In the span of a few moments, various emotions flashed across A'Hong's eyes.
Uncertainty.
Fear.
Shock.
Horror.
And before he knew it, he collapsed onto the floor as he threw the mirror away from him with all of the force that he could muster.
The mirror hit the hard floor with a thump, and Kesi raced over to pick it up, her heart thumping. But not only did it not crack, it didn't even have a scratch mark on it. There was definitely something special about the mirror.
A twinge of guilt cross her mind that her priority was the mirror and not the little eunuch on the floor, but she quickly dismissed the thought. She had a mission to finish, and her instincts told her that A'Hong was definitely a part of it.
Brushing off the dirt from the mirror, she settled next to the little eunuch as Mu Luming and Little Seven looked at the two with wide eyes.
She motioned to flash the mirror before the eunuch's face, in hopes of catching a glimpse of what he had seen, but seeing the mirror's glimmer in his peripheral vision, A'Hong quickly turned his head.
"Nanny Rong, why was there someone trapped in there?" He whimpered, burying his face into his laps. "Why was someone trapped in there?"
As she stared into the mirror, Kesi couldn't make out anything but her aged face. Seeing that A'Hong looked away, she still tried to angle it so that he was in the reflection, but all she saw was the anguished figure.
In the reflection, A'Hong looked somehow even sadder than he did in reality. As he clung to the sides of his legs, hugging himself as he rocked himself back and forth, he looked so terribly lonely. Especially since the reflection only showed him, he seemed to be all alone, locked in his own world of glass.
Mu Luming hurried over as well, glancing into the mirror. Like Kesi, he seemed to not be able to witness what A'Hong had seen within it.
"Are you feeling alright?" He bent down, lightly patting A'Hong's back like an adult would do to a sobbing child. "What exactly did you see inside the mirror?"
Looking up with a jolt, A'Hong's eyes were red. "Your Highness…"
His voice faltered for a moment as a dazed expression crossed his face.
"Your Highness!" Almost as if it suddenly registered that he was speaking to the Crown Prince, A'Hong immediately snapped out of his trance and dipped down to the floor, repeated banging his forehead against the hard stone pathway. "Please, Your Highness… Please excuse Your Humble Servant's gross negligence… Your Humble Servant must have been temporarily possessed by a wandering spirit… or…"
In response, Mu Luming only put a hand on his back. "A'Hong, stop. There's nothing wrong. I'm not going to punish you for anything. I just want to know what you had seen within the reflection."
Hearing those words, A'Hong dipped his head, ghostily croaking out, "Your Highness, the horror that Your Humble Servant saw within the mirror is not a scene meant for someone with royal blood like you. It'll stain the purity of your mind."
A patch of red had already formed on his forehead as a single crimson drop slid into his eyes, but he seemed not to notice.
"It's fine… It's fine…" Again and again, Mu Luming repeated those almost hypnotizing words, his voice soft.
By the side, the new maid, Little Seven, looked on with interest at the scene before her, her eyes tracking every single detail.
However, little did she know that at the same time she was mentally taking down notes, Kesi had been observing her as well.
As Mu Luming tried to calm down the little eunuch, A'Hong, Kesi simply observed each of Little Seven's actions. If everything was according to her calculations, before night fall, the Empress would know of today's events.
Before Mu Luming could pry even more, Kesi stepped in, offering to take A'Hong to his private quarters to rest for the day.
If the little eunuch was to say anything of importance, the last person that she wanted to also hear the words would be the Empress.
Ultimately, A'Hong obliged.
When Kesi finally motioned to close the door so that there would be privacy, her gaze met the inquisitive eyes of Little Seven. And without much further thought, she closed the door so that only she, A'Hong, and Mu Luming remained within the room.
"A'Hong, what exactly did you see?" She asked, her voice earnest.
Now that the Empress's pair of eyes was gone, Kesi turned the conversation back.
"There was a man inside, someone much older than me." After a few minutes of hesitation, A'Hong finally spoke. "He was just sitting there, but he looked like someone from a distant world."
"Was he wearing something strange? A pair of strange glasses or a black cloak by any chance?"
Much to her disappointment, A'Hong only shook his head.
"His hair was cut short, and there was something strange about his attire. It was unconventional, and the fabric looked to be strange." He paused. "Oh, there was a row of buttons all over his clothes."
Kesi's suspicions were confirmed. The reflection must have been someone from the modern times. Now, the only question was: who?
"What was this man doing?" Without waiting for her reply, Mu Luming added.
A look of horror flashed before A'Hong's face. "He was dying."
The room turned quiet as Mu Luming and Kesi exchanged confused glances.
"Someone held an axe over his head." His voice shaking, A'Hong closed his eyes. "And then his head split into two…"
Kesi knew exactly who A'Hong was referencing to.