“Fifty strokes of the rod.”
The Third Prince spoke with a dark expression.
A trace of fear flickered in Mu Xueshi’s eyes as he cautiously asked,
“Are… you serious?”
Reality soon proved that Mu Xueshi’s earlier assumptions had been utterly wrong.
This time the Third Prince showed him no mercy at all.
He even stripped off Mu Xueshi’s trousers. Not wishing the servants to see Mu Xueshi’s face or body, the Third Prince personally carried out the punishment himself—raising the cold pommel of his sword and striking Mu Xueshi’s buttocks with brutal force.
After only a few blows, Mu Xueshi was already crying out in agony.
Although the Third Prince gradually reduced his strength, he had no intention of stopping.
To him, this hardly counted as punishment. Any of the instruments within this courtyard could torture a person until they wished for death.
By the time the count reached a little over twenty strokes, Mu Xueshi was already struggling wildly, begging again and again for mercy.
At first he had thought that being punished might ease his guilt toward the Third Prince.
But now that the blows were falling one after another, Mu Xueshi instead felt deeply wronged.
Even when Aunt Chen used to beat him, it had never hurt this much—and her infamous Iron Sand Palm was nowhere near as powerful as the Third Prince’s strength.
No matter how Mu Xueshi cried or pleaded, the Third Prince did not spare a single blow.
By the end, Mu Xueshi’s pale skin had turned a shocking shade of purple-blue, streaked everywhere with bloody welts. The sight was almost unbearable.
Mu Xueshi was already half-conscious from pain. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and his clothes were soaked through.
Yet the Third Prince seemed perfectly calm.
He lifted Mu Xueshi in his arms, covered his face with a gauze cloth, and carried him back toward his own sleeping palace.
Mu Xueshi had finally returned to the Third Prince’s chambers as he had once wished.
But he returned in such a miserable state—beaten nearly senseless, while the Third Prince still showed him not the slightest kindness.
For some time now, Gu Master Mo Ru had been staying within the Third Prince’s courtyard.
When he had first been invited, it had been exceedingly difficult to persuade him to come.
Now, however, it seemed he could not be driven away even if they tried.
Sun Ye had disliked him from the very beginning.
From the moment the Gu Master rushed over simply because the Third Prince was reputed to be the most beautiful man under heaven, Sun Ye had taken a deep dislike to him.
Although Sun Ye himself admired the prince’s appearance, Mo Ru was a respected elder of the jianghu. Yet his behavior was shockingly frivolous.
Whenever he saw the Third Prince, he smiled radiantly.
But toward anyone else, he wore an expression that kept people a thousand li away.
Mu Xueshi remained unconscious after being brought back.
The Third Prince personally applied medicine to his wounds.
When Mu Xueshi still showed no sign of waking, he summoned the Gu Master into the room.
This was Mo Ru’s first time entering the Third Prince’s inner chamber, and he was naturally delighted.
What he had not expected was that someone as cold and austere as the Third Prince would decorate his private chambers so brightly.
His gaze turned toward the figure on the bed with a hint of amusement.
Although the Third Prince had already placed a thin film over Mu Xueshi’s face, the faint outline of that graceful body was enough to make the Gu Master stare in astonishment.
“Please remove the Gu poison from the person on the bed.”
A trace of displeasure lingered in the Third Prince’s voice.
Only then did the Gu Master shift his gaze from the bed to the prince himself.
Receiving such an order, he eagerly stepped forward to examine the patient.
After a long time, the fingers resting upon Mu Xueshi’s meridian points slowly withdrew.
The Gu Master’s expression had changed from playful curiosity to grave seriousness.
He probed again and again.
Each time, his face showed deeper astonishment.
At last he murmured, almost to himself,
“This young master… shows no signs of poisoning whatsoever.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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