It was not until dawn that Lin Xie closed his clothes reluctantly, leaned on the edge of the couch, and leaned over to place a kiss on Shen Que's forehead.
"I'll come back in a few days," Lin Xie said in a low, deep voice, with a hint of playfulness in his smile, "Don't miss me too much."
But Shen didn't even want to roll his eyes. He turned his head away, buried his face in the mattress, and refused to pay attention to him.
How could he possibly miss him? He wanted to skin him alive, and wanted him to die, but Shen had never hated a person so much in his life.
Even his hideous grandfather has become gradually blurred in the passing years.
But Lin Xie crushed the last bit of his self-esteem right in front of him. He compared him to an actor and a singer, and used the most despicable means to threaten him and force him to obey.
If it weren't for the fact that His Highness was still hanging in his heart, Chen would have risked his life to die with him.
Hearing the door closing and the man's footsteps seeming to go away, Shen Que gritted his teeth and got up, washed his body with a bucket of cold water, and then fell on the couch with his clothes on.
The two of them had made a mess on the bed, but Chen didn't have the strength to get up and clean it up, so he could only leave it alone.
Fearing of missing his shift, Chen kept his eyes open and dared not sleep. But in the end he was so confused that he didn't know whether he had fainted or just couldn't hold on and fell asleep.
Shen had several nightmares in a row. In his dreams, he was either grabbed by the scruff of the neck by a wolf or stepped on by a black bear. No matter how he struggled, he could not escape.
Finally, he fell into the deep, dark sea again. Shen had never seen the sea before. He only knew that there was deathly silence all around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the bottomless blue. He could not struggle anymore, and a feeling of despair and decadence emerged in his heart.
He kept falling, deeper and deeper, until he could no longer see any light. The feeling of suffocation and the cold sea water overwhelmed him.
"My Lord," someone seemed to shout from the sea, "My Lord?"
The voice was muffled, as if it came from thousands of miles away.
It was not until he heard the sound of someone pushing the door open that Shen Que felt his heartbeat tighten. The next moment, half of his body jumped up from the couch.
It hurts so much... He frowned unconsciously. His whole body ached, as if he had been crushed by the black bear's claws over and over again, and his bones were sore.
Yuan Zhiduan came in with hot water and looked at him with some concern: "Sir, are you okay? I called out several times outside just now, but I didn't hear you respond."
Shen frowned and asked him in sign language: "What time is it now?"
"One quarter of an hour."
Chen Que's heart shuddered. In the past, these personal guards in their palace would go to the training ground to practice martial arts and strengthen their bodies before dawn. He never stopped regardless of rain or shine. Even if he occasionally had a headache or fever, he never dared to be absent.
Seeing that his face looked worse, Yuan Zhi hurriedly placed the basin on the table and said, "My Lord, please don't get busy yet. His Highness has granted leave to all the guards today. The prince is considerate of the fact that most of you have families. On the second day of the first lunar month, most of you will accompany your wives and children to visit your parents-in-law."
Chen Que's face looked better now. He was fully awake now and realized that his throat was very dry. He moved his hands and wanted to ask Yuanzhi to pour him a cup of tea.
But suddenly he caught a glimpse of the mess on the bed beneath him. He was half asleep, and the thin singlet was draped loosely on his body, faintly showing the dense bite marks on his neck and collarbone.
Chen hastily pulled his collar tighter, but it was too low, and no matter how tight he pulled it, it couldn't hide the marks on his neck.
He looked at Yuanzhi. There was no curiosity in Yuanzhi's eyes. Instead, it was as if he had seen something very ordinary.
Yes, Shen remembered that he used to follow the little actor, and Xu Sixian took him everywhere, so he was naturally used to such scenes.
"Sir, there is something..." Yuan Zhi seemed a little hesitant. He asked cautiously, "Can I tell you something?"
Shen's heart was still beating fast. He seemed to have guessed what Yuan Zhi was going to say, but in the end he nodded and said in sign language, "There's no one else here, you can say anything."
Yuanzhi looked relieved.
"I got up early this morning, before daybreak, and I vaguely saw a man in black clothes coming out of your room," Yuan Zhi looked puzzled. Although he had seen many such things, he had no idea that they would happen in the palace. "Sir, does the palace... also do business like this?"
