Chapter 3

“You have poor judgment, inviting a wolf into the house,” Xie Shiguan said as he casually picked various torture instruments from the shelf. “To put it lightly, you’re uselessly stupid. To put it heavily, you’ve long harbored disloyalty towards me.”

His offhand remarks sent a shiver down Shen Que’s spine.

Heaven had sealed one of his senses, making him immune to clever words in this life. At this moment, he racked his brains and could only weakly raise his hand: “I didn’t…”

He was clearly loyal to His Highness, as clear as the moon.

Even if he had to walk through a thousand trials of fire and sword, he would never betray Xie Shiguan.

“Ling Er… she never minded that I was mute. In this mansion, only she and Shen Luo were willing to talk to me,” Shen Que gestured with difficulty. “I thought, I thought she was…”

She was truly sincere to me.

He lowered his head, but in Xie Shiguan’s eyes, he looked like a pathetic figure hurt by love, increasingly annoying to behold.

Over the years, Shen Que had followed him, seen all kinds of exquisite and beautiful people in the world, yet why did he fall for such a mediocre girl with ulterior motives?

And look at him, he really seemed to have fallen for her.

Xie Shiguan casually picked up an iron whip with hooks, weighing it in his hand. The whip was heavy, and with its iron hooks, a few lashes would surely tear skin and flesh, leaving a gruesome sight.

The Prince chose the instrument of punishment but felt it was too heavy. However, since he had already taken it down, putting it back would be a loss of face.

Shen Xiangzhi, standing by, immediately stepped forward. When the late Emperor chose him to serve Xie Shiguan, the young prince was just a little boy. Even now, no matter how inscrutable he seemed, he was once a child full of innocence.

At this moment, only he could persuade, and only he dared to.

“Your Highness,” Shen Xiangzhi bowed, “Shen Que deserves punishment for his mistake, but he is an old servant of the Prince’s Mansion, having accompanied Your Highness all the way to this day. This child is sincere and would never betray his master for personal gain.”

Xie Shiguan turned his back, letting out a cold snort.

Shen Xiangzhi continued to persuade, “If that iron whip with hooks falls, even a body of iron and bronze would be ruined. The Prince’s Mansion does not keep useless people, and Your Highness has invested much effort in Shen Que. Why not spare his life and let him atone for his crimes in the future?”

Xie Shiguan seemed moved by his words, and Shen Xiangzhi immediately seized the opportunity, fetching a leather whip to replace the iron one in the Prince’s hand.

“Fifty lashes,” the Prince said indifferently, “consider it a reward for your years of loyal service.”

Shen Que bowed in gratitude.

Seeing this, Shen Xiangzhi stepped forward again, “Your Highness, this foolish disciple was brought up by me. His grave mistake is also due to my lack of discipline. Let me administer the fifty lashes, so as not to trouble Your Highness.”

Xie Shiguan said nothing, merely tossing the whip to him, then sat at the head, clearly intending to watch the punishment.

Shen Que knelt straight on the ground, allowing Shen Xiangzhi to lash him one whip after another.

The Prince sat at the head, and even if Shen Xiangzhi wanted to go easy, he had to be careful not to overdo it. Thus, each lash visibly tore the skin.

Shen Que endured the pain, veins bulging on his forehead and hands, eyes slightly red, but he refused to make a sound, only breathing heavily.

Soon, Shen Que’s back was covered in bloody welts, blood seeping from the wounds, soaking through his inner clothes, the blood mist scattering in the air with each lash.

Shen Que felt his mouth and nose filled with the taste of blood.

At the forty-seventh lash, the Prince stood up and left the main hall of the inner mansion.

At the forty-ninth lash, Shen Que could no longer hold on, his body swayed slightly, his Adam’s apple moved, and he vomited blood, but fearing to dirty the white jade bricks below, he swallowed it back down.

At the fiftieth lash, Shen Que finally collapsed.

He lay with his head tilted, half his face pressed against the cold floor tiles, through the half-open side door, he saw the cold and sharp silhouette of the Prince.

Xie Shiguan did not look his way, disappearing from his sight in a few steps.

*

When Shen Que closed his eyes, the next time he awoke, it was already dusk the following day.

The wounds on his back were both painful and numb, and any slight movement felt like tearing.

Fortunately, the wounds were all on his back, and the person applying medicine had only removed his upper garment, not bothering to change his underpants, otherwise, he might not have survived.

Shen Que lay on the bedding, groaning softly, when he heard footsteps outside, followed by the creak of the wooden door opening.

Turning his head, he saw Shen Luo limping in with two packets of medicine.

“Awake?”

Fearing to pull at the wounds on his back, Shen Que only dared to nod slightly.

