But Shen didn't know why he was hiding, and why he was running away as if he had done something shameful and wrong.

He only remembered that there seemed to be only one thought left in his mind at that time - he had to leave there quickly and not let anyone see his embarrassment and distress.

When he escaped back to Lansheng Courtyard, Chen Que immediately locked himself in the house, leaning his thin back against the door, panting softly. When the panic subsided, all that was left was pain.

My chest felt like it was going to break.

I clearly knew that His Highness would change his mind one day, I clearly had already made a secret plan in my heart, I clearly had imagined countless times that His Highness and he would end up on a strange path...

But he still felt so painful.

The love and tenderness that he had longed for but never achieved were given to him so easily by His Highness, but could also be taken back just as easily...

Since I can give that warmth to him, I can naturally give it to others as well.

He had thought of it a long time ago, so why was he still like a fool and couldn't let go?

It was hard to tell where the pain or stuffiness was, but Chen hugged his knees, pressed his thin back against the door, and gradually curled up into a small ball.

But at this moment, there was a knock on the door, and then a familiar male voice came from outside.

"Aque? Are you in the room?"

Shen was stunned for such a long time before he finally remembered who was outside the door. It was Shen Luo's voice.

Seeing that no one answered in the house, Chen Luo subconsciously became nervous and ran to the side of the house, only to find that the small window was also closed. It was very cold these days, and the mute went to the south. He was more afraid of the cold than before and often burned charcoal during the day.

Since Chen came back, he has often been absent-minded. Chen Luo saw it and was really worried. He reminded him a few days ago to remember to open the window when burning charcoal. He didn't know whether the mute took it to heart.

Thinking of this, Shen Luo's heart tightened, and he raised his hand and slammed the door: "A Que? A Que! Are you in the room? Answer me!"

Shen Que was just about to turn around and knock on the door in response, but Shen Luo outside seemed unable to wait any longer.

Once he became anxious, he no longer cared about other things. He took several steps back and then turned sideways and slammed the door hard, making a loud "clang".

Unexpectedly, the door was not bolted, and all the strength he exerted was used to hit the mute's back through the door.

The door was slammed open, and he saw Shen standing inside, staggering a few steps, holding onto the table with his back to him.

Just now, when he heard that there was no sound in the room, he felt heartbroken, thinking that the mute had done something stupid and irreparable. Now that he saw him standing there in good health, Shen Luo felt relieved, but suddenly he became furious.

"Why didn't you answer when you were in the room?" Shen Luo stepped forward and grabbed his shoulders, scolding him unhappily, "Are you trying to scare me to death...?"

But when he turned the mute over, Shen Luo suddenly became at a loss again. He saw that the mute's eyes were red, and there was clearly no tear in his eyes, but he looked even sadder than if he had cried.

"What's wrong?" Shen Luo's tone suddenly became cautious again. He stretched out his hand and gently rubbed his back, asking softly, "Did I hurt you just now?"

But Shen shook his head.

Seeing him like this, Shen Luo suddenly forgot why he came here in the first place. He quietly bolted the door and then pulled him to sit beside the couch.

The original small couch in this room had been taken away by His Highness some time ago, and then a double couch was replaced and squeezed in. The bed frame was made of rosewood with hollow carvings and the ceiling was covered with carvings, which showed its luxury and seemed somewhat out of place with the other decorations in Shen Que's small house.

Shen Luo only dared to hold him loosely, eyes full of worry, and whispered in his ear: "Are you being bullied? Did His Highness...provoke you again? Don't keep it in your heart, talk to me, maybe I can help you."

But the mute just shook his head.

If this stubborn temper was on someone else, Shen Luo would have been angry with him long ago, but it was only with Shen Que that he was so patient.

He refused to say anything, so Shen Luo had no choice but to sit beside him. He simply didn't ask any questions and just accompanied him quietly.

But after a while, they both heard footsteps in the yard outside at the same time.

Chen Luo was startled, and then he remembered His Highness's instructions, and hurriedly reminded: "How could I forget, His Highness just sent me here to call you, asking you to accompany him to the bedroom for dinner, I'm afraid he must be waiting anxiously now..."

Xie Shiguan was indeed getting impatient, so he simply put aside the official business at hand, stopped giving instructions to others, and rushed over to arrest the man with a cold face.

Shen Luo hurriedly got up to open the door, and the mute also stood up suddenly. But before he could remove the bolt, the door was kicked open by His Highness. The wooden door was quite strong. After being trampled back and forth like this, it only cracked a little and managed to not fall down, but the bolt was broken directly into two pieces.

Seeing Chen Luo was also there, Xie Shiguan sneered and said sarcastically: "I asked you to come here to look for someone, but you are resting in this room?"

Shen Luo bowed his head quickly: "Your Highness, please calm down. It turned out that I had a few more words with Ah Que, which delayed me."

"It's not even dark yet, why are you bolting the door?" It was clearly a response to his words, but Xie Shiguan's eyes fell on the mute. The voice sounded like a laugh, but also like gritting teeth, "With the door locked, they are huddled in this small room. Whether they are talking or doing something else, who knows?"

