In the front hall, the guests sat in rows.
Looking around, in the middle of the hall, there is a huge Persian carpet, with incense burners on the four corners and white smoke rising from the burners. The carpet is covered with intricate patterns, and the middle line is gradually dotted with gorgeous dahlias.
Further up, there is a group of Hu girls dancing with bare legs as white as jade. They dance lightly, with gold chains on their waists and silver bells on their wrists jingling. Their waists sway with their wrists, and they are enveloped in white smoke and fragrant mist. They are so beautiful that one cannot take their eyes away.
Xie Shiguan in the hall was also staring at the dancers with great interest, but what interested him was not their enchanting dancing posture or their beautiful faces like spring peaches, but the thin chains on their waists and the bells on their ankles.
What would it look like if this thin chain and silver bell were hung around that little mute?
If you move a little, the thin chain will shake, and if you struggle a little, the silver bell will ring.
What dirty things were in the prince's mind, but Shen, who was standing beside him, had no idea. He just followed Xie Shiguan's gaze and saw the white feet of the Hu girls below the stage, dazzling as snow.
He was not born with fair skin, and after a whole winter, his skin was still wheat-colored. He looked very different from the pampered Xie Shiguan.
Beside the table, beautiful maids from Silla were busy serving wine and dishes, but Chen had no place to intervene, so he could only stand upright to one side.
At this moment, the guests had drunk the good wine and their stomachs were warmed up, and their laughter gradually became louder. The maids and servants in the palace were very considerate. They set up a small stove next to the table and heated up the dishes when they were cold and warmed up the wine when it was cold.
The smell of wine and food gradually rose up. The smell was not obvious and not unpleasant, but when it rushed into Shen Que's nose, it made him feel nauseous.
When the banquet was halfway through, Shen Xiangzhi, who was waiting on the other side, suddenly came forward and whispered something into Xie Shiguan's ear.
Xie Shiguan's eyes showed some helplessness, and then he sighed softly, and instructed Shen Xiangzhi: "Since he is here, you can't neglect him. He has a child's mind, so tell the people below to coax him well."
"Yes." Shen Xiangzhi nodded.
As soon as Shen Xiangzhi left, another guest came forward to toast. Xie Shiguan chatted with him casually for a few words. While they were toasting each other, his eyes shifted and paused on Shen Que like a dragonfly skimming the water, but he caught a glimpse of his increasingly paler face.
"Are you really sick?" The prince tilted his head and dropped the cup on the table, and the guest tactfully returned to his seat.
Shen was stunned for a moment, and only after a moment did he realize that Xie Shiguan was talking to him.
He refused to acknowledge his status as a slave. If he was in poor health, he would be disliked by his master. He was just a nominal official of the sixth rank. All the honors were given by Xie Shiguan. He didn't want the prince to think he was useless.
So Shen shook his head.
Xie Shi watched him biting his lower lip lightly. He was clearly in pain, but he still held on, refusing to show any vulnerability.
How stubborn! He thought.
"Come here." The prince suddenly said again.
The banquet was lively, but Shen couldn't hear him clearly, so he stared at his lips, moved closer step by step, and half-knelt down to listen to what the prince said.
He was squatting, so she had to tilt her head back slightly, with her lips slightly open, not realizing how seductive her dazed look was.
"You followed me early in the morning, so I'm afraid you didn't have time to eat, right?" Xie Shiguan said to him, with a hint of warmth in his tone. He naturally picked up a piece of roasted venison and brought it to Chen Que's mouth, "Try it?"
Shen had no appetite at all, but this was the first time that the prince was so intimate with him, he couldn't bear to refuse, but instead opened his lips obediently.
Xie Shiguan smiled as he picked up the roasted greasy slice of venison with his jade chopsticks. He deliberately pressed it twice on Shen Que's lips before putting it into his mouth.
Finally, she stared at his lips that were shiny and wet with juice and asked him, "How is it?"
Shen held the piece of meat in his mouth, not daring to swallow it. The venison was cooked very well by the chef in the mansion. If it were in the past, he would have liked it, but today he couldn't stand even the slightest fishy smell. If it wasn't in front of Xie Shiguan, he would have spit it out as soon as it touched his lips.
He chewed it hard for two bites, then swallowed it whole, and then nodded slightly: "Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty, this is a delicacy..."
Before Shen Que finished his sign language, he heard the noisy noise in the hall suddenly stop. The smarter ministers had already left their seats and knelt down to greet the newcomer.
No one expected that the emperor would suddenly burst into the banquet without even saying hello. All the ministers and servants present knelt in haste.
The singing and dancing of the Hu girls in the hall also stopped. Even though they did not recognize the young emperor, they recognized his attire, a shining robe embroidered with golden dragons. Apart from the one in the palace, who else would dare to dress like that?
When all these people reacted, the Prince Yan, who was sitting at the top, stood up slowly and walked to the bottom of the hall. Just as he was about to kneel, the little emperor stretched out his hand and supported him lightly: "Uncle, there is no need to be polite."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the ministers at the table and said, "Everyone, please stand still. Today, I will sit with you all, my beloved ministers. Just enjoy your meal and don't worry about the relationship between the ruler and the minister."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
When the emperor came in person, the prince had no choice but to give up the main seat to him and move himself to the lower seat.
The emperor and his minister had been in a cold war for a long time. After the spring break, the young emperor still claimed to be ill and did not attend court, so Xie Shiguan had to continue to rule the country.
