Chapter 462: Just Wants Her to Focus on Him
During the day, Shen Xihe enjoyed complete freedom because Xiao Huayong couldn't cause trouble in daylight. Aside from insisting that she feed him his medicine, there was nothing else that displeased her.
Since this only happened twice a day, Shen Xihe endured it. She had thought that after angering him last night, he would be uncooperative today. Surprisingly, for some reason, his mood had improved on its own.
Seemingly sensing Shen Xihe's emotions, after finishing his medicine, Xiao Huayong took advantage of the absence of others to open his eyes and look at her. He silently mouthed the words: "What couple holds grudges overnight?"
Shen Xihe, who was holding a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, immediately pressed down harder, causing Xiao Huayong to grimace in pain yet not dare make a single sound.
Only then did Shen Xihe secretly smile with satisfaction before rising to leave.
Her daily duty was merely to watch over Xiao Huayong. She didn't even bother inquiring about other matters. The Youning Emperor was going all out to capture Xiao Juesong, wanting to gauge his strength while using the pretext of finding an antidote for Xiao Huayong. No matter how large-scale the operation, no one found it inappropriate because with Xiao Huayong bedridden, no one dared voice objections.
Unfortunately, Xiao Juesong seemed to have vanished into thin air as if using earth escape techniques. After half a month of investigation, the Youning Emperor found no trace of him, growing increasingly wary of Xiao Juesong's influence. For someone who had disappeared for twenty years, no one knew what power he had accumulated in secret.
After half a month of pursuit, the Youning Emperor realized continuing would be futile and decided to let it go. However, since Xiao Huayong remained poisoned, someone still needed to ostensibly continue the pursuit persistently.
But the Youning Emperor didn't order a return to the palace, still adhering to the originally scheduled return date in September. The temporary palace appeared to have returned to calm, but in reality, everyone had become cautious and restrained, no longer enjoying the carefree atmosphere from when they first arrived. Even the noble ladies suddenly became well-behaved, staying in their courtyards to admire flowers, do embroidery, brew tea, or paint when not occupied.
Even when gathering in the same courtyard, they didn't dare be as boisterous as before. An invisible tension hung over the temporary palace, making it somewhat suffocating.
"Why hasn't Your Majesty returned to the palace?"
That night, while it was still early, Shen Xihe whispered casually with Xiao Huayong.
Logically, after such an incident—an assassination attempt at the temporary palace, with so many corpses brought back for everyone to see—and with the cautious behavior of everyone in the temporary palace being so evident, he should find it inauspicious to stay.
"His Majesty's thoughts are profound; how could I possibly decipher his intentions?" Xiao Huayong said loftily and mysteriously.
Shen Xihe nearly rolled her eyes at him. Such words might fool those who hadn't seen his true nature, but she wasn't buying it—neither were Xiao Changqing nor Xiao Changgeng: "Do you believe that yourself, Your Highness?"
Xiao Huayong responded with a foolish grin, attempting to brush it off. Shen Xihe simply stared at him quietly until he finally conceded: "The Empress Dowager is unwilling to return to the palace because I haven't recovered yet."
The Empress Dowager refused to return, using the reason that Xiao Huayong shouldn't be moved. Since both the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince weren't returning to the palace, and no particularly urgent matter necessitated a return to the capital, could the Youning Emperor leave Xiao Huayong and the Empress Dowager behind and return to the palace with the main entourage?
Obviously not. Rumors had already begun circulating that the Crown Prince wasn't his biological son. If he were to abandon Xiao Huayong here at this time, it would be difficult to suppress these rumors.Shen Xihe nodded. It was understandable that the Empress Dowager, being anxious about Xiao Huayong, would think this way.
Here, even someone as intelligent as Shen Xihe overlooked a key point: Xiao Huayong and Xiao Juesong had joined forces without informing the Empress Dowager. Having just weathered such turmoil while completely unaware that everything was Xiao Huayong's doing, the Empress Dowager should have been concerned about the safety of the temporary palace instead.
Unfortunately, Shen Xihe assumed the Empress Dowager knew all about Xiao Huayong's actions, which was why she didn't find the Empress Dowager's insistence on staying at the temporary palace slightly unusual.
Naturally, Xiao Huayong wouldn't tