"The little princess has a distinguished status. How dare I not reply if you ask me? It's just that I have to pick up charcoal, so I delayed it for a while."
Chu Xin picked up all the charcoal fire on the ground, put it on her skirt and wrapped it up. She stood up and looked at the palace maid who had just scolded her.
Today's situation seems a bit strange. In the past, when she came every day, she would be driven back at most, but no noble person had ever been willing to stop and look at her.
How could this little princess, who was dressed up like a lucky doll, come here?
"Princess, asking questions is the most important thing, but it is much more useful than picking up these useless charcoal fires!"
The palace maid replied disdainfully.
"Yueru, I see how pitiful this sister is. She's already in such a miserable state, so don't talk about her!"
Chu Yi raised her head and glanced at the palace maid named Yueru, who immediately lowered her head and stopped talking.
Chu Xin lowered her head and looked at the charcoal dregs she had picked up. The princess in front of her was a princess, wasn't she herself a princess? Why was there such a big difference?
"I know you, you are the princess who grew up in the cold palace."
Chu Yi smiled sweetly, and there were two shallow dimples on her fair and tender face. She really looked like an exquisite lucky doll.
"It's so cold now. Is there no charcoal fire in the cold palace? The last time you came to get the charcoal fire, I secretly saw you on the sedan chair and thought you were really pitiful! So this time I came here to If I want to give you charcoal fire, you don’t have to pick up the charcoal residue on the ground!"
Chu Yi's voice was so innocent and cute that people around her could only sigh at how kind this little princess was. No wonder His Majesty likes Concubine Zheng's children the most!
Chu Xin tightened her hands on the hem of her skirt. She didn't know what was going on. Looking at the little princess who was about the same height as herself, she really didn't understand what she meant.
She had never come out of the cold palace, but she was driven back every time. Why did she meet such a little princess this time when she came out?
Why does this little princess look so good, but the pain in her hand is telling her that the little princess just stepped on her hand.
But why don’t you not need a charcoal fire? No matter what, as long as you can get a useful charcoal fire.
She didn't want to be shivering from the cold and wake up several times every night, and she also wanted to keep Xie Ruling warm.
"Thank you princess."
Chu Xin looked at Chu Yi gratefully, and when she saw the other party's delicate and lovely face, she felt something indescribable in her heart.
"Yuexiang, take the red charcoal in your hand."
Chu Yi turned her head and looked up at the palace maid named Yuexiang. Yuexiang hurried over and handed a large mahogany box in her hand to Chu Xin.
Chu Xin squatted down again and put a handful of charcoal residues on the ground. Then she took the big mahogany box with her free hand. When she took it, she felt that the mahogany box seemed heavy, so she had to put it on the ground first.
After opening the lid of the box, I found that there were neatly arranged charcoal fires, and it seemed that they were the kind of high-quality charcoal fires. I put the charcoal fire residues that I had just cut in again, no matter how much there were, I took them all first. Let’s talk about it when we get back.
"This red charcoal is smokeless and odorless when lit. In just a short time, the whole room will be as warm as spring. This is specially gifted by the father to the mother and concubine. Every winter, with the red charcoal, you can keep warm. It’s time to spend the winter together!”
Chu Yi raised her head proudly as she spoke, showing off the favor she received from His Majesty.
"Thank you princess."
Chu Xin picked up the big mahogany box with some difficulty and bowed her head to Chu Yi to express her gratitude. Anyway, she did get such a large box of red charcoal, so it was appropriate to thank the other party.
"Then when you take it back, don't say that I gave you these charcoal fires. Last time it was Aunt Cui who gave it to you, so this time you should also say that it was Aunt Cui who gave it to you. If you find out, I will be raped by my mother and concubine. You were scolded!"
Chu Yi lowered her head aggrievedly as she spoke, as if she was really being scolded at this moment.
"Yeah, I know!"
Chu Xin nodded vigorously. She was shorter and could not see the unbearable expression on Aunt Cui's face.
"Then you should go back quickly. Looking at how thin you are wearing, you must feel very cold standing here. Go back quickly and light the charcoal fire. Your whole body will be warm!"
Chu Yi smiled sweetly and looked as sweet and cute as a delicate jade doll.
Chu Xin thanked her again and left with the heavy red box. She just wanted to return to the cold palace to light all the charcoal fire, so that she and Xie Ruling would be warm.
Chu Yi stared at Chu Xin's leaving figure and suddenly turned her head to look at Aunt Cui.
"My mother has given you a chance. You should be grateful. Your behavior that day was nothing more than that, so I don't plan to punish you. If you do something you shouldn't do again, what will my mother do to you?" You and I don’t know either!”
"yes."
Aunt Cui lowered her head in panic and admitted her mistake. She gave Chu Xin charcoal fire that day because she looked at him so pitifully that she gave it to Chu Xin secretly out of a desire to hide. Unexpectedly, Princess Yi saw it.
"Go back, it's very cold here, my princess's hands and feet are numb from the cold!"
Chu Yi patted her little hands impatiently. If it weren't for that scene, she wouldn't want to come to a place like this. Wouldn't it be better to stay in her warm palace?
