After returning from the rear mountain, Mu Xueshi remained distracted, his mind full of the two naked men and the sounds they had made. So the Third Prince had been telling the truth: in this world, men being with men really was perfectly ordinary. Still, seeing how openly accepted it could be left Mu Xueshi struggling to adjust.
He patted his chest, took a deep breath, and started back toward the courtyard to wait for Wu Cai. Wu Cai had already had his fun on the rear mountain, and Mu Xueshi could not help wondering whether he would still take him to the brothel afterward.
Something suddenly struck Mu Xueshi on the head. His little head wobbled, and for a moment the world spun. When he finally recovered, he saw an eye-catching bird flying not far away. Without realizing it, he began following. The bird had pink feathers and a pale crest, giving it an unusually noble appearance.
Mu Xueshi felt as though the bird understood people. The faster he ran, the faster it flew. When he slowed, it fluttered to a stop, tilted its little head, and pecked at its left wing as though deliberately waiting for him. Mu Xueshi could almost see mockery in its eyes.
“So cute! This is so fun!” Mu Xueshi shouted and ran toward it.
To his surprise, the exact same words echoed beside his ear.
“So cute! This is so fun!”
“Huh…” Mu Xueshi frowned. The echo was far too clear and too immediate, and the courtyard was not deep enough to produce such a sound.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Xueshi decided to test it. He shouted at the bird, “Stop!”
The bird immediately flapped its wings, opened its small red beak, and clearly repeated, “Stop!”
“Hahaha…” Mu Xueshi doubled over laughing. So it was a parrot capable of mimicking human speech. No wonder it seemed so clever.
Mu Xueshi pointed to his left shoulder with one elegant finger. “Come here!”
The parrot landed on a flowering vine nearby and answered Mu Xueshi, “Come here!”
“I’m telling you to come here!” Mu Xueshi shouted anxiously.
“I’m telling you to come here!” the parrot shot back just as stubbornly.
*Fine, fine, I’ll come to you,* Mu Xueshi thought. He crept toward the parrot on light steps and reached to catch it. Just before his hand touched the vine, the parrot flapped away again. Mu Xueshi chased it until the bird flew into a room. Unable to stop himself in time, Mu Xueshi rushed in after it.
“Who goes there?” someone shouted. Two guards charged up behind Mu Xueshi and seized him by the shoulders.
Mu Xueshi’s face changed. Focusing, he saw Madam Mu lying in the center of the bed and hurriedly pointed toward her. “I’m Madam’s son!”
Hearing this, Madam Mu slowly sat up with the help of a maid. She looked somewhat unwell, likely from morning sickness. Realizing how rude it had been to barge in simply because he was chasing a bird, Mu Xueshi bowed. “Mother, I was wrong. I liked that bird and followed it in here.”
Madam Mu calmly ordered the guards to release him and invited Mu Xueshi to sit beside her. The two guards had been at the manor for less than a month and did not know him well. They had only seen someone suddenly rush inside and restrained him without thinking further.
“You two may leave,” Madam Mu said.
“Yes.” The guards withdrew, embarrassed.
Once they left, only three people remained. Madam Mu sent the maid to make tea for Mu Xueshi, leaving mother and son alone in the room.
Madam Mu took Mu Xueshi’s hand and said warmly, “Xue’er, didn’t you used to dislike noisy, chattering things like this? How did one of my birds manage to catch your attention so completely that you chased it all the way here from the rear mountain?”
The question caught Mu Xueshi off guard, leaving him as embarrassed as though someone had caught him by the tail. Looking at Madam Mu’s gentle expression, he answered, “The Third Prince must have told you. I lost my memory. I don’t remember anything…”
Seeing how uncomfortable he looked, Madam Mu did not press the matter and instead asked, “How is your father’s case? Have you found any leads?”
Mu Xueshi sighed, shook his head, then stood. “I don’t know why, but everything feels tangled. There are clues everywhere, yet I can’t sort any of them out.”
Madam Mu’s voice softened further. She placed a hand on her belly and smiled. “These things cannot be rushed. It is just like me wanting the child in my belly to come out sooner, yet I still have to wait another six months.”
Mu Xueshi barely heard her. He was busy teasing the pink-crested parrot perched above its cage. Each time he moved a finger toward it, the parrot hopped somewhere else instead of flying away, its tiny feet almost dancing. Mu Xueshi laughed delightedly.
“Since Xue’er likes this bird so much, why don’t I give it to you?” Madam Mu offered.
Mu Xueshi hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no. Mother, I only happened to see it and wanted to play for a while. A bird this noble would be wasted on me… hehe… If it ever has chicks, you can give me one then.”
Although he said that, Mu Xueshi could not take his eyes off the parrot. He truly liked it. But he feared he would not be here much longer and might have to leave soon. Madam Mu had already said that the old Mu Xueshi disliked noisy creatures. If Mu Xueshi kept the bird now, he would never know whether its original owner would neglect it later.