“You still came after all.” Emperor Hao Lin looked toward the Third Prince standing at the doorway.
There was not the slightest expression on the Third Prince’s face as he stared directly at Emperor Hao Lin. Emperor Hao Lin leaned lazily against the stone wall of the hot spring, his face carrying a relaxed expression, while the unconscious Mu Xueshi rested in his arms.
The Third Prince’s eyes did not linger too long on Mu Xueshi, afraid that he would completely lose control of himself.
Yet the moment he had paused outside the doors earlier, he had already lost control. Otherwise, he would not have burst straight through the entrance.
That troublemaker had disappeared over and over again, leaving him sick with worry. Yet after he exhausted himself searching for him, Mu Xueshi had actually been inside discussing whether he would consider staying here…
And he had nearly become someone else’s possession beneath another man.
Even if that had not happened yet, he was still soaking together with another man in the hot spring.
The moment the Third Prince imagined any part of Mu Xueshi’s body having been touched by someone else, flames burst upward through his eyes in violent waves, burning away even his rationality.
Standing beside him were two imperial experts.
Protected between them was Emperor Hao Lin’s incomparably beautiful Empress, Hun Ruo.
As expected of the mother of a nation, even while restrained at the doorway, Hun Ruo showed no sign of panic whatsoever. Instead, the several officials who had rushed over afterward appeared far more nervous than she did.
“How did the Third Prince get inside?” Emperor Hao Lin asked Grand Commandant Liang at the doorway.
Seeing the dissatisfaction in Emperor Hao Lin’s eyes, Grand Commandant Liang cautiously replied, “Your Majesty, because the Empress was in the Third Prince’s hands, he refused to release her. We feared something might happen to the Empress, so we could only comply with the Third Prince’s demands and allow him inside.”
Emperor Hao Lin glanced once at Hun Ruo before returning his gaze to the Third Prince.
With a half-smile, he said, “Third Prince, thank you for helping me find the Empress and escort her back. Now, may I ask you to release my person?”
Naturally, Emperor Hao Lin knew perfectly well that the Third Prince had deliberately abducted Hun Ruo. Yet inwardly he sneered.
Did he truly think an Empress could threaten him?
So what if she possessed immense family influence? Emperor Hao Lin could still easily fabricate a reason convincing enough for all the officials.
The Third Prince replied coldly, “If you want me to release your person, then you must first release mine.”
“Your person?” Emperor Hao Lin laughed coldly several times. “Hun Ruo is my person because she is my Empress. But you say Mu Xueshi belongs to you—what part of his body bears the Third Prince’s mark?”
The words struck like a devastating blade, impossible to resist.
Though Emperor Hao Lin spoke smilingly, everyone present could hear the murderous intent hidden beneath the laughter.
The Third Prince’s gaze became colder than ice.
Before he even spoke, it already felt as though hundreds of arrows had been fired.
“From head to toe, from body to heart, Mu Xueshi bears my mark everywhere. Without me, he would not even exist in this world.”
That single sentence stunned everyone in the room.
Never before had they heard anyone dare speak to Emperor Hao Lin this way. Even rulers of foreign nations gave Emperor Hao Lin considerable respect.
Yet the Third Prince’s courage was as overwhelming as his breathtaking appearance, causing everyone present to instinctively fear him somewhat.
“What a joke.” Emperor Hao Lin snorted coldly. “Right now, I could have you killed here. I would very much like to see whether Mu Xueshi would follow you in death.”
The moment the words fell, hundreds of elite soldiers instantly appeared surrounding Emperor Hao Lin’s bedchamber. Numerous archers stood stationed farther outside as well.
With only a single command from Emperor Hao Lin, the archers alone could kill the Third Prince instantly.
“You may order my death,” the Third Prince said calmly, “but your Empress will die alongside me.”
At once, several high-ranking officials fell to their knees, begging Emperor Hao Lin not to act rashly.
First, because the Third Prince was ultimately a prince of Yunxi. If he died in Lubei, conflict between the nations would inevitably erupt.
Second, because Hun Ruo was the mother of the nation. If she were killed, what would become of the imperial family’s dignity?
“Everyone leave!” Emperor Hao Lin ordered the doorway in a tone that tolerated no resistance.
The officials exchanged uneasy glances but remained kneeling motionlessly where they were.
Emperor Hao Lin’s expression grew darker and darker. His gaze swept toward the entrance without focusing directly on anyone, yet every person felt as though they themselves were being stared at.
Before long, everyone reluctantly retreated outside.
Only the Third Prince and Hun Ruo remained inside.
As well as the elite soldiers standing in the distance, solemnly awaiting Emperor Hao Lin’s orders.
Once everyone disappeared from Emperor Hao Lin’s sight, his expression returned leisurely calmness again.
With meaningful eyes, he looked toward the Third Prince and said softly, “Third Prince, surely you are not foolish enough to believe Hun Ruo can truly threaten me?”
The Third Prince did not reply.
The expression on his face clearly informed Emperor Hao Lin that yes, he absolutely believed exactly that.
Emperor Hao Lin rested a hand upon Mu Xueshi’s face, caressing him slowly while deliberately raising a brow toward the Third Prince.
“What a pity. You underestimate me. No matter how powerful Hun Ruo’s family may be, they cannot threaten me. If I wished to kill you, even if it implicated Hun Ruo—or her entire family—I could still settle everything easily.”
“And then?” the Third Prince asked.
Emperor Hao Lin pulled Mu Xueshi closer into his arms and replied teasingly, “Then I would advise you to leave immediately. Considering that before meeting Mu Xueshi, I once held some interest in you, I am willing to overlook this matter. You should understand that no one who openly defies me has ever left my sight alive.”
Watching Mu Xueshi sleeping heavily, the Third Prince felt his chest convulse painfully.
Yet reason told him to endure for now.
At present, he stood alone and outnumbered. As long as he could rescue Mu Xueshi, everything else could wait.
“Then give the order. I would also like to witness your expression after watching two corpses fall.”
Two corpses?
Emperor Hao Lin’s gaze faltered slightly as he looked toward Hun Ruo.
Only then did Hun Ruo finally speak.
“Your Majesty, this consort is with child.”
The words were spoken lightly, as though it were no great matter at all.
Hun Ruo was unlike those favored consorts who relied upon pregnancy to elevate their status. Her position within the Lubei imperial palace was already completely unshakable.
This child merely gave her the unfamiliar sensation of soon becoming a mother.
But Emperor Hao Lin reacted differently.
Though he had never desperately longed for a son, hearing Hun Ruo’s words suddenly stirred unfamiliar emotions within him.
In this world, he no longer possessed any ties of familial affection.
Yet now, someone carrying his blood was about to enter existence.
And from the moment of birth onward, that child would become the closest person to him in the world.
Half-closing his eyes, Emperor Hao Lin fell into silence.
A short while later, an imperial physician dressed in blue-gray robes entered the room. Placing fingers upon Hun Ruo’s wrist, he examined her pulse for a long time before his expression became complicated.
“Congratulations, Emperor Hao Lin. The Empress is indeed pregnant. However… I have also detected poison within the Empress’s pulse. I fear the situation may not be favorable.”
Why Hun Ruo had been poisoned was something Emperor Hao Lin understood perfectly well.
What puzzled him was why even he himself had not known Hun Ruo was pregnant, while the Third Prince had somehow discovered it first.
Could it be that the Third Prince originally intended to use Hun Ruo merely as a hostage while infiltrating the palace, only to coincidentally discover her pregnancy?
That coincidence seemed far too improbable…
“How long has the Empress been pregnant?” Emperor Hao Lin continued asking the physician.
“More than two months.”
That meant Hun Ruo had conceived before Emperor Hao Lin even departed Lubei.
Had she truly failed to notice the pregnancy all this time?
Or had she deliberately concealed it?
The Third Prince’s voice interrupted Emperor Hao Lin’s speculation.
“Emperor Hao Lin, Yunxi has its traitors, and Lubei may also suffer the same. Rather than considering the causes and consequences now, shouldn’t you focus on saving your own flesh and blood first?”
Traitor…
The word flashed briefly through Emperor Hao Lin’s mind.
He lifted his gaze toward the Third Prince and Hun Ruo.
“You mean to say you will only surrender the antidote if I release Mu Xueshi?”
“Since Emperor Hao Lin already understands, then all you need to do is release him.”
Emperor Hao Lin’s eyes darkened as he said each word distinctly.
“If I say I no longer want the child in her womb and only want Xueshi instead, will you obediently leave?”
Bloodshot fury filled the Third Prince’s eyes.
The last fragments of his rationality nearly shattered.
He desperately wanted to step forward right now and cut Emperor Hao Lin down with a single strike.
How could this man abandon even his own child for Mu Xueshi?
Had he truly developed genuine feelings for him?
Or had Mu Xueshi revealed to others the beauty that once belonged solely to him, thoroughly ensnaring Emperor Hao Lin’s mind?
Before the Third Prince could erupt, the doors to the bedchamber burst open again.
Civil and military officials flooded into the room, throwing themselves onto the floor.
The moment the physician exited earlier, several officials had immediately cornered him and forced the truth about Hun Ruo’s pregnancy from him.
In an instant, the entire court exploded into chaos as everyone rushed toward the chamber.
To them, nothing outweighed imperial bloodlines.
Compared to previous rulers, Emperor Hao Lin greatly preferred men, so this imperial heir had been awaited for many years.
Moreover, it had been conceived by the Empress herself, making the child incomparably precious.
Looking at nearly every important official in Lubei kneeling before him, Emperor Hao Lin understood that the matter could no longer be salvaged.
If he kept Mu Xueshi, he would not only lose his child but also destabilize the imperial palace itself.
If he released Mu Xueshi, he would merely lose one person.
There would still be opportunities to seize him again in the future…
Yet the delicious prey already at his lips was once again being snatched away.
Emperor Hao Lin truly could not accept it.
Turning his head, he looked once more at Mu Xueshi.
That breathtakingly beautiful face resting against his shoulder would soon disappear from his sight again.
He truly felt somewhat reluctant.
Had it not been for considering Mu Xueshi’s circumstances, the Third Prince would have gouged Emperor Hao Lin’s eyes out directly.
“Everyone rise. I have not become foolish to that extent.”
Suddenly, Emperor Hao Lin’s tone became noticeably gentler.
The officials’ eyes brightened instantly.
All gloom vanished from their expressions.
Some even looked disbelievingly at the people beside them, only becoming certain after seeing the joy on everyone else’s faces that Emperor Hao Lin had truly agreed to release him.
Though hatred still burned inside the Third Prince, seeing the officials kneeling throughout the room nevertheless stirred some emotion within him.
Emperor Hao Lin was full of schemes and manipulation, yet all of his subordinates sincerely supported him.
Meanwhile, the Emperor of Yunxi governed strictly and steadily, yet those beneath him all harbored selfish motives, with very few truly loyal to the court.
When the Third Prince finally lifted Mu Xueshi out from the mist-covered hot spring, everyone present clearly saw his face for the very first time.
In that instant, every person froze in shock.
They had always believed Hun Ruo already represented the pinnacle of beauty.
Yet upon seeing this person, they suddenly realized all previous beauties had lost every trace of color by comparison.
Any dissatisfaction they once felt toward Emperor Hao Lin vanished completely.
Someone like this truly could rival the importance of imperial bloodlines.
“As for the antidote, once Xueshi and I return to the imperial palace, it will naturally be delivered into the Empress’s hands.”
The Third Prince covered Mu Xueshi’s face once more before carrying him toward the exit.
Feeling the scorching gaze from behind him, the Third Prince suddenly halted.
Then he said quietly, “Emperor Hao Lin, do not blame me for being deceitful. This move… I learned from your State Preceptor.”
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