“Eunuch Shangde, could you do me a favor?”
The moment Eunuch Shangde heard Mu Xueshi calling for him, he hurried over. The stern expression he had worn all morning finally softened a little.
“What instructions does Judicial Affairs Minister have for me?”
Mu Xueshi glanced around. Aside from the little child in his arms who understood nothing, there were no spies in sight.
“Well… this matter is a bit difficult…”
Seeing how mysterious Mu Xueshi was acting, Eunuch Shangde felt somewhat uneasy, but he still replied respectfully, “Please give your orders, Judicial Affairs Minister. I shall do my utmost.”
Mu Xueshi’s large eyes darted about before he leaned close to Eunuch Shangde’s ear and whispered, “This matter must remain absolutely secret. Under no circumstances can anyone find out.”
The gesture made Eunuch Shangde’s heart pound wildly. He wondered whether his ear would survive the encounter. Then, hearing Mu Xueshi’s warning, he felt even less reassured.
“Judicial Affairs Minister… please go on.”
Still not entirely at ease, Mu Xueshi looked around once more. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he whisper, “Help me summon Poison Master Moru into the palace.”
The muscles on Eunuch Shangde’s face twitched before returning to their usual expressionless state.
“Poison Master!” Su Ying suddenly shouted.
Mu Xueshi instantly clapped a hand over Su Ying’s mouth and looked around in alarm. Only after confirming that no one had noticed did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Unable to hold back any longer, Eunuch Shangde said, “Judicial Affairs Minister, forgive my bluntness, but Poison Master Moru is already in the palace. He can be summoned at any time. Why are you so nervous?”
Mu Xueshi swallowed awkwardly and forced a laugh.
“So that’s how it is! I thought he’d gone wandering the jianghu with Sun Ye. I figured it would take quite a bit of effort to find him.”
“No. Poison Master Moru, like Judicial Affairs Minister, has been recovering from his injuries in the palace these past few days. Since Guard Sun rendered great service in rescuing Judicial Affairs Minister, he is free to return to Qinyi Courtyard whenever he wishes.”
“I see…” Mu Xueshi laughed awkwardly again.
Eunuch Shangde nodded and prepared to carry out Mu Xueshi’s request.
Just as he reached the doorway, Mu Xueshi suddenly called after him.
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Treat it like it’s something completely ordinary.”
Eunuch Shangde bowed and withdrew. The moment he stepped outside, he finally relaxed and thought to himself, Honestly, it’s not even a big deal. If you hadn’t made such a point of saying all that, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
Only after Eunuch Shangde had left did Mu Xueshi shift his gaze away from him and look down at himself.
The sight nearly made him faint.
At some point, his clothes had been reduced to little more than rags. The culprit was sitting nearby, holding a small curved knife and enthusiastically sawing away at the last remaining piece of intact fabric.
“My little ancestor, put that down!”
Mu Xueshi hurriedly crouched down and wrestled with Su Ying for the knife. Su Ying refused to let go no matter what. Mu Xueshi eventually had to summon two servants before they managed to pry it from the child’s hands.
The moment his toy was taken away, Su Ying kicked his legs, plopped onto the floor, and burst into loud sobs.
“Don’t cry! Uncle is busy right now. I don’t have time to coax you!” Mu Xueshi said desperately, carrying Su Ying and trying every method he could think of to soothe him.
Su Ying paid no attention whatsoever. He continued crying while biting Mu Xueshi. In only a few minutes, Mu Xueshi had already been bitten three or four times on the neck and shoulders.
“Uncle is bad! Uncle is bad! Waaaah…”
Who’s the bad one here?!
Mu Xueshi felt like crying without tears. Looking at the disaster surrounding him and the endlessly wailing child, he became so frustrated that he joined in and started wailing as well.
His crying was purely symbolic—just loud noises to vent his frustration. Not a single tear came out.
Yet it instantly stunned Su Ying.
Seeing Mu Xueshi cry, Su Ying stared at him curiously for a moment before suddenly breaking into giggles.
The Second Prince really had raised a little treasure of chaos.
Mu Xueshi gritted his teeth.
Qingzhu finally could not stand it anymore. She stepped forward and said, “Young Master Xue, let this servant take the little master back.”
The moment the words take him back were uttered, Su Ying reacted like a wind-up doll. He instantly burst into even louder tears and clung to Mu Xueshi with all his might.
His fair, delicate face had turned bright red from crying, making him look pitiful beyond words.
“All right, all right. Uncle won’t send you back. As long as you behave, Uncle will keep you with him, okay?”
Mu Xueshi gently stroked Su Ying’s cheek and spoke softly.
Su Ying nodded and immediately buried himself in Mu Xueshi’s arms, falling completely silent.
Mu Xueshi let out a long sigh of relief.
“You may all leave for now. I’ll call for you later when I need you to come clean up.”
The room was soon left with only Mu Xueshi and Su Ying.
Seizing the opportunity, Mu Xueshi hurried to the large desk, picked up a brush, and began writing furiously.
“Young Master Xue, Poison Master Moru requests an audience.”
Mu Xueshi’s brush trembled in his hand. The lines he had just finished writing were immediately smeared into a black blot.
Poison Master Moru entered with his usual elegant bearing and offered Mu Xueshi a graceful salute.
When he raised his head, however, he found himself staring at a thoroughly disheveled figure. Behind that figure stood a small child whose face was smeared completely black.
“Please, come in.”
As soon as he spoke, Mu Xueshi grabbed Poison Master Moru and pulled him inside. Then he shut all the doors and windows before finally relaxing enough to walk farther into the room.
The moment Poison Master Moru looked at Mu Xueshi’s face, he could not help but freeze.
