Seeing that Du Shichu couldn't ask anything, he had to move towards them slowly, carefully, not wanting to scare them, but the woman was still frightened. She suddenly raised her head and bared her teeth fiercely at Du Shichu. It also made a hissing sound, as if a vigilant and defensive female animal was intimidating natural enemies that were a threat to herself and her children, and she had to bluff even if she was afraid in her heart.
"Don't be afraid, I won't get through." Du Shichu quickly raised his hands and said in a soft voice. Then the woman stopped threatening her and turned to look down at the child in her arms.
At this time, the child was probably tired of crying and no longer cried. He only made faint sobbing sounds occasionally, and his thin hands and feet moved slightly from time to time, indicating that he was still alive.
Du Shichu was helpless for a moment. She was afraid of frightening the mother and son, but she couldn't ignore it, so she had to find a place to sit down, hoping to dispel the woman's vigilance.
She looked carefully at the dark little hall and found that there was a mat made of tattered straw in the corner, and a thin quilt that was so dirty that the original color could not be seen. Obviously, this was the "bed" of the mother and son. It's just that this quilt hasn't been cleaned for an unknown period of time, and it gives off an unpleasant smell.
Next to the bed, there was a broken bowl, either with a corner missing or one side broken. These broken bowls were dirty and seemed to have never been washed. There were even several flies flying on them.
Du Shichu looked very ugly when he saw this. Is this how the mother and son survived?
The woman still looked at Du Shichu warily. A pair of eyes that were prominent because of her thinness were exposed from her messy hair, and she stared at Du Shichu without blinking.
Du Shichu pretended to take out the two steamed buns she had put inside from his arms, but actually took them out from the space, and said to the woman: "Here you can eat, do you want them?"
The woman didn't take it immediately. Although she couldn't help but lick her dry lips and stared at the bun, she still didn't let down her guard.
Du Shichu had no choice but to wrap the two steamed buns with his handkerchief, put them not far in front of her, and said, "I won't go over, so you can take it yourself."
The woman looked at her warily again, and looked at the two tempting steamed buns with greedy eyes. In the end, she couldn't resist her hunger, so she held the child in her arms with one hand, quickly picked up the two steamed buns with the other, and then She started to devour the steamed buns hungrily. Because there was no water and she was eating in a hurry, she choked several times and had to cough hard every time to swallow the steamed buns in her throat.
After eating one, she did not continue to eat the remaining one, but carefully tore the bun into small pieces bit by bit and stuffed it into the mouth of the child in her arms. The child ate very slowly, but the woman was very patient.
Du Shichu waited until the two of them finished eating the steamed buns, then said to the woman, "Do you still remember who you are?"
The woman ignored her at all. Du Shichu rubbed his forehead, knowing that he would not be able to ask her about the history. She glanced at the mother and son, had to stand up, walked out, and found Zhichun who was still unconscious. , relieved her acupuncture point and made her wake up.
"Princess! What's wrong with this servant?" Zhichun asked Du Shichu in confusion as soon as he woke up.
"It's okay. I found a mother and son here. You go out and ask to see His Majesty. Please invite His Majesty over. I'll wait here." Du Shichu told Zhichun.
"What mother and child?" Zhichun was confused. She suddenly remembered the cry of the child, and her face turned pale with fright. "Princess, Princess, you, you mean there is really someone here? Isn't that, what? ?”
"They are living people, probably the abandoned concubine and her child who were sent to the cold palace by the late emperor. Your Majesty and the Queen need to take care of this matter. Now that we have discovered it, we have to report it to them." Du Shichu explained.
The mother and son have obviously been forgotten for a long time. They are about to starve to death in the cold palace. They are living worse than a beggar. It can be regarded as a scandal on the level of palace secrets. After all, the late emperor's concubine is allowed to live like this. Doesn’t it prove that the emperor is unkind? Even if this concubine is an abandoned concubine who has been relegated to the cold palace, she still cannot be treated like this.
"But, Princess, can you stay here by yourself? Will there be any danger?" Zhichun was worried about her safety.
"No, you go quickly." Du Shichu urged her, but Zhichun had no choice but to grit his teeth and run out quickly. Fortunately, Du Shichu told her that there were living people living in this cold palace, otherwise she would have been scared to death So soft, there is no way to leave.
After letting Zhichun go find someone, Du Shichu returned to the small hall. The mother and son had changed places, and the child had been put on the ground. Only then did Du Shichu see his appearance clearly.
He was very thin, but his head was surprisingly large. Compared with his skinny little body, the size was very disproportionate, like a matchstick with a ball on top.
Du Shichu glanced at the unconscious abandoned concubine and saw that she lowered her head and was catching lice on her body without paying attention to her. Du Shichu quietly walked towards the child.
Taking a closer look, the child's appearance became even more shocking.
He was awake, but he didn't cry or move around. When he saw Du Shichu with his big black and white eyes, he looked at her slowly, and it took him a long time to blink, as if he was a little slow to react.
"Can you speak?" Du Shichu asked him in a low voice.
"...Ah..." The child made a hoarse voice and looked at her with big eyes without blinking.
"How old are you?" Du Shichu asked again.
This time the child didn't make any sound, just looked at her steadily.
Du Shichu put down the little lion in his arms, and the child's eyes immediately moved from Du Shichu's face to the little lion. It was obvious that he was very curious about the little lion.
"Meow meow..." The little lion walked over, sniffed the child's scent, suddenly sneezed, then turned his head with disgust and quickly rushed into Du Shichu's arms.
Du Shichu couldn't help being amused by its behavior. He rubbed its back and said, "What, you still dislike me?"
The little lion patted her knee with his paw.
The child was still staring at the little lion. Du Shichu wanted to ask him if he wanted to touch the little lion, but then he thought, what if his immunity is too low and he is not suitable for more contact with animals? So I swallowed these words.
At this time, the woman finally ended the game of catching lice and turned her attention back to the child. Then she discovered that Du Shichu was too close to the child, and immediately turned into a vigilant female beast again, rolling and crawling on the ground. He rushed over to pick up the child, and then bared his teeth at Du Shichu to threaten him.
Du Shichu said quickly: "I won't hurt you, don't be afraid!"
As she spoke, she took several steps back to show that she was not a threat to them, and the woman lowered her vigilance slightly.
