As the saying goes, even heroes cannot escape the allure of beauty.
For a man to conquer the world, he needs armored horses and spears, bloody battles, and piles of bleached bones; whereas for a woman to conquer the world, she need only conquer the man who has won it.
No matter how wise and resolute a man may be, he cannot escape the temptation of beauty. It is never that the allure is insufficient, but that no man can resist the hook.
It seems there are quite a few corrupt officials both in the court and in the provinces. Prince Lie must have obtained evidence—no wonder he was pursued relentlessly. Could it be that his actions were meant to drag so many people down with him?
Mo Yuan waited stiffly for a long time, fearing that Shen Xihe might ask about the Rouge Case. How could he explain such a matter to the pure and virtuous lady?
Fortunately, from above came only the words: "I understand. You may leave."
Relieved, Mo Yuan stood up and respectfully withdrew.
After finishing her breakfast and wiping her mouth, Shen Xihe asked Biyu, "Who changed Prince Lie’s bloodstained clothes yesterday?"
"Your Ladyship, it was this servant," Biyu hurriedly replied.
"Did His Highness have any paper scrolls, books, or similar items on him?" Shen Xihe inquired further.
"This servant did not see any," Biyu answered after careful thought, shaking her head.
Shen Xihe rose and walked to the windowsill. From her incense cabinet, she took out a box of incense and handed it to Biyu. "Go and replace the incense in His Highness’s room with this. Then bring me the clothes he changed out of."
"Yes."
After Biyu left, Shen Xihe sat before the round wooden table, her delicate, rosy fingertips gently tracing the brocade silk.
Xiao Changying had been pursued so relentlessly—clearly, he must have possessed substantial evidence, but it had not yet been sent out and had remained with him all along.
Otherwise, the mastermind behind the attacks would have already faced punishment. How could they still dare to brazenly plot against a prince of the court?
Soon, Biyu brought the blood-soaked clothes. Initially, she had worried about offending her lady with the smell and considered washing them on her own initiative, but recalling the morning’s events, she brought them over exactly as they were.
Shen Xihe seemed oblivious to the bloodstains on the clothes. She took them, spread them out, and felt every inch carefully but found nothing. Her gaze shifted. "Bring His Highness’s boots."
Biyu was puzzled but quickly gathered the clothes and went to fetch Xiao Changying’s boots. Xiao Changying had worn a pair of black leather boots with cloud-patterned toes, the edges trimmed with exquisite gold-thread cloud motifs. Perhaps because they were covered by his long robe, the boots had not been stained with much blood.
Shen Xihe found no hidden compartments in the boots either. "It shouldn’t be…"
"Your… Your Ladyship, what are you looking for…" Biyu mustered the courage to ask. For an unmarried young lady like her mistress to handle Prince Lie’s shoes so freely—such behavior was truly…
Shen Xihe did not answer her. Instead, her gaze fell upon a faint, indistinguishable petal residue on the sole of the boot. It had been heavily worn down, likely preserved only because it was embedded in the tread pattern.
She fetched a silver leaf tweezer used for blending incense, carefully picked off the petal fragment, and brought it close to her nose to smell it carefully.
Biyu watched her mistress’s actions wide-eyed and horrified, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
"It’s lobelia…" Shen Xihe smiled faintly, turned, and walked out. She found Mo Yuan and instructed him in a low voice, "Retrace the path of Prince Lie’s pursuit. Look for places where lobelia grows. If you find any signs of trampling nearby, dig there. Whatever you find, bring it back—and do it yourself."Mo Yuan glanced at Biyu, who was holding Prince Lie's boots behind Shen Xihe, and nodded with a mix of understanding and confusion before quickly departing.
Shen Xihe twirled around and walked lightly into the room where Xiao Changying lay. Her gaze fell upon the incense burner emitting wispy smoke—this was also Spirit Consolidation Incense extracted from datura.
In small amounts, datura can calm the mind, soothe the spirit, alleviate headaches, and aid sleep. In larger quantities, it can cause confusion and trap one in illusions beyond escape.
Xiao Changying must have been pursued to somewhere not far from here. Realizing his strength was failing and he might perish, he likely buried his belongings in a hidden spot after shaking off his pursuers one last time. If he died here, someone would inevitably come searching, and he must have left a marker—at least one his people could recognize—so the location couldn’t be too distant.
"Not a wasted effort saving you."
She had Biyu fetch a book and sat reading in the outer chamber of Xiao Changying’s room. Mo Yuan returned after roughly half an hour, having dug up a mud-stained ledger and a scented sachet containing a jade pendant, which he handed to Shen Xihe.
Without any reservation, Shen Xihe openly perused the ledger that Xiao Changying had nearly paid with his life to obtain, separated from him only by a curtain. The ledger contained two letters and several deeds. After finishing, she sighed, "I never imagined so many influential figures would be involved, and to such an extent."
"My lady, how should we handle this?" Though he hadn’t looked, Mo Yuan was no mere warrior—otherwise, Shen Yueshan wouldn’t have specifically assigned him to protect Shen Xihe. He had already guessed what it was.
Shen Xihe asked, "Can you find a way to deliver this to the Crown Prince without leaving a trace?"
"To the Crown Prince!" Mo Yuan’s voice rose involuntarily before he caught himself. "My lady, before leaving the northwest, the prince instructed this general never to align with the Crown Prince..." He glanced toward the curtained-off Xiao Changying and lowered his voice. "The entire court knows the Crown Prince won’t live past twenty-four. He’s due to be crowned in a few months..."
Meaning he had less than five years to live. Moreover, the Crown Prince had resided in a Taoist temple since age eight due to poor health, leaving him with no political foundation—a ruler in name only.
The other princes were all waiting for the Crown Prince to die so they could contend for the throne.
"Is that so?" Shen Xihe’s luminous eyes deepened, carrying a faint, meaningful smile. "Isn’t a short life even better?"
"My lady, choose your words carefully!" Mo Yuan paled, instinctively checking the doors and windows.
But Shen Xihe remained composed and unperturbed, even disregarding Xiao Changying’s presence entirely. "Mo Yuan, the Northwest Prince’s estate is like the recently massacred Gu family—we cannot coexist with the Xiao imperial clan. To protect the Northwest Prince’s estate, the Shen family, and all the generals defending our borders under the Shen banner, my only path is to ascend as empress."
The Youning Emperor would never marry her, so she must wed a prince.
"Rather than gambling on affection, it’s better to choose someone short-lived and sooner elevate an imperial grandson of Shen bloodline to the throne."
"My lady..." Mo Yuan was aghast at her bold words, his face ashen with terror."You may consult Father and tell him these are my words." Shen Xihe's ice-blue silk shawl trailed along the ground as the breeze stirred its translucent fabric, making her appear ethereal. Her voice grew distant and elusive, "In a gamble where you stake your entire fortune and life, never place your bet too early—for once the wager is made, there is no turning back."
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