The Third Prince, Mu Xueshi, Madam Mu, and Wu Cai dined together. Mu Xueshi remained curious about Wu Cai’s identity throughout the meal. He did not know that Wu Cai was the Grand Tutor’s male favorite; even if he had known, he would not have understood exactly what that meant, and he did not dare ask. As a result, he remained thoroughly confused about how he should address him.
Madam Mu wore a gentle smile throughout the meal and occasionally placed food into Mu Xueshi’s bowl. As for the Third Prince, she did not dare treat him with such easy familiarity.
Everyone in the room noticed that the Third Prince’s gaze softened only when it fell on Mu Xueshi. Toward everyone else, he remained cold as ice, enough to make anyone shiver.
Mu Xueshi also tried to mind his behavior. Normally he would chatter to the Third Prince about anything and everything, but every time he met the man’s eyes, he quickly restrained himself.
The meal was painfully awkward. Everyone understood why, but no one showed it on their face. Only Mu Xueshi kept looking as though he had something he desperately wanted to say, sighing again and again as he ate.
Wu Cai also noticed how much Mu Xueshi’s table manners had changed. Although they had rarely eaten together before, Mu Xueshi had never wolfed down his food like this. Wu Cai also remembered that the Third Prince had personally taken Mu Xueshi into the palace and that Mu Xueshi had suffered greatly there. How the two of them had somehow become so close was something Wu Cai could not understand at all.
“Why do you keep staring at me?” Mu Xueshi suddenly demanded.
At last he could not endure it any longer and snapped at Wu Cai. He was already uncomfortable enough during the meal, and now Wu Cai kept staring at him without moving. Anyone would have felt awkward.
The moment he spoke, Mu Xueshi cast the Third Prince an apologetic look, silently conveying that he had reached his limit and hoping the prince would forgive him. The Third Prince showed no reaction and calmly continued eating.
Relieved, Mu Xueshi turned back to Wu Cai with the smug expression of someone borrowing the tiger’s might, clearly warning him not to talk back. Wu Cai immediately understood. He said nothing, but anger burned in his eyes.
After the meal, Mu Xueshi and the Third Prince remained in the main hall for a while longer, but found nothing new. Once he was away from the others, Mu Xueshi immediately felt more at ease. Seeing the Third Prince still frowning in thought, he could not help complaining, “This is really too much. More than a month has already passed, and the crime scene has been disturbed this badly. How are we supposed to solve anything?”
The Third Prince raised an eyebrow at Mu Xueshi’s self-pitying expression and looked at him with an unreadable gaze.
Mu Xueshi immediately grew uneasy under that stare. “Wh-why are you looking at me? Didn’t you say it wasn’t me?”
The Third Prince chuckled softly and stood. “You should understand. Unless, of course, you are not Mu Xueshi.”
Mu Xueshi’s face changed at once, his beautiful lips trembling slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Before you lost your memory, you had a mind capable of seeing through everything. Amnesia takes away memories, not intelligence.”
Mu Xueshi immediately understood what the Third Prince meant. The thought he had been suppressing for the past few days rose again, leaving his chest tight, yet he dared not admit anything. Before, he would have seized this chance to explain everything and asked the Third Prince to use his power to find the silver coin so that the original owner of this body could return.
But now Mu Xueshi did not dare take that chance. He was afraid that before he could even go back, he and the Third Prince would already have become strangers.
“Isn’t this easy?” Mu Xueshi laughed awkwardly. “Just watch. I’ve got a mind that can grasp everything too! I can see through the whole world. I’m only pretending to be stupid to amuse you. Actually, I’m just hiding great wisdom behind a foolish appearance.”
Mu Xueshi forced a few laughs. Although he tried to look dismissive, he radiated anything but confidence.
Great wisdom hidden behind foolishness? More like great foolishness and pure stupidity, Mu Xueshi mocked himself inwardly.
Seeing that night had fallen, the Third Prince told Mu Xueshi to prepare to return to the palace. Mu Xueshi had wanted to examine the place a little longer, but since the prince had ordered them back, he did not dare insist. He was afraid the Third Prince might leave him alone in that eerie hall, and besides, he still needed to hurry back and wait for the Yinglan flower to bloom.
As he mounted the horse, Mu Xueshi hesitated over whether to sit facing the Third Prince or with his back to him. Facing the prince felt awkward, yet he found himself a little addicted to that sense of closeness.
While he was still hesitating, Mu Xueshi suddenly noticed a figure in the distance. The moment he focused his gaze on it, the shadow vanished.
The Third Prince had clearly noticed it too. The figure had appeared to the right of the Grand Tutor’s manor gate, leaving only half a head visible. Mu Xueshi had paid special attention: a hairpin was tucked into the left side of the figure’s hair, set with three or four large pearls, with two long pendants hanging beneath them.