“Master came to see you earlier, said you were still asleep…” Shen Luo pulled a stool, intending to sit, but as soon as half his buttocks touched down, he hissed and bounced back up.

Even so, Shen Luo still smiled at Shen Que with determination, “Looks like I came at the right time.”

Shen Que’s worried gaze fell on Shen Luo’s lower body.

“It’s nothing,” Shen Luo noticed his gaze, “Your senior brother has thick skin, what’s ten strokes? Besides, the people at the punishment department are old acquaintances of mine, it only looks bad on the surface, doesn’t hurt the muscles or bones, a couple of days and I’ll be fine.”

“Your fifty lashes, on the other hand, are life-threatening.”

Shen Que struggled to prop himself up, gesturing slightly, “Why did you knock me out then?”

Though his gestures were light, Shen Que’s eyes carried a hint of anger.

Shen Luo, feeling guilty, dared not meet his gaze, shifting his eyes elsewhere, “Your back is still injured, don’t move around.”

Then he changed the subject, “Oh, Master asked me to bring this medicine, he paid out of his own pocket for the best wound medicine. You were unconscious from your injuries yesterday, it’s time to change the dressing—come, let me help you…”

Shen Que glared at him, repeating, “Why did you knock me out?”

Shen Luo said nothing, pretending to be blind to the mute, and went forward to change his dressing.

Shen Que, ignoring the pain in his back, grabbed his wrist, “Shen Luo!”

His temperament was always mild, Shen Luo had known him for years and rarely seen him angry, so he had to stop, sighing lightly.

“If I hadn’t knocked you out, would I have let you die?” Shen Luo retorted.

Shen Que: “It was my fault, I brought it on myself, you shouldn’t have…”

Before he could finish gesturing, Shen Luo interrupted him, “I’m your senior brother, what should or shouldn’t be done, right or wrong, I know myself, do I need you to teach me?”

Shen Luo hated his tone, unconsciously getting angry, “If Master hadn’t wielded the whip last night, those fifty lashes would have killed you!”

“And it’s a good thing His Highness still has some old feelings, realizing Ling Er’s identity early, otherwise, if a great disaster had occurred, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough!”

He finished his rapid-fire speech, venting his anger, then glanced at Shen Que’s expression, seeing his pale face, he felt he had spoken too harshly.

Ling Er’s matter couldn’t really be blamed on Shen Que, even he hadn’t seen through Ling Er’s intentions, let alone Shen Que, who was straightforward.

“This matter is partly my fault,” Shen Luo’s tone softened, “If I had seen through that little wench’s ulterior motives earlier, she wouldn’t have had the chance.”

Shen Que was slow, but Shen Luo was the opposite, adept at reading people since childhood.

Ling Er usually stayed with Shen Que, her words, demeanor, even the light in her eyes were sincere, even he thought Ling Er had genuine feelings for Shen Que.

If he hadn’t misjudged, then the girl was truly a good actress.

Perhaps the pain in his back was too intense, Shen Que seemed a bit listless, lightly pressing Shen Luo’s hand before withdrawing.

“Senior brother,” Shen Que said, “it’s not anyone else’s fault.”

Seeing his sadness, Shen Luo said no more, silently removing the bandages on his back and skillfully changing the dressing.

After changing the dressing, Shen Luo lit the charcoal, opened half a window, fetched a pot of water, and placed it on the charcoal stove to boil.

Watching Shen Luo bustling in and out, Shen Que felt bad, trying to get up and out of bed, “No need to trouble yourself, I can do it.”

“What are you trying to prove?” Shen Luo poured the boiled water into a porcelain cup to cool, then ran over to press him back onto the bed, “Trouble? I’m your senior brother, if it were me lying here, you’d have to take care of me too, understand?”

Shen Que looked at him for a long time before he opened his mouth, mouthing two words.

Thank you, visible but silent.

In the past, His Highness couldn’t understand his sign language, so he had to learn to move his lips like others, but only for short phrases, needing gestures to help explain, otherwise, the Prince wouldn’t understand.

Shen Luo poured a cup of water to cool, muttering, “What’s there to thank?”

Shen Que sincerely replied, “Thank you, senior brother, for risking your life to protect me.”

“Stop being mushy,” Shen Luo turned his head, pretending to be disgusted, but his eyes were smiling, “I have to go now—you not being there means we have to take turns serving His Highness.”

Shen Que gestured for him to hurry up and leave.

Before leaving, Shen Luo looked back at him, seeing Shen Que’s lips devoid of color due to last night’s whipping, making him look particularly weak.

Shen Luo knew he was in pain, clearly in pain as his eyelashes trembled, yet he still tried to smile at him, a smile that brought out a shallow dimple on his left cheek, not very noticeable.

“Rest well,” Shen Luo said before closing the door, “I’ll come see you later.”

Shen Que nodded.