When Lu Shiting emerged from the interrogation room of the Depot jail, Cao Yi quickly brought forward a basin of fresh water.
The man submerged his hands. Brilliant red blood peeled away from his fingertips, the backs of his hands, and his palms, staining the entire basin crimson in an instant. Lu Shiting washed his hands clean and took a silk cloth to wipe them dry.
“Director, regarding this Northern Di spy…”
“I’ve finished the questioning. Kill him and drag him out to feed the dogs.”
Several Eastern Depot agents took the prisoner down from the rack. His prison garb was a mere mess of bloody rags. After snapping his neck to end his life, they dragged him away without a sound.
“Is the Director returning to the manor now?”
Based on the prisoner’s confession, they were to uproot the Northern Di spies planted throughout Great Ning’s capital. Their Director had stayed here all night without sleep, listening to reports from the subordinates returning from their missions.
Cao Yi stole a cautious glance at Lu Shiting’s face. It was ice-cold, like the snow on the unclimbable peaks of the Western Regions—devoid of human emotion or desire, showing not even a trace of fatigue.
Lu Shiting narrowed his eyes. “What time is it?”
The Depot jail was damp and frigid. The cells had no windows to let in the sun; there was only the flickering glow of candlelight year-round.
“It is nearly noon. The memorials submitted from the morning court session have all been sent to the Eastern Depot. Will the Director return home to rest, or…?”
Cao Yi hesitated, wondering if he should remind him of what the Sixth Prince had mentioned yesterday. While he was debating, the Director had already begun walking toward the exit.
“Into the palace. To the Hall of Literary Brilliance.”
Mu Jue hadn’t eaten lunch; instead, he was taking a walk outside the Hall of Literary Brilliance.
Only one day had passed, but the rumors in the palace concerning him and Director Lu had already completely transformed. Walking behind a rockery, Mu Jue heard two young palace maids chatting around the corner.
“Did you hear about Director Lu and the Sixth Prince yesterday?”
“Of course. It was a eunuch working in the Hall of Literary Brilliance who told me.”
“Could it be that the Sixth Prince really…?”
“The Sixth Prince might not be favored by His Majesty, but his face is truly the most beautiful among all the princes. He likely takes after his mother.” One of the maids spoke vividly, as if she had witnessed it herself. “Yesterday, the Crown Prince grew angry and wanted to punish him. Who knew the Sixth Prince would run to Director Lu, cry a few times, and the Director would settle the matter for him immediately?”
Mu Jue listened quietly, a sense of confusion rising in his heart. When did I cry in front of Lu Shiting?
Beside him, Xia Ming also asked with an astonished look: Did Your Highness cry yesterday?
“You know that face of the Sixth Prince,” the maid continued. “When he cries, he’s even more heart-wrenching than usual. Then, when the Director was leaving, the Sixth Prince chased him all the way to his carriage. They spoke for a long time before he left. Tell me, which other prince could be so close to Director Lu?”
“It seems there’s going to be another master in the palace we can’t afford to provoke.”
“Hard to say. A youth isn’t like a woman; his prime only lasts a few years, and the Sixth Prince isn’t exactly young… who knows when the Director will grow tired of playing with him.”
As Cao Yi followed Lu Shiting toward the Hall of Literary Brilliance, he immediately spotted the Sixth Prince and his little eunuch crouched behind a rockery, seemingly eavesdropping. The youth was wearing sea-blue casual robes today. His ink-black hair was partially draped over his shoulders, and a gold-and-jade belt cinched his slender waist. Though he was eighteen—only two years from his capping ceremony—he still possessed the lean grace of a teenager.
“Director…”
Lu Shiting said nothing. Cao Yi immediately fell silent and stood still. He soon heard the scandalous rumors involving his own master. He was just pondering whether he should rush forward and drag those two audacious maids out to be executed, or invite the Sixth Prince over first, when the Director stepped up behind the youth.
Mu Jue, having finished listening to the gossip about himself, turned to leave. He was met by a low, cold voice whose mood was impossible to discern.
“Sixth Highness.”
Caught completely off guard, Mu Jue jumped in fright. He had to brace his hand against the rockery behind him to steady himself. The youth’s pitch-black eyes shimmered like fine ink-jade in the light, and his skin was translucently pale.
“Lu… Director Lu.”
He was nervous, but then he remembered he wasn’t the one spreading those lies, which gave him a bit of steady confidence. “Why has the Director come here?”
Lu Shiting stood very near him, but it was just proximity; there was no hint of intimacy. Mu Jue could feel the man’s body heat, yet he saw no warmth in those calm phoenix eyes neither the “illicit affection” the palace maids spoke of, nor the rage one might expect from hearing such rumors.
