“I’m not drinking it. If the Third Prince doesn’t come back, I won’t take the medicine. Qing Ya, tell Eunuch Tai’an that I’m refusing on my own and that it has nothing to do with you. If he gives you trouble, tell him to come find me.”
With that, Mu Xueshi angrily burrowed back under the blankets and lay there breathing hard. If the Third Prince was unhappy, why not say so? Why disappear without a word? The prince had refused to listen to his explanation, punished him mercilessly, and now could not even offer the most basic concern.
The more Mu Xueshi brooded, the worse his head hurt. Time passed little by little, yet no one came into the room. He should have been training that morning, but when he peered through the window he saw no sign of Su Ruhan either.
The bowl of medicine was still beside him. Mu Xueshi stared blankly at the dark liquid, his mind empty, until Eunuch Tai’an entered. The instant Mu Xueshi heard the door, hope flashed through him. When he turned and saw who it was, his heart immediately sank again.
“Young Master Xue, no matter how unhappy you are, you must not gamble with your health. If your anger harms your body, how are servants like us supposed to answer when the Third Prince asks about it later?”
“Who says I’m unhappy?” Mu Xueshi deliberately put on a carefree expression. “I’m delighted. If the Third Prince never comes back, I’ll finally be free…”
Tai’an’s expression changed slightly. Seeing Mu Xueshi’s easy smile, he forced one of his own.
“Then please drink this medicine, Young Master Xue.”
“No!” Mu Xueshi shook his head like a rattle drum.
Tai’an was completely helpless. He ordered a servant to take the medicine away and warm it again, then stayed behind to persuade Mu Xueshi.
Mu Xueshi ignored half of what Tai’an said. After listening to him drone on for a while, he suddenly asked, “Where did the Third Prince go last night?”
“This servant does not know. Last night Eunuch Li came to summon His Highness, saying His Majesty had important matters to discuss. Sun Ye went with the Third Prince. As for where His Highness went afterward, Sun Ye should know.”
“Important matters?” Mu Xueshi repeated inwardly. The last time there had been “important matters,” it had been about choosing a consort for the Third Prince, something about a ruler from another country bringing his younger sister for a marriage alliance…
“Um… I heard a foreign ruler is coming here. Do you know when?”
“Word from the palace says within the next few days. The Third Prince is responsible for the reception, so he may not be as free as before.”
“Good… good… wonderful…” Mu Xueshi had barely forced out two laughs before he began taking his anger out on everything on the bed, throwing whatever could be thrown and tearing whatever could be torn.
Tai’an stared in shock. Mu Xueshi gritted his teeth, climbed out of bed on trembling legs, and said, “If he doesn’t want to see me, there’s no reason for him to inconvenience himself and sleep elsewhere. I’ll leave. It’s not as if I care about staying here!”
Tai’an’s face changed with alarm. “Young Master Xue, don’t act out of anger. The imperial palace is vast, but sooner or later it will all belong to the Third Prince. Where could you possibly go?”
“Relax. I’m not leaving the palace. I just don’t want to shamelessly occupy his bedchamber by myself.”
Mu Xueshi pushed open the door in a rage. After only a few steps, he walked straight into someone’s chest. Looking up, he saw Su Ruhan’s sharply carved face.
“Master!” Mu Xueshi looked at him as though he had found a savior.
Su Ruhan nodded faintly and stood there in silence, waiting for Mu Xueshi to speak first.
“I want to live with you!”
Su Ruhan showed little reaction, though a trace of puzzlement entered his clear eyes.
“Why?”
Now that he had been asked directly, Mu Xueshi suddenly felt too embarrassed to explain. He took the sword from Su Ruhan’s hand, rubbed at the sheath, and muttered, “No reason. I just don’t want to keep taking up someone else’s space…”
Compared with his usual unapproachable manner, Su Ruhan surprisingly nodded and agreed. Seeing that his master had no objection at all, Mu Xueshi felt an inexplicable little sting of disappointment.
Only when the sun felt hot on his face did Mu Xueshi realize it was already noon. He looked at Su Ruhan in surprise. “Master, don’t you usually teach me martial arts in the morning? Why did you come so late?”
“I came for another reason.”
Mu Xueshi’s curiosity immediately rose. He leaned close, nudged Su Ruhan with his arm, and blinked. “Tell me.”
“I came because of you.”
“Huh?” Mu Xueshi stared.
Su Ruhan said without expression, “The Third Prince ordered me to take you to Linhan Palace for a few days.”
The smile on Mu Xueshi’s face froze. He stood there stupidly for quite a while before the words finally sank in.
So he had at least understood the situation correctly. The Third Prince was already throwing him out to make room for the future princess consort. All that talk about dressing him for life and never sleeping beside anyone else had apparently been nothing but soothing lies.
Mu Xueshi gave a bitter laugh and suddenly felt ridiculous, like an abandoned wife. In the past he would never have believed that one day he could become this spineless over a man, laughing for him, hurting for him, abandoning the carefree life he used to have and becoming temperamental instead.
In the end, he would still have to leave. Everything good or bad that he had done would ultimately belong to someone else. Even if that person forgot everything, no one would ever credit those efforts to the wandering soul who had briefly lived in this body.
What meaning was there in remembering any of it so deeply?
Mu Xueshi bit his lip, and something resolute entered his eyes. Fine. Let it end like this. He refused to act like a weeping woman. If he was leaving, he would leave cleanly enough to convince himself he had not been driven out.
Better if he and the Third Prince became enemies from now on. Then, when Mu Xueshi finally left this world, he would not miss him so much and would not resent the thought that everything he had given would belong to someone else.
Mu Xueshi took the bundle the maids had packed for him, drew a deep breath, and walked toward Linhan Palace beside Su Ruhan, talking and laughing as though nothing were wrong.