With Xie Shiguan asking this, how could the two dare to say no?
The man sitting next to Xie Shiguan was wearing a reddish-brown round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe. His outer garment was a piece of fully embroidered Shu brocade, with a circle of immortals riding cranes on the hem. He looked to be about forty years old, with a white face and no beard. The leather belt around his waist could not cover his belly, and he showed signs of being fat.
Shen recognized this person. This was the Minister of Revenue Chen Mingjun, a third-rank official who held real power and was extremely wealthy. The second man was General Yunhui, who was stationed at the border. He was a third-rank official and was dressed simply. Compared with Minister Chen who was sitting at the same table, it was hard not to look a bit shabby.
As soon as Xie Shiguan finished speaking, he heard that Minister Chen immediately interrupted: "Your Highness is right, it's just a private gathering, and Brother Shen is someone close to Your Highness, and they are all very close."
At this point he smiled and said, "What's wrong with everyone sitting together enthusiastically?"
Another person at the table nodded silently but did not speak.
Having said that, Shen had no choice but to sit down. He bowed to the two people at the table, then slowly lifted his robe and sat down.
When everyone was already there, the courtesan finally arrived, welcoming people with her sweet laughter. She had a faint orchid fragrance on her body, which was very light, and one could smell a little bit of it from time to time, which seemed to indicate that she was reluctant but also willing.
The Minister of Revenue once spent a large sum of money to invite this rare female schoolmaster, but she looked down on him. Now that he finally got a chance to see her beauty, he was stunned.
As usual, the courtesan came to Xie Shiguan's side first: "Yiyun asks His Highness how are you."
Her manners, etiquette and posture made her look like a lady from a family of scholars.
Xie Shiguan raised his chin slightly and pointed at the Minister of Revenue who was sitting below him: "Go to Minister Chen."
The lady smiled and said, "Yes."
Seeing that the young lady sat down next to him, all the elegant orchid fragrance belonged to him, and Minister Chen felt that even his bones were going to be crispy.
He was a smooth man, and even at this moment, he did not forget to show respect to King Yan first, and hurriedly called for someone to come over: "Sixian!"
Someone from the outer room responded immediately, with a voice even lighter than that of the courtesan. Then a young woman in theatrical costume floated in. She was not wearing any headgear, and her face was only powdered lightly, with a little rouge at the corners of her eyes, and a touch of vermilion on her lips. She was also a very beautiful person.
"Your Highness, this is the most popular Qingyi Sixian in the theater. Come and sing a song for Your Highness."
Anyone in Kyoto who has some friendship with Prince Yan knows how strict he is in choosing his bed partners. He doesn't even look down on actors and prostitutes like these, who have slept with countless wealthy businessmen.
But he had sent the letter in such a hurry that even if Minister Chen searched everywhere, he could not find a girl from a good family who was both talented and beautiful, gentle and docile, and willing to commit herself to him.
Since they couldn't find him, they had no choice but to ask this little singer to come over and sing a few songs to entertain us, which wouldn't be too disrespectful.
The little girl in green clothes snuggled in Xie Shiguan's arms, deliberately not singing properly, and only hummed a few lines. Minister Chen hurriedly laughed: "Why are you a young girl singing about Lanling King? Why don't you change it quickly!"
The little actor smiled and held Xie Shiguan's face with his hands: "What does Your Majesty want to hear?"
"I am just an ordinary person, I don't understand opera," Xie Shiguan stared at his pair of affectionate peach blossom eyes and said shamelessly, "Why don't you moan a few lines for me to hear?"
The little actor cried "Aiya" and blushed as if he was embarrassed. Xie Shiguan pulled away his hand that was covering his face and asked him to look at Chen Que: "My legs are numb. Go and sit on his legs."
Shen almost couldn't sit still, and gestured in panic: "Subordinates... subordinates..."
The little actor didn't care whether he was willing or not. He had received the money and couldn't make his master unhappy. His weak and boneless body fell on Shen Que, and Shen Que didn't dare to move him, like a wooden man.
Then the little actor put his hands around his neck, put them close to his ear, and began to moan and pant.
Shen Que had never seen such a scene before, and his face suddenly became redder than that of the little singer, and he looked at the prince for help.
But when Xie Shiguan saw this, his smile became even more intense: "If I tell you to hold her, then hold her well, don't let her fall."
The little singer had probably never seen such an honest man in the entertainment industry, so he rubbed against him with bad intentions. However, Shen could no longer bear it, so he grabbed his shoulder and arm with one hand and gestured in a self-proclaimed ferocious manner, "Please respect yourself!"
Xiao Chang laughed: "What did you say? I don't understand."
Xie Shiguan looked at them with a smile, and Minister Chen also smiled. He drank a few glasses of wine, and his intestines were warmed up. He joked, "You haven't tasted it, have you? This little Qingyi is not an ordinary little singer. She sings well and speaks well. If you have tasted it, I guarantee you will be so greedy that you will follow her around every night!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw His Royal Highness Prince Yan at the top of the table suddenly raised his glass towards him and said, "Sir Shangshu."
The courtesan beside him handed over a glass of warm wine. Minister Chen took it quickly, bowed slightly, and said to Xie Shiguan: "Your Highness, please go first."
