Gu Nianli held the pomegranate up for a few moments, but her elder brother didn't take it.
He tilted his head and looked up, and saw that the prince's lips were trembling and his eyes were bloodshot, as if something was burning inside them.
"Big brother?"
The crown prince did not hear the shout.
His ears were ringing, and his mind was filled with a jumble of random thoughts, all of which kept popping out of his head, and no one could stop them.
In the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, in front of all the civil and military officials, Chu Tianxing said that he was having difficulty conceiving.
Chen Qinglan sneered that he couldn't even last three breaths.
The Empress turned around and began to choose a maternal family for nine-year-old Gu Nianli.
The jade chessboard bestowed by his father was not given to him.
"A token of the future crown prince" —Gu Moli's words, which had just brushed past me in the corridor, still echoed in my ears, light as a feather, yet like a sharp needle that had pierced through and could not be pulled out.
Nowadays, even a nine-year-old child dares to mention the words "cannot give birth" in front of him.
Pomegranate.
Many children, many blessings.
The prince's throat tightened, and he let out a dry laugh.
"Is the world like a game of chess?"
"You think you're worthy to play this game?"
Gu Nianli was startled by the shout, dropped the pomegranate in his hand, and hugged the chessboard tightly.
He was too young to understand the meaning behind the distorted expression on the prince's face, and instinctively took half a step back, his back hitting the edge of the table.
"Big brother, I..."
The crown prince stepped forward.
He stretched out his hand, fingers spread, and grasped the edge of the jade chessboard.
Gu Nianli gripped the chessboard tightly, refusing to let go, his little fingers reddened from the gold-threaded patterns.
"Brother, don't take my chessboard! If Father and Mother find out, they'll punish you!"
These words added fuel to the fire for the crown prince, who then pulled hard.
The chessboard slipped from Gu Nianli's arms, causing the child to stumble and bump his knee on the chair leg.
Gu Nianli winced in pain, her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Big brother, you..."
The prince raised his arm.
A heavy, dark green jade chessboard was drawn in a semi-circle, its gold-threaded edges cutting through the heat in the warm chamber.
With a sharp whistling sound, it landed squarely on the Fifth Prince's forehead.
"Click."
The chessboard split in the middle, breaking into three pieces.
The largest piece flew out and overturned the pomegranate dish on the table.
Pomegranate seeds were scattered all over the ground, mixing with another red liquid.
Gu Nianli's body fell straight backward, the back of his head hitting the blue brick floor with a dull thud.
His eyes were still open, and his mouth was slightly open, as if he wanted to shout something, but he couldn't utter a single word.
A long gash ran down his forehead, blood trickling down his brow bone, along his nose, and into the corner of his mouth, staining his new clothes that he had just changed into that morning.
The warm room suddenly became very quiet.
The fire in the charcoal brazier crackled once, and a spark fell into the ash, extinguishing the flame.
The Crown Prince looked down at Gu Nianli, who lay on the ground, still clutching half a broken piece of the chessboard in his hand.
The sharp edge cut his own palm, and blood dripped from between his fingers, but he was completely unaware.
He started to laugh.
Laughter squeezed out from deep in his throat, first low, like a cough, then growing louder and higher, echoing between the walls of the warm room.
Hearing the commotion, the eunuch outside pushed open the door halfway and peeked in. Seeing the blood on the ground and the prince laughing so hard he was shaking, the eunuch's face drained of color instantly. He turned and ran outside, even losing one of his shoes in the process.
"Help! Help!"
The Empress and Consort Xian walked side by side on the plum grove path, followed by their respective maids and nannies.
The Empress was in a good mood today. She had just received news in the Palace of Phoenix Ceremony that the Emperor had granted the Crown Prince's request to be released from confinement and that he would be allowed to appear at the family banquet.
She was planning the seating arrangement and her remarks for the family banquet when Consort Xian walked beside her, her head down and not saying much.
The two stood an arm's length apart, their manners polite and courteous, just as they had been at each other for years.
The warm pavilion is just twenty steps ahead.
The Queen noticed the half-open door first.
Then I saw the little eunuch who had lost his shoe while running.
The young eunuch scrambled over, knelt in the snow, and stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.
"Crown Prince... Fifth Prince... Blood..."
The Empress paused.
She pushed aside the young eunuch, lifted her skirt, and quickly walked to the entrance of the warm pavilion.
The door was open.
The heat from the charcoal fire surged out, mixed with a rusty, metallic smell.
The Empress saw Gu Nianli lying on the ground.
The child lay on his back, blood flowing from his forehead down to his ears, staining the blue bricks with a dark red hue.
Pomegranate seeds were scattered all over the ground, red and white mixed with blood, making it impossible to distinguish which were the pulp and which were other things.
The crown prince stood to the side, clutching the broken chessboard in his hand, his laughter still echoing.
The Empress's legs buckled, and she knelt directly on the threshold, the sound of her kneecaps hitting the wood dull and crisp.
"Summon the imperial physician!"
Palace maids and eunuchs scattered and ran, their footsteps echoing through the snow from all directions.
Consort Xian rushed to the door after her.
She first saw the child on the ground, then she saw her son.
The prince's hands were covered in blood, and he wore a smile she had never seen before, a smile more unsightly than a cry.
She stood at the entrance of the warm pavilion, her fingers gripping her sleeves tightly, the pads of her fingers aching from the brocade.
It felt like someone had shoved a red-hot coal into her chest, burning her so badly she couldn't breathe.
Over the years, she endured the Empress's oppression and her son's disdain.
They had thought that even though the crown prince had lost power, he still had a way out.
But the Empress refused to let it go.
The moment the Crown Prince was placed under house arrest, the Empress was eager to win over the Chen Family, pave the way for Gu Nianli, and let everyone know that she had another son she could support.
Gu Moyuan was driven mad.
Her son has become a murderous madman.
Consort Xian's gaze passed over the threshold of the warm pavilion and landed on the Empress, who was kneeling in the snow.
The Empress rushed in to see her son, her knees hitting the threshold. Her phoenix robe was covered in snow and mud, her hair was disheveled, and her face was frighteningly pale.
She was still calling for the imperial physician.
One sound after another.
" Nianli, Nianli, open your eyes and look at your mother."
Consort Xian listened to the cries, a layer of blood slowly crept into her eyes.
She suddenly strode forward, her shoes breaking through the thin ice on the snow, her skirt kicking up a patch of mud and water.
As soon as the Empress turned her head, Consort Xian's hand had already grabbed her high bun, her five fingers digging into the intricate hair, pulling at the pearls and jewels and strands of hair.
The empress screamed in pain, her body being pulled backward.
"You vile woman!" Consort Xian gritted her teeth, tightening her grip even more. "You're the one who ruined my son!"