The next day, when Shu Changyu arrived at Luming Palace, Jing Mu was not standing at the entrance of the main hall waiting for him as he had the previous two days.
For a moment, Shu Changyu felt strangely unaccustomed to it. Carrying his book case, he walked into the main hall and looked toward the desk area, but surprisingly, he didn’t see Jing Mu anywhere.
For the first time, he truly realized just how desolate and cold Luming Palace was.
“Your Highness, Second Prince?” he called tentatively, but the only response in the empty palace was his own echo.
Shu Changyu found it rather strange. During the half year in his previous life when he had served as Jing Mu’s tutor, Jing Mu had always waited in Luming Palace before his arrival. Not a single day had been different.
There wasn’t even a single servant in the palace, so Shu Changyu had no way of knowing where Jing Mu had gone. He could only circle the main hall once and call out two more times.
At that moment, he heard a faint groan coming from the bed behind the screen. Then came rustling sounds, as if someone was there.
Shu Changyu hurried over and saw Jing Mu curled up on the bed, dressed only in his inner robe. He seemed barely conscious. Hearing Shu Changyu call for him, he was bracing himself against the bed, struggling to get up.
“Your Highness!” Shu Changyu rushed forward just in time to see Jing Mu sway, nearly falling off the bed. Shu Changyu caught him in one motion. He saw a thin sheen of cold sweat on Jing Mu’s forehead, lips pale as frost, his face completely drained of color.
Only after Jing Mu slumped into his arms did Shu Changyu notice that Jing Mu was clutching his stomach tightly, his whole body trembling.
“Your Highness, is it stomach pain?” Shu Changyu asked quickly, raising a hand to feel his forehead.
His hand had barely lifted halfway before Jing Mu grabbed it.
“Shifu…” Shu Changyu heard Jing Mu whisper weakly, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
Jing Mu’s hand was ice-cold, yet astonishingly strong. He gripped Shu Changyu’s hand so hard it made his bones ache. Seeing Jing Mu in such pain, dazed and clinging to him like a lifeline—
Shu Changyu suddenly felt his heart twist into knots, followed immediately by a surge of fury.
No matter how dull Jing Mu might be, he was still someone under Shu Changyu’s protection. How had he been bullied and schemed against until he ended up in such a pitiful state?!
Shu Changyu gripped Jing Mu’s hand in return and said softly, “I’m here. Endure a little longer, Your Highness. I’ll fetch the imperial physician immediately.”
As he spoke, he tried to stand.
But Jing Mu clung to him, still gripping his hand tightly.
“Shifu…”
Shu Changyu’s heart ached even more.
Even ordinary children, when sick or hurting, called for their parents. Yet at a moment like this, the name Jing Mu kept murmuring was his teacher’s—a man he had known for barely two days.
Shu Changyu, with his rotten, filthy heart, had even treated Jing Mu coldly.
And yet in this world, he was still the one who treated Jing Mu best.
Everyone in this palace truly deserved death.
With murderous thoughts surging through him, Shu Changyu’s expression instead softened further.
“Your Highness, wait just a little longer,” he murmured by Jing Mu’s ear. “Only after the physician arrives can your stomach pain be treated.”
Still, Jing Mu refused to let go. His grip tightened even more. His lips moved, as though saying something.
Shu Changyu leaned closer to listen.
Jing Mu’s faint voice, carried by warm breath, brushed against his ear.
“Shifu… don’t leave Jing Mu alone…”
Shu Changyu’s nose stung. His voice caught in his throat.
After a moment, he said quietly, “Shifu will come right back. I promise you.”
After a long while, Jing Mu seemed to regain some awareness. His fingers finally loosened, reluctant to let go.
Shu Changyu—a grand traitorous minister whose life philosophy had always been to break promises—somehow shot out of Luming Palace like the wind.
Even now, the sensation of Jing Mu’s hand lingered on his palm. Only one thought remained in his mind—
He could not leave Jing Mu alone in Luming Palace for even one more moment.
What he didn’t see was that after he ran out of the main hall, Jing Mu turned his head and watched his retreating figure.
His lips and face were still pale. His body still trembled with pain.
But his eyes were utterly clear, burning with intense emotion.
—
Shu Changyu rushed out of Luming Palace and grabbed a palace maid sweeping nearby. Seeing his tightly furrowed brows, pressed lips, and frightening expression, the maid nearly jumped in terror.
“Go to the Imperial Medical Bureau immediately and summon a physician to Luming Palace!” Shu Changyu ordered coldly. “Go now. If you delay, I’ll have your head.”
The maid was so frightened she could only nod.
Shu Changyu released her arm and added, “Tell them Shu family’s Third Young Master is requesting them. Whoever dares refuse will answer to me.”
The maid nodded frantically and ran toward the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Watching her disappear in that direction, Shu Changyu turned and returned to Luming Palace.
Jing Mu still lay on the bed, pale as paper, clutching his abdomen and trembling.
Shu Changyu walked over and, ignoring all rules of ruler and subject, sat down on the edge of the bed.
Like someone frozen in the dead of winter finally finding warmth, Jing Mu instinctively leaned toward him, reaching again for his hand.
This was clearly improper.
Yet as if possessed, Shu Changyu reached out, took Jing Mu’s icy hand, and pulled him into his arms.
What am I doing? Shu Changyu thought.
Perhaps because he was the only warmth this boy had. At a time like this, he simply had no reason to push him away.
So he watched as trembling Jing Mu followed pure instinct, burying his head into Shu Changyu’s embrace.
In a daze, Shu Changyu recalled something from his previous life.
It had been the fourth year after Jing Mu ascended the throne. One night, long after curfew, palace attendants had come to summon him to the palace.
At the time, all state affairs were decided solely by Shu Changyu. There was hardly anything the emperor and he needed to discuss.
Yet the palace attendants insisted, so he went.
Unexpectedly, the reason they summoned him in the middle of the night was because the emperor had developed a high fever. Half-conscious, Jing Mu refused medicine and kept insisting on seeing Chancellor Shu.
The attendants had no choice but to summon him overnight.
At the time, Shu Changyu had no fear of that puppet emperor. Jing Mu held no power over him.
And yet, for reasons he still didn’t understand, he had sat by Jing Mu’s bedside that night too, just as he was now, keeping him company until dawn.
Shu Changyu laughed bitterly to himself.
No matter how hard-hearted he was, he simply could not bear to watch this little dog shiver alone in the cold night.
In some ways, Jing Mu truly was an expert at controlling his emotions.
The imperial physician arrived quickly.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Qianning also arrived with him.
This was Emperor Qianning’s first time stepping into Luming Palace.
While the physician checked Jing Mu’s pulse and examined him, the emperor sat nearby with a dark face. Shu Changyu stood respectfully at his side.
Outside the window, the palace servants assigned to Luming Palace had all gathered in the courtyard, kneeling in rows. Their cries for mercy rose nonstop.
Before long, Emperor Qianning could no longer hold back.
“Is it always this desolate here?” he asked Shu Changyu. “Not even a single servant in sight?”
Shu Changyu immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. Also, His Highness lacks paper and brushes. Yesterday, even his lunch was not delivered on time.”
“Then why didn’t you report this to me?” Emperor Qianning demanded angrily.
Shu Changyu lowered his head and answered, “This official… heard it was Her Majesty the Empress’s arrangement. I did not dare mention it to Your Majesty.”
“The Empress’s arrangement?!” Emperor Qianning froze.
Then he recalled that after Jing Mu had been brought back, the empress had indeed volunteered to care for him in order to atone.
What Emperor Qianning hated most was people abusing his trust and acting one way in public while doing another in private.
“Men!” he barked. “Summon the Empress to Luming Palace!”
“Your Majesty is wise,” Shu Changyu added smoothly, slipping in flattery.
“These servants are all disobedient wretches!” Emperor Qianning was still furious. “I assigned attendants here, yet now none of them can be found!”
Before the empress arrived, Shu Changyu seized the opportunity to speak again.
“Your Majesty, this official wishes… to say a few words in defense of these servants. At the very least… please do not implicate their families.”
A foolish scholar who has read too many moral texts.
Emperor Qianning sneered inwardly but said perfunctorily, “Speak.”
“Yes. The servants’ neglect of Luming Palace is partly due to this palace itself.” Shu Changyu lowered his voice. “Luming Palace has been rumored to be haunted since the previous dynasty. Though Your Majesty may not know, everyone in the palace—from servants to consorts—fears it deeply. Perhaps because there were no other vacant palaces, Her Majesty had no choice but to place the Second Prince here. The servants likely feared evil spirits and, despite the risk of disobeying imperial orders, kept their distance.”
This was hardly defending the servants.
It was clearly another shove sending the empress deeper into the fire.
Sure enough, Emperor Qianning exploded with rage.
Back then, when he had asked about Jing Mu’s residence, the empress had casually told him she’d chosen a palace with excellent feng shui and layout. He hadn’t questioned further.
Of course, at the time, he hadn’t regarded Jing Mu as much of a prince anyway.
But he was the emperor.
How could an emperor ever be wrong?
At that moment, the physician emerged from behind the screen.
“Reporting to Your Majesty,” the physician said, kneeling. “His Highness the Second Prince has suffered from irregular meals and consumed spoiled pastries. The filling had gone bad and developed toxins, causing the abdominal pain. I have performed acupuncture. Once I prescribe medicine, three doses should purge the toxins from his system.”
At that exact moment, the empress entered the main hall with dozens of attendants in tow. She knelt before the emperor and hurriedly said:
“Your Majesty, forgive my lateness—this consort heard that the Second Prince ate pastries delivered by Minister Shu and was poisoned?”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu’s heart sank.
Author’s Note:
Shu Changyu: I wouldn’t even know without the script—Jing Mu is seriously a drama king.
Jing Mu: All thanks to Shifu’s excellent teaching.
Shu Changyu: Brat, when did I ever teach you this?
Jing Mu: Shifu teaches by word and example. Naturally, I learn from both.
Shu Changyu: …
Jing Mu: Besides, Jing Mu would also like Shifu to personally teach me… other things.
Shu Changyu: ?????? I’m calling the authorities!