Shen Que had two secrets.
First, he was mute—and also had a hidden medical condition that couldn’t be exposed.
Second, he harbored inappropriate, secret feelings for his lord.
He ...
Xie Yizhi followed the crowd out and watched the fireworks in the front hall. When the fireworks in the sky died down, he lowered his head and looked around for Xie Shiguan but couldn't find him. So he asked the people around him, "Where is the emperor's uncle?"
An Fengde beside him looked around. Just now, guests were coming in and out, and the fireworks were noisy. He didn't notice where Prince Yan went at all, so he could only answer: "Your Highness may have gone back to the inner palace first. After a day of banquet, the prince must be tired."
Xie Yizhi was a little unhappy, with his hands behind his back: "Most of the guests at the banquet are important officials in the court, but he didn't even know how to see them off, and left me here alone."
An Fengde looked at his master's face and said, "Prince Yan doesn't like to be polite. If I were to be respectful and careful in everything, it would seem like I am alienated from you."
"You speak for him." He frowned slightly when he said this, but there was not even a trace of anger in his eyes.
An Fengde smiled and protected the emperor, leading him to the inner palace. When they arrived outside the Prince Yan's bedroom, he looked up at the plaque on the roof in gratitude, then lowered his eyes and smiled: "Drunk today? That seems like his style."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man appeared from the main hall. When he saw the emperor, Yu Kongqing was obviously stunned for a moment, then he bowed and kowtowed: "Long live the emperor."
"waived."
When he stood up, Xie Yizhi saw that his face was dirty, and he couldn't help but wonder, "How did you get this face?"
Yu Kongqing was too embarrassed to tell the truth, so he could only lower his brows and said, "I was in a hurry just now and accidentally fell. My face was dirty and I bumped into Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
It was obvious that he had not fallen. It was just that Xie Yizi had never thought highly of the aides that Prince Yan kept around him, so he did not take him too seriously and waved his hand to tell him to leave.
Entering the hall and passing through a folding screen, Xie Yizi smelled a unique scent of agarwood.
In front of the dressing table, the maids were carefully removing the hair crown from Xie Shiguan's head. His long, smooth hair rolled down and spread over the red robe that was covered with flowing dark patterns.
The little emperor was so stunned by the scene that he sang in a hoarse voice: "Uncle..."
Xie Shiguan tilted his head and saw that he was still there. He looked a little surprised, but he did not stand up. He leaned lazily on the chair and said, "It's getting late. Are you not going back to the palace?"
He took a few steps forward in thanks, his fingers sliding across the hair that made his mouth dry. "It's rare for me to come here, why did the emperor's uncle chase me away? The palace is so stuffy, I don't want to go back."
Xie Shiguan was not the strict and solemn Master Man. As long as he acted coquettishly with her, Xie Shiguan would turn a blind eye and let him act naughty.
Today is no exception.
Xie Shiguan took off his outer robe and spoke in a gentle tone of an elder: "Only today, you must return to the palace tomorrow morning."
At this point he paused slightly and said, "Your Majesty has been recuperating on the pretext of illness for so many days. It's not right to ask me to continue to rule the country. If I continue like this, people below will accuse me of having evil ambitions."
"Who dares to say anything?" The little emperor took the robe he had taken off and threw it to An Fengde. "Besides, uncle, you usually never take these gossips to heart. Let them say whatever they want. What does it matter?"
Xie Shiguan said nothing when he heard the voice, but just tilted his head and stared into his eyes.
Prince Yan was indulgent towards him, but that was also limited. If he acted recklessly without knowing the limits, Xie Shiguan would still be angry with him.
"Okay," Xie Yizhi was actually very afraid of him, so he just curled his lips and took a step back, saying, "I'll go back tomorrow."
As he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of an open box on the dressing table. Inside was a thin gold waist chain with a few pearls at the end of the arc, and the tassels of the gold chain below were each inlaid with teardrop-shaped golden flakes.
Further up, there is a pair of anklets, surrounded by a circle of delicate little golden bells.
He recognized this item; it was the attire worn by the Hu girl in the hall just now. He couldn't help but feel a little strange - only dancers wore this item. What did Xie Shiguan want to do by collecting this set of accessories?
"Who did your uncle prepare this waist chain for?" The emperor couldn't help asking, "Such a frivolous item, I'm afraid no one would be willing to wear it if I gave it to the maid in your room, right?"
Xie Shiguan stretched out his hand and gently lifted the lid of the box, and the lacquered wooden box closed. Then he smiled meaningfully and said, "It's just a little interest. It's enough to wear it under your clothes. Why bring it out?"
Hearing him say that, Xie Yizi immediately came to his senses and his face darkened slightly. He must have prepared this for some man, wearing it under his clothes... It's a good thing he could think of that.
So he didn't want to look at the box any more because he thought it was dirty.
Xie Yizhi's eyes turned slightly, and he seemed to suddenly remember something, and asked, "By the way, what did you talk to Yu Kongqing about just now? You even made his face dirty."
