"Your Highness, spare me! This lowly fool was momentarily blinded by jealousy of my third brother's favor with our father, which led to this grave mistake." Ding Zhi threw himself to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. "I beg Your Highness to spare my life."
With his raven-feather lashes slightly lowered, Xiao Huayong's gaze drifted toward the pleading figure kneeling before him: "Cough...cough... This humble one is not the wronged party."
Instantly understanding, Ding Zhi immediately turned to face Shen Xihe, kneeling and bowing his head in supplication: "This lowly fool was blind! I beg the princess's forgiveness."
Shen Xihe lifted her eyes, her clear gaze turning to Xiao Huayong. Only now did she notice a tiny black mole near the corner of his left eye, adding a touch of languid nobility to his countenance.
"The princess is the wronged party." Let her decide the outcome." Xiao Huayong offered a gentle smile.
Like jade, a gentleman radiates warmth and luster.
In his soft laughter, there was an innate elegance that needed no display.
Shen Xihe didn't stand on ceremony either. She gave Xiao Huayong a slight curtsey in thanks before addressing Ding Zhi: "I am not one to press an advantage, but neither am I foolish. If Second Young Master Ding seeks my leniency, you must at least speak the truth."
Ding Zhi's body stiffened. He abruptly raised his head to meet her eyes - visible even through her veil - beautiful like obsidian, yet seemingly veiled in a cold mist, both chilling and indistinct.
For some reason, whenever he met her gaze, he felt utterly transparent before her.
"Princess, every word I've spoken is true.".."
"Ding Zhi." Just as Ding Zhi lowered his head and gritted his teeth to speak, the attendant beside Xiao Huayong interrupted him. "Think carefully - your concubine mother, your sisters... if you were gone, and with you having injured the Third Young Master, how would the Madam treat them?"
A single sentence struck the fatal point.
Shen Xihe glanced at this attendant. He didn't appear to be a eunuch, likely a guardsman instead.
Ding Zhi immediately panicked. After a dazed moment, he collapsed despondently to the floor: "This lowly fool overstepped his bounds and offended the county princess.""
Seeing his resolve waver, Shen Xihe's thoughts shifted and she asked: "Did you know it was me at the city gate?"
Ding Zhi lowered his head: "I knew."
"Who told you?" Shen Xihe pressed.
Ding Zhi looked surprised. He hadn't expected Shen Xihe to understand his unspoken difficulties, and quickly answered truthfully: "It was Chen Jing. Chen Jing from the Marquis of Xuanping's household."
The Marquis of Xuanping's household.
Just as she had suspected.
The Marquis of Xuanping's household was the maternal family of the Xiao clan. The current Marquis of Xuanping should be Xiao Shi's cousin, while the Old Madame of Kang Prince Manor hailed from the Marquis of Xuanping's household.
"This..." Xue Heng looked troubled as he glanced at Shen Xihe.
Ding Zhi's claim that Chen Jing had informed him of Shen Xihe's entry into the city implied Chen Jing had either instigated Ding Zhi or conspired with him to frame Ding Jue. But without evidence, if Chen Jing denied it, there would be no recourse.
"Considering you haven't yet committed an irreparable wrong, fifty cane strikes shall serve as light punishment and warning. Do you accept this?" Shen Xihe asked Ding Zhi.
Ding Zhi immediately straightened his kneeling posture and bowed deeply to Shen Xihe: "This lowly fool accepts wholeheartedly, and kowtows in gratitude for the princess's mercy in sparing my life.""
"Chief Minister Xue, is this acceptable?" Shen Xihe turned to ask Xue Heng.
Xue Cheng cautiously glanced at Xiao Huayong before saying: "The princess possesses a benevolent heart.""
Shen Xihe curtsied to Xiao Huayong: "Zhaoning thanks Your Highness for upholding justice on her behalf."Xiao Huayong extended his slender-fingered hand to support Shen Xihe's tender white hand. Though making contact, it felt more like a symbolic gesture. "The County Princess has traveled thousands of miles from the northwest. How could we allow you to suffer grievances and chill the hearts of northwestern soldiers?"
In a sense, Shen Xihe represented the hundred thousand troops of the northwest, making Xiao Huayong's statement not entirely inappropriate.
"After the long and arduous journey, please allow Zhaoning to return to the residence first. I shall visit the Eastern Palace tomorrow to pay my respects to Your Highness," Shen Xihe spoke with refined courtesy.
"In that case, I shall await the County Princess at the Eastern Palace," Xiao Huayong responded smoothly.
Shen Xihe paused slightly. She had merely been polite, yet this Crown Prince—despite his intelligent appearance—seemed rather poor at reading social cues? The surprise was momentary. Maintaining composure, she offered no reply but led Biyu and the others in a curtsey before gracefully departing.
"County Princess, the Crown Prince seems somewhat... attentive toward you," Biyu carefully phrased her observation once they were in the carriage.
Somewhat?
Biyu had been diplomatic. The Crown Prince had publicly supported her, spoken to her with gentle caution, and his gaze held such evident fondness and softness that she could clearly see it.
"To behave this way upon first meeting—he must be a lecherous sort!" Ziyu believed no man in the world was worthy of her County Princess.
"Perhaps he's repaying kindness for the evidence provided earlier?" Hongyu had detected no lust in Xiao Huayong's eyes.
Moyu never participated in such discussions. Sitting upright with her sword, she focused solely on Shen Xihe's safety.
Shen Xihe didn't answer them, letting them debate.
"Your Highness, earlier..." Tianyuan was frantic. "What if the County Princess mistakes you for a frivolous man?"
Tianyuan also felt his master had been too eager, risking Zhaoning County Princess's displeasure and achieving the opposite effect! Even if overjoyed, one should proceed gradually—letting her see how magnificent and wise his master truly was.
"Don't be too clever in front of her from now on," Xiao Huayong quietly instructed.
Threatening words like those said to Ding Zhi earlier shouldn't have come from Tianyuan.
"Ah?" Sensing Xiao Huayong's warning, Tianyuan had no idea what he'd done wrong.
Xiao Huayong chuckled softly, his sword-like eyebrows lifting slightly. "She dislikes overly clever people."
Especially in potential lifelong partners. Excessive cleverness would make her feel hard to handle, leading her to keep a respectful distance.
Unaware that her thoughts had been completely deciphered by Xiao Huayong, Shen Xihe left the Supreme Court and grandly returned to the princely residence with her entourage.
The Northwest Prince's residence was located in Heshān Ward, directly facing the Vermilion Bird Gate of the imperial city.
Delayed by the fake Cui Jinbai and the Supreme Court affairs, it was already noon when Shen Xihe's carriage stopped before the main gate of the Northwest Prince's deep compound.
The residence gates swung open as maids and servants humbly lined both sides. The steward emerged with all managers in tow, drawing numerous onlookers.
"This old servant pays respects to the County Princess." Steward Shen Qing, over fifty with graying hair, appeared both excited and reverent upon seeing Shen Xihe.
"A Qingbo, you've worked hard all these years," Shen Xihe reassured him.
"Not hard at all, not at all. This old servant living at the imperial city's feet hardly compares to the County Princess, the Prince, and the heir's hardships in the northwest." Shen Qing repeatedly shook his head.
"Pay respects to elder sister." A clear, oriole-like voice sounded beside them.
This was Shen Xihe's first meeting with Shen Yingluo.She wore her hair in an elegant hanging bun, adorned with two exquisitely carved gold hairpins and tied with two pale pink ribbons. The stray hairs at her forehead fluttered in the wind, lending her a pure and refined grace.
A golden pearl Hua Dian graced the space between her brows, adding a touch of nobility and charm.
Her peach-colored long skirt was draped with a light green shawl, delicate and fresh as spring onions.
Her skin was as smooth as congealed cream, her bright eyes sparkling with life.
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