Half an hour after feeding, His Highness would take a bath as usual, but Shen Que's habit was to wash his body before going to bed. He always felt that he could sleep better if he warmed his feet before going to bed.
Xie Shiguan didn't care about his habits. He pulled the dumb man's wrist and walked to the bathhouse in the back hall, saying in a nice way, "There is a whole pool of hot spring bath. If only this prince uses it, wouldn't it be a pity?"
"You have always been a very frugal person. How could you tolerate such extravagance?"
Shen Que was smarter now. He raised his hand and argued slowly, "Your Highness is a prince, and the most powerful official among the officials. It is reasonable for him to be a little extravagant..."
But if someone didn't want to listen, Xie Shiguan would always pretend not to see it and dragged the mute to the edge of the pool. In the cold winter, the hot water in the pool was steaming and emitting mist.
Chen did not dare to stand by the pool, but kept retreating secretly. He was afraid of water. In the past, he was just timid, but since he fell into the river last time and escaped death in the river, Shen became even more afraid. Even though he knew that the water in the pool was shallow, only up to a person's chest, he could not help but feel scared.
So he struggled to free his wrist from Xie Shiguan's hand, and then said in a humble manner: "I am serving up there, so I won't go down."
"When did I ask you to serve me?" Xie Shiguan said in a very authoritative manner, "Come down together."
But the mute subconsciously bent his knees, trying to squat down, and looked up at him pitifully: "Please..."
Xie Shiguan caught a glimpse of the fear in his eyes, and then he remembered that on the Huai'an River, the mute had jumped across the river without knowing his own life. She was even pregnant at the time, but he had the courage to jump into the cold river with his eyes closed.
"Are you scared now?" His Highness said sarcastically, "Why didn't you think more before you jumped?"
If the man had been caught at the bank at that time, the mute would not have suffered all that pain, and he would not have to endure the pain of longing and anticipation day and night.
"Isn't this asking for trouble?"
Although he said this, it was obvious that Xie Shiguan still felt distressed when he saw the mute was afraid. The water in the river was very fast-flowing, and there were whirlpools in the middle of the river. Every year, countless sailors and merchants died in the canal.
The mute was not entangled by the water plants, nor did he hit the rugged rocks, and he was able to escape death and save his life. He is considered to be very lucky.
"Last time I asked you to soak in that tub, weren't you afraid?" Xie Shiguan held the back of his head and coaxed him in a low voice, "How about this, I'll go down with you, you just need to hold me, and I'll help you bathe, okay?"
But Shen did not respond to him, so His Highness went ahead and carried him horizontally. He had asked the maids to take off his outer garment at the outer curtain. The mute cooperated at first, but when he was stripped down to only his underwear, he blushed and grabbed the waistband of his pants and refused to be touched.
Xie Shi looked at his appearance and thought that he was adorably reserved. He did not want to embarrass him, so he waved his hand and told the young maids to leave.
"Are you so afraid of being seen?" His Highness pretended to be ignorant and mocked him, "They are just maids and servants, no different from the porcelain vases in this room. What's there to be afraid of?"
But the mute lowered his head and said with difficulty: "If they saw it, they would be scared."
"What are you talking about?" Xie Shiguan felt extremely upset when he heard him say this, as if a sharp awl was chiseling at his heart. "I have also seen it. Have you ever seen me being frightened?"
But Shen was too embarrassed to answer. His Highness had forced him to show it to him. How could it be the same? He had always thought that Xie Shiguan, a man with a jade-like appearance, should be a gentleman. How could he be so shameless and lustful...
The bath was just the right temperature. Xie Shiguan held him and walked slowly down the stairs. The mute wanted to struggle and walk by himself, but he was very afraid of water. So after hesitating back and forth, he just clung to the prince's neck.
His Highness supported his back and pressed his forehead against his. The hot water in the pool scalded the dumb man's shoulders so much that the skin on his shoulders turned red. Xie Shiguan smiled softly and kissed the tip of his nose and eyelids.
"It's not scary, is it?" Xie Shiguan asked him softly, "Pull me, I won't let you fall."
After bathing, His Highness asked the maid to bring him paper, pen and ink, saying that he wanted to paint.
It was the middle of the night, but he asked people to light the candles so brightly. Shen didn't understand what he wanted to paint. His Highness didn't seem to have any special hobbies in calligraphy and painting.
He could paint landscapes, plants and trees, and even feathered animals, birds, fish and insects. Shen had seen them all in his paintings.
He loves the whole house and everything about it. In his eyes, even the calligraphy and paintings that His Highness casually picked up seemed to be coated with a layer of gold and were a thousand times better than Wu Daozi's paintings.
Chen Que pondered over it carefully in his mind again, and suddenly remembered that he seemed to have never seen Xie Shiguan paint portraits or colors, nor had he seen him write poems on his paintings. He often threw the paintings into the charcoal stove and burned them. Chen Que always felt it was a pity when he saw it in the past.
"Come here and grind the ink." After the maid had weighed down the paper, His Highness asked her to leave and sent Shen Que away instead.
Shen Que had served him closely for many years, so when the prince raised his hand, his body followed before his brain could react.
There were some small boxes on the table, filled with various colors of paint. Seeing that the painting materials were so complete, Shen suddenly became more curious about what His Highness was going to paint.
But no matter how curious he was, he would not ask rashly. In the end, it was Xie Shiguan who couldn't help himself and asked him back: "Aren't you curious about what I'm going to paint today?"
Only then did Shen Que willingly raise his hand and ask, "What does Your Highness want to draw?"
Xie Shiguan smiled slyly and raised his eyes: "Draw a mute."
Shen was stunned and didn't react for a while.
There was no one else around, so he raised his hand and pointed at himself, looking a little flustered: "Me, me?"
"There are only you and me in the room," Xie Shiguan asked with a smile, "Listen, do I look like a mute?"
But Shen shook his head blankly.
His Highness first asked him to move a stool and sit upright at the desk, but after he sat down, His Highness hesitated for a long time with his pen in hand and refused to put pen to paper.
However, Shen couldn't stand his naked gaze. He was afraid that if the prince stared at him for too long, he would find out that there was really nothing special about him and he was not good-looking at all.
But even though he was panicking, he tried hard to purse his lips and endured the pain without moving.
He even slowed down his blinking frequency, but Xie Shiguan still frowned and said, "Don't move, how can I paint if you move?"
But Shen even slowed down his breathing when he heard him say this, not daring to breathe, but His Highness still insisted on forcing him to be more stable.
He was so unreasonable, but there was not even a trace of annoyance on Shen's face. He had always been docile. As long as it was not something out of the ordinary, he would not frown even if His Highness ordered him back and forth all day.
But even though the mute cooperated so well, His Highness was still not satisfied. He put down his pen, stood up, and took out a few soft leather straps from somewhere. In the blink of an eye, he had tied up the mute's wrists.
"I don't want to tie you up either," he said righteously, as if he was really disobedient and made a mistake, "but why do you always move?"
After His Highness locked him on the couch, the mute finally realized that even if he just sat there like a statue, Xie Shiguan probably would not be satisfied.
He deliberately criticized Joe in that way just for this moment!
Unfortunately, by this time, Xie Shiguan had already tied up his hands and feet tightly. Then he reached into his front and gently massaged his warm abdomen.
"After so much feeding, how come your stomach is still flat?" Behind Xie Shiguan was a patch of orange-gold candlelight. His eyebrows curved as he spoke, "Hmm... it seems to be a little bulging."
"When you were pregnant with that kid, was it high here?"
With his hands tied, Shen couldn't even gesture. He could only try his best to turn his head away and avoid looking into his eyes.
But some things cannot be avoided by hiding and refusing to look. Shen heard that the prince did not say anything for a long time, and naively thought that he was determined to let him go. Who knew that the next moment, the obscene belt underneath was suddenly pulled away, and then loosened with the force.
His legs suddenly felt cold, and Chen subconsciously tried to close his legs. However, his ankles were locked tightly by the leather belt. No matter how he struggled, he could not hide the beautiful scenery.
"Don't move," Xie Shiguan said in that tender and affectionate tone, "Isn't it easier to paint like this?"
"The painting is so clear that anyone can tell it's you. Don't worry, I'm only hiding it for myself and I won't let anyone else see it, okay?"
But even if Chen felt it was not good, what could he do? His Highness had deprived him of the right to control the hands he used to "speak". He did not even have the right to say "no". He could only watch Xie Shiguan spread the scroll at the end of the bed and copy it stroke by stroke.
The mute was really afraid of him seeing him. That overly hot gaze made him embarrassed, and then his whole body tensed up, and he wanted to cover his eyes with his feet.
"Don't be awkward," Xie Shiguan reached out and patted his leg soothingly, "Be good."
His Highness had just written a few strokes when he saw from the corner of his eye that the mute seemed to be talking, so he put down his pen and moved forward: "What are you talking about?"
The mute opened his mouth with great difficulty and said, "No, don't look."
He was so embarrassed that he was about to cry. His eyes were so red that Xie Shiguan wanted to bend down and lick his eyes. However, the painting was not finished yet. Although there was charcoal burning in the room, it was still cold. If he didn't finish the painting quickly, His Highness was afraid that the mute would catch a cold.
"Be good, it will be over soon." He coaxed him nonchalantly.
Shen Que didn't believe it, so he could only beg him: "It's too ugly, no..."
Xie Shiguan covered his mouth and said domineeringly: "How is it ugly? It is so beautiful, I like it very much, you are not allowed to dislike it."
His Highness had been painting for such a long time that Shen Que was so anxious that he thought he had already stayed up till late at night. Finally, the portrait was finished, and Xie Shiguan wanted to show it to him as if to show off: "Is it good-looking, A Que?"
Shen really wished he was blind, the painting was so detailed that even the small mole on his toe was highlighted.
He refused to take another look and simply closed his eyes in shame.
But the next moment, Chen suddenly felt an itch at the base of his legs, and then the warm breath that seemed to be close at hand swept across his skin, and then something soft and hot rubbed against... that place.
The room was so close that one could hear a pin drop, so he could not avoid hearing the faint sound of water that made his face turn red and his ears burn.
This indescribable touch made Shen tremble unconsciously.
No... he shouted silently in his heart, stop now.
How, how is it possible in such a dirty place?
The author has something to say:
I will definitely update at 7 o'clock tomorrow. I have changed my ways. (By the way, I originally expected 300,000 words, but my predictions are never accurate, so I should write tens of thousands more. There is also an if line in the extra chapter, a plot of identity transformation, a noble mute little prince and a lowly coachman from a foreign government. I will just write a few chapters to satisfy my craving, and I won't write too long.
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