Those members of the Mu clan were still a little cautious and left these three assassins to patrol the mountain. When Xie Shiguan went out with his sword, one of them was smart enough to quickly release a cold flame into the sky.

"We should not stay here any longer," Xie Shiguan half-knelt down, stretched out his hands and said, "Other members of the Mu clan will definitely rush here immediately after seeing the fireworks signal."

Seeing that Chen didn't move for a long time, His Highness urged: "Come up."

However, Shen didn't want to tire him any more, but he was afraid that His Highness would get impatient if he waited too long, so he reluctantly leaned over again.

Practice makes perfect. This time when His Highness carried him on his back, he was not as unsteady as at the beginning. When he held up his legs, those hands seemed to still be there... and pinched the upper part.

Shen Que struggled slightly, but His Highness tilted his head as if nothing had happened: "What are you moving about for?"

He asked with confidence, but Shen suddenly couldn't tell whether he did it on purpose or just bumped into her carelessly.

Thinking of this, Shen Que suddenly dared not say anything more, fearing that he had wronged the prince. After all, the prince had just rolled on the edge of a knife. How could he still be in the mood to think about... these things?

However, the more Shen thought about it, the more he felt that he had thought badly of the prince, so he felt guilty instead. Then he obediently fell on his neck, motionless, and no matter how much the prince pushed him from behind, he did not get angry.

Shen Xiangzhi originally wanted to send people to surround the mountain, and then slowly expand the search for people, but he accidentally caught a glimpse of the cold flame released halfway up the mountain. So he gave up the idea of sending people to search, and directly led the group of elite troops to this side.

He was wearing light armor and riding a horse. He first saw Xie Shiguan from afar, and then... the person that the prince was carrying on his back.

When he received the news that day that he was asked to bring these elite soldiers to the south, Shen Xiangzhi felt very strange. About ten days ago, His Highness suddenly asked for leave from the court, announcing to the outside world that he had caught a cold and was seriously ill and unable to get up, but inside he said that he wanted to go out and relax.

But His Highness did not tell anyone where he was going to relax, and did not even take any of his personal guards with him. He just packed up quickly and left.

It's not like he had never thought that His Highness might find Chen Que one day. After all, the prince was so persistent that Shen Que had been on the run for nearly a year, but he still couldn't forget about him. Shen Xiangzhi tried his best to hide it for him.

But Shen Xiangzhi didn't expect that when they met again, it would be such a scene.

When the mute saw him, he shrank behind Prince Yan and quietly pried his hand apart, asking him to let him go, as if he was afraid to see him.

Chen was indeed afraid to see him. To him, the master was a serious and generous elder. He had committed those shameful things and fled to the south without his knowledge...

Although he had instructed along the way, he was the one who got into trouble and the master was just forced to protect him. The master must be unhappy that he had caused so much trouble.

But Shen Xiangzhi didn't seem to pay attention to him deliberately. He just dismounted and bowed his head, saying in a deep voice: "I am late in protecting you, please forgive me, Your Highness."

The elite soldiers behind him dismounted and kowtowed, kneeling in a large crowd.

Xie Shiguan then slowly opened the secret letter. He was impatient and tore it wherever he saw fit. When he pulled out the short note inside, he saw that most of the paper had been torn off by him, becoming tattered.

His Highness opened the letter and saw only two lines of small characters inside: Miao Zhaoyi is pregnant, the emperor is seriously ill, the Grand Tutor is imprisoned, return quickly.

Just a short piece of letter revealed the current situation in Kyoto.

Miao Zhaoyi is the cousin of the current saint from his mother's family and the legitimate daughter of his aunt. Xie Yizhi is still young and has never been interested in serving in the harem. After so many years of appointing concubines and conferring titles on concubines, he has never heard of any concubine being pregnant.

It just so happened that Prince Yan was not in Kyoto, and what a coincidence it was that this Zhaoyi became pregnant. Xie Yizi had been in good health all year, but she fell ill at this time.

