice of the world, cursed "Why don't you die", and threw out the worn pillows on the bed.
These curses brought the child back to his senses.
Mother went crazy again.
The old eunuchs and maids said that his mother was a madman.
He also seriously asked the kinder old palace maids what a lunatic was, and then he made a little judgment and concluded that his mother was not crazy, but just had a bad temper.
Because those palace maids said that crazy people are not normal.
But the mother knew how to eat, drink, go to the toilet and sleep, and knew that he was her own child, so how could she call him crazy?
Bang, the window sash was blown open by the night wind again.
The cold wind hit, and the woman who was cursing on the bed shivered with cold, and then became more and more angry.
The child struggled to get up, hoping to close the window sash again.
But before he could move his legs, he felt a cold gaze on his back.
He turned around stiffly, took a few steps back with a look of horror on his face, and fell to the ground.
The thin woman with disheveled hair appeared behind him at some point, her eyes filled with hatred and malice.
She stared at the child and asked: "Why doesn't he come to pick me up? Why does he need you?"
"He said he loved me and he would take me away!"
"It's all because of you that they all doubt my innocence!"
"You made me get here, and made him not come to pick me up... Why can't you kill him? Why don't you die!"
She punched and kicked the child huddled in the corner like crazy, using the most vicious words and attacking him with all her strength.
Even those words are completely incomprehensible to children.
He couldn't even understand why he had to suffer this.
He even speculated whether mothers outside the palace walls also treated their children in this way.
Is there any blood feud between the child and the mother?
He held his head desperately, not daring to hide, because the more he hid, the more severe the beating he would receive.
Half a month ago, because he took two steps while being beaten, his mother caught up with him and hit him against the wall by his hair.
If the old palace maid who was passing by hadn't stopped him, he didn't know what he would have become.
Because he was injured that time, he slept for several days before getting up.
He felt the excruciating pain from the fists and feet falling on him, and he desperately hoped that someone would come to save him.
But it's very late.
Everyone around is resting.
No one will come to save him.
A deep sense of despair invaded his heart, and he suddenly asked himself why he didn't die. If he died, it would be over, and he wouldn't have to suffer or think about anything.
Perhaps it's the child's lack of resistance that makes women feel bored.
Or maybe she was tired from beating.
The brutal beatings like raindrops stopped.
When the child carefully opened his eyes, he only saw the woman dragging her body like a ghost, lying back on the bed, and mercilessly dropped one word: "Get out."
The child stared blankly at the thin, almost invisible woman who had closed her eyes and was about to sleep. It took her a while to realize that the night was over.
He wrapped himself tightly in his clothes and crawled away from this terrible place.
Returning to his small broken house, he endured the severe pain all over his body and quickly locked the door, fearing that the man would go crazy and chase him again.
It's not like there hasn't been such a time before.
He even struggled to move the only table in the room and block it in front of the door.
He blocked the door with all his strength and waited for time to pass.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
The palm of the hand was bleeding from the place scratched by the broken porcelain. The bright red blood dropped on the rough floor and accumulated in a small pool.
The wind outside is still blowing.
She didn't chase him.
The child breathed a sigh of relief.
The night was already very late, but he did not dare to sleep.
He leaned against the door panel and hugged himself.
Although he was clearly shivering, he braced himself to be prepared for the sudden arrival of that person.
But she didn't show up again that night.
The child leaned against the door panel. After a while, he couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep.
But early the next morning, the beatings that he had been afraid of all night were still coming.
His mother used everything she could reach to hit his thin body, and heard countless vicious curses in her mouth.
The child's hands protecting his head and face gradually became weak.
it hurts.
It hurt like my whole body was splitting apart.
He couldn't lift his arms, the chair seemed to have hit his head, and he was bleeding profusely.
His eyes were also bright red, and he saw that the woman's face looked ferocious in the blood mist, like an evil ghost from hell.
It seemed like someone rushed in and grabbed her.
Then he knew nothing.
…
My head hurts and feels heavy, but my body is light, as if I'm floating.
Does he think he is afraid that he is going to die?
He had always been curious about hearing the old palace maids and eunuchs discussing "death" with laughter many times.
Is this what death feels like?
Being dead is actually much more comfortable than staying with my mother.
It's just that I haven't gone out to see the scenery outside the palace courtyard, which is somewhat regrettable.
After maintaining this light and airy state for who knows how long, one night in the middle of the night, the child suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the dilapidated room, listened to the crackling window sash, and felt the cold wind blowing on his face.
He was suddenly very disappointed.
Why are you alive again?
He stared blankly at the dark night outside the window. It was really difficult and painful to live.
The next day, an old palace maid came to give him some leftover cakes. When she left, she whispered to him: "It will be better when you are older. You should avoid her now."
In this place, the people he met were not kind-hearted, but they were all better than his mother.
With this in mind, he thanked the old palace maid seriously.
Later, the old palace maid came often.
Sometimes I bring him some soup, sometimes bread, and occasionally meat.
He and the old palace maid gradually became familiar with each other.
One day, after the old palace maid delivered the food, she looked at him as if she were looking at some pitiful little animal, "Hey, you kid, the prince's grandson has such a miserable life. He is even more miserable than me."
He knew that the old palace maid had good intentions, so he couldn't help but ask her: "Is this how all mothers treat their children?"
"of course not."
The old palace maid frowned, "The child is the mother's heart and soul, who would be willing to do this!"
"Then why is she?"
"This..." The old palace maid hesitated for a while, but didn't say anything. She put the meat pie in his hand and said, "Eat it secretly, don't let her see it."
He nodded and put away the meat pie, then followed the old palace maid.
Then he heard the discussion between the old palace maid and others.
It turned out that the mother-in-law had someone she liked before, but he was forced to enter the palace, and then his father didn't like him and he was thrown into the cold palace.
But what does this have to do with him?
At such a young age, he didn't even understand what he liked.
He hid every day, not because he didn't want to care about his mother's life, but because he was afraid of being beaten because it would hurt too much.
In this way, I actually lived a peaceful life for several months.
Spring arrived soon, and the small pond not far outside the palace courtyard had melted, and there were frogs croaking in it.
His injury has been healed, and he goes outside for a walk every now and then. The small pond is also the place he visits most often.
When he came back one afternoon, he saw his mother standing on the porch, looking at him from a distance.
His face changed drastically with fright, and he reflexively took several steps back to hide. Unexpectedly, his mother did not rush towards him like crazy like before. She curled her lips and smiled at him.
The child was stunned.
He suddenly discovered that his mother had changed into clean clothes and combed her hair today. Although she was still skinny, she was much better than her previous terrible appearance.
Later, the mother turned around and went back to the house.
The child was stunned on the spot, and it took a long time before he came back to his senses.
Because of that smile, he had a lot of hope for his mother.
The old palace maid said that children are the mother's heart and soul, and he...should be the same, but the mother has a bad temper, so that's why she treated him like that before.
He began to pay attention to everything about his mother again, and would keep all the cakes and meat that the old palace maid gave him for his mother to eat.
I would listen to my mother's voice in the middle of the night, and when I heard the crackling sound of the window sash, I would quickly get up and help her close the window.
She never smiled again.
But she never hit him again.
Such a huge change was like a fire burning on the dry plains, which made him ecstatic.
But such joy is ultimately extremely sad and ridiculous.
That night, he heard the sound of something falling to the floor in his mother's room. He subconsciously got up and ran to the next door to see what happened. However, he heard his mother yelling at the top of her lungs: "You said you would be good to me."
All my life, you said you love me!"
"You lied to me!"
The night wind is very cold.
The child saw a figure flash past the window and disappear.
Then his helpless and blank eyes met his mother's resentful and angry eyes.
At that moment, he knew he was finished.
He ran into the room, saw his mother chasing after him like crazy, and jumped out of the window.
Because of Ba Yue's avoidance recently, he was not injured.
Because of the kind care of the old palace maid, he got better and ran faster.
He rushed out of the palace courtyard and rushed to the small pond in a panic. He wanted to hide behind the reeds, but his feet slipped and he made a loud "plop", which attracted his crazy mother over.
Her whole body was full of rage, like an evil ghost crawling out of hell, as if she wanted to eat him alive.
The sticks were smashed down, the fists and feet were smashed down.
She pressed his neck hard and kept cursing: "It's all you, it's all you, I wouldn't be where I am today without you, it's all you -"
He cried imploringly: "Mother, don't-"
But more water poured into his mouth and nose.
Abandoned ponds, rancid water, suffocating mud.
No matter how hard he struggled, it was of no use.
That little bit of strength finally dissipated in the sound of "go to hell, die, die" one after another.
Or, death may not cause such pain.
Wow!
But his body was suddenly pulled out of the water.
Fresh air rushed into his chest, and he coughed violently.
There was a very faint aroma that penetrated the foul-smelling mud breath and rushed into his breath.
He opened his eyes hard and saw a good-looking young man holding him.
The young man asked him something with concern in his eyes, but he couldn't hear clearly and couldn't answer.
After a long time, he heard someone next to him call him "Prince".