His serious nonsense made Shen want to laugh, but he didn't dare to laugh. He suppressed it and squeezed out an expression that didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside, and then the maidservant Wuhua came running in and said, "Your Highness, Master Eleven is here, and he said he has something important to report."
Xie Shiguan: "Let him in."
“Yes.”
The maid leaned forward and stepped out. Shen subconsciously wanted to stand up, but the prince quickly held her shoulders and said, "Just study calligraphy, why are you standing up?"
Just now, there were only the two of them in the room, and His Highness loved him and asked him to sit down, but Chen already felt very embarrassed. Now that someone else wanted to come in, how could he sit still?
But Xie Shiguan held him down and prevented him from getting up, and Chen couldn't disobey, so he had to continue sitting there feeling very uncomfortable.
Eleven entered the palace, and saw Chen Que sitting in the master's seat out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but be stunned, but this surprise didn't last long on his face. He didn't dare to look at it for too long, and just presented the things on the tray in his hand to the prince.
"This thing was found by one of our servants at the gate this morning," Eleven said straightforwardly, "I think someone threw it in front of the palace gate in the middle of the night. It only appeared today after the snow melted."
"Have you checked?" Xie Shiguan asked.
"We have checked," Eleventh replied, "The one who died was the Qingyi from Pingkangli. I heard that he was wearing a big red long-sleeved opera gown and hanged on the main gate beam during the first month of the year. When the singers found him, he was frozen like a stick."
Hearing this description, Shen stood up suddenly, and after taking a few steps forward, he saw clearly what was on the tray - a few severed fingers that had turned purple from the cold.
On one of her fingers was a ring, a pure gold ring with an aqua green emerald ring face. When the snow covering it melted, the ring face became even more eye-catching.
He had seen this ring before. It was on the little actor's index finger. The slender finger looked particularly beautiful with the emerald.
He wore it every time he came back. He didn't even have the chance to call out to Shen, who suspected that he had made a mistake.
The blush on Chen Que's face caused by the steam from the earth dragon faded away quickly, and even his lips turned pale.
He had seen many deaths, both honorable and dishonorable, and he had seen all kinds of bloody scenes, but today, perhaps because he was already feeling uncomfortable, the nausea after the hangover came up again, making his stomach churn.
However, Shen did not dare to lose his composure in front of the prince, so he endured the discomfort in his stomach, lowered his eyes, and no longer looked at the severed finger on the tray.
"Such a beautiful woman with slender fingers," Xie Shiguan said with some regret, "How come An Fengde doesn't know how to be gentle with women? What a pity."
After saying that, he tilted his head to look at Chen Que, and seeing that he lowered his eyes and couldn't bear to look, he went to provoke him again, very deliberately put his arm around his waist and pushed him forward: "Isn't this your old acquaintance? Why don't you want to take another look, Ah Que?"
However, Shen was pushed forward by him, and he seemed to smell the scent of lead powder with a slight stench on the severed finger. Then he seemed to be unable to hold on any longer, and turned around and ran to the window, hunched over and began to retch.
He couldn't stand up straight when he got up in the morning, so he didn't need to eat breakfast and only drank a few sips of hot tea. Therefore, even though he felt so uncomfortable, he couldn't vomit anything.
With his hands on the window frame, a few blue veins appeared on the thin back of his hands, and his mind was blank.
He heard footsteps behind him, and then smelled the scent of agarwood, and was startled to realize that he was still in front of the prince.
He was annoyed. How could he lose his composure like that in front of His Highness?
Then, a silk handkerchief was moved from behind to cover his mouth and nose, wiping the dirt from the corners of his lips. The action was not gentle, but it pulled Shen Que back from the blank space.
Xie Shiguan threw the dirty handkerchief out of the window. He was afraid of getting dirty, so he would not keep a silk handkerchief stained with filth even if it was washed clean.
"You were there when the previous dynasty's powerful eunuch Tong Guang was executed by secret order. You didn't even frown when his skin was peeled off," Xie Shiguan looked down at his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and a trace of physiological tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. "Are you scared by just a few severed fingers?"
Seeing that Chen didn't respond, he suddenly asked again: "Or, are you really in love with him, and that's why you're so sad?"
Shen shook his head, unable to say anything.
He was sad, but not because of any true feelings. He just felt that he was just like the actor, a toy that could be crushed to death at will if others were unhappy.
Only Xu Sixian was an oriole or a cicada, who could chirp happily for a season even if locked in a cage. But he was a floating ant, who was crushed to death without even a sound.
The plate of severed fingers allowed him to see himself.
Once Xu Sixian died, the theater would be disbanded.
The older actors had already gained some fame on stage and wanted to join other troupes. However, Xu Sixian's death was so strange that even the pot of red coral in the hall of Tingli Pavilion was smashed to pieces.