Shen raised his head and said that he could do anything, but he didn't want His Highness to throw such dirty water on his senior brother.

So he raised his hand and argued: "It's not my senior brother, it's me who refuses to go."

Before he could finish his gesture, Chen Luo pressed down his hand, his mouth slightly opened, as if he wanted to take back the blame: "Your Highness..."

Xie Shiguan didn't want to listen to him, and raised his narrow eyes with a smile: "Why are you acting like brothers? If you like to act so much, why don't you go to the stage and perform?"

He blocked what Shen Luo was about to say, and cold sweat ran down his back.

"Still standing there?" His Highness took a few slow steps and brushed past him, pausing slightly as he passed by him. "Get out."

Chen Luo glanced at the mute behind him, but still spoke up: "It is true that I forgot to mention it. It has nothing to do with A Que. If Your Highness wants to be angry and punish me, just punish me."

Xie Shiguan suddenly laughed, stopped, turned around and twisted his face: "You really love this mute. If I ask you to die for him, can you accept it without blinking an eye?"

The two men's eyes met, and when Chen Luo raised his eyes, the mute knew what he was going to say, so he hurriedly stepped forward, looked at his senior brother sadly, and called him silently.

Then he tried to pry His Highness's hand away, and finally managed to pull it apart. Xie Shiguan then saw him raise his hand: "Don't do this, please."

He saw the sadness in his eyes, but he was only reprimanding a guard in anger. Why did the mute look as if... he had really done something to him?

His Highness was not looking for trouble. He had long disliked Chen Luo. Such a young and strong bachelor, instead of looking for a matchmaker to propose marriage, he spent all day hanging around this mute. What's wrong with him?

“I’ll talk to His Highness,” Shen Que pleaded with Shen Luo, “get out first, okay?”

Chen Luo didn't move, and he opened his lips again and said to him: "Brother..."

Chen Luo still gave in. He didn't want to embarrass him, so he finally bowed to His Royal Highness Prince Yan and slowly retreated.

As soon as he closed the door, His Highness reached out to touch the mute's face.

"What are you calling him?" Xie Shiguan said with a sarcastic smile, "Brother? Aren't you ashamed?"

Shen lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"It's past feeding time, why are you still not here?" His Highness approached him, pressed him against the bed frame, and stretched out his hand to rub his earlobe, pinching half of his ear until it turned red. "What is so easy to talk to him about? He even forgot about the conversation?"

Shen was stunned, and wanted to hide backwards because of the crowd he was squeezed by, but the carved bed frame behind him blocked his way, forcing him to stay under the shadow of that man.

He thought that the prince already had someone to accompany him, and he didn't expect that he would come to see him again. In his panic and surprise, there seemed to be a slight sour feeling in his heart.

"I grew up with you," Shen said, gesturing slowly, "Your Highness, please don't, don't say that."

"What are you talking about?" His Highness forced him to look up and questioned, "You and I grew up together, why don't you call me brother?"

He was so unreasonable, but Shen didn't seem annoyed. He just answered hesitantly: "But I seem to be older than Your Highness..."

"Then you should call me brother," Xie Shiguan lowered his head in a scoundrelly manner, smiled and put his forehead against his, "Call me and I'll hear it."

The mute pursed his lips tightly and refused to open his mouth.

He was a very pedantic person, and was unwilling to use these nicknames as ambiguous love words. Even after His Highness had been persuading him for a long time, he still refused to call them. When he was pressed to the limit, he just raised his hand and said, "That's only appropriate between relatives."

"Relatives?" Xie Shiguan was angry again. "How many times have you and I made love at night? We even had a child together. If I am not your relative, then how can Shen Luo, who has no blood relationship with you, be considered one?"

He didn't believe in the idea of being as close as brothers. If brothers who were connected by blood could kill each other, how could there be any brotherhood between these two people who had no blood relationship at all?

So he forced him very dictatorially: "Don't call him 'brother' from now on, do you hear me?"

Perhaps it was because of the provocation by the beautiful maid under the eaves, but the mute suddenly became temperamental, with a stubborn face, and refused to respond.

"Did you hear that?"

Shen raised his hand and said firmly: "He is my brother. I only have this one brother."

His Highness was about to be pissed off by him: "You are just a stupid Shen Que!"

"Do you think he really wants nothing from you just because he loves you so much?" Xie Shiguan said, "All men are the same. They approach you with bad intentions. Do you know that?"

Shen, however, looked up at him.

"This prince is different," Xie Shiguan said confidently, "This prince is your man, and I love you no matter how I treat you."

What Your Highness said is illogical. Apart from those ruffians he met in the south, no other man has ever had bad intentions towards him. He does not have a face as stunning as a maid, so no one would have evil thoughts about him for no reason.

It was clear that only Xie Shiguan liked to bully him.

"So why didn't you come to eat today?" Xie Shiguan suddenly thought of this again, and said with a hint of grievance, "Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?"