The little emperor had indeed given him a lot of rewards. Since he had been asked to do all the work himself, he did not dare to ask anyone else to do it, so he had to move the things back and forth one by one.
Fortunately, the outer hall was not too far from the main hall, and the boxes were mostly filled with paintings and silks, so they were not very heavy.
It's just that Chen Que had been in an abnormal state in recent days, and running around to move boxes made the nausea in his stomach become more and more intense. When it came to the last few boxes of jewels, gold and silver, Chen Que almost gritted his teeth to carry them.
Anyone with eyes could see that he looked unhappy.
"I just carried these things." The little emperor looked Shen Que up and down, looking quite surprised. "How come he is so weak? Uncle Emperor - the guards in your house, are they all treated like concubines?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Shiguan also glanced at the mute. Normally, even if the workload was multiplied several times, Shen could still do it very well. He must be having a hard time today.
"Go back to the courtyard and rest," Xie Shiguan said calmly, "and ask the servant in the courtyard to invite a doctor to prescribe some warming and nourishing medicine for you to take."
The little emperor looked at him when he heard this: "I am just a servant, but your uncle cares about me so much."
Xie Shiguan couldn't say that he was tormented by himself, but when he spoke, he was also straightforward and frank: "The guards in this palace were all selected by me personally, so I should be concerned about them. Besides, he was beaten by the uncle in prison, and now he has a chronic disease, so it is inevitable that his body is weak, and it is not his pretense."
After hearing this, the little emperor fell silent immediately. He felt guilty about this matter, but it was not because of the beating Shen Que received in prison for no reason. The life of this lowly person was worthless, and even his death would not matter.
But the bad thing was that this mute was the confidant and right-hand man of King Yan, and it was his uncle who started the fire. Xie Shiguan ignored him for two months, and he felt guilty for two months.
So he stopped pestering the mute, turned a blind eye to the mute, and let him go.
The king and his minister talked for a while, and suddenly someone came forward to toast. Xie Shiguan raised his eyelids and saw Yu Kongqing with smiling eyes.
He was dressed very simply today, without any makeup on his face. His complexion was very white and clean, but not at all eye-catching. He was a gentle and handsome man.
The little emperor looked at him a few more times, and then seemed to finally recognize him: "You are..."
"I am Yu Kongqing, a top scholar at the age of four," he said, eager to show off. "I am a student of Master Man, and have admired Your Majesty for a long time. Today I am blessed to see Your Majesty again. I am very excited. If I have behaved inappropriately, please forgive me."
"It's been four years," the little emperor said with some emotion, "I remember you. You are a good writer and a handsome man."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind," he said modestly, with his head slightly lowered, "I am a student with little knowledge and can only write mediocre articles. I am unworthy of being your disciple, and I am not half as talented as your Majesty."
The little emperor tilted his head to look at Xie Shiguan and said, "How come such a good candidate for an official position is hidden in the palace as a guest by the emperor's uncle?"
He seemed to have forgotten that he had looked down on him and deliberately did not give him an official position, forcing him to waste his time in the Kyoto post house.
Xie Shiguan was drinking and watching the two men singing the same tune. He found it quite interesting. He said with a smile, "It's not hidden at all. The pearl is right there in the open. You just can't see it clearly."
"It is my fault that my pearl has been buried in the dust," Xie Yizhi said, "Why don't you let your uncle bear the pain and let Kong Qing come to my side to be a compiler in the Imperial Academy? This way, it won't be considered a disgrace to his talent."
Xie Shiguan just smiled without saying anything, his eyes lightly fell on Yu Kongqing with a hint of intriguing mockery.
The banquet was about to end. It was dusk and the sky was getting dark. The dark green mountains in the distance were supported by a layer of orange-gold halo, and the afterglow of the setting sun stretched out for a long time.
Xie Shiguan ordered people to set off a few fireworks in the main courtyard to see the guests off.
Everyone looked up to see the fireworks, but Shen Xiangzhi went against the flow of people, stepped onto the eaves, slowly walked in front of Yu Kongqing, and then gave him a cold look: "Your Highness, please go over."
Yu Kongqing's heart tightened, and he hurriedly followed him, asking in a low voice: "I wonder why the prince is anxious to find Kongqing, can Commander Shen give me some advice?"
Without even turning his head, Shen Xiangzhi said in a businesslike manner, "You'll know when you get there, young master."
Yu Kongqing immediately became nervous. When he stepped into Prince Yan's bedroom again, he no longer had the hope and longing he had before. He was only filled with uncontrollable fear and panic.
Inside the hall, Xie Shiguan was standing upright by the window with his hands behind his back, holding an open black gold folding fan in his hand. He was dressed in a scarlet auspicious robe and a jade crown on his head that was of exquisite craftsmanship. He was unrestrained in his elegance and was so flamboyant. At first glance, he was truly a unique figure in the world.
But it was this otherworldly back that made Yu Kongqing feel heartbroken for no reason.
Yu Kongqing didn't dare to say anything, but the man put away his folding fan and slowly turned around. His legs went limp and he knelt down hurriedly: "Your Highness..."
"Are you here?" Xie Shiguan lowered his eyes and looked at him with a smile.
"Yes," he did not dare to look directly at him, so he could only lower his head to look at the pair of black boots on Xie Shiguan's feet and answered in a low voice, "I wonder why His Highness is looking for Kong Qing?"
The prince didn't want to argue with him and went straight to the point: "When did you get close to Xie Feng?"
Xie Feng is the emperor's name, and his subjects did not dare to call him that even in private. Therefore, Yu Kongqing was stunned for a long time before he finally realized who the prince was talking about.
"I don't know why Your Highness said that," Yu Kongqing gritted his teeth and bowed, "Kongqing doesn't have that kind of ability. Even if he does, he definitely doesn't have that kind of courage. Your Highness, Kongqing is innocent!"
"Unfair?" Xie Shiguan probably thought it was funny. He took a step forward and approached him. "Xie Feng's mind has never been on government affairs. He may not even know the names of the officials in office in the court. How could he recognize you?"
Yu Kongqing's heart was beating like a drum, and he wanted to argue: "Kongqing doesn't know, maybe your majesty accidentally noticed it, and it's not necessarily that he recognized Kongqing's face..."
Xie Shiguan smiled coldly, but his voice was gentle: "Is that so."
But just as he finished his words, the black boot was suddenly raised and pressed down on Yu Kongqing's face. The latter's body tilted and he fell to the ground.
His eyes were immediately filled with tears of humiliation, and half of his snow-white cheek was covered with shoe prints.
At the age of 27, he won the title of third place in the imperial examination. He was very proud of himself and enjoyed great success. Later, he became an aide to Prince Yan in his residence. Although he was one step behind, he was still highly praised by others.
He is a scholar, ranked third in the first class, and is a master of picking flowers in the apricot forest. What an honor! Why is he being humiliated by these people? He is unwilling to accept this!
"In the first month of early spring, in the middle of the night, a farmer from the countryside was enjoying himself in a pleasure boat when he accidentally fell into the lake and drowned," Xie Shiguan suddenly said without any context. "That man was called Jiang Shaoxiong. Do you know him?"
Yu Kongqing's eyelashes trembled slightly. It was clear that this happened more than a month ago, and Xie Shiguan suddenly brought it up, making him at a loss.
"Why don't you speak?" the prince asked again.
He avoided his gaze and answered in a low voice: "No, I don't know him. Kong Qing is a law-abiding person who has always stayed in the mansion. How could he have met such a farmer?"
Xie Shiguan smiled and recited the four words "be content with one's lot" as if to play, and then asked in return: "Do you know that the peasant brought a wife with him when he came to Beijing?"
"She said that the man who sent someone to inform Jiang Guan'er of his whereabouts was a senior official in the palace. When her husband was having sex with him, she saw him from a distance and said that he had a face like a jade crown, wore green clothes, and had a bamboo green jade on his waist."
As he said this, his eyes slowly fell on the jade pendant on Yu Kongqing's waist, and he sighed softly: "How stupid, Kongqing."
Yu Kongqing knew that he could no longer argue, his hands and feet went limp, and his whole body began to tremble.
"Yes," he admitted it simply, "I sent someone to find Jiang Shaoxiong. I just don't want Shen Que to have an easy time."
He hated Shen Que so much.
Four years ago, he was just a lowly slave. In Yu Kongqing's mind, the prince punished him because he was extremely powerful and his rank was higher than his. It was natural for him to be blamed and punished.
But Shen was just a slave at that time, so what right did he have?
The revenge for the acupuncture that day was the deepest shame in his life.
However, if An Fengde had not often come to the palace to deliver memorials during those days, Yu Kongqing would not have been able to get in touch with the little emperor, and he probably would not have thought of taking the trouble and time to harm Shen Que.
"But Your Highness," Yu Kongqing raised his head, tears streaming down his face, "But what have I done wrong? I just wanted to be an official. I studied hard for twenty years, but I could only achieve a flash in the pan."
“Epiphyllums have many more chances to bloom, but if I don’t fight, I will never have a chance to bloom again in this life.”
Xie Shiguan didn't care about their childish intrigues, but it was useless for a mere Jiang Shaoxiong to cause trouble in front of him.
He originally didn't want to expose it. The prince never wanted to get involved in these petty quarrels.
What really made Xie Shiguan angry was that Yu Kongqing dared to have private dealings with Xie Yizi under his nose, and even dared to bypass him, his master, and ask for an official position from the emperor, dreaming of rising to the top.
He can get in touch with An Fengde, and one day, he might even collude with the Mu Party.
Yu Kongqing can no longer stay.
"You do have a point," Xie Shiguan seemed to be able to empathize with him and stretched out his hand to support him. "As for the editor of the Hanlin Academy, go ahead and do it. But next time, don't be so childish. We are working in the palace together, so we should support each other. You are adults in your thirties, so don't act foolishly anymore."
The prince's words were almost too tolerant. Yu Kongqing stood up, tears still on his face and wet eyes: "Your Highness..."
Xie Shiguan looked at him calmly, as if he was just teaching a child who had made a mistake and had no intention of punishing him severely.
Yu Kongqing suddenly felt extremely ashamed. He was about to say something, but was interrupted by the prince: "It's getting late, let's go back first."
Since His Highness had spoken, he had no choice but to stay any longer and left the palace in a daze. Before leaving, he remembered to wipe the tears and dirt off his face with his sleeves.
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There is another chapter at 7pm~
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