There was probably no second person under heaven who could look this messy and still leave people staring in fascination.
No matter how tattered his clothes were, no matter how dirty his face had become, nothing could conceal the extraordinary beauty and ethereal elegance that radiated from him.
Especially the bite marks on his neck and collarbone. Though the bites had been rather fierce, imprinted on a body like this, they inevitably inspired all kinds of suggestive thoughts…
“Poison Master Moru, I asked you here today because I have a favor to ask. If I weren’t unable to leave the courtyard, I would certainly have come to visit you personally,” Mu Xueshi said somewhat embarrassedly.
Poison Master Moru replied with equal politeness, “Even if Young Master Xue wished to pay me a visit, I have no door for you to visit.”
“Hahaha… you really are humorous. I envy your kind of life. One day, take me wandering around with you for a year or two. Staying in the palace all the time is truly boring…”
“If I took Young Master Xue away, I fear the Third Prince would bring back my corpse.”
“It’s not that exaggerated…”
Mu Xueshi continued chatting for quite a while, almost as if he were showing off the fact that his voice had recovered. He rambled on endlessly about meaningless topics.
Poison Master Moru felt that if he kept talking with Mu Xueshi much longer, he might never make it back out. Especially when faced with the half-hidden, half-revealed collarbone beneath those disheveled clothes, that cream-colored skin, and those unexpectedly sweet smiles…
“Young Master Xue… Young Master Xue…”
Poison Master Moru deliberately interrupted him, and Mu Xueshi was momentarily confused as to why.
“Young Master Xue said you had a favor to ask, yet you still haven’t told me what it is.”
His words startled Mu Xueshi, who finally remembered why he had summoned Poison Master Moru today.
Glancing to the side, he saw that Su Ying was busily scribbling nonsense on a sheet of paper with a brush. Though his clothes had already been stained beyond recognition, he seemed thoroughly absorbed in the activity and probably would not come over to make trouble.
“I want to ask about something.” Mu Xueshi leaned closer and lowered his voice.
Instinctively, Poison Master Moru took a step backward and politely replied, “If Young Master Xue has something to ask, please do.”
“Don’t be so stiff. Back then, you caused me no small amount of trouble. I still remember it clearly,” Mu Xueshi joked, patting Poison Master Moru on the shoulder.
Poison Master Moru gave him a faint smile.
“What are you saying, Young Master Xue? I have always admired you greatly.”
Hearing that, Mu Xueshi became more confident. Since Poison Master Moru thought so highly of him, he probably would not reveal what he was about to ask.
After making up his mind, Mu Xueshi finally asked, “How is the Mountain King doing?”
Poison Master Moru chuckled inwardly but put on a worried expression.
“I’m not sure. Ever since I was caned dozens of times here, I’ve been recovering in the palace and haven’t gone out even once.”
“Ah?”
Mu Xueshi let out a heavy sigh, his face filled with guilt.
Seeing his expression, Poison Master Moru guessed seven or eight tenths of what was going through his mind.
“If it’s inconvenient for Young Master Xue, I can visit the Mountain King on your behalf. When I return, I’ll truthfully report his condition to you.”
“That would be wonderful!”
Mu Xueshi became so excited that he practically shouted.
“Wonderful!” Su Ying cheered from the side.
Mu Xueshi froze. Turning around, he saw Su Ying grinning at him. With his soot-covered face, he looked like a little monkey.
Mu Xueshi coughed twice and warned him not to join in the commotion before turning back to Poison Master Moru.
“Actually, I don’t mean anything else by it. It’s just that the Mountain King once saved my life. I’m grateful to him, so naturally I care about his condition. But the Third Prince won’t let me leave the palace, and he’s still bothered by that marriage between me and the Mountain King, so that’s why I came to you…”
I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort!
Poison Master Moru laughed inwardly again.
Mu Xueshi really was interesting. Back when he had secretly listened in on Mu Xueshi and the Third Prince’s bedroom conversations in the courtyard, he had assumed Mu Xueshi was completely under the Third Prince’s thumb. Who would have thought he actually had this much nerve?
“If you can cure the poison in the Mountain King’s body, I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
Poison Master Moru snapped out of his thoughts and hurriedly replied, “It’s only a small matter, hardly worth mentioning. He is my friend, after all.”
Only then did Mu Xueshi relax.
“There’s one more thing,” he said. “You absolutely must not tell the Third Prince about this. Even though there’s nothing improper about it, still…”
“I understand, Young Master Xue,” Poison Master Moru replied with complete sincerity.
“Good, good, good.”
Mu Xueshi rubbed his hands together excitedly, hurried around the room once, then finally stopped in front of the large desk and picked up a brush.
“Could you help me deliver a letter to the Mountain King? I just want to send him my regards.”
Poison Master Moru nodded, more than willing to help.
Just as Mu Xueshi was about to begin writing, he hesitated and put down the brush.
“I’m afraid nobody there will be able to recognize the characters I write. Could you help translate it for me when the time comes? And if you can’t read it either, I’ll read it aloud to you after I finish writing!”
As he spoke, Mu Xueshi looked even more embarrassed.
Poison Master Moru looked puzzled.
“Why not simply let me write it? My handwriting may not be beautiful, but people can at least read it.”
Mu Xueshi’s eyes lit up with realization.
“You’re too clever! Why didn’t I think of that? I can dictate while you write. It’s not like I’m planning to say anything too mushy, so there’s no harm in saying it out loud!”
Poison Master Moru silently wiped away a bead of sweat.
Sun Ye had repeatedly insisted that Mu Xueshi was extraordinarily intelligent and resourceful, even claiming he had rendered great service to Yunxi.
Yet no matter how hard Poison Master Moru looked, he simply could not see it.
Futile Devices Scans 
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