Chapter 44: 44

Chapter 44          Fear

The sky was already cloudy when Huo Du stepped into the palace gate. The white snow finally fell one after another.

He raised his eyes to look at the sky, deliberately letting snowflakes fall into his eyes and melt into them.

The world changes day by day, and only the temperature of ice and snow will remain unchanged forever.

Huo Du leaned on a white jade cane and walked slowly on the palace road. His back was always straight, without the slightest hunch. The palace maids and eunuchs who passed by on both sides of the palace road all stopped when they passed Huo Du and saluted respectfully with their eyes lowered.

There were too many rumors in the palace about the Taizi, and most of them were terrifying rumors. And his usual gloomy and cold appearance seemed to confirm those groundless rumors.

Even so, the palace people still have to admit that the majestic presence exuded by His Highness Taizi in his every movement was beyond the reach of other princes.

Even if… He had a disabled leg.

The wind and snow were getting heavier and heavier, 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 called him hurriedly to enter the palace due to defying the imperial order. While Huo Du was very clear in his heart that this was not the reason.

The snowflakes melted, and Huo Du’s black hair became wet fast.

The corners of his lips gradually curled up, and his heart was clear that Laba* was around the corner, and it was the day when his imperial father would show affection once a year.

(Laba* – A traditional Chinese festival on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month every year)

In the imperial garden, red plums bloomed, which looked even redder in the silvery-white snow.

Huo Du easily spotted Huo Changyun’s back view at glance, who was standing in front of the red plum tree with his hands folded behind his back.

That red plum tree was planted by his imperial mother.

He approached slowly and stood beside Huo Changyun, neither speaking nor saluting. Huo Changyun did not care about him either. His eyes still fell on the plum blossom tree in a daze, not moving at all.

The imperial guards patrolled the palace, passing through the imperial garden wave after wave, but Huo Changyun and Huo Du stood there all the time. There seemed to be a cold and hard barrier surrounding the two people, which made people afraid to get closer.

The palace maids, the eunuchs, and the imperial guards were all cautious, not daring to make a sound, and even the sound of footsteps was lightened.

It was not until dusk that the night lights began to light up in the palace.

“Du’er.” Huo Changyun finally spoke, his voice as if coated with frost, “It’s almost your imperial mother’s death anniversary again. Are you still unwilling to see her this year?”

Huo Du curled his lips and said casually, “It’s enough to have Imperial Father to see her.”

Hearing this, Huo Changyun lifted his eyelids and glanced sideways without saying anything.

Huo Du was used to being unbridled, and he did not bother to accompany this person who pretended to be affectionate but hypocritical to continue acting. The cotton boots turned slightly, and he turned around and was ready to leave.

“That Le Zhi, do you even like her?”

“I like her, ah.” Huo Du stopped as if he was in high spirits, and his tone was filled with smiles, “Thanks to imperial younger brother’s willingness. Otherwise, how could I be intoxicated by the land of warmth and tenderness*?”

(land of warmth and tenderness* – a place where a man can find solace in feminine charms)

Huo Changyun frowned and snorted coldly, “Oh, is that right? Now that you have experienced the passion between a man and woman, then why did you defy the imperial decree today? Isn’t it good to have the blessing of the Qi people*?”

(the blessing of the Qi people* – the happy fate of the man from Qi who had many wives)

“Tsk.” Huo Du smiled disdainfully, and mocked in a low voice, “Imperial Father first gave me a real beauty, and then an ugly one. Are you having poor eyesight due to old age?”

After a pause, he stared at his eyes, as if he had seriously thought about it, “If Imperial Father really wants to bestow more than one wife to me, why don’t you give me the one in Xia Feitai as well? A pair of the stunning beauty from the Le clan, then that’s called the blessing of the Qi people.”

“You bastard! Get out!” Huo Changyun was so angry with his lecherous expression that he felt suffocated.

Huo Du did not care. He just left.

