Late night.
Shen Que had developed a habit of being tormented by the brat these days. He would wake up from time to time at night, and then get up to take a look to the side.
But tonight the kid was sleeping with his wet nurse in the next room. When he woke up, he didn't see Silai, so he could only tuck the corner of the quilt for Xie Shiguan who was beside him in a daze.
His Highness sensed his movements, half-opened his eyes, raised his hand to hook the mute's neck, and stuffed him into the mattress, then mumbled, "Are you still not asleep?"
"It's a rare occasion that the brat is not around..." Xie Shiguan hugged his waist, put his hands into his underwear, and rubbed them to get some warmth, "What are you making a fuss about?"
However, Shen felt itchy and shrank inward unconsciously. He pulled his hand again, asking him to take it away, but His Highness refused to move. Instead, he grabbed his hand and pressed it underneath to warm it.
Although he thought that he would not be here tonight, Shen was not able to sleep well. Xie Shiguan said that he would take care of himself, but he had been busy until midnight. Except for the last step, His Highness did everything else he shouldn't have done.
Just as Shen Que was about to close his eyes, he suddenly heard a low knock on the door, followed by Gu Yu's voice: "Your Highness, the carriage is ready outside."
Xie Shiguan opened his eyes reluctantly, leaned on the mute's neck again, and asked him in a low voice: "What time is it?"
However, Shen was not a clepsydra. He could tell time to His Highness at night without leaving the house. When His Highness moved forward, he would shrink back and then gently shook his head.
Normally, it was not easy for Xie Shiguan to get up after sleeping, but Chen did not dare to urge him, so he had to pick up the outer robe that the prince had taken off at the end of the bed, shook it open, and put it on him like he was coaxing Silai.
However, His Highness was woken up in the middle of his sleep today, but he did not get angry. Instead, he laughed softly as he watched the mute dressing himself clumsily.
However, Shen didn't understand why His Highness was laughing, so he hurriedly changed into a robe for himself, and then gently pushed His Highness to the mirror table and gently tied his hair for him.
Unlike His Highness, he never emits a ray of light when he goes to bed and sleeps very soundly. He is usually the same when he lies down as when he gets up.
But Xie Shiguan couldn't stand him being like this and insisted that he let his long hair down. He liked to see his black hair scattered all over the bed, and when he tilted his neck back, his black hair would fall over his shoulders like thick and shiny ink-colored satin, his hair and skin would be smooth as well.
That was the springtime that only he could enjoy.
Chen Que was quick and in no time he had tied his hair into an ordinary bun for the prince. But when he wanted to tidy up his own hair, the prince stood up and pushed him onto the soft stool in front of the mirror.
"I've told you that I don't want you to serve me anymore from now on," Xie Shiguan leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I'm a man of my word. Even if I get your service, I won't owe you anything..."
Before he finished speaking, the mute struggled to stand up, but His Highness held his shoulders firmly and looked into the bewildered eyes in the mirror with a smile.
"It's my turn to serve you now. You just sit there obediently." Xie Shi looked at the person in the mirror. She had long hair draped over her shoulders, and there was a hint of redness on her plump lips and thin neck.
He liked to see the mute like this, and it would be best if his marks were covered all over his body, making him look "dirty", so that those blind people would not covet him.
His Highness sounded very serious about it, but he had always lived a life of luxury, and had never had to serve others, let alone change his clothes or tie his hair.
During those days in the water town, Shen was bedridden and could not take care of him, so Xie Shiguan had to hold his nose and ask Guyu to tie his hair for him.
But the prince thought that this was not a difficult task. In the past, he saw maids and old women combing their hair. Even if it was a fashionable bun style, they could do it easily. They just tied it up and combed it this way or that. What was so difficult about that?
However, when His Highness took the comb himself, he realized the difference between watching other people's actions and practicing it himself. He pondered over Shen Que's thick long hair for a long time, and finally tied it into an indecent low bun, which looked loose and droopy, as if it would fall apart at any time.
But Xie Shiguan refused to admit that it was his own fault and argued, "Your hair is too slippery and difficult to comb."
But the mute didn't mean to laugh at him or blame him. Instead, he raised his hand and replied, "My hair is indeed difficult to comb..."
"Your Highness, this is your first time to save the situation. It's already very good."
Xie Shiguan knew very well whether the hair was tied well or not. When the mute said this, his heart softened immediately and he wanted to push the mute onto the mirror table and give her a good kiss.
