Three quarters past noon.
Prince Yan returned to his palace after the morning court session. As soon as he got off the sedan chair, he looked a little tired. He tilted his head slightly and told Chen Que beside him: "A Que, I want to eat the wonton stew you bought last time."
Shen nodded his head to accept the order, and walked back and forth quickly, fearing that if he was delayed, the prince would be unhappy, so he did not dare to stop for even a moment on the way.
When he came back, his cheeks were flushed, his body was slightly sweaty, and he was breathing quietly. He put the food box gently on the table in the side hall, then opened it and took a closer look.
Seeing that the porcelain bowl was safe and sound, without any soup spilled, Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, closed the food box, and went outside to look for Xie Shiguan.
As soon as he walked under the eaves, he saw the figure of the prince. In addition to Xie Shiguan, there was also a little baby about two or three years old in the yard. The kid's face was dirty, with a sugar stain on the left side of his mouth and a gray mark on the right.
The baby stared blankly at Xie Shiguan, and then the latter suddenly laughed and coaxed gently and patiently: "Show me the string of candies in your hand, okay?"
The boy probably believed him because he was well-dressed and noble in his appearance and he passed the candy string to the prince. The prince's fat and short fingers loosened their grip, but the prince did not take it at all and let the candy string roll on the ground, covered with dust.
The baby was stunned at first, then his mouth pursed, his face wrinkled and he started crying loudly.
Seeing him crying, Xie Shiguan laughed instead, with a mischievous look of gloating on his face: "You didn't hold it firmly, why are you crying?"
"It's so ugly," the prince frowned, and seeing that he was about to lie down and roll on the ground, he threatened him again, "If you cry again, I will dig out your eyes, string them on wooden sticks, and coat them with syrup to make a string of candied eyes."
The boy was ignorant and was really frightened by his words. He stopped crying immediately, his eyes were full of tears, and he burped towards the prince.
She cried and said, "No, don't dig out my eyes, I don't want a string of human eye candies..."
Shen couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he trotted over, bowed to the prince first, then squatted down, picked up the kid, and patted him on the back gently.
This baby is the second son of the Ge Zheng family. He used to live in the outer mansion, but today, somehow, he managed to sneak into the inner mansion.
The kid knew Chen Que and hid in his arms, calling him "Uncle Shen Er" all the time. With an adult backing him up, the kid started crying again, even louder than before.
The prince doesn't like children, especially noisy and not very pretty babies, so even though he was the one who made the child cry, His Highness didn't show any apology on his face.
"Whose ugly boy is this?" Xie Shiguan raised an eyebrow, playing with the phrase 'Uncle Shen Er' in his mind, and then smiled at Shen Que, "Do you know him?"
Shen was busy coaxing the child and couldn't raise his hands to gesture, so his face showed a bit of urgency, he opened his lips and shaped his mouth: "Ge Zheng."
The prince couldn't remember the owner of the name he mentioned at all. He walked around behind him to look at the kid and commented hurtfully: "This kid was born so casually, I guess he can't be that handsome."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ge Zheng came over after hearing the noise. When he saw his son, he patted him on the buttocks lightly and taught him a lesson with a cold face: "You unruly bastard, your grandfather has warned you many times not to come to this inner palace. Don't you have ears?"
Xie Shiguan glanced at him, as if he had seen something funny, and chuckled for no reason.
Ge Zheng couldn't help but tremble under the prince's smiling eyes. He took a few steps forward and looked at Xie Shiguan earnestly. He rubbed his hands under his body and looked panicked: "Your Highness, my son is young and ignorant. It's all because of me who didn't keep a close eye on him that he got into the inner palace..."
He paused, as if it was very difficult to speak in front of Xie Shiguan. The eight-foot-tall man didn't even dare to raise his eyes, and his whole body was twisted: "I offended Your Highness, and I accept the blame and punishment. I just hope Your Highness will not hold it against me."
Xie Shiguan smiled, as if he was sympathetic to him: "As a boy, it's normal for him to be a little noisy. I'm an adult, why would I bother with a child?
Ge Zheng smiled apologetically and was about to thank him, but he heard Xie Shiguan pause suddenly and then said, "But since you didn't supervise him well, I can't help but punish you. You don't have to collect your salary this month. And you can buy less candy for the child. If he eats too much, he might get cavities."
At this point, the prince curved his eyebrows and asked him, "What do you think?"
How could Ge Zheng dare to say no? He was fined one month's salary, but he still had to express his gratitude, thanking the prince for his magnanimity.
The baby he carried under his armpit didn't know that he might not be able to eat the candy string this year.
The instigator turned around, yawned lazily, and ordered Chen Que: "Go inside and light the incense for me and spread the mattress."
Shen Que took a step forward and raised his hand to gesture: "The chicken soup wontons you asked me to buy just now..."
"You eat," Xie Shiguan interrupted him, "I don't have much appetite now."
He always changes his mind every day. He would often say something on a whim and then lose interest the next moment.
Shen was already accustomed to the prince's temper, so he did not say a word of persuasion. He just obediently entered the hall before him, and then lit the incense in the incense burner with ease.
Then he took off his black boots, got on the bed, bent over and began to make the bed for the prince.
Seeing him tidying up in a hurry, Xie Shiguan stood beside the bed and savored the curve of his back with interest: "Aque?"
Shen turned his head and paused, as if waiting for his instructions.
But the next moment, the prince suddenly said something very frivolous: "You followed me to the court before dawn. I'm sure you must be tired by now. Why don't you stay here and sleep with me?"
Shen was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had heard wrongly. His eyes moved, and he looked at the prince's face with fear and trepidation: "I just came back from outside, running around, and my body is dirty. It's not good, it's not good for me to accompany Your Highness..."
Xie Shiguan looked at him with a half-smile in his eyes and said nothing more, as if what he had just said was just nonsense to tease him.
When Chen had made the mattress, he was about to get down, but the prince suddenly sat down on the edge of the bed, blocking his way.
"Your Majesty," Shen raised his hand hastily, his scalp numbing under Xie Shiguan's gaze, "What's wrong?"
He subconsciously glanced at the bed and saw that the bedding and cushions had been smoothed out meticulously by him. At a glance, there was not even a wrinkle.
Seeing Chen's panic-stricken look, with a little tearful light in his eyes, so bright and sparkling, Xie Shiguan began to get anxious again.
He stepped off his boots and handed Chen Que a piece of gold-painted Ruyi paper: "Send it to the Grand Tutor's Mansion later, and be sure to hand it over to the Grand Tutor in person. Go to the kitchen and bring some cakes and pastries. Put the letter on the bottom floor. Don't say too much, just remember to hand it over to him."
Shen nodded, and then, somewhat embarrassedly, knelt down and took a few small steps forward: "Prince, can you please make way?"
Xie Shiguan seemed to have just realized it: "Can't go down? Why didn't you tell me just now?"
Shen blushed, and felt a little ashamed when he asked her this: "I forgot."
Perhaps he was very satisfied with his reaction, so His Highness stepped aside half a step, deliberately leaving only a small gap.
However, Shen did not dare to make any more requests, so he had to turn sideways and rub under the bed little by little. However, he was not that thin, and after rubbing carefully for a long time, he still accidentally rubbed against the prince's arm.
It didn't matter if it was rubbed against him, but it was still the same position. Shen's face turned even redder. He put on his boots in a panic and ran away.
On the way to the Grand Tutor's Mansion, he happened to pass by a medical clinic, so Shen planned to stop by and take a look.
The absurd guess in his mind could never be concluded, and as a result, he not only couldn't sleep or eat well, but even when he was on duty in front of the prince during the day, he would occasionally become distracted.
So he packed some things, and when he passed the alley outside the mansion, he quietly put on a black gauze hat, and then took off the token from his waist and hid it in his sleeve.
Then he looked back again and didn't see anyone noticing him, so he lowered his head and walked out of the alley.
But he didn't know that at the same time, Yu Kongqing, who was planning to go out to buy paper and pen, lagged behind him. Seeing it was him, he inadvertently paid a few more glances at him, but saw that he was acting furtively, and he couldn't help but become suspicious.
If it was someone else in the mansion, Yu Kongqing would not bother to care, but when he saw it was him, Yu Kongqing immediately forgot about paper and pen and followed quietly.
Many patients who come to the clinic to see a doctor cover their faces and refuse to show their health to others, so it is not unusual for Shen to be dressed like this in this clinic.
A little medicine boy came up to greet him, looked up and asked him, "Sir, are you here to check my pulse or to get medicine?"
Chen raised his hand and placed it on the other hand's pulse point. The sign language was clear and understandable. The little medicine boy immediately understood it and led him into the inner room, shouting, "Master, there is a patient to see. It seems that he has a voice disease."
The old doctor in the room was probably too old and his hearing wasn't very good. He had to wait for the little medicine boy to shout in his ear before he could hear clearly.
"Are you sick?" The old man glared at the medicine boy. "What nonsense are you talking about? If you are not sick, why are you here for no reason?"
The little medicine boy looked at him helplessly. The old man was old, his senior brother was out seeing patients, and the guest happened to be unable to speak, so he looked at Shen Que: "Don't worry, my master is old, but his mind is not confused. I will stay here. If you have anything to say, just gesture to me and I will pass it on to my master for you."
Hearing him say this, Shen became even more worried. With the loud voice of this little medicine boy, he was afraid that the whole street would know about his illness soon.
So he shook his head and gestured twice, meaning that he should go out.
The little medicine boy looked at Chen Que, then at his master, feeling a little embarrassed: "I understand that you don't want me to be here. People who come to see you for difficult and complicated diseases want to have fewer people know about it. But you and my master are one mute and one deaf, how can we communicate?"
"Get out, get out," the old man at the desk waved his hand at him, "Are you talking? Who is deaf? I am not deaf!"
The little medicine boy curled his lips, lifted the curtain and went outside to continue taking care of his business.
After the medicine boy left, the old doctor sat down and asked him to raise his wrist and place it on the pulse pillow.
Feeling his pulse, the old man's expression became more and more strange. He unconsciously looked at Chen Que with his dim eyes, intending to see his face behind the black veil: "May I ask, sir, are you a man or a woman..."
Shen, however, lifted the veil a little, revealing his Adam's apple to him.
"Strange..." The old doctor's voice was trembling, "It's really strange."
"My dear, you look like a man, how, how could you be pregnant?"
This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Shen Que. He raised his hand in disbelief and tapped the pulse again, meaning that he wanted him to diagnose again.
"It can't be wrong," he said, but the old man's hand still reached up and examined him again carefully. "I started to study under a teacher when I was five years old, and became a disciple when I was an adult. Now I have been diagnosing patients on my own for fifty years. Although your pulse is strange, it is a good sign."
Shen was stunned, and for a moment he couldn't even cry.
The old man asked him again: "Recently, Lang..."
At this point he changed his words, not knowing what to call him, so he simply didn't call him: "Are you not sick but seem to be sick, hate the smell of food, or only eat one thing, or vomit a lot of clear water, vomit and feel nauseous, and don't eat anything?"
Hearing that every word he said fit his recent symptoms, Shen Que's heart sank a little, and he nodded lightly.
What should he do?
"According to my pulse, you are less than a month pregnant and there are signs of miscarriage. I will prescribe some warming and nourishing prescriptions for you. Remember to lie down and rest more when you go back," the old doctor wrote quickly on the rice paper with an old goat's hair brush without even looking up. "Avoid eating raw or cold food, and don't have sex before you sit up firmly. Otherwise, your body will be cold and the baby may not sit up firmly."
This was originally a nightmare-like accident, but Chen put his hand on his belly, not expecting the birth of this little life at all. If he lost his balance and slipped, he would be more than happy.
As if he had seen through his thoughts, the old man said in a deep voice: "Your body is different from others. If you miscarry this pregnancy, you may never get pregnant again in this life. Moreover, forcing an abortion will not only harm your body, but it may also leave a root of disease. If it recurs every year, your body will probably be ruined."
The old doctor didn't say much. He reminded him of these two things, which was considered a kind-hearted doctor. As for what choice he would make, it was none of his business.
Some of the patients who came to see him were in their forties or fifties and were desperate to have children, while others were in their teens and asked him to abort their babies regardless of the consequences.
Everyone has his own destiny. He has seen it so many times that he becomes indifferent to it.
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