At sunset, An Fengde entered the palace and read out an imperial edict, which took him two full quarters of an hour. The first few sentences were all empty words, and only the last few sentences concisely stated the punishment the emperor had imposed on Prince Yan.

"From today on, Prince Regent Xie Ling is confined to the palace, awaiting his fate. Without a pardon, he is not allowed to step out of the palace. I decree this."

King Yan listened very patiently and even thanked him politely without any complaints.

An Fengde, who came to deliver the imperial edict, thought that he would be kicked today, so he tied a waist and knee pads inside his scarlet yak. After thinking for a while, he stuffed a soft cushion to protect his buttocks, for fear that his old bones would be kicked apart by His Royal Highness Prince Yan, and he would have nowhere to complain then.

But unexpectedly, His Highness did not get angry at all. Instead, he asked Shen Xiangzhi to send him out of the house in a nice voice, and even asked him if he was thirsty and if he wanted to stay in the outer hall for a cup of tea.

An Fengde didn't dare to eat it, for fear that Prince Yan had someone sprinkled rat poison in the tea, and took the opportunity of His Majesty's request for him to return to the palace immediately to report, so he ran away.

No need to get up early every day to attend court, nor to burn the midnight oil to review endless memorials on behalf of Xie Yizhi, His Highness was so happy with his leisure time that he simply stayed overnight in the Lansheng Courtyard and refused to leave.

No matter where Shen Que went, he would follow him like a shadow. He accompanied the mute to the training ground the day before. Because it was rare for His Highness to come and watch the training in person, the guards were so excited that they put in all their strength. As a result, several of them overexerted themselves and broke their muscles.

It was boring to just stand on the stage and watch, so Xie Shiguan simply borrowed a sword and went up to the stage. The guards on the opposite side were a little at a loss, fearing that they would accidentally hurt His Highness, but who knew that after just a few moves, they were thrown off the stage by Xie Shiguan.

Xie Shiguan's moves were not necessarily very sophisticated, but he was strong and fearless. When the swords collided, the opponent's wrist was numbed with a "clang" sound.

Fortunately, Your Highness cannot get up every day.

When he woke up during the day and had nothing to do, he would follow Chen Que to the side room to play with the kid. However, he did not expect that the kid would recognize people very well. He would not cry when Chen Que held him, and would only cry reluctantly when the wet nurse held him. However, as soon as he fell into Xie Shiguan's hands, the kid would definitely howl.

His Highness got annoyed after trying a few times, and frowned, "He was fine just now, why did he howl like his father had died as soon as I took action?"

No one could explain this matter clearly. The movements of holding the child were taught by Shen Que, and he also deliberately restrained his strength and was very careful as if he was holding a feather, but the kid just wouldn't appreciate it.

His Highness was frustrated by his defeat, and he sat down on the edge of the couch, poking his face with his hand, and threatened: "Tomorrow, your father and I will have another child, and we will send a disobedient child like you to be raised by beggars on the street."

"From now on, he will be living a life of luxury in the mansion, and you will be begging outside with a broken bowl. No matter how miserable you cry, no one will pay attention to you."

The wet nurse serving behind held back her laughter and dared not speak.

Si Lai on the couch turned over nonchalantly, grabbed one of its feet, put it into his mouth and started eating.

Xie Shi couldn't bear it any longer and took the foot out of his mouth with disgust, but as soon as he stopped, the kid stuffed the other foot into his mouth, and His Highness tried to pull it out again.

This went on for a few times. The kid couldn't get his feet, his mouth was flat, and he was about to cry again. However, Shen, who was standing beside him, hurriedly pulled the sleeve of His Highness and gestured to him, "It's okay, kid, it's not dirty."

Of course, the kid is fine. Kids of his age don't use their feet to walk, and their bodies are scrubbed clean every day. Eating a foot is actually nothing, but His Highness likes to make him angry. He is happy if he makes the kid angry and his face turns red.

After unnecessarily straightening Si Lai's feet a few times, Xie Shiguan noticed the longevity lock on his body: "Who made this? It suits this brat very well."

He knew that Shen Que had always been frugal. After returning to the mansion, he never went to collect his monthly salary, saying that he wanted to pay back the five taels of gold he owed him. Once this mute got stubborn, even ten princes could not pull him back. However, he was not materialistic and had no worries about food and clothing in the mansion, so Xie Shiguan just let him be.

Shen was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "My senior brother gave it to me."

When Xie Shiguan saw the word "Senior Brother", he immediately felt that the longevity lock suddenly looked shabby and ugly, so he immediately turned hostile and said, "No wonder, it looks so rustic."

"He only gets a few taels of salary a month, where does he get the money to prepare such a gift for this kid?"

Shen Que: "Save it, save it."

Xie Shiguan snorted coldly, saying sarcastically, "How long would it take him to save up such pure gold with his salary? His wife has already given out the money, and even brothers wouldn't be so generous. And you're still trying to argue that he didn't want anything?"

Shen didn't quite understand why His Highness suddenly became angry again, so he just gestured softly: "When my colleagues have children at home, my senior brother will give them as gifts, not just to me."

"Does he also give pure gold to others? Do others call him brother?" Xie Shiguan asked in quick succession, "Does he also visit other people's children three times a day? He really has too much free time."

For every sentence he argued, His Highness would come back with three more. However, Shen knew he couldn't win the argument, so he just kept silent.

