That had been on a winter day too, it had been bone-numbingly cold.
He felt alone and abandoned by the whole world.
He couldn't help but think that if his mom was home, she would surely speak up for him and make him feel better.
In the end, he found out that, as he was kneeling in the ancestral hall, Mei Feng was kneeling before his father, pleading on his behalf.
Finally, his father relented and Mei Feng helped him up. She covered his kneecaps with a blanket and said to him, "The knees are an important part of the body and it's crucial that it doesn't get exposed to the cold. My knees hurt now because I didn't take care of them when I was young. I was vain and liked to dress in flimsy clothes."
She had bad knees to begin with and now, for his sake, she had had to suffer this plight.
In that moment, he had sworn in his heart that from then on, he would treat Mei Feng like his own mother.