In crisis, Mu Xueshi’s wits sharpened at once.
He burst into hearty laughter like an ancient hero and held tightly to the prince’s hand.
“So Your Highness doesn’t want me being close to others? I never expected someone would value me so much…”
His lips curved into a small smile, faint happiness flickering in his expression.
The Third Prince felt no embarrassment at having his thoughts spoken so bluntly. Eunuch Tai’an, however, tactfully withdrew.
Though Mu Xueshi had just denounced the prince as a murderous tyrant, he secretly felt thrilled at being claimed so domineeringly as “one of his own.”
In his understanding, “one of his own” was simply the opposite of an outsider.
The prince had not treated him as an outsider.
He protected him. He forbade him from befriending others.
To Mu Xueshi, that was a blessing.
In his former life, aside from the defect in his appearance, what he lacked most were friends. His classmates judged him by his looks. They sought him only when wounded themselves, because he could comfort them. A true friend? Even someone willing to walk home with him had never appeared.
Drawing a steady breath, Mu Xueshi said firmly:
“Your Highness, I will never grow intimate with anyone else again. So long as you treat me sincerely and do not abandon me, I will share fortune and hardship with you alike.”
The prince had not expected such swift transformation.
He could not deny it—the defenseless Mu Xueshi was far more difficult to resist than before.
The three maids were spared. Their names were Qingyun, Qingya, and Qingzhu—each graceful and pleasing to the eye. The two attendants were Lu Fei and Lu Fan, tall and imposing figures. As for the cook—Mu Xueshi cared only that the food tasted good.
He even requested a private tailor, designing exotic garments of his own imagination, which he wore daily in and out of the prince’s chambers.
Within days, he grew familiar with the palace grounds. The prince granted him personal freedom—he might roam anywhere save the Emperor’s palace.
A token was hung around his neck, marking him as belonging to the Third Prince. Mu Xueshi treasured it like a precious heirloom, tucking it into his robes and taking it out now and then to admire.
Strangely, though granted freedom, he no longer wished to leave.
The outside world was tempting—but the Third Prince mattered more.
For the remainder of the month, he clung to the prince like a shadow. Wherever the prince went, he followed. If the prince was displeased, Mu Xueshi chattered endlessly at his side. If the prince was pleased, he danced about in joy.
He became inseparable.
Before long, word spread through the palace that the famously aloof Third Prince—renowned as the most beautiful man under heaven—had taken his first male favorite.
While keeping male companions was not uncommon, for this cold and distant prince, it marked a profound change.
His once-quiet courtyard grew lively—often descending into utter chaos.
When the prince practiced swordsmanship, Mu Xueshi waved a broken stick nearby, scattering petals and startling birds. When the prince read, Mu Xueshi chattered ceaselessly like an engine that never stopped, stirring the prince’s composure into constant unrest.
And thus, the still waters of the prince’s life were forever disturbed.
Futile Devices Scans 
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