“Ah—!”
Mu Xueshi let out a long sigh and angrily flung the shoe he had been examining onto the great desk.
The shoe struck the lacquered pillar beside it with a loud thud, then bounced back toward the desk again—more than enough to show how foul his temper had become.
Before it could fall to the floor, however, the Third Prince caught it firmly in his hand.
Mu Xueshi had not seen the shoe fall. Feeling puzzled, he turned around—only to discover it resting perfectly intact in the Third Prince’s grasp.
His face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
“You… when did you come back? Why didn’t you say anything?”
The Third Prince said nothing. He merely placed the shoe back upon the desk and regarded Mu Xueshi with a grave expression.
Realizing he had clearly done something wrong, Mu Xueshi hurriedly crouched down in panic, desperately searching for a way to cover it up. In the end his mind went blank, and he simply grabbed a clean cloth and began carefully wiping the dust that had fallen from the shoe.
Originally he intended to throw it away.
But after a moment’s thought—what if it turned out to be an important clue?
So he wrapped it up carefully again and stored it in the cabinet.
“The Emperor summoned you?” Mu Xueshi asked, trying awkwardly to sound casual.
The Third Prince nodded.
Mu Xueshi forced a bright grin onto his face and continued asking eagerly,
“So… is the Emperor imposing in appearance? Are the imperial consorts around him beautiful? Does he really have three thousand beauties in his harem? When you speak with him, do you have to weigh every word carefully? And what exactly did he summon you for?”
In the end, the Third Prince only answered the final question.
“The ruler of Lubei has come to propose a marriage alliance.”
Mu Xueshi nodded vaguely, half understanding.
Then he casually picked up a fragrant pear from the table and began taking large bites.
“So which princess was chosen? Or will they decide after they arrive?”
The Third Prince added calmly,
“It is the princess who came to propose.”
Mu Xueshi nodded again.
“Oh.”
Then he asked,
“So why did he call you?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Mu Xueshi’s chewing suddenly stopped.
Even if his mind was slow at times, he could still piece together something this simple.
The sweet pear in his mouth suddenly seemed sour, no matter how he tried to swallow it.
Just then, Eunuch Tai’an reported from outside that the evening meal had been prepared and that Mu Xueshi and the Third Prince could dine.
Mu Xueshi had waited a long time for the prince’s return. If the prince did not come, he would not eat; eating alone had no flavor.
He had been starving earlier.
Yet now he had no appetite at all.
A strange sadness rose in his heart. The moment the Third Prince finished speaking, the lively energy that usually filled Mu Xueshi vanished, his head drooping as he made no effort to hide his emotions.
“So… you agreed to it?” he asked nervously.
The Third Prince did not answer.
Instead he calmly ordered toward the doorway,
“Prepare the evening banquet.”
Seeing that the prince ignored him, Mu Xueshi immediately concluded that the matter was almost certainly settled.
He shouted loudly toward the door,
“I’m not eating! Don’t bring my bowl!”
With a dark expression, he stormed into the side chamber and began venting his anger.
He did not dare smash the antiques or calligraphy hanging about the room. Instead, he began punching a solid wooden stool. Each strike made him yelp several times in pain.
The more he struck it, the more irritated he felt.
Finally he simply sat on the stool in a daze.
Why am I angry?
After thinking it through carefully, Mu Xueshi reached a conclusion.
Whenever the Third Prince saw him talking with others, the prince became displeased. Likewise, Mu Xueshi wanted the prince to value him above everyone else.
Yet every time, he tried to consider the prince’s feelings.
But the prince had never done the same for him.
After brooding for a while, Mu Xueshi realized something.
The Third Prince had never truly treated him unfairly. In fact, the prince was cold toward everyone. He had no close friends at all.
And just yesterday Eunuch Tai’an had mentioned that the prince’s gaze only softened when he looked at Mu Xueshi.
Thinking this over, Mu Xueshi’s anger gradually faded.
Aside from the guilt he still carried about deceiving the prince regarding his identity, Mu Xueshi usually managed to resolve his emotions within a few minutes.
Before long his stomach began to growl loudly.
He rubbed his belly and walked outside with an embarrassed expression.
The Third Prince sat at the great desk, leisurely pouring himself wine, appearing entirely unaware of Mu Xueshi’s foul mood.
The moment Mu Xueshi’s temper had just begun to calm, dark clouds gathered again.
He sat beside the prince with a resentful huff.
“Earlier, when I said I wasn’t eating, it was because of you!”
The Third Prince felt a slight stir in his heart, but showed nothing on his face.
“I came to eat now,” Mu Xueshi added solemnly, “but that doesn’t mean my mood improved. I’m just hungry. I refuse to mistreat myself.”
A faint haze of wine had already entered the Third Prince’s eyes.
He turned his head to look at Mu Xueshi.
Mu Xueshi was staring at him with obvious disappointment.
Then the prince noticed Mu Xueshi’s small hand.
It was bruised purple and blue.
The Third Prince rose and walked to the cabinet, taking out a bottle of wound ointment before returning to his seat.
Gently he took Mu Xueshi’s hand and placed it upon his own knee.
Carefully, he began applying the medicine.
Such a small action nearly brought tears to Mu Xueshi’s eyes.
All his earlier unhappiness vanished instantly.
From the prince’s quiet movements, Mu Xueshi felt that the Third Prince somehow understood him. The feeling was strange and difficult to explain, but he believed the two of them shared a silent connection.
Just as the ointment was nearly finished, Mu Xueshi suddenly cried out,
“Ah! My back hurts too! My master whipped me several times this morning…”
Futile Devices Scans 
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