The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Mu Liang had already lowered the heavy gauze curtains around the bedroom and turned to retreat to the outer room.

Moonlight streamed in through the carved window, spreading a patch of silvery light across the floor.

He stood by the window, his black robes blending into the shadows.

Faint sounds could be heard from inside the room.

Extremely light.

Like spring rain falling on flower buds.

Like butterfly wings brushing against new leaves.

He lowered his eyes and suppressed his breathing to be extremely light and slow.

No one outside could see his clenched fist.

No one saw that his knuckles had turned white.

No one could see that the roots of his ears, which were usually cold and aloof, were now flushed with a restrained and subtle blush.

He stood there quietly.

Like a silent shadow.

Like a knife sheathed and never shown to anyone.

Outside the window, the moonlight remained as clear as water.

Plum branches brushed past the eaves, rustling down a shoulder of quiet, cool fragrance.

He listened as the inner room gradually returned to silence.

As her panting voice gradually faded and weakened, she finally drifted into a weary dream.

He lowered his eyes.

He thought that he had probably been poisoned as well.

Otherwise, how could that heart, which had been submerged in the icy abyss for so many years, be present at this moment—

It's like someone has broken through the frozen layer, and the whole thing floats to the surface.

It was so hot that he didn't even dare to claim it.

There was no jealousy.

He was just envious.

He could only watch his prince from afar, in silence.

—His Highness.

It should have been the bright moon, surrounded by stars.

But he had only seen that moonlight.

That's enough.

When Mu Liang looked up, she bumped into Feng Zhuo coming out of the inner room.

The young general's handsome face was flushed, full of youthful charm, with even the corners of his eyes showing lingering blush.

Like a small flame that has just escaped from the furnace and has nowhere to hide.

Mu Liang withdrew his gaze, his tone as indifferent as if to say that there was no wind tonight.

"Young general, you're quite adept at serving people. Are you experienced?"

Feng Zhuo's breathing, which had just calmed down, was suddenly ignited by these seemingly casual words.

"I...I...I didn't—!"

He was like a wolf cub whose tail had been stepped on, his fur standing on end, and even his voice cracked:

"I've just heard too much of that nonsense from those scoundrels in the military camp... I don't have any real experience!"

He spoke in a fit of rage, but his voice trailed off weakly, lacking any real threat.

He clenched his fists, as if defending some extremely important dignity:

"Don't slander me. I am—I uphold male virtues."

Mu Liang looked at him.

He didn't say anything.

Then she turned around, took a white porcelain cup from the table, filled it with water, and handed it to him.

"oh."

Just one word.

Feng Zhuo couldn't hold back any longer.

He didn't take the glass of water.

He felt as if his face, neck, and entire body had been roasted over a fire.

The next second, he dashed out of the bedroom.

Like a gust of wind.

Like a wild horse that has been unleashed.

Like a cluster of flames that finally set itself ablaze.

Mu Liang didn't need to.

So sweet.

So thoughtful was he that he was embarrassed enough to carve out a tower of stars from the floor tiles of the Mirror Night Snow Lodge with his toes.

Li Shuang peeked halfway in from outside the door and happened to catch a glimpse of the red figure fleeing in panic.

She stammered in disbelief, "Huh? General Feng is so... good-looking but useless?"

He paused, then added another blow:

"He looks really strong! This—this—is this the young general's record?"

She gestured, at a loss for words.

Mu Liang didn't reply.

He didn't even look at her.

He had no desire to pay any attention to this big yellow girl who didn't discriminate between meat and vegetables.

He simply lifted the gauze curtains quietly and walked to the bedside.

Originally, I wanted to use my internal energy to dry His Highness's wet hair.

However, what my fingertips touched was already dry and soft black hair.

He paused for a moment.

Someone has already taken good care of her.

Even the half-wet undergarment was changed and neatly folded on the low table beside the couch.

In the basin beside it, the water was still warm, and a wrung-out cloth was draped over the rim, its corners neatly folded.

Mu Liang looked at the handkerchief.

I recalled the young general's flushed ears and stammering protest as he stormed out of the door.

He suddenly curved the corners of his lips slightly.

General Feng.

He looks energetic and unruly, like a sharp blade that has not yet been sheathed.

Unexpectedly...

That's quite thoughtful.

Dusk fell, and he lowered his eyes.

He didn't even take advantage of the situation.

When His Highness was lost in passion, his peach blossom eyes clearly showed his undisguised affection for him.

They were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were little.

They have feelings.

Under those circumstances, it would have been a natural progression for him to take the prince's hand.

The proud young general used the most humble method to counteract the effects of the drug on her.

