The Third Prince departed from Wangyun Peak and returned to the imperial palace in less than an hour.
Yet the moment he reached the palace gates, several guards stepped forward and stopped him.
“We’ve caught him, Captain!” one of the soldiers shouted.
The remaining guards stared at the Third Prince with fierce vigilance, their grips tightening around the blades in their hands. At the shout from below, the soldiers atop the city wall quickly lined up, drew their bows, and aimed in unison at the Third Prince, ready to release their arrows at any moment.
Seeing such a formation, the Third Prince immediately recalled the events that had occurred not long ago. His gaze turned icy as he looked at the men before him and said coldly,
“Call your commander. He will naturally recognize who I am.”
“Our commander is drinking up there,” one soldier replied bluntly. “He said no matter who shows up, we are to shoot first without question—”
“Who said that?!”
A thunderous shout suddenly cut through the air.
A figure descended from above, cleaving through the air like a falling blade. After landing steadily on the ground, the man did not first bow to the Third Prince. Instead, he delivered a resounding slap to the soldier who had just spoken.
“Who’s drinking?!” Zheng Qingcang glared fiercely at the unfortunate guard.
The poor soldier, struck so suddenly, shrank his neck and hurriedly retreated aside.
Only then did Zheng Qingcang seem to remember the Third Prince’s presence. He immediately turned around and bowed with a broad, sheepish grin.
“Your servant greets Your Highness the Third Prince. What happened earlier was entirely due to my negligence. I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness.”
The Third Prince’s expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly,
“Earlier, someone attempted to leave the palace by force?”
At these words, Zheng Qingcang’s face immediately filled with indignation.
“Yes! Just now someone disguised himself as Your Highness and tried to break out of the palace. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and recognized him at once.”
“Was he alone?”
“No. He was carrying someone in his arms, saying he was seeking treatment for a facial illness. That person’s face was covered the whole time, so I couldn’t tell whether the illness was real.”
The Third Prince’s face remained composed, but his heart tightened.
“Where is that man now?”
“Well…” Zheng Qingcang scratched his head. “Later Guard Su rushed in. In the chaos, that man managed to escape. Speaking of which, Your Highness, wasn’t Guard Su once your personal guard? Why would he help an outsider? Could it be he didn’t realize the man was impersonating you? Or perhaps he—”
“Remember this,” the Third Prince interrupted coldly. “What happened today is never to be mentioned again.”
Seeing the chill in the Third Prince’s eyes, Zheng Qingcang immediately straightened and shouted,
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Without another word, the Third Prince turned and hurried toward Qinyi Courtyard.
Behind him, Zheng Qingcang still called enthusiastically,
“Your Highness, leaving so soon? I even saved a jar of good wine for you—!”
But the Third Prince had never felt such urgency in his life. Although he had made arrangements before leaving, Zheng Qingcang’s words made his heart uneasy again.
When he returned to Qinyi Courtyard, everything appeared normal.
Sun Ye stood in the courtyard, his expression slightly unnatural. When he saw the Third Prince, his surprise was even more obvious.
“Greetings, Your Highness…” he said awkwardly.
The Third Prince merely glanced at him before walking straight toward the inner chamber.
Sun Ye was left utterly bewildered.
Earlier, the Third Prince had carried Mu Xueshi out. Later, Su Ruhan had brought Mu Xueshi back. And now the Third Prince had returned alone…
No matter how he thought about it, something felt wrong.
Could it be, as Eunuch Tai’an had joked, that his mind had wandered all day long, leaving him unable to keep up with events?
The Third Prince pushed open the door.
Inside the main hall stood Su Ruhan, who had not entered the inner chamber.
“Where is Xueshi?” the Third Prince asked.
Su Ruhan bowed and replied,
“He is resting inside. Earlier Shangchuan Hong sealed his acupoints, so he has remained unconscious. I feared that if I released the seal, he might wake and ask for Your Highness—or question what happened—so I did not act.”
The Third Prince let out a breath of relief, though a strange feeling lingered in his heart.
Su Ruhan’s actions had clearly been meant to prevent Mu Xueshi from being frightened—to allow him to awaken as if nothing had happened.
Yet such subtle consideration struck an oddly sensitive chord within the Third Prince.
He shot Su Ruhan a warning glance before silently entering the inner chamber.
Seeing that awkward look, Su Ruhan could not help but smile faintly as he calmly turned and left.
Outside, Sun Ye had expected the Third Prince to reprimand Su Ruhan harshly. Yet when Su Ruhan emerged, he appeared perfectly relaxed, as though nothing had happened.
Sun Ye felt as though his head were filled with sand—everything muddled and unclear.
The normally composed Sun Ye now felt inexplicably irritated. The empty lawn before him echoed only with the shrill cries of strange insects, which made his mood even worse.
Inside the chamber, the Third Prince carefully released the acupoints on Mu Xueshi’s body.
Immediately, Mu Xueshi’s stiff limbs relaxed.
The poison on his face had already been removed. As the Third Prince gently stroked the flawless skin of Mu Xueshi’s cheek, his gaze softened instantly.
Mu Xueshi showed no signs of waking. After being tossed around on the road earlier, he seemed exhausted. Even when he felt the Third Prince’s touch, he assumed he was merely dreaming.
