Chapter 0301: That Was the Right He Earned Through Struggle – The Right to Accompany Him
His hand rested on the shoulder that was only slightly shorter than his own.
The Second Imperial Brother wore a thick crimson outer cloak, and it went without saying that if he were to fall into the frozen lake, he would sink to the bottom forever.
But Xie Jinyu lacked the courage to do it.
He knew full well that the Second Imperial Brother was innocent—it wasn’t him who had stolen the paternal love and maternal attention that should have been his; it was their father and mother who were unwilling to give it to him.
Yet he still envied and resented this Second Imperial Brother.
Even if he couldn’t push him into the frozen lake, he had to teach him a lesson.
He would lock him in a cold, deserted room, making him taste the suffering he himself had once endured.
This seemingly delicate Second Imperial Brother surely couldn’t endure cold and hardship as he could. He would definitely cry and sniffle, patting the door pitifully while calling for his father and mother.
The thought alone was amusing.
Just as Xie Jinyu reached out to grip the outer cloak and pull the boy away from the lake’s edge, his gaze suddenly met a pair of dark, bright eyes.
The Second Imperial Brother had turned his head at some point, blinking as if surprised. “Crown Prince, little brother?”
Xie Jinyu instinctively withdrew his hand, avoiding the other’s piercingly clear gaze, bright as the midday sun.
“How did you end up out here too?” His voice was soft and pleasant, his clear eyes fixed on Xie Jinyu. “And without an outer cloak—you’ll get sick.”
Xie Jinyu watched as the Second Imperial Brother unfastened his own outer cloak, then stood on tiptoe to drape it over his shoulders.
The wind by the lake was strong, making the Second Imperial Brother shiver uncontrollably. His fair nose tip reddened from the cold. His warm little hand grasped Xie Jinyu’s icy one, his teeth chattering as he said, “Crown Prince, little brother, let’s go back.”
Xie Jinyu stared blankly at their joined hands.
Warmth—not just from the accumulated body heat trapped by the outer cloak blocking the cold wind, but also from the soft, gentle sensation of the palm. That small hand firmly slipped between his fingers, gripping them tightly as if afraid he might get lost, entwining around him so securely that he could clearly feel both their pulses beating in unison.
It was a strange feeling.
“Imperial Brother… aren’t you cold?” he asked hoarsely, unable to stop himself from clasping that small hand in return, his heart racing wildly.
Something was trying to break out of its cage.
“Imperial Brother isn’t cold.” The young child curved his eyes into a smile. “If the Crown Prince little brother were to freeze, Imperial Brother’s heart would turn ice-cold.”
This was the first time Xie Jinyu had ever felt cared for.
Such pure, familial concern.
There were servants in the Eastern Palace who showed concern for him, but it was less genuine care and more pity and sympathy. They cast him sympathetic glances, but hindered by the Empress’s orders and their fear of imperial authority, they dared not offer him any real help.
So warm.
So warm it made him… want to cry out in grievance.
But as the Crown Prince, he couldn’t cry.
In that moment, he clung desperately to this sliver of warmth. How he wished he could freeze time right there—he didn’t want to return to the banquet; he wanted to draw more warmth from the Second Imperial Brother.
Could he ask for it?
He gradually came to a halt, watching as the Second Imperial Brother, tugged by him, stopped as well.
“What’s wrong?” Snowflakes had begun to fall unnoticed. He saw the Second Imperial Brother rise onto his toes, reaching up to brush the snow from his eyelashes.
Like an elder brother caring for his younger sibling, he was exceedingly gentle.
“I want to go there,” he inexplicably pointed at the nearby building, “not back to the banquet.”
He knew this request was somewhat excessive. Second Imperial Brother currently had no outer robe for warmth and would surely prefer returning to the warm banquet hall.
Yet Second Imperial Brother glanced at the building and nodded, “Alright.”
Just like that, he led him into the cold, empty building.
With practiced ease, he dragged a wooden stool beside the candle stand, climbed up to light the candle with a fire starter, then jumped down. Standing by the bed, he lifted the quilt and said, “Crown Prince brother, come in quickly, it’s warm.”
He had forgotten what he was thinking at that time, only remembering that he climbed onto the bed. Second Imperial Brother gently removed his shoes and socks, tucked him into the bedding, then slipped in himself.
“Crown Prince brother, why did you go to the frozen lake?” he chatted casually, patting his chest as if coaxing a child to sleep, likely how Consort Hua and Father Emperor comforted him every night.
This realization stirred another wicked thought in Xie Jinyu’s heart.
“I didn’t want to live anymore,” he replied with an indifferent expression. He knew how terrifying such words would be to a child and wanted to frighten Second Imperial Brother.
Suddenly, the sounds beside him ceased, and the small hand patting his chest stilled.
He turned his head and was shocked to see tears welling up in Second Imperial Brother’s eyes, then falling incessantly as if they cost nothing.
“Don’t die,” Second Imperial Brother shook his head, holding him tightly in his arms as if afraid he would return to the frozen lake to seek death, sobbing, “Zeze doesn’t want Crown Prince brother to die.”
He had succeeded—successfully made Second Imperial Brother cry miserably.
Even if it wasn’t exactly what he had wanted.
“Did someone bully you?” Second Imperial Brother asked with reddened eyes, angrily declaring, “Who was it? I’ll have them beaten ten—no, twenty strokes!”
Xie Jinyu found it somewhat amusing.
Twenty strokes? Would you dare?
If that person was the Empress.
Xie Jinyu suddenly grew curious: what would happen if his chaotic, ice-cold family dynamics were intruded upon by a thoroughly cherished Second Imperial Brother?
With malicious intent, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the red marks left by the ruler on his arm.
“Empress Mother punished me,” he said lightly. “Father Emperor didn’t interfere either.”
Those tears that cost nothing began falling again onto his arm, tracing over the ruler marks. Though the pain had long subsided, they felt scalding hot to Xie Jinyu.
“How could they do this!” Second Imperial Brother’s eyes filled with disbelief and the anger of shattered trust and admiration. “Not letting me play with you is one thing, but how could Empress Mother hit you too!”
Xie Jinyu was stunned.
What?
Before he could react, Second Imperial Brother pulled him out of the bedding. He watched as the furious child dragged him back to the banquet, loudly complaining to Consort Hua, rejecting Father Emperor’s apologies, and standing tall to glare defiantly at Empress Mother, demanding she cease such brutality.
For a period after that, Consort Hua had a one-sided argument with Father Emperor, while Second Imperial Brother gave Father Emperor the cold shoulder. He visited the Eastern Palace daily, baring his teeth like a competitive wolf cub whenever Empress Mother appeared, glaring at her fiercely.
But after all, he was just a child.
He didn’t understand that all power in the imperial harem rested solely in the hands of Empress Cao.
In the end, Second Brother finally secured the privilege of spending time playing with him every day.
This was something Second Brother had fought for with red-eyed determination, struggling for over half a month and throwing the entire imperial harem into chaos before achieving.
Xie Jinyu thoroughly enjoyed this kind of preferential treatment.
The kind of devotion that would risk everything for him, keeping eyes fixed only on him, genuinely caring for him and considering his needs.
He took even greater pleasure in seeing his previously neglectful father and mother, compelled by Second Brother’s love for him, bow their heads and compromise.
What does it matter if you don’t love me?
Second Brother loves me.
For my sake, he would choose to dislike you, to refute you.
I don’t love you either.
Every bit of familial debt you owe me, I shall reclaim through Second Brother.