“Ning Yue…” Mu Xueshi murmured the name softly, doing his best to recall everything about him.
The Third Prince walked over to the scorched mark, crouched down, and examined it carefully.
“Right, I know!!” Mu Xueshi suddenly clapped his hands, a strange light appearing in his large eyes.
The Third Prince lifted his head and looked toward Mu Xueshi.
As Mu Xueshi paced around the room, he spoke while shaking his head, “Ning Yue and Madam were in this together. Madam instructed Ning Yue to buy these medicinal ingredients, so Ning Yue went to incite Master, saying that these ingredients were extremely good for stabilizing a pregnancy. That was why Master had Ning Yue go buy them. After the incident, Madam was afraid Ning Yue would speak of it, so she used murder to silence him.”
“But you have forgotten that what we saw were two Ning Yues, not one.”
Hearing this, Mu Xueshi stopped mid-stride.
“That’s right. That doesn’t quite make sense… Two people. It’s very possible one was used to create proof of absence, but according to this deduction of ours, the entire process wouldn’t have needed Ning Yue’s help at all.”
The Third Prince stood up and walked toward Mu Xueshi.
“And even if you bring out these two materials, even if they react with each other and ignite, it still does not prove anything. To outsiders, this may simply be a coincidence, and the victim unfortunately died under accidental circumstances.”
Hearing the Third Prince’s words, Mu Xueshi felt as though he had suddenly awakened from a dream.
“That’s right. If I take this evidence to court and accuse Madam of doing it, Madam can also say she had no idea these two things would ignite when they came into contact. Then there would be two murderers: Steward Wang, who sprayed the fragrant dew, and Madam, who somehow got the soup onto the Grand Tutor’s body. And both would only be guilty of negligent homicide…”
The corners of the Third Prince’s lips lifted. He very much agreed with Mu Xueshi’s words.
“The murderer is so clever. Then is there any point in continuing to investigate? The method of death is too bizarre and accidental. It isn’t convincing enough as murder!”
“You can look for the motive.”
With that one pointer from the Third Prince, Mu Xueshi suddenly felt enlightened again.
“That’s right. I didn’t pay enough attention to this point from the start.”
As he spoke, Mu Xueshi packed up his things and prepared to leave.
“Where are you rushing off to?” the Third Prince asked him.
“I’m going to find Li Qian and first figure out exactly what these two things are.”
After Mu Xueshi finished packing, he took the bundle and walked outside. His whole person seemed bright and energetic, completely different from the past two days.
The Third Prince watched Mu Xueshi’s departing back, and a trace of almost imperceptible tenderness appeared at the corners of his eyes.
…
“Li Qian, help me see whether this bottle of fragrant dew and this bottle are different.”
Li Qian picked up the two bottles of fragrant dew and smelled them. Then he poured each into a small cup and tested them separately before nodding. “They are indeed different. The flowers used are not the same.”
“Then are all the flowers used in this bottle normal flowers? Are there any poisonous flowers or the like?” Mu Xueshi picked up the bottle of fragrant dew he had brought back a long time ago.
Li Qian examined it carefully again, then said to Mu Xueshi, “There are none of those. They are all ordinary blooming flowers. It is only that the seasons differ slightly. The flowers used in this bottle of fragrant dew bloom in spring. Now the weather is too warm, and they cannot withstand the sun, so they no longer bloom. As for this bottle of fragrant dew, some of the flowers chosen are ones that bloom in this season.”
“So that’s how it is…” Mu Xueshi picked up those fragrant dew bottles again and examined them for a while.
Li Qian watched Mu Xueshi from the side, then suddenly could not help saying, “Xueshi, may I lift your hat veil?”
Seeing that there was no one in the room, only him and Li Qian, Mu Xueshi generously said, “No problem. The Third Prince doesn’t let me take it off because he’s afraid it will cause trouble.”
As he spoke, Mu Xueshi directly removed the hat. At this point, he wore it purely to block the sun and had almost forgotten what it was originally meant for.
When Li Qian saw Mu Xueshi’s revealed face, his gaze grew somewhat sluggish, his eyes seeming as though they no longer knew how to move.
Mu Xueshi was solemnly fiddling with those materials when he suddenly felt uncomfortable all over. He lifted his head and glanced at Li Qian, only then realizing why he had felt uneasy just now.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mu Xueshi was somewhat embarrassed.
“Your face is truly too beautiful. It really makes it impossible for anyone to look away.”
Mu Xueshi was somewhat carried away by the praise, but he still tried hard to restrain his emotions and joked to Li Qian, “It’s just average. Barely passable.”
Li Qian was so amused by Mu Xueshi’s manner that he could not help laughing. While staying in Changxin Courtyard, he rarely had the chance to laugh this happily.
“Aren’t you also very good-looking?” Seeing Li Qian laugh, Mu Xueshi’s own mood improved as well.
Li Qian’s gaze suddenly changed slightly, and he deliberately asked Mu Xueshi, “Then in your eyes, is the Third Prince more beautiful, or am I more beautiful?”
In truth, Li Qian already had an answer in his heart. How could he possibly compare with the Third Prince? But he simply wanted to see Mu Xueshi’s reaction.
Mu Xueshi laughed twice in embarrassment, then said very honestly, “Of course the Third Prince is just that tiny bit better-looking.”
Li Qian was even more amused by Mu Xueshi’s flushed face and instinctively felt that this person was truly interesting.
Seeing Li Qian laugh, Mu Xueshi thought he was laughing at him, so he pouted and asked Li Qian, “Then in your eyes, am I better-looking, or is my master?”
“Of course it is you. May I ask, in this world, who else could compare to this appearance of yours?”
Mu Xueshi felt dizzy from the praise, secretly thinking that he must really be that good-looking—so good-looking that he had even surpassed the “Xi Shi” in someone else’s eyes.
Elio’s Notes: Xi Shi was one of ancient China’s Four Great Beauties. Her name is often used in the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” meaning someone looks especially beautiful to the person who loves them.
“You really are rational.” Mu Xueshi patted Li Qian’s hand without the slightest modesty.
Li Qian suddenly held Mu Xueshi’s hand in return and asked him, “Shall I teach you to play the qin?”
Mu Xueshi was startled and widened his eyes. “You know how to play the qin? Then… can I learn too?”
“Of course you can. And when you play the qin, you will certainly be very beautiful.”
Mu Xueshi suddenly remembered what he had heard beneath the bridge, when Yu’er had said those things to the Third Prince. Yu’er wanted to play the qin for the Third Prince and have the Third Prince perform a sword dance with him, the two of them presenting a gift to the Emperor together.
“All right, all right, I want to learn too. Hurry and teach me.”
By this point, Mu Xueshi had long since thrown the case from earlier to the highest clouds. He directly pulled Li Qian outside, not even having time to tidy up the things on the table.
…
That afternoon, with nothing to do, Madam was leaning against a soft chair and basking in the sun. Suddenly, she felt drowsy. Before she knew it, she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep.
In her dream, Madam saw that the child in her arms had already been born. But for some unknown reason, there was suddenly a flash of white lightning, and the child’s face became a bloody blur of flesh. Its entire body also twisted and deformed…
“Ah—”
Madam woke with a scream. After waking, she discovered that she was still leaning there. Nothing had changed, and the sunlight outside was still dazzling.
“Madam, what happened? Why are you covered in so much cold sweat?” Madam’s maid walked over, wiped the sweat from Madam’s forehead, and said softly, “Madam, let us go sleep on the bed.”
Madam nodded and stood. She felt as though both legs had been filled with lead, unusually heavy.
Perhaps it is nearly time to give birth, Madam could not help thinking inwardly, a loving smile appearing on her still-charming face.
“Madam!”
A frantic cry from outside shattered Madam’s reverie, and her nerves suddenly tightened, a nameless sense of tension rising within her.
“His Highness the Third Prince has come to the manor.”
When Madam heard that name, she instinctively felt her vision darken, and her heartbeat also sped up abnormally.
“I… I will go out at once…”
“No need.”
Suddenly, a handsome, extraordinary, yet frost-cold face appeared before Madam.
“Greetings… greetings to Your Highness the Third Prince.” With a thud, Madam knelt on the ground.
Seeing this, the maid at the side quickly walked over to support Madam, only to be stopped by Madam’s hand.
“All of you withdraw. Today, I am going to have a proper talk with Madam. Before I leave, no one is allowed to enter, no one is allowed to approach this room, and no one is allowed to make even the slightest sound. Violators die.”
“Yes… yes…”
The maids in the room fled with deathly pale faces. The guards at the door also shut the doors and windows with grave expressions, then quickly left this place.
After everyone had gone, the room fell into an abnormal silence. Madam did not dare rise from the ground. She could only kneel there uneasily with her large belly.
Suddenly, a birdcall broke the silence in the room. The Third Prince raised a brow, picked up a nut from the table, and suddenly flicked it toward the parrot.
No matter how clever the parrot was, it could not match the speed of the Third Prince’s technique. The nut struck its wing, and it abruptly fell from the windowsill.
The Third Prince flicked out another nut. The window suddenly slammed shut, and the room sank into a suffocating silence.
Futile Devices Scans 
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