Xie Shiguan dreamed of Shen Que.
In the noisy market, he saw a dark and thin boy with tattered clothes and messy black hair. The only thing he had was a pair of black and shiny almond-shaped eyes that were furry, like some small animal.
He looked very thirsty, his lips were dry, his wrists were tied behind his back, and he was probably tired of standing, so he was squatting helplessly beside a pillar to rest.
Xie Shiguan walked towards him, then squatted down and looked at him curiously.
The human trafficker who was watching the child couldn't help but feel happy when he saw someone coming. He looked at the silk and satin he was wearing, and the many servants around him, even the servants were wearing fine materials.
The man immediately went up to him flatteringly and asked, "Young Master, are you interested in any?"
Xie Shiguan didn't say anything, so the trafficker continued, "This little slave is very obedient and honest, and he is in good health. If you buy him back as a playmate, whether you use him as a horse to ride or as a target, I guarantee he won't say a word."
"If he is a servant, he can do it. Children don't eat much, so they can only survive on two grains of leftovers. They do as much work as adults."
Xie Shiguan didn't know whether the child was listening to him or not. He reached out his hand and touched the child's fluffy eyelashes, and the child immediately closed his eyes.
"What's your name?" a childish voice.
At that time, he was not yet the regent who later became capable of making changes at will and covering the sky with one hand. He was just an ignorant child, about the same height as the timid child squatting on the ground.
When the child heard him speak, he was stunned at first and then shook his head.
The trafficker next to him said immediately, "Young man, he is a mute. Although he cannot speak, he is very smart. If you really want it, I can give you a 50% discount. How about five taels of silver?"
At this time, Shen Xiangzhi also spoke: “Dumb?”
"Mute, but not deaf!" The man hurriedly explained, "He can hear but not speak, so he doesn't have to gossip about the nobles behind their backs. In a family like yours, he might be more useful than a healthy person!"
Hearing their conversation, the little slave opened his eyes again. He was extremely hungry and stared timidly at the paper bag of Sanzi in Xie Shiguan's hand. His throat rolled as if he was secretly swallowing saliva.
Xie Shiguan saw it and generously handed the paper bag forward: "Want it?"
The little mute nodded timidly.
"Here." This was what Xie Shiguan had just bought at the stall. He was just curious, so after taking a bite and tasting it, he didn't want to eat it anymore, so he gave it generously.
The little mute took it, but only took one and handed the paper bag back to him.
Xie Shiguan didn't answer. He just stood up, looked down at him, and said casually: "From now on, you can call me Xie the Mute."
Shen Xiangzhi panicked: “Your Highness, Xie is the royal surname, you can’t give him rewards at will.”
Xie Shiguan frowned and said impatiently: "Then I'll take your last name, Shen..."
"Just sink in."
"Chenque, Chenque," Xie Shiguan repeated it twice, feeling that this was a good name, easy to pronounce, and his mood also improved. "Come back with me, and I will give you as much food as you want."
The second time Xie Shiguan ran into him was in the Chongtai Courtyard where the guards lived. A group of half-grown children pinned a little man to the ground and clamored to strip him of his clothes.
Someone suddenly shouted "Little Prince", and the group of children stood up in unison. The dirty boy on the ground immediately broke free and hurriedly hid behind him.
"What are you doing?"
A sturdy child stood up and said, "Your Highness, he doesn't like to be clean!"
Xie Shiguan didn't have to go to school today and didn't need to go to the palace, so he patiently listened to the child's story.
It turned out that all the kids liked to go to the bathhouse together after dinner, except this little mute who didn't like to be sociable. At night, the kids slept on a big bunk bed, but this kid didn't go to the bed. He slept on the floor alone with his quilt in his arms.
The children thought that since he was so shy and afraid of being seen, could he be a girl? So they started to make a fuss and wanted to strip him of his clothes to see if he was a girl.
After Xie Shiguan heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little amused. He turned around and looked at the dirty child and asked, "Little mute, why don't you want to go with them?"
The mute looked at him warily, staring at him with his bright black eyes, like a puppy abandoned on the roadside.
