The Way of the Empress

“Trust me, Your Highness, it will be fine. And you will be fine. We will all be fine.” Zhuo Yang continued to comfort Moodys.

Moodys, who was in high fever, fell asleep in a daze under his comfort. Zhuo Yang looked at his hideous but peaceful sleeping face reddened by the fever, and suddenly recalled he scene when he and Moodys first met.

Many people think that four-year-old children have very few memories, and even if they do, they are mostly vague.

But Zhuo Yang did not think it was the case. Because he very clearly remembers when he was four years old…

His first encounter with Moodys was held on a sunny afternoon. The old Zhuo family held a banquet that day, and many upper-class figures and nobles from Emperor Star attended with their partners and children.

Moodys, as crown prince, was among them.

Many children’s childhoods are very happy and innocent. As long as they’re innocent and ignorant, and can pay respect in front of one’s parents, it’s all good. But for Zhuo Yang, that was not the case. For him, the time before the age of four was like a nightmare.

Not long after he was born, Zhuo Hengyuan used nasty means to frame Tan Yuzhi for adultery, divorced her, and married Xia Xiuzhi.

After their marriage, the dog couple, in order to prevent Tan Yuzhi from exploding the Zhuo family’s scandal, they directly abused aristocratic privileges and locked Tan Yuzhi, and the newly born Zhuo Yang, up. Such a life drove Tan Yuzhi crazy, and they declared that Tan Yuzhi had a mental illness, and were taking care of her.

Therefore, Zhuo Yang’s memory from a very young age is that of being locked in a small dark room with his mother. Not able to go out, cannot see the sun, waiting for people to deliver meals every day, without the slightest freedom.

When he was a little older, Xia Xiuzhi and Zhuo Hengyuan were less strict with his mother and him. The maid who had a child felt compassion towards him. Thinking he was a child who knew nothing and that nothing could happen, let him out every day like a puppy to breath the air, see the sun, and play in the yard. Plus, Zhuo Hengyuan and Xia Xiuzhi only told her to look after the crazy woman, and did not ask her to keep him locked up together.

At that time, Zhuo Yang cherished his time outside every day. That was the only time he could taste freedom and sunshine, which made him feel a happiness that was rare in his life.

But that’s it.

It is his only happiness when he goes out for air every day.

That happiness is also incomplete, and contains glass shards… The reason is simple. It’s because there is more than one child in the Zhuo family compound. There are also the pair of brothers, Zhuo Yu and Zhuo Deming.

Since they found out that Zhuo Yang was also a child in the family, and ignorantly inquired about his life experience, they began to bully and humiliate him.

“Catch him and kill him. He’s a little bastard, a crazy child. When he grows up, he’s going to go crazy and kill people. We’ll  kill him now so he won’t kill people…”

“Moreover, his mother is a cheating bitch. He’s definitely not the child of our Zhuo family. Eating out family’s food for nothing every day. Let’s go together and beat him to death…”

“Kill him…”

Bullied by the group of bear children, he was forced to be a horse, toy, and forced to play all kinds of games, such as the game of eagle catching chicks. Once chased and caught, there is beating, bullying, and humiliation.

Repeatedly, every day.

Before the age of four, this Zhuo Yang’s daily life.

It is said that at the beginning, man’s nature is good. But because of these little demons, Zhuo Yang always thinks that at the beginning, man should be evil by nature.

That sunny afternoon when he met the crown prince, Zhuo Yang had already learned to escape and avoid the terrible little demons. He hadn’t let them catch him for a long time.

However, that day was different.

Because Zhuo Yang’s mother Tan Yuzhi was ill. No one wanted to treat her, and everyone wanted her to die.

However, the young Zhuo Yang wanted to save his mother.

Zhuo Yang, who has been in contact with the outside world, has gradually understood some things and principles. He has formed his own relatively basic worldview. Although Tan Yuzhi is crazy, she has always loved Zhuo Yang. Sometimes when she is normal, she will tell him stories and share knowledge… Zhuo Yang didn’t want his mother to die, but there was no doctor willing to see her…

So Zhuo Yang could only choose to steal medicine from Zhuo’s medical robot… At that time, Zhuo Yang was young and didn’t know much. He didn’t know that one needs to prescribe the right medicine when they’re sick. He only knows that when his mother is ill, she needs to take medicine. She will get better after taking medicine, and there is medicine in the thing called a medical robot… …

Stealing is his only option.

This plan is a bit funny and incredulous as an adult, but it was a very important event for Zhuo Yang at that time.

And because he was young, small, and familiar with the terrain of Zhuo’s family and knowing where the medical robot was placed, he actually stole medicine.

As soon as Zhuo Yang stole the medicine, he skipped happily and eagerly returned to save his mother.

However, on the way, he was caught by those little demons again…

“Catch him quickly. Look, I knew this little bastard is not a good thing. He’s even stealing things. Thieves get thrown in jail. Catch him, and hit him… let him hand over the things.” The group of bear children headed by Zhuo Deming relied on being a bit older and being sentinels, so they easily caught Zhuo Yang.

