“Su Ying, you said those marks weren’t made by you. Then who bit him? Tell Imperial Uncle who it was, and I won’t punish you.”
At the mention of punishment, Su Ying visibly shrank back, his eyes instantly filling with tears.
Seeing this, the Third Prince continued, “You also told Imperial Uncle that someone else came into this room, didn’t you?”
“Mhm…” Su Ying answered tearfully.
“Then tell Imperial Uncle who that person was, and I’ll forgive you.”
Relying solely on the tiny fragment of memory he retained, Su Ying sobbed out two words.
“Poison Master…”
Mu Xueshi immediately burst into tears as well and stammered out a string of words between sobs.
“Y-You can’t… mix those two… things together… wuu… You really are… my… my… nemesis…”
Seeing Mu Xueshi crying, his face flushed red from anxiety and coughing nonstop, the Third Prince loosened his grip slightly. Even so, he remained furious that Mu Xueshi had concealed the truth from him.
Once Mu Xueshi finally stopped crying, the Third Prince forced himself to calm down.
After all, Sun Ye had been following Poison Master Moru the entire time, and Poison Master Moru was hopelessly devoted to Sun Ye. There was no reason for him to come here and take liberties with Mu Xueshi. Even if he had wanted to, he would never have been able to enter this room.
Then why had he come?
Or rather, why had Mu Xueshi summoned him?
…
Feeling the hand around his neck loosen, Mu Xueshi immediately began defending himself in an aggrieved tone.
“Think about it! If Poison Master Moru had been the one tearing my clothes, there’s no way they’d be ripped into strips like this. These were obviously cut with a knife! It was…”
He was just about to say it was Su Ying when he noticed the child curled into a tiny ball beneath the table, trembling in fear.
His heart softened, and he couldn’t bring himself to expose him.
“Why did Poison Master Moru come here?”
The Third Prince’s unyielding stare pinned him in place.
Remembering how close he had come to losing his life moments ago, Mu Xueshi realized he would have to stick to this lie until the end. If the truth came out, he was certain he wouldn’t survive it.
“I was just concerned about his injuries… and Sun Ye’s situation, that’s all…”
The Third Prince had always known about Mu Xueshi’s boundless concern for others.
If he merely cared, then he cared.
But why did he have to hide it?
That was what angered the Third Prince most.
Did Mu Xueshi truly think he possessed so little tolerance?
“Su Ying, come here.”
At the sound of the Third Prince calling for Su Ying, Mu Xueshi shuddered again.
Little ancestor, please don’t start babbling nonsense again. If you do, my life is finished.
Though Su Ying crawled out from under the table, he still clung tightly to one of its legs, staring fearfully at the Third Prince.
“What did Uncle Mu and that Poison Master talk about? Why did he invite him here?”
“I already told you—it was just to ask about his injuries…” Mu Xueshi hurriedly explained while desperately praying that Su Ying wouldn’t accidentally mention the Mountain King. If he had known Su Ying would remember random snippets of conversation and then mix them up, he would have sent the child home no matter how much crying or fussing it caused.
“Uncle Mu said he wanted to roam the jianghu with the Poison Master and become great heroes. He said he wanted to leave the palace because the palace wasn’t interesting.”
Mu Xueshi’s lips twitched.
This child was truly his natural enemy.
Of all the things not to remember, he remembered exactly those.
Fortunately, he hadn’t mentioned anything about the Mountain King. This, at least, was something Mu Xueshi could explain.
“I was only speaking hypothetically. I’ve said things like that to you before. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just talking.”
As he spoke, he eagerly pulled the Third Prince into a seat.
“Mhm!” Su Ying nodded along enthusiastically.
Seeing Su Ying cooperate with him for once, Mu Xueshi nearly cried tears of gratitude.
The Third Prince glanced at the black ink stains now smeared across his hand from Mu Xueshi’s grip. Mu Xueshi’s clothes were streaked with ink as well, while Su Ying’s face was beyond saving.
“We were practicing calligraphy today,” Mu Xueshi explained, displaying the classic confidence of someone trying far too hard to prove his innocence.
The Third Prince let out a cold laugh.
“What did you write? Let me admire it.”
Mu Xueshi immediately looked toward the large desk.
Finding it completely empty, he patted his chest in relief.
Fortunately, Poison Master Moru had finished writing everything in one go and taken all the papers away.
“What’s there to admire about my handwriting? It’s ugly. I crumpled everything up, and the servants cleaned it away afterward.”
The Third Prince suddenly rose and walked toward the center of the room.
Mu Xueshi’s heart instantly leapt into his throat.
Could there still be some discarded paper lying around?
But the Third Prince merely picked up Su Ying and returned to his seat with the child in his arms.
Mu Xueshi watched from the side with longing eyes, an inexplicable sourness rising in his heart.
What is this supposed to mean? Su Ying caused plenty of trouble too. Why does he get carried around?…
“Su Ying, tell Imperial Uncle, what did you write?” The Third Prince’s tone suddenly softened.
Seeing the Third Prince’s expression improve, Su Ying’s courage returned. Puffing out his little chest, he proudly declared, “Lots and lots!”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense. Other than scribbling all over people’s clothes, what could he possibly write? It’s obviously fake. Everything he said earlier was fake too. Hmph…”
“What did you write?” The Third Prince ignored Mu Xueshi and continued questioning Su Ying.
Su Ying blinked his large eyes and began reciting in a loud, clear voice:
“Dear Mountain King… that sounds a little awkward… Big Brother?… that’s not right either… Because I cannot leave the palace freely, I am unable to visit you in person and can only ask Poison Master Moru to deliver this letter. Let me say it again. Because I cannot leave the palace freely, I am unable to visit you in person and can only ask Poison Master Moru to deliver this letter…
During my time on Miwu Mountain, you took care of me like an elder brother. You took me out to have fun and even saved my life. I’m afraid I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime… Like an elder brother taking care of me—after that comes taking me out to have fun and saving my life… Have you written that down? Next is ‘I’m afraid I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime’… ‘I’m afraid I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime.’ Once my injuries are healed and the case is mostly resolved, I’ll definitely find an opportunity to visit you. Take good care of yourself…”
After Su Ying recited every word without missing a single one, Mu Xueshi finally realized, in utter despair, that Su Ying not only remembered the bits he wasn’t supposed to remember—he remembered the most fatal section in its entirety.
A smile slowly appeared at the corner of the Third Prince’s lips.
It was absolutely not a kind smile.
Quite the opposite.
Rarely seeing the Third Prince smile, Su Ying hurriedly claimed credit.
“Third Imperial Uncle, Su Ying has something else to tell you! Uncle Mu also said he wanted Poison Master Moru to cure the poison in the Mountain King’s body. And he said not to tell Third Imperial Uncle. If Su Ying told, Uncle Mu would hit Su Ying.”
The Third Prince set Su Ying down on the floor and said slowly, word by word:
“Don’t worry. Su Ying has been very good. The one who deserves a beating is not Su Ying.”
Su Ying grinned happily and nodded, then made a face at Mu Xueshi.
Instinctively, Mu Xueshi took several steps backward.
After Su Ying was carried away to be bathed, the servants saw the Third Prince’s expression and hastily withdrew as well.
Only the Third Prince and Mu Xueshi remained in the room.
The servants standing outside didn’t even dare breathe loudly. The entire Qingyun Palace seemed to have been placed in a vacuum.
A moment later, a miserable scream suddenly erupted from inside.
“Don’t—AAAH!”
It was immediately followed by an endless stream of wailing.
“Don’t pinch me there… it hurts so much… waaah… stop hitting me… that injury isn’t healed yet!!… I didn’t even say anything excessive… aaah… anything excessive…”
“Then why did you hide it from me?”
“Because I was afraid… aaah… afraid you’d get… aaah… angry… stop hitting me… wuu… Didn’t you hide things from me too?… aaah… doing… shady things behind my back!! Aahh… You deserve a beating too.”
“Shady things?”
“That Noble Consort Yu person. You know perfectly well what the two of you have been doing. Ahh… why are you hitting me again?… You hit me just because you can’t win the argument?”
“I really ought to teach you a proper lesson and clear that head of yours.”
“Why? … Don’t take off my clothes… I don’t want you anymore. I’m going to find another beauty and marry another wife instead. Wuuuu… You unreasonable rich second-generation brat…”
“…”
In another room, from the moment Poison Master Moru returned, Sun Ye noticed him hurriedly copying something.
“What are you doing?”
“Copying a letter.”
“Why are you writing two identical letters?”
A wicked smile curved across Poison Master Moru’s lips, his eyes gleaming with nothing but mischief.
“These aren’t identical letters at all. If you look carefully, you’ll see that this one contains a few extra lines. The original letter is meant for the Mountain King. As for this more detailed version… naturally, it’s being reserved for the Third Prince.”
Next
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Futile Devices Scans 
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