He was so fast that he didn't even feel the beaded curtain hitting him. The wind was whistling in his ears, and his heartbeat was getting faster and faster.
After he rushed out for a long distance, Shen Que found that it was snowing outside again. He braved the snow and walked around the yard for a few laps, but he would meet a few servants from time to time.
These servants would always come forward and ask eagerly: "Where are you going? If you want to change clothes, I will take you there."
Shen shook his head silently.
At this moment, he felt embarrassed by everyone's gaze, so he simply found a secluded room, climbed onto the roof, squatted there and stared blankly.
Even now, his heart was still beating wildly.
He hung his head in annoyance. What happened just now was not entirely the fault of the little singer. It was true that the little actor had made him uncomfortable, but he only had His Highness in his heart. His face was red, but his heart was cold.
But whenever he thought of Xie Shiguan secretly burning his documents of selling himself and planning for him in his heart, and that he was willing to take the trouble for such an insignificant person like him, Shen felt sour and itchy in his heart.
His heart was warmed, and naturally he was no longer the wooden man without desires.
But that happened in front of His Highness after all. How, how dare he do that?
If it weren't for the little actor covering up, I'm afraid His Highness would know the dirty thoughts in his heart. But Shen felt that he was even worse than a beast.
The snow was falling harder and harder, and the wind was blowing hard on the eaves. After a while, the ends of my hair and eyelashes were covered with frost.
Because of the cold weather, the redness on his face gradually faded, and his heart became lonely.
Even if His Highness was willing to give him a few more glances, what would that do? He was still so humble and insignificant, like a snowflake in the vast snow, like a mayfly, like an ant, and could never reach the edge of Xie Shiguan's clothes.
Just as he was staring into the distance in a trance, he suddenly heard a crisp child's voice from below: "My dear, what are you doing squatting up there?"
Shen looked down in the direction of the voice, and saw a boy of about seven or eight years old standing in the white courtyard. He had an oval face, round eyes, rosy cheeks, and was wearing a very old dark brown jacket. He was holding a wooden box in his hand and was standing below, looking at him with his head tilted.
Shen felt a little embarrassed by his stare, so he quickly jumped down from the eaves. The boy stared at his movements, stunned, and asked stupidly: "Don't your legs hurt when you jump like this?"
Shen shook his head and was about to leave, but the kid followed him like a tail, and continued to ask in an exaggerated tone: "Are you a hero? Can you fly from this roof to that roof in one go?"
Shen looked at the direction of his finger. It was such a long distance that even a horse could not jump over it, so he shook his head again.
The boy saw it and was not disappointed. He pulled his sleeve and asked him to squat down. Although Shen was doubtful, he thought about it and did it anyway.
The boy looked at him without blinking, and then suddenly stretched out his hand, touched his eyebrows, and gently brushed away the white frost on his eyelashes.
"Okay." The boy laughed.
His features were clearly not similar to Xie Shiguan's, but Shen was inexplicably reminded of the young prince, a delicate and jade-like child wrapped in brocade clothes and gold and jade, who had also reached out his hand and touched his eyelashes when they first met.
Then he smiled and said to him, "Come back with me, and from now on you can have as much food as you want."
However, when the boy raised his hand, his sleeve slid down, revealing whip marks on his forearm, bruises, frostbite on his hands, and swollen knuckles, which looked purple-red at first glance.
Seeing that Chen was staring at his hand, the boy quickly retracted his hand.
However, Shen thought that he was also a servant here, so he asked him through lip language: "Did they beat you?"
He couldn't make a sound, but the boy understood. He shook his head and said, "I am my uncle's apprentice. The boss said I have no talent and only allowed me to do rough work in the tile industry."
However, Shen understood that he was the child of the little actor named Sixian. Actors were even lower than slaves like them. They were either beaten or scolded in the troupe. If they could not become stars, they would be the lowest servants all their lives, without even monthly wages, and would never be able to make it in their entire lives.
Even if they become celebrities, they can be turned into playthings at the mercy of rich businessmen with just a word.
The girl named Sixian looked only about sixteen or seventeen years old. Such a young child was used to such dirty things and knew how to tease so skillfully.
He remembered the boy's words "uncle master", so he asked: "Your mother..."
The boy seemed unfamiliar with the word. He was stunned for a long time before saying, "It's gone a long time ago."
"The boss said she deserved it. She had an affair with a tea merchant and became his mistress. Later, when the merchant's family fell into poverty, he sold her and me. It was my uncle who bought us back."
"Everyone in the team laughed at her. My mother said she had no face to live anymore, so she jumped into the well."
When he said these words, his eyes were indifferent and his tone was as if he was mentioning an insignificant person. He answered so smoothly, so I guess he must have heard people mention him many times in his daily life.
Shen looked into his pure and clean eyes. Although they had different experiences and were of different ages, he understood him.
He had just begun to feel a little melancholy when he heard the sound of tiles falling from the eaves behind him and a tall figure fell to the ground with a rustle.
Shen turned around immediately, with the scimitar at his waist already half out of his weapon, but when he looked closely, he found that the person coming was actually Xie Shiguan.
He didn't know how long he had been standing on the roof watching them. In his hand was a silk umbrella, the surface of which was as white as snow, with a string of detailed landscape paintings on the edge. The man was standing in the flying snow, and at first glance, it looked like a painting.
Shen Que and the boy couldn't help but stare in amazement, until Xie Shiguan coughed lightly, he suddenly came back to his senses.
"Your Highness," he saluted first, then used sign language, "When did you come?"
Xie Shiguan: “Just now.”
He paused for a moment, then continued, "I saw a man standing on the roof from a distance, so I came over to take a look."
