Chapter 1 Part 1

 Thunder strikes in the sky, the electric snake threatening to tear the dark sky into half.  With a loud rumble, rain starts pouring from the sky and wets everything, from the roofs to the ground, almost swallowing the sound of screaming in Hua Li Palace. “It’s been a while, why hasn’t she given birth yet,” the person in yellow paces in the reading room, anxiously asking the female officials by his side. “Answering Your Majesty, this is normal for woman who is giving birth, much less Consort Xian who is carrying a dragonly child.  Please be calm, the gods up above will definitely protect the child and Consort Xian.”  The female official kneels on the ground as she reply. The other people in the room also kneels and says, “The gods up above will definitely protect Consort Xian and the prince.” “Enough!”  The emperor snaps. “Wa——–“  The loud sound of a baby crying is accompanied by the thunderclap outside.  The emperor did not hear it, but people were immediately dispatched to inform him.  “Reporting—- Consort Xian gave birth to a prince.  Mother and son are both safe!” “Congratulation to the emperor!  A prince is born, the land is at peace, long live the emperor!” Hearing the report, the servants immediately convey their well-wishes. The emperor’s bad mood turns nice.  He flips his sleeves and immediately head towards Rui Hua Palace.  But at that moment, the mood inside the Rui Hua Palace is the opposite of the joyful mood outside.  It is silent.  Other than the sound of the child crying, nobody else made a sound.  The woman in charge of the delivery hugs the child, her hands shaking.  Her face is green as well. The maids cut the baby’s umbilical cord, none of them saying anything as they fearfully glances at the one in charge for delivery.  “Hong Xiu, is it a boy or a girl?”  Consort Xian who has just finished giving birth did not realize the peculiar expression of the servants. 

 “It’s a prince, Niang Niang,” one of the maids sitting by the bedside answers while shaking.  “A prince!” Consort Xian who has been tired from childbirth is suddenly rejuvenated.  “Quick, let me see him!” “Niang Niang, your body is still—–“ Hong Xiu tries to stop her. “The emperor arrives—————“  “Your Majesty!” Consort Xian is even happier upon hearing that name.  Hong Xiu told her that the emperor has been waiting in the reading room during her labor.  And now, her child has just been born and he already comes to see them, this is really an unparalleled affection for her.  She gives no care for post-natal care and struggles to get up.  “Niang Niang, you—“ Everyone immediately curtsies, including the one holding the child and Consort Xian.  “Consort Xian, hurry and get up.  It was hard on you.  Hurry and let me look at my fourth son.”   Emperor Huang Fu Sheng heads to the bed and help Consort Xian settles in and motions the servant to bring the prince over.  As Huang Fu Sheng sits on the bed, Consort Xian did not dare to lie down completely.  She too is waiting excitedly for her son, her hope.  The child is crying so hard, a sign that he is healthy and strong.  He will be the one she counts on in the future. The servant approach them, the closer she is the more terrified she gets.  Huang Fu Sheng can no longer wait for the slow servant and stood up and stretch his arm to take the child away.  This child is his and his specially chosen Consort Xian’s prince.  Other than the first prince, he has never look forward to the birth of his any child as much as he does to this one.  He hopes this child will be able to protect his siblings once he grows up.  He has already come up with a name for the child, and just like with his siblings, it has something to do with fine jade.  His will be the best of them all. “What is this?!” the emperor’s angry voice overpowers the room.  He can’t believe what he is seeing. “Where is my prince?  Which monster is this?  How dare you brought it to me?” “Please show us mercy, Your Majesty,” all servants kneel as they cry.

 The one in charge for delivery kneels and kowtows repeatedly, “This servant will not dare to deceive Your Majesty!  This is the child Consort Xian gave birth to.  Your Majesty please show us mercy!” the servant kowtow until her head bleeds.  The other servants can only kneel while begging.  They know they won’t live past the night. “Your Majesty…… My child……” Consort Xian’s voice trembles as she asks.  She has no idea what is happening, she wants to see her child but does not have the guts to do it. The emperor turns around and looks at Consort Xian, his face full of anger.  He raise his arm, intending to let the baby fall to the floor.  Grumbles. An extremely loud thunder strikes the roof of the room.     Huang Fu Sheng flick his arm and place the baby on top of a thick quilt.  His red body, his red limbs, his red face…… “Ah—–“ Consort Xian screams in agony upon seeing the baby and faints. There is a look of disgust in Huang Fu Sheng’s face.  He flip his sleeves and walk off, not even bothering to spare another glance at the child. After the emperor left, none of the maids dare to stand up.  They are waiting to see if they can live or if they will die. 

