The Second Prince was puzzled. This was nothing like the Third Prince’s usual behavior. Under normal circumstances, if he had opposed the Third Prince so openly, the Third Prince would never have released Su Ying no matter what was said. Yet today, even after the Second Prince had attacked him, he had shown no anger whatsoever and had returned Su Ying almost as though conceding defeat.
The Second Prince hurriedly lowered his head to look at the little figure in his arms. Su Ying seemed to have been waiting for precisely this moment. As soon as the Second Prince looked down, Su Ying burst into loud sobs. Crying all the while, he bit and scratched at the Second Prince’s chest, face, hair, and neck, his little cheeks covered in tear tracks.
The Second Prince looked heartbroken. Although Su Ying was mischievous, he would never go so far as to seriously offend the Third Prince. The Third Prince must have been harboring resentment that he had nowhere else to vent, causing Su Ying to suffer such mistreatment.
The Second Prince gently stroked Su Ying’s back with his large hand. After struggling for a while, Su Ying grew tired and rested his small head listlessly on the Second Prince’s shoulder, sobbing quietly. Before long, he fell asleep with soft whimpers. Not long after Su Ying drifted off, the Second Prince returned to Hanhui Palace, removed all the child’s clothing, and carefully examined his body.
Finding no injuries, the Second Prince’s anger eased slightly. He was just about to dress Su Ying again when he suddenly noticed a reddish mark on the child’s shoulder. Although it was faint, it was easy to spot against Su Ying’s pale, tender skin. The Second Prince lowered his nose to Su Ying’s shoulder and inhaled lightly. He immediately recognized the scent of ordinary Seven-Flower Powder, which was specifically used to repel mosquitoes and insects. It left no marks when applied, however, so where had this mark come from?
Even as he pondered this, the Second Prince did not forget to place several gentle kisses upon his precious little one. His face was filled with indulgent affection, an expression that had never changed since Su Ying’s birth.
Meanwhile, Mu Xueshi had long since become frantic. The moment the Third Prince released his sealed acupoints, he shot out of the room like an arrow. The Third Prince frowned deeply, assuming Mu Xueshi intended to escape, and silently followed behind him. Unexpectedly, Mu Xueshi merely found the base of a tree and hurriedly began trying to undo his trousers. Because he wore so many layers and their construction was so complicated, sweat covered his forehead, yet he still could not loosen them.
At last, Mu Xueshi looked around and saw no one except the Third Prince. Reassured, he pulled his trousers straight down to his ankles and began relieving his urgent need without the slightest concern for who might be watching.
At first, the Third Prince was completely stunned by Mu Xueshi’s audacity. In this era, where relations between men were widespread, a man’s body was regarded as exceptionally private. Removing one’s clothing in public was considered a profound humiliation and was even used as a form of punishment for those guilty of indecent conduct.
Mu Xueshi clearly knew none of this. Even had he known, relieving himself would still have taken priority. Thus, his two jade-like legs—and everything between them—were displayed perfectly clearly before the Third Prince. Had the circumstances been anything less crude, the sight would have been difficult for anyone to resist.
Even so, the Third Prince was unable to tear his gaze away from Mu Xueshi’s lower body. His throat tightened as a scorching wave of desire, one he had not experienced in a long time, swept through him. Yet the Third Prince was accustomed to restraint and to preserving his reason in Mu Xueshi’s presence. He refused to surrender before Mu Xueshi merely because of that face. Unless one day this man willingly begged for pleasure beneath him, the Third Prince would never lower himself to touch Mu Xueshi’s body.
Mu Xueshi pulled up his trousers with a thoroughly relieved expression. When he turned around, however, he found the Third Prince watching him with an inscrutable half-smile. Mu Xueshi’s scalp immediately tingled. His large eyes rolled several times as countless thoughts raced through his mind, trying to determine why the Third Prince was behaving so strangely again.
Was it because the liquid I discharged polluted the air in his courtyard? Surely not. It counts as fertilizer—I’ve done that big tree of his a favor. Then is it because I escaped the room without his permission? It can’t be that serious. There’s no reason to lock up a man who looks like me just to ruin his own mood. Could he possibly be keeping me around to boost his confidence…?
“Who exactly are you?”
The sudden interrogation sent the birds in the tree scattering into the air. Several green leaves were shaken loose from the branches and fluttered down around Mu Xueshi.