Fingers brushed against warm, smooth skin.
Tong Sui’s slightly childish lips let out a soft hum, akin to the mew of a kitten.
Chu Yunyue, with a flushed face, quickly retracted his hand, feeling an unknown fragrance lingering on his fingertips, his heart racing with nervousness.
The other princes looked on with reddened eyes.
The originally cold room seemed to become agitated.
The system chimed in: [Wake up, the protagonist Chu Yunyue is here!]
Tong Sui was forcibly awakened by the system in his mind, struggling to open his eyes, his consciousness still in a muddled state, completely unaware of what was happening.
He saw that the small room, which was initially empty, was now packed with half-grown boys, all staring at him with eager eyes as if he had stolen something from them.
Part of Tong Sui’s drowsiness faded away.
He laboriously crawled out of the warm bed, his eyes still bleary, tears glistening on his eyelashes, his cheeks rosy as he asked, “Who are you?”
His voice was soft and tender, causing the group of rough-handed princes to feel a jolt in their hearts, completely forgetting how unwilling they had been when they first entered.
They even forgot to question why Tong Sui didn’t know who they were, such an absurd matter seemed to slip their minds.
Just as Chu Yunyue was about to explain, a sharp curse rang out from outside, “You little bastard, I told you to clean the corridor, and you haven’t done a thing today—”
The young eunuch shouted as he barged in, only to bump right into several princes.
Instantly, his knees buckled, and he fell down.
“Your Highnesses, I deserve to die for this offense!”
In the past, Chu Yunyue might have waved his hand and let the eunuch rise, but he had just heard the filthy words from this servant.
He turned to ask, “What are you doing here?”
The young eunuch lowered his head, saying, “Eldest Prince, you may be unaware, but he’s been slacking off, pretending to be ill, so I was sent to urge him to continue working.”
“Dog servant!” Chu Yunyue kicked out angrily, reprimanding, “Does a dignified prince need to do your rough work?!”
The young eunuch was kicked in the chest, falling backward.
Though he endured the immense pain, he scrambled to get back up, kneeling properly, his forehead touching the ground, his back drenched in cold sweat, continuously begging for mercy, “It’s not that I took it upon myself, but his name is not listed on the genealogy of the imperial clan…”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
In other words, although Tong Sui had entered the palace, he had not received official recognition.
His identity was quite awkward.
He could be called a prince, but in the devouring depths of the palace, without a legitimate status and no power to protect him, he was just a forgotten piece of cannon fodder in the corner.
Hearing this, Tong Sui pretended to get off that broken bed, “I’ll go clean right now…”
Now that it was getting dark outside, the temperature would only be lower than during the day, and with his frail body, he could easily be blown away by the wind.
Chu Yunyue stretched out his hand to stop him, “You are not allowed to go.”
He was startled by the sensation from his hand; Tong Sui’s wrist was so slender that it seemed he could crush it with just a little force.
“Ou.”
Tong Sui gasped softly.
As Chu Yunyue took a closer look, he noticed that Tong Sui’s skinny arms were covered in various fresh and old wounds, there were clear marks made by fingernails.
“What’s going on?”
In Chu Yunyue’s mind, he thought Tong Sui was merely being made to work, but he hadn’t expected these servants to be so bold as to actually bully a prince!
Tong Sui lowered his head without saying a word, pretending to kneel, his voice trembling like a plucked string, “I injured myself accidentally.”
Chu Yunyue wanted to help him but feared further hurting him. He could only order, “You are not allowed to kneel.”
Tong Sui stopped in place, the action of kneeling halted.
Seeing him so afraid, Chu Yunyue easily deduced the reasons behind it, casting a cold gaze towards the eunuch on the ground.
The young eunuch trembled at his glare, never expecting trouble would find him so quickly.
In the past, these princes treated Tong Sui as if he didn’t exist, yet today they were all protecting him like he was a precious gem.
Chu Yunyue addressed the servant beside him, saying, “Take him to the official eunuch in charge of the straight hall and say he offended me.”
The young eunuch was terrified, bowing repeatedly, causing his forehead to bleed as he begged, “I deserve to die! I deserve to die! Eldest Prince, please spare me this once!”
Chu Yunyue was notoriously good-natured, but this time he merely observed coldly as the young eunuch was dragged away, showing not the slightest hint of hesitation.
The small, broken house returned to silence.
Chu Yunyue looked at Tong Sui, surveying him from head to toe, and for the first time felt that this little fool was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye.
“Don’t be afraid, I will arrange for you to have a better place to stay, and you won’t have to do any rough work. If anyone dares to bully you again, just come find me.”
Such words, if spoken by an ordinary prince, might have been inconsequential, but they came from Chu Yunyue’s lips.
A normal person would have already kneeled down, overwhelmed with gratitude.
However, the feeble child in front of him took two steps back, moving until he had nowhere left to go. With his frail build, his big round eyes were filled with unshed tears, looking both scared and anxious.
“Thank you for your kindness, Eldest Prince, but I am a servant, and I’m very comfortable living here, so please don’t trouble yourself.”
After being rejected, Chu Yunyue was left bewildered as he exited the small room, his mind filled only with that nearly teary face.
At dinner, facing a table full of delicacies, he found himself wondering what Tong Sui was doing at that moment? Was he huddled in that room, shivering?
Those people dared to treat him like this, they would definitely not provide him with decent food.
So why did he refuse Chu Yunyue’s kindness?
Chu Yunyue held a noble status; since childhood, countless people had sought to cling to him, yet only Tong Sui trembled in fear, avoiding him.