The eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Department were distributing New Year's goods to the various palaces.
"Hey, send a few more of these Suzhou embroideries to the Second Prince's place," the head eunuch said in a high-pitched voice.
The Noble Consort was currently in favor, so naturally, they had to curry favor with her.
Seeing that the princes and princesses in the palace had almost all received their shares, a young eunuch suddenly asked.
"Eunuch, what about the one in Ruhui Palace?"
At the mention of Xiao Yanchen, a trace of disgust suddenly appeared on the head eunuch's face. "Ruhui Palace?"
He frowned, pinching the remaining most ordinary coarse silk. "Aren't these still usable? How grand these clothes are. Find someone to send them to him, lest anyone gossip about our Internal Affairs Department later."
The coarse silk the head eunuch held was actually refurbished from old materials from previous years, its color a bit faded.
The young eunuch beside him nodded, casually took the clothes, and prepared to send them to Ruhui Palace.
Although they were not good clothes, Xiao Yanchen was still exceptionally happy to receive new clothes.
Xiao Xizi had new clothes, and now he had new clothes too.
The young eunuch who delivered the clothes looked at the dilapidated and drafty Ruhui Palace, and then at Xiao Yanchen, who was hugging the old cotton-padded jacket like a treasure, and sneered.
With the Empress gone, this Seventh Prince lived even worse than a eunuch like him.
At the thought of this, his back could not help but straighten a bit.
When the young eunuch left, several rough-labor eunuchs reeking of sour sweat were hiding in the corner at the entrance of Ruhui Palace, holding a wooden bucket in their hands.
They were eunuchs from the Laundry Bureau, doing the most tiring and bitter work in the palace. They would often come to rob Xiao Yanchen of his things.
Because they found that bullying this so-called Seventh Prince would not only spare them from punishment but also earn them praise from the masters.
Just as Xiao Yanchen was planning to put his new clothes away properly, the dilapidated wooden door was kicked open violently.
"Seventh Prince, some clothes belonging to the nobles in our bureau are missing. Could it be that you took them?!"
The eunuchs walked in with ill intentions, their eyes immediately fixing on the new clothes in Xiao Yanchen's arms.
To be honest, eunuchs of a slightly higher status would not even look twice at clothes made of this material, but for bottom-tier eunuchs like them, these clothes were considered a luxury.
Xiao Yanchen hugged the clothes tightly, looking at them with red eyes. "I didn't take anything. These are the new clothes the Internal Affairs Department just sent me!"
But how could these eunuchs listen to him? The next second, they revealed ferocious expressions.
"Hand it over!"
"The Internal Affairs Department gave them to you? Why would the Internal Affairs Department send clothes to such an unfavored prince like you!"
They forcefully snatched the clothes from Xiao Yanchen's arms, cursing as they did so.
Xiao Yanchen's eyes were full of tears. Like a madman, he directly bit the opponent's hand, biting down hard.
The eunuch immediately let out a pig-slaughtering scream, yelling and cursing at the same time: "Ah! You beast! You uneducated little bastard!"
The expression on the eunuch's face was extremely twisted. Xiao Yanchen wanted to rush forward again, but the next second, he was grabbed by the hair by the eunuch next to him and kicked straight to the ground.
"Screw you! Little beast!"
The eunuchs grabbed the things and were about to run. Xiao Yanchen could not care less about the pain on his body, holding onto a single thought in his heart: he had to show Xiao Xizi his new clothes.
Gritting his teeth, he scrambled to chase after them, but he was too young and his steps were too small; he simply could not catch up with those eunuchs.
He chased them all the way to the Imperial Garden. The eunuchs who had just robbed his clothes were kneeling on the ground, shivering, and his new clothes were placed in front of them.
The Third Prince, holding a hand warmer, looked at Xiao Yanchen who was rushing over, his eyes full of malice.
"Oh, isn't this Seventh Brother?"
He was surrounded by the Third Prince's entourage, who directly encircled Xiao Yanchen.
Xiao Yanchen stood in the middle without a word, his fists clenched tightly.
The Third Prince smiled and said, "What is Seventh Brother doing, haggling with a few young eunuchs."
The young eunuch kneeling on the ground rolled his eyes, suddenly shed tears, and started to complain first despite being the guilty party: "Save us, Third Prince! The Seventh Prince stole the clothes of the nobles from the Laundry Bureau. We went to get them back, but he even beat your servant!"
Xiao Yanchen gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes glaring red. "Nonsense, those are clearly the clothes the Internal Affairs Department sent me!"
The Third Prince stood aside, wearing a black fox fur cloak with a cluster of fur around the collar, completely insulating him from the cold. His attendants and guards were also tightly bundled up, wearing navy blue cotton armor.
Xiao Yanchen stood in the crowd. A few buttons had been pulled off his unlined garment during the struggle, and the cold wind poured in through the gaps in the fabric. His face was frozen red, and his fingertips were pale blue.
He was blown tottering by the wind, but he still argued strongly for himself: "Those are my clothes!"
The Third Prince looked at his appearance and sneered. He kicked the clothes on the ground with disgust. "Seventh Brother, clothes made of this material, I'd be too embarrassed to even reward to my servants, yet you treat it as a treasure."
The eunuch beside him said sarcastically, "Your Highness, the Seventh Prince's backbone is much thicker than this outfit."
The surrounding attendants burst into a roar of laughter, everyone looking at Xiao Yanchen mockingly.
Xiao Yanchen's face instantly flushed red. He was trembling all over with anger, his fingertips turning white because he clenched them too tightly.
Just then, a sharp announcement broke the atmosphere.
"The Emperor arrives—"
The laughter came to an abrupt halt.
At the end of the plum grove, that touch of bright yellow slowly approached, and the surrounding eunuchs and attendants immediately knelt all over the ground.
Xiao Yanchen looked at the person who suddenly appeared, stunned. A glimmer of hope surged in his eyes, and his clenched fists loosened a bit.
If Imperial Father knew these people were bullying him like this, would he help him...
"What's going on?"
The Emperor's voice was extremely cold, betraying no emotion whatsoever.
The Third Prince lowered his head with a guilty conscience. Little Shunzi beside him was so scared that he was shaking like a leaf, but he still crawled forward on his knees: "To reply to Your Majesty, someone from the Laundry Bureau lost some clothes, and someone saw and said it was the Seventh Prince who took them..."
His voice grew smaller and smaller.
Xiao Yanchen's voice was hoarse. With red eyes, he stared at the Emperor: "I didn't take them!"
The Emperor did not even glance at Xiao Yanchen beside him. The lie could be pierced through at a glance, but such a trivial matter was not worth his time.
The Emperor frowned. "Enough. Tugging and pulling here during the New Year, what does this look like."
Xiao Yanchen looked at the Emperor in disbelief, his face suddenly turning pale.
Why... didn't the people in the palace say that Imperial Father was the most sagacious monarch? Why wouldn't he help him...
This was clearly the fault of these eunuchs...
The Emperor turned around in disgust and, surrounded by all his attendants, left without looking back.
The Third Prince lowered his head, tugged at Little Shunzi beside him, and quickly followed.
Xiao Yanchen still maintained his posture of explaining to the Emperor, his entire body frozen in place.