It turns out that the dirty girl we saw just now is the child of the bitch that the concubine called her!
I heard that the girl's mother was a queen who was deposed by her father, but that was only in the past. Now her father's favorite concubine is her mother-in-law!
Aunt Cui followed behind in annoyance, blaming her temporary kindness for causing even greater trouble.
Because of what happened back then, I felt guilty towards the person in the cold palace. I thought there was no way to make up for it, but it only hurt them even more!
Chu Xin dragged the mahogany box to the cold palace with great effort. She couldn't lift such a heavy thing, so she could only put it on the ground and drag it forward step by step.
Although the cold wind was biting, she was happy in her heart. With such a big box of charcoal fire, it could be used for a long time.
Finally, I no longer need to be woken up by the cold when I go to bed at night, and Xie Ruling's hands, which were red from the cold when washing clothes, can finally be warmed up.
Even though the hand that was stepped on by the little princess just now is still aching, it doesn't matter. With such a big box of charcoal hands, it won't be a big deal if it gets stepped on.
"You little girl are quite capable. You actually brought such a big box of charcoal fire!"
As soon as she saw Chu Xin dragging such a big box in, Xie Ruling immediately ran over in surprise and looked around.
"This is Hongluo Tan!"
When she opened the box and took a look, Xie Ruling immediately felt something was wrong.
"Who gave this to you?"
"It's the same aunt that day. She looked at me pitifully, so she secretly gave it to me without anyone seeing it."
Chu Xin squatted on the ground and put the charcoal pieces into the brazier with her head lowered. Xie Ruling did not see the guilty expression on his face.
"It's her again. I'm afraid she did too many bad things in the past. She can't sleep every night, so she wants to do some good things to make up for it. If she didn't make up for it in the past, what's the use of doing these things now?"
Xie Ruling rolled her eyes impatiently, stood up, sat on the bed and wrapped herself in a quilt.
It seems that Aunt Cui knows that what she did back then was unkind, and she wants to make up for it now.
But how can she make up for it? She has suffered in the cold palace for so many years, and her heart has been severely hurt. How can she make up for it!
Chu Xin didn't know what these words meant, but she was still immersed in the joy of having these charcoal fires.
These charcoal fires were just as the little princess said. Just a short while after they were lit, the whole room suddenly became warm, and there was really no smoke or smell.
"Isn't this charcoal fire very valuable? It seems to be much easier to use than the charcoal fires I picked up before."
After Chu Xin made the charcoal fire, she also climbed into bed. Xie Ruling opened her arms and held her in her arms, then wrapped the two of them in quilts.
"I used to use this kind of high-quality red charcoal when I was a royal concubine. Do you think this is not precious?"
Xie Ruling stared at the lit charcoal fire. When she was a concubine, this kind of charcoal fire kept warm throughout the winter.
"So that's what it's like."
Chu Xin huddled in Xie Ruling's arms and nodded obediently, but her mind was elsewhere.
She could never forget the delicate little princess who looked like a jade doll just now. The little princess seemed to be very kind-hearted and was willing to give her such precious charcoal.
"Do you want to stay in the cold palace for the rest of your life?"
Xie Ruling suddenly asked this question.
"It would be nice to be with you."
Chu Xin kept crawling into Xie Ruling's arms. After her mother died, she regarded Xie Ruling as her own mother, as long as the two of them could be together.
Xie Ruling sighed and said no more, feeling that it was hard to get the warmth at this moment.
The porridge delivered in the evening was still cold, but it finally got a little warmer when placed next to the charcoal fire.
"Eat quickly. After you finish eating, go to bed and sleep. There will be a charcoal fire tonight, so you have to sleep peacefully and don't wake up from the cold again!"
Xie Ruling still patted Chu Xin's head habitually, as if it had been like this for so many years. Every time she saw this little girl, she always wanted to go up and pat her on the head, and then say "little girl" .
It seems that during these years in the cold palace, it was because of Chu Xin's existence that I became a little bit amused. I watched every day to see if this little girl had grown up and what she had grown into?
She still remembered that Mu Wan was so young when she gave birth to Chu Xin that night. At that time, she was curious about whether such a child could grow up in a cold palace.
Yes, of course, I can grow up. Isn’t it already this big now?
After eating, the two of them lay on the bed and talked. When they were about to fall asleep, they suddenly heard a noise outside the door.
Chu Xin suddenly felt a little uneasy, wondering what was going on, and her eyes suddenly fell on the red charcoal in the corner.
In just a moment, the door was suddenly knocked open, and a group of palace people came in. Chu Xin remembered that the palace maid named Yuexiang was the one who gave her this large box of red charcoal.
"Our imperial concubine's red charcoal today seems to have been stolen by some thief. When your majesty went down just now, the imperial concubine was suffering from frostbite. I heard that it was because the red charcoal was stolen that she suffered from frostbite. I was immediately furious. Order us to investigate!"
It was Yuexiang who spoke. She looked around for a week, and her eyes immediately fell on the red charcoal in the corner, showing a satisfied smile.
"It seems that what the people in the Department of Internal Affairs said is true. During the day, I saw someone sneaking in and stealing all the charcoal fire. Now it seems that everyone has the stolen goods!"
