“Judicial Affairs Minister, it is almost the Xu hour. There are hardly any people left on the streets. Are we still not going back?”
Eunuch Shangde’s words made Mu Xueshi, whose eyelids had been fighting to stay open, wake up a little.
“No. I have to wait until that maid has gathered all the ingredients for the medicinal soup before I leave.”
When Eunuch Shangde heard this, he grew worried and tried coaxing him from the side. “No matter how urgent this matter is, it cannot be more important than my lord’s health! Besides, what if that maid cannot remember everything for a while, or misses one or two things because she is anxious? Would that not delay matters even more?”
Mu Xueshi yawned as he said, “It’s fine. I already told her I’m not in a hurry. When I went over just now, she had already gathered more than half of them.”
“But His Highness is in a hurry even if you are not…” Eunuch Shangde’s voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke.
Mu Xueshi snorted. “He won’t be in a hurry. Who knows who he’s off enjoying flowers and moonlight with.”
Seeing that Mu Xueshi had made up his mind, Eunuch Shangde said no more and stood to the side with a bitter expression.
Mu Xueshi’s face was covered by his hat veil, making his expression impossible to see. He propped his arm on the edge of the chair, rested his face in his hand, and slowly began to doze off…
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the room. Eunuch Shangde looked up and unexpectedly saw the Third Prince’s strikingly heroic face.
“Your High—”
Before the word “Highness” could leave his mouth, Eunuch Shangde saw the Third Prince gesture for him to be silent. Understanding at once, he quietly walked outside and gently closed the door behind him.
Mu Xueshi’s head kept sliding downward, then lifting back up, sliding down again, then lifting up again, like a little kowtowing bug.
A trace of a gentle smile appeared at the corner of the Third Prince’s lips. He slowly walked up to Mu Xueshi, carefully lifted his body from the chair, then carried him out toward his horse.
Eunuch Shangde stood to the side, wanting to speak but stopping himself. In the end, he ran to the kitchen himself to wait until that maid finished gathering the ingredients before leaving.
The pedestrians on the street had almost all dispersed. Only when they occasionally passed one or two taverns or inns could they still see a few scattered customers. Several lanterns hanging from the eaves gave off a faint glow. From time to time, a light breeze blew past, scattering a few strands of Mu Xueshi’s hair, and the Third Prince gently smoothed them back into place for him.
The horse moved along the road very steadily, almost without any jolting, so Mu Xueshi slept more and more deeply. Afraid that Mu Xueshi would catch a chill, the Third Prince removed the purple-gold cloak from his own body with one hand and draped it over Mu Xueshi.
That splendid purple, paired with such a crystal-clear face, made the person in his arms look like a peerless treasure, something priceless at a single glance.
The elite soldiers and guards behind them all followed from far away. No one dared disturb the two people in front. Just like that, the Third Prince held Mu Xueshi in his arms and, under the bright moonlight, slowly returned to the courtyard.
The Third Prince had someone prepare hot water, then removed Mu Xueshi’s clothes and placed him into a large wooden tub that could fit three or four people. The moment he touched the hot water, Mu Xueshi woke up and looked around with sleepy, hazy eyes.
“Ah! How did I get back?” Mu Xueshi lowered his head and saw that he was sitting in a bath barrel, his mind still a little muddled.
The Third Prince poured hot water over him, doing the work of a servant as he helped scrub his body.
Mu Xueshi turned to look at the Third Prince again and asked, “Are you the real Third Prince? You’re not someone in disguise, are you?”
The Third Prince glanced at Mu Xueshi with a cold gleam in his eyes. Mu Xueshi shrank his neck and stopped talking nonsense.
After a while, Mu Xueshi suddenly remembered something and abruptly stood up from the wooden tub.
“I still had that maid gathering the ingredients for me. I have to go back to the Grand Tutor’s Manor and get them! Why did you bring me back without telling me?” As Mu Xueshi spoke, he was about to put on his clothes.
Looking at this beautiful body displayed naked before him, the Third Prince could not help feeling his throat tighten. In order to make Mu Xueshi properly finish this bath, he pressed him back down.
“Eunuch Shangde is already waiting there for you. Once you finish bathing, rest properly.”
Who knew that Mu Xueshi would try to stand up again, even saying to the Third Prince with a solemn expression, “Then I still have to go back. I still need to take those ingredients to find Li Qian. Li Qian is amazing. He can recognize anything…”
“You are not allowed to go anywhere.” The Third Prince’s eyes carried obvious displeasure.
Mu Xueshi still had not sensed the danger approaching and continued struggling with all his might under the restraint of the Third Prince’s large hand, splashing water all over him.
“That is very important to this case. I gained quite a lot today. I already promised someone that if I did not figure it out today, I would not sleep.”
Just as Mu Xueshi finished speaking, the Third Prince fished him out of the bath barrel and gave the two soft mounds behind him two sharp smacks.
“You…” Mu Xueshi was both embarrassed and angry. In the end, he sniffed and sat back in the tub, looking utterly aggrieved.
“I was so tired today, and after coming back, I still have to get hit by you.”
The Third Prince still wore an indifferent expression, without the slightest sign of sympathy or heartache.
Mu Xueshi secretly glanced at the Third Prince several times. Seeing that his expression did not look good either, he wondered if he had angered him. Thinking that they had not seen each other for an entire day and that continuing to sulk like this was really not worth it, Mu Xueshi once again smiled at the Third Prince without any backbone and waved at him.
“Xi, come in and wash with me.”
The Third Prince stood to the side, unmoved.
Mu Xueshi immediately pretended to be so exhausted that he had collapsed. His head drooped as he leaned half-dead against the edge of the wooden tub, and his body slid closer and closer to the water’s surface until his entire head was almost submerged.
“Xi, hurry and save me. I’m so tired I can’t move. If you don’t come, I’m going to drown.”
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s little face flushed pink from the warm water, as well as that adorable, teasing appearance, even the greatest anger in the Third Prince’s heart vanished completely.
He had never imagined that, in his lifetime, he would encounter such a person…
Pressed against the Third Prince’s chest, Mu Xueshi shook his arm and said lazily, “I almost collapsed from exhaustion today. First I went to the Grand Tutor’s Manor, then to my Judicial Affairs Manor, and then back to the Grand Tutor’s Manor again. I also saw a burned corpse. It was terrifying, truly terrifying. I gained a lot, but there are also many, many things I still cannot understand. Now I finally understand how tired you are every day. You have to think about so many things every day and still keep me company. From now on, I won’t make you worry anymore. I was perfectly fine all day today and nothing happened to me, right?”
The Third Prince indulgently touched Mu Xueshi’s cheek and said gently, “Right. My Xueshi has become sensible.”
Mu Xueshi gave a completely unmodest “mm” and continued, “And I’m also very intelligent. In a while, I’ll tell you all the clues I found, as well as my exclusive revelation.”
Hearing Mu Xueshi bite down hard on the word “intelligent,” the Third Prince did not know whether to laugh or cry. Although he knew Mu Xueshi would soon fall asleep, he still gave a sound of agreement.
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment