Before going to sleep that night, Mu Xueshi propped his chin with one hand and fiddled with the things he had brought back from the Grand Tutor Manor with the other, letting his thoughts wander in boredom. So much time had already passed since this case. Aside from looking for clues in these places, where else could he look? He did not understand the network of relationships involved, and he had no idea at all what people Grand Tutor Mu might have offended…
Although he already had someone he suspected in his heart, there was no evidence at all. He could not just torture a confession out of someone.
Sigh…
With an almost inaudible sigh, Mu Xueshi put that pile of things away and walked toward the cabinet.
Opening the cabinet, Mu Xueshi discovered that there were still some messy odds and ends inside, giving off a strange, mixed odor. They were all things he had brought back from the Grand Tutor Manor before. Ever since his name had been cleared, he had never looked at them again, and no one had dared to casually tidy them up.
Mu Xueshi took out a small bottle of fragrant dew and brought it to his nose to sniff. A pained expression immediately appeared on his face.
“The fragrant dew has turned into stinking dew…”
Mu Xueshi quickly took that bottle of fragrant dew out and placed it on the desk. The remaining things could only be placed on the desk for the time being as well. Mu Xueshi called in two guards and had them carry the cabinet outside, clean it thoroughly, and then bring it back in.
Seeing that it was already late, Mu Xueshi yawned and walked into the main hall, then entered the study. He saw the Third Prince bent over the desk, reading a book.
Mu Xueshi hugged the Third Prince from behind, pressed his face against his back, and said lazily, “Go back and sleep.”
The Third Prince turned around and, taking advantage of the motion, pulled Mu Xueshi into his arms, holding him as they walked toward the inner room.
“It’s rare that we get to talk before bed like this. I feel like I haven’t spoken to you properly in ages.” Mu Xueshi leaned his head against the Third Prince’s left shoulder, sniffed the Third Prince’s scent like a puppy, then peacefully draped his entire body over him.
The Third Prince used his large hand to lift Mu Xueshi’s face until it was level with his own gaze. After studying him seriously for a while, he quietly asked, “Have you been very tired these past few days?”
Seeing the rare heartache in the Third Prince’s expression, even if Mu Xueshi had not been tired, he would still have put on a miserable face and said he was.
The Third Prince still felt that every expression on this handsome face could make his mood improve greatly. After carefully caressing Mu Xueshi’s exquisitely beautiful little face, he said dotingly, “Among the people in the palace, not one is like you.”
“Uh?” Mu Xueshi did not understand and lifted his head to look at the Third Prince.
The Third Prince did not explain much, merely saying lightly, “Their faces do not tell the truth.”
“You mean I have no schemes, don’t you? Then you’re wrong. I have lots of secrets.”
“Oh?” The Third Prince looked at Mu Xueshi with a smile that was not quite a smile. “Tell me.”
“No, no. If I tell you, then they won’t be secrets anymore.”
Mu Xueshi deliberately covered his chest mysteriously and even gave the Third Prince an ambiguous look. In his heart, he wanted to stir the Third Prince’s curiosity and make him continue asking, but the actual effect was that the Third Prince saw it as a different kind of provocation.
“Then let me slowly strip you clean from inside to outside and see exactly where your secrets are hidden.”
Seeing the Third Prince reveal a devilish expression, Mu Xueshi immediately cried out in regret. If he had known, he would not have brought up the topic just now. It was rare for him to be able to sleep peacefully and easily for once, yet now he was going to be tormented half to death again.
“…”
After bathing, Mu Xueshi, weary all over, curled up in the Third Prince’s arms like a lazy cat.
“Linxi, your name sounds so nice. Who gave it to you?”
“My mother.”
“Your mother… when did she pass away?…”
“…”
The Third Prince was silent for a while. Listening to the even breathing of the person in his arms and thinking of the question he had just asked, a complicated emotion surged into his heart.
Should he tell him all of this?
Tell him that he used to be a person who lived each day with hatred, tell him that the hundreds of dried corpses in that tomb had all been tortured to death by every poisonous scheme he could devise, tell him that the same blood flowed in both their bodies, tell him that he was actually completely different from what Mu Xueshi imagined…
This was the only person he had left now, the one person he wanted to cherish, yet he could not pour out what was in his heart…
In a daze, Mu Xueshi smelled scorched smoke. He thought it was in a dream and paid it no attention, until later, when he woke coughing and realized there truly was a fire.
