Elio’s Notes: This story is not yet over. The following few chapters are just side stories for Volume 2 before we move to Volume 3.
A few days after Mu Xueshi returned from Miwu Mountain, the injuries on his body had nearly healed completely, and the problem with his throat had improved considerably. Although his voice was still not as pleasant as it had once been, he was already able to speak fluently like a normal person.
Ever since his voice recovered, Mu Xueshi had finally let loose all the words he had been bottling up during those days. The Third Prince became his most loyal listener. The topics ranged from major matters, such as how to begin investigating the current case, to trivial everyday things, such as what he had eaten for lunch that day…
Rarely did the Third Prince possess such patience. The small courtyard where servants once had their throats slit for making too much noise was now filled with Mu Xueshi’s incessant chatter. Even the servants occasionally grew sleepy listening to him, yet the Third Prince always appeared fascinated by every word that came out of Mu Xueshi’s mouth.
While recovering from his injuries, Mu Xueshi finally got his wish and spent two days living in the Ice-Fire Cave. He even clamored about bringing Li Qian along, insisting that having him nearby would provide more inspiration while solving cases. However, the idea was rejected by both his master and the Third Prince, and thus remained nothing more than an idea.
Aside from that, whenever the Third Prince had free time, he would take Mu Xueshi out to have fun. Under the banner of recovering from injuries, Mu Xueshi had been living an exceedingly comfortable life these past days. There was only one matter that remained buried in his heart, occasionally surfacing while he was enjoying himself and spoiling his mood.
Only one knot remained in his heart now—the injury on the Mountain King. He had learned from the Third Prince that the poison in his own body and the poison affecting the others had already been cured, but as for the Mountain King, no one knew what his condition was.
Mu Xueshi did not dare bring up the matter with the Third Prince. He knew that the Third Prince was already very bothered by the fact that he had married the Mountain King, and he feared that mentioning it would only anger him.
Though only a few days had passed, the many things Mu Xueshi had experienced there remained vivid in his memory, especially the things the Mountain King had done for him. If the Mountain King had not rescued him from the tiger’s jaws back then, he would likely have been dead long ago.
What should I do?
Taking advantage of the time when the Third Prince had gone to court, Mu Xueshi once again began pondering aimlessly.
Knock knock knock…
Hearing the knocking at the door, Mu Xueshi looked up and saw Qingzhu approaching with a bronze basin filled with water.
“Young Master Xue is up very early today.”
Lost in thought, Mu Xueshi nodded, took the washcloth from Qingzhu’s hands, wiped his face, then sighed.
“Now that I’m an official, I can’t keep living like before—eating all day and doing nothing.”
At those words, Qingzhu could not help laughing.
Young Master Xue had already been serving as Judicial Affairs Minister for half a month, yet this was the first time she had ever seen him get up this early.
“What are you laughing at?” Mu Xueshi demanded, his brows shooting upward in displeasure.
Qingzhu quickly stopped laughing and said, “Nothing. I was just happy that Young Master Xue has become so capable. Even little maids like us have benefited from it.”
“Hmph!” Mu Xueshi pouted and pointed at her. “Stop lying to me. I could tell immediately—you’re laughing because you think I’m incompetent, aren’t you?”
“Of course not!” Seeing that Mu Xueshi was genuinely angry, Qingzhu hurriedly clutched her handkerchief and explained, “Young Master Xue, you’ve misunderstood me. I’m not like those gossiping servants in the palace who spread all kinds of nonsense. In my eyes, Young Master Xue is the very best. No one can compare. Those favored consorts and talented scholars? They’re all rubbish!”
“Favored consorts and talented scholars?” Mu Xueshi repeated, thoroughly confused.
Puffing out her cheeks, Qingzhu declared loudly, “Yes! Especially that Noble Consort Yu. He’s always trying to compete with Young Master Xue for attention.”
Noble Consort Yu?
The name sounded unfamiliar to Mu Xueshi. The person sounded unfamiliar too. Had something new happened in the palace while he had been away?