"Even a poisonous tiger won't eat its own cubs," Xie Shiguan sneered, "Does she want to take advantage of this opportunity to depose Xie Yizi and push that unborn child onto the throne?"

Ever since the emperor's uncle from the Miao family was executed this autumn, the power of the Miao party has plummeted. Her own son was confused and always sided with the emperor's uncle. It was difficult for Empress Dowager Miao to be cruel to him.

Xie Yizi did not take care of state affairs and was lazy and playful. He could not even save his own uncle. Empress Dowager Miao did not know what she could expect from him. She was afraid that in the future even the throne would be taken away by someone else.

It would be better to take action first. The baby in the cradle is always easier to deal with than the rebellious and unfilial teenager. By then, she will become the Empress Dowager and rule the country from behind the curtain. Wouldn't the world be firmly in the hands of her Miao family?

It so happened that Xie Shiguan was leaving Beijing. This was a golden opportunity. If she took a step back, the prosperity and decline of the Miao family would no longer be under her control. But if she took a step forward and took a risk, she might be able to solve the problem of Xie Shiguan in one fell swoop and take control of the government.

It was just the sacrifice of a disobedient and ignorant child, but in exchange it brought half a lifetime of glory to the family. I believe that Queen Mother Mu felt it was worth it.

Shen Xiangzhi nodded and said, "Your Highness, I have already sent eleven people to the nearby prefectures to borrow soldiers and officers. They should have surrounded Jinling City by now. What do you think we should do with those branches of the Miao family and all those who conspired with them in the city?"

If it were up to Xie Shiguan's personality, he would have naturally massacred the city of Jinling. Unfortunately, the situation in Kyoto is difficult to determine right now. Not only is there the Mu Party, but the emperor is also critically ill, and he is not in Kyoto. When the princes in the fiefdoms get the news, they will surely be eyeing the situation covetously.

He didn't have time to get entangled with these people, so he said: "Put those accomplices in jail first, take a few high-ranking officials back to the capital, and when we get to the capital, we will settle the accounts with the Empress Dowager Miao."

Since they met, Shen Xiangzhi had never come to see him, and all those questions and reprimands that Shen thought were there were none.

The master refused to even look at him, so Shen Que didn't dare to go over and talk to him.

They still had to continue their journey at night. Xiaoman brought the wet nurse to send Silai back. When he lifted the curtain to pick her up, Chen found that Shen Xiangzhi outside the car seemed to look at him. His heart skipped a beat, but when he looked back, he found that it seemed to be just his illusion.

Shen couldn't help feeling a little lost.

The master refused to pay attention to him, which made him feel more uncomfortable than if the master had scolded him directly to his face.

His Highness was talking with several superiors in another carriage at this time. The carriage was quiet and the only sounds could be heard were the sound of horse hooves and wheel ruts on the road.

Chen carried the kid into the compartment and wiped his face with a wet warm cotton towel. The kid had been crying for an unknown amount of time. His eyes were swollen and his eyelids could hardly open. He looked extremely aggrieved.

However, Chen kissed his cheek lovingly, then wiped the boy's body, changed him into clean clothes, made him feel comfortable, and sniffed the scent of Aye's body. He fell asleep in a daze.

He had just put Si Lai on the couch when there was a sudden noise outside. A hand lifted the curtain and walked in slowly. Without looking at him, he just put a bottle of medicine on the small table in the room. Without saying hello, he asked, "You still have a wound on your leg. Have you applied the medicine?"

Shen stood up, trying his best to not fall so badly, and when he came in front of Shen Xiangzhi, he raised his hand and said slowly: "Master..."

Shen Xiangzhi then looked at him straight in the eye. He was a man of few words to begin with, and he was always a strict teacher in front of Shen Que. When these two very dull people met for the first time, they didn't know what to say to each other.

"Is your injury serious?" Shen Xiangzhi asked again.

But Shen quickly shook his head: "It's just a minor injury."

After just one question and one answer, they suddenly fell silent.

Shen tried hard to think about it, and finally raised his hand again: "Brother, how is he? Why didn't he come with us?"