Suddenly he noticed a piece of dry grass stuck in his hair. Xie Shiguan hated things that were messy and ugly the most in his life, and he felt that the dry grass had tarnished the little mute's beautiful eyes, so he subconsciously reached out to pick it.
This was a serious matter. The little mute probably thought that he was going to take off his clothes too, so he pounced on Xie Shiguan and bit his palm.
Xie Shiguan was stunned, and the guards around him were also confused.
After they realized what was happening, several older kids immediately rushed over and pulled the crazy little mute away from Xie Shiguan's hands.
Xie Shiguan looked down at the tooth marks on his palm and a prickly red wound on the back of his hand.
The young guards called him "young prince" and asked him nervously, "Does it hurt? Are you okay?"
Xie Shiguan immediately felt pain and was filled with anger. No one had ever dared to treat him like this since he was a child. Even the parrot, the most favored one in front of the emperor in the palace, could only flatter him.
How dare this mute slave? !
Unexpectedly, Xie Shiguan stepped over and kicked the little mute in the heart.
The little mute's eyes turned white and he couldn't hold on for even a moment before he fainted.
Later, Shen Xiangzhi arrived, poured a basin of water on the little mute to wake him up, and whipped him ten times without mercy. In less than half an hour, he fainted again.
After his hand was bandaged, it didn't hurt so much. Xie Shiguan's anger gradually subsided, and he left a message: "If you are still alive tomorrow, send you to Lansheng Courtyard and serve me personally."
The little mute was tough. He was kicked in the heart and whipped ten times with great force. He was unconscious for the whole night, but who would have thought that he opened his eyes when the sun rose the next day, and half-deadly asked Shen Xiangzhi for water.
From then on, the little mute bid farewell to the big dormitory bed in Chongtaiyuan and had his own small courtyard.
The dumb grew up quickly, growing like a willow bud. His clothes and hair were neat and clean, and he was not as dark as he was when he was a child. However, he was still thin and liked to keep his head down timidly.
From the time Xie Shiguan became a prince to the time when he became the regent, Shen Que had always been his personal bodyguard. His presence was indispensable in his daily life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, winning over officials, and setting up banquets for guests.
That day, Shen came again with a sedan chair with bells hanging down.
Everyone in the capital city knows that the regent of the dynasty does not like gentle women, but only prefers beautiful girls with nice mouths and short hair.
Many officials in Beijing used various excuses to send male prostitutes to the palace, but unfortunately the prince had very high standards and would not reject everyone. He wanted them to be pretty, well-behaved, gentle, and obedient, and to be good at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Even if all these are met, he may not be satisfied. After a few times of lingering on the couch, he would get bored.
He was truly heartless. He did not keep male paramours or take concubines. He only allowed people into the palace when he summoned him, and would send them back before dawn. Even if someone behaved in a way that pleased him, he would not allow them to stay overnight in the palace.
Xie Shiguan didn't remember who he had summoned, so when the sedan chair stopped in front of him, he looked at Chen Que with some confusion.
Shen Que stepped forward and signed: "Your Highness, the person has been brought here."
"Who is coming?" asked the prince.
"Your Highness, go and see for yourself."
Xie Shiguan walked past him suspiciously, and then lifted the curtain of the sedan chair - it was empty inside, clearly no one was there.
He turned back again, somewhat angrily: "Where are the people?"
Shen smiled contrary to his usual behavior, and that smile was extremely light, with a crescent-shaped dimple slightly sunken on his left cheek, and then he walked up slowly and hugged him intimately: "Here."
He rested his chin on the prince's shoulder and whispered, "Your Highness summoned me today, have you forgotten?"
"You..." Xie Shiguan took a step back, then pinched his chin and squeezed it hard as if he wanted to crush him.
Wait, isn't Shen Que... a mute?
Xie Shiguan was rarely stunned, and then he realized the absurdity of the dream. He opened his eyes and woke up quietly.
He seldom dreams, let alone being in a deep sleep throughout the whole dream. This was the first time in more than ten years.
What's even more ridiculous is that he actually had desires for this inconspicuous mute...
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