Not long after leaving the courtyard, the Third Prince and Princess Wenyang encountered a large group touring the palace. Hao Lin and the Emperor walked at the front, talking and laughing. The Third Prince’s gaze passed straight through them and locked onto Shangchuan Hong behind them.
“What a coincidence.” Hao Lin narrowed his teasing eyes and looked at the pair before him almost appreciatively.
The Emperor’s expression was complicated, but mostly pleased. The ministers behind him immediately seized the chance to flatter, praising how well matched the man and woman looked.
Wenyang naturally looked shy and happy. The hand held by the Third Prince had gone so soft it almost felt boneless. Women of Lubei were comparatively open, so Wenyang showed no embarrassment about walking hand in hand with him. If anything, she made the apparent intimacy between them even more obvious.
The Emperor smiled warmly. “Jue’er, did you and Princess Wenyang enjoy yourselves?”
Wenyang answered before the Third Prince could. “We didn’t even leave his courtyard! It wasn’t fun at all… and he said we would see the lantern festival, but we still haven’t gone…” She pouted as she spoke.
“Heh…” Hao Lin’s mouth curved proudly. “Royal Sister, you’re too willful. The Third Prince has important affairs every day. How could he have so much time to entertain you? Come back to your royal brother. The Third Prince isn’t someone you can trouble whenever you please…”
The Emperor’s brows tightened slightly. He understood Hao Lin’s implication perfectly.
“We have honored guests today. Apart from attending to them, what other duties could these officials possibly have? If Princess Wenyang wishes my third son to accompany her to see the lanterns, that is his good fortune. Why would he refuse?”
“Father is right. Lu Jue is willing to accompany the princess,” the Third Prince said.
Wenyang’s grip on his hand tightened noticeably. She even looked toward Hao Lin with a trace of triumph.
“However…” The Third Prince turned his gaze toward Hao Lin. “If Princess Wenyang is going out, she cannot go dressed like this. This son will first accompany her back to change into something more suitable.”
Hao Lin met those icy eyes. Fire collided with frost, and in the instant their gazes met he understood the deeper meaning in the Third Prince’s look.
“The Third Prince is indeed thoughtful…” Hao Lin turned slightly toward Shangchuan Hong. “State Preceptor, accompany them. Royal Sister has always been mischievous. I’m still not entirely at ease.”
Shangchuan Hong nodded and stepped out from the group, following the Third Prince, Princess Wenyang, and the guards behind them.
Once Wenyang entered the inner room to change, only Shangchuan Hong and the Third Prince remained in the middle of the courtyard. One looked imposing and heroic, the other elegant and refined. Their gazes met, both equally unreadable.
“I wonder why Your Highness called me here.”
With his back to Shangchuan Hong, the Third Prince answered with unmistakable coldness, “What do you think?”
“I do not know,” Shangchuan Hong replied calmly, without the slightest fear.
“I need to ask you for something.” The Third Prince suddenly changed course and turned to face him.
Surprise flashed through Shangchuan Hong’s eyes as he quietly guessed the reason. He had cured Mu Xueshi’s poison but had taken no further action. Apart from Mu Xueshi, who else could possibly make the Third Prince use the word “ask”?
When Shangchuan Hong offered no response, the Third Prince said directly, “I want to borrow the silver coin in the State Preceptor’s sleeve.”
Understanding dawned immediately. When Shangchuan Hong had been with Mu Xueshi last time, Mu Xueshi had indeed kept demanding to see the silver coin hidden in his sleeve. Shangchuan Hong had suspected it might eventually prove useful. He had not expected that moment to arrive so quickly.
The corner of Shangchuan Hong’s mouth lifted. His voice was clear and quiet, like water in a mountain stream.
“What does Your Highness intend to do with the coin?”
The Third Prince gave a cold laugh.
“I think Your Highness has misunderstood. The coin is not part of any scheme of mine. I obtained it by chance.”
The Third Prince seemed entirely uninterested in where the silver coin had come from. From beginning to end, his expression remained detached.
Shangchuan Hong smiled faintly and clearly said two words: “The frontier.”
The Third Prince remembered that during the period Mu Xueshi had been exiled to the frontier, he himself had been leading troops against Lubei’s invasion. If Shangchuan Hong was telling the truth, then the silver coin had originally belonged to Mu Xueshi.
What did it mean? Mu Xueshi had never mentioned it before, yet now it had suddenly become so important.
While they were speaking, Princess Wenyang came out. Dressed in simple clothing, she looked like a snow lotus blooming on a mountain, pure and striking. Seeing the Third Prince look toward her, she lowered her head and approached slowly.
“Your Highness, the silver coin is in my possession, but the decision to give it away belongs to my sovereign. There is no need to rush. Why not take the princess to enjoy the lantern festival first?”
As Shangchuan Hong finished, Wenyang reached the Third Prince. A palace carriage was already prepared. The Third Prince showed no reluctance, helped the princess aboard, and Shangchuan Hong mounted a horse to follow behind.