But at this moment, Gu Yu, who was waiting outside, saw that there was no movement inside, so he raised his hand and knocked on the door again: "Your Highness?"
"Your Highness, if you don't move now, it will be dawn soon."
After a while, Xie Shiguan pulled the mute and pushed open the door. Guyu outside the door was startled, and then bowed and said, "The carriage is waiting outside the courtyard gate."
"I understand. This king is not deaf."
Guyu didn't know how he had offended him again, but since His Highness was angry, he had no choice but to accept it.
His Highness walked slowly downstairs, and Guyu followed behind the two of them. When the door opened just now, he noticed Chen Que. In the past, the mute guard's hair was always combed meticulously. Even when he had a fever, it was only a few strands of hair that were messed up. Why was it that today...
It turned out like this?
When they got downstairs, Guyu couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Master Shen, is it too late to tie up your hair?"
He was asking Chen Que, but it was His Highness who turned around and glared at him. It would have been fine if he just glared at him, but he also scolded him, "Why are you talking so much?"
So Guyu had no choice but to lower his head and pretend to be dumb.
It was still dark outside, and His Royal Highness Prince Yan left as soon as he said he would. The postmaster, who had already gone to bed, and his men, without even putting on their boots, hurriedly ran out to greet him.
"Your Highness, why are you leaving now? Why didn't the servants inform me in advance? I am left with nothing to prepare. It's so disrespectful. Isn't this unjust?"
He didn't dare to blame this big shot out loud, so he had to blame the people around him in a roundabout way.
But Xie Shiguan looked down at him and said, "When shall I leave? Do I need to let you know?"
The postmaster's legs went limp, and he immediately knelt down: "How dare I? That's not my intention. It's just that Your Highness is so precious and noble, and I didn't serve you well when you came. You should at least lead people to see you off when you leave."
Xie Shiguan did not answer, but just laughed, and his laughter made the person kneeling at his feet feel terrified.
"Yes," after a long while, the postmaster heard him say, "This matter is your fault for negligence, but I am kind-hearted and I see that you are an old man, so I don't want to punish you. But why do you deliberately come to my side to get in my way?"
The postmaster almost bowed his head to the ground: "Your humble servant, your humble servant..."
Before he could finish, His Highness stepped on the back of his head, forcing his forehead and nose to hit the brick floor unexpectedly.
The pair of dark blue satin boots on His Royal Highness Prince Yan's feet were polished to a shine, and the soles were not dirty, but being humiliated like this in front of all the postmen was more painful than being beaten with a stick by the postmaster.
The tip of his nose collided with the cold stone bricks, and a line of warmth was felt. The postmaster hunched his back, prostrated himself, and tears fell from his eyes: "I should be punished, I should be punished!"
There was really no point in humiliating this old man with half white hair and beard. Xie Shiguan showed little interest and put away his foot: "You are in a good position to sleep. I understand that you are so busy running around, so I will allow you to lie down here until dawn. How about that?"
How could the postmaster be dissatisfied? He kowtowed repeatedly, making loud "dong dong" sounds on the blue bricks: "I thank your Highness for the reward, I thank your Highness..."
By the time he was helped up by the postmen on his left and right, King Yan and his men had already left. The blood on the tip of his nose and the corners of his lips had already dried, and there was a bruise on his forehead. He looked extremely miserable.
The postmaster gritted his teeth and took the handkerchief handed to him by the postman beside him: "Have you notified them?"
"I was informed last night, so they should have been waiting there earlier. But King Yan left in such a hurry that the plan was messed up. Now it's too late to deliver the message. Do you think we should release a cold flame to remind them to prepare early?"
"Release it," the postmaster urged, "release it quickly!"
"How dare a young bastard like you to be so arrogant? He doesn't even know whose territory he is in. Does he really think that the whole world belongs to his Prince Yan's Mansion?" He rubbed the dried blood under his nose and sneered, "Once we are in Jinling City, even if it's Xie Ling, he won't be able to leave alive."
As soon as he turned around, the postmen helped him walk inside.
"The show is about to begin," he said with a smile, "We just need to prick up our ears and listen. When these big men get promoted, it will be a grand event, but when they fall, it will only be a loud bang in an instant."
"Your Highness," Xiaoman reported in a low voice, "They secretly added something to the horse feed at night."
As he said this, he took out a thin blade of grass from his sleeve. Shen recognized this grass, so he wrote three words on the palm of His Highness's hand.
"Drunken Horse Grass?" Xie Shiguan had never heard of it before, and there was some hesitation in his voice, "What is it?"
These days, Chen Que followed Tao Yiru into the mountains to collect and dry herbs, and learned a lot of herbs that they couldn't find here. It was said that the dry goods in Tao Yiru's medicine cabinet were bought from Xichuan.
"This grass is extremely poisonous to sheep, horses and other domestic animals," Xiaoman had obviously done some research before, and explained in a straightforward manner, "When horses eat it by mistake, they become drunk and agitated, running or staggering until they are exhausted, and finally collapse to the ground, foaming at the mouth and dying."
"Perhaps they are afraid that our horses will not be able to go on the road tomorrow and arouse His Highness' suspicion, so they only mixed some of it into the horse feed. If it weren't for a careful inspection, it would be difficult to detect. Just now in the middle of the night, I had already fed these horses some herbal warm water to induce them to vomit. Now the horses are just a little lethargic, and there is nothing else wrong with them."
At the same time, Gu Yu, who was driving in front, stopped his horse and hurriedly came in to report: "Your Highness, there are some messy footprints on the road ahead. They don't look like ordinary caravans, nor do they look like official baggage caravans."
“Can you tell how many people there are?”
Guyu pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "It's too chaotic, I'm not sure where to go next."
"There is a mountain road not far ahead. It is the only way to leave the city. Even if we want to change to water transportation, we must pass through there."
Xie Shiguan seemed to have expected this, so he did not hesitate and made a decisive decision: "Abandon the rook first."
"Guyu, you ride your horse to the west and meet Shen Xiangzhi outside the city. Xiaoman, you take the young master back the same way and send the kid to the wet nurse's house quietly."
Shen Que was panicked when he heard this, and unconsciously grabbed His Highness' wrist. Xie Shiguan seemed to have just remembered him: "What about you, do you want to go with me, or go back with that kid?"
The incident happened too suddenly, and Shen was still a little confused for a while. He didn't respond immediately, so Xie Shiguan thought he was afraid, so he said: "Don't be afraid, they want my life, that kid has not shown his face in front of people, no one will guess his identity, as for you..."
Chen Que had disappeared from public view for almost a whole year. No one would have expected that Prince Yan had secretly traveled south this time just to capture the mute and bring him back to his palace. In the eyes of those people, Chen Que might have been executed by Prince Yan long ago. Therefore, if he followed Si Lai and hid in a civilian's home, he would surely be safe.
He knew these words even without the prince saying them explicitly.
"What about His Highness?" The mute looked at him, his eyes filled with anxiety. "Where is His Highness going?"
"Jinling City is the home of the Miao Party. There are branches of the Miao Party all over the city, and they are in collusion with each other. We can't stay in the city any longer," Xie Shiguan said lightly. At this point, he smiled again and ordered, "Xiaoman, take Lord Shen and the young master back."
Shen Que was unwilling to do so, and held his wrist tightly: "I will go with Your Highness."
"Your leg is still injured. Following me will only be of no help to me. You will only be a burden." Xie Shiguan cracked his knuckles one by one. "Be obedient, Aque."
The dumb man's eyes turned red, and he looked at him stubbornly, saying, "I am with Your Highness."
Xie Shiguan didn't want him to follow him at all, he just wanted to trick him with this look. Just this one look was enough.
But no matter how the mute struggled, His Highness still tied his hands and feet tightly, and threw him into the small carriage at the back, where the wet nurse and Si Lai were placed. Seeing him thrown in with his hands and feet tied, the wet nurse who was holding Si Lai stared with her eyes wide open in confusion, but did not dare to scream.
I also heard the prince outside telling Xiaoman, "Take off this mask, change the curtain outside, and go back through the small road. If anyone asks you, say you are in Nanjing to visit your relatives. If they ask you where your home is, tell them where the woman's house is."
Xiaoman nodded immediately: "Yes."
Chen was almost going crazy, but he was mute. He stretched his neck and opened his lips desperately, trying to scream, but the wet nurse just held Si Lai and shrank into the corner.
The scimitar he was carrying had just been confiscated by His Highness. Now he had no other sharp weapon on him, so he had no choice but to target the copper hairpin in the nurse's bun.
"Help," he lip-shaped vigorously, "help me."
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