He didn't care at all how dirty Yu Kongqing's face was, but he was afraid that Xie Shiguan would know the things he had asked Yu Kongqing to do, which would inevitably lose face.
He is a person who sits in the imperial court, he should be upright and pure, but he secretly targets a personal guard of the royal palace, which makes him look petty.
"He just said something unpleasant to the guests at the banquet," Xie Shiguan said calmly, "reprimand him a few words, so that he won't embarrass me again next time."
Xie Yizhi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this: "That's the punishment."
"I thought it was Yizhi who asked the emperor's uncle for someone, and the emperor's uncle was unhappy."
"I am a little unhappy." He was frank.
The little emperor blurted out, "Then forget it. There were many talented people who won the top prize last autumn. The post of editor in the Hanlin Academy can be given to someone else."
Xie Shiguan smiled and asked in a low voice: "But your majesty has spoken clearly. How can we get back the reward that has already been given?"
"How can drunken words count? Besides, my uncle didn't respond at the time, so just treat it as something I just said casually."
Perhaps his words pleased Prince Yan, who stroked his hair with his hand and said with a smile, "Your Majesty still loves me the most."
Xie Yizi was so frightened by his stare that she almost lost her soul. Her face turned red and she could hardly speak.
Before his imagination could run wild, Xie Shiguan withdrew his hand and his smile faded, as if the warmth just now was just an illusion.
"Alright, Your Majesty," Xie Shiguan stood up and walked out slowly, "I think the water for the hot spring in the back hall has been prepared. I will leave now."
He wanted to follow after him out of gratitude, but was stopped by An Fengde: "Sir, this is not polite."
He raised his head and glared at the old eunuch, his eyes full of anger. He was happy to be close to the emperor's uncle, so how was this against etiquette?
But An Fengde looked embarrassed. He leaned over to the emperor's ear and whispered, "Everyone in the capital knows that the prince is fond of men and loves Yu Tao. You are the emperor and his nephew. It's not appropriate."
He said this just to the point, but the little emperor understood what he meant, and understood it very well. He was already old enough to dance with elephants, no longer a child, and it was not appropriate for him to cling to his uncle as before.
Looking at King Yan's leaving back, Xie Yizi's eyes showed a hint of melancholy.
If possible, he would rather not be Xie Shiguan's nephew.
The exact time of Xu.
The little emperor grew tired of waiting and wandered around the room in boredom. He then played with all the furnishings in the palace. Finally, he fell on the couch and lay down in the brocade quilt that was filled with the scent of agarwood.
It was an unknown time when Xie Yizi suddenly heard a series of light footsteps. He knew it was Xie Shiguan coming, but he didn't want to open his eyes.
"Didn't Chen Xiangzhi prepare a room for you?" Xie Shiguan smiled, his long hair half-dry falling on his face, with a hint of soapberry flower scent, "You even occupied my bed, Yizhi is such a rogue."
"Your Majesty," he deliberately moved closer, blew a breath on his hand, and tickled the little emperor's itchy spot, "You are such a grown man, why are you still pretending to sleep?"
Xie Yizi finally couldn't help it, he opened his eyes and begged for mercy, smiling so hard that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
But even though he was exposed, the emperor was unwilling to move to another place to sleep, and boldly said to him: "I don't want to sleep in the side room, I want to sleep with my uncle."
"Stop messing around," Xie Shiguan's patience faded. He was never a gentle person. "There is a difference between the monarch and his subjects. If you don't want to sleep in the side room, then I will go."
As if hurt by his increasingly cold words, Xie Yizhiban propped himself up, feeling a little aggrieved: "But when we were kids..."
They also slept with their feet touching.
"Your Majesty has grown up," Xie Shiguan said, "How can an emperor have the mentality of a child all his life?"
Xie Yizhi couldn't hold back any longer and started crying: "I just want to be the same as before. I'd rather not grow up."
Seeing that Xie Shiguan didn't react, he gradually grew bolder. The thoughts that had been suppressing his mind and making him toss and turn suddenly burst out: "Didn't the emperor's uncle realize it at all? Yizhi's feelings for the emperor's uncle are not just about the emperor and his subjects..."
Xie Shiguan looked at him coldly. He didn't even show the slightest bit of surprise at what the emperor blurted out.
The emperor only realized at this moment that his uncle was always very smart, so how could he not notice his thoughts? He just didn't expose them on purpose.
"Your Majesty is tired," Xie Shiguan stepped forward and tucked the quilt around him as he always did, "Stop talking nonsense and rest early."
But such warmth now only made Xie Yizhi feel cold. It turned out that the love and affection he thought were just a mirage, which was shattered once it was exposed.
After he finished speaking, the hand left.
The footsteps gradually faded away, and King Yan didn't even spare a glance for the thin back that was trembling slightly on the couch.
The author has something to say:
I'd like to inform everyone that tomorrow is full of classes, so there will be no double updates (don't scold me, I'm really UFO'd by you guys, I thought daily updates were already great
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