Yu Zao was indeed the real Yu Zao. He understood clearly that if he dared deceive Shen Xihe and Xiao Changmin, they could secretly substitute him to protect the Yu family, but they could just as easily bring about its downfall.
"Did Li Yanyan leave no clues as to who she conspired with?" Since this involved court affairs, Shen Xihe couldn't intervene directly in the investigation to avoid arousing the Youning Emperor's suspicion. Being constantly watched would be unfavorable, which was why she came to ask Xiao Huayong.
"Clean and thorough, without a single trace." Even Xiao Huayong couldn't help but silently admire it.
Shen Xihe pondered for a moment. "If that's the case, there's only one possible explanation."
A smile crept onto Xiao Huayong's lips. He had already reached a conclusion in his heart, but even Xiao Changmin hadn't considered this possibility, still fixated on the Third Prince. He wanted to see if Shen Xihe's thoughts aligned with his. "What explanation?"
"The Princess Consort of Dai lives secluded in the inner residence and is a member of the Li family. Even if she is skilled at deception and managed to conceal her schemes, the slightest unusual movement from her would surely be detected by His Majesty. Therefore, she likely has no one at her disposal."
Shen Xihe analyzed, "Yet this scheme is of great significance, and only trusted confidants could be assigned to it. Thus, in my view, Yu Zao wasn't forced into the plot by her people. Rather, after they ensnared Yu Zao to become their pawn, he would inevitably need to know whom he was serving to continue cooperating. The Princess Consort of Dai then personally met with Yu Zao, making him believe it was all the doing of the Prince of Dai.
However, in this case, the Princess Consort of Dai likely served only one purpose: to take the blame, merely covering for her accomplice."
It was impossible for Yu Zao to undertake such a venture without being certain it was the Prince of Dai. Even if threatened or manipulated, he wouldn't have complied.
Over the years, the Prince of Dai had hardly been truly lying low. With his capabilities, he couldn't have pulled off such a major scheme. Moreover, after the tomb robbery case was exposed, the Prince of Dai remained as detached as ever from major affairs, indicating he knew nothing about it.
Li Yanyan had no one to use. When the matter was uncovered, the Prince of Dai became the suspect, yet no evidence could be found against him. Even if they suspected Li Yanyan because of the Prince of Dai, no evidence could be traced back to her either.
This could only mean Li Yanyan was merely a decoy. Only under such circumstances would she dare act so boldly.
Because even if everyone suspected her, they could do nothing about it. Thus, those who were captured were all planted with Yu Zao by the other mastermind using Li Yanyan's name, making Yu Zao increasingly admire the Prince of Dai's hidden influence and thus becoming dead-set loyal.
A low, muffled chuckle of pleasure erupted from Xiao Huayong's chest. "Youyou and I are of one mind.Shen Xihe turned a deaf ear to Xiao Huayong's ambiguous wording, her expression unchanged. She had no intention of correcting him, as doing so would only encourage him further, potentially leading to even more explicit remarks. He was merely taking advantage of her resolve to cooperate with him.
"Your Highness, do you have any suspicions regarding the Princess Consort of Dai's accomplice?" Shen Xihe asked.
"The imperial family has only so few members." Xiao Huayong's smile didn't fade. "The Second Prince is innocent, the Third Prince is innocent. The Fourth Prince has gone to the imperial mausoleum, which is suspicious—the forces he has secretly cultivated over the years are not to be underestimated. The Fifth Prince exposed the tomb explosion, meaning he is unlikely to be an accomplice.
The Ninth Prince and the Fifth Prince are born of the same mother. If the Ninth Prince were behind this, the Fifth Prince would be covering for him rather than exposing it. That leaves only one person."Among the remaining princes, the sixth prince was already "dead," and the twelfth prince was not only not yet influential but had also become Xiao Huayong's shield, so he could be ruled out. Thus, the only one left was the eighth prince, Xiao Changyan, who was far away in Annan.
