"I won't call you that." Shen Xihe decisively refused.
Last time at the Eastern Palace, Xiao Huayong had mentioned this milk name given to him by the Empress Dowager. At that time, Shen Xihe had been solely focused on testing Xiao Huayong and hadn't found it particularly intimate. But hearing him mention it again today made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Xiao Huayong chuckled softly, clearly in high spirits. Under her puzzled gaze, he went to freshen up briefly.
With Sui Axi's medicinal preparations and acupuncture, Shen Xihe recovered very quickly. In the morning, she had simmered a pot of sliced meat congee. The ingredients were simple—just meat and rice, supplemented with some medicinal herbs—but the aroma was exceptionally fragrant.
When Shen Xihe picked up a bowl to serve the congee, Xiao Huayong hurried over and took it from her. "Let me."
Without standing on ceremony, Shen Xihe released the bowl. Though she was skilled in cooking, she neither enjoyed nor particularly disliked preparing food.
Xiao Huayong first served a bowl for Shen Xihe, then one for himself. Noticing two additional bowls, he raised an eyebrow and gently asked Sui Axi and Moyu, "Would you two like some congee?"
Sui Axi had already been craning his neck in anticipation, as the rich aroma had been making his stomach growl.
However, when he met Xiao Huayong's gaze—despite the smiling face and gentle tone—he felt an inexplicable unease.
Sui Axi instinctively shook his head. "This humble one... does not care for congee."
Internally, Sui Axi wept silent tears. He loved congee, especially the kind his lady prepared—a fragrance he had never encountered before.
Moyu, Shen Xihe's maid, was the most aloof, much like her mistress, and entirely oblivious to anyone's expressions except Shen Xihe's. Unfazed by Xiao Huayong, she stepped forward. "I dare not trouble Your Highness to serve the congee."
After speaking, she took a bowl herself. Rather than angering Xiao Huayong, Moyu's reaction earned a hint of approval from him.
But approval aside, he smilingly handed her the ladle. Before Moyu could firmly grasp it, he let go. With agile reflexes, she caught it. Then, Xiao Huayong flicked his finger, sending a bead from his belt striking Moyu's arm.
Moyu's hand loosened, and the ladle clattered to the ground.
The noise caught Shen Xihe's attention. Turning, she saw the ladle on the floor. "Pick it up and wash it."
"Yes," Moyu replied. She didn't understand the Crown Prince's intentions but followed Shen Xihe's orders without complaint.
Seeing Moyu's obliviousness, Sui Axi took some dry rations from his bundle and shared them with her as she washed the ladle. "Have some provisions."
Moyu wasn't picky about food, and since Sui Axi was also under Shen Xihe's service, she accepted without refusal and began eating.
After setting down the cleaned ladle, she didn't serve herself congee. By the time Moyu finished her dry rations, the pot was empty.
Xiao Huayong asked Shen Xihe, "Would you like more?"
Shen Xihe had a small appetite and shook her head. Xiao Huayong then quickly finished the congee in his bowl, poured the remainder into it, and finding there was still some left, gulped down another bowl until exactly one bowl's worth remained.
Shen Xihe: ...
Xiao Huayong ate with satisfaction, then said, "I haven't eaten since I came looking for you yesterday."
This was no lie—he truly hadn't eaten anything after setting out to find Shen Xihe. In fact, even three bowls of congee hadn't filled him up.
Shen Xihe eyed him skeptically, her gaze inadvertently catching a pearl near the bottom of the pot. Then her eyes shifted to his belt.Shen Xihe followed his gaze and spoke with natural ease, "Oh? When did this bead fall? I didn't even notice."
Sui Axi's lips twitched. He had seen it clearly—it was the Crown Prince himself who had torn it off to attack Moyu!
But he didn't dare say it!
Moyu was a woman of few words, and the Crown Prince held a noble status. For such a minor matter without real consequences, she naturally wouldn't argue, though she didn't quite understand why the Crown Prince had acted this way.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside. Moyu swiftly slipped away. The person entering was the guard who had brought Moyu up the mountain, Xiao Huayong's captain: "Your Highness, His Majesty plans to slay the serpent in half an hour."
"Proceed as planned." Xiao Huayong uttered only four words calmly.
Xiao Huayong's guard withdrew. Sitting as steady as a mountain, he directed Sui Axi to clean and pack: "Leave these items here."
"Your Highness, let's go down and take a look too." Shen Xihe stood up.
Xiao Huayong grasped her wrist: "It's dangerous."
The reason Xiao Huayong hadn't allowed Shen Xihe to return to the palace immediately was because he knew the Youning Emperor would decide to kill the serpent upon seeing it, and he needed the serpent's gallbladder. However, the serpent's strength was unpredictable. He had poisoned it last night, and it still hadn't succumbed, proving its tenacity.
There would inevitably be a fierce battle below. Remaining here was the safest option.
"We'll stay here and wait for news," Xiao Huayong said.
Shen Xihe didn't insist on being brave. Since Xiao Huayong said so, he must have made proper arrangements.
"Your Highness, do you wish for casualties in this fierce battle?" For some reason, Shen Xihe suddenly wanted to ask.
"You're wondering if I've set a trap to take lives through this..." Xiao Huayong smiled faintly, "...such as His Majesty..."
Xiao Huayong wasn't displeased; instead, he felt happy inside. For someone of Shen Xihe's temperament to ask such a question meant she regarded him as someone trustworthy. Though this trust had nothing to do with affection, it was enough to bring him joy.
Shen Xihe had asked without intending to conceal her thoughts and suspicions, silently nodding in acknowledgment.
"My suggestion to use poison was precisely because I didn't want His Majesty to perish here," Xiao Huayong was equally candid. "If His Majesty were to die now, it would leave many hidden dangers. I'm also not yet ready to ascend the throne."
Shen Xihe looked at him with a smile: "In the palace, there are Prince Xin and Prince Dai; in the military, there is Jing Wang."
This time, Prince Xin Xiao Changqing and Prince Dai Xiao Changtian hadn't come—one was observing mourning for his deceased wife in a fit of pique, the other for his mother.
Jing Wang held military power in Annan. If the Emperor and the princes were to meet disaster in the hunting grounds, Prince Xin and Prince Dai could seize control of the court, while Jing Wang would lead troops into the imperial city. The world would fall into great chaos.
"That's one reason," Xiao Huayong no longer concealed his thoughts. "Additionally, His Majesty's private troops would be left leaderless, and there are external enemies surrounding us. Once internal troubles arise, external threats would follow closely. If the kingdom becomes unstable, it's the displaced common people who will suffer."
Hearing his words, Shen Xihe felt a stir in her heart: "Your Highness has a benevolent heart. If one day, you were to ascend the throne, it would cause the people to endure the hardships of war. But if you were willing to step aside, you could protect the people's safety—at the cost of your own life. How would you choose?"
"Youyou, do you wish to hear the truth?" Xiao Huayong asked with a smile.
Shen Xihe: "The truth.""The truth is, if there were no one in this world that made me concerned, I would sacrifice myself for all under heaven." Xiao Huayong's lips curved into a faint smile, his gaze profound and gentle as if spring waters surged within. "But if you need my protection, I can only betray all mortal beings."
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