It was still dark that day.
Shen Que finally managed to free himself from Xie Shiguan's arms. He did not leave in a hurry, but sat beside the couch for a while.
The thick velvet blanket that he had soiled on the side of the compartment was thrown away by His Highness at some point. Last night, he was so dizzy that he was half-conscious and half-awake. He tried hard to keep his eyes open, but he just couldn't concentrate.
He didn't know what His Highness had told the people outside. He thought that they had been sent out last night. He couldn't blame the brat, but the unconcealable smell on it...how could they not smell it?
However, Shen was still thinking about Si Lai. He wanted to go and see how the baby was doing, whether he was willing to drink milk and whether he had fallen asleep. However, he was afraid of the gazes of the people outside and was reluctant to get up.
Other people would be fine, but the person he was most afraid of seeing was Shen Xiangzhi. He lost his mother at a young age and was later sold to a human trafficker. In his heart, he no longer recognized that person as his grandfather.
Later, he was bought into the Prince Yan's Mansion. It was his master who taught him martial arts and physical fitness, and it was also his master who took him to the Lansheng Courtyard. The bed curtains, mattresses, cups, plates, and tables in that room, no matter how big or small, were almost all bought for him by his master.
Jiang Shaoxiong only gave him a life, but the person who really taught him how to survive was Shen Xiangzhi.
Over the years, Shen had almost followed behind him, watching his back grow up.
He didn't know what his master was thinking, but Shen Que regarded him as his father in his heart. Because of this, Shen Que was even more afraid of being looked at by him. As long as he gave him the wrong look, he would feel pain as if his heart and lungs were being squeezed.
Xie Shiguan, who was sitting on the couch behind him, opened his eyes and saw the mute sitting beside the couch in only a single layer of clothing, so he lazily stretched out a hand and pulled him back: "It's so cold at night, where do you want to go?"
Before he could even gesture, His Highness made the judgment for him in a domineering manner: "You are not allowed to go. Come in and sleep."
At this moment, all the candles were extinguished, leaving only the one in the corner of the room. The wick was about to burn out, dimly illuminating that small area.
In such light, one could only see a shadow outline if one got close. Even if Shen raised his hand to gesture, His Highness might not be able to see clearly.
Therefore, Shen Que had no choice but to hold his hand and write the word "child" on the palm of his open hand.
Xie Shiguan was so sleepy that he was a little confused. He just felt itchy in the palm of his hand, but he couldn't make out what the word was. He forced the mute to write it several times before he finally recognized it.
"Hmm..." His Highness held his hand, which was icy and cold. He had just warmed it up by rubbing it in his arms. "Didn't the kid get sent to the wet nurse? The wet nurse is clean and kind, and there are soldiers watching her day and night. You don't have to worry."
But the mute still refused to get on the bed, and Xie Shiguan couldn't persuade him, so he had to say: "Then you take a look and come back, remember to put on the crane cloak on the table before you go out."
However, Shen went out quietly. He did not take the crane cloak because it was the prince's daily uniform. It would be too embarrassing for him to wear it shamelessly to meet people.
I lifted the curtain and went out, only to see the faint morning light outside, just at dawn. The soldiers all stopped, set up the iron pots on the spot, and made some repairs in preparation for the morning meal.
The wind was very strong outside the compartment, blowing a bunch of flying snow particles onto people's faces. However, Chen quietly looked around, and when he saw that no one was looking at him, he carefully approached the small compartment where the wet nurse was.
But just as he lifted the curtain, he happened to meet Shen Xiangzhi's gaze. The master had taken off the light armor and was holding the kid carefully. He seemed to be humming a tuneless song. He looked kind and benevolent, very different from what Shen had seen before.
If Shen Que hadn't suddenly barged in, he seemed to be planning to lower his head and poke the kid's face with the short stubble on his chin.
But when he saw him, the smile on the master's face froze slightly, and then he coughed with an itchy throat and asked awkwardly: "Why did you get up so early?"
He was embarrassed, but Shen was not much better. His cheeks and nose were reddened by the cold wind as he walked over. He felt that he had made quite a noise last night, and the low couch in the room was about to be shaken apart by His Highness. He also wanted to leave.
Fortunately, the leg injury covered it up, so even though he walked slower and his movements were a little stiffer, it wasn't a big deal.
But Shen felt bad for himself. He always felt that his master and others had heard something. It was fine if he had a deformity, but he was also enjoying himself under a man like an actor. He was afraid that his master would think he was shameless and regret bringing someone like him up...
Dirty stuff.
After a long silence, Shen Que finally raised his hand and said slowly: "I'll go see him."
Shen Xiangzhi then handed the kid back to his arms, put on the light armor thrown on the table, and said softly: "This kid is not like you, with such a bad temper. He cried countless times at night, and no one could comfort him."
However, Shen kept his head down and didn't dare to look at him. He was afraid that he would ask him what he was doing last night and why he didn't come to see this kid.
Fortunately, Shen Xiangzhi did not ask. Eleven was also in this room. He was pinching his nose and cleaning the dirty cotton diaper for the kid. Now that he had washed his hands, he also came over to play with the little baby.
"He can cry and pee," Eleven said deliberately jokingly, "You really are worthy of being the young master. You will definitely be a promising person in the future."
Shen was slightly stunned. He didn't know what His Highness had said to the outside world. How come Lian Shiyi seemed to know about it?
Shen Xiangzhi put on the light armor, looked at him again, and frowned: "It's so cold, why did you come out wearing just this single piece of clothing?"
He was wearing light armor and had no other warm clothes to take off, so he glanced at Eleven indifferently. Eleven immediately understood and took off his fur coat and put it on Chen Que.
Chen held the little fur coat tightly in his arms. When he saw these old friends again, he was always a little dazed, as if he was dreaming.
He looked at Eleven and suddenly thought of Yuanzhi. Without him, the boy didn't know how well he was doing in the mansion. As soon as he opened his mouth, Ten knew who he wanted to ask and replied with a smile, "The boy is fine. He has grown up suddenly this year. I asked him about his birthday a few days ago, but he couldn't tell me. I figured it out for a long time before I found out that the boy is already 13 or 14 years old. He was in that opera troupe before because he was short of food and clothing, so he looks so young."
Hearing that they were all doing well, Shen Que felt relieved.
Shen Xiangzhi looked a little unhappy. The mute was worried about this and that, and kept everyone in his heart, but never cared about himself.
"Tell me the truth," Shen Xiangzhi glanced at the curtain, and then asked in a low voice that only Shen could hear, "How does His Highness treat you?"
Shen lowered his eyes and pulled out a hand: "Your Highness treats me...very well."
He refused to look at him, and Shen Xiangzhi couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false, but after all, he had watched Prince Yan grow up, and he knew very well what kind of person His Highness was, so how could he change his personality for a mute guard.
With a personality like Shen Que, if he fell into his hands, he would be bullied no matter how you look at it.
Chen Xiangzhi felt sorry for him. If the adulterer was any of the personal guards in the palace, he would have been caught, skinned alive, and hung in front of the gate of Chongtai Courtyard for public display. But the evildoer happened to be Prince Yan.
If he had known that this day would come, Shen Xiangzhi would definitely have found a way to exchange him for an outer mansion, even if his rank was lower, he would not have ended up like this...
Before he could ask again, another person lifted the curtain and rushed in.
Xie Shiguan's face looked unhappy, and he had a sullen expression, but a crane cloak was hanging on his forearm.
When the people in the room saw him, they quickly turned around and saluted, and the mute also bowed to him. His Highness immediately felt a surge of anger in his heart. This mute was really impossible to warm up. Even though he was so weak, he still imitated others and was pretending to be polite to him.
It would have been fine if he was just being polite, but the mute refused to wear his clothes and insisted on coming here to wear someone else's tattered fur coat.