“Who is Noble Consort Yu?”
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s interest, Qingzhu eagerly added fuel to the fire.
“Noble Consort Yu is the new consort His Majesty recently took in. He’s extremely favored now. Even the Empress gives him special treatment. I heard His Majesty plans to grant him an official position, and some people even say he’ll be transferred to serve at the Third Prince’s side…”
Ahem, ahem…
Several stiff coughs sounded from the doorway.
Mu Xueshi and Qingzhu both looked over and saw Qingya entering the room.
“Young Master Xue, don’t listen to Qingzhu’s nonsense. Those rumors can’t be trusted. They’re just stories that the maids and servants around the consorts have repeated so many times that no one knows what’s true anymore.”
Qingzhu failed to notice Qingya frantically signaling to her and continued arguing.
“How is it not true? I heard they discussed it in court today. During the days when Young Master Xue disappeared, His Highness only met with Noble Consort Yu. Lots of servants in the palace saw it with their own eyes!”
“Do you have a death wish?”
Qingya immediately covered Qingzhu’s mouth, her expression turning ugly.
Mu Xueshi felt a strange discomfort settle in his chest.
“Noble Consort Yu…” he muttered.
Could it be that Qilin beauty who had stolen all the attention at the banquet?
That man really was called Yu’er. Even if he were reduced to ashes, Mu Xueshi would still recognize him.
That neither-man-nor-woman creature!
Always finding excuses to talk to the Third Prince, always reciting those ridiculous poems and matching couplets. If it hadn’t been for him, Mu Xueshi would never have become so angry that he ran away from the palace…
The more he thought about it, the more he could not help voicing the question in his heart.
The answer he received was a definite confirmation.
Immediately, Mu Xueshi felt uncomfortable.
Yes, it had been wrong of him to run away. But during that time, the Third Prince had still gone to see Yu’er. No matter how he looked at it, it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Besides, in Mu Xueshi’s memory, aside from treating him well, the Third Prince had always been cold toward everyone else. So why had Yu’er become an exception?
This is infuriating!
Mu Xueshi slammed his fist onto the table.
The sudden noise startled Qingya and Qingzhu. They hurried over to comfort him, but nothing they said reached him. His mind was already filled with images of Yu’er secretly meeting the Third Prince and the two of them “working together” in the future.
Just then, while he was worrying over the matter, he suddenly spotted a dark figure at the doorway. Mu Xueshi thought some cat or dog had wandered in and was just about to jump onto the chair when a small figure wrapped itself around his leg.
Looking down, he discovered that it was Su Ying, whom he had not seen for several days.
Su Ying was overjoyed to see Mu Xueshi. Completely disregarding Mu Xueshi’s mood, he climbed from his leg straight up to his waist. Unable to keep his balance, Mu Xueshi had no choice but to sit down in the chair, only to have Su Ying throw his arms around his neck.
“H-He… how did he get in here?” Mu Xueshi asked, breathing with some difficulty from Su Ying’s tight embrace.
As Qingya carefully tried to pry Su Ying’s arms away, she explained, “This little master can crawl in through the hole in that wall over there. Have you forgotten, Young Master Xue?”
With Qingya’s reminder, Mu Xueshi immediately remembered. Back when he had first arrived here, Su Ying had secretly slipped into the courtyard and had nearly dug out his eyeballs while he was immobilized by an acupoint strike.
Whether Qingya’s actions had angered Su Ying or not, the child suddenly tightened his grip even more. As if in retaliation, he tried to bite Qingya but ended up sinking his teeth into Mu Xueshi’s neck instead.
“Ow!”
Mu Xueshi cried out in pain.
Only then did Su Ying loosen his arms. His large eyes rolled as he stared at Mu Xueshi, his face filled with affection. After a moment, he suddenly kissed Mu Xueshi and sweetly called out, “Uncle Mu.”
How could Mu Xueshi possibly get angry at a child, especially one as adorable as this? Still, he was in a bad mood today. Why did this child have to come cling to him at a time like this?
