"I'll escort you back to your manor." After finishing the meal, Xiao Huayong said.
"Your Highness..."
"Let Tianyuan announce that I've regained consciousness, though my eyes remain extremely uncomfortable. I need to return to the palace and will see you home along the way." Xiao Huayong had made up his mind. "This isn't underestimating your capabilities, Youyou. I simply won't feel at ease until I see you safely home."
Since he had arranged everything, Shen Xihe didn't argue with him. Xiao Huayong led the grand procession left by the emperor back toward the palace, detouring past Shen Xihe's Princess Manor. He personally saw her to the entrance, watching as steward Shen Qing and Mo Yuan welcomed her inside before continuing his journey.
"We must be especially cautious these days," Shen Xihe reminded everyone after returning to the manor.
Whether it was the situation she suspected or what Xiao Huayong had envisioned, the likelihood of danger to her remained high.
"My lady, this servant will share your chamber tonight," Moyu offered.
Shen Xihe didn't refuse out of pride, nodding in agreement. Not only did she have Moyu set up a sleeping couch at the foot of her bed, but she also brought Duanming into the room, as the animal remained more alert at night than even Moyu or Mo Yuan.
"Have all personnel from the medical clinic been withdrawn?" Shen Xihe asked next.
The clinic used to lure Yangling Princess and Munuha inside had been purchased a month earlier. The original owner, unskilled in medical practice, had struggled to retain competent physicians. The clinic could only sell some medicinal herbs while operating at a loss, making it easy to acquire.
However, the owner had stubbornly clung to this ancestral business without actively putting it up for sale, which was why it had attracted no buyers.
"The Crown Prince's situation gave them ample time. All personnel have left the city, beyond the reach of official investigation," Zhenzhu reported.
Purchasing a medical practice required proper transfer documentation and household registration with travel permits. The owner of these documents was also one of their people. He had indeed bought the clinic a month ago but never opened for business, returning early to his place of origin where witnesses could confirm his absence from the capital during this period.
Moreover, the clinic had been closed for over half a month without operating. On the day of the polo tournament, commoners with free time had all gone to watch the matches, while those occupied were unlikely to pass by this remote clinic.
Mo Yuan and the others had been extremely careful. It appeared no one had witnessed the clinic opening. Even if Munuha were captured and mentioned the clinic, it wouldn't match any records, only proving his lies and further confirming his murder of Yangling Princess.
"His Majesty has placed all Turkic envoys at the Honglu Hostel under guard," Zhenzhu added.
Although Munuha was currently suspected of being at large, without final investigation results, the Youning Emperor still showed some respect to the envoys by merely confining them to the hostel rather than imprisoning them directly.
"My lady, why would Munuha flee?" Biyu wondered, perplexed. "Doesn't his escape confirm his guilt in murder and flight?"
"Given his sharpness, he should have realized upon fainting from my fragrant spices that this trap wasn't one he could easily escape," Shen Xihe explained while walking slowly toward her courtyard. "When he awoke to witnesses claiming he'd murdered Yangling Princess, he had no defense. Staying meant certain death. With assistance available, he had to escape - his flight leaves the case unresolved."
"If the Turks insist the Youning Emperor killed Munuha and fabricated his disappearance, the truth becomes indeterminable. This could potentially prevent war between the two nations, with both sides tacitly accepting one life for another.""How could His Majesty accept such a life-for-a-life exchange?" His own daughter was dead, the Turkic prince suspect had fled, yet he had to make people believe he had already exacted revenge—this was a tremendous loss.
"Otherwise?" Shen Xihe curled her lips into a smile. "The man offered no resistance when captured at the crime scene, then vanished from the Capital Prefecture. Disappearing without a trace in the capital confirms Munuha as the true murderer. Even if killed, his body should have been returned to the Turks."
This sudden twist not only allowed Munuha to escape unscathed but also placed His Majesty at a moral disadvantage.
Considering this, Shen Xihe no longer worried about Munuha seeking her out now. His reappearance would prove he had fled voluntarily. If he were smart, he should swallow his pride and focus all efforts on leaving the capital city.
Henceforth, he must remain dead to the world. Even if he escaped back to Turkic territories, he would have to live in shadows. Otherwise, once Youning Emperor discovered his traces, he would have the right to demand his extradition from the Turks.
It all depended on whether Munuha could accept this. With this thought, Shen Xihe ordered: "Keep close watch at the city gates."
If Munuha chose to endure, he would leave the city as quickly as possible.
Not only Shen Xihe realized this—Xiao Huayong, having calmed down, also came to this conclusion. After returning to the palace with his eyes bandaged, the imperial physician declared he must not use his vision. Whether he could recover would be determined after several days of toxin cleansing.
"Qilang, rest assured, I will see justice done for you," Youning Emperor was the first to visit Xiao Huayong.
"Your Majesty, I heard about Fifth Sister... cough..." Xiao Huayong's tone carried sorrow. "My matter can wait, but Fifth Sister must not die in vain..."
Youning Emperor felt equally vexed. Recent misfortunes came one after another—his son poisoned with potential permanent blindness, his daughter murdered outside the palace, the killer still at large.
"Regarding Yangling's case, I have dispatched the Embroidered Uniform Envoys," Youning Emperor said. "Do not trouble yourself. Focus on recovery. The Chief Imperial Physician says your eyes can still be saved—do not lose heart."
With his eyes still covered, Xiao Huayong managed a faint smile on his pale face: "I am fine. Even if truly blinded, I shall simply venture out less frequently."
He said "venture out less" rather than "leave the Eastern Palace less." His calm acceptance, seeming to endure adversity without complaint, appeared so heartbreakingly serene that Youning Emperor could only reiterate: "Concentrate on recovery. All will be well."
"Your Majesty, why would Munuha want Yangling dead?" Xiao Huayong asked, as if changing the subject. "Could there be some misunderstanding?"
"Some medicines were found in Yangling's palace... She had drugged Munuha..." Youning Emperor refrained from specifying the type of drug.
Certain clues would inevitably surface if Youning Emperor investigated thoroughly. Though Munuha had aroused his suspicion toward Xiao Huayong, the Emperor didn't believe Xiao Huayong would kill Munuha to silence him.
Xiao Huayong wouldn't orchestrate such an elaborate scheme sacrificing Princess Yangling just to frame Munuha. If he wanted Munuha dead, he would confront him directly. Though "all's fair in war," such methods lacked courage and masculinity.
This didn't align with his imperial son's behavioral patterns—an intuition Youning Emperor never doubted.
"Why did Yangling leave the palace?" Xiao Huayong pressed.
"Munuha summoned her out. He likely discovered her drugging him and lured her outside." Youning Emperor slightly furrowed his brow.Last time Munuha sent a letter to Yangling Princess requesting a meeting, he inadvertently revealed his handwriting and preferred stationery to Shen Xihe. Shen Xihe forged a copy and, after Yangling Princess left the palace, placed it in her quarters along with that bottle of medicine.
OpenNovel