This wine is privately brewed by Hua Yiyun. The loquats are picked in autumn and pickled in wine jars for a season. When winter comes, there is a glass of wine in a rose crystal cup with a wintersweet flower on the surface of the wine. After a sip, the sweet fragrance penetrates into people's hearts.
Minister Chen praised: "Good wine!"
The young lady laughed softly: "The crows cry and the poplar flowers disappear, you are drunk and stay at my house. [Note]"
Xie Shiguan put down his wine glass, and gently pointed his eyes at Minister Chen's face, and said straight to the point: "In fact, I invited Minister Chen here today because I have something I want your help with."
"Of course not," Minister Chen quickly put down the wine cup in his hand, "Your Highness, please tell me what you want to do. As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely do it without hesitation."
He said this, but his palms were sweating. This prince never played by the rules. If he made any unreasonable requests, he really didn't know how to respond.
Xie Shiguan looked at him with a smile, not in a hurry to speak. This made Minister Chen couldn't help but think of his own precious sons. There was a concubine's son who was quite good-looking, but he had already married and had children, a son and a daughter, and had a bad temper. If he were to send him to the palace to sleep with the prince, who knows what kind of trouble would happen!
Whether this bastard is happy or not is a small matter, but if he angers the regent is a big deal!
Minister Chen was sweating profusely from his imagination when he suddenly heard Xie Shiguan, who was at the top of the group, speak slowly: "It's not a big deal, it's just..."
He looked at Chen Que and said, "A Que has been with me for more than ten years, but he is still a slave. It is inconvenient. All the documents of selling his body have been burned. I am just waiting for the Minister to register him as a good citizen of Chang'an."
Shen's heartbeat tightened, and his already red face became even hotter. He had followed Xie Shiguan for more than ten years and had never expected him to treat him well.
He never thought that he would break free from slavery for someone as insignificant as himself.
Hearing that he didn't want his own illegitimate son, Minister Chen heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "This is just a piece of cake. Your Highness, why do you have to come in person? Just hand over a letter to me, and I promise to do it for you!"
“Once you are admitted to your native place, I will simply send the documents to the Ministry of War for Brother Shen and get a sixth-rank official rank. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Although the matter of the King's uncle was being covered up by the higher-ups to prevent it from spreading, Minister Chen was well-informed and found out the information with just a few words.
I heard that because of this mute, dozens of servants around the king's uncle were punished. Last night, the king's uncle had just left the pleasure boat when half of his hand was chopped off. Fortunately, he was rescued by a merchant on the roadside and the weather was cold, so he saved his life.
Everyone guessed that it was His Royal Highness Prince Yan who hired someone to do it, but there was no evidence at all. Without evidence, who would dare to investigate the Regent?
If he can gain some respect from King Yan, then he is a person who should be respected. If he gets things done, it is not a bad thing for him to keep some favors with Shen Que.
"Master Shangshu, please do as you see fit," Xie Shiguan said, "Your Excellency has always done things properly, and I will definitely not worry about it."
He had just finished speaking and was about to see Shen Que's reaction, but he saw the little actor sitting astride Shen Que suddenly leaning against him, smiling slyly, and speaking in a voice that was neither loud nor low, with a hint of ambiguity: "My dear, why are you getting up down there?"
Then Shen Que suddenly stood up, his whole body was red, and there seemed to be tears in his eyes. He bowed to Xie Shiguan, and then ran away without looking back.
There was silence at the table, and then Xie Shiguan reacted. He thought that even in such a state, he still leaned over to apologize, which was really adorable, and he couldn't help laughing.
The little actor was also happy. Some of the customers who came to patronize him were reserved, but none of them ran away. It was the first time he saw such a serious person, and he was almost happy to death.
"Your Highness," the little actor stood up and bowed slightly to Xie Shiguan, his peach blossom eyes curved like crescent moons, "I will go out and look for that master, so that he won't get bored alone."
Minister Chen and the young lady were laughing together. Upon hearing this, he waved his hand at him and said something rude: "Go quickly. Brother Shen is young and energetic, and he has no family. I'm afraid he's hugging a pillar somewhere and rubbing his head against it."
These scholars appear to be righteous on the surface, but their dirty words in private are like snow on mud, vulgar and dirty.
Xie Shiguan had heard such words many times in social gatherings in the past, and never took it to heart. But today, for some reason, when he heard these words, his brows suddenly frowned, and he felt a little unhappy.
The little actor was about to leave when he heard Xie Shiguan speak slowly: "The person has already run away, why are you still chasing him?"
This little singer was used to guessing people's intentions. Seeing that Xie Shiguan looked unhappy, she quickly moved back to her seat and said angrily, "Your Highness is right. That young man is like a piece of wood. He is not even one thousandth as charming as you. Your Highness, how about I sing you a song of The West Chamber?"
Xie Shiguan did not comment, so the little singer took it as his consent. He stood up and borrowed a folding fan from the prince, then half-covered his face with the fan and began to sing.
The prince didn't like listening to operas, but he had to admit that this young girl in blue did have a good voice. When she sang "Cui Yingying", her voice was more beautiful than that of the oriole.
Yingying's voice rang in his ears, but he was thinking of another person.
The little mute who can neither speak nor sing.
The author has something to say:
Note:
It comes from Li Bai's "Yang Bian'er", which means: The cries of the two crows are drowned in the flowers of the poplar trees. Today, my dear, just drink as much as you can and don't be afraid of getting drunk. My home is your home.
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