He was truly head over heels in love with His Highness.

As the boy fled in panic, he even bumped his forehead against the door frame, causing it to turn red.

When news of Hua Rongshi, the crown prince of the Menghua Empire, being detained by the Hidden Dragon Guard reached Bei Chenji's ears, he was reviewing military reports in the Battle Hall.

The candlelight flickered.

His cold, handsome face was hidden between light and shadow, half of his face bathed in warm light, and the other half shrouded in shadow.

"...When will it be ready?"

He put down his pen, his voice devoid of emotion.

"How did they end up being detained by the Hidden Dragon Guards?"

Where is the person right now?

Fu Shengwei knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"Your Highness—it was that abandoned house by Mirror Moon Lake..."

He paused, then said with difficulty:

"The Crown Prince used to go there every full moon. Who would have thought that the house... now has an owner. We were guarding the backyard and didn't notice anything unusual."

"Please, Your Highness, save my Crown Prince!"

Beichen Ji did not respond.

He simply lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently tracing the seal of the War Hall Master on the table.

"It just so happens that the Nine Extremes Alliance is taking place," he said in a tone as calm as if he were stating military intelligence, "your Crown Prince will probably be detained for a few days."

"He just wandered into the Snow Lodge by mistake. Little Xue'er is gentle and kind; she won't make things too difficult for him."

When he mentioned her, his tone unconsciously softened.

It's as if they're afraid of startling the icicles falling from the eaves.

I could have controlled it before.

He doesn't want her.

He is Bei Chenji, the master of the Battle Hall, and the only surviving member of the Bei Chen clan.

He has too many things to handle and too many situations to manage.

He doesn't want her.

But he only mentioned that one sentence, only read those three words.

He suddenly...

I really want to see her.

You don't need to do anything.

No need for words, no need for touch, no need for her to know his untimely weakness.

He just wanted to feel her breathing.

That breath fell on his heart, like the first rain of spring, nourishing his barren land.

He had just seen her during the day, but now he missed her again.

The thought, once it entered my chest, caused a slight pain.

"Your Highness," Fu Shengwei bowed even lower, "our Crown Prince—"

"He broke into Princess Mirror's bath."

Bei Chenji's fingertips were still resting on the edge of the seal.

"At that time, His Highness was taking a bath..."

"Our young master wasn't fully conscious at the time...it seems...it seems he made inappropriate advances towards her..."

Fushengwei dared not continue.

silence.

The candle flickered.

Then, the War Hall Master's Seal, which Bei Chenji held in his palm and was about to place—

Broken.

There was no loud noise, no cracking.

It simply flowed silently through his fingers, turning into a handful of fine white powder.

Like snow.

Like the world in his heart that he had never shown to anyone, the world where he carefully cherished the little pearl, which was trampled on by someone.

Bei Chenji did not look down.

He simply raised his eyelashes slowly.

Those eyes, usually calm and deep, were now devoid of anger, hostility, or even the slightest emotion.

It's too quiet.

It was as still as the sea before a storm, where all sound had been completely drained away.

Fu Shengwei dared not breathe.

His beautiful, poetic little Xue'er.

He kept it hidden deep in his heart, never daring to be presumptuous or disrespectful, and only dared to indulge his longing for it for a moment when the night was deep and quiet.

When the flowers are in full bloom.

That's outrageous!

How dare he?!

Bei Chenji suddenly stood up.

He didn't say anything.

He simply stepped over the shattered remains of the imperial seal, which resembled broken jade, and pushed open the gate of the Beichen Prince's Mansion.

The night wind blew in, lifting the hem of his crimson robe.

He was like a cold blade that had finally been drawn from its sheath.

Emperor Tang Xiye could no longer suppress the urge to draw his sword and kill someone.

And what about Bei Chenji?

He remained silent and strode into the night.

He didn't fly into a rage.

There is no Thunderous Fury.

He suddenly felt very regretful.

I shouldn't have crushed that seal just now.

It should be kept.

It was kept to be stamped on the official letter sent to the Menghua Empire.

Cousin Rongshi, it's time for you to get married.

I'll pick a good place for you, brother.

The farther the better.

Fu Shengwei stood frozen in place, watching the departing figure in black, and murmured:

"For the sake of our Crown Prince... the Prince actually... flew into a rage..."

Another shadow guard chimed in, his tone surprisingly touched:

"As expected, this cousin is reliable."

Completely unaware that their Crown Prince's reliable cousin was currently thinking about the desolate, snow-covered ice plains three thousand miles west of the Dream Flower Empire.

That place is perfect for his peacock cousin!