Time flew by, and soon it was New Year’s Eve. 

The sky was overcast today. Although it wasn’t snowing, it was still bitterly cold. Shen Que wrapped himself in a rabbit fur cloak with velvet edges over his robe. The cloak was tied in the middle, with two snow-white tassels hanging down his chest, gently swaying as he walked.

A few days ago, the officials in the capital had already started their New Year holidays. The Prince didn’t attend court, so Shen Que didn’t need to accompany him, and he could delay his morning duties a bit. However, he always woke up early. At this moment, he was sitting idly by the charcoal stove, leaning over to warm his hands by the fire, staring blankly at the flames. Suddenly, he heard a series of hurried footsteps in the courtyard.

Turning around, Shen Que saw Yuanzhi, dressed in a bright persimmon-colored jacket, running in from the courtyard, panting and exhaling a cloud of white mist. “Sir, someone is here to see you.”

“Don’t be so reckless,” Shen Que raised his hand to straighten the warm hat that had slipped on Yuanzhi’s forehead, then slowly gestured, “Remember, inside the inner residence is different from outside. No matter how urgent the matter, you can’t rush around. His Highness dislikes noise and commotion. If you accidentally offend him, even I can’t protect you.”

The child was smart and learned sign language quickly. In just a month, he could understand most of Shen Que’s gestures.

Yuanzhi nodded after watching him gesture, obediently saying, “Yuanzhi knows he was wrong. I won’t run again in the future.”

After he responded, Shen Que asked, “Who did you say is outside?”

“It’s my master…” Yuanzhi’s voice lowered, paused, and then he corrected himself, “It’s the boss from the opera troupe, Mr. Xu.”

Mr. Xu, the young actor from the courtesan’s residence that day. Shen Que had heard that the original troupe leader of the opera house had fallen seriously ill and didn’t survive the last heavy snowfall. The young actor had then become the new troupe leader.

Shen Que frowned slightly at the news. He had experienced how troublesome actors could be. Ever since he took Yuanzhi in, the young actor had been coming to the Prince’s Mansion every few days, claiming to visit his nephew. But once there, his eyes were never on Yuanzhi; he always lingered in Shen Que’s room, refusing to leave.

However, Yuanzhi had been with Sixian for many years, and there was still some affection between them. Shen Que couldn’t just cut off their contact and forbid him from seeing the child. The young actor probably knew Shen Que was soft-hearted and easy to talk to, which is why he kept coming to bother him.

Seeing Shen Que not responding, Yuanzhi cautiously spoke again, “If you don’t want to see him, I can go myself. Meeting him outside the residence should be enough.”

Shen Que reached out to ruffle his hair, nodded, and instructed him, “Come back early.”

Yuanzhi didn’t rush off immediately. Instead, he pulled out a sugar cake wrapped in oil paper from his jacket. The child was clever. Although Shen Que wasn’t picky about food, Yuanzhi had keenly noticed that he loved sweets the most. Especially when eating sugar cakes, dimples would appear on his cheeks.

He placed the sugar cake in Shen Que’s hand and ran off before Shen Que could gesture.

Shen Que was slightly taken aback, then picked up the still-warm sugar cake, bringing it close to his nose to sniff. It had a familiar, sweet aroma. He couldn’t resist taking a bite, finding it indeed very sweet, which made him smile, revealing a crescent-shaped dimple on his cheek.

After finishing the sugar cake, the water on the stove was also hot. Shen Que used tweezers to pick up some tea leaves and put them into a porcelain cup. It was Mengshan tea, a new gift from His Highness, a tribute from Western Sichuan this year, roasted in the palace. His Highness had only gifted it to him and Shen Xiangzhi.

Shen Que was flattered and cherished the precious tea, only daring to brew a little each time.

Just as he finished brewing the tea, he heard footsteps in the courtyard again. The door to his room was half-open, and he saw three people walking slowly outside.

Leading them was Shiyi, followed by the young actor Sixian, who was holding the hand of a short boy, Yuanzhi.

Yuanzhi had his eyes slightly lowered, his gaze drooping, looking somewhat unhappy.

Shiyi carried large and small bags into the room, intending to place them on the ground. The young actor quickly stepped forward, stopping him, “Sir, please be gentle with that wooden box. It’s precious. Let me take it!”

His voice was extremely pleasant, light as a yellow oriole, and even when he shouted, it wasn’t annoying.

Seeing Shen Que looking at him, he calmly smiled and said, “I had some free time today, so I came to see Dingxiang and brought you some New Year’s goods. Inside is a pot of aged wine, peach charms, spring couplets, a gift box, and a box of snacks and fruits.”

Yuanzhi interrupted softly, “I’m not called Dingxiang anymore. I’m now called Xu Yuanzhi.”

Unfortunately, Sixian didn’t listen to him, pushing him aside, “Children shouldn’t interrupt. Go away.”

As he spoke, he opened the exquisite food box to show Shen Que, “Look, it’s made by the most skillful sister in the troupe. You can’t buy it outside.”

Xu Sixian was wearing a peach-pink robe today, with a rabbit fur collar around his neck, a red plum blossom pinned in his hair, and a clean face without makeup, looking like a lotus flower emerging from the water.

Shen Que hadn’t expected him to bring these things, so he ruthlessly gestured, “We’re not relatives. You don’t need to bring these things. Take them back. I don’t want them.”

The young actor couldn’t read sign language, so Shiyi deliberately translated, “He said he’s very grateful. Thank you for your trouble.”

Xu Sixian laughed. Although he couldn’t understand sign language, he could tell from Shen Que’s expression and posture that he didn’t mean that. But he was never shy, boldly sitting down at the tea table, “Anyone can say thank you. Why not invite me to sit down and have some tea?”

Shen Que glared at Shiyi, then looked at Yuanzhi standing beside him.

Yuanzhi was nervously tugging at the corner of his jacket, speaking softly, “Master, Mr. Xu said there were too many things, and I, as a child, couldn’t carry them, so he had to bring them in himself.”

He then looked at Shiyi, who added, “I happened to see them on the way. I was coming to see you anyway, so I helped carry the things over.”

With everyone there, Shen Que couldn’t just kick them out, so he invited Shiyi and Yuanzhi to sit down, intending to pour them some hot tea.

Shiyi waved his hand, “I won’t stay. I have a card game with the guys from the criminal division. They’re urging me to go.”

When Shen Que escorted him out, at the courtyard gate, Shiyi leaned in, grinning mischievously, and asked, “Why does that young actor keep coming to see you?”

Shen Que stepped back, covering one ear, gesturing with the other hand, “Who knows.”

Shiyi noticed he didn’t like being close to people, so he didn’t press further, just chuckling, “I see the way that actor looks at you, tsk tsk tsk.”

Shen Que followed his gaze back to the room, seeing the “lotus flower” resting her chin in her hands, looking at him with eyes full of affection.

Shen Que didn’t dare respond, quickly averting his gaze.

Shiyi took a step outside, finally turning serious, speaking to him with some gravity, “Just joking around, but remember, His Highness doesn’t allow us to keep courtesans or support actors. It’s fine to play occasionally, but if you get serious, they’ll skin you alive and drink your blood. You could lose everything and ruin your reputation.”

Shen Que knew all this. He never intended to get involved with the young actor, only feeling a mix of sympathy and pity, unable to harden his heart to drive him away.

“I know,” Shen Que gestured, “I won’t do anything with him. Don’t worry.”

After seeing Shiyi off, Shen Que slowly returned to the room. As he reached the door, he saw the actor tugging at Yuanzhi’s sleeve, asking fiercely, “You said the master made this for you?”

Yuanzhi nodded timidly.

“Why you!” Xu Sixian got angry, pulling him hard. Yuanzhi, not as strong, was about to fall at his feet.

Fortunately, Shen Que arrived in time, catching the child around the waist. Xu Sixian immediately withdrew his hand, sitting in the chair with arms crossed, complaining angrily, “It’s just my bad luck to be born too early, not as fortunate as this kid.”

