Mu Xueshi slept in a heavy daze all the way until evening.
During that time he woke two or three times. Each time he merely opened his eyes, glanced around the room once, and then immediately sank back into sleep.
Even in his dreams, Mu Xueshi was still crouching in the grass of the courtyard, exhausted beyond words. In the dream he also saw the Third Prince suffering another attack—his face twisted with pain.
Just before waking, Mu Xueshi dreamed that he had gone to find Physician Li. The physician had agreed to examine him, even telling him to lie face-down so medicine could be applied.
A cool sensation suddenly spread across his lower body.
The touch felt startlingly real.
Mu Xueshi hummed sleepily, rubbing his fine, straight nose against the pillow before slowly opening his eyes.
The first thing he saw was his pillow.
Only then did he realize that he was indeed lying face-down.
Startled, he hurriedly turned his head.
The Third Prince was behind him—calmly applying medicine to him.
“You…”
Mu Xueshi rubbed his eyes again before saying awkwardly,
“This sort of thing… a servant could do it.”
After speaking, he waited for the usual response.
Instead, what he heard was the Third Prince’s cold laugh.
Mu Xueshi immediately sensed something was wrong with the Third Prince’s expression. The temperature in the room seemed to drop in an instant.
Not understanding what he had said incorrectly, Mu Xueshi cautiously looked at him and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you already forgotten,” the Third Prince said slowly, “that you secretly sought out Physician Li to examine your condition?”
A trace of dark sharpness appeared at the corner of his brow.
Only then did Mu Xueshi recall the promise he had made earlier to the Third Prince.
He hurriedly waved his hands.
“That doesn’t count! That doesn’t count! Next time if I go to see Physician Li, I’ll just tell you beforehand, alright?”
Inwardly, Mu Xueshi grumbled about the Third Prince’s pettiness.
But when he met the Third Prince’s gaze, a sudden sense of guilt rose in him.
At first he had believed he had done nothing wrong. Yet under that piercing look, he suddenly felt the urge to beg forgiveness.
The Third Prince looked at him with a cold, stern expression.
“Do you know why I intend to punish you?”
Mu Xueshi suddenly seemed to remember something. He clapped his hands several times in excitement and said brightly,
“Oh! I remember now! Earlier Sun Ye came into the room and said the Gu poison in your body is gone, right? That’s wonderful! Even though we waited so many days for nothing, it’s still great to know you’re alright.”
After saying this, Mu Xueshi even stuck out his tongue and made a playful face at him.
“Answer my question.”
The Third Prince’s tone carried not a trace of emotion.
Puffing out his cheeks, Mu Xueshi said reluctantly,
“Isn’t it just because I didn’t tell you beforehand? I’ll remember next time, alright? It’s a happy day—let’s not talk about such unpleasant things. Haha… Actually I think that Gu Master Mo Ru was pretty amusing today. I never thought he’d be so funny. I—”
As he continued speaking, Mu Xueshi’s confidence gradually faded.
The Third Prince’s expression did not soften in the slightest.
Only then did Mu Xueshi truly begin to worry.
He suddenly remembered the time he had secretly helped the Second Prince—and how the Third Prince had driven him away. The memory alone made his heart tremble.
“I really don’t know,” Mu Xueshi said at last.
He sat up and looked at the Third Prince with a submissive expression.
“If you tell me, I promise I’ll change.”
The Third Prince slowly leaned closer.
Their faces were now less than an inch apart—almost nose to nose.
In a low voice, he asked,
“Do you know what you are to me now?”
“Your person,” Mu Xueshi replied seriously.
The Third Prince’s expression remained calm as still water.
“And do you know what that means?” he continued. “And what the term male companion implies?”
Mu Xueshi answered obediently,
“Being ‘your person’ means the opposite of an outsider… as for ‘male companion’… I’m not really sure. I’ve never heard it before.”
A faint curve appeared at the corner of the Third Prince’s lips.
His gaze grew unusually complicated.
Slowly, he guided Mu Xueshi’s seated body back down onto the bed and pressed him beneath his own weight.
“Then today,” the Third Prince said quietly, “I will teach you properly.”
A bad premonition rose in Mu Xueshi’s heart.
With the Third Prince pressing down on him, his entire body stiffened.
An indescribable pressure weighed upon his chest. It felt as though not only the Third Prince’s body weighed on him, but something else as well—something heavy and suffocating that lodged in his chest and made it difficult to breathe.
Futile Devices Scans 
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