Side Story 4: The First Encounter of the Hostage Prince Xiao Bai

Side Story 4: The First Encounter of the Hostage Prince Xiao Bai

Even in the corners of the palace during winter, a bone-chilling cold permeates the air.

The woodshed on the back hill of the Royal Academy was rarely visited, and it was the favorite place for those sycophantic eunuchs to bully people.

"Go inside, you little bastard from the South!"

With a sharp curse, the dilapidated wooden door of the woodshed was slammed shut, and a large iron lock was hung on the outside.

The woodshed was dimly lit, cold, and damp.

An eight-year-old boy slumped down on a pile of dry grass.

He was wearing thin, ill-fitting old clothes, his wrists and ankles exposed and bluish-purple from the cold.

That face, which should have been delicate and beautiful, was now not only dirty, but also covered with several obvious bruises.

His name was Xiao Bai, a hostage sent by the neighboring state of Nanzhao.

In this dog-eat-dog imperial palace, a hostage without any support is less than a dog in status.

"Cough cough..."

Xiao Bai curled up, trying to hug himself to keep warm.

His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes lacked the innocence expected of someone his age; instead, they held an intense, unyielding melancholy and a precocious hatred.

He was cold and hungry; the eunuchs had taken away his food and locked him up here.

"It's better that he's dead."

Xiao Bai closed his eyes and thought coldly to himself, "It's better if this rotten life ends sooner rather than later."

Just as he was about to succumb to the darkness, a strange noise suddenly came from outside the door.

"Gah—!!!"

A loud, clear call, full of fighting spirit, abruptly broke the silence.

Immediately following were the terrified screams of the eunuchs:

"Oh my! Where did this goose come from?!"

"Don't bite me! Don't pinch my butt! Ah—!"

"Help! This goose has gone mad!"

After a chaotic commotion, the footsteps hurriedly faded into the distance.

Xiao Bai was stunned.

Geese? How could there be geese in the palace?

Before he could figure it out...

"Bang!"

The broken wooden door that had locked him was violently kicked open from the outside!

The rotten door collapsed with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Xiao Bai subconsciously raised his hand to cover his eyes.

The dazzling midday sun poured in through the open door, dispelling the long-standing gloom in the woodshed.

At that dazzling entrance, stood a small figure.

It was a little girl wearing a bright red dress, who looked about six or seven years old.

She stood against the light, a snow-white fox fur cloak draped over her back. The stark contrast between red and white made her look like a blazing fire burning in the snow.

At her feet stood a large white goose with a red crest on its head.

The goose had just won a battle and was flapping its wings triumphantly, honking loudly.

"Hello."

The girl in red stepped across the threshold and came in.

She glanced at Xiao Bai, who was huddled in the corner trembling, her brows furrowing slightly, her expression a mixture of disdain and undisguised domineering:

"You're the new hostage?"

Xiao Bai stared at her warily, his body tense like a wounded wolf cub: "Who are you? Did you come to laugh at me?"

"Watching a joke?"

Pei Niannian rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips:

"I'm very busy, I don't have time to laugh at you."

She walked up to Xiao Bai and looked him down at him:

"I just passed by and saw those eunuchs bullying you. What, don't you have hands? Didn't you know how to fight back?"

Xiao Bai bit his lip, lowered his head, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I can't beat them, there are too many of them."

"If you can't beat them, think of a way!"

Pei Niannian pointed at the big white goose at her feet with exasperation: "Look, even this stupid goose knows to pinch the butt of anyone who bullies it. You, a grown man, are you going to die from holding your pee?"

As she spoke, she seemed to think that Xiao Bai was too thin and weak.

Pei Niannian reached into her bosom and pulled out a white steamed bun that was still warm from her body.

Those were snacks she had just taken from the kitchen.

"then."

She tossed the steamed bun casually, and it flew in an arc before landing precisely in Xiao Bai's arms.

Xiao Bai stood there, holding the steamed bun in a daze.

Soft, warm, and fragrant with wheat.

This was the cleanest food he had seen in the two weeks he had been in Dasheng.

"Eat."

Pei Niannian patted the flour crumbs off her hands, turned her back to him, and spoke in a clear and strong voice:

"Only when you're full will you have the strength to fight back."

"Remember this: in this palace, tears are the most useless thing. Fists and brains are the only true principles."

After saying that, she didn't linger.

She swaggered out with her large, swaggering white goose, like a queen inspecting her territory.

Xiao Bai sat in a dark corner, clutching the steamed bun tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He looked up at the direction where the girl had disappeared, and for the first time, a glimmer of light ignited in his eyes, which had been gloomy and lifeless.

“Pei… Niannian.”

He silently repeated the name he had just heard in his mind.

Xiao Bai lowered his head and took a big bite of the steamed bun.

So sweet.