The newly pasted window paper was blown open by the wind again, letting a gust of cold air into the room.
Xiao Yanchen huddled under the covers, his teeth chattering incessantly, his face flushed red with fever.
The old imperial physician had been summoned in a hurry. He touched Xiao Yanchen's burning forehead and sighed.
"The cold has seeped into his bones, and sorrow has made him ill."
The old physician placed his medical box aside and began to administer acupuncture.
The Imperial Hospital was usually busy, so it was impossible for him to arrive on time every single instance. Xiao Yanchen got injured so frequently; his previous wounds had not even healed before new ones appeared.
To say something highly inappropriate, if this continued, the Seventh Prince would soon be reuniting directly with the Empress in the afterlife.
In his unconscious state, Xiao Yanchen's mind was entirely filled with the scene from the Imperial Garden.
He had knelt in the snow, crying and tugging at his father's yellow dragon robe, wanting to tell him how much it hurt.
But the Emperor merely looked at him with an expression of sheer indifference, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "What a disgrace."
The surrounding princes and eunuchs had circled him, laughing maniacally. They reached out and forcefully shoved him into the ice hole. He struggled desperately, but only sank deeper and deeper into the freezing water...
The old physician frowned deeply. Looking at the constantly shivering Xiao Yanchen, he let out a heavy sigh.
Xiao Yanchen kept mumbling something indistinctly. His voice carried a crying tone, and tears continuously seeped from the corners of his eyes.
"Seventh Prince, what are you saying?" The old physician leaned in closer.
He listened for a good while but could not understand. He asked in confusion, "What porridge? Seventh Prince, do you want to eat millet porridge?"
Xiao Yanchen let out another faint murmur, his tone full of grievance. "Xi... Xi Xi..."
The old physician squinted his eyes and parted his lips, trying hard to listen. "Wash what? What hasn't been washed yet?"
He raised his voice. "Seventh Prince, what do you want to wash?"
Seventeen, who was up on the roof beam, finally could not hold it in anymore and poked his head out. "The Seventh Prince is saying Xiao Xizi."
"Xiao Xizi! Oh my, so he was talking about Xiao Xizi." The old physician slapped his forehead. He had wondered what it was.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and packed up his medical box. "So His Highness is looking for Xiao Xizi. Then this old man will go ask for you."
Several red lanterns were hung in the courtyard, somewhat dispelling the originally gloomy atmosphere.
Eunuch Liu sat in a rocking chair, his eyes half-closed, and pulled two red string bracelets from his robe.
"These have been blessed. Wear one on your wrist and the other on your ankle." Eunuch Liu let out a huge yawn, a wave of fatigue washing over his face. "With a temperament like yours, if no one was protecting you, you would have been schemed to death long ago."
Beside him, Ji Zhaoxi was sitting at the table eating pastries. She took the red strings and said in a crisp voice, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Godfather! Thank you, Head of the Department of Punishment! Thank you, Sir! Thank you, Eunuch Liu!"
Eunuch Liu glanced at her, looked at the crumbs around her mouth, and sighed.
What a headache.
Raising a child was truly annoying enough.
Ji Zhaoxi was extremely happy to receive the gift. With nowhere to vent her boundless energy, she grabbed a broken hammer and started repairing the courtyard.
Eunuch Liu huddled under his blanket, red charcoal burning next to him, his eyes closed in utmost comfort.
At the door, Ji Zhaoxi frowned at the drafty brick crevices and started patching them up, banging away with her hammer.
The wall next door was crooked, so she huffed and puffed as she carried large stones, wanting to prop that area up.
"Boom—"
Finally, seeing that a roof beam seemed a bit off, she grabbed a wedge and climbed up. Her hammer strikes made the entire house tremble.
Ji Zhaoxi worked hard at repairing the roof beam. Since Eunuch Liu was so good to her, she definitely had to show her filial piety to him.
Eunuch Liu, who was resting with his eyes closed: ...
His mouth twitched. He turned over and plugged his ears.
This happened once every year. The first year, he had scolded her harshly. The second year, he had scolded her harshly again.
After that, he just got used to it...
From the roof beam, Ji Zhaoxi caught sight of the old physician sneaking around the courtyard entrance.
She leaped from the beam onto the perimeter wall and crawled toward the old physician's direction.
The old physician was a bit afraid to knock on the door. Whenever he thought of Eunuch Liu's gloomy face, his heart felt a chill.
Didn't that brat Xiao Xizi always like to scurry around everywhere? It would be great if he could just scurry out right now.
The old physician cautiously pressed his ear against the door crack, wanting to hear the sounds inside.
Ji Zhaoxi sat on the red wall ridge. Looking at the sneaky old physician, she couldn't hold back and let out a snicker.
Just as the old physician made up his mind to step over the threshold, Ji Zhaoxi hung upside down from the eaves, thrusting her face directly in front of his.
"Sir, are you looking for me?"
"Good heavens!"
The old physician had been holding his breath, preparing to sneak in and find Ji Zhaoxi. Unexpectedly meeting her eyes, he jumped in fright.
He pointed at Ji Zhaoxi with a trembling finger, unable to resist scolding, "Xiao Xizi, this is outrageous! Are you really trying to scare this old man to death?"
Ji Zhaoxi nimbly dropped down from the wall and bowed to the old physician. "Sir, I'm the one who was almost scared to death by you. If my master saw this, he would definitely scold you."
At the mention of Eunuch Liu, the old physician fell silent.
Right now, he truly did not want to deal with eunuchs anymore, whether it was the old eunuch or a certain little eunuch!
The old physician wiped the sweat off his forehead and directly stated the purpose of his visit.
"Xiao Xizi, the Seventh Prince is ill and keeps muttering your name. If you have time, go see him. The Seventh Prince doesn't have anyone by his side, it's so..."
The old physician was planning to ramble on, but when he raised his head, the person standing in front of him had completely vanished. He looked back, and only Xiao Xizi's fading shadow remained.
"Xiao Xizi, slow down!" he shouted, clutching his old lower back.
Nowadays, these kids were like monkeys every single day. Back when he first entered the palace, those young eunuchs were so well-behaved, completely unlike the ones today.
At this time, Ruhui Palace was shrouded in darkness. The cold wind kept drilling into the room, making it as freezing as a large ice cellar.
Footsteps stopped at the door. The dilapidated wooden door creaked open, then was carefully closed again.
Xiao Yanchen was curled up in his bed, covered only by a thin quilt, the tip of his nose red from the cold.
Ji Zhaoxi squatted beside him. She looked at Xiao Yanchen's fever-flushed face and gently poked it.
Xiao Yanchen groggily opened his eyes. In the dim moonlight, he made out the figure beside him.
He stared at her blankly, his eyes full of heartbreak.
"Xiao... Xiao Xizi..."
His voice was incredibly hoarse. Without sitting up, he tightly hugged the hand Ji Zhaoxi had used to poke him.
He pulled her hand to his chest as tears streamed from his eyes. He cried so hard his shoulders shook, looking as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.
"Xiao Xizi, why are you here?"
He choked on his sobs, looking at her with teary eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi replied stubbornly, "I came to see if you washed my clothes clean."
Xiao Yanchen spoke pitifully, "Xiao Xizi, I washed them clean."
He held onto Ji Zhaoxi's hand, refusing to let go.
