“Uh… who are you people?”
After much effort, Mu Xueshi finally reached the gates of Linhan Palace, only to be stopped by two young guards.
Both men were half a head taller than him, broad-shouldered and imposing. Faced with Mu Xueshi’s questioning, they replied calmly,
“We are wardens appointed personally by His Majesty. During your period of detention, Young Master Xue, you are not permitted to leave without the Emperor’s orders.”
“Detention?”
Mu Xueshi’s eyes widened like bronze bells.
The two wardens exchanged a glance. One of them snorted coldly.
“We act under imperial command. If Young Master Xue intends to defy the Emperor’s decree, do not blame us for showing no mercy.”
“Then why was I allowed to go out during the day?”
“When Guard Su accompanies you, we have no cause for concern.”
“Oh, stop trying to scare me. My master sent you here, didn’t he?”
Even as he spoke, Mu Xueshi boldly stepped forward, attempting to squeeze past them.
Shing—
A flash of steel streaked through the air.
One of the wardens had drawn his sword in an instant, the blade gleaming sharply enough to sting Mu Xueshi’s eyes.
Mu Xueshi immediately leapt back a full meter.
“H-hey, let’s talk this out… no need to get angry, big brother…”
Seeing his sudden submission, the wardens’ expressions softened slightly. They sheathed their swords again and resumed their stern stance.
Mu Xueshi swallowed hard.
Then he gave them an ingratiating grin and slowly edged closer step by step.
“Big brother, take a look at this—top quality stuff. The Third Prince gave it to me.”
Winking conspiratorially, he removed the ornament from his waist and handed it to one of the wardens.
To his surprise, the man examined it briefly—only for his expression to grow darker and darker.
Suddenly he hurled the ornament onto the ground.
“You dare try to fool us with such cheap trash? Do you think servants like us are idiots?”
Mu Xueshi’s face stiffened.
Only then did he remember.
Two days earlier he had gone shopping and bought piles of little trinkets and toys. He had carefully stored away the jade pendant he usually wore, replacing it with these inexpensive accessories—things that cost one or two silver taels for an entire bundle.
Looking over himself now, he realized he didn’t have a single valuable item left.
Mu Xueshi nearly wanted to cry.
Why hadn’t he taken the pendant off before? Why did he have to remove it exactly during these past two days?
Going back to retrieve it was impossible.
He would wake Su Ruhan—and by the time he returned, dawn would probably already break.
Just then, a spark of inspiration flashed across Mu Xueshi’s face.
He suddenly shouted behind the guards,
“Greetings, Your Highness, the Third Prince!”
The words startled both wardens.
In that instant of distraction, Mu Xueshi darted forward and rapidly tapped several pressure points on their bodies.
Only when their expressions stiffened and their bodies froze did he finally relax.
“Hmph… finally immobilized. All that training wasn’t for nothing.”
Muttering smugly to himself, he turned to slip away.
But in the next moment—
someone grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him backward.
When Mu Xueshi saw the person behind him, his expression froze.
“M-Master…”
His lips trembled, his face full of fear.
Su Ruhan’s gaze pierced straight into his heart like a blade. Mu Xueshi felt his legs begin to tremble.
Su Ruhan’s face was dark and stormy. Though not quite as terrifying as the Third Prince’s fury the day he had been caught in the brothel, it was still enough to frighten Mu Xueshi senseless.
Back inside the room, Su Ruhan threw Mu Xueshi onto a long bench and tied him down with rope before walking out.
When he returned, there was a rattan switch in his hand.
Mu Xueshi didn’t need anyone to tell him what that was for.
Terrified, he immediately tried to run.
The rope binding his hands hadn’t been tied tightly to begin with. With one strong tug, Mu Xueshi toppled off the bench—chair and all—crashing to the floor.
The next second—
the rattan switch struck down squarely across his back.
“Ah—!”
Mu Xueshi cried out in pain, scrambling up and stumbling toward the door.
“Master, stop hitting me! I won’t run away again!”
He clasped his small hands together in a pleading gesture, looking utterly repentant.
“Do you realize,” Su Ruhan said coldly, “that attempting to escape detention alone is enough for the Emperor to order your execution?”
As he spoke, he grabbed Mu Xueshi’s arm again. Folding the rattan switch in half, he struck down across Mu Xueshi’s backside and legs.
“I know, I know—ah!”
Mu Xueshi squirmed like a restless monkey, darting back and forth as he cried out in pain and begged for mercy.
Su Ruhan’s strikes were far lighter than the Third Prince’s had ever been.
But Mu Xueshi’s skin was delicate and tender. No matter how lightly he was struck, it still hurt terribly.
Besides, Mu Xueshi deliberately made a grand show of it.
Often the rattan hadn’t even landed yet before he was already screaming loudly, hoping Su Ruhan would soften his heart.
“Master, stop hitting me… right now I only have you left…”
Those words made Su Ruhan pause.
Outside the window, someone’s breathing also suddenly stopped.
Seizing the opportunity, Mu Xueshi struggled free and bolted toward the door.
Realizing the words had merely been meant to distract him, Su Ruhan’s anger flared.
In two swift strides he caught up to Mu Xueshi, slammed him onto a nearby table, and struck down heavily again.
“Master… I was wrong… I’m telling the truth… the Third Prince doesn’t care about me anymore… ah—!”
Su Ruhan’s hand suddenly stopped.
Looking at Mu Xueshi’s despairing face, he said quietly,
“I am striking you on behalf of the Third Prince.”
Mu Xueshi jerked his head up.
Through clenched teeth he demanded,
“The Third Prince told you to abuse me?”
Su Ruhan’s brows knitted together in helpless frustration.
He had not expected Mu Xueshi to twist his words so completely.
All the Third Prince’s painstaking intentions—wasted.
“Xi…”
Mu Xueshi suddenly lifted his head and murmured toward the window.
The window stood wide open.
There, clearly visible beyond it, was the Third Prince’s face.
Cold.
Sharp.
Devoid of the slightest emotion.
In the next moment—
the figure disappeared, as though it had never been there at all.
So unreal it seemed like a shared illusion.
Mu Xueshi staggered toward the door in agitation.
Seeing this, Su Ruhan quickly grabbed him, but Mu Xueshi struggled like a madman, even tearing his clothes apart in his attempt to rush outside.
“Xi, come back! I need to talk to you—”
“Please… don’t go! I just need to say a few words, Xi—!”
Outside, the Third Prince walked away from Linhan Palace with an indifferent expression.
Behind him, Mu Xueshi’s hoarse cries rang out clearly.
“Hit me then! Beat me to death!”
Mu Xueshi’s voice had grown raw. His entire face pressed against the table, his heart cold as ice.
Su Ruhan finally lifted him up and carried him toward his bedroom.
Mu Xueshi stopped struggling.
Perhaps he believed the Third Prince had already gone far away.
Or perhaps—
that he had never come at all.
Su Ruhan laid Mu Xueshi gently on the bed, turning him onto his stomach.
When he lifted Mu Xueshi’s clothing and saw the clear marks left by the blows, a rare heaviness pressed upon his heart.
“Master,” Mu Xueshi murmured softly, “you beat me for my own good. You treat me better than the Third Prince does. These past three days… I’ve only gotten through them because of you.”
He gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
“But… I still keep thinking about the Third Prince.”
Su Ruhan said nothing.
It was the first time he had ever seen such an expression on Mu Xueshi’s face.
At first, he had only noticed Mu Xueshi because he resembled someone he longed for.
But now he understood.
Mu Xueshi was not that person.
Not at all.
He was someone entirely different—someone with his own thoughts, his own feelings.
And to Mu Xueshi, Su Ruhan was also someone different.
Slowly, the door of the room closed.
Only then did the tears Mu Xueshi had been holding back finally fall.
He had believed that after three days he had forgotten all the hurt.
But the mere glimpse of the Third Prince’s silhouette had sent pain tearing through his heart.
Did the Third Prince truly no longer care about him?
Was he unmoved even seeing him beaten?
Had he even ordered Su Ruhan to discipline him?
Remembering that cold, expressionless face—
and comparing it to the smiles the Third Prince once showed him—
Mu Xueshi felt as though he were plunging into a bottomless abyss.
So it turned out that more than a month spent together day and night—
to him, it had become unforgettable.
But to the other person…
it had been nothing more than a passing glance.
Futile Devices Scans 
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