Li Yanyan lowered her gaze and let out a short, soft chuckle through her nostrils. "Since Your Highness has already informed me of the plot against Princess Zhaoning, why not straightforwardly explain how to deal with her? That would set my mind at ease."
Princess Yangling hesitated briefly, but considering that Li Yanyan would not stand idly by if she remained silent, and that within the Dai Prince's residence, as long as she and her husband maintained strict vigilance, neither she nor Munuha could succeed, she laid out the entire plan. At the end, she added, "When the time comes, Prince Munuha will insist that he and Shen Xihe are deeply in love, and that they were overcome by passion, leading them to engage in illicit acts within the Dai Prince's residence."
After hearing this, Li Yanyan looked Princess Yangling up and down, unable to resist a sarcastic remark: "You noble ladies of the capital... truly have vicious hearts."
Princess Yangling felt a surge of anger but restrained herself, not allowing a trace of emotion to show on her face. "Why show mercy when dealing with ruthless people?"
Li Yanyan found this amusing. "If I heard correctly, it was you who incited the Fourth Princess to target Zhaoning County Princess initially. It was only after Zhaoning County Princess inadvertently discovered this that she retaliated. If not for this, why would Zhaoning County Princess act against you?"
She truly did not understand how Princess Yangling could define the victim of her own persecution as vicious.
"I had no choice. I never intended to take her life," Princess Yangling defended herself before adding, "Third Sister-in-law, please do not speak on her behalf. Given her temperament, since she dared to threaten me using Liang Zhaorong, it cannot be an empty bluff. Though I lack evidence, I am certain that if she said it, Liang Zhaorong's death must be connected to her!"
Li Yanyan wiped the mockery from her face. She had never liked Liang Zhaorong either, but she was her proper mother-in-law and also that person's birth mother. The two of them had always shared a loving mother-son relationship, and Liang Zhaorong's passing had been a heavy blow to him.
During this period, he had not given up investigating the true culprit, focusing daily on the most suspicious suspect—the Twelfth Prince, Xiao Changgeng.
This was his unresolved burden.
She owed him a great deal. Now that she had this clue, whether good or bad, she could not turn a blind eye.
"Your Highness may return to the palace. Allow me to think it over," Li Yanyan dismissed Princess Yangling.
She did not inform Xiao Changtian about this matter. If he knew, he would be unable to judge rationally—he had always been haunted by Liang Zhaorong's death. Shen Xihe was no ordinary person, and behind her stood the unfathomable Crown Prince...
Instead of sending someone to investigate, Li Yanyan waited until Shen Xihe visited the following day. She seized an opportunity to invite Shen Xihe alone into a room and came straight to the point: "Yesterday, Princess Yangling came to the residence and told me that Zhaoning County Princess personally confessed to her that Liang Zhaorong was killed by the County Princess. What is your view on this statement?"
She had not interacted with Shen Xihe many times, but since Shen Xihe's arrival in the capital, rumors had continuously swirled around her, and the incidents she stirred grew increasingly shocking. Li Yanyan could roughly gauge a fraction of Shen Xihe's character.
If Shen Xihe had truly done it, she would not outright deny it.
"Princess Consort of Dai, Zhaoning has never unjustly taken another's life," Shen Xihe replied calmly.
She killed, but she did not kill indiscriminately.
Faced with this ambiguous response, Li Yanyan could not immediately decipher Shen Xihe's meaning. She knew that even if Shen Xihe had indeed killed Liang Zhaorong, she would not admit it directly.
Shen Xihe's words implied two possibilities: either she had not killed Liang Zhaorong, or she had killed Liang Zhaorong, but only because Liang Zhaorong had sought to take her life first.If it were the latter, Li Yanyan wouldn't care either. She had never liked Liang Zhaorong to begin with. If Liang Zhaorong had been wrongfully killed, she would have been willing to seek justice for her out of their past relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and to ease some of the guilt and regret in Xiao Changtian's heart.
But Liang Zhaorong had brought death upon herself by making enemies and being outmatched. Li Yanyan admitted she held no such filial devotion toward her.
She remembered clearly how Liang Zhaorong had tormented her in the past, how she had secretly slandered her over the years, and even plotted to kill her. It was just that Yangling Princess was unaware of these matters; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to her yesterday to discuss this.
Although she had no intention of accommodating Yangling Princess, she also had no plans to involve herself in others' conflicts. The entanglement between Shen Xihe and Yangling Princess was none of her concern.
She wouldn't interfere if Yangling Princess took action in the Dai Prince's residence, but she had already warned Shen Xihe.
Yangling Princess clearly meant her harm. If Shen Xihe still fell into the trap, she couldn't blame her or the Dai Prince's residence. "The days are cold, and strong liquor burns the lungs but doesn't warm the body. I know the princess is delicate and must be cautious with drinking tea or wine," Li Yanyan said with a smile.
Shen Xihe nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Princess Consort of Dai."
Both were clever people. With one look exchanged, everything was understood without words.
As for Li Yanyan, Shen Xihe felt neither fondness nor dislike. During the previous pursuit, although Li Yanyan was involved in the tomb robbery case, she had only played a role in distracting and confusing Yu Zao. It was likely Li Yanyan hadn't even been aware that Shen Xihe was being hunted.
This matter must have been orchestrated by the Fourth Prince, Xiao Changtai. However, with Xiao Changtai hiding in the imperial mausoleum, Shen Xihe couldn't easily plot against him for the time being, nor could she recklessly send assassins to the imperial mausoleum.
This debt would have to be recorded for now. One day, she would repay Xiao Changtai in full.
Li Yanyan's birthday banquet was extremely lively. She didn't care at all what the Youning Emperor thought, inviting envoys from foreign countries under the pretext of having them admire the dynasty's customs and culture.
She had indeed put in effort, inviting two renowned dancers from Luoyang to grace the occasion—Bai Fugong and Qi Xiaoren, both masters whom people would spend a fortune just to catch a glimpse of.
Bian Xianyi's dancing was graceful and varied, but compared to these two, she was slightly inferior.
Besides them, there were also folk performances. One act followed another, leaving the audience exhilarated and frequently applauding.
Shen Xihe was with Xue Jinqiao, who chattered incessantly to her. Shen Xihe responded occasionally with a smile.
Seeing that Shen Xihe hadn't touched a drop of drink, Yangling Princess grew anxious. Her eyes fell on Xue Jinqiao, and a plan formed in her mind.
"I can perform sword dances, Sister. Another day, I'll..." Xue Jinqiao was eagerly showcasing her talents, afraid that Shen Xihe's attention might be stolen by some other seductress, when a maid came to refill her wine and accidentally knocked over the jug, spilling it all over her.
"This lowly one deserves death, deserves death!" The maid prostrated on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
Xue Jinqiao was furious, but she glanced at Shen Xihe and forcibly suppressed her temper. "Get up!"
With those three words, before Li Yanyan could approach, Xue Jinqiao stormed off to change her clothes. Noblewomen like them always brought an extra set of clothing when visiting, in case of accidents that might cause embarrassment or leave them vulnerable to schemes.
But Xue Jinqiao didn't return, and even her two maids were nowhere to be found. Shen Xihe stood up and went to look for her, taking only Zhenzhu with her.She knew that it must have been Yangling Princess who had bribed the servants to deliberately lead Xue Jinqiao and her two attendants down the wrong path.
OpenNovel