The servant in charge of the delivery holds her bleeding head and look at the baby.  There is an unparalleled hatred in her eyes.  You little monster, you harm people the moment you are born!  The emperor has such an ugly monster, the one in charge of receiving him will definitely not be spared.  “Wa—– Wa——“ the little person on top of the bed knows nothing.  He can only cry and only knows to cry. He cries so hard that his wrinkled face wrinkles even more, to the point where his eyes, nose and lips can no longer be seen.  You can only see his eyebrow bones that bulge out more than regular people.  From the space between his eyebrows, there are two red birthmarks that spans across to the corner of his eyes and underneath his ear.  Not long after, a decree comes.  Everyone who is involved in the delivery, a total of eleven of them are put to death.  Reason?  They had been bribed to curse the prince.  The room of the servant in charge for delivery has been searched and they found a straw doll with Consort Xian’s birth details.  An ugly face was drawn on the stomach of the straw doll.  After three months, at the insistence of the Minister of Rites, the emperor finally gives his fourth prince a name, Jie, that means ugly and evil.  After knowing that her child had been given that name, Consort Xian cries and faint. Her child not only cannot be count on, he also ruined all of her prospects.  Days passed and the emperor who once loved her no longer visits. Consort Xian spent her days in loneliness, hatred and jealousy. Because she gave birth to this child, the emperor not only no longer calls for her to serve, even the imperial family banquets now happens without calling for her. She did not get to see the emperor, so that means she can no longer be favored.  Since she is no longer favored, she no longer has the opportunity to bear another child.  She cannot even give birth to another prince to protect her position. If her child was never born, things wouldn’t have been this way. If the child died the moment he was born, how good will it be.  If only she lost him while she was still carrying him.  If it had gone that way, the emperor probably would have pity her for losing a child and treats her even better.  She might even be able to bring down that hateful woman! 

But now, everything is just a dream. He is right over there.  Can’t be killed yet unwanted.  Hong Xiu is not killed, she managed to protect her.  She needs someone to take care of the child.  The emperor did not kill the child back then due to his own reasons, so she too cannot kill him.  After all, the child is still his. When Hong Xiu realized she was about to kill the child back then, she brought some sense back into her head.  “You must not act against him.  Everybody else can, but not you…..  He is still a prince, once he dies, there will be investigation.  When that time comes, not only you, but your family too will be implicated.  So you can refuse to raise him, but you must never kill him.” Consort Xian understand her reasoning.  But still, he was originally the prince that was most likely to be targeted by other people, but now he is the safest prince in the entire palace.  So infuriating!  The entire palace knows Consort Xian gave birth to an ugly prince that disgusts the emperor.   The emperor even gave him an inauspicious name, unlike his other siblings.  Even hearing his name gives people the creeps.  This kind of child that is uncared for by the father and unloved by the mother, what threats can his existence gives to the other princes?  In contrary, if he lives, he will obstruct Consort Xian’s road and the Yan Family’s grip. In the end, Huang Fu Jie survives in the palace, in the middle of his mother’s hatred, his father’s negligence, the palace’s servants disgusts and the royal family’s sneer.  In the middle of cold words, in the middle of hunger, of cold weather and bullying, Huang Fu Jie survived it all. Huang Fu Jie is still an ignorant little child.  He lives, but it is a deplorable life.  He does not know what deplorable means, what he knows is it hurts when he gets hit, it is painful to be scolded, it is hard when hungry because he will be dizzy and can’t see the road. In the beginning, he’d cry and call for people, call mother, call Hong Xiu, call for people to save him.  But after a while, he knew it was of no use.  It will only made people hate him more. He thinks the person who hates him most is his mother.  Second will be Hong Xiu who takes care of him.  After that, it will be his mother’s palace’s servants.  After that, it should be his siblings.  Of course there will also be those siblings’ mothers.  Even though he has never met them, it is said that they dislike him, just as his imperial father did.  Oh right, his grandfather also dislike him.  Hong Xiu has never let them meet, she told him that his grandfather once saw him from afar.  He frowned and left to seek his mother. This year he will be five.  He don’t really remember things that happens five years ago.  Five years of experience taught him one thing, he must never cry.  Especially not in front of other people.  The more he cries, the more unlucky he will get. It is past noon, he has not eaten anything since morning.  He has no idea where the servants in charge of caring for him have gone to.