But His Highness was sure that Shen Luo had something to hide, but because of the mute, he couldn't really do anything to Shen Luo. He just secretly planned in his heart that as soon as he had a chance, he would order Shen Xiangzhi to find a marriage for his son as soon as possible, and he would also pay for the betrothal gifts.

It would be best if she was a fierce woman who could restrain and prevent Shenluo from looking at other people...

The charcoal fire in the room was burning brightly. After feeding, the kid fell into a deep sleep. It was almost time for feeding, so Xie Shiguan simply pulled Chen Que to the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with a lot of oil and smoke, and His Highness would never set foot here on weekdays. Therefore, when the cooks and servants in the kitchen suddenly saw His Highness in person, they were so scared that they almost lost their courage, thinking that someone in the kitchen had committed an unforgivable crime.

Fortunately, His Highness just glanced at them and let them leave first.

Then Xie Shiguan put his arm around the mute's waist, half hanging on him and pushing him forward: "Aque, I want to eat the noodles you made."

He just wanted to eat a bowl of noodles, but Shen agreed without thinking and began to prepare the ingredients with ease.

Seeing that he had been talking for a while, Xie Shiguan took a step forward and said with some dissatisfaction: "You're just going to let me wait here?"

Shen raised his eyes, looked at His Highness with some confusion, and slowly moved his hands: "Why don't you go back to your room first?"

Xie Shiguan hated his lack of understanding of romance, so he covered him from behind and said something reproachful, but his tone did not sound like a reproach at all: "You are so stupid."

"You can teach me too," Xie Shiguan stretched out his hand to cover the back of his hand that was stained with white flour, "I will knead the dough for you."

Shen Que originally didn't want him to touch it, he knew that His Highness was afraid of dirt, and besides, it was such rough work, His Highness was such a precious person, how could he bear to let His Highness work so hard.

But the more he stood there without saying anything, the more His Highness teased him, kneading his hands like dough, and he refused to stop even when they turned red: "Why don't you respond?"

Shen Que had no choice but to teach him how to knead dough. But how could one teach someone how to knead dough? Just knead it into a ball and make it smooth.

He had finished teaching, but the prince still refused to let go, so Shen Que had no choice but to duck and struggle out from underneath. Finally, his hands were free, and the mute went about making the soup base with ease.

Xie Shiguan kneaded the dough intermittently while staring at the hard-working figure of the mute: "Does it take so much effort to make a bowl of noodles?"

He thought back to the past when he would always ask the mute to make a bowl of noodles for him on a whim, but he was not always willing to eat it. He would often just taste a piece of it with his chopsticks and then wave his hand to let him take it away.

"It's not a problem," Shen gestured to him, "It just takes a little longer to wait."

Although this mute could not cook many dishes, he was very skillful when working. His narrow waist and folded arms were smooth and slender, which made His Highness envious.

Xie Shiguan couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He only hated himself for not having a pair of discerning eyes. He was vulgar and superficial. He really thought that this mute was just a piece of gray stone, honest and dull. It was ok to treat him as an object, but there was really nothing amazing about him.

But now that his hard outer shell has been worn off, we can see that he is actually a piece of unpolished jade, naturally beautiful, unique and clear, and truly adorable.

Xie Shiguan wished he could hide him so that only he could see him, to prevent others from realizing the good qualities of this mute.

"Aque." His Highness suddenly called him again.

Shen turned around, met his eyes, and waited for him to continue.

Xie Shiguan smiled and said, "If I give the order to choose an auspicious day to appoint you as the Princess of Yan, would you be willing?"

The mute was startled at first, then shook his head.

I was shocked because I didn't expect that His Highness would be willing to make him public. This list of concubines was to tell the whole world that the dignified Prince Yan was going to marry a mute man as his princess.

His Highness's promise is worth a thousand gold. Perhaps as long as he is willing to nod, no matter what his status or position, noble or humble, he will definitely overcome all difficulties for him.

The three books and six ceremonies, the chariot to confer the title to the princess, all the necessary ceremonial etiquette and formalities were definitely required.

But the mute was not willing. After the ceremony, although he was rich and glorious, in the eyes of others, he was still a man, still a humble mute.

He couldn't fit in with the circle of Kyoto's noble families, and he might not be able to serve His Highness as a good "housekeeper's wife". Being lifted up like this and pushed into the public eye made him even more uncomfortable.

Husband and wife are of one mind. If he does not perform his duties as a princess well, His Highness might be ridiculed as well.

Rather than being canonized as a concubine and becoming a slave in the palace, he would rather be a slave in the palace for the rest of his life. At least he would be willing to do it either way.

"After you are canonized as my consort, your name and that of your son will be engraved in the imperial book. No one will dare to look down on you from now on," Xie Shiguan said. "Then you will be in charge of the servants in this mansion, and all my land and farms will also be in your hands. How can you shake your head at such a good thing?"

The mute was not moved at all, he raised his hand and said ruthlessly: "That's not what I should take."

In his heart, it was not something he deserved. If he had to keep it, he would probably be in a state of fear and sleepless nights. On the contrary, His Highness's promise was more precious to this mute than all the wealth and honor.

Xie Shiguan was not surprised by the mute's answer and said quietly, "That's right."

"The more you wear the robes, the more rules you have to follow. Having so many people staring at you must be more uncomfortable than dying."

"Since you don't want to go up," Xie Shiguan suddenly said without any context, "then I'll come down to accompany you."