He wasn’t much older, still childish without makeup, but his eyes and brows carried a charm different from ordinary teenagers.

Shen Que, feeling helpless, gestured to him, and Yuanzhi translated, “The master says you shouldn’t come again…”

Before he finished, the young actor lunged forward, and Yuanzhi, seemingly expecting it, quickly hid behind Shen Que.

The two treated Shen Que like a pillar, chasing each other around him. Xu Sixian reached out to grab his collar, “You ungrateful little wolf cub, have you forgotten who bought you and your mother from that scoundrel? Who fed and clothed you every day? Dare to lie that the master forbids me to come. If I don’t slap you a few times, you won’t learn to behave!”

Yuanzhi dodged while shouting, “I’m not part of the troupe anymore. My contract is with the master. You can’t slap me anymore.”

“Fine,” Xu Sixian fumed, “so now you look down on us from the troupe. The money to redeem you and your mother was begged from a eunuch with tears. Do you know how I was beaten that night?”

“Others can criticize me, call me dirty,” he said, “but you have no right!”

Shen Que tried to intervene, hooking Xu Sixian’s neck from behind, but as soon as he moved, the young actor spun around, leaning into his arms.

The anger in his eyes faded, as if acting, his eyes suddenly filled with endless affection.

“Be with me,” the young actor gazed at him dreamily, “I only ask you to treat me like you treat Dingxiang, give me some of your true heart, and I’ll give you everything. Is that okay?”

Shen Que was still stunned, but the actor had already wrapped his arms around his back, snuggling close, eyes half-closed, head slightly tilted back, clearly asking for a kiss.

Yuanzhi, seemingly used to this scene, quickly ran out, considerately closing the door for them.

At times like this, even the hardest man would melt, especially when the person in front of him wasn’t just any actor but the current popular young actor in the opera house, pursued and supported by many.

But Shen Que wasn’t an ordinary man. He was a calm pool of water, a stone in the deep mountains, untouched by emotions, except for one person who could awaken him.

So he pushed him away.

Xu Sixian looked at him in disbelief. No man had ever been willing to push him away. Shen Que was the first.

He was a bit angry. In their line of work, they had no dignity and weren’t allowed to have any. But at this moment, he felt that his only bit of dignity had been thrown to the ground and shattered by Shen Que.

“Do you know,” he pointed at Shen Que’s chest, deliberately speaking loudly, “how much silver it costs to kiss me?”

Shen Que just looked at him, not saying a word.

Xu Sixian’s voice unconsciously lowered, eyes brimming with tears, holding back from falling, turning to curse him, “Ungrateful!”

He pushed the door open and ran out. Shen Que only thought of returning the New Year’s goods he brought, so he didn’t immediately chase after him.

The door was slightly ajar, and Shen Que heard the young actor outside scolding someone, “Who allowed you to eavesdrop here?”

Followed by the sound of hitting and scolding, Shen Que feared Yuanzhi might get hurt, so he hurriedly chased after them without taking all the things.

Seeing Shen Que, the actor ran away. Unable to call out, Shen Que chased him for a few steps, but seeing he couldn’t catch up, he turned back.

Putting down the things in his hands, Shen Que went to check Yuanzhi’s injuries, seeing two palm prints on his fair cheeks and a stream of nosebleed dripping onto the snow.

Shen Que quickly used a handkerchief to wipe it.

The child, dazed, held out two silver ingots. This was the money he used to buy Yuanzhi. The young actor had asked for a hundred taels, and Shen Que didn’t haggle, paying the money to take him back.

Xie Shiguan had scolded him for it, saying it only cost five taels to buy him back then, yet now he was swindled out of a hundred taels for a young actor who hadn’t even grown up.

“He said he wants to return the silver to you.”

Shen Que told him not to speak, pressing a snowball to his forehead.

The boy secretly glanced in the direction the young actor had left, speaking softly, “He also said, why did you redeem me but not him.”

“I don’t hate him,” Yuanzhi, with a mouthful of blood, continued, “he’s my benefactor. I know he’s jealous of me.”

He spoke haltingly, “Jealous that someone cares for me.”