When Yue Lingchai saw Mu Xueshi, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She had never expected him to return, much less so quickly.
“Well? Have you finished what you went to do?”
Mu Xueshi nodded dejectedly and dropped heavily onto a stone seat.
Seeing his listless appearance, Yue Lingchai secretly guessed that he must have been turned away. A faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips. This was exactly the outcome she had wanted.
The vast imperial palace was nothing more than an enormous cage where one would never know freedom for the rest of one’s life. Every action required careful consideration, the ceremonies were cumbersome, and the rules were endless. How could it compare to the freedom of the jianghu?
“Enough. Let us practice.”
It was the first time Mu Xueshi had seen Yue Lingchai behave so gently. He immediately made up his mind to remain here. From now on, he would follow Aunt… no… his own mother.
Mu Xueshi did not intend to start calling her Mother, nor did he plan to tell Yue Lingchai that he knew the truth. He was afraid he would feel awkward if he called her Mother, and even more afraid of seeing the emotion in Yue Lingchai’s eyes, because he was not truly her son.
Since Yue Lingchai was pretending not to know, he would simply pretend alongside her.
At Yue Lingchai’s command, Mu Xueshi took a deep breath and followed her into another training room.
That night, as Mu Xueshi lay in bed, the scenes from earlier that day kept appearing in his mind, filling his heart with bitterness. The Third Prince’s feelings for him were clearly no longer as deep as before. It had only been a few days, yet the Third Prince was already determined to marry someone else. Even when Mu Xueshi silently left, the Third Prince had shown no intention of asking him to stay.
Mu Xueshi felt as though he had swallowed several nails whole, each one stabbing painfully into his heart. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Suddenly, the Third Prince’s voice came from outside. At first, Mu Xueshi thought he was imagining it, but when he heard Yue Lingchai speaking with the Third Prince, he realized the Third Prince had truly come.
Why did he come here? Did he change his mind?
The resolve Mu Xueshi had only just formed immediately began to waver. He crawled out from beneath the quilt, dressed himself, then pressed his ear against the door and listened carefully to the sounds outside.
But there was no longer any movement. Mu Xueshi strained his ears and discovered that the conversation had already ended.
Unable to restrain himself, Mu Xueshi opened the door and walked outside.
Yue Lingchai was standing there. Hearing the door open, she turned to look at Mu Xueshi.
“Um… Aunt… just now…”
“The Third Prince came by just now. He has already left,” Yue Lingchai told him straightforwardly.
Mu Xueshi hurriedly asked, “Why did he come?”
“He came to thank me. He returned every one of the disciples he borrowed last time. That was all.”
Mu Xueshi’s heart immediately seemed to plunge into an icy cavern, leaving him chilled from head to toe.
Seeing his reaction, Yue Lingchai asked in confusion, “What? What did you hope he had come for? To take you away? Did you not already decide to remain here and practice martial arts with Aunt?”
Hearing this, Mu Xueshi hurriedly explained, “No… I was not thinking that… I was afraid he had come to take me away. I want to stay here and practice martial arts with Aunt.”
“Hmph…” Yue Lingchai gave two cold laughs and entered her room.
Mu Xueshi turned and went back into his own room, almost fleeing as he shut the door behind him and collapsed onto the floor.
It is over. This must be our final separation!
…
“A male Empress?”
“A male Empress?”
The instant they heard the decree issued by the Third Prince, the imperial court descended into chaos. Everyone wore expressions of anger they dared not voice. A few of the bolder officials could not resist stepping forward and saying, “Your Majesty, this must never be allowed! Since ancient times, what Emperor has ever married a man?”
“Your Majesty, the person you intend to install is the Empress. The Empress serves as the mother of the realm and head of the imperial harem. If you choose a man as Empress, would the harem not fall into disorder?”
“That is right, Your Majesty. How will you explain this to your subjects?”
“…”
After the officials had all spoken over one another, the Third Prince waited until the great hall had fallen silent before calmly asking, “Have you finished?”
Seeing the Third Prince’s expression, the officials instinctively took a step backward, bowed, and returned to stand on either side.
The Third Prince said calmly, “Rules are made by people. The fact that the sovereigns of previous dynasties never installed a male Empress does not mean that I cannot do so. Anyone who refuses to accept this may follow those former sovereigns into the grave. I will not stop you.”
“This…”
Faced with the Third Prince’s ruthless declaration, the officials exchanged glances, and not one dared step forward again.
The Third Prince’s icy gaze swept across those below. His thin lips parted as he said, “Installing an Empress is a major affair of state. The ceremony will naturally be magnificent and must proceed through the streets so that tens of thousands of subjects may share in the celebration. Whether my subjects approve should be for them to decide, should it not?”
“Your Majesty is correct,” a small number of officials began responding.
The Third Prince smiled faintly and asked in a clear voice, “Does anyone else have a matter to report?”
Eunuch Tai’an cleared his throat and signaled to the officials below with his eyes.
The officials hesitated at first. Then, seeing the rare smile on the Emperor’s face, they hurriedly said in unison, “Congratulations, Your Majesty. May joy attend Your Majesty.”
The Third Prince said indifferently, “Court is dismissed!”
Mu Xueshi remained distracted throughout the entire day. Yue Lingchai once again brought him and Qingyun to the cavern outside to meditate and calm their minds. After leaving the palace, Mu Xueshi managed to rein in his thoughts slightly and began trying with all his strength to focus on his cultivation.
With his eyes closed, Mu Xueshi silently recited the internal formula. But as he continued, stray voices began appearing in his ears.
“The Third Prince is installing an Empress today.”
“They have probably already read the decree by now.”
“Perhaps they are already married.”
“They could not have entered the bridal chamber already, could they?”
“…”
As Mu Xueshi’s thoughts ran wild, his breathing gradually became labored, and his entire body felt light and insubstantial, as though he had entered an immortal realm.
It is over. I have truly suffered qi deviation this time.
When Mu Xueshi awoke, he found himself surrounded by darkness, while the noisy clamor of a crowd filled his ears. He realized that his eyes had been covered and his acupoints sealed, leaving him completely unable to move. He was also inside a sedan chair, though he had no idea where he was being taken.
What is going on? Could I have died? Is this the road to the underworld?
The noise around him gradually faded into the distance. Mu Xueshi tried calling loudly outside, “Um… where are you taking me?”
No one answered him. Mu Xueshi grew increasingly nervous, and beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.
Mu Xueshi muttered to himself throughout the journey. When the sedan chair finally stopped, his heart rose even higher into his throat.
Just then, Mu Xueshi felt someone release his acupoints. Immediately afterward, the black cloth covering his eyes was removed.
Mu Xueshi impatiently climbed out of the sedan chair, only to be startled the instant he emerged.
An unknown number of people surrounded him, all dressed in court robes and kneeling neatly on the ground with solemn, dignified expressions. Mu Xueshi watched the Third Prince approach him in dragon robes, his face carrying an irresistible imperial authority.
Still utterly confused, Mu Xueshi was pulled onto the high platform by the Third Prince. Firecrackers exploded around his ears, while gongs and drums thundered. Mu Xueshi simply followed the Third Prince until they finally stopped before an ancestral shrine.
A palace official called loudly, “His Majesty and the Empress shall pay their respects to the ancestors!”
Mu Xueshi was instantly dumbfounded. His Majesty and the Empress? The Emperor is here, but where is the Empress?
Could it be…
While Mu Xueshi was still frozen in confusion, he saw the Third Prince kneel with a solemn expression, so he hurriedly followed suit. He copied everything the Third Prince did. Finally, he watched the Third Prince light an incense stick more than a meter long and place it inside the enormous incense burner. After kowtowing several times alongside him, the ceremony was considered complete.
Only after the two of them returned to the courtyard did Mu Xueshi finally ask, “Just now… what exactly were we doing? And why did you bring me back again? Why did you use this method? Was I not in the middle of practicing? How did I suddenly end up inside a sedan chair for no reason…?”
The more Mu Xueshi spoke, the more he confused even himself.
The Third Prince answered only one of his questions.
“We were paying our respects to the ancestors. The imperial decree was read this morning, and all the other rites were completed while you were traveling in the sedan chair. All that remained was for you to worship the ancestors with me, and the Empress-installation ceremony would be complete. Tomorrow, we will be married, and you will officially become the Empress.”
The corners of Mu Xueshi’s mouth twitched twice before he promptly fainted.
Next
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment