A substitution gambit to fish in troubled waters. Xiao Huayong had captured the men from the Invincible Army and would surely torture them one by one. Although these men had undergone harsh training, they had never been tempered by the battlefield. Their willpower was bound to be limited, and they would certainly not be as indestructible as Xun Wang.
"This move might arouse His Majesty's suspicion," Shen Xihe said, uncertain if the Emperor would be suspicious.
After all, they were soldiers. They were not allowed to act without orders, so how could they suddenly withdraw and rush to the temporary palace to protect the Emperor? That particular sentence they uttered was especially deliberate.
"Hehehehe..." Xiao Huayong let out a joyous laugh. "Those two were merely dressed as soldiers of the Invincible Army. In reality, they are Jiachen Crown Prince's men. As for why Jiachen Crown Prince would do such a thing, it was naturally to expose His Majesty's selfish intentions. What does it have to do with me?"
Shen Xihe suddenly looked at Xiao Huayong. His expression was calm, as if everything was under his control.
His Majesty would not think that Xiao Juesong and Xiao Huayong had premeditated this and colluded, because His Majesty could not have imagined that Xiao Juesong was already terminally ill and did not have long to live. Therefore, in His Majesty's eyes, if Xiao Juesong were to join forces with Xiao Huayong, he would not have exposed himself so suddenly. There would have to be a grander scheme to justify all the years he had spent lurking in the shadows, busily building his power.
Since he wouldn't suspect them of colluding, he wouldn't think that the two men who impersonated his Hidden Guards and deliberately came to the temporary palace to rescue people—intending to expose his private army—were part of Xiao Huayong's clumsy attempt at a cover-up. He would only see it as a tactic purely meant to disgust him by Xiao Juesong.
It was a masterful deception. Xiao Huayong had dragged Xiao Juesong into the open, distracting His Majesty's line of sight and using Xiao Juesong to absorb all of His Majesty's attention. Meanwhile, he, playing the role of a victim on both sides, controlled the entire situation and reaped all the benefits.
"In the future, Your Highness will have another mask," Shen Xihe had to admire Xiao Huayong's profound foresight.
Only Xiao Huayong knew that Xiao Juesong was dying; the Youning Emperor could not have guessed. In the future, whatever Xiao Huayong wanted to do, he could disguise it as Xiao Juesong's doing, using Xiao Juesong to slowly conceal himself.
In this gambit, Xiao Huayong had not lost a single soldier, yet he had eliminated over two hundred of His Majesty's elite troops, capturing more than ten of them alive, all without His Majesty's knowledge.
The elite troops trained by His Majesty were, in fact, capable of fighting one against a hundred. Xiao Huayong had no army of his own; he could not let His Majesty act unscrupulously at this time. Once the Invincible Army was deployed and achieved a great victory, His Majesty's confidence would soar. He would surely launch a massive campaign to sweep away Shen Yueshan or Bu Tuohai, or perhaps even march directly against the foreign tribes, using military achievements to allow the Invincible Army to be openly accepted and revered by the people, thereby justifiably replacing the Northwestern Army or the Shunan Army.
By annihilating several hundred men at once and leaving no survivors for His Majesty to find, Xiao Huayong would make His Majesty doubt the Invincible Army's capabilities and hesitate to act rashly. This bought himself valuable time to continue his planning.
In truth, annihilating these two hundred-odd men had nearly wiped out Xiao Juesong's forces, and Xiao Huayong had also exhausted considerable effort. But His Majesty wouldn't see it that way, because Xiao Juesong had escaped unscathed. How many men must he have to achieve that?
His Majesty would naturally never guess that Xiao Juesong was able to retreat unscathed because of an insider like Xiao Huayong—an insider who had been poisoned by the enemy with a lethal toxin that was meant to take his life. Thus, he would have to continue to lie in bed for a long time, perhaps even facing several life-threatening crises, to show His Majesty just how pitiful and miserable he was. This would only make His Majesty believe even more strongly that he would never join forces with Xiao Juesong.
The ease with which Xiao Juesong vanished without a trace would make His Majesty deeply wary. In the future, no matter what storm of blood Xiao Huayong stirred up under Xiao Juesong's name, His Majesty would find it credible. He would grow ever more wary of a man long dead, never seeing that the one truly stirring up trouble was right before his eyes every day, playing the part of a frail, dying lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
"The one who knows me is Youyou." Shen Xihe had easily figured out that Xiao Juesong would become a skin for him in the future—a skin to confuse outsiders. This filled him with delight, giving him a sense of a tacit understanding that connected their hearts.
"Your Highness once said that you were fortunate I am not your enemy." Shen Xihe sighed. "Today, I return those words to Your Highness."
She, too, was fortunate that they were not enemies. Otherwise, having such a foe would be truly impossible to guard against, utterly terrifying, and would leave one unable to rest or eat in peace.
"I am honest with you not because I want you to fear me, but because I hope you can know me and understand me," Xiao Huayong said in a low voice.
"I admire Your Highness's intellect, I am impressed by Your Highness's methods, and I am won over by Your Highness's aspirations." Shen Xihe smiled faintly, a confident radiance flowing from her. "I do not fear Your Highness."
Her dazzling brilliance made it impossible for him to look away. He gazed at her deeply, his eyes filled with affection and fervor. "You are the heavens' mercy upon me."
This man was always like this, unable to go three sentences without teasing her, yet he always made it sound like it came from the bottom of his heart. She didn't want to respond to this, but she also couldn't very well question him. Seeing his smug look was an eyesore, so she couldn't help but retort, "Then you must be the heavens' punishment upon me."
The smile on Xiao Huayong's face instantly froze. He flopped down and turned over, his back facing Shen Xihe.
Now it was Shen Xihe's turn to hold back a laugh. She managed not to laugh out loud, but she had no intention of coaxing him. He was acting this way precisely because he wanted her to coax him. She hadn't even settled the score with him for refusing his medicine earlier, and now he was throwing another tantrum. Coaxing him too much would spoil him. Shen Xihe simply turned around, pushed the small table on the chaise to the end, pulled over a thin blanket, took off her outer robe, and lay down, still fully dressed.
Xiao Huayong was waiting to be coaxed, but after a while, he heard a rustling sound. He wanted to turn his head secretly to peek, but his upbringing and Shen Xihe's reaction restrained his actions.
Though his words were glib and he would occasionally visit her chambers at night, he still abided by the strict separation of men and women and had never thought of taking liberties with her before marriage. The restless stirring in his heart slowly subsided, and that little bit of temper vanished as well.
Soon, he could feel her breathing become long and steady as she fell into a deep sleep. He slowly turned over and saw Shen Xihe lying on her side on the chaise. Only one lamp was left lit, its light somewhat dim as it enveloped her face. In her sleep, she looked quiet and gentle.
Xiao Huayong couldn't help but let the corners of his lips curve up, his gaze softening. He adjusted his position, lying on his side to face Shen Xihe.
He suddenly felt that the greatest benefit he had gained from this scheme against His Majesty was not the matter of the Invincible Army, nor the ability to stir up trouble under Xiao Juesong's name in the future, but the chance to spend every day with her while pretending to be poisoned.
This was an unexpected joy. Now that Shen Xihe had started this, she couldn't possibly give up halfway. Her every move would influence how others perceived the severity of his illness.
"Hmm, I have to think of a way to delay returning to the palace," Xiao Huayong muttered to himself.
Only here could Shen Xihe continue to care for him like this. If they returned to the palace, she would have an excuse not to come.
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