It was not until Huo Du walked out of the palace door that he finally let go of the fist hidden in his sleeve. Due to too much force, a deep red mark was embedded in the palm of the hand by the fingernails.

The fake smile faded, and his expression was as cold as water.

Huo Changyun’s words just now seemed casual, but in fact, there was hidden probing. Huo Changyun did not care that he refused to accept the marriage imperial decree. What he cared about was why he refused the imperial decree.

When Huo Changyun said the words Le Zhi, Huo Du’s heart sank suddenly. Over the years, he did not even care about his life and death, but just now, his chest was filled with fear, and it hurt from suffocation.

It seemed that his ribs were hurting.

If he hesitated for a moment just now, with Huo Changyun’s keen and suspicious personality, he would definitely be able to detect his thoughts.

Huo Du’s opponent had never been Huo Xu, but his imperial father, Huo Changyun.

He had been planning for many years, and naturally imagined the outcome of a defeat.

It was just death, nothing more and he could afford to lose. Anyway, even if he won, he would have to die.

Regardless, it was death. Then just took it as having fun.

But today, the suffocation pain in the chest made Huo Du suddenly wake up. He could not afford to lose anymore.

—

Taizi Mansion.

“Meow.”

Le Zhi sat leaning on the bed, staring blankly, until the little snow fluffy in her arms pressed its head against her palm, waving her paws and tail mischievously.

Le Zhi regained her senses after the soft fur stroked her palm, and looked at the burning candle on the table.

This was the red candle that Lin Yue had lit after serving her to freshen up, and most of it had been burned at this time.

Le Zhi hugged Little Lame Huo and got out of the bed, walked to the window, and looked out into the darkness outside the window. Her eyes were dazed.

Why hasn’t Huo Du come back yet?

Fortunately, there was no other news coming from the palace.

No news was the best news.

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Suddenly, there was a sound of heavy footsteps outside the door, accompanied by a soft sound of a cane knocking on the ground.

Le Zhi turned around suddenly, put down Little Lame Huo, and hurried to the door. When she reached out to open the door, the door was pushed open from the outside.

“You’re back?”

The tone was tinged with uncontrollable happiness. Le Zhi reached out and grabbed his wrist through the narrow sleeves. She could feel a burst of icy cold wetness and could not help but frowned.

Seeing the familiar figure, Little Lame Huo also rushed to Huo Du’s feet excitedly, holding its head high and rubbing him lightly.

However, Huo Du’s clothes had long been soaked with melted snow. When the dry and fluffy fur was dampened with cold wetness, the soft fur was instantly clumped into a ball.

“Meow, meow!” Little Lame Huo cried out unhappily, then turned and ran away in disgust.

Le Zhi did not run. On the contrary, she clasped Huo Du’s wrist tightly with one hand and touched his forehead with the other. After touching a piece of ice, a slight irritation appeared on her face, “It’s snowing so heavy outside, why doesn’t Your Highness take an umbrella!”

Hearing the familiar gentle voice, Huo Du smiled and brushed away Le Zhi’s hand with a calm demeanor to avoid passing the cold to her. He walked slowly in the direction of the bathroom, “I’ll go to bathe first.”

“The water in the bathroom is already cold, and it’s too long to wait for the water to boil.” Le Zhi grabbed his drenched clothes tightly again, and said, “Shall we go to the hot spring pool?”

Huo Du smiled, put his hand on the back of Le Zhi’s hand, and patted it lightly, gesturing her to let go, “Fine, I’ll go by myself.”

Hearing this, Le Zhi frowned, and the worries that had been accumulated for most of the day turned into anger in an instant.

The person who was talking nonsense before entering the palace has now become calm and serious.
All right.

Le Zhi snorted lightly, but did not let go, “What? Does Your Highness Taizi dislike me for touching you? All right, as long as you say it, I promise I won’t touch you again.”

Oh, there are ninety-nine times left.
Dream about it!

Huo Du did not know whether to laugh or cry. She still had the nerve to talk about him, obviously, her own temperament was also very strong.