Several children from the Xia family who often come to the Zhuo’s family to play also echoed: “The child educated by that cheating woman is really not a good thing. He deserves to die, just like his brother who fell into the river and drowned. How can you still have the face to stay at Zhuo’s house, fighting with our Xiaoyu for the spot of young master!”

“Bastard, bastard…children of a cheater. Thief, thief…” A group of under ten year old children humiliated him innocently and cruelly.

Zhuo Deming stepped forward and kicked Zhuo Yang first: “Hurry up and hand over what you stole. We’ll spare you this time.”

But this time, even though he was always afraid of them because of being beaten whenever he’s caught, Zhuo Yang, who did whatever the group of people told him to, was rarely stubborn. His eyes were red and he didn’t say a word.

For him at that time, letting go of the medicine in his hand was like letting go of his mother’s life.

But the group of little demons had no sympathy at all. Seeing that he refused to hand over the medicine, they immediately shouted: “Since the thief refuses to hand over the medicine, then let’s kill him! The thief deserves to be killed. Yes!”

“Kill him…”

“Kill the thief.” When Zhuo Deming, the king of children, spoke, the group of children immediately agreed.

The violent, innocent and cruel punches and kicks fell heavily on Zhuo Yang. Zhuo Yang lay on the ground, holding the medicine tightly in his hand, without saying a word, feeling that he was about to die.

And his mother was going to die too.

“What are you doing?” But at this moment, an adult shout came from not far away. After growing up so big, it’s the first time someone in this mansion saw the little demons bullying him.

The group of little demons seemed to be frightened: “Your Royal Highness…”

“His Royal Highness—”

Zhuo Yang patted the dust on his butt, still holding the medicine in his hand, and stood up embarrassedly to look at the source of the sound. He saw a very tall adult standing there, looking at them in astonishment and surprise. The bright sunshine shining on his blond hair, reflected a very dazzling light.

That was the first time Zhuo Yang saw Moodys. At that time, he almost thought he had seen an angel in a fairy tale.

“His Royal Highness, he is a thief, stealing from our house. We caught him and he refused to return it, so we beat him.” Zhuo Deming reacted first, and the first thing he did after greeting the crown prince was to point out the wicked thief first.

The crown prince walked up to them and said righteously: “Even if he is a thief, he should be punished by the law. You should not beat him. Besides, he is just a child, younger than you, so how can you do such things?”

Zhuo Yang thought it must be difficult for the Moodys at that time to imagine how such a thing could happen in this world.

“But… but he’s a thief.” Zhuo Deming still wanted to argue.

The crown prince ignored them, and walked straight to Zhuo Yang, who couldn’t see his face clearly. He didn’t know how long he had not taken a shower. He was still wearing clothes worn by maid’s children. Zhuo Yang didn’t know how long it was since his clothes were last washed. Not caring that his clothes were soiled, Moodys picked him up and asked softly, “Who are you? How did you get here? Where are your parents? Why do you want to steal things? Is it okay to tell, brother?”

“I…I didn’t steal anything, I…I just wanted to save my mother…” After growing up, it was the first time Zhuo Yang was hugged by an adult other than his mother. This person seemed to smell like fragrance. This made him feel very cared for, and even stuttered as he spoke.

And the temperature and strength of the big hands holding him-

Zhuo Yang’s thoughts have not yet recovered.

The crown prince frowned slightly: “Save your mother?”

Zhuo Yang couldn’t tell his own life experience at the time, and he was not quite sure, so he could only lead this adult who looked like an angel to the place where his mother was.

Moodys was shocked on the spot when he saw Zhuo Yang’s mother and son’s misery: the small and dark living environment in the small black house.

After checking Zhuo Yang’s life experience, he forcibly intervened on the spot and called his medical team over to see Tan Yuzhi in person.

This saved Tan Yuzhi’s life.

He even wanted to take care of Tan Yuzhi and Zhuo Yang’s mother and son pair, but he couldn’t make it… Because his intervention shocked Elder Zhuo, to avoid the ugliness of the family, he spent three inches of his tongue to repeatedly assure that he did not know the servant servant and other children would do this, and would take good care of the Zhuo Yang mother and son pair in the future.

Moodys took into account he was Zhuo Yang’s grandfather and guardian, and vowed to take care of him. Plus, it was indeed inconvenient to take care of a child by himself.

Only then did he give up his plan for the time being, and left a sentence for Mr. Zhuo. ‘In the future, I will look at the current situation of Zhuo Yang’s mother and son from time to time.’

It is precisely because of these words and the fact Moodys would pay attention to the current situation from time to time despite being busy, that the Zhuo family changed Tan Yuzhi’s environment. They hired specialized medical staff and maids to take care of her, and Zhuo Yang was also taken over by Mr. Zhuo to raise him personally…

Although the prince who appeared in his life like an angel, never appeared after confirming he was okay at the age of eight in the Zhuo mansion, never appeared again, and acted as if he had forgotten him…

Zhuo Yang always believed that the crown prince changed his destiny.

Without Moodys, there would be no Zhuo Yang today.