Chapter 71 A Group of Spectators

Shen Shixu remembered that he had read in a storybook that others should not be disturbed when they were practicing, so he became particularly gentle when getting dressed and getting out of bed.

Normally I can get dressed in just a few minutes, but today it took me a quarter of an hour to get dressed.

When Xiao Jinyi woke up from meditation, he saw Shen Shixu putting on his clothes in an awkward manner, "Ah Xu?"

Shen Shixu had just put on his coat and was struggling with his belt when he suddenly heard someone calling him. His heart skipped a beat and the belt in his hand fell to the ground with a snap.

Xiao Jinyi walked over and picked up the belt that had fallen on the ground. Looking at Shen Shixu with his hair loose, a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

He walked in front of Shen Shixu holding the belt. The two were very close to each other, so close that Shen Shixu could feel his breath.

Shen Shixu opened his mouth to ask for his belt back, but Xiao Jinyi didn't give him a chance to speak. He simply reached out his hand, passed it around his waist, and tied the belt for him himself.

Shen Shixu was now pressed against Xiao Jinyi's body, feeling the temperature of his body and his hot breath, which made his ears hidden in his hair turn red.

Xiao Jinyi deliberately hesitated and took a long time to tie the belt. Shen Shixu was too shy to notice his little thoughts, but if he hesitated any longer, they still had to separate.

Xiao Jinyi reluctantly let go of Shen Shixu, raised his hand and touched his scattered long black hair, stroking it between his fingers for a few times.

"Let me help you tie your hair!"

Shen Shixu let himself be taken away by him. Xiao Jinyi pushed him to sit down in front of the dressing mirror, picked up the wooden comb on the table and started to comb Shen Shixu's hair.

The bronze mirror could not clearly show other people's detailed expressions, but one could see Xiao Jinyi standing behind him, his hands moving in his hair.

The inky long hair was neatly stood up by his action. Because it had not yet reached the top of her head, Xiao Jinyi picked up a headband embroidered with bamboo leaf patterns and tied up Shen Shixu's black hair.

"Okay, what do you think?"

Shen Shixu turned his head left and right in front of the mirror. Xiao Jinyi had tied her hair into a high ponytail, with her forehead covered by her hair, revealing only her sparkling eyes.

At this moment, Shen Shixu did not look at all steady and dignified as an official. He only looked full of youthfulness and not bookish. He looked like a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, happy and carefree, with a vigorous and energetic spirit.

Xiao Jinyi naturally praised her: "A Xu, you look very good like this!"

Shen Shixu blushed when he said that, and then he said narcissistically: "That's right, I'm good-looking, so I look good no matter what."

After saying this, Shen Shixu added, “Of course, Your Highness is also very good-looking. It would be nice if you could smile more. To be honest, I have never seen you smile in the two months I have known you!”

Xiao Jinyi took his words to heart and secretly thought that he must not be so cold to Shen Shixu anymore.

After Shen Shixu said that, he felt that he had said something wrong. Just as he was about to apologize, he heard Xiao Jinyi say, "Okay, I will smile more in front of you in the future."

Shen Shixu only heard what he said and smiled more, and didn't notice his prefix.

After washing up, Shen Shixu asked Xiao Shitou to bring in the food. When Xiao Shitou saw His Royal Highness Prince Jing was here, he quickly knelt down to salute.

Then he heard Shen Shixu's instructions, asking him to keep the fact that Prince Jing was here a secret and to send food over three times a day, but not to let anyone else find out.

Xiao Shitou thought about the person who had stolen things before and understood why his master did this, so he agreed.

It was very easy for him to secretly deliver meals. When he was in Minglu City, his hometown, he often brought some snacks to Shen Shixu that Shen Zexi usually didn't allow him to eat. He had already gained experience after so many times and would never be discovered.

Shen Shixu trusts Xiao Shitou very much. Not only was he rescued from outside, but he also grew up with him. To him, he is not a servant, but a younger brother.

Moreover, although Xiao Shitou was young, he was still very capable, so Shen Shixu directly appointed him as the chief steward of his mansion, even though Xiao Shitou was one year younger than him.

Xiao Shitou did not disappoint his trust and managed the Shen Mansion in an orderly manner. Except for the theft, everything else was fine.

Shen Shixu went to and from court normally for the past three days. If those officials had not been able to hear Shen Shixu's thoughts, no one would have known that his house had been visited by thieves.

However, after knowing that Shen Shixu invited Xiao Jinyi to his mansion to catch a thief, everyone wanted to watch the fun, so the area around Shen’s mansion has been very busy recently, with either this official passing by or that official passing by.

Fortunately, after Shen Shixu finished his court session, he went straight back to his room with Xiao Jinyi and did not see this strange scene.

After hearing that his war god brother had gone to catch a thief, Xiao Yuanqi laughed at him in his heart. In order to pursue his wife, he began to shamelessly bully the weak.

However, the thief who dared to steal from the house of the Dali Temple Shaoqing was quite interesting. I don’t know if he was really stupid. In order to find out the IQ of the little thief, Xiao Yuanqi, a prince, actually rented a yard near the Shen Mansion.

Xiao Yuanqi drank tea while observing the Shen Mansion, thinking to himself that he was not here to see his brother show off in front of Shen Shixu, he was doing this for the sake of all the officials in the capital.

Since this thief dared to steal things from the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, there was no guarantee that he would not steal things from other officials. He would not feel at ease until he saw the thief caught with his own eyes.

Those officials were originally just hanging around the gate of Shen's house, but when they saw Xiao Yuanqi directly rent a house, they all started to follow the prince's example.

So when Xiao Jinyi and Shen Shixu knew nothing about it, their act of catching the thief had already been watched by officials from all over the capital.

Three days later, on April 21st, the entire Shen Mansion became solemn and everyone was on edge. Even familiar faces were checked three or four times, for fear that someone who shouldn't have sneaked in might have sneaked in.

Xiao Shitou stood guard in front of the study door, watching the people passing back and forth outside the yard, observing them carefully with his eyes wide open.

Just when his eyes were getting sore from staring, a thin figure bumped into him. Xiao Shitou was knocked back a few steps. After he stood firm, he looked at the person who bumped into him.

That was a little beggar he brought back. Feeling sorry for him, Xiao Shitou brought him to the Shen residence and made him work as a cleaning servant so that he could have enough food and warm clothes.

Not only that, he was also given a name, Xiao Fang, because his face was square.

Xiao Shitou looked at the stains on his clothes, then at the broken soup bowl under Xiao Fang's feet, "You clean up here, I'll go change my clothes, remember don't let anyone into the study."

Little Stone hurried to change his clothes. These were bought for him by Shen Shixu, and he usually cared about them the most. He was heartbroken when he saw that they were dirty this time.

Therefore, no one noticed why Xiao Fang, who was usually timid and only dared to sweep the floor with a broom, suddenly came over to bring soup today?