A maid named Qingzhu brought in a basin of hot water with a soft towel draped over its edge. Standing outside the chamber, she called softly for the Third Prince.
After receiving permission, she placed the basin on a nearby table.
“Your Highness, this servant has brought water to wipe Young Master Xue’s face,” Qingzhu said shyly.
“I will do it myself,” the Third Prince replied faintly.
Hearing this, Qingzhu flushed red as though she had received great favor and quietly withdrew.
As she left, she could not help but sigh inwardly.
Who would have thought the Third Prince could show such gentle affection toward someone? Even imagining it felt wonderful.
The Third Prince carefully wiped Mu Xueshi’s face.
However, Mu Xueshi seemed to dislike being touched while sleeping. Despite such careful attention, he frowned impatiently.
After wiping his face, the Third Prince dampened the cloth again and wiped his neck, then slowly moved up to his ears.
Mu Xueshi was ticklish.
The moment the cloth brushed his ear, he burst into giggles.
“Attacking me while I’m asleep!”
Mu Xueshi suddenly sat upright and lunged heroically for the Third Prince’s neck.
The Third Prince dodged easily. Mu Xueshi lunged into empty air, and his hands were instantly captured within the Third Prince’s grasp.
Still unwilling to concede, Mu Xueshi continued struggling—until he noticed the cloth in the Third Prince’s hand and the basin of water nearby.
Only then did he understand.
With a grin, Mu Xueshi pinched the Third Prince’s chin and said smugly,
“Not bad, Your Highness. You served this young master quite well. When I become rich and powerful someday, I’ll bring you home and make you my concubine.”
The Third Prince’s expression, which had just softened, immediately darkened.
“Where did you learn such words?”
“From TV—uh… you don’t know what TV is… I heard someone say it… no, that’s not right—ah! Stop pinching my face!”
Mu Xueshi realized the Third Prince had misunderstood and immediately regretted the joke.
Seeing the stormy look on the Third Prince’s face, Mu Xueshi began rattling off a stream of absurd explanations like memorized lines. Eventually, he managed to coax the Third Prince’s expression back to normal.
Seeing Mu Xueshi still lively and clever, the Third Prince finally felt truly relieved.
“Huh?”
Mu Xueshi suddenly touched his cheek.
“When you pinched me just now… my face doesn’t hurt like it did before.”
He picked up a cracked bronze mirror from beside the bed and examined himself repeatedly.
The scars and spots that had covered his face were gone.
Joy instantly spread across his features.
“Where did you get that mirror?” the Third Prince asked, narrowing his eyes.
Mu Xueshi gave an embarrassed smile and pointed toward the broken bronze mirror behind the screen.
“You… get the idea.”
Seeing the Third Prince about to strike him, Mu Xueshi reacted quickly and grabbed his hand.
“A gentleman uses words, not fists! My face is really healed—feel it!”
The Third Prince followed Mu Xueshi’s guidance and gently touched his smooth cheek.
Watching the delight on Mu Xueshi’s face, the Third Prince suddenly felt uneasy about the deception he had kept from him.
“Did your face hurt much these past few days?” he asked softly.
Mu Xueshi froze for a moment.
Then he answered awkwardly,
“No… just sometimes.”
“Then why keep a mirror by the bed?”
“I…”
Mu Xueshi blushed and scratched his bangs nervously. Unable to invent an excuse, he finally admitted,
“I was afraid I looked too ugly… that you’d throw me out.”
The Third Prince smiled faintly—though barely noticeable, it was genuine.
Seeing the Third Prince in a better mood, Mu Xueshi relaxed.
After all the excitement, he felt tired and leaned against the Third Prince’s back to rest.
Yet even while resting, he was restless. His fingers traced idle patterns along the Third Prince’s back while his eyes darted about, as though plotting something.
Suddenly, Mu Xueshi remembered the silver coin he had seen earlier in the Third Prince’s sleeve.
His face changed drastically.
Sensing the stiffness behind him, the Third Prince immediately pulled Mu Xueshi into his arms.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Mu Xueshi swallowed hard, staring directly at him.
“How did that silver coin end up in your hand?”
The Third Prince frowned in confusion and placed a hand on Mu Xueshi’s forehead.
“What silver coin?”
“The one I saw before I fell asleep—the silver coin in your sleeve. It was always with you. Do you… know everything?”
The Third Prince’s expression shifted slightly.
Gripping Mu Xueshi’s shoulders, he asked sternly,
“What silver coin? Are you hiding something from me?”
Mu Xueshi froze.
The question had reached this point, yet no matter what, he could not bring himself to speak.
Perhaps… perhaps it had only been a dream.
After all, everything had felt hazy earlier, like an illusion.
“Have you… been in this room before?” Mu Xueshi asked nervously.
The Third Prince understood instantly.
Shangchuan Hong must have done something to Mu Xueshi earlier, causing these confused memories to surface.
“No,” the Third Prince said gently. “You had a nightmare.”
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s helpless expression, his heart softened. He stroked Mu Xueshi’s hair reassuringly.
Mu Xueshi felt that the more he indulged in this comfortable life, the more uneasy he became.
Whether it was his own fear or the truth of things, he could not tell.
Even while greedily enjoying the present, nightmares continued to haunt him.
Futile Devices Scans 
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