"Your Highnesses."
At this moment, Zhao Feng, who was guarding the entrance of Ju Han Palace, suddenly spoke loudly, attracting everyone's attention.
"The competition is about to begin. Please gather around this old servant."
Upon hearing this announcement, all the Imperial Princes and Princesses began to move.
They stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Zhao Feng, and from this moment on, a subtle competition had already begun.
Many of them had already taken up advantageous positions by guarding Zhao Feng's front early on.
Now that Zhao Feng had announced the gathering, many people behind them found it difficult to squeeze through because others were occupying the best spots.
They all felt that the closer they were to Zhao Feng, or rather, to the gate of Ju Han Palace, the better, as it would at least give them a head start.
Although they didn't know what they would be competing in today, getting in a little earlier would always be better.
At this point, there was no longer any brotherly affection or sisterly love.
Regardless of whether they were older or younger, relying on their close attendants, they firmly occupied a place, unwilling to give way in the slightest.
Zhao Feng calmly watched as the Imperial Princes and Princesses in front of him fiercely vied for even a single spot.
But this was the daily routine in the Imperial Palace.
Everyone had to fight.
Whether it was Imperial children or eunuchs and palace maids.
No one could escape such a fate.
Strive!
This single word encapsulated all the bitterness, spiciness, and sourness of the palace.
"Sister Yu'er, let's just wait in the back for now."
"Anyway, it's so cold inside, going in early just means freezing longer."
Princess Ankang said with a giggle, stopping Yu'er, who was trying to squeeze forward.
"This…"
Yu'er seemed a bit troubled.
Everyone else was fighting, but her own Princess looked completely unconcerned, which made Yu'er not know whether to laugh or cry.
"It's fine, Sister Yu'er."
"Anyway, we've already won twice before, so it doesn't matter if we let others win once this time."
Princess Ankang shook her head and said calmly.
"Alright then."
Seeing that Princess Ankang had said so, Yu'er swallowed the words she had intended to say.
"Her Highness is so smart, she must have her own ideas."
Thinking this, Yu'er no longer worried and obediently waited for Princess Ankang's command.
Li Xuan, however, looked at Princess Ankang with some surprise, not expecting the Little Bean to have such an open-minded attitude.
He had originally thought that after tasting success twice, Princess Ankang would become even more determined to win this time.
He didn't expect that the Little Bean would instead be more open-minded because she had already won twice.
"Time's up, open the doors!"
Zhao Feng checked the time, then said in a clear voice.
Then, the gates of Ju Han Palace slowly opened, emitting heavy "thump-thump-thump" sounds.
Ju Han Palace was rarely opened more than a few times a year, so the sound of the gates opening was somewhat heavy.
As the gates of Ju Han Palace opened, an even more biting chill surged out from within, chilling people's legs.
But the Imperial Princes and Princesses didn't care about this. As soon as they saw Zhao Feng step aside and gesture towards Ju Han Palace, they eagerly squeezed in, vying for the front.
Zhao Feng waited by the door, watching the crowded people, but had no intention of going inside himself.
Even though he was the Grand Eunuch of the Internal Affairs Bureau, his status was different, and he still had to observe the rules.
Naturally, he couldn't rush in before the masters when entering, otherwise, that would be breaking the rules.
After everyone else had squeezed in, the Three Little Ones from Jingyang Palace slowly walked into Ju Han Palace without haste.
Yu'er pushed the wheelchair, and Princess Ankang held Li Xuan, walking curiously through the gate, facing the cold.
Zhao Feng only followed into Ju Han Palace after the last person, Princess Ankang, had entered.
Zhao Feng walked beside Yu'er, just one step behind Princess Ankang.
"Her Royal Highness truly has a good mindset, neither rushed nor slow."
Zhao Feng smiled and praised her.
"Not at all, it's just that I have difficulty moving, so instead of making a fool of myself, it's better to walk last and save myself the effort."
Princess Ankang replied modestly.
Zhao Feng didn't say anything more, just nodded slightly.
He knew that years of living in the Cold Palace had made Princess Ankang very different from the other Your Highnesses.
Whether such a difference was good or bad, no one could say now.
Perhaps only when the final outcome appeared could future generations judge.
As they slowly walked into Ju Han Palace, the wide-open gates also slowly closed behind them.
"Chief Zhao, can't you walk faster?"
"We're almost freezing to death."
Ju Han Palace had a vast, empty layout. Upon entering, there was a large courtyard with few surrounding buildings, appearing very spacious and different in architectural style compared to other parts of the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Princes and Princesses had previously squeezed in, vying for the front, but after entering, they saw nothing useful. Besides the vast courtyard, there was only omnipresent but invisible cold air.
In just a short while, they were all frozen like little grand-children.
Originally, these Imperial Princes and Princesses still cared about their demeanor. Many of them, unlike Princess Ankang and her group, did not directly wear winter clothes for warmth, but rather their usual everyday attire.
After entering Ju Han Palace, each and every one of them learned their lesson, urging their attendants to take out the thick clothes they had prepared long ago and hastily put them on.
Watching their disheveled appearance, a hint of a smile involuntarily flashed in Zhao Feng's eyes, but on his face, he repeatedly apologized.
"Your Highnesses, please forgive me."
"I didn't expect that because this old servant is old and frail, and slow-footed, I would implicate Your Highnesses…"
Seeing Chief Zhao about to launch into endless self-reproach, several of the Imperial Princes and Princesses who had spoken earlier quickly interjected, "Stop, stop, Chief Zhao, isn't it enough that we were impatient?"
"Please start the competition quickly!"
"If we delay any longer, my delicate younger brothers and sisters might not be able to hold on."
"Yes, yes, we older ones are fine, but seeing those young younger brothers and sisters suffering with us is truly unbearable."
"How about we send the children out, to spare them from freezing here with us."
Goodness, they were squeezing like crazy just now, and now they feel bad for their younger siblings.
They didn't even consider who had just squeezed their heads flat.
There was no shortage of hypocrites among these Imperial children.
From a young age, they had to learn what was righteous and where the moral high ground was.
No matter the situation, making sure their actions were justified was a basic quality for Imperial children.
It was just that some were clumsier, and some were more skillful.
There wasn't much difference.
Even if someone scoffed at these words, they wouldn't show it.
Because if it succeeded, they would benefit and eliminate many other competitors.
Little Bean also had his own threats. Who knew what bizarre competition it would be today?
If it didn't work out, it didn't matter anyway, since it wasn't them who said those embarrassing things.
For them, even a good-for-nothing had value.
They even wished for more such uneducated good-for-nothings among their siblings.
Because of their young age, the Little Bean did not have many opinions of their own, so at their imperial concubine's insistence, they were all bundled up tightly, with the best insulation measures from head to toe.
The Little Bean were different from their older brothers and sisters; they didn't yet know what elegance meant. They cared more about fun than looking good.
Now, hearing that someone wanted to drive them away from a fun place, they naturally refused.
The Little Bean also had their advantages; relying on their young age, they spoke without many reservations.
"Imperial Brother, if you're cold, hurry home."
"You've been shivering ever since you came in, that's too weak."
"And that Imperial Sister is also quite beautifully frozen; her knees are turning blue, and she's not even covering them. This younger brother can't bear to see it, so hurry home and find some wool pants to wear!"
"Hahaha…"
These little rascals, without their imperial concubine's supervision, were utterly unrestrained.
Those who were older brothers and sisters still cared about their reputation, but these Little Bean, relying on being children, fully exploited their advantage of being able to talk nonsense. The more they spoke, the more outrageous they became, making the faces of those who had previously clamored to send them back turn green.
In this Ju Han Palace, it was truly difficult to tell whether this was from anger or cold.
"Alright, alright, Your Highnesses, stop arguing."
"Don't forget what our purpose is for being here."
Zhao Feng hadn't expected that merely trying to amuse himself would lead to a verbal battle.
The combat power of a group of mischievous children was quite formidable.
Especially since they were all biological siblings, they couldn't be beaten or out-argued. After all, as older brothers and sisters, they had to maintain some dignity as they grew older.
Unlike these mischievous children, whose mouths spewed anything and everything.
If Zhao Feng didn't intervene, someone would be eliminated before the competition even began.
"Your Highnesses, please follow me."
Zhao Feng no longer procrastinated and directly led them to the competition venue.
Ju Han Palace was a place for storing ice, so there was no shortage of cellars.
Zhao Feng led the Imperial Princes and Princesses into a room, then opened the entrance to a cellar, and led them inside.
After entering the cellar, the cold intensified a bit.
The cellar steps led downwards, with oil lamps, perpetually lit, hanging on both sides of the path.
Beside the steps was a ramp, specifically for transporting ice.
This conveniently allowed Princess Ankang's wheelchair to enter and exit the area.
Otherwise, if it were all steps, their wheelchair would indeed have difficulty going down.
After descending the steps for quite a distance, they officially entered an Ice Cellar.
Li Xuan looked back, roughly estimated, and figured they should now be at least four or five meters underground.
"This Ice Cellar is dug quite deep."
Li Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.
Before them was an eerie, large iron door. Zhao Feng walked forward and opened the large iron door.
As the large iron door opened, visible white cold air flowed out like mist, chilling everyone's feet.
In such an environment, if it were the Princess Ankang of before, she would probably have already felt uncomfortable just by arriving here.
In that situation, there would be no need to even mention participating in any competition.
Even the healthy Imperial Princes and Princesses quickly moved their bodies to warm themselves up.
Zhao Feng was the first to step into the Ice Cellar, then led them to the center of the Ice Cellar.
The Three Little Ones followed at the back of the crowd, curiously observing the neatly stacked blocks of ice all around.
These were stored during winter, waiting to be used by nobles for cooling off in summer.
Aside from Princess Ankang, the other Imperial Princes and Princesses, although they had enjoyed it, had probably never seen ice stored in an Ice Cellar.
As for Princess Ankang, she had never used ice in the summer.
She was always afraid of the cold, and summer was actually her most comfortable season.
Princess Ankang had previously only had a need for warmth, never for cooling off.
And indeed, when it was hot in the summer, Li Xuan always liked to stick close to Princess Ankang.
In the middle of summer, who wouldn't love a human air conditioner?
Just as the Three Little Ones were curiously examining the ice in the Ice Cellar, they suddenly heard a scream from the front.
"Ah—"
"Why is there a corpse here?"
"Careful, an assassin!"
After the scream, various slightly panicked voices followed.
Li Xuan also frowned, shielding Princess Ankang.
Not far away, Princess Princess Yuan An, who had been watching Li Xuan, felt her heart sour even more at this scene. She silently hugged Bai Miao tightly, which deeply touched Bai Miao, who had just been startled by the scream.
"My master still loves me."
Bai Miao thought to himself.
The crowd in front dispersed slightly in panic.
Through a gap in the crowd, Li Xuan saw a figure lying on the ground ahead.
However, looking at the frost condensed on the figure, it was impossible for it to be a living person.
"By the clothing, it looks like a palace maid?"
Li Xuan was secretly wondering.
Zhao Feng slowly walked to the side of the corpse on the ground.
"Your Highnesses, this is today's test."
As he spoke, he pulled off a white cloth from a huge block of ice.
As the white cloth was pulled away, they saw that the block of ice was actually engraved with many square characters.