"We parted on New Year's Eve," the little emperor suddenly spoke in a voice that only Xie Shiguan could hear, "I haven't seen my uncle for two months..."
He paused for a moment and looked up at Xie Shiguan: "Uncle, I..."
Before he could finish, Xie Shiguan raised his glass towards him, his eyebrows still slightly curved, making it hard to tell what his emotions were: "You came here today to celebrate your birthday, didn't you?"
He called him by his nickname, which meant to give him a way out. The little emperor was delighted, and his stiff brows finally relaxed. He then raised a glass of wine and clinked glasses with him.
As before, no matter how unhappy the quarrel between the two was, his uncle would always give him a way out, protect him and not embarrass him.
Thinking of this, the bad mood that had been suppressed in Xie Yizi's heart for two months disappeared. It turned out that the emperor's uncle still indulged him as before, but he was left alone for a little longer this time, which was not a big deal.
The king and his minister were reconciled again, and it seemed like a happy scene.
But the Grand Tutor Man who was sitting at the head of the table had a slightly gloomy face. He had watched the Prince of Yan grow up, and he had no sense of filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, propriety, righteousness, integrity, or shame. It was not a good thing to ask him to take the initiative to seek peace.
If King Yan was willing to bow his head, he would definitely take something away from the person opposite him. Although he was a heretic, he highly respected the idea of reciprocity.
But the young emperor sitting on the main seat was still smiling foolishly, completely unaware of the sharp blade hidden in Xie Shiguan's smiling eyes.
"Uncle," after drinking, the little emperor, who had just felt a little strange with Prince Yan, became friendly with him again, "The palace is so boring. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have anything to say to them."
He felt a little aggrieved and lowered his voice deliberately, acting like a spoiled child.
Xie Shiguan smiled, as if he took his words to heart: "There is nothing to say to the eunuchs. Your Majesty can just summon some concubines to accompany you. The ones you selected last spring are all in their blooming years. How can Your Majesty let them stay alone in their empty rooms every day?"
The little emperor curled his lips and said, "I don't want it. They don't even dare to raise their heads when they see me. It's so boring."
"Your Majesty, if you go there more often and become familiar with them, they will naturally not be afraid anymore," Xie Shiguan asked him patiently, "They are all ladies from wealthy families, and they can write poems and lyrics. How can they not be interesting?"
The young emperor stopped talking, his eyes falling on the mute guard beside Prince Yan. The last time he saw him, the mute was kneeling trembling in fear in the hall. At a glance, he had an ordinary face, at most handsome.
But when he saw him again today, he found that this man had an indescribable temperament. His face looked ordinary at first glance, but if you tasted it carefully, you could taste some unique charm.
This mute is a very popular person, and he follows King Yan around every day...
His Majesty felt unhappy when he thought of Xie Shiguan disobeying him for such a lowly thing.
"I asked An Fengde to prepare some gifts when I came here," the little emperor's eyes swept over Shen Que intentionally or unintentionally, "Shen just ordered someone to carry them to the outer hall, but I thought in my heart that I should move them over to ask the emperor's uncle to take a look and see if this old man is paying attention to his work."
After that, his eyes fell directly on Shen Que: “You are someone close to the emperor’s uncle, so you must be the most careful in doing things - go and carry the gift from the front hall.”
Shen was suddenly called upon, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly accepted the order.
Xie Shiguan saw at a glance that he was intentionally picking on Chen Que, so he tilted his head to look at Chen Que and casually said, "Find more people to carry it, and you just keep an eye on it."
When the young emperor heard that he was trying to defend her, he felt as uncomfortable as sand in a river clam. He immediately said, "Among the things bestowed by the emperor, there are treasures that are worth thousands of gold. If those clumsy people knocked them over or broke them, wouldn't that be a betrayal of my heart?"
Having said this, he paused for a moment and looked at Chen Que with a squint. After all, he was the emperor who had been highly praised since childhood. When his eyes turned cold, there was still a sense of sternness in them, as if he was in danger without being angry.
"The Emperor's uncle is a trustworthy person, so I can rest assured that the gift will be given to him alone."
After Chen Que left, Xie Shiguan spoke calmly, "Your Majesty, why bother? I am just a lowly servant. How can I deserve your attention?"
Xie Yizi picked up an ivory arrow and threw it at the chip bowl not far away as if to vent his anger. It hit the edge of the bowl but missed.
When he spoke, he sounded a little annoyed and a little sour, but he was also honest: "He doesn't suit my taste. It makes me angry just by looking at him."
He paused for a moment, then asked again: "Since you are just a lowly servant, what's wrong with me teasing you? Could it be that the emperor's uncle is distressed?"
Xie Shiguan did not comment, but asked Wuhua to put a salted sour plum in his wine glass so that he could taste it carefully.
When the little emperor thought he would not answer again, he suddenly said, "I am heartbroken, and it hurts a lot. Your Majesty, please forgive him for my sake."
The emperor was slightly startled. It was always hard to tell whether Xie Shiguan was telling the truth or not when he spoke. But when he admitted it so frankly, it sounded more like a joke or a roundabout way of teasing him.
The author has something to say:
Tomorrow, I will definitely update twice a day.
After reading the comments, I found that some people want to watch the plot of running with the ball not to see the abuse of the attacker, but just to see Shen being caught and then being treated like this and that, so cruel (pointing) (gesturing)
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