Shen didn't expect that the prince had seen his stupid look while he was squatting on the roof and reflecting on himself. He immediately felt as if he had been stripped naked and lowered his head in shame.
Fortunately, Xie Shiguan didn't seem to have any intention of making things difficult for him, and waved at him nonchalantly: "You come and hold the umbrella for me."
Shen hurriedly took a few steps forward and took the umbrella with ease. He turned around and saw the boy, still timidly, following him with a wooden box in his hand.
However, Shen did not dare to get too close to Xie Shiguan, so half of his body fell outside the umbrella.
He was still confused, thinking about the embarrassing thing that had just made him blush, and the poor boy behind him.
Halfway through the walk, Shen Que finally mustered up the courage, lowered his head slightly, and tilted his head to look at Xie Shiguan's chin.
Xie Shiguan saw him suddenly stop, so he also tilted his head: "What's wrong?"
The distance between the two was too close, Shen's heart was beating like a drum, and he handed the umbrella back to the prince, then lowered his head to avoid his gaze, and slowly moved his hands: "I... want to redeem this child."
Xie Shiguan said nothing.
"He is only seven or eight years old. If he stays in the team, sooner or later...sooner or later," Shen didn't know what to say. He paused and then continued to gesture, "He is still so young. He still has choices in life."
Only then did Xie Shiguan look at the boy straight in the eye. He looked short and thin, so weak that he seemed like he could be blown away by the wind. His thin body made him look top-heavy, like a head stuck on a few stalks.
Fortunately, her features were still delicate, but in Xie Shiguan's eyes, she was just an ugly thing with a slightly regular shape.
"If your courtyard is short of a servant," Xie Shiguan said, "you can pick a smart servant from another mansion."
Shen quickly shook his head. He was not short of someone to serve him. "There is no shortage of people to serve in the courtyard. I just feel sorry for him."
"You pity him?" Xie Shiguan thought it was a little ridiculous that a slave who had not yet gotten rid of his lowly status actually pitied an actor. He then asked slowly, "If you don't take him in as a slave and redeem him, will you let him beg on the street in the future?"
The boy was quite clever. He knew that he would never make a name for himself in the Washe class. This might be his only chance. So he hurried forward and knelt down in front of Xie Shiguan. “I am willing to follow this gentleman back to be his slave. I know everything. I am no worse than you. I… I also eat less!”
Xie Shiguan looked down at him, as if he were looking at a dirty cat or dog: "How many of the things that come out of the brothels are clean? Do you think you are qualified to enter the palace?"
Shen Que's eyes dimmed, and the look he gave Xie Shiguan could be described as pleading. He slowly moved his hands: "He is still young. If he is disciplined strictly, he will be no different from an ordinary child..."
It was rare for him to dare to ask Xie Shiguan for anything. This was the first time in history.
Xie Shiguan glanced at him, and then caught a glimpse of his half body that was wet with snow. In such a cold day, he was still only wearing a dark guard uniform, and his shoulders and arms were thin, which made the prince couldn't help but recall the feeling of him hugging him.
He said nothing, but walked forward with his umbrella. Just when Shen Que thought there was no hope, Xie Shiguan suddenly spoke again: "Go and ask that little singer for help yourself."
When he said that, he agreed. The boy also climbed up from the snow in ecstasy and followed Shen Que's back step by step.
When Shen Que followed Xie Shiguan back to the door of the upper room, he was a little timid and didn't want to go in.
Just as he was about to raise his hand to gesture, he suddenly heard a deep male voice from inside. The man's throat seemed to be filled with flames, and he suppressed his anger: "The Huns have repeatedly invaded our borders, and how many soldiers guarding the border have died? In the battle last year, there were 20,000 soldiers in Longyou against 80,000 Huns, and in the end only a hundred soldiers were left!"
"We endured day by day, firmly believing that reinforcements and armaments would arrive, but what were the Miao Party doing at that time? They were controlling the military power and fighting with Xie Ling to seize his power!"
"Who in Chang'an City cares about the people, who cares about the country, and who cares about us?"
"The bodies of the fallen soldiers are still warm, and your Ministry of Revenue cannot approve the pensions. How can I give an explanation to their families?"
Then a middle-aged man was heard coaxing with a big tongue: "Calm down, calm down. It's not our Ministry of Revenue that refuses to approve it. At the beginning of last year, the Saint's birthday was celebrated, and then the Queen Mother's birthday. To show filial piety, Your Majesty issued an order to reduce taxes and levies, to give the people a rest, and to pray for the Queen Mother's blessing and longevity."
"We have approved a lot of silver, but the tax silver is so little, and the Ministry of Revenue is also poor! The big shots are fighting, and we, the people below, are suffering. Let alone the pensions for the soldiers guarding the border, this year the Ministry of Revenue may not even be able to pay the salaries of the Shangshutai."
"You cry poor, and he cries poor too. When this matter was reported to the higher authorities, they said that all matters concerning money and silver belong to the Ministry of Revenue. But when my people arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, they couldn't get even a single ounce of silver no matter how hard they tried. Isn't this discouraging the soldiers? Who will be willing to go to the battlefield if the Huns come to attack us again in the future?"
There was a sudden silence from the other side.
Shen was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xie Shiguan who was half a step away from him. Seeing that Xie Shiguan looked normal, it was obvious that he had expected this scene.
That's right, why would the prince go to such great lengths to send a letter to invite the Minister of Revenue here just for such a trivial matter of removing him from the household register? It seems that asking Minister Chen to help him remove himself from the household register and inviting General Yunhui to reminisce about the past were just a cover.
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