The Third Prince rushed back to the palace just as the sky was growing dark. He leapt down from his horse and strode directly toward the entrance of Taihe Hall.
Taihe Hall was completely empty. Only a few servants and palace maids remained standing guard there. The vast, deserted hall resembled a barren wasteland, every corner permeated with a bleak and desolate atmosphere.
The Third Prince searched every corner of the hall, but there was no sign of Mu Xueshi, nor any trace of the Emperor.
He turned and went to the adjoining side hall, only to find it equally empty. Moreover, upon entering Twin Luan Hall, he sensed something unusual in the air. Had Mu Xueshi been here? The Third Prince questioned inwardly. Unwilling to waste time speculating, he directly questioned the eunuch at the entrance.
“Replying to Your Highness, this servant did not see Young Master Xue leave.”
The moment the Third Prince heard those words, his breathing already became unstable. He questioned the guards at the entrance of Taihe Hall as well, and they gave the same answer. Yet when he questioned the palace maids inside, they claimed to have seen Mu Xueshi enter Twin Luan Hall.
The Third Prince returned to Twin Luan Hall once again and interrogated the servants inside. Seeing the Third Prince’s terrible expression, the servants were so frightened that they could barely speak coherently. The Third Prince asked only one question: whether the Emperor had returned.
“Yes… after His Majesty went to Taihe Hall… he left again…”
“Did anyone see Mu Xueshi during that time?”
“Yes… but when he went to Twin Luan Hall… Young Master Xue… was… was alone…”
He had entered Twin Luan Hall alone, yet nobody had seen him come out. Now he was nowhere inside the hall. Then where had he gone? Were the servants lying? Had Mu Xueshi hidden himself? Or had someone secretly taken him away?
The more the Third Prince thought about it, the more it felt as though the blood in his body was flowing backward. He refused to believe Mu Xueshi could be so mischievous as to sneak away immediately after promising him otherwise. The room was still filled with Mu Xueshi’s lingering presence. He had clearly just been here—so where had he gone?
The Third Prince was still standing there in a daze when the Emperor entered.
“Father Emperor, where is Xueshi?” the Third Prince asked.
The Emperor’s expression remained calm as he replied, “Today, I have two pieces of news to tell you. One good, one bad. Are you interested in hearing them?”
“No.”
“Both pieces of news concern Mu Xueshi.”
The Third Prince’s fingertips turned icy cold as he replied frostily, “Then tell me the bad news first.”
“Mu Xueshi is no longer here.”
Upon hearing those words, not a trace of expression appeared on the Third Prince’s face. He turned and walked straight toward the entrance.
“Come back here!” the Emperor roared.
The Third Prince did not stop walking.
“Emperor Hao Lin has withdrawn his troops and returned to Lubei. This was all thanks to Xueshi. If Xueshi can return safely, I will certainly reward him heavily.”
The Third Prince finally halted. With a stiff expression, he slowly turned around and asked, “Father Emperor, what merit does Xueshi have?”
The Emperor replied, “Lubei has promised not to invade for five years and will annually present silver and horses to Yunxi Kingdom. More importantly, Lubei has already withdrawn its troops and even revealed to me the rebels and the locations where their hidden soldiers were stationed. I believe that within three days, this grave threat weighing on my heart will be eradicated. And all of this is thanks to Xueshi. If he had not proposed this strategy and convinced Emperor Hao Lin, the two nations would still be deadlocked now.”
“And this is the good news Father Emperor wished to tell me?” The Third Prince’s bloodshot eyes glared furiously at the Emperor.
The smile on the Emperor’s face slowly faded as he shot the Third Prince a dissatisfied glance. “Could it be that avoiding such a massive war still cannot compare to a mere Mu Xueshi?”
The Third Prince’s gaze turned deathly cold, his entire body radiating murderous intent. He strode forward and grabbed the Emperor by the collar of his dragon robe before viciously driving a kick into his abdomen.
The Emperor had never expected the Third Prince to actually attack him and was completely unprepared. That single kick sent him sliding backward several feet before crashing onto the ground.
Twin Luan Hall immediately erupted into chaos. Dozens of servants witnessed the scene and panicked, utterly at a loss for what to do. One eunuch at the side tried to cry out for protection, but the Third Prince hurled an inkstone at him, striking the corner of his mouth. Three teeth instantly flew out as blood poured down his chin onto his robes. Clutching his mouth, the eunuch collapsed onto the floor convulsing.
The Third Prince strode directly before the Emperor and looked down at him coldly.
“I’ll also tell you one piece of good news. I’ve already eradicated the internal threat. Emperor Hao Lin did not withdraw his troops—he was forced to flee Yunxi.”
The Emperor’s expression changed drastically. His body stiffened like stone, remaining motionless for a long time.
Only after the servants finally regained their senses and hurried over to help the Emperor up did the Emperor call out to the Third Prince’s departing figure:
“Mu Xueshi went willingly. I did not force him.”
By then, the Third Prince had already taken huge strides out of the hall and mounted his horse, galloping away.
“Your Majesty, should we intercept His Highness?” one of the imperial guards asked.
The Emperor waved his hand, still visibly furious. “No need. Let him go. Whether it becomes fortune or disaster has nothing to do with me anymore. But what happened here just now—if anyone dares leak even a single word, they will all be executed without mercy.”
……
As the Third Prince rode out of the palace, his emotions were indescribably complicated. Just moments ago, he had felt as though he were standing at the edge of paradise, yet now he had fallen straight into hell. Had he known Mu Xueshi would be so easily deceived and taken away, even if the heavens themselves collapsed outside, he never would have spared it a glance.
Before leaving, the Third Prince had secretly assigned people to watch Mu Xueshi. If anything unusual happened, they were supposed to report it afterward. Yet not a single person had reported anything. The moment the Third Prince recalled the Emperor’s words—“Mu Xueshi went willingly”—it felt as though countless hornets were stinging his heart.
Why had Mu Xueshi promised him so sincerely beforehand, only to throw everything aside in less than two hours?
All the things he worried about, all the things he feared—how much weight did they truly hold in Mu Xueshi’s heart?…
Part of him wanted to ignore everything completely, to let Emperor Hao Lin’s schemes fail and allow Mu Xueshi to learn a painful lesson. But the moment he imagined the suffering Mu Xueshi might endure, the Third Prince found himself incapable of hardening his heart even slightly.
Futile Devices Scans 
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