"He's fine," Shen Xiangzhi replied in a deep voice, "Let him stay in the palace to keep an eye on it. Your Highness is not here, and I'm not here either. We can't let those messy people go to the palace."

"you……"

He was about to say something else, but the kid on the couch seemed uneasy again and started to whimper softly, so Shen had no choice but to turn over and coax him.

“This is you…” Shen Xiangzhi looked at him in disbelief, “Your child?”

With just this one look, Shen Que couldn't stand it anymore. He shrank unconsciously, and his body looked a little hunched. What he feared most was such looks from people close to him.

But he had no choice but to respond, and after a long while, he nodded timidly.

Shen Xiangzhi looked at him and felt a little inexplicably angry. Hearing it from the doctor and seeing it with his own eyes were two completely different feelings.

The day he first learned that he had a deformity, Shen Xiangzhi just thought it was ridiculous. However, Shen was clearly a steady and obedient boy who grew up under his care. Although he was not as smart as others, he could endure more hardships and work harder than them.

Compared to his own Chen Luo, who always made his ears hurt for no reason, Chen Xiangzhi sometimes preferred him. This mute was not as smooth as Chen Luo, who was as stubborn as a bull. He hid alone in a foreign land, and he didn't know if he would be bullied.

Over the past year, Shen Xiangzhi pretended to be fine, but he was worried from time to time.

Shen Xiangzhi knew exactly what kind of personality Shen Que had. Since he knew that he was disabled and couldn't hide himself, how could he deliberately provoke anyone?

After returning home, he searched everywhere but couldn't find such a person at all.

First of all, not everyone can enter the inner palace. Apart from the royal guards, there are only the assassins living in the secret passages. He knows all the royal guards well, and those who should get married have already gotten married. It is unlikely that the remaining bachelors can lay their hands on Chen Que.

As for those assassins...even if that person had great powers and could carry His Royal Highness Prince Yan to the ground, how could he bully his personal guards under Xie Shiguan's nose and get him pregnant...?

As these ideas were rejected one by one, only one truth remained in the end:

That unknown bastard is actually His Royal Highness Prince Yan, so the "bastard" on the couch must also be his.

Shen Xiangzhi originally had some doubts in his heart, but when he met His Highness here, those doubts immediately disappeared.

If the adulterer was not His Highness, how could Shen Que and that kid still be alive? They would have been executed on the spot by Xie Shiguan a long time ago, so why would they carry him on their backs and make such an intimate move?

Shen Xiangzhi guessed the adulterer, but couldn't guess the cause and effect of the accident. He looked at Shen Que with some regret: "Did you do it willingly... or something else?"

Shen didn't know how to answer, so he just shook his head.

At this point, there is no point in asking these questions. If Your Highness wants him and this mute just doesn't want to, what can you do?

Fearing that he would be further embarrassed, Shen Xiangzhi refrained from asking further questions, and then changed the subject very abruptly: "How old is that kid?"

"More than a month," Shen gestured, "Almost two months."

"Have you chosen a name?"

Chen Que originally wanted to go over and write something in his hand, but suddenly he remembered that His Highness said that the two words he got were not nice, so he was stunned for a moment and then shook his head.

It didn't matter what the name of this tiny kid was. Shen Xiangzhi was just trying to talk to him for no reason.

After a pause, he asked again: "What did His Highness tell you?"

He was afraid that the mute had no intention of betraying the prince, and suffered harm silently, without knowing it, and didn't know how to tell them.

"Does Your Highness recognize this brat?"

"What about you? Will you go back and be your valet, or something else?"

Xie Shiguan did tell him some things, but the mute always thought that His Highness was just trying to fool people. It might be true, but what is said when one is excited may not count when the excitement fades.

Considering that he is still the prince's bloodline, even if he is not valued by him, at least he is still a little master. But with his identity and deformed body, it would be awkward for him to stay in the palace. What's the point?

The author has something to say:

Everyone remember to come and watch it at 7 o'clock tomorrow. If you don't have time, remember to download it first.

I have followed you all the way here, you must know. (Pointing and gesturing)