Chapter 4

These days, the Prince’s temper has been quite bad. He was never easy to get along with, but recently, his mood swings have been so unpredictable that it’s terrifying.

Shiyi’s biggest fear these days is the sunrise. As soon as the sky starts to lighten, he has to take over from Shen Xiangzhi and serve Xie Shiguan.

If the Prince is still asleep, that’s not too bad. It’s just a matter of nervously keeping watch through the night, praying that His Highness will sleep until the sun is high in the sky.

But if the Prince is awake, then Shiyi has to be on high alert, with a hundred hearts and a thousand nerves, obediently becoming a presence that can be summoned or dismissed at will.

If there’s a morning court session, Xie Shiguan’s temper is even worse. Yesterday, a carriage driver accidentally slipped on the snow, causing the sedan chair to tilt.

Xie Shiguan didn’t say a word. He got out of the sedan and kicked the driver in the chest, sending him flying several meters away, coughing up blood that stained the white snow, looking particularly striking.

The driver’s life wasn’t worth much, just a servant bought for ten taels of silver from the human market. But this happened on the way to court, with countless eyes watching.

After the driver was carried away, Shiyi had to step in to take his place. The snow was hard to walk on, and in such cold weather, Shiyi ended up sweating profusely.

Even though Shiyi was so cautious, he still got kicked by the Prince these past few days. Fortunately, it was on his backside, and while it hurt a lot, it didn’t really injure his muscles or bones.

After three to five days of this, Shiyi felt like he had lost weight. He was eating plenty, but it was purely from being scared by Xie Shiguan.

This made Shiyi admire Shen Que even more. To think that a mute could serve the Prince closely for over thirteen years without losing an arm or a leg, and without getting his butt kicked into four pieces.

How impressive!

As Shiyi was quietly daydreaming, he suddenly saw Shen Xiangzhi enter the hall, bowing to report, “Your Highness, there’s news from the palace. Last night, the Sage stood under the corridor for half the night, and this morning he has a fever.”

“Has the imperial physician been called to see him?”

“He has. They said it’s damp cold invading the body. They’ve prescribed some medicine, and the medicine has been brewed, but the little palace maids are coaxing him, and the Sage still refuses to drink a single sip.”

Xie Shiguan sighed, gently tapping his brow, “What about the one in Cining Hall?”

Shen Xiangzhi lowered his head and replied, “That one has also been ill recently, saying it’s wind evil entering the brain, and only sent a personal palace maid to inquire.”

Ever since the legitimate second son of the Imperial Uncle was imprisoned this autumn, the Empress Dowager has been bedridden. She used to dote on this little nephew more than her own son.

Unfortunately, this little nephew’s fate was bad this year. Not only did he cause a big trouble, but he also happened to fall into Xie Shiguan’s hands. Xie Shiguan always enjoyed seeing the Miao faction suffer, and when the Empress Dowager was unhappy, he was happy.

“Have someone prepare the sedan,” Xie Shiguan paused, then suddenly seemed to think, “I remember that at the beginning of winter, someone presented a white deer. Is the deerskin still there?”

Shen Xiangzhi replied, “It’s stored in the warehouse.”

Xie Shiguan smiled, “Then have someone bring it along, wrap it up, and send it to Cining Palace, saying it’s a filial gift from me to the Empress Dowager.”

“Yes.”

The white deer is considered an auspicious sign. It’s said that the night before the Imperial Uncle’s wife gave birth to her second son, the Empress Dowager, who was then the Empress, had a dream of a white deer appearing in the forest, speaking human language, and being very intelligent.

The next day, this little nephew was born, and the Empress Dowager gave him the nickname ‘A Lu.’

An hour later, in Funing Hall.

Inside the hall, calming incense was burning above, and the floor heating was on below, making the sleeping hall warm and sweetly fragrant.

Xie Shiguan disliked this overly sweet scent, so he had the palace maids extinguish the incense and ordered the eunuchs to open the windows.

The Little Emperor recognized him by his footsteps and peeked out a flushed face from the brocade quilt, pouting and acting spoiled, “Imperial Uncle, I’m cold.”

“Just open a small section,” Xie Shiguan’s tone softened, “otherwise, you’ll suffocate.”

After saying this, he reached out to feel the Emperor’s forehead. The Little Emperor quickly grabbed his wrist and called softly, “Imperial Uncle…”

“Why did you stand in the wind last night?”

The Little Emperor didn’t speak, just held his hand.

Xie Shiguan withdrew his hand, “Still sulking and refusing to take your medicine.”

“If I obediently took it,” the Little Emperor looked at him unhappily, “how would Imperial Uncle be willing to come see me?”

At this moment, Eunuch An knelt by the dragon bed with a bowl of medicine, speaking softly, “Your Highness, the Emperor’s medicine has been warmed.”

Xie Shiguan took the jade bowl, scooped a spoonful, cooled it, and finally fed it to the Emperor.

The Little Emperor obediently opened his mouth, sipped the spoon, and immediately frowned, complaining, “Bitter.”

“Who was it that stood in the corridor blowing in the wind for half the night?” Xie Shiguan teased, “I thought the Emperor liked bitterness and was craving this bitter medicine.”

The Little Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, “In this world, only you dare to tease me like this.”

After laughing, he paused slightly, glanced at Xie Shiguan’s expression, and hesitated, “Imperial Uncle… Mother has been ill for some time, and with the year-end approaching, she’s still sick. I feel very uneasy.”

Xie Shiguan held the medicine bowl, “Does the Emperor mean to blame the palace physicians for being useless?”

He pretended not to understand, continuing to feed the medicine to the Little Emperor’s lips.

The Little Emperor turned his face away, showing a worried look, “My eldest cousin left early, and now my uncle’s family only has this one heir. Second cousin deserves punishment for his mistakes, but…”

He wasn’t truly close to this second cousin, but his mother had mentioned it to him several times, and his uncle had pleaded in front of him, leaving him caught in the middle, feeling truly torn.

“I know the Emperor is in a difficult position,” Xie Shiguan sighed softly, sincerely saying, “But the matter of the young Imperial Uncle is known throughout the capital. The Three Judicial Offices have reviewed it, and the sentence was according to the law. If the result is changed rashly, wouldn’t it damage the imperial family’s dignity?”

“Everyone knows the young Imperial Uncle is the Emperor’s cousin and the Empress’s nephew. If favoritism is shown in this matter, it will surely lead to criticism and reproach.”

The Little Emperor fell silent again, recalling the Empress Dowager’s words, “Xie Shiguan wields power in the court, framing others with baseless charges, ruining a few people’s reputations is just a matter of moving his fingers.”

In fact, after the Imperial Uncle pleaded with him, he sent someone to the prison, intending to have a death row inmate replace his cousin. But the death row inmate couldn’t even get through the prison gate.

As if guessing what the Emperor was thinking, Xie Shiguan suddenly reached out, cupping his face with one hand, sincerely advising, “Let’s not talk about others, but the Marquis of Wu’an lost his only daughter. It’s said that on the day of her funeral, the Marquis cried over her coffin, heartbroken. He loved his daughter so much, he will surely be present on the day of the execution.”

“Your Majesty,” he whispered, “a human skin mask trick like that won’t fool the Marquis of Wu’an. How could we bear to hurt the heart of an old minister?”

Xie Shiguan gently tucked the loose hair at the Emperor’s temple behind his ear, his tone intimate, every word and sentence considering his well-being.

The young Emperor, reminded by him, recalled that the Marquis of Wu’an held some military power and was a beloved minister of the late Emperor. He couldn’t afford to slight him, so he instinctively leaned closer to Xie Shiguan, his eyes reddened by his illness.

