“The shoes… are… in the Third Prince’s palace.”
Mu Xueshi spoke the sentence weakly. The quick wit and courage he had displayed moments earlier had vanished completely. After saying it, he glanced several times toward the Third Prince. When he received no response, he gave a bitter smile and lowered his head, falling silent.
The Emperor tapped the rim of his teacup three times with his finger. His gaze shifted thoughtfully toward Eunuch Li, the meaning in his eyes unmistakable.
The gesture was subtle, yet the Third Prince still noticed it.
He gave a soft, derisive chuckle.
Though the sound was quiet, everyone in the chamber heard it. Instantly the atmosphere in the great chamber tightened, so tense that even breathing seemed difficult.
“There’s no need,” the Third Prince said calmly.
His tone was utterly even, yet the words made the listeners’ hair stand on end. Few people encountered the Third Prince often, but whenever they did, they felt the same invisible pressure radiating from him—an oppressive presence that made breathing feel difficult.
He rarely spoke.
But whenever he did, something extraordinary always followed.
The Emperor frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the Third Prince as the latter stepped forward and knelt before him.
The Third Prince first glanced at Mu Xueshi, then raised his eyes toward the Emperor.
“Father Emperor,” he said with unhurried composure, “your son has thought of a method. There is no need to retrieve the shoes to determine the truth.”
The Emperor’s hand resting on the arm of his chair trembled slightly. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
The Third Prince had previously promised not to interfere in the Grand Tutor’s case. Yet now he had suddenly stepped forward—clearly to undermine him.
“Your son humbly requests permission,” the Third Prince pressed respectfully.
If the Emperor refused him now, every official present would immediately see the injustice of it. The Third Prince had skillfully placed him in a dilemma.
Suppressing the anger in his heart, the Emperor lifted his hand.
“I permit it.”
A faint smile curved the Third Prince’s lips.
He walked slowly toward Mu Xueshi and stopped before him. Lowering his gaze, he studied Mu Xueshi’s silent figure, his thoughts unreadable.
Seeing the Third Prince’s boots before him, Mu Xueshi hesitated for a moment before finally lifting his head.
The Third Prince gently touched the swollen side of his face. A flash of fury passed through his eyes.
Mu Xueshi blinked in confusion.
The sharp intelligence that had filled his eyes earlier had faded, replaced once more by a somewhat dazed expression.
No one in the chamber had expected the Third Prince to reveal such open affection toward Mu Xueshi in a place like this—so openly, so boldly.
It was almost as if he were deliberately challenging the Emperor’s limits.
The officials stared in stunned silence, scarcely daring to breathe.
Turning away, the Third Prince snatched the clothing from Wu Cai’s hands and ordered a nearby servant,
“Bring me a bucket of water.”
Mu Xueshi had no idea what the Third Prince intended.
Even the Emperor did not know what he was planning, though an uneasy feeling stirred within him.
When a bucket of water was brought forward, the Third Prince gracefully tossed the garment into it. Then he took a sword from one of the guards beside him and pressed the clothing down to the bottom of the bucket.
After a moment, a thin layer of particles began slowly floating to the surface.
Dust.
Fibers.
Other impurities.
Against the clear water, they were easy to see.
The Third Prince clapped his hands, summoning the court apothecary.
“Please examine the particles floating on the surface and tell us what they are.”
The moment he spoke, more than half the officials present understood.
The Emperor’s expression grew even darker.
Sure enough, after examining the water, the apothecary bowed and said,
“Reporting to Your Majesty, to His Highness the Third Prince—among the particles floating on the water are dust, cotton fibers… and… pollen from Zhiluo flowers.”
“That’s enough,” the Emperor interrupted impatiently, waving him away.
Mu Xueshi still looked confused, not quite understanding what it meant for Zhiluo flower pollen to appear in the water.
Seeing the furrow in Mu Xueshi’s brow, the Third Prince crouched down before him.
His eyes met Mu Xueshi’s directly, as if the explanation were meant for him alone.
“Zhiluo flowers grow to about knee height,” he said quietly. “Most robes fall below the knee, so anyone walking through them would inevitably brush against the flowers.”
“The pollen is extremely fine and difficult to notice. But once soaked in water, it floats to the surface, making it easy to detect.”
Understanding dawned instantly.
A faint spark returned to Mu Xueshi’s dim eyes.
So clever…
He silently praised the Third Prince in his heart. The anxiety that had plagued him moments earlier disappeared.
So the Third Prince had not been trying to condemn him after all.
The thought that he had doubted him filled Mu Xueshi with sudden guilt.
Before he could even say thank you, however, the Third Prince’s expression changed. He rose and turned toward the Emperor.
Then, under the Emperor’s intense gaze, he clapped his hands once more.
Someone entered the chamber.
Mu Xueshi’s eyes lit up immediately.
He almost cried out, “Master!”