“Xi, there’s a fire.”
Mu Xueshi opened his eyes and discovered thick smoke rolling through the room. He hurriedly reached out by instinct to grab the person beside him.
At this time, the Third Prince had already awakened and was carrying Mu Xueshi outside. The fire was not very large. Only the room where Mu Xueshi and the Third Prince slept had caught fire. The servants outside had not noticed at first and had only now rushed over, quickly carrying water to put out the fire.
For a time, the small courtyard that had already fallen silent became noisy again.
After Mu Xueshi came out, he was still coughing nonstop. The Third Prince gently patted his back.
“Who set this fire? Were they trying to murder you?” Mu Xueshi asked the Third Prince.
The Third Prince shook his head, indicating that he was not very clear either.
By the time the fire was extinguished, it was already the fourth watch. The Third Prince originally wanted to take Mu Xueshi to another room to sleep, but Mu Xueshi insisted on going inside to take a look, so the Third Prince could only let him.
Mu Xueshi carried a lantern and shone it here and there. In the end, he said to the Third Prince with a mournful face, “The walls are all blackened, and all the little things I used to decorate the room are burned away too.”
The Third Prince draped a piece of clothing over Mu Xueshi and comforted him, “It’s all right. If you still like this room, I’ll have craftsmen repaint it.”
Mu Xueshi nodded, then went looking for his little wooden box. Inside it were the feathers from those parrots. Mu Xueshi had planned to make them into specimens one by one and hang them on the wall, but now even the box could not be found.
Suddenly, Mu Xueshi saw some splintered wooden boards on the ground. He crouched down with the lantern and shone it over them, then immediately cried out twice in grief.
“My birds! They’re all gone…”
Seeing that Mu Xueshi truly looked very sad, the Third Prince sighed and helped him up.
“Go sleep in another room first. There is still some time before dawn.”
“I can’t sleep anymore.”
“Even so, you cannot stay here. You will catch a chill.”
Mu Xueshi heard the commanding tone in the Third Prince’s words and could only stand up, following him outside.
After Mu Xueshi obediently lay down again in another room, the Third Prince walked out. Just as he stepped through the door, he happened to see Su Ruhan walking toward him.
“No one broke into the small courtyard, and the servants here showed no unusual movements either. I do not know what caught fire.”
“Mm. Investigate again tomorrow.”
Su Ruhan nodded and turned to walk elsewhere.
The Third Prince had originally wanted to ask Su Ruhan where he had been during this period, but after thinking about how he had always been so mysterious and yet could always arrive whenever trouble happened, it could not really be considered neglect of duty, so he said nothing more.
When he returned to the room, the Third Prince saw a small shadow suddenly dart from near the doorway back onto the bed.
The corners of the Third Prince’s lips lifted, and he walked toward the bedside.
“Why are you still not asleep? Are you not going out to investigate the case tomorrow morning?”
Mu Xueshi shook his head, his expression grave as he said to the Third Prince, “My heart isn’t at ease. I can’t sleep.”
“Why isn’t it at ease?” The Third Prince gently pulled Mu Xueshi into his arms. Through the thin fabric, he could feel how quickly Mu Xueshi’s heart was beating.
“I keep feeling that someone wants to harm you. Today, they wanted to burn you to death with one fire. Tomorrow, perhaps they’ll switch to explosives. When that happens, even your bones will be blasted away. Where would I go to find you? I won’t go out tomorrow for now. I have to stay by your side and protect you. Only when the arsonist is caught can I go out with peace of mind.”
“How are you so certain that the fire was meant to burn me?”
“Could it have been meant for me instead?” Mu Xueshi initially thought this was impossible, but after thinking about it, he suddenly swallowed and asked the Third Prince, “What… what do you mean…”
“You are also the Judicial Affairs Minister now. You hold a murder case in your hands. If the murderer loses patience and wants to put you to death, it is not impossible.”
After hearing this, Mu Xueshi immediately lost confidence and scolded the Third Prince, “Don’t talk nonsense.” As he spoke, his voice changed tone, and in the end, he simply moved right up beside the Third Prince, gripping him tightly as he said, “Then I really can’t go out tomorrow…”
Seeing Mu Xueshi frightened into this state, the Third Prince stopped teasing him and instead said with complete certainty, “Do not worry. With the murderer’s abilities, they still cannot enter this small courtyard.”
Mu Xueshi nodded, and his heart settled slightly.
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