Futile Devices Scans

“Noble Consort Yu, this servant has invited the Third Prince here for you.”

Hearing the servant’s announcement from outside, Yu’er’s eyes, which had been like a lazy, pale moon, suddenly seemed to be lit from within, and his whole person became bright and full of spirit.

“Quickly, invite him in.” As Yu’er spoke, he quickly walked outside, followed by a crowd of attendants.

The Third Prince had only just reached the corner of the corridor when he ran into Yu’er, who was hurrying toward him.

“Greetings to Noble Consort Yu.” The Third Prince bowed slightly, his expression indifferent.

Yu’er quickly told him to dispense with ceremony. To the current him, hearing the Third Prince bow and greet him still made his heart flutter wildly like a startled deer. Although he had been by the Chancellor’s side for two or three years, even now, when he saw the Chancellor bow to him, Yu’er did not feel much of anything. Only with the Third Prince did he always feel that he could not quite bear it.

“I did not expect Your Highness to truly come. I thought Your Highness…”

“Since Noble Consort Yu sincerely invited me here to discuss important matters of state, naturally I could not refuse.” The Third Prince’s face remained cold.

The corners of Yu’er’s lips lifted slightly, and his captivating eyes gave off the heroic grace and allure unique to the Qilin people.

“Then Your Highness, please come with me.”

The Third Prince gave no particular response and calmly walked behind Yu’er.

As Yu’er walked ahead, his thoughts wandered uneasily. What puzzled him most was why the Third Prince could always treat every person with such indifference. Could it be that, in private, he treated Mu Xueshi the same way? Or would he, like other men toward the person they loved, treat him tenderly and shower him with affection?

Thinking of how other men secretly looked him up and down, always wanting to take some advantage of him, while the Third Prince remained cold as ice from beginning to end, Yu’er felt an indescribable stirring in his heart.

He should have a man’s weaknesses too…

When they reached the center of the courtyard of the Jade Pavilion, a sudden gust of wind swept through. The surrounding flowers were torn from their stems and scattered in a fluttering shower around the two of them. Yu’er drew a carved silver-white sword from his side, leaped lightly to the Third Prince’s side, and, while he was unprepared, sent the sword flying out, pointing straight at the Third Prince’s heart.

The Third Prince’s brows drew together. With a single lift of his hand, he caught the sword steadily in his grasp.

“Your Highness has excellent swordsmanship.” Yu’er clapped his hands.

Expressionless, the Third Prince tossed the sword in his hand back to Yu’er. Before he could take even one step forward, the sword came dancing toward him again. Compared with last time, this attack was clearly much faster. The Third Prince lightly retreated, dodging Yu’er’s teasing sword strikes one after another.

The Third Prince had not expected Yu’er’s swordsmanship to be so showy. Although his skill was not high, once they truly crossed blades, it did hold a certain amusement. He also drew his own long sword, and when it moved with a sharp whistle through the air, it carried an entirely different presence—powerful and forceful, yet still elegant.

Just like that, the quiet, lonely little courtyard suddenly filled with the rustling sound of wind. It seemed both there and not there, now slow and now swift, now light and now heavy, now bright and now shadowed…

After a flash of golden light, Mu Xueshi had just opened his eyes when a streak of silver light came rushing toward him, dazzling him until his vision blurred.

Oh no, it was a sword!

Mu Xueshi cried inwardly that things were bad and quickly used the sword in his hand to block the sword stabbing toward him, nearly getting pierced through the heart. Before he could come back to himself, that sword came whistling toward him again, and Mu Xueshi could only use the strange, half-learned sword moves he had barely picked up over the past days to slash wildly at his opponent.

Suddenly, he saw a streak of silver light stab straight toward his abdomen. Knowing he could not dodge this time, he could only reach into his sleeve and hurriedly fumble for the silver coin. As long as he could switch back before dying, whether this person died or not would have nothing to do with him, right?

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…

Mu Xueshi opened his eyes and felt that the face above him looked so familiar. Wasn’t that… wasn’t that… the Third Prince?

Mu Xueshi had just been about to cry out, “So it was you!” when he suddenly remembered that something was wrong. He was not Mu Xueshi right now. He had already become that Noble Consort Yu. Mu Xueshi subconsciously lowered his head to look at his clothes. Sure enough, these were the clothes that enchantress usually wore.

Ah… what is the Third Prince doing?!

Mu Xueshi felt his body leaning back in the Third Prince’s arms, while the Third Prince’s strong, powerful arm was wrapped beneath him, holding him.

No, it should be holding Yu’er…

The Third Prince looked up and down at the person in his arms. Those eyes, which had just been alluring and beautiful, were now tinged with a bit of wickedness. Their bright pupils rolled around for a long while, and it was impossible to tell what scheme they were plotting. In any case, the expression was completely different from before the sword dance.

The Third Prince carefully helped Yu’er stand properly and said calmly, “I have offended Noble Consort Yu.”

You still know you offended him! Mu Xueshi gnashed his teeth inwardly. He did not know what Yu’er and the Third Prince had been doing just now, but in any case, it absolutely could not have been a fight. More likely, they had been flirting. If he had not come over, Yu’er probably would still have fallen beneath the Third Prince’s sword, then coyly cried out that the Third Prince’s swordsmanship was excellent. Or else he might have deliberately let the Third Prince wound him, collapsed into his arms, and fallen ill from then on…

“Noble Consort Yu’s” eyes rolled again. Suddenly, he laughed dryly twice and said, “Not offended, not offended. Why should Your Highness be so polite with me?”

The Third Prince gave Yu’er a meaningful look and said quietly, “Was Noble Consort Yu not going to let me see the process for preparing the cannons?”

Mu Xueshi froze. His eyes rolled who knew how many times, but he still did not know how to smooth over this lie. He looked guiltily at the Third Prince, his lips moving without a word coming out.

The Third Prince suddenly walked to Yu’er’s side, bent down close to his ear, and asked softly, “What is the matter with Noble Consort Yu? Even if you do not intend to take me to see it right now, you should at least invite me inside.”

Seeing the Third Prince act so intimately with “himself,” Mu Xueshi felt another surge of anger. Damn it! So this bastard is exactly that kind of person. The moment he catches sight of someone pretty, he starts getting all lovey-dovey. Let’s see what else he can do.

Yu’er narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze over the few rooms not far away. Then he chose the largest one and walked inside, with the Third Prince following after him.

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