“You’re not dead.”
The Third Prince’s cool voice cut through the quiet room. Mu Xueshi froze, then slowly turned toward him. “What did you say? Say that again!”
The Third Prince gave a contemptuous smile at Mu Xueshi’s disbelief and pointed toward his feet. “Didn’t Young Master Xue just say the floor felt cold?”
That’s right. If I were dead, I wouldn’t feel anything. Mu Xueshi had been so certain this man was White Impermanence that it had never occurred to him that someone might have rescued him. Trembling, he walked toward the Third Prince. Two clear trails of tears slipped down his delicate face. When he reached him, Mu Xueshi grabbed his clothes tightly. “What if you’re lying to me?”
The Third Prince said nothing, merely fixed Mu Xueshi with an icy stare that made the truth unmistakable. Mu Xueshi, however, interpreted the look as anger at being doubted and became completely convinced that this man had saved him.
“Wah… Oh my God…” Mu Xueshi cried out and threw his arms around the Third Prince, shaking him vigorously. Tears and snot streaming down his face, he babbled, “Brother… Brother… I don’t even know what to say! You’re too good, really! Without you, there’d be no me… You’ve completely changed my opinion of handsome men! Really, Brother, even if I worked like an ox or a horse for you, I could never repay this kindness…”
Still babbling incoherently, Mu Xueshi buried his face against the Third Prince’s chest and sobbed. The Third Prince gripped his shoulders with both hands and pulled him upright until they were staring directly at one another.
Mu Xueshi’s eyes were red and his expression fragile and pitiful, yet a smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth. To the Third Prince, it looked like unmistakable proof that his mind was in disorder. Then Mu Xueshi suddenly burst out laughing. “Just let me be excited for a minute. Don’t mind me.”
With that, Mu Xueshi did a handstand in the room. One moment he was laughing, the next he was stuffing every plum-blossom cake from a small plate into his mouth. Then he started circling the Third Prince, cheering and bouncing with joy.
The maids and eunuchs outside had no idea what was happening. They were full of questions, but no one dared move. They simply pretended they had heard nothing. However loud the room became, they had to assume every sound came from the Third Prince and had nothing to do with the servants. If anyone made so much as a peep, the supervising guards nearby could cut them down without even waiting for the Third Prince’s order.
The room that had been unnaturally quiet was suddenly full of noise. Even the birdcage hanging from the window lattice began to sway as the bird inside flapped frantically, trying to escape.
“Imperial physician!”
At the command from inside, the chief eunuch waiting outside answered softly, “At once,” then hurriedly ordered the courtyard guards to summon the imperial physician who remained on constant standby. Imperial Physician Li, the finest physician in the palace, had been stationed in the Third Prince’s courtyard and was not permitted to leave. Even if the Emperor himself fell ill, another imperial physician would be sent instead. Imperial Physician Li had effectively become the Third Prince’s personal doctor, proof of just how extraordinary the Emperor’s favoritism toward him was.