Golden light filtered through the shifting leaves and branches outside the classroom. The giant python embroidered on Lu Shiting’s crimson robes was washed in shimmering gold, appearing as if it might tear through the deep red fabric and take flight.
Mu Jue saw the man’s eyes—quiet as an ancient well. He was calling Mu Jue as if summoning a cat or a dog, his voice devoid of any inflection.
The youth bit his lip hard. With a forceful shove against the guards blocking him, he hunched his shoulders and darted through the gap, running until he reached Lu Shiting’s side.
He could faintly see his own reflection in those tea-brown pupils. His hair crown was slightly askew, a few stray strands of hair had escaped behind his ear, and his face was deathly pale. Everything from his lips to his Adam’s apple was trembling slightly.
Lu Shiting didn’t look at him again, but he seemed satisfied with his obedience. He reached out a hand and adjusted Mu Jue’s hairpin for him.
“The Sixth Prince’s robes are soiled. Take him to change.”
Two Eastern Depot agents outside the hall responded respectfully, “Sixth Prince, please.”
Mu Jue didn’t dare move. His eyes were dark as he looked up, staring at Lu Shiting.
Lu Shiting’s expression remained flat. “Go. That young eunuch will be fine.”
Mu Jue’s heart, which had been racing like a war drum, finally felt as though it had dropped back into his chest for a moment. If there was anyone in the palace whose promise was credible, it likely wasn’t the Emperor or the Crown Prince, but Lu Shiting. His power over life and death was more accurate than the God of the Underworld’s red ink. It was said that if Lu Shiting wanted a prisoner in the Depot jails to die at a specific hour, they would not live a moment longer, nor die a stick of incense earlier.
He followed the agents out of the classroom. As they walked away, he heard Lu Shiting say to the Crown Prince:
“It was I who ordered someone to teach the Sixth Prince his lessons. Where is the slave tasked with the flogging?”
Mu Jue was taken to a nearby hall. When the two agents tried to help him change, the youth softly declined.
“Will I… have to go back to the Hall of Literary Brilliance in a while?”
“The Director only said to change Your Highness’s clothes. Once changed, you naturally must return.”
Mu Jue hesitated, wondering if he could ask them to check on Xia Ming. The taller agent cupped his hands. “Since the Director said the eunuch serving Your Highness would be fine, he will stay by your side forever. If Your Highness is uneasy, I can bring him here.”
Mu Jue breathed a long sigh of relief and thanked him in a low voice. “What is your name?”
“Your subordinate is Imperial Guard Thousand-man Commander Cao Yi. The Sixth Prince is too polite.”
Mu Jue nodded, wrapping himself in his snow-white fox fur cloak. “Let us return.”
When he stepped back into the classroom, Lu Shiting was sitting at his desk drinking tea. The cramped space the desk had occupied had already been expanded; it was now spacious enough for four or five people to sit comfortably.
Lu Shiting’s long fingers, looking like bamboo or jade, held the celadon teacup. His eyes swirled with the bitter color of tea leaves, but deep down, they were frozen over with ice, masking any true emotion.
Xia Ming stood beside Lu Shiting with his head bowed low, his expression a mix of terror and confusion. Seeing Mu Jue was like catching a life-saving straw. “Your Highness!”
Mu Jue gave an affirming nod and a reassuring look. He walked over and bowed. “Director Lu.”
Standing by Lu Shiting’s side, he finally noticed the expressions of the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince nearby. The Ninth Prince was glaring at him with a cold sneer, his face showing obvious fury. The Crown Prince, however, was smiling as he chatted with the other princes, as if the day’s events had never happened.
An agent came in to report that a prisoner in the Depot jail had confessed. Lu Shiting set down his teacup and rose. “I have official business. I shall not disturb Your Highnesses further.”
Mu Jue grew bold and followed him out. Before Lu Shiting could board his carriage, he called out.
“Director Lu.”
Lu Shiting didn’t answer. He sat in the carriage and then gently brushed aside the curtain, looking down at him. The surrounding agents gripped their sword hilts like a group of statues.
When Lu Shiting said nothing, his face expressionless, a deep, ancient chill seemed to loom before him—one that felt as if it had spanned ages, carrying a faint scent of blood. it was enough to make anyone humble their spine and bow their head.
Mu Jue looked up, his back straight, but because he was so thin, the large fox fur cloak looked overly heavy on him, nearly snapping his slender, pale neck.
“Director Lu… is there anything you need me to do?”
As Mu Jue asked this, he noticed Cao Yi—who was holding the horse’s reins—and several other agents looking at him with looks of sheer astonishment.
The youth’s chest felt burning hot while his back felt icy cold. He stood his ground, waiting for Lu Shiting’s answer. He knew it was a stupid question, but he knew even better that men like Lu Shiting did not help people for no reason. The “small” fee Lu Shiting might extract might be something Mu Jue couldn’t pay even if he drained his own blood and flesh.
But he didn’t want to wait until the end to learn the price. Even if Lu Shiting might not answer at all, what if?
Every day he survived in this man-eating palace was based on “what ifs.”
What if the Emperor forgot to kill this bastard son?
What if the princes had other toys and no time to amuse themselves with him?