“Uncle Mu, take me out to play,” Su Ying pleaded in a childish voice.
After thinking it over, Mu Xueshi shook his head. “No. Uncle already promised your Third Imperial Uncle that I wouldn’t leave the courtyard. If you want to play, go find your Father. He’ll take you to all kinds of fun places.”
Not only was Su Ying not discouraged, he became even more enthusiastic.
“Then I’ll play inside the courtyard. I like Uncle Mu the most. Whatever Uncle Mu plays, I’ll like it too.”
Though Mu Xueshi had always found the child troublesome, hearing those words still made him feel rather pleased. He scooped Su Ying up into his arms and headed outside.
Su Ying kept running his little hands all over Mu Xueshi and repeatedly declared, “Su Ying likes Uncle Mu.”
The first time Mu Xueshi heard it, he was delighted. After hearing it countless times, however, he began to feel puzzled.
“What exactly do you like about Uncle?”
Without hesitation, Su Ying replied, “Uncle is handsome.”
Mu Xueshi swallowed hard and forced himself to return the affection with a kiss. Yet inwardly he muttered to himself that what Su Ying liked was this beautiful appearance—and unfortunately, this appearance did not truly belong to him.
“Young Master Xue, His Highness…” Qingya began, hesitating as she looked at Mu Xueshi with a troubled expression.
Mu Xueshi immediately understood what she was trying to say and reassured her, “Don’t worry. I won’t leave the courtyard. Besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get out.”
“…”
Carrying Su Ying, Mu Xueshi headed to the grove on the back mountain and instructed the servants to bring him two lengths of rope. He tied them to a tree and fashioned a simple swing.
He had intended to place Su Ying on the swing and push him himself, but Su Ying stubbornly refused to leave Mu Xueshi’s arms. In the end, Mu Xueshi had no choice but to sit on the swing with him.
At least this game required no thinking. Sitting on the swing, Mu Xueshi finally found a moment of peace and began dwelling on all sorts of thoughts.
He did not want to think about Noble Consort Yu. The only thing that continued to weigh on his mind was the Mountain King’s condition. How could he find out what had happened to him?
Go investigate personally?
Even if he made it back safely, the trip would take at least half a day. There was no way the Third Prince would fail to notice what he had been doing during that time. And if he ended up being detained there again, even if the Third Prince was willing to come looking for him once more, Mu Xueshi himself would be too ashamed to return.
Send someone else to check?
But what if the servant proved unreliable and let something slip? That would certainly put the Third Prince in a foul mood and might even cause even greater trouble.
Who could be trusted to handle this properly?
Mu Xueshi racked his brains. Just then, he happened to see Su Ying playing with insects nearby, and inspiration suddenly struck.
Poison Master Moru!
Why hadn’t he thought of him sooner?
Poison Master Moru was the Mountain King’s friend and also his benefactor. That day, when the Third Prince had ordered him caned, Mu Xueshi had even pleaded on his behalf. Surely he wouldn’t side with the Third Prince and reveal the matter to him.
The moment the idea occurred to him, Mu Xueshi could no longer sit still. He immediately jumped off the swing.
Unfortunately, he forgot that Su Ying was still clinging to him and nearly flung the Second Prince’s precious darling onto the ground.
“Heehee!”
Instead of being frightened, Su Ying found the near accident hilarious. Giggling, he pleaded, “Uncle, Su Ying wants to do that again!”
Mu Xueshi nearly collapsed.
“Be good, Su Ying,” he coaxed. “Uncle has something to do. Once I’m finished, I’ll play with you, all right?”
Su Ying pouted and shook his head.
After being coaxed, tricked, and cajoled by Mu Xueshi for quite some time, he finally settled down. However, no matter what Mu Xueshi said, he refused to get off him.
Left with no alternative, Mu Xueshi could only carry this little human adhesive plaster back to the Third Prince’s manor.
Futile Devices Scans 
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