When the Third Prince heard Mu Xueshi’s words, something seemed to stir faintly within his memory. The thought lingered only for a moment before the corner of his lips curved upward, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
Seeing him smile, Mu Xueshi immediately smiled as well.
He had no idea what the Third Prince found amusing, but simply watching that cold, beautiful face soften with laughter filled him with an inexplicable happiness.
His gaze soon drifted downward.
Mu Xueshi stared rather boldly at the impressive hardness between the Third Prince’s legs, then glanced down at himself for comparison. A moment later, a faint gloom crept across his face, the disappointment written plainly in his expression.
He had spoken bravely enough earlier—but when it came time to act, things proved far less simple.
After fumbling and stroking for quite a while, both of Mu Xueshi’s hands had already grown sore and weak. Yet the Third Prince’s length only hardened further, standing proud and unyielding, with not the slightest sign that he was anywhere near release.
Mu Xueshi’s patience began to crumble.
Suspicion rose in his heart. This man must be doing it on purpose… refusing to cooperate!
Annoyed, he tightened his grip slightly in protest.
But before he could do anything more—
The world spun.
In a swift motion, the Third Prince flipped him over.
Mu Xueshi found himself sprawled face-down across the prince’s thighs, his body pinned beneath that powerful frame. A warm hand descended upon his perfectly rounded backside, fingers slowly exploring the soft curve there.
“Don’t hit me…” Mu Xueshi struggled weakly, convinced that he must have committed some offense during the day and was now being punished at night.
Moments later—
A sharp cry echoed from the Third Prince’s bedchamber.
Outside the hall, where the night guard kept watch, Sun Ye raised a brow.
Although Mu Xueshi had been living in the palace for quite some time now, the inner chamber where he slept beside the Third Prince had never produced the slightest sound before. In the stillness of the night, that sudden cry made the situation instantly clear.
“Ah—ah! What kind of torture is this?! It hurts! It hurts—!”
“Corporal punishment,” came the calm reply.
Sun Ye blinked in a momentary daze.
Before he could process the strange exchange, another figure suddenly appeared before him. Instinctively, Sun Ye snapped back to his senses. In the next instant, the sword in his hand was already pressed against the newcomer’s throat.
“Negligent guard,” the newcomer said lazily. “I’ve already entered the courtyard, yet you’re still standing here lost in thought?”
Sun Ye recognized that infuriating grin immediately, and irritation flared in his chest.
If not for the Gu poison still lingering in the Third Prince’s body—something that only this man could treat—Sun Ye would have long ago cut down the insufferable Gu Master Mo Ru with a single strike.
No one truly knew the Gu Master’s real age. Though he appeared barely twenty, who could say how many years of cultivation lay behind that youthful face?
Mo Ru was handsome enough—charming even—but that carefree, roguish air about him made the steady and disciplined Sun Ye despise him deeply.
Sun Ye tightened his grip on the sword and spoke coldly.
“Please show restraint, Gu Master. This is the Third Prince’s Qinyi Courtyard. Anyone who intrudes without permission will be executed without mercy.”
“Then why haven’t you taken my life yet?”
As he spoke, Mo Ru leaned even closer toward the blade’s edge, utterly fearless.
Sun Ye was forced to step backward again and again, fury growing on his face. Finally, he seized Mo Ru by the collar and leapt into the air, carrying him beyond the courtyard walls.
“I heard something I shouldn’t have heard—wah! I want to hear more! Tell me—were you distracted just now because—ah—!”
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Ye flung him straight into a patch of grass outside the courtyard.
Mo Ru let out a miserable yelp before falling silent.
Inside the chamber, the Third Prince slowly withdrew the jade-like shaft from Mu Xueshi’s body.
At the tender entrance, faint specks of blood had already blossomed like scattered petals. A virgin’s body was far too tight and delicate; even with restraint, it had been impossible for him not to hurt Mu Xueshi.
Seeing the pained expression lingering on Mu Xueshi’s face, the Third Prince knew he could not rush matters. If the person beneath him was unwilling, he would never force him—unless there were no feelings between them.
But before the thought had fully settled—
Mu Xueshi had already drifted off into deep sleep, soft breaths escaping him in gentle rhythm.
Outside the window, a few winter crows flapped past in the night sky.
A cool breeze slipped through the lattice, stirring the small candle flame upon the table. The wavering light trembled for a moment before finally fading into a thin ribbon of smoke.
The Third Prince watched Mu Xueshi’s sleeping face.
Beautiful as a painting.
So beautiful that he wondered—if such a face were truly seen by the world one day… would chaos follow?
His hand rose unconsciously, fingertips brushing Mu Xueshi’s cheek with lingering tenderness.
Then suddenly—
His heart tightened.
His gaze fell upon the small spots of blood staining the bedding.
His hand froze.
How far… have my intentions drifted from the beginning?
Only then did the Third Prince remember.
The person before him was his younger brother.
The parents who had given birth to this man were his sworn enemies. It was at their hands that his own mother had been tormented to death.
And yet—
In just one short month, the Mu Xueshi in his mind had grown more and more distant from the person before him.
Countless times he had wondered if this was truly the same Mu Xueshi.
He could hold this person in his arms and sleep peacefully… even when that foolish man did things that angered him beyond measure.
“Are you truly Mu Xueshi?”
The question slipped quietly from his lips as he gazed at the sleeping face.
In his dreams, Mu Xueshi seemed to hear the interrogation. Panic seized him as he hurriedly explained that he truly was Mu Xueshi, no impostor at all.
The Third Prince felt both reassured—and strangely disappointed.
It was as though he had been grasping at something invisible. Even when he believed he had caught hold of it, the unease never faded.
Leaning down, he pressed his cheek against Mu Xueshi’s.
His voice, soft as a whisper drifting through dreams, brushed against Mu Xueshi’s ear.
“I hate those who deceive me the most.”
“If one day I discover that you have been toying with me…”
His eyes darkened.
“I will make sure you regret ever being born.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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