"He actually wants to use the imperial troops under the guise of bandit suppression to kill the County Princess!" Zhenzhu exclaimed in shock.
With a slight shift of her gaze toward the drifting incense smoke, Shen Xihe's lips curved faintly: "Why not? They would merit rewards for suppressing bandits. These outlaws would be eliminated, and conveniently, silenced as well."
Are all imperial princes so cunning and profound in their schemes?
Though Zhenzhu was clever by nature, she had never been exposed to such machinations. Her heart trembled with unease, and she stammered, "But if the County Princess were to... How would they explain it to the Prince? And to the Young Master..."
"Explain?" Shen Xihe chuckled softly and shook her head. "Zhaoning County Princess, failing to stay with her escort guards, wandering off into the wilderness..."
She then lifted her head and looked outside. "Do you know Doctor Qi's true identity?"
"Is Doctor Qi not just an ordinary rural physician?" Zhenzhu had actually suspected otherwise. After all, Xie Yunhuai's noble bearing was evident at a glance, suggesting he came from a prestigious family. She had thought he might have fallen into hardship, leading him to the countryside, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
"He is Xie Yunhuai," Shen Xihe said softly. "If he and I were to die here together, they could easily frame it as an elopement. Then, it wouldn't be the court that owes Father an explanation—it would be Father who must answer to the court."
Although Zhaoning County Princess's marriage had not been formally decreed yet, the Youning Emperor and Shen Yueshan had already reached a tacit agreement.
For a future imperial daughter-in-law to disregard the royal family's dignity and elope with another man—charging her with offending the Imperial Authority would be entirely justified.
Framing a rustic villager for elopement would be far-fetched, but with Xie Yunhuai, it became perfectly plausible.
"This is a trap set by Xiao Changqing," Shen Xihe sighed again.
Xiao Changqing had always been one to plan meticulously before acting. He never made a move unless he was certain of success. In truth, if he were to become emperor, he would undoubtedly be a wise and capable ruler.
However, Xiao Changqing and she were destined to be enemies.
She bore him no hatred, just as she had stated before—the Gu family and the imperial family had reached a point of irreconcilable conflict.
If the Gu family won, the Youning Emperor would inevitably become a puppet, and these princes would quietly disappear one by one. Especially since Gu Qingzhi had unexpectedly become pregnant—if she gave birth to a son, even Xiao Changqing's life would be in peril.
There was no right or wrong in this; it was a matter of circumstance.
The Youning Emperor sought to uphold imperial power, while the Gu family aimed to preserve the authority of the scholar-official class. One side had to lose.
Though she felt no hatred, it didn't mean she could calmly accept it all over again. After all, countless irreconcilable lives stood between them.
"Is Prince Xin so wary of the County Princess? To go to such lengths to ensure her death?" Zhenzhu felt it was excessive.
Even if Shen Xihe was destined to become their enemy in the future, and they resented her for seizing the evidence Prince Lie had painstakingly gathered—wanting to warn her—surely they didn't need to mobilize so many resources. A single misstep could expose their true strength.
"On my own, I wouldn't be worth it," Shen Xihe set down the bamboo fan. "He wants to see who stands behind me."
He aimed to force out the person they assumed had intercepted the evidence in the Rouge Case for her. If all went smoothly, they might even reclaim the evidence.
Just as Zhenzhu was about to speak, they heard a series of thuds outside as people collapsed. She cautiously lifted a corner of the carriage curtain.
She saw the bandits suddenly turn pale—some clutching their chests, others gritting their teeth and struggling to stand. Their attacks became clumsy and uncoordinated. Shen Xihe's coachman was exceptionally valiant, and Xie Yunhuai, after years of roaming the martial world, had honed his skills far beyond what they once were.Soon, the besiegers began to falter, some clutching their chests as they fled.
“Bandits fighting ahead—show no mercy!” At that moment, torches flared in the distance, accompanied by a sharp command as a troop of government soldiers charged forward.
The situation unfolded exactly as Shen Xihe had predicted. Watching these men gallop forth with ferocity rivaling genuine bandits, she remained utterly composed.
She extinguished the incense burner and was about to release a signal flare when the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from behind her.
Removing the copper panel,
she lifted the carriage curtain just in time to see a silver-clad figure flash past. A faint, elegant fragrance wafted into her senses—warm yet exuding nobility. “The scent of Duojialuo…” Shen Xihe hurried forward and pulled aside the curtain, witnessing the silver figure sweep his sword toward the oncoming soldiers.
Under the cold moonlight, three heads soared into the air, blood spraying everywhere.
His ruthless technique shattered the morale of those behind, who reined in their horses abruptly. Before their leader could demand an explanation, the silver-cloaked man, with his back to Shen Xihe, preemptively challenged in a deep voice: “The Embroidered Uniform Envoys are on duty. Who are you?”
It was actually the Embroidered Uniform Envoys—the emperor’s inner circle!
Whenever the Embroidered Uniform Envoys appeared, earth-shattering events followed.
Answerable only to the emperor, these envoys were empowered to eliminate traitors, supervise all officials, imprison those of third rank or below without trial, and wield the tiger tally to mobilize troops. Their very name struck fear into the hearts of civil and military officials alike.
“Forgive our offense, Envoy. We did not intend to interfere,” said the leader, who moments earlier had dared to assassinate a court-appointed junzhu. Now, he was as meek as a kitten, trembling as he dismounted. “We were ordered to suppress bandits here.”
“Bandits?” The silver-cloaked envoy glanced toward the carriage, his eyes sweeping over the fallen bodies. “Does this place still harbor bandits requiring official intervention?”
The minor official looked embarrassed. “You are right, Envoy. My information was mistaken.”
The silver-cloaked envoy turned his horse toward the carriage. As his face grew clearer in the moonlight, Shen Xihe instinctively furrowed her brows.
The envoy was handsome with resolute features, yet they seemed incongruous with his eyes—pools of silver radiance, profound and unfathomable like abyssal seas.
“Who is in the carriage?” the silver-cloaked envoy called out clearly.
“Reporting to you, sir, we are commoners passing through, returning to the city when we encountered robbers,” Zhenzhu descended from the carriage and presented their travel documents.
The envoy skimmed through them, and Shen Xihe, seated inside, clearly caught the fleeting smile that touched his lips.
“Proceed. Any later and you won’t make it into the city,” the envoy returned the documents to Zhenzhu and moved his horse aside.
His four companions also guided their horses to the roadside. The government soldiers, seeing this, naturally made way as well.
The coachman and Xie Yunhuai boarded the carriage, and it slowly moved forward. Shen Xihe lifted the window curtain, locking eyes for a moment with those deep, inscrutable orbs.
“Junzhu, the Embroidered Uniform Envoys are here. Should we send word to Mo Yuan to inquire if something major has happened?” Having grown up in the northwest, Zhenzhu knew these envoys seldom appeared without cause.
“Unnecessary.” Shen Xihe’s mind lingered on those unprecedented eyes. “Perhaps… they are merely passing through…”
“The Embroidered Uniform Envoys never involve themselves in trivial matters,” Xie Yunhuai suddenly spoke from outside the carriage.Such a situation is unprecedented; the Embroidered Uniform Envoys would never linger for ordinary people.
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