The Heartthrob System cultivates brotherhood online

Su Nian knew his son very well. Seeing that he was uneasy, he was a little worried, "What's wrong, Yu An?"

Qin Yu'an shook his head and smiled, "Nothing, mother."

His mother knew nothing, and he didn't want to embarrass her. She had been exhausted by the life in the cold palace for more than ten years. Telling her would only increase her worries.

Su Nian knew that he had his own thoughts and did not ask, "I just hope you are safe and happy."

The woman looked out the window, her cloudy eyes slightly dazed, and no one knew what she was thinking.

"Ah."

......

The cold palace was inhabited by old palace maids and eunuchs, or crazy concubines who had been forgotten. Although meals were delivered on time every day, no one could guarantee the quality or whether they were rotten.

Qin Yu'an and his mother have never been rich. Occasionally they could make some money from the sales of his mother's weaving and embroidery and his calligraphy and paintings, but part of the money would be taken away by the middlemen, and they would not get much silver at all.

In order to get food, most of the money was used to bribe the eunuch in charge. Since it was in the cold palace and no one cared about the food, the eunuch was particularly greedy. Sometimes, even after taking the money, the food was still ugly.

Su Nian planted vegetables in some deserted yards. No one visited them on weekdays, so he used a rusty lock to make a living when he had only rotten rice.

There is an underground canal outside the yard connecting to the dry well, which seems to be just a small tributary. Only a trickle of water flows in the well, which is barely enough to irrigate the small vegetable garden.

In order to reduce his mother's workload, Qin Yu'an took the initiative to help her irrigate the vegetable fields after school.

The day after receiving the note, he came here to water the vegetables. When he was fetching water, a bamboo joint as thick as his index finger suddenly floated on the turbid water surface of the wooden barrel. He wanted to throw it away, but the weight in his hand was obviously not right, as if there was something inside.

There are obvious joints at the bamboo nodes, as if they were chiseled artificially.

The young man's heart skipped a beat and he thought he had discovered the secret of the cold palace. He hesitated for a moment, looked around and opened the bamboo tube.

There was indeed a note inside. Qin Yu'an's pupils shocked after seeing the words on it.

This is the handwriting of the person who helped him that day!

There was also a ten-liang silver note inside, neatly folded and stuffed at the very bottom. Qin Yu'an pried it with a stick for a long time before he could get it.

There were little figures doing various actions drawn on the rolled-up paper. If he guessed correctly, they were martial arts moves.

Did that person mean for him to practice martial arts?

......

Qin Yu'an quickly finished watering the vegetable garden and carried the wooden bucket back to the courtyard where he lived. Su Nian was washing clothes in the yard. Seeing that he was a little uneasy, she called him.

"what happened?"

The boy came back to his senses, and could clearly feel the bamboo tube on his chest rubbing against his skin. He shook his head and said, "I was thinking about the homework assigned by the teacher today."

Su Nian had no doubts and reminded with a smile: "Pay attention to the road you walk on, be careful not to fall."

Qin Yu'an nodded and returned to the house. All along the way, all kinds of questions filled his mind.

Who is this person?

Why help him?

How did you know where he was at that time?

Even some eunuchs in the cold palace didn't know about that vegetable garden. The more Qin Yu'an thought about it, the more frightened he became. He opened the scroll again, memorized all the moves in it, and then burned it.

Qin Yu'an felt a little relieved as he watched the thin paper turn into ashes before his eyes.

What does this person want from him?

Qin Yu'an was very self-aware. He was a prince in the cold palace and was not taken seriously. Although he had the title of prince, any young palace maid or eunuch from other palaces could give him a cold shoulder.

He has nothing.

But what he cared about most was not these, but the inexplicable sentence above.

——Don’t reveal your abilities.

His...what abilities.

......

From then on, Qin Yu'an would receive a small bamboo tube every once in a while. Sometimes there was money in it, sometimes there were martial arts moves, and without exception they were all encouragement.

Qin Yu'an was suspicious and wary at first, but later became cautious but grateful. If he wanted to make Su Nian's life better, he had to give something.

Only after learning these could he better protect Su Nian and prevent her from being targeted by some twisted and vicious eunuchs.

Qin Yu'an still remembered how his mother stood in front of him. Although she was thin, her body wrapped him tightly to prevent him from getting hurt.

The young boy hugged his mother tightly, blood flowing from his mouth. He still remembers the pain of helplessness.

The eunuch who beat and bullied them eventually died. It was said that he had contradicted the virtuous concubine and was beaten to death with sticks.

Su Nian touched her son's head and suddenly realized that he was taller than her.

"Isn't it too tiring to write and paint every day?" Su Nian said gently, "It's all because of your mother's uselessness that she lets you earn money on your own."

"This is something I can do within my ability, and I should share the burden with my mother." Qin Yu'an felt his ears getting hot. Although he had the opportunity to go out and his calligraphy and paintings did become much easier to sell, most of his money still came from that unknown person.

"You are in the period of growth, don't stay up late all the time, be careful of your eyes, understand?"

Qin Yu'an nodded and suddenly looked at his mother. From a slightly higher angle, he could clearly see the fine wrinkles at the corners of the woman's eyes, her eyes were full of red bloodshot, and her eyeballs were cloudy.

Su Nian's eyesight had become a little blurry over the years. Sometimes when Qin Yu'an was busy and needed her help to get something, she often couldn't see where his hand was pointing.

Although Su Nian never told him, Qin Yu'an could see it, but just pretended not to know, because he knew that he was useless and couldn't help her share the burden. He could only seize the hard-won learning opportunity.

Whenever he tried to put down his book and help her thread the needle, he would be scolded.

Su Nian really hopes that he can concentrate on his studies, as she believes that only by studying hard can one have a bright future.

The situation of the two people gradually changed until Qin Yu'an was able to earn some money.

Qin Yu'an's nose felt sour, "Mother should use her eyes less."

Su Nian paused and patted his arm, "Alright, go and prepare your homework. The teacher will definitely check it tomorrow."