But when he saw the grave expression on Su Ruhan’s face—and the subtle warning in his eyes—Mu Xueshi swallowed the words. He remained kneeling obediently, watching the two men.
The Third Prince noticed Mu Xueshi’s gaze.
The softness that had just appeared in his features vanished, replaced once more by tension.
Su Ruhan had not entered alone.
Behind him he dragged two men across the floor.
When the Emperor saw them clearly, his expression changed instantly.
The Third Prince looked at him with a faint, mocking smile. The ridicule in his eyes was obvious—though in front of so many officials, he could not speak it aloud.
The Emperor stared at the two battered imperial guards lying on the ground, his lips pressed tightly together.
The guards looked utterly defeated.
Never in their lives had anyone beaten them so thoroughly in just a few moves.
They had been full of confidence when they sneaked toward the Third Prince’s courtyard, intending to retrieve the shoes that could serve as crucial evidence.
But the moment they stepped inside—
Su Ruhan had captured them effortlessly.
Kneeling on the ground now, the guards felt utterly humiliated.
They bowed deeply toward the Emperor.
“Please punish us, Your Majesty!”
The Emperor’s expression had already returned to calm. He tapped the armrest of his throne lightly.
“What crime have you committed?” he asked almost casually.
“We…” the guards began.
But seeing Eunuch Li’s warning glance, they immediately changed their tone.
“We should not have trespassed into the Third Prince’s courtyard. Everyone in the palace knows it is a forbidden place. Without His Highness’s permission, no one may enter.”
With that statement, the matter of the Emperor secretly sending them to retrieve the evidence was neatly erased.
After all, Su Ruhan had not caught them stealing the shoes.
He had captured them the moment they entered the courtyard.
The Third Prince had little interest in humiliating the Emperor further.
After all, the wealth and power he now enjoyed had been granted by the very man before him.
Though they shared no blood relation, he had called him Father Emperor for many years—and the Emperor had favored him greatly.
So he chose to let the matter drop.
“In that case,” the Third Prince said calmly, “your son takes his leave.”
He helped Mu Xueshi to his feet and turned to lead him away.
But just as they reached the doorway—
“Stop.”
The Emperor’s cold voice rang out behind them.
The Third Prince halted and turned back calmly.
“Please instruct me, Father Emperor.”
“Mu Xueshi cannot return with you to the Qinyi Courtyard,” the Emperor said coldly. “Until the true murderer is found, he must remain imprisoned.”
“Linhan Palace is already the greatest leniency I can grant. If you refuse… I will have him thrown into the imperial dungeon.”
The chamber fell utterly silent.
No one dared oppose the Emperor.
Even the Third Prince ultimately had to obey.
Otherwise it would be defiance of the throne itself.
The Third Prince remained silent for a moment.
Then a strange smile appeared on his cold face.
The ministers below felt cold sweat run down their backs.
If the struggle between father and son continued, even the silent spectators might suffer the consequences.
“Father Emperor,” the Third Prince said slowly, “there are currently five corpses in Taihe Hall.”
“Even if I say nothing, you surely know why they died.”
“I mean no disrespect. I only hope Father Emperor will leave me a path to live.”
“Before all the officials of the court, I might die—but Father Emperor still has an empire to rule.”
The moment he finished speaking—
A horrific scream rang out.
The servant who had slapped Mu Xueshi earlier had his arms severed in an instant.
His two blood-soaked limbs lay on the floor.
The Third Prince looked down at the writhing servant and said softly,
“For those twenty slaps… I will repay them one by one.”
He stood up, his expression indifferent, and led Mu Xueshi toward the exit.
The terrified servant curled on the floor.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of knife wounds appeared across his face—each one deep and ghastly.
The Emperor’s expression had darkened to the extreme.
He watched the Third Prince leave calmly, yet could not order his arrest.
The five corpses in Taihe Hall had been imperial guards the Emperor had secretly sent to assassinate Mu Xueshi.
All of them were elite warriors.
Yet they had vanished without a trace—until now.
Now it was clear they had become bargaining chips in the Third Prince’s threat.
Have I favored him too much…?
At last the Emperor sighed, sorrow flickering across his stern face.
One by one, the officials withdrew.
The Grand Tutor’s wife, still kneeling in the center of the chamber, had already fainted completely.
Her maid looked frantic. Seeing the Emperor’s mood, she and Steward Wang hurriedly carried the unconscious woman away.
The vast chamber of judgment fell into deathly silence.
“Your Majesty,” Eunuch Li said gently, “please do not dwell on it.”
“His Highness the Third Prince is young and impulsive. One day he will understand Your Majesty’s good intentions.”
“Besides… he is not entirely wrong.”
“Is it not precisely this spirit that Your Majesty admires in him? If he were like the other princes—obedient and submissive—Your Majesty would not favor him so much.”
The Emperor listened quietly.
His mood eased slightly.
Supported by Eunuch Li, he rose from the throne.
“Return to the palace,” he said wearily.
Futile Devices Scans 
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