Shen Xihe's worst fears had come true. Compared to the fourth prince, Xiao Changtian, she leaned more toward suspecting Xiao Changyan, especially since those tattooed individuals seemed more aligned with him.
Cui Jinbai was close to Xiao Changyan's maternal family, the Pei clan, and there was also Xiao Fuxing, who had grown up alongside Xiao Changyan.
When she had Bu Shulin pester Cui Jinbai that day, Shen Xihe had indeed intended to test Cui Jinbai while also helping Bu Shulin out of a difficult situation. However, the two of them had become the talk of the town, and given their close relationship, if they were to serve different masters in the future, how would Bu Shulin handle it?
"Youyou, what troubles you?" Xiao Huayong suddenly sensed a slight fluctuation in Shen Xihe's emotions.
Shen Xihe had initially wanted to warn Xiao Huayong to be cautious of Cui Jinbai, but she worried that if she mentioned it, Xiao Huayong might take it too seriously and act against Cui Jinbai. She needed to return and ask Bu Shulin about her feelings first. "Just some personal matters."
Suddenly, Shen Xihe thought of Hua Fuhai. Cui Jinbai and Hua Fuhai had once been played by the same person. If Cui Jinbai was Xiao Changyan's man, then Hua Fuhai would also be Xiao Changyan's subordinate. With someone as wealthy as Hua Fuhai under his command, would Xiao Changyan still need to loot tombs for wealth?
Even if he did need to loot tombs for wealth, why would he need to launder the money in such a way? He could simply have Hua Fuhai set sail overseas, and it would be done without anyone noticing.
Therefore, Cui Jinbai could not possibly be Xiao Changyan's man. Instead, Cui Jinbai might be someone who was merely getting close to the Pei family!
Shen Xihe suddenly looked up, her clear eyes fixed on Xiao Huayong. "Your Highness, who do you find more suspicious—the Fourth Prince or Prince Jing?"
For the first time, Xiao Huayong did not detect Shen Xihe's probing intent. He answered honestly, "Youyou must suspect it's Eighth Brother."
"Does Your Highness suspect the Fourth Prince more?" Shen Xihe carefully observed Xiao Huayong's expression but saw no trace of deceit.
"The Northwest King's understanding of us brothers is limited to what he learned through investigation and analysis shared with you. As juniors, we have never interacted with the Northwest King, so he does not know Eighth Brother's character." Xiao Huayong said softly. "Eighth Brother is brave and resourceful. Among the brothers, he and Ninth Brother are the most skilled in military strategy, making them rare talents in warfare. Having fought bloody battles on the battlefield, Eighth Brother has seen comrades-in-arms who were as close as brothers die in battle. Some of them could not even have their remains brought back intact for a proper burial.
He would not act in such a manner because he knows how heartbroken he would be if one day these graves were desecrated."
Shen Xihe could hear the admiration in Xiao Huayong's words about Xiao Changyan.
"In contrast, Fourth Brother exposed his ambitions and could no longer pretend in the capital. He found an excuse to resolve His Majesty's urgent problem and was demoted to a commoner to guard the imperial mausoleum. However, after more than a decade of scheming, he would not give up overnight." Xiao Huayong said solemnly. "Without some assurance, how could he lie low like this?"
As Xiao Huayong analyzed the situation, Shen Xihe found his reasoning extremely sound. This was definitely not a perfunctory or deliberately misleading answer. As for Xiao Changyan, who had gone to Annan at fifteen and never returned to the capital, Shen Xihe truly could not be certain of his character.
"Additionally..." Xiao Huayong reminded Shen Xihe of another small detail. "On the day of Ye Shi's birthday celebration, Li Shi also attended. The two of them actually had little friendship, and Li Shi disliked palace banquets."That's right, Li Yanyan disliked the Xiao family—she didn't even attend Noble Consort Rong's chrysanthemum banquet, but she did go to Ye Wantang's birthday celebration.
Shen Xihe had originally thought she attended because she felt more at ease without elders present, but now it seemed highly likely she was conspiring with Prince Ding.
OpenNovel