Xie Shiguan really wanted to tear off the fur coat on him, but if he went too far, the mute would probably be even more afraid of him, so His Highness had to hold back and just stepped forward to tear off the coat he was wearing, and threw it aside, gritting his teeth and saying, "Didn't I tell you to put on this coat before you go out? Why did you have to wear that ragged coat? It stinks."
Eleven silently picked up his jacket and quietly put it to his nose to smell it. He had just worn this fur jacket for less than half an hour, so he couldn't smell what was smelly.
But since His Highness said it stinks, he had no choice but to accept it. He put away the fur coat and stood aside, standing it with the candlestick as a decoration.
Unlike Xie Shiguan, Shen was always afraid of hurting other people's kindness. Hearing His Highness say this, he was even more embarrassed than Eleven.
Fortunately, His Highness only came to give him a cloak, and after putting it on him rudely, he went back.
Shen couldn't help feeling a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have put on the crane cloak before leaving. Now it made him even more embarrassed.
After reminiscing about the past with the master and others, and coaxing the kid to sleep, it was already bright in the sky, and the carriage slowly started moving again. Shen hurried back to the other compartment.
The carriage was dark and quiet, but Shen thought that the prince had fallen asleep, so he took off his outer cloak very carefully. If he went to the bed now, he would probably wake him up.
So the mute decided to curl up on the cushion in the corner and take a nap.
But who knew that Xie Shiguan was not asleep yet. He listened for a long time, but the mute still didn't come to the couch. He leaned on the couch, raised his head, and just glanced at the corner. The prince was so angry that he almost died.
Instead of sleeping on this nice soft bed, the mute insisted on sleeping on the floor!
He suddenly got off the couch, ran to the mute, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Shen, Que."
Shen Que had just closed his eyes when he was startled by the prince's movement. Xie Shiguan hated the helplessness in his eyes and the innocence on his face. He thought he had already shown his heart to this mute, but he still didn't understand anything.
But Shen also didn't know why His Highness was angry. He just thought that it was because he made a lot of noise when he came in and woke His Highness up, or maybe he came back late and he thought he was disobedient.
Xie Shiguan said nothing except those two vicious words. He dragged the mute to the couch and then stuffed him into the mattress.
"What do you want to talk to them about?" His Highness asked coldly, pressing him down. "Is it that easy to talk to them, huh?"
Shen was pressed to the point of being unable to breathe and lowered his head to avoid him, but as soon as he lowered his head, the flesh on the back of his neck was exposed. Xie Shiguan took the opportunity to lick and bite a place that was not red. The bite was not heavy, like a wild animal deliberately playing with its prey.
He would not give up even after biting people until their scalps were numb.
He was angry and waited for the mute for an hour, his eyes turned green with exhaustion, before he finally heard him coming back. After he finally came back, he didn't want to come into his arms, but insisted on sleeping on the ground like a cat or a dog!
That little raccoon dog knows how to climb onto the bed. I wonder if there's something wrong with this mute's brain. How could he bear to torture himself like this?
"You're scared now," Xie Shiguan said bitterly, "Will you dare to do it again in the future?"
However, Shen didn't know what the prince was asking. He just thought that he was angry because he stayed in the carriage for too long and treated the prince coldly. But just when he was about to shake his head, he felt something poking him.
The couch was soft, and His Highness was only wearing a single layer of clothing. His folding fan, waist badge, and dagger were all untied and piled on the table. What else could have poked him?
But, but last night, wasn't it already...
Xie Shiguan was also very distressed. In a fit of rage, he just bit and punished the mute. Before the mute could admit his mistake, the retribution came upon him.
He had just given him a hot bath and applied medicine, but it had only been a few hours. If he continued to make trouble now, he was afraid that the mute would not be able to bear it. His Highness did not want to see him sick again after he had just felt better.
So His Highness stopped talking and planned to hold him in his arms to cool off for a while, but he just couldn't calm down.
So he had no choice but to whisper in the mute's ear: "Help me, are you so cruel?"
Xie Shiguan knew that he was not asleep. He was still so hot, so how could this mute sleep?
"Put your legs together," His Highness instructed him in a low voice, "I taught you this before. Don't act stupid."
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