His eyes were pure and clear, and his innocent childish words hurt Shen Que's heart so much.
"Sir," Yuan Zhi saw him lower his eyes, and felt inexplicably scared, "Did I say something wrong?"
Shen shook his head, then stretched out his hand and gestured to him slowly: "You can't tell anyone about this."
Yuanzhi nodded obediently, but there was still confusion in his eyes. After a pause, he asked in a low voice: "What will the adults do if I tell others?"
"Die," Shen Que's gesture was heavy and heavy, "I will die."
It was getting dark, and the spring weather was still chilly. Once the sun went down, it was still very cold even with the stove burning in the house.
However, Shen was groggy the whole day and didn't eat much. When it was time to feed him, Yuanzhi went to the kitchen to ask for a bowl of porridge for him and a bag of rock sugar to mix in.
However, Shen couldn't bear to reject the child's kindness, so he held the porridge and drank it slowly, finishing it all.
He had just put down the bowl when Eleven suddenly ran into the yard in a hurry and opened his half-open door with one hand.
"Something bad has happened," Eleven came into the room with a cold face and a smell of snow, and blurted out, "Chen Luo..."
He paused suddenly.
Shen Que's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by someone, forcing him to almost be unable to breathe, and even the movements of his hands were disordered: "Brother, what happened to him?"
He looked at Eleven sadly, but Eleven seemed a little hesitant.
Just now, Shen Xiangzhi had sternly warned him to keep it a secret from Shen Que first, but he was impatient and had a close relationship with Shen Luo, so how could he keep it a secret?
After a little hesitation, he looked at Chen Que again, not intending to hide it: "Three days ago on New Year's Eve, the people in Xichuan started to make trouble. The cause was that a soldier below had his head smashed by two people. There was already a lot of resentment, and with this little spark, the fuse was ignited, and the two sides naturally started a chaos."
"Some time before that, a dozen civilians were so hungry that they kidnapped the wives and daughters of several soldiers. Although they later exchanged them for food, their reputation was tarnished. An unmarried girl was kidnapped by a few men for a whole night. Even if she was innocent, no one would believe her."
"The reputation of their wives and daughters was affected, and they also lost a lot of grain. These soldiers couldn't swallow this breath, and they wanted to execute these unruly people. But if the people were not really desperate, they would not take this path. If they want to earn a way to survive, they can only make a fuss until the court is willing to look at them."
"The common people picked up bricks and kitchen knives and became bandits. The soldiers naturally would not sit still and wait for death, so they pointed their swords at the common people. Your senior brother was caught in the middle, trying to persuade the common people while stopping the soldiers from taking action. In such a chaotic situation, someone stabbed us, and we couldn't tell if it was a friend or an enemy. After stabbing, he threw the knife away and hid in the crowd. We haven't found the murderer yet."
Shen was stunned when he heard it, and raised his hand to gesture stumblingly: "How is the injury, how is the injury?"
"It was only half an inch off," Eleven said with lingering fear, "If it was half an inch off, it would have pierced my heart."
Seeing that Chen Luo looked like he was about to cry, Eleven couldn't bear it anymore and comforted him, "Master has sent people over. He is just unconscious, but still has a breath left. Shen Luo is a lucky man, so he will be fine."
Shen nodded, but his face was still pale.
If anything happened to Chen Luo, he would hate himself to death. If it wasn't for saving him, Chen Luo wouldn't have been sent to Xichuan, let alone suffer such hardships.
It snowed in the afternoon, fluttering heavily.
Many people in the mansion took leave to visit their relatives today, and there was a shortage of manpower. There was no time to clear the fallen snow on the road, so Chen could only walk in the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
He had pain in the back of his head and in the front of his head. When he walked, the close-fitting clothes would inevitably rub against the injured areas from time to time, making him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
The front was too small, so Xie Shiguan couldn't get in, so he held him and rubbed it hard, causing that area to become red and swollen, and even hurting to relieve himself. He was so thirsty today that he only dared to take a sip of water.
However, Shen was afraid that others would notice something, so he straightened his back and tried to make his gait the same as usual.
When he arrived outside the bedroom, a maid suddenly stepped forward to stop him and said, "Sir, His Highness is currently meeting a guest, so it is inconvenient to meet him."