No one knew who gave the order, but the little actor's body was hung on the beam for three full days, and the actors were not allowed to collect it.
The teams around them are also afraid. They are doing low-class jobs and their lives are also lowly. The big shots can blow them away with just a breath. If they think about it privately, they are afraid of bringing trouble upon themselves.
Therefore, no one in the brothels dared to accept the children who left Tingli Pavilion.
On the day Xu Sixian was put into the coffin, Chen Que took Yuanzhi to Tingli Pavilion to take a look.
The theater was noisy and all the children, big and small, looked at a loss. The youngest actor was only seven years old, and the oldest was not even twenty years old. They were all dressed in white, and the only red things on their bodies were their eyes.
Seeing him coming with Yuanzhi, she thought that he was just a servant, but was dressed in brocade and silk clothes. She couldn't hide her envy in her eyes.
Entering the main room, there were white silks hanging everywhere, a thin coffin placed in the middle, and a few white candles burning coldly on a long table.
He was hanged, so his death must have been very ugly. Chen originally wanted to cover Yuanzhi's eyes, but who would have thought that this kid rushed forward before him, lay down beside the coffin and took a look. I don't know if he was scared by the face, but he burst into tears with a "wow".
Yuanzhi's crying suddenly filled the entire room. It was hoarse and husky, and really unpleasant to the ear. No wonder the former boss said that he had no talent.
Seeing him crying, Shen did not stop him. He lifted the child off the coffin like a rabbit and threw him on the mat in front of the coffin. Then he said in sign language, "Kowtow to your uncle."
Yuanzhi sobbed, knelt on the cattail, and kowtowed three times on the brick floor.
This little actor is not even an adult yet, and has no children or relatives. Yet, few of the people crying in the Tingli Pavilion are crying for him. When they cry, they are crying for their own lives.
However, Shen put the severed fingers he brought with him into the coffin, stroked the edge of the coffin with his right hand, and lowered his eyes apologetically. He could guess that the death of the little actor was also related to him.
The king's uncle had half of his hand broken, and the young emperor forced the prince to pay with his blood to put out Miao Zongping's fire, but the prince refused to obey.
But someone has to shed blood in this matter, someone has to pay with his life, and if it's not him, it will be someone else.
It so happened that the little actor often went in and out of the palace these days. People outside didn't know about it and thought that the prince had summoned him to the palace to sing.
The young emperor was reluctant to punish Xie Shiguan, so he had to punish the little actor, who in his opinion had done nothing important, and ordered his men to twist the actor's fingers and throw them in front of the palace gate, as a mild warning to the prince, but also to appease Miao Zongping.
He did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of him.
In the eyes of the big shots, their lives are worthless. If it weren't for the prince's protection, the person lying in this thin coffin at this moment would be him.
After paying their respects and expressing their condolences, Shen Que leaned over and took Yuan Zhi by the hand, ready to take him back home.
But just as he left the hall, a little maid who was waiting outside suddenly rushed up to him, hugged his black-toed official boots with her slender arms, and cried bitterly: "Master, please take me with you. I will wash your clothes, wash your feet and warm your bed. I can also sing. When the troupe owner was here, he often praised my good voice."
However, Shen recognized her. She was the beautiful actress who opened the door for him when he came to Tingli Pavilion to return the greetings that day.
She spoke while crying, and her words were clear, without any ambiguity. She was a good candidate for the role of a female lead.
Seeing that Chen refused, she grabbed Yuanzhi's hand again: "Little Dingxiang, we were so close in Tingli Pavilion before, have you forgotten?"
The tears in Yuanzhi's eyes had not yet dried. He pursed his lips when he heard this. Of course he had not forgotten that it was Silan who applied medicinal wine to him after he was beaten, and the first bite of maltose he had ever eaten was also fed to him by Silan.
He has never forgotten that sweet taste.
He looked up at Chen Que. When the actors in the courtyard heard the noise, they also came over and looked at Chen Que eagerly, all hoping to find a way out of his misfortune.
Xu Sixian's death was strange. He had the support of the old ancestor in the palace, who was a powerful eunuch. Anyone who could touch him must be a nobleman of a higher rank than An Fengde.
People who come to these brothels only want to relax and relieve boredom. No one wants to risk their life just to listen to an actor sing a little song.
Tingli Pavilion is bound to be disbanded, and these people must find another way to make a living.
However, the lowly status they carried meant that they were destined to be unable to engage in a legitimate livelihood. Now other theaters did not dare to accept them, and respectable families were unwilling to take them. These actors had nowhere to go and had no choice but to come to him for help.
Unfortunately, he is not a Bodhisattva, and cannot even be called the master. Others call him "Sir" because the prince thinks highly of him. He can't even save himself, let alone these people?
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