“Did Your Highness not invite me to have lunch at the Hall of Literary Brilliance?”
Mu Jue nodded. “I have prepared it. It is in the classroom.”
He instinctively led the way toward the Hall, his mind wandering as they walked. Lu Shiting spoke a few words to me yesterday and the rumors became this. If we have lunch together today…
Mu Jue sighed silently. Surely, they won’t start saying the Director is hand-feeding me?
The Eastern Palace.
“Brother Crown Prince, I’m not going! You can beat me to death, but I’m not going back to the Hall of Literary Brilliance!”
The Ninth Prince was sprawled across the Crown Prince’s desk, shoving aside the books and scrolls while resisting the eunuchs trying to persuade him.
“Oh, Ninth Highness, my little ancestor! His Highness needs to review memorials; you mustn’t act like this!”
The Crown Prince stood by, coaxing his younger brother. “Heng’er, what is so bad about studying? Did the Preceptor punish you again today? What did he make you copy? I’ll have someone write it for you. Just go back and study properly, alright?”
“I don’t care about copying books!” The Ninth Prince sat up, grabbing the Crown Prince’s sleeve. “It’s Mu Jue! That little bastard! Director Lu came to the Hall again today, and with him, he… he…”
The Crown Prince’s expression shifted slightly. He asked in a low voice, “With him, what?”
“He had lunch with him! On my way back, I heard palace servants saying Director Lu personally fed Mu Jue pastries!”
The Crown Prince exchanged glances with the few advisors standing nearby, then lowered his eyelashes to hide the glint in his eyes. “Very well, Heng’er. If you don’t want to go today, I shall grant you a day of leave.”
“Really?” The Ninth Prince brightened. “I knew Brother Crown Prince was the best to me!”
“So, besides eating with the Director, what else did Sixth Brother do?”
“They spoke a lot, but I didn’t dare go over to listen.” the Ninth Prince grumbled. “Brother Crown Prince, many of the other princes are talking to Mu Jue now. Especially the sons of the ministers, they’re supposed to be our study partners, but they keep flocking to Mu Jue! Whose partners are they, anyway?!”
The Crown Prince stroked the boy’s head, remaining silent for a moment. “Heng’er, go play in another hall for now. I’ve had a mutton hotpot prepared for you.”
The Ninth Prince scrambled to his feet. “Will you come eat with me in a bit?”
“I will.”
After the eunuchs led the Ninth Prince away, the smile faded from the Crown Prince’s face. The attendant standing beside him stepped forward. “Your Highness… although His Majesty has already designated the Sixth Prince as the hostage for the Northern Di, and Director Lu did not object given the current situation, who knows if the Director might suddenly change his mind and want to keep him here?”
The Crown Prince sat down, tapping the desk. “Rumors in the palace… how can they be fully believed?”
“Many of them are indeed nonsense from slaves, but some points are logical. The Sixth Prince is strikingly beautiful and resembles that deposed consort. Back then, that consort used her ‘courtesan’s tricks’ to bewitch His Majesty. If Director Lu truly has an illicit connection with the Sixth Prince and listens to ‘pillow talk’…”
The attendant knelt, followed by the Crown Prince’s trusted advisors. “Your Highness, you treat him as a brother, but the Sixth Prince harbors a hidden, malicious heart. Please, consider the stability of Great Ning’s empire and do not be soft-hearted any longer.”
The Crown Prince sat with an unreadable expression, not stopping the attendant from continuing.
“The priority is to ensure there is no room for reversal regarding the Sixth Prince going to the Northern Di. I have heard that among the envoys, there is a minor Khan of a certain tribe who prefers the company of men. During his time in the capital, he has visited every famous ‘rabbit-boy’ brothel.”
The Crown Prince asked, “What is your meaning?”
“Why not have the Ninth Prince invite the Sixth Prince out of the palace to play? Lure him to a brothel, and then have our spies among the Northern Di inform that minor Khan that an exquisite young master has appeared there. Once the Khan is infatuated and they spend a night together, and he insists on taking the Sixth Prince as the hostage, neither His Majesty nor Director Lu will be able to refuse.”
The Crown Prince showed a hint of hesitation. “Sixth Brother is a Prince, after all. To do this, I fear the Northern Di will mock us.”
“Your Highness, it was the Sixth Prince who colluded with Director Lu first. If being seen by a Northern Di Khan is embarrassing, is it not equally embarrassing to crawl beneath a eunuch? It is the Sixth Prince himself who has no shame; he can hardly blame others.”