Chapter 395: The First Major Antagonist
His younger brother was always this straightforward and pure. Xiao Changying clearly knew it was impossible between him and her, yet he couldn't completely let go—unable to bear her being in danger, unable to let go of those who harmed her.
Xiao Changqing lifted his head, gazing at the vast blue sky, and sighed softly.
He had married the love of his life, yet he still couldn't escape fate's tricks. In the end, they were destined to meet but not to be together.
Xiao Changying couldn't marry her. Perhaps he still couldn't let go now, but when the day came that his heart grew cold, he would find peace.
Sending Xiao Changying was to prevent future regrets, greater longing, and self-blame. It was also in hopes that when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would treat Xiao Changying well, considering they had never been enemies.
As an elder brother, this was all he could plan for his younger brother.
"County Lord, we've tracked down the Fourth Prince's whereabouts," Mo Yuan hurried back to report.
"Capture him alive," Shen Xihe ordered. "Do it openly!"
She suspected Xiao Changtai had kidnapped her sister. Sending people to arrest him was something even His Majesty couldn't fault.
"Acknowledged." Mo Yuan accepted the order and was about to leave when he saw Xiao Huayong approaching. He quickly bowed.
Xiao Huayong raised a hand slightly before saying, "General Mo has been busy all day. Perhaps you should rest for a while."
Mo Yuan glanced at him, then at Shen Xihe. Shen Xihe's eyes swept past Xiao Huayong before she nodded to Mo Yuan.
Mo Yuan bowed silently and withdrew.
"Has there been a change regarding the Fourth Prince?" Shen Xihe asked.
"His Majesty sent men. I had them lead His Majesty's men away. Old Fourth used Second Miss Shen to threaten Second Brother into helping. Their men are bound to clash with His Majesty's. If we send our people, even if we capture him, he won't end up in our hands," Xiao Huayong explained.
"What if he escapes?" Shen Xihe asked again.
"Escape?" Xiao Huayong smiled faintly. "Where would he go? The imperial mausoleum has already reported his private escape. His Majesty won't fail to guess who Lady Li met. With the mastermind behind the tomb robbery case uncovered, returning to the imperial mausoleum would mean certain death for him."
To avoid alerting Xiao Changtai, Xiao Huayong hadn't investigated inside the Qian residence. If Xiao Changtai had been startled, he wouldn't have met Li Yanyan at the Qian residence even if he came to the capital. Missing one secret passage allowed Xiao Changtai to escape. While they couldn't pin the charge of illicit affair on him, exposing him as the mastermind behind the tomb robbery was enough.
"County Lord of Huaiyang hasn't been found yet," Shen Xihe worried about Shen Yingluo. After all, she bore the Shen name.
"Don't worry," Xiao Huayong reassured. "He wouldn't dare harm Second Miss Shen. Before meeting Li Yanyan, he didn't know Ye Shi's whereabouts. Now Ye Shi has been released and was held in a hunter's house outside the capital. The hunter happened to be away hunting in the mountains during this period and lived alone. Li Yanyan found an excellent location."
"Ye Shi still doesn't know who kidnapped her. Now that Ye Shi has returned home safely, if Xiao Changtai escapes, he'll understand that if anything happens to Second Miss Shen, you might not vent your anger on Ye Shi, but Second Brother certainly will."
For Ye Wantang's sake, Xiao Changtai wouldn't dare harm Shen Yingluo in the slightest.
That made sense. Sending people to intercept Xiao Changtai now would only expose their forces, especially since His Majesty had already intervened. It was better to watch calmly and wait for developments.
Whether Xiao Changtai escaped or not, he was doomed.This wait lasted for two full hours. Just as Xiao Huayong was having dinner with Shen Xihe, Tianyuan came to report: "Your Highness, the men sent by His Majesty were intercepted by the combined forces of the Fourth Prince and the Second Prince. The Fourth Prince nearly escaped..."
At this point, Tianyuan quickly glanced at Shen Xihe before continuing: "The Ninth Prince suddenly arrived with his training troops and intercepted them at the Wei River. The Fourth Prince resisted desperately and was shot through the chest by the Ninth Prince with an arrow, falling into the Wei River. He has not been found yet."
Xiao Huayong raised an eyebrow: "How thrilling."
Now His Majesty must be suffering from a terrible headache—the Second Prince's covert forces intervened, while the Ninth Prince's overt forces abruptly joined the fray.
"Additionally, the Fourth Prince's quarters in the imperial mausoleum caught fire, and a charred body was found. The Fourth Prince's attendant insists it is the Fourth Prince," Tianyuan added.
"Indeed, he had a backup plan," Xiao Huayong remarked with appreciation.
"Even at this stage, the Fourth Prince still managed to pave a path to survival," Shen Xihe couldn't help but sigh.
Even though Xiao Changying and others witnessed the person fleeing to the Wei River, being shot by an arrow, and falling into the river—and that person was Xiao Changtai—without capturing him, it meant nothing. The Ye clan would not acknowledge it.
The Ye clan would only recognize the person burned to death in the imperial mausoleum fire as Xiao Changtai. This "death by fire" left ample room for manipulation.
For now, it was confirmed as a death by burning. In the future, if he wished to return, he could simply claim it was a case of mistaken identity and fabricate a plausible reason, allowing him to openly restore his status. Of course, this would only be possible after the Emperor passed away, for only then would he dare to step forward.
As long as the Emperor had not formally convicted him, any accusations from others without evidence would be considered slander.
Last time, after being outmaneuvered by Xiao Huayong and Xiao Changqing, his true nature was exposed. He seized the opportunity to confess to conspiring with the Kang Prince's residence to forge weapons on behalf of the Emperor, putting the matter to rest and preventing court officials from pursuing it further.
This was his first act of concealment—retreating to the imperial mausoleum. Though life there was harsh, it kept him beyond the reach of trouble. It was a clever move, as harming him in the mausoleum would be difficult to accomplish.
Now, forced into a second concealment, he went into hiding among the common people this time.
It was likely that Xiao Changying's arrow played right into his hands, allowing him to fall into the Wei River. As long as he survived, he could make a comeback.
By turning from overt to covert, lurking among the masses to stir up trouble, with vast wealth at his disposal, he could openly cultivate his forces. When Xiao Huayong and the other princes were locked in a life-and-death struggle and the situation was about to be decided, he would emerge again, unleashing another storm of bloodshed.
"Perhaps, by letting Munuha escape and using him to probe my forces, he was already laying the groundwork for this plan," Xiao Huayong suddenly felt he had somewhat underestimated Xiao Changtai.
Xiao Changtai certainly hadn't expected to be forced into this step so early by Xiao Huayong. He must have long grown tired of staying in the imperial mausoleum, as it restricted his movements. He was likely waiting for the right moment to stage a great fire and 'burn to death,' only to resurrect himself later.
After executing this cicada shedding its shell maneuver, he would inevitably go into hiding among the people, with Xiao Huayong's forces being his greatest concern.
Having himself used travels and sightseeing as a cover to cultivate forces across the land, and now aware of Xiao Huayong's true nature, he could certainly guess just how deep the forces Xiao Huayong had cultivated during his twelve years in the Taoist temple ran.With Munuha's rough layout of the terrain, even if not entirely complete, his escape this way would allow him to avoid most pursuers, ensuring he wouldn't end up as wretched as Munuha.
"Your Highness, be cautious of this man," Shen Xihe reminded.
I have three elders celebrating birthdays over these three days. Our large family is quite harmonious, so I can't miss such occasions. Tomorrow I'll have to make another trip, driving over four hours round trip daily, plus meals in between—I'm truly swamped.
Still won't be able to make up for missed updates tomorrow, my sincere apologies.
This story has three major antagonists, with Fourth Prince Xiao Changtai being the first. There are two more.
All three possess extremely high intelligence, and each is more ruthless than the last. Hehe, good night.
(End of Chapter)
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