Shen stood under the eaves and looked inside. He saw only the flickering lights and occasional laughter. The voice sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.
He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly a name popped up in his mind -
Yu Kongqing.
The maid saw that he was a little dazed, and hurriedly whispered, "Sir, please go back."
He felt a little sad, confused, wronged, sad, worried...all kinds of emotions mixed together, as if a group of bloodthirsty ants were biting his heart fiercely.
However, Shen refused to leave and stood in front of the door like a piece of wood. Without waiting for the maid to dissuade him, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The room suddenly became quiet and dead silent.
"Come in." It was the prince's voice.
Shen Que pushed the door open and went in, only to see several people sitting inside, all of them were retainers of the palace, all of them were dressed in brocade clothes and long robes, and all of them were young and beautiful.
A man was leaning in the prince's arms, leaning lazily on Xie Shiguan. When he saw someone coming in, he remained motionless, like a delicate and luxurious porcelain.
It’s Yu Kongqing.
"Didn't I grant you leave today?" Xie Shiguan said calmly, playing with an ice-blue glass wine glass in his hand, "Why are you here instead of resting in the courtyard?"
Yu Kongqing smiled, leaned over, poured wine for Xie Shiguan, and said jokingly: "I think Shen Shiwei is tired of his hard life and can't sit still in the room anymore."
After all, he was in front of the prince, so he didn't dare say anything too harsh. He said "hard life" with his mouth, but in his heart he cursed him as "cheap bone".
Xie Shiguan poured the glass of wine into Yu Kongqing's mouth, and looked at Chen Que again: "Since you are here, why not sit down and have a drink together."
When he spoke, the retainers and staff around him naturally responded.
Unexpectedly, Chen just shook his head and stood there like a piece of wood. He couldn't drink, and he wasn't here to drink anyway.
He refused to sit down, but Xie Shiguan didn't get angry. He leaned back, tilted his head slightly and asked him, "Are you here for Shen Luo?"
Shen Que nodded, and just as he was about to raise his hand, he heard Xie Shiguan speak again: "The person is not dead, and Shen Xiangzhi has already sent people over. Even if he is dead, there will be others to take his place. It is not your turn."
His request had not yet been uttered when Xie Shiguan dismissed it nonchalantly.
"But..." He raised his hand, then put it down again.
But Shen Luo was his senior brother, his only close friend in the mansion. The prince paid five taels of silver to buy his new life, but the ones who gave him warmth and love were Shen Xiangzhi and Shen Luo.
But what does it matter? He is insignificant and his words are insignificant, as insignificant as grass and trees. Can his words of reluctance and unwillingness be considered as a reason?
He lowered his eyes, slowly knelt down towards Xie Shiguan, and under everyone's gaze, he moved his hands firmly: "I beg Your Highness to allow me to go to Xichuan."
Xie Shiguan, who was sitting at the top, seemed a little unhappy. He looked down coldly and said, "Have you ever been out of Kyoto in your life? What kind of place is Xichuan? You can go there if you want to?"
There was not a trace of hesitation in Shen's eyes, only stubbornness.
Xie Shiguan got angry when he saw his stubborn look, and said in a cold and hard tone, leaving him no room for delusion: "How can a mute like you help him? Don't you think it's not chaotic enough? Go back to your Lansheng Courtyard."
Shen Que, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his hand, as if he wanted to say something else, but Xie Shiguan, who was sitting at the top of the table, didn't want to watch. He kicked over the tables in front of him, almost hitting Shen Que.
The guests all shrank back, and Yu Kongqing, who was so close, was so frightened that he almost jumped up.
"I told you to go back," Xie Shiguan said coldly, "Are you deaf?"
If His Royal Highness Prince Yan is really angry, not only Chen Que, but no one in this mansion will suffer.
However, Shen was afraid of implicating others, so he gritted his teeth, leaned over and kowtowed heavily to Xie Shiguan, then got up and left.
Xie Shiguan was annoyed, but he couldn't help but stare at his back, looking in the direction he left.
The little mute walked with a limp and looked a little uncoordinated, but he still tried his best to straighten his back. Through the window in the house, Xie Shiguan saw him and saw that his figure looked so thin in the white snow.
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