This was a good thing. It showed that in front of him, her fear and timidity were getting less and less.

He could not help thinking that Le Zhi might have been like this in the past.

Coquettish and sassy.

“Let’s go.” Huo Du let her continue to pull him outside.

“Wait!” Le Zhi let go of his hand, quickly ran to the wardrobe, took a thick cloak, and draped it over Huo Du.

Standing in the snow for most of the day, both his body and heart were frozen. But at this moment, Huo Du felt the surging warmth coming into his heart.

He did not know if it was because of the cloak or because of her.

It was getting late when the two returned from the hot spring pool.

After putting down the bed curtain, Le Zhi covered her cheeks, and there was still some remaining heat that had not faded. She regretted it a little bit that she should not be impatient just now and insisted on following him.

Whatever his seriousness was, it was all fake. As soon as he took off his outer clothing, he came up to her with a pair of smiling eyes.

Want my benefits.

……

The scenes just now appeared clearly in front of her eyes. Le Zhi took a deep breath, it must be that the temperature of the hot spring pool was too high.

Luckily, her sanity still existed.

Fortunately, she ran fast.

Closing her eyes hard, Le Zhi forced herself to stop thinking about it. Just go to sleep, it will be alright after sleeping.

Perhaps Le Zhi was frightened all day, she fell asleep quickly. Unknown how long it took, the person breathing next to her gradually slowed down, and there were some muffled painful breath sounds.

Le Zhi had been a light sleeper for a long time and would wake up as long as there was a slight sound.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and raised her hand to touch Huo Du’s arm. She touched a piece of cold through his bedclothes.

Obviously, he just soaked in the hot spring pool.

Le Zhi woke up with a trembled heart in an instant. She got up and pulled the bed curtain apart, allowing the dim candlelight from outside to penetrate into the bed. She approached Huo Du and asked softly, “Is Your Highness feeling uncomfortable?”

“It’s nothing, you sleep first.” Huo Du answered lightly without even opening his eyes.

Le Zhi did not believe it. She raised her hand to touch his cheeks, forehead, and neck. Huo Du’s body was unbearably cold, and there was still a little cold sweat on his forehead.

Where’s nothing, this is clearly a big deal!

“What’s wrong with you? “Le Zhi’s face turned pale with fright, and her voice trembled. For a long time, Huo Du still did not speak. She was so anxious that she grabbed the belt of his crimson bedclothes, bit her lip, and asked, “If Your Highness doesn’t say anything, I’ll just look at it one by one.”

Le Zhi’s question was aggressive, but her heart was actually very weak. If he still refused to say anything, she really would not dare to take off his bedclothes.

Hearing the words, Huo Du opened his eyes, and a layer of darkness appeared in his eyes. He stared at Le Zhi deeply, finally compromised, and said concisely, “Leg.”

On the eve of the Laba Festival every year, Huo Du was in excruciating pain, whether it was the pain in his leg or the pain in his heart. He could not tell the difference long ago. This year, the pain was 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 took a closer look at his disabled leg, which looked no different from a normal calf. But Le Zhi could feel the weakness of his calf and she reached out her hand to touch it gently. Finally, she found the source of the cold all over his body.

His legs were as lifeless as ice cubes that had just been taken out of the ice cellar.

There was a deep dark red scar on the calf, and Le Zhi unconsciously reached out to caress it. Her movement was very lightly, for fear of hurting him. But the mist in front of her eyes was 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 was the truth. The meridians had been broken, and his calf had long been unable to feel anything. There would be a dull pain occasionally, but it was nothing more than a phantom pain after the leg was disabled.

“Who hurt you?”

Le Zhi herself was stunned as soon as the words were spoken. Obviously, she lost her sense of propriety when she asked the question.

It was her that was out of the line.

The author has something to say:
Du: So, 99 times, how many times are there left now?
Zhi: No more, 0 times!
Du: ????

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