The Third Prince already wore an utterly captivated expression, but Mu Xueshi failed to notice it at all. Rubbing his arms with both hands, he said, “Your Highness the Third Prince, this commoner sincerely repents his mistakes. I’ll go down now and accept my punishment properly.”
When Mu Xueshi turned around, his face was still filled with excitement. He happened to find it rather cold on the shore and wanted to soak in the water to warm himself.
Mu Xueshi dove into the lake like a mermaid. Before his head could even resurface, however, the Third Prince issued a cold command.
“Not permitted!”
When Mu Xueshi emerged from the water, he was furious. Why had the Third Prince not said so sooner? He had already climbed in, yet now he had to crawl back out. He initially intended to pretend he had not heard, but the moment he met the Third Prince’s gaze, he could only swim dejectedly toward the shore. As he swam, he muttered incessantly, expressing all his dissatisfaction through his every movement.
Once ashore, Mu Xueshi rolled his eyes at the Third Prince and said irritably, “Your Highness, please give your orders earlier next time so this commoner can prepare himself mentally.”
The Third Prince gave an amused snort. No one had ever dared tell him to his face how he ought to behave. With a single command, he could make Mu Xueshi pay a bitter price for his insolence. Yet the Third Prince clearly had no desire to play that way. With such a delicacy already within reach, he intended to taste it first before concerning himself with how the dish had been prepared.
“Undress me.” The Third Prince extended both arms and instructed Mu Xueshi with an indifferent expression.
Mu Xueshi suddenly understood. He seemed to recall television shows and books mentioning that every aspect of an imperial noble’s daily life was attended to by servants. Serving someone else was hardly difficult. Although he had been an only child in modern times, Mother Chen had often treated Chen Youzai as a conveniently cheap source of labor.
“As you command!” Mu Xueshi nodded firmly and walked up to the Third Prince.
The Third Prince watched him leisurely. The sight of that effortlessly entitled expression irritated Mu Xueshi, and he initially wanted to simply yank the Third Prince’s clothes off. But when he remembered what the Third Prince had said about the fate of his servants, Mu Xueshi had no choice but to slow his movements and attend to him patiently.
Mu Xueshi removed the Third Prince’s garments one by one, gradually revealing the nearly perfect contours of his body. Unlike Mu Xueshi’s slender frame, the Third Prince was tall and powerfully built, with strikingly sensual muscle definition. When Mu Xueshi saw the firm muscles along his abdomen and forearms, he could not resist placing his own arm beside them for comparison before drawing in a long breath.
The Third Prince had expected Mu Xueshi to blush furiously while doing this. Yet from beginning to end, Mu Xueshi’s expression remained completely natural—and his composure was plainly genuine.
With all the pleasure of the first stage gone, the Third Prince found himself inexplicably frustrated. But such a reaction could not be forced. He could hardly order Mu Xueshi to blush or feel ashamed. Seeing Mu Xueshi look at him for further instructions, the Third Prince calmly entered Lingzi Lake with him.
The moment Mu Xueshi entered the lake, he became lively and cheerful again. The water had returned to its original crystal clarity, allowing their submerged bodies to be seen distinctly. Mu Xueshi showed no trace of embarrassment. After splashing around the Third Prince several times, he even began rubbing his back in an obvious attempt to curry favor.
The Third Prince was only human. How could he remain unmoved in the face of such overwhelming temptation? He turned around swiftly, only to meet Mu Xueshi’s thoroughly bewildered expression. Those vivid eyes and the innocent, uncomprehending look of a newborn fawn caused the Third Prince’s breath to stop abruptly.
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