The Third Prince wanted to carry Mu Xueshi back inside to rest, but Mu Xueshi refused no matter what he said. He stood there silently, neither crying nor making a scene nor speaking. Before long, dawn broke. Warm sunlight spread into every corner of the courtyard, and everything around them seemed to come alive again.
After that one Yinglan flower bloomed, not a second milky-white blossom appeared. Mu Xueshi’s entire face went bloodless. The Third Prince was accustomed to his lively, unpredictable energy, so seeing him look as though his soul had left his body made even the prince’s mood grow heavy.
At last the Third Prince ignored Mu Xueshi’s protests and carried him back inside. Mu Xueshi struggled stubbornly in his arms, his face flushed red. No matter how the prince warned him, he kept insisting that he wanted to stay in the courtyard.
The Third Prince finally placed him on the bed and sat beside him, watching him try to sleep.
Mu Xueshi’s large eyes had lost all their usual brightness, yet he refused to close them. He stared blankly at the ceiling, counting the decorative patterns above while muttering indistinctly to himself.
The Third Prince placed a hand on Mu Xueshi’s face and stroked downward again and again, hoping he would obediently close his eyes. Even after several passes, Mu Xueshi kept them stubbornly wide open as though deliberately opposing him.
“Sleep,” the Third Prince finally ordered.
The command carried unmistakable force. If this had happened yesterday or any earlier day, Mu Xueshi would have shut his eyes immediately and not dared open them again without permission. This time, however, he was afraid of nothing. The more the Third Prince ordered him to sleep, the guiltier he felt, and the guilt made him even less willing to let himself rest.
Seeing Mu Xueshi refuse his command outright, the Third Prince became angry. Mu Xueshi distinctly heard the crack of the prince’s knuckles in the room, yet felt no fear at all.
“Hit me. Make me remember this lesson,” Mu Xueshi murmured.
The Third Prince’s face darkened. “Why should I hit you?”
Two round tears slid from Mu Xueshi’s wide eyes as he stared at the ceiling and sobbed, “If you don’t hit me, I’ll regret this for the rest of my life…”
As he spoke, Mu Xueshi suddenly became agitated. He sat up, pounded the bed, and cried bitterly. Before the Third Prince could say a word, Mu Xueshi threw himself onto him, clung around his neck, and demanded, “Why am I so useless? Why? Why? Tell me! If you don’t tell me, I’m not letting go… waaah…”
The Third Prince’s anger dissolved into helplessness. Faced with Mu Xueshi’s completely irrational behavior, he found it both ridiculous and painful. Mu Xueshi cried against his shoulder, and each broken sob made the prince’s thoughts drift. The hand around Mu Xueshi’s waist tightened unconsciously.
“Your Highness, there is an urgent matter to report!”
Just then, an anxious voice came from outside. It was Sun Ye, and there seemed to be someone else with him. The doorway sounded slightly chaotic.
The Third Prince frowned and moved to place Mu Xueshi back on the bed so he could go outside. Mu Xueshi, however, clung to him like an octopus. When the prince exerted a little force, Mu Xueshi held on just as hard, so the Third Prince simply let his hands fall.
“Enter.”
Sun Ye froze, initially thinking he had misheard. Only when the Third Prince failed to come outside did he realize the prince had truly allowed him into the inner bedchamber.
The moment Sun Ye entered, he stopped short. He was dragging another person beside him. Both men stared in astonishment at how intimately the Third Prince and Mu Xueshi were pressed together and at the tenderness on the prince’s face, almost believing their eyes were deceiving them.
Seeing their shocked expressions, the Third Prince made no effort to hide his feelings. In an unusually mild tone, he asked Sun Ye, “What is it?”
At that, Sun Ye threw the renowned Gu Master Mo Ru onto the floor and pointed at him furiously. “This traitor dared deceive Your Highness. The pollen from the Yinglan flower he mentioned last time was nothing but a trick. This morning he told me that the Gu poison in Your Highness’s body had already been completely removed…”
Mo Ru sprawled on the floor and put on an exaggerated expression of remorse. “You betrayed me! I told you out of kindness, and you… my heart is shattered…”
Before the Third Prince could react, Mu Xueshi spoke first. He stared blankly at Mo Ru, swallowed a few times, then asked the Third Prince very calmly, “Can you let me decide what to do with him?”
The Third Prince looked at Mo Ru with a complicated expression. He had not intended to agree; even if Mo Ru was not someone to provoke lightly, the prince still meant to warn him. But Mu Xueshi’s eyes had regained some of their light, and his face looked ready to clear from storm to sunshine. Unwilling to disappoint him, the Third Prince said, “You may.”
Mu Xueshi struggled to get down, and the Third Prince carefully placed him on the floor. Mu Xueshi’s legs immediately felt weak, but he forced himself to walk steadily toward Mo Ru, wearing a vicious expression.
“Spare me! I only came up with this method to improve the relationship between Young Master Xue and Your Highness. My intentions were painstakingly sincere. Heaven and earth can bear witness, heaven and earth can bear witness…” Mo Ru said earnestly.
About two seconds passed. Then Mu Xueshi’s face suddenly changed, and he shouted, “Starting today, until the fifteenth of next month, you are forbidden to sleep at night! Every night you have to stand on the courtyard lawn and reflect on your mistakes until morning. Hahaha!”
The moment he finished, Mu Xueshi felt immensely satisfied. His mood brightened so quickly it seemed to take a dozen turns at once. He both loved and hated Mo Ru: loved him for revealing the truth in time, because otherwise Mu Xueshi would have continued drowning in guilt, and hated him for deceiving the Third Prince in the first place and making Mu Xueshi lose several nights of peaceful sleep.
With everything suddenly turned around, Mu Xueshi’s eyelids began fighting the instant he turned away. He could no longer stay awake. All the energy he had shown moments earlier vanished completely. He walked straight to the bed, collapsed face-first onto it without even adjusting his position, and immediately fell asleep.
Mo Ru was delighted. He had expected an unbearable punishment and instead received something that sounded almost like a reward. He dared not show his happiness for fear Mu Xueshi or the Third Prince would change their minds, so he repeatedly knocked his head against the floor and cried mournfully, “Thank you, Young Master Xue, for granting this punishment. Thank you, Your Highness, for granting this punishment.”
Sun Ye’s face went black beside him. His fist clenched as though he wanted to make the gloating Mo Ru bleed on the spot. In recent days, Mo Ru had already been sneaking into the courtyard at night, doing who knew what. Sun Ye caught him every time, yet the man shamelessly refused to leave. Mu Xueshi’s “punishment” was practically a gift.
Sun Ye dragged Mo Ru out of the Third Prince’s inner chamber without saying a word. Mo Ru cleared his throat and wore a smug smile. Pushed beyond endurance, Sun Ye immediately drew his sword and stabbed at Mo Ru’s chest. Mo Ru did not dodge. The blade entered about an inch and drew blood.
Sun Ye panicked and hurriedly pulled the sword back. “Why didn’t you dodge?” He knew Mo Ru’s capabilities. Although they had fought only once, Sun Ye was certain the Gu Master’s martial arts were no weaker than his own.
Mo Ru touched the blood on his chest and gave Sun Ye a wicked smile. “I would rather let you wound me than go against you. Otherwise, I could have escaped from your hands before entering the Third Prince’s chamber.”
Sun Ye froze. While he was still distracted, Mo Ru had already flown out of the courtyard.