After hearing what was said, Emperor Dongling closed the memorial in his hand and stared unpleasantly at Xiao Luochi kneeling below.
At this moment, facing Emperor Dongling's scrutinizing gaze, Xiao Luochi remained calm - faced and knelt there motionlessly.
A full quarter of an hour passed before Emperor Dongling sitting above moved his lips and said, "You may go back first! I'll make arrangements for your marriage. I've also chosen a suitable person for you to marry!"
Hearing this, Xiao Luochi didn't move at all. He simply repeated what he had said before, "Your subject implores Your Majesty to bestow the marriage between your subject and the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister He."
"Prince Ten! I've already arranged your marriage. You don't need to interfere. Step back!" Emperor Dongling's eyes still fixed on Xiao Luochi kneeling below. Seeing his stubborn stance, his anger flared even more.
"If you want to kneel, go and kneel outside. Don't let me see you here!"
"Yes!" Xiao Luochi merely replied and then stood up. He walked outside, lifted the long robe on his legs, and knelt straight - backed on the steps outside.
Seeing this, Emperor Dongling felt even more annoyed. He impatiently ordered the servants to close the door, hoping to be out of sight and out of mind.
The night grew deeper. After Emperor Dongling finished dealing with the memorials, he picked up a book and started reading.
Eunuch Li, who always served him closely, checked the time and reminded him on the side, "Your Majesty, it's already late at night. You'd better go to bed. You still have to attend the morning court tomorrow!"
For a moment, Emperor Dongling didn't reply. After a long while, he just let out a soft "hmm" and stood up from the dragon throne.
Eunuch Li carefully followed behind and helped Emperor Dongling change his clothes. After hesitating for a while, he whispered, "Your Majesty, Prince Ten has been kneeling outside for an hour. It's getting deeper into the night and the dew is heavy. Prince Ten, being of noble status, may not be able to bear it. Your Majesty, how about summoning Prince Ten to get up?"
"He chose to kneel on his own! Let him kneel if he wants to!" Emperor Dongling sat on the dragon bed. After Eunuch Li removed his dragon boots, he lifted the quilt and lay down.
In the middle of the night, there was lightning and thunder outside, and it started to rain.
Summer rain comes fast and heavy. Coupled with the loud thunderclaps, Emperor Dongling, who hadn't fallen asleep, felt even more irritated.
He tossed and turned in bed several times, then propped himself up and sat up. He lifted the bed curtain hanging in front of the bed and called out, "Eunuch Li!"
"Your servant is here!"
"Is it raining heavily outside?"
Eunuch Li stood cautiously on one side. "Replying to Your Majesty, it's raining quite heavily at the moment. It seems it may rain until tomorrow."
Emperor Dongling pondered for a while without looking out of the window. "Has he left?"
Eunuch Li knew that the "he" in Emperor Dongling's words undoubtedly referred to Xiao Luochi. He said with a look of pity, "Prince Ten has been kneeling outside for more than two hours. Even in such heavy rain, he's still kneeling there without leaving."
Hearing this, Emperor Dongling looked in the direction of the window. At this moment, another thunderclap roared, accompanied by a lightning bolt that was as bright as day, instantly illuminating the outside clearly.
Bean - sized raindrops fell continuously from the gloomy sky like a closely - linked rain chain. And Xiao Luochi was still in the same posture as at the beginning, his back still straight as he knelt there. However, his body was already soaked by the rain, and his face was also covered with water.
At this moment, he looked like a drowned rat.
"Send someone to take him back!" After all, he was his own son. Seeing Xiao Luochi like this, Emperor Dongling said helplessly.
By the light of the successive lightning bolts that illuminated the dark night outside, Emperor Dongling could also see the scene clearly. A eunuch carrying a lantern and holding an umbrella walked up to Xiao Luochi, held the umbrella above his head, and said a few words in his ear with a sincere look of persuasion on his face.
Hearing this, Xiao Luochi seemed not to hear at all. He still knelt there and just kowtowed once more in his kneeling position.
The eunuch looked at Xiao Luochi in a dilemma. After waiting for a while and seeing that he didn't leave, he anxiously said a few more words in his ear. But from beginning to end, Xiao Luochi seemed not to hear and still knelt there.
The young eunuch had no choice but to grit his teeth and go back to report.
Seeing this, Emperor Dongling's face darkened even more. But in the end, he couldn't bear it. "Tell him that I'll consider what he said. If he's still not satisfied, let him kneel. Don't bother me anymore!"
After saying that, Emperor Dongling threw the bed curtain aside and lay back on the dragon bed.
At this moment, Xiao Luochi, who was still kneeling in the heavy rain outside, kowtowed in the direction of the door after receiving the message from the young eunuch. Then he supported himself with his hands and tried to stand up. But after kneeling for so long, his body couldn't help but lean to one side and was quickly supported by the young eunuch.
Finally, Xiao Luochi struggled to get up from the ground. He refused the young eunuch who wanted to support him and staggered forward alone in the heavy rain.
Behind him, his personal servant held an umbrella above his head but couldn't keep up with his steps. Xiao Luochi ignored everything under his feet and walked straight towards a certain place in the palace.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! It's raining so heavily and it's so late at night. Let's go back!" The young eunuch beside Xiao Luochi, named Xiao Shuzi, who had served him since childhood, couldn't help but persuade him when he saw his master standing dejectedly by the lotus pond.
Xiao Luochi stared unblinkingly at the ripples in the lotus pond caused by the raindrops falling into it.
"Xiao Shuzi, you go back first. I want to be alone for a while!"
Xiao Shuzi knew his temper. The words he wanted to persuade him further had to be swallowed back. He wanted to leave the umbrella for him, but Xiao Luochi just waved him away.
Xiao Shuzi had no choice but to take a few steps back and stand behind him in the heavy rain, watching him.
Xiao Luochi watched the rising water level in the lotus pond with the rain. In his mind, the image of a bloated and pale body that had been fished out of the water and whose face was unrecognizable due to the bites of the fish in the water flashed again and again.
Xiao Luochi felt a bitter taste in his heart. Just as he was looking at the lotus pond, he suddenly had an impulse to jump in and find out. Was the water in it bone - chillingly cold? Was it as dark inside as it was outside? How painful would it be to be bitten by a fish in the pond?
These questions that had haunted him for more than a decade, he wanted to know the answers. And the lotus pond as black as ink seemed to have a fatal attraction to him.
Xiao Luochi took steps forward one by one. One step, two steps, three steps... One more step forward and he could go in and find out.
"Your Highness!" Before Xiao Luochi's foot could land, Xiao Shuzi shouted.