A purple-gold sedan chair slowly settled outside the courtyard gate. The Third Prince stepped down and swept a sharp, shadowed gaze across everything around him. The courtyard had returned to peace. Only the occasional thread of smoke drifted from the thatched buildings of Linhan Palace that had burned, carrying a bleak reminder of what had happened.
Something unusual had definitely occurred here. The farther the Third Prince walked, the stronger the sense of danger became. Mu Xueshi was the first person to enter his mind, and his steps quickened almost involuntarily.
The guards outside Qingyun Palace were standing unharmed, though their expressions looked poor. The Third Prince had specifically ordered Su Ruhan to guard Mu Xueshi, yet Su Ruhan was the only person missing. The prince’s brows tightened, a trace of tension appearing in his face.
He pushed the door open. The person on the bed was perfectly safe, lying slightly on his side with his back toward the entrance. The Third Prince stopped and stared at that back in a daze. Mu Xueshi’s figure remained as graceful as ever, beautiful enough even from behind to calm the mind. But that was not what held the Third Prince. It was how similar the silhouette looked to the person from the past two months.
Only from behind could Mu Xueshi still make his heart move. The Third Prince did not dare break the moment with his voice. He was afraid the person who turned around would wear the same coldness he did. More than that, he feared calling into the room and finding that the familiar figure on the bed would not turn at all.
Warmth approached from behind. Mu Xueshi had already counted the Third Prince’s steps in his mind, though he had not expected this outcome. The betrayal of his own body and heart made him feel increasingly useless, like a person who could no longer control even himself.
His heart had frozen into a glacier, yet his body could still recognize warmth.
“You used to burrow into my arms. Whenever you did something wrong, you would cling to me like a child,” the Third Prince said gently.
Used to? How long ago was that? Mu Xueshi found the voice and tone strangely familiar.
It felt like a very long time ago. There had once been another man who had said something similar. That man possessed a face beautiful enough to overturn the world, yet smiled only for him. He hid him away for a lifetime, until another man saw him. That man carried guilt toward a child he had once abandoned and therefore allowed that person to do as he wished, until at last he abandoned Mu Xueshi and fled.
A cold tear slid inward, all the way to Mu Xueshi’s heart. In this life he had only one relative and one beloved, and they had been the same person.
“Do you remember when you were poisoned by Gu? I hurt myself trying to save you, and yet you did it for someone else…” The Third Prince’s hand moved lightly over Mu Xueshi’s face, almost as though they were playing.
Receiving no answer, the Third Prince asked again, “Do you remember when the Yinglan flower blooms? Do you remember why you waited for it?”
“Do you remember the name of the horse I gave you?”
“Do you remember saying only the night before that you would never betray me?”
“…”
The cold voice flowed through the warm-colored room like quiet irony, piercing a heart that had been left alone with its loneliness.
The Third Prince stared at the person beneath him and tightened his embrace from behind until even his own heart felt numb. Only then did his strength slowly drain away.
“I can wait for you… but do not make me wait too long.”
The door closed behind him again. Mu Xueshi could no longer remember how many times the same scene had repeated that day. Apart from forcing himself on Mu Xueshi at first, the Third Prince had spent the rest of the time saying strange, baseless things and then leaving in silence.
Linhan Palace had become a field of ruins. The Third Prince stood among them, watching fine dust move around the hem of his robe, killing intent entering his eyes.
His gaze drifted toward the low grave. Everything else in Linhan Palace had been destroyed, yet the grave remained intact. The earth beneath his feet was loose. Crouching to inspect it, the Third Prince realized it was not wall dust or broken flooring. Soil from below the surface had been turned upward.
Internal strength powerful enough to do this… the Third Prince thought.
“Your Highness…” Su Ruhan called from behind him.
The Third Prince turned and stared at Su Ruhan for a long time before asking slowly, “What happened here?”
“While Your Highness was at Taihe Hall, several hundred elite soldiers from Lubei destroyed Linhan Palace. What happened afterward, this subordinate does not know. I only felt all of my martial power disappear for an instant and then slowly return. By the time I reached this place, everything looked normal, but the several hundred Lubei soldiers were gone, as though they had vanished into thin air,” Su Ruhan reported in full.
“You saw no one else?” the Third Prince asked, studying him.
Su Ruhan shook his head. “This subordinate felt that someone was here, but saw no one.”
The Third Prince walked slowly to the grave and stared down at it. Careful observation showed clearly that it had been opened. Could several hundred people truly have been buried inside this grave in an instant? Who possessed both the courage and the power to do something like that?
“Your Highness, about today…”
The Third Prince turned and found Su Ruhan already kneeling. His expression was as steady as ever, but guilt had entered it. The Third Prince glanced at him, signaling him to finish.
“I should not have left Xueshi alone in the bedchamber and come here.”
“Did you not spend a great deal of your own internal strength protecting him from a distance?” the Third Prince asked.
Su Ruhan had not expected that answer. Once, merely seeing Mu Xueshi’s true face had been enough for the Third Prince to drive him away. What Su Ruhan had done today might ordinarily have cost him ten lives. He had already prepared himself to accept anything.
The Third Prince motioned for him to rise and asked in an unusually calm tone, “Why did you come to Linhan Palace?”
Su Ruhan answered quietly, “I did not want the only place I had to stay to be destroyed.”
The Third Prince knew it was a lie. If Su Ruhan had truly wanted to protect his home, he would have arrived before the soldiers destroyed Linhan Palace, not after they mysteriously vanished. Su Ruhan also knew the prince would see through him. That was why his gaze carried no panic, only a strange relief.
“Come back with me,” the Third Prince said.
Su Ruhan raised his face and only then noticed that rain had begun to fall. The drops were light and felt pleasant against his skin. The Third Prince was already walking back toward the courtyard. Su Ruhan remained kneeling in surprise, motionless.
“Why?…” Su Ruhan murmured into the rain.
“I need someone to share the pain of being forgotten with me.” The Third Prince’s voice blended into the quiet rainfall.
Qingyuan Hall was filled with music and dancing. Unlike ordinary performances, every performer today was male: musicians, singers, swordsmen, and even dancers performing openly seductive routines.
Hao Lin sat at the center of the hall. Shangchuan Hong knelt beside him, staring at the handsome young men performing onstage. They were all attractive, clear-skinned, and red-lipped. He looked interested on the surface but found the entire affair tedious.
“Your Majesty, why make me choose for you? Wouldn’t Your Majesty’s own eyes be more reliable?” Shangchuan Hong asked while watching Hao Lin’s expression.
Hao Lin appeared not to hear. Smiling, he turned toward the Emperor seated nearby and said loudly, “Everyone beneath heaven says Yunxi produces beautiful men. Today I finally understand why.”
The Emperor smiled. “Then King Lin should choose carefully. These boys were selected from among the common people, each one exceptional. If any pleases King Lin, whether you wish to keep him for entertainment, have him attend you privately, or take him back to Lubei, the choice is yours.”
“Your Majesty is generous indeed.” Hao Lin smiled wickedly and deliberately asked, “Would Your Majesty be willing no matter how many I take?”
The Emperor’s mood shifted slightly, though his smile remained pleasant. Hao Lin’s talent for deliberately making things difficult was well known. If he truly demanded hundreds, it would take only a sentence. Rumor even claimed Hao Lin required dozens of untouched companions in a single night. Yet the boys gathered here had not been easy to recruit. To avoid public accusations of royal excess, the palace usually selected beautiful male attendants from impoverished households and homeless youths, screening them repeatedly before allowing them into the main hall.
“King Lin is joking. Yunxi may have many handsome men, but how many could truly enter King Lin’s eyes?”
Hao Lin laughed and drained his wine cup. A sharp light flashed through his narrow eyes, making his striking face even more dazzling.
Several boys below had already begun casting misty, inviting glances toward him, their inexperienced movements meant to draw his attention. Hao Lin instead turned to Shangchuan Hong and asked pointedly, “Have you chosen, State Preceptor?”
Shangchuan Hong repeated his earlier question. “Why does Your Majesty want me to choose your male favorites?”
Hao Lin laughed softly and gave him an ambiguous look. “Anyone who can still catch your eye must be truly exceptional.”
His voice was quiet and calm, yet something in the words made Shangchuan Hong’s heart stop for a beat.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, General Xiao requests an audience.”
The sudden report broke through the festive atmosphere. Morning court had only recently ended. If General Xiao was requesting an audience now, something important must have happened. The Emperor waved for Eunuch Li to find out the reason.