“Thank you, my son…” She bowed heavily, struggling upright.
“Mother, to have an elder kneel before one’s child is unfilial. How could you burden me with such a crime?” he said lightly, stepping forward.
Her gaze fell upon the dead maid.
Terror seized her again. She stumbled backward.
“You’re lying… You would never let me die so easily… The emperor’s most favored prince—yet not of imperial blood…”
She laughed hysterically.
The Third Prince watched without interest. From his sleeve, he produced a wrapped bundle and extended it with a faint smile.
Her face drained of color.
“What is that?”
“Poison,” he replied softly. “A rare preparation. When mixed with saliva, it releases a fragrance. Delicious—and with an added benefit.”
“What benefit?”
“You fear snakes and vermin most, do you not? Soon they will gather, drawn by its scent. Your body will breed small creatures for them to feast upon. You will not be lonely.”
Her eyes bulged. Her lips turned violet.
“Do not attempt suicide. I have sealed your meridians—even your eyelids cannot close. There remain several hours before dawn. Enough time to savor it. Am I not filial?”
His voice shattered her composure.
She clawed at her own eyes, blood streaking down her face as she rolled and screamed.
“If you refuse,” he said calmly, “your daughter shall eat in your stead.”
Silence fell.
Like a madwoman, she fumbled for the bundle and devoured its contents in frantic gulps.
At dawn, sunlight flooded Muyan Pavilion.
The bundle lay empty.
Her limbs were gnawed to bone, her face riddled with crawling things.
A servant entering fainted at the threshold.
“May I… see my daughter once more…” she rasped.
The Third Prince sat leisurely upon a purple bamboo chair.
“Would you have her frightened to death? Besides—can you still see?”
“Let her stand outside… speak one word… I beg…”
“She cannot come,” he interrupted coldly.
Her body convulsed.
“You have already eaten her. Better that she returns to your womb. In another life, you may be mother and daughter again. I have fulfilled your only wish.”
Her body stilled.
The longest night had ended.
Sunlight pierced the fragrant pavilion.
The Third Prince recalled catching butterflies here as a child. She had once smiled and called him Xi’er—his milk name.
No one had spoken it in years.
Futile Devices Scans 
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