“What should I do then?” The Little Emperor was extremely aggrieved, “They’re all blaming me, saying it’s my fault for not saving him.”

Xie Shiguan seemed to ponder, and after a moment, finally compromised, “Alright, Your Majesty, then let’s spare him from the execution, just demote him to a commoner, exile him three thousand miles, and never allow him to return to the capital. How about that?”

Having made such a big concession, the Little Emperor naturally had no objections.

The young Emperor nodded, but couldn’t help feeling sorry for Xie Shiguan, “With such a change in orders, how will you explain it to the Marquis of Wu’an?”

“They’ve always accused me of being tyrannical and unpredictable, unconventional,” Xie Shiguan said indifferently, “One more charge of changing orders doesn’t matter, it’s just one more or one less, what’s the difference?”

The Little Emperor immediately felt more guilty, and didn’t dare to act spoiled anymore, obediently drinking the medicine, and soon fell asleep.

Once the Emperor was asleep, Xie Shiguan went to the desk piled high with memorials, switched from the red pen to the blue one, and flipped through them one by one.

When he reached the last few, Xie Shiguan saw a familiar name. The memorial was written in neat regular script, but it called him out by name, not only criticizing his recent actions but also digging up old grievances, citing classics to scold him thoroughly.

Xie Shiguan smiled brightly, leaving a blue comment with just two words: “Well said.”

Then he placed this memorial on top, stretched lazily, and left the palace amidst the wind and snow.

In the sedan chair returning to the Prince’s Mansion, there were the usual late-night snacks, all kinds of pastries and fruits, accompanied by a pot of milk tea. Xie Shiguan took a sip, found the tea not cold, but unsweetened, and spat it out.

He then lifted the curtain and poured the entire pot of tea over Shiyi’s head, giving him a milk bath.

Shiyi didn’t understand why, but he didn’t dare to argue, not even daring to show any anger, and had to smile and thank the Prince for his reward.

“How is Shen Que’s injury healing?” Xie Shiguan suddenly asked from the sedan chair.

Shiyi immediately replied, “In response to Your Highness, it seems to be almost healed. I heard he had a fever for several days, but he got through it. I haven’t heard anything recently.”

Xie Shiguan sneered, “Just fifty lashes, and he can’t take it. I’ve been too good to him, pampering him like this.”

Shiyi secretly wiped his face with his sleeve, unable to help but recall Shen Que’s miserable state that day. A perfectly fine person, but when carried out, he was wrapped in a bloody garment.

And he couldn’t speak, couldn’t cry out in pain, only gasp for breath.

Injured like that, yet still able to take care of himself, was already incredibly resilient, nowhere near the word ‘pampered.’

But their Prince was never one to be reasonable, so Shiyi could only think about it in his heart, never daring to talk back.

Xie Shiguan reached out to catch a snowflake, which melted instantly in his palm, turning into a drop of water.

“Later, go to the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence and inform them that the matter is settled, and the Marquis owes me a favor.”

Shiyi: “Yes.”

The snow was falling heavily, and the weather was getting colder.

Xie Shiguan closed the curtain, looked down at the box of pastries, which seemed to have been bought at dusk at the earliest, and by nightfall, they were already hard and cold.

In the past, when Shen Que served closely, the late-night snacks and pastries brought to him were always exquisite and beautiful—lotus flower pastries, jade dew balls, floral rice cakes. Cold food was chilled, hot food was warm, even in the coldest winter, the pastries Shen Que brought were as if freshly baked.

Back then, Xie Shiguan only felt he was very handy, but that was it. But after he was injured and bedridden, not by his side, the Prince finally remembered such a person.

The small matters of daily life, when taken apart, were insignificant, but the accumulation of minor discomforts, for some reason, made him incredibly irritable.

The people in the Prince’s Mansion combined couldn’t match Shen Que’s meticulousness.

Shen Que… he suddenly thought, what is that little mute doing now?