What if a kitchen eunuch felt a spark of kindness and stole a little less of his food…?
The youth waited for a moment. No answer came. He silently lowered his eyelashes, the deep grey shadows of his lashes sweeping over his pale skin.
“Thank you… Director Lu.”
At least Xia Ming had survived safely today. If he had really been given twenty strokes and sent to the Imperial Tombs, he would have been crippled if not dead.
The youth gave a sincere bow. Just as he turned to leave, he heard Lu Shiting call him.
“What can the Sixth Prince do?”
He hesitantly lifted his eyes again. The tiny mole at the corner of his eye looked both pure and vivid against his handsome features.
How could he possibly know what Lu Shiting wanted him to do? Among the few words the man had said to him, he had only praised Mu Jue for being “suited for killing.” But the Eastern Depot had no shortage of talent for interrogation and execution.
The youth thought seriously for a while and then answered dryly, “If the Director comes to the Hall of Literary Brilliance every day, I can bring a portion of lunch for you.”
The way Cao Yi and the agents looked at him became even more incredulous. If before they were looking at a fool, now they were looking at a fool whose name had already been crossed out by the King of Hell, yet who was still babbling nonsense.
Lu Shiting suddenly let out a low laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbing slowly.
“Very well, let it be so. That meal that was spilled on the desk earlier… was that also prepared for me?”
Mu Jue shook his head. “That was originally for the Crown Prince, but…”
It seemed no one had noticed.
Lu Shiting let the carriage curtain fall.
Mu Jue stepped back and watched the carriage drive away from the Hall. He pulled his cloak tighter and returned to the classroom. His desk remained as it was when Lu Shiting was sitting there. Seeing the Ninth Prince’s sour face, he guessed the boy had wanted to move the desk back to the corner, but hadn’t dared.
Mu Jue sat down.
“There are memorials to review at the Eastern Palace; I shall take my leave as well. Everyone, share the snacks that were sent.” The Crown Prince said a few words of encouragement to the princes and study partners, coaxed the pouting Ninth Prince for a moment, and stood up. As he passed Mu Jue’s side, he picked up the Book of Rites from the desk and flipped through a few pages.
“Sixth Brother, regarding today… I was only afraid Imperial Father would blame us, so I… please don’t take it to heart.”
Mu Jue gave a slight nod.
The Crown Prince gave a good-natured smile and leaned down, lowering his voice. “Since Sixth Brother has studied, you should also know what kind of end the princes supported by powerful eunuchs have met throughout history.”
Mu Jue’s fingertips scraped hard against the tabletop.
The Crown Prince patted his shoulder with deep meaning and walked away at a measured pace. The classroom gradually returned to the sound of rustling chatter.
When the day’s lessons ended, Xia Ming was waiting outside the Hall, rubbing his hands together. He immediately came forward and pressed a hand-warmer into Mu Jue’s palm.
“Your Highness! Today… why did Director Lu come to the Hall? And those Eastern Depot men came looking for me, it scared the wits out of me!”
Mu Jue held the hand-warmer and recounted the day’s events. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have…”
He shouldn’t have stood out. He knew the Ninth Prince loathed him, yet he didn’t know how to hide his brilliance.
“How can that be Your Highness’s fault? The Emperor only said you couldn’t come to the Hall to study like the other princes; he never issued a decree saying you weren’t allowed to learn a few characters or read a few essays in the side hall.” Xia Ming’s voice was full of lingering fear and indignation. “…Did Your Highness offend the Crown Prince somehow?”
Offend the Crown Prince? Aside from angering the Ninth Prince today, he had always been respectful to the heir. Mu Jue thought of the Crown Prince’s gentle smile and the white jade ring.
“In the future, remind me more often. No matter where we are, we must be cautious in word and deed.”
Xia Ming muttered, “Aren’t you careful enough already? Any more careful and you’ll be lower than the dirt…”
“I have one more thing to ask you.”
“Speak, Your Highness.”
“Do you know… what happens to the princes throughout history who were supported by powerful eunuchs?”
Xia Ming froze, his expression turning frantic. “Why are you asking this suddenly? Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! That’s too unlucky!”
“What’s unlucky about it? Just say it.”
“This servant… doesn’t know much. Generally, either they failed to get the throne and were beheaded and their houses seized, or they became Emperor and were later deposed, locked in their manors to drink poisoned wine, or else…”
Mu Jue: “Or else?”
“Or else some unofficial histories say that since some eunuchs ‘lost that thing,’ they didn’t like women anymore. They liked handsome young men. They would specifically pick good-looking ones from the imperial clan to act as puppets while also being… being… being… being their bedmate.”
Mu Jue knit his brows. He compared these endings.
Beheading, seizing of property, drinking poisoned wine—those weren’t very good. But… although rumors said Director Lu stayed away from women, he had never heard that the man had a penchant for young men.
He asked Xia Ming, “Which one do you think I am most likely to be?”
Xia Ming stammered, “Your Highness, this… can I really say?”
“You can.”
“You won’t punish me?”
“I won’t.”
“Then I think with your looks, Your Highness, if Director Lu has taken an interest… you’ll most likely end up as a bedmate.”