Shen Xihe went to the kitchen and soaked some wild rice, intending to prepare a dish of wild rice for Xiao Huayong.
Wild rice was highly favored by nobles and officials in the capital, and its preparation methods varied widely. The most extravagant method likely involved "serving it with bear paws and swallowing it with leopard fetus"—pairing it with bear paws and leopard fetus. Shen Xihe had never tried this method, nor did she wish to.
She chose to use pheasant broth and her own specially prepared snail sauce. There was a small trick to it: wild rice had an exceptionally delicate fragrance with an elegant, sweet aftertaste that lingered quickly but ended with a slight bitterness.
After combining the wild rice with the pheasant broth, Shen Xihe would add a small amount of sugar. The amount of sugar had to be precisely measured, ensuring the wild rice remained chewy and springy, with each grain infused with the savory flavor of the pheasant broth. The result was a dish that was irresistibly enticing.
Every time she made it, Shen Yueshan and Shen Yungan would inevitably fight over who got to eat more. Drizzled with her snail sauce, even the distinctions of seniority were forgotten as Shen Yunnan and Shen Yueshan devoured it.
In truth, preparing it fresh at the Eastern Palace would have been better. However, after her last experience, Shen Xihe was reluctant to go.
This wild rice dish would stay warm for quite some time, so preparing it at home and bringing it to the Eastern Palace was just right. Moreover, letting it sit for a while allowed the broth and rice to meld more thoroughly, intensifying the aroma. In addition, Shen Xihe also made "Gulouzi."
This was a type of sesame cake that required precise heat control and ingredient proportions. It involved stuffing a jin of marinated lamb, scallion whites, fermented bean sauce, and salt layer by layer into the sesame cake. Finally, it was brushed with sesame seeds and sesame oil before being carefully baked in an oven.
The sesame cake was crispy, while the lamb was tender and fragrant with the aroma of scallion whites and sesame seeds—a particularly delicious dish.
When these two dishes were placed before Xiao Huayong and the lids were lifted, the overwhelming aroma made his eyes sparkle like countless stars, bright and dazzling. After taking one bite, he couldn't stop.
Nearby, Tianyuan swallowed hard at the tempting aroma and had to find an excuse to retreat and ask Jiuzhang to prepare some food for him.
After a satisfying meal, Xiao Huayong was radiant with energy. "Youyou, you've gifted me such delicacies. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
Shen Xihe would never be kind to him without reason, though it wasn't that she was calculating. In her heart, he was merely an outsider she had chosen to marry. If she had a request, she couldn't ask directly, so she would cater to his preferences by preparing food as an equivalent exchange.
"I would like to request a bottle of the medicine you gave to Worldly Son Bu," Shen Xihe said straightforwardly.
Xiao Huayong's hand, holding the teacup, trembled, nearly spilling the tea. He hadn't expected Bu Shulin to be so unreserved as to share such a thing with Shen Xihe. For a moment, he didn't know how to describe the discomfort in his heart.
Clearing his throat lightly, Xiao Huayong tried his best to maintain a serious expression. "Youyou, what do you need this for?"
"To deal with Prince Munuha," Shen Xihe didn't hide it from him. "Even before the New Year, I had someone tamper with Fifth Princess's condition. By the end of the month, she will be misdiagnosed as pregnant. I originally had other plans to deal with her, but since Munuha came along, I simply adjusted the method.""At this point, only the final step remains: letting Prince Munuha discover that the princess has been pregnant for nearly two months—simply making him an unwitting father. This will crush his masculine pride, and it’s only natural that he would confront the princess and, in a fit of rage, kill her."
This was Shen Xihe’s entire plan, but Xiao Huayong’s unexpected intervention made Munuha’s murder of the princess even more convincing.
Shen Xihe intended to hide the drug in Yangling Princess’s palace, first letting Munuha realize that Yangling Princess was scheming against him, then revealing that to secure her child’s future status, she had administered an impotence-inducing drug to him.
It was likely that Munuha, having not been with a woman recently, remained unaware of his condition. Once he discovered the truth and verified it, he would be too enraged to calmly consider the illogicality of Yangling Princess dosing him with such a drug.
Shen Xihe only needed a moment of his impulsiveness to complete this seamless scheme.
As for whether he would later calm down and reflect, it no longer mattered.
After hearing this, Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but show admiration in his gaze. Not only was her scheme meticulous and ingenious, but she could also adapt and utilize unexpected developments along the way. Such a person was truly capable of controlling the overall situation.
Once she took action, no matter how many variables arose, none could escape her grasp.
"Don’t you wish to know who is behind Yangling?" Xiao Huayong asked.
"I’ve already tried my methods. Since Yangling Princess refuses to talk, I don’t need to know." Shen Xihe smiled faintly. "Yangling Princess is no ordinary person. Her disappearance would inevitably cause an uproar. Abducting and torturing her is not feasible."
If she were an ordinary noblewoman, Shen Xihe might have kidnapped and confined her in some dark place until she talked.
But Yangling Princess resided deep within the palace, making abduction difficult. Even if successful, it would alarm the entire imperial city. His Majesty would likely order a thorough search, and Shen Xihe wasn’t confident she could escape unscathed under such circumstances.
Since she couldn’t extract the mastermind’s identity from Yangling Princess, Shen Xihe could only take the princess’s life as a warning to the shadowy figure lurking behind the scenes.
"Abducting her..." Xiao Huayong pondered for a moment. "It’s not entirely impossible."
"Your Highness has already helped me greatly. I cannot trouble you further." Shen Xihe declined politely. "It’s not that I’m overconfident or unafraid of hidden arrows. Rather, this matter is too significant. Even if successful, it would implicate you. You must remember that His Majesty is closely watching your every move."
"Let him know—it doesn’t matter." Xiao Huayong, though secretly plotting against the emperor, was unafraid of confronting him directly.
"That would be unwise." Shen Xihe shook her head. "We must not lose the greater for the lesser."
"What is lesser, and what is greater?" Xiao Huayong asked. "To me, whatever harms you is the greater matter. This person, skilled in concealment and motivated by unknown reasons to target you, can easily manipulate a princess. Their power and status are evident. If they fail this time, they won’t give up—there will surely be a second attempt."
"Your Highness, since we know their power and status are extraordinary, we must assume they are also monitoring Yangling Princess’s every move. If you act, they will respond. You might not succeed in taking the princess and would only expose yourself." Shen Xihe analyzed carefully. "Perhaps this is exactly what they intend. I’d rather not risk playing into their hands without gaining any useful information.""That possibility is not entirely absent," Xiao Huayong lowered his head upon hearing this. "If so, then it is I who have implicated you."
"Your Highness, this path is destined to be fraught with perils," Shen Xihe consoled him. "Since we have chosen to advance and retreat together, you must not think this way. In the future, there will surely be those who target you in order to deal with me."
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