When Mu Xueshi spotted the Third Prince approaching from not far away, leading a horse toward him, he suddenly rushed forward.
Extending his index and middle fingers, he jabbed toward the Third Prince’s chest.
“Ha ha ha! You can’t move now, can you?!”
Mu Xueshi burst into laughter, repeatedly pulling faces at him in triumph.
But in the very next instant, the Third Prince simply raised his hand and lightly tapped Mu Xueshi twice on the chest.
Immediately Mu Xueshi’s speech acupoint was sealed as well. Unable to utter a word, he could only mumble incoherently as the Third Prince effortlessly lifted him up and placed him onto the carriage.
His first attempt at testing the technique had failed completely.
Mu Xueshi struggled for quite some time before realizing that he could not release his own sealed acupoint at all. If the Third Prince bullied him again in the future, then with his current level of skill, wouldn’t everything still be useless?
By the time they arrived at the Grand Tutor’s manor, the Third Prince carried Mu Xueshi down from the carriage and finally released his acupoint.
The moment his mouth was freed, Mu Xueshi immediately began chattering nonstop.
He launched into a series of complaints about the Third Prince’s actions.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, the Third Prince tapped him again—and he was once more rendered speechless.
Thus Mu Xueshi walked silently beside him into the main hall.
Inside the hall, Yuwen Tao happened to be examining some documents. When he saw the Third Prince arrive, he hurried forward and knelt to pay his respects.
“This humble one greets Your Highness, Third Prince.”
“You may rise.”
“Yes.”
After completing the formalities, Yuwen Tao stood respectfully in the center of the hall and addressed him.
“Your Highness, regarding the case of Brother Mu, this old man has recently developed some new thoughts. Would Your Highness be willing to hear my analysis?”
The Third Prince replied calmly,
“Please proceed.”
Yuwen Tao cupped his fists and said,
“Brother Mu was burned to death, yet no traces were left on his bones. Moreover, no sound was heard from the room during the incident. It is highly likely that someone first administered a drug to render him unconscious, then set the fire to destroy the evidence.”
He paused before continuing.
“In that case, the culprit must have been someone very close to Brother Mu—someone who could freely enter and leave his room without arousing suspicion.”
At this point, Mu Xueshi let out a muffled protest, clearly disagreeing with Yuwen Tao’s reasoning.
Seeing this, the Third Prince released his acupoint.
Mu Xueshi immediately took a deep breath and then said,
“You’re thinking too simply. I already considered that.”
He continued quickly,
“But based on the burn marks left behind on my father’s body, his posture never changed from beginning to end. Even a corpse should curl up when burned.”
“Furthermore, I checked the records. To reduce an adult body to ashes within two hours requires temperatures of around one thousand degrees. Ordinary flames simply cannot achieve that.”
“So my father’s death definitely wasn’t something as simple as drugging him and setting him on fire.”
After saying all this in one breath, Mu Xueshi felt extremely satisfied.
He had not expected someone as old as Yuwen Tao to think so naïvely. Judging from his honest, simple appearance, Mu Xueshi could not imagine how he had even managed to rise to the position of magistrate.
Yuwen Tao himself was stunned by the torrent of reasoning.
He had never imagined that Mu Xueshi could display such sharp insight. What seemed simple in Mu Xueshi’s eyes had left Yuwen Tao deeply impressed by his attentiveness.
The Third Prince’s expression shifted slightly as well.
He had never expected that the man who wandered idly around him every day could observe such details.
When Mu Xueshi noticed the Third Prince looking at him, his cheeks flushed red.
“I won’t interrupt you while you discuss serious matters,” he said softly. “I’ll go continue searching for clues.”
The Third Prince immediately knew from the movement of Mu Xueshi’s eyes that he was plotting something.
Still, whatever mischief Mu Xueshi caused was usually minor. The Third Prince was not worried he would truly cause trouble.
Besides, after hearing Mu Xueshi’s reasoning just now, he even felt that giving him some freedom might actually allow him to discover something useful.
So he simply nodded.
Mu Xueshi slipped away quickly, showing no sign of discomfort at all. Within a few steps he had already disappeared toward the rear courtyard.
His destination was clear—he was looking for Wu Cai.
As he walked, Mu Xueshi pondered something.
If the Third Prince finds out about this… what will he do to me?
But then he reassured himself.
Now that they were lovers, the Third Prince surely wouldn’t punish him severely anymore. And besides, he wasn’t planning to do anything too outrageous.
Even if he did…
The Third Prince wouldn’t necessarily find out.
After wandering through the courtyard several times, Mu Xueshi still hadn’t seen Wu Cai anywhere.
He searched the study, the side chambers, the pavilion, the corridors—every corner of the small compound.
Yet Wu Cai was nowhere to be found.
Where did he go?
Mu Xueshi began to feel anxious.
Did Wu Cai change his mind?
It was rare for him to get a chance to sneak out and have some fun. Surely it wouldn’t fall apart like this?
Or did the Third Prince find out ahead of time and threaten him?
Could Wu Cai be in danger now?
His thoughts spun through every possible scenario, and the more he thought, the more uneasy he became.
Finally he stopped beneath a rockery at the back of the manor, breathing heavily.
Just then—
A faint, indistinct sound drifted into his ears.
It sounded like… moaning.
Mu Xueshi shivered.
He tried to stop himself from listening.
But his ears seemed to disobey him.
The more he listened, the more curious he became. Eventually he even leaned forward to locate where the sound was coming from.
What he saw next left him completely stunned.
In the tall grass nearby, two naked men were tangled together, engaged in an act so intimate it made one blush just to witness it.
The grass was thick and tall, making it impossible for Mu Xueshi to see their faces clearly.
But judging by the voice—
One of them sounded very much like Wu Cai.
“Mmm… no… ah… I can’t take it anymore…”
“Do you really mean no?”
“Mm… ah… deeper… don’t stop… ah…”
Mu Xueshi’s face flushed bright red.
He wished he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl inside it.
Now he was completely certain.
One of those men was Wu Cai.
If Mu Xueshi remembered correctly, the Third Prince had told him that Wu Cai had once been Grand Tutor Mu’s male companion.
And now—
The Grand Tutor had only just been buried.
Yet Wu Cai was already secretly meeting another man for an affair… in the very courtyard of the Mu manor.
Futile Devices Scans 
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