The streets, which should have been quiet at this hour, were still crowded and lively. Lanterns of every shape filled the center of the road, elaborate in construction and unusual in design. Along both sides hung lanterns made by the townspeople, each a different color and finely crafted. Riddles and poems were written across them. Groups of three or five gathered beneath the lights to guess at the meanings, their faces painted in shifting color.
Wenyang was talkative and energetic. Before long she had drawn countless eyes. With the Third Prince standing beside her, handsome enough to stop traffic on his own, it was impossible for passersby not to stare.
“Young master, won’t you buy a lantern for your sweetheart? I have every style you could want. Surely one will catch your eye…”
“Young master, come here! Every lantern on my stall was handmade by my wife. She’s pregnant now, so buying one will bring you good fortune…”
“Young master, the lady beside you is so beautiful. How could you let her leave empty-handed…”
“Young master…”
…
“Xi…” Mu Xueshi whispered. He knew the Third Prince could neither hear nor see him, yet still could not stop himself from calling out, hoping somehow he would turn around.
Mu Xueshi had completely separated from his body and drifted alone through the street like a wandering soul. He did not dare come too close to the Third Prince, afraid of seeing him tenderly caring for the person beside him.
That must be the princess who had traveled from far away. Mu Xueshi did not even have to see her face to imagine how outstanding she was. No matter how common relationships between men were here, Mu Xueshi had never heard of anyone marrying a man. The Third Prince’s choice was sensible. Rather than stay beside an unconscious man, why not accompany his future consort to enjoy the lanterns?
Maybe it would be better if his soul simply scattered. Then he would not have to face what came next. The Third Prince would have the real Mu Xueshi beside him, and also such a beautiful princess. What would there be left for this wandering soul to miss?
Mu Xueshi tried to comfort himself the way he always had, but nothing worked. The streets were bright, the crowds lively, and no one could see him. Even if he cried, no tears would fall.
The Third Prince’s gaze settled on a plain white lantern. It had no decoration at all and was pure as snow. Perhaps the seller had assumed no one would want it, because it hung in the least noticeable corner.
By coincidence, Shangchuan Hong following behind noticed the same lantern. One glance was enough to make him think of a certain person’s guileless smile, clear as snow and unable to tolerate the slightest stain.
His heart jolted. The face in Shangchuan Hong’s mind abruptly changed into Hao Lin’s, seductive yet dangerous. He quickly pulled his thoughts back under control. When his clear gaze returned to the Third Prince, a trace of inexplicable coldness had entered it.
The Third Prince removed the white lantern and stared at it for a long time. Princess Wenyang beside him looked slightly disappointed. In her eyes, every other lantern on the street was prettier. Still, she did not want to spoil the Third Prince’s mood and stood obediently nearby.
The Third Prince held the white lantern, then asked the vendor for a colorful one. Four elegant characters were written on its side: “One Night of Revealed Affection.”
Turning around, the Third Prince handed the beautiful lantern to Princess Wenyang. The street seemed to boil over in an instant. He wore an ice-blue satin robe edged with silver hibiscus flowers, black hair falling over his shoulders, eyes deep and impossibly beautiful. Everyone who saw him was shaken, yet no one dared approach.
Wenyang accepted the lantern in a daze, her gaze melting into water. She could see only the person in front of her. Everything else around them seemed unreal. If this were a dream, she would gladly never wake.
Only after the final lanterns began to dim did the Third Prince bring the reluctant Wenyang back to the palace. She held the colorful lantern in both hands, eyes dreamy. Even though exhaustion had overtaken her, she still refused to close them.
Back in the palace, Wenyang finally went to rest only after Hao Lin sharply ordered her to. The Third Prince remained behind without the slightest impatience, waiting calmly for Hao Lin to speak.
Shangchuan Hong had already explained everything to Hao Lin. Hao Lin now understood that the Third Prince had come for the same person yet again. Interest rose in him. He wanted to know just how thoroughly Mu Xueshi had bewitched the Third Prince.
“You may take the silver coin, but you must exchange something else for it.”
The Third Prince knew Hao Lin’s methods perfectly well. Even if the coin meant nothing to him, Hao Lin would never simply hand it over for free.
If Hao Lin directly asked for Mu Xueshi, the Third Prince would refuse even if it meant watching Mu Xueshi die in front of him. Anything other than that could at least be considered.
“Name it.”
At some point Hao Lin had taken the silver coin from Shangchuan Hong’s sleeve. Playing with it in one hand, he walked beside the Third Prince, his teasing gaze completely undisguised. Leaning his thin lips close to the Third Prince’s ear, he whispered:
“Lin. Han. Palace.”
The three words struck the Third Prince’s heart like an enormous hammer.
Hao Lin looked completely relaxed, almost as though deliberately reminding him that to Hao Lin, Linhan Palace was nothing more than abandoned ground. Whether he possessed it or not made little difference.
Linhan Palace had been built by the Third Prince for Lin Yue. It held the only mother he had ever had. Two months ago, she had still been the only person he thought about. Two months later, he was being asked to abandon the place that held the love Lin Yue had poured out across her entire life, all for someone else.