Blossoms of Power

Some words didn't need to be explicitly stated by Shen Xihe for Xiao Huayong to understand.

His heart ached until it grew numb, no longer able to feel the pain.

Shen Xihe showed no trace of guilt or discomfort when faced with Xiao Huayong in this state. Her clear eyes met his grief-stricken gaze without flinching: "Your Highness, we share similar backgrounds. Let me ask you this—if our positions were reversed, would you trust me? Would you be willing to stake everything, even your closest kin, to gamble on genuine sincerity and unwavering devotion?"

"I..."

Xiao Huayong desperately wanted to shout his answer: He would!

But confronted with her penetrating gaze that seemed to see right through him, he couldn't bring himself to utter those two words.

Between them stood imperial power, the divide between ruler and subject, and the supreme dignity of the throne.

If he were Shen Xihe, he would probably... act just as she did. When facing someone perceived as difficult to handle, the best approach was to confront them openly in fair combat—to die with honor would be the greatest respect one could show an opponent.

She didn't want to marry him because she refused to pretend with him, didn't want them to become each other's greatest source of wariness, didn't want to put on an act before him.

"So you've chosen to remain true to the land that raised you, true to your father and brothers, true to the people who respect you—choosing to betray me alone." Xiao Huayong forced a smile uglier than tears.

"Your Highness, this is my only choice." Shen Xihe performed a proper curtsy.

"Shen Xihe, do you know how much I hate you right now?" Xiao Huayong staggered back two steps, bracing himself against the table with one hand to steady himself. "I admired your composure and wisdom, your broad-mindedness. But now I hate your composure and wisdom, your broad-mindedness.

How I wish you were an ordinary maiden—innocent and lively, yearning for youthful romance. Then perhaps you wouldn't analyze every advantage and disadvantage so thoroughly, using what you believe to be your most sincere words to become blades that slowly slice my heart apart?"

Shen Xihe faced his accusations and pain with equanimity.

"But I hate myself even more. To survive, I pushed myself to become stronger—strong enough that no one could easily poison me or control my fate. Yet I never imagined that the very person who captured my heart would reject me for this very reason... Hahahaha..."

Xiao Huayong burst into wild, sorrowful laughter filled with unbearable agony that couldn't be relieved. As his laughter continued, tears unexpectedly streamed down his cheeks, startling Shen Xihe.

This man before her—how powerful he was, possessing the ability to rule the world, seemingly indestructible. In her eyes, he should have been someone who never shed tears, yet here he was, crying.

"If you weren't this kind of Shen Xihe, how could I have fallen for you? If I didn't have today's capabilities, how could I have survived until now? Is this what they call fate's cruel joke?" Gradually, he reined in all his emotions. His dark eyes returned to how she first saw them—silver light gathered within, brilliant radiance deeply concealed, profound as abysses and vast as oceans.

"I will marry you. Since you don't believe in everlasting, unchanging devotion in this world, I'll prove it to you." His sharp edge emerged, domineering and resolute. "It doesn't matter if you want to guard against me. Listen to me, Youyou—I can endure you never being moved by me in this lifetime. I can accept you hiding a dagger under your pillow at any time, ready to take my life when you draw it. But I will never allow you to marry someone else while I'm still alive—not even if it's without affection."

This was the true Xiao Huayong, the genuine Crown Prince—so overbearing and formidable."Your Highness, why torment yourself so?" Shen Xihe sighed deeply.

"I fear not torment, but pain. The agony of bones corroding—should I see you intimate with another, I would kill them." Xiao Huayong spoke these vicious words with a smile, appearing peculiarly eerie and shadowed.

"Your Highness, marrying me may bring you even greater pain." Just as Xiao Changqing, who married Gu Qingzhi back then, was nearly driven mad by torment.

"You said that if you were alone, you would not fear embarking on this river of love with me. Even if you lost and were shattered to pieces, you would accept it as your own fault," Xiao Huayong's gaze concealed tenderness. "I happen to be alone. I do not fear you killing me or scheming to seize the empire. If I lose, I too shall accept it."

"Your Highness, reconsider carefully. Before the Imperial Astronomer sets the wedding date, I hope you will ponder thoroughly." Shen Xihe still offered a word of caution.

"I will not change my mind. My heart to marry you, to treat you, will not diminish even as the sun and moon wane." Xiao Huayong enunciated each word deliberately.

Shen Xihe lowered her eyelids, about to curtsey and take her leave, but he seized her hand first. She struggled violently to no avail; instead, he forcefully pulled her into his embrace, pressing his cheek against hers, whispering like a lover by her ear: "I know your nature. My unwillingness to annul the engagement is my affair, but you will devise methods. Yet I must remind Youyou—I can slaughter everyone for you."

After speaking, his lips brushed away from her cheek as he wore a gentle yet sinister smile: "Youyou, no matter how many choices you have, in the end, it can only be me."

Whoever you choose, I will make them vanish from this world.

Shen Xihe's gaze was sharp and cold, Xiao Huayong's smile was wicked and unrestrained—their eyes locked in a stalemate, neither yielding an inch.

"Zhaoning takes her leave." Shen Xihe performed a curtsey, turned, and departed.

Tianyuan and Zhenzhu, waiting outside, saw Shen Xihe emerge with a frosty expression. Tianyuan scurried along the door into the room, while Shen Xihe left with Zhenzhu.

"Miss, what exactly happened?" Until now, Zhenzhu still could not comprehend what had occurred to suddenly turn the previously harmonious Crown Prince and Miss as if they were on the verge of rupture.

"He is Hua Fuhai." Shen Xihe stated gravely.

Zhenzhu's pupils contracted—they had indeed harbored such worries, and the most dreaded outcome had still come to pass.

In truth, they all knew the Miss hoped the Crown Prince was not Hua Fuhai, wishing instead that Prince Jing were, so she could join forces with the Crown Prince against Prince Jing.

The Crown Prince already struck the Miss as peerlessly cunning; now that his power had grown so formidable, if they were ever to truly confront each other, the Miss likely stood little chance of victory.

"Provoked a baleful star." Only now did Shen Xihe regret it—the greatest regret of this lifetime was that day when, to disrupt the capital's situation, she handed the Rouge Case evidence to Xiao Huayong, thereby provoking him.

Had she not provoked him, she probably would not have obtained the Bone Shedding Pill. Dying would have been fine; at least her father and brother would not be implicated, and this life would have been lived earnestly and diligently.

Now she owed him far too much, already beyond repayment, and yet he had revealed his true nature. She believed his words—if she dared grow close to any prince, that person would surely meet the same fate as Changling Princess.

"Miss, will you still marry into the Eastern Palace?" Zhenzhu asked uncertainly.

"Marry, why not marry? Is he not determined to wed me? Then I shall let him learn what it means to seek but not obtain!"Since Xiao Huayong refused to let go, and she didn't want to drive him mad or waste time entangled in this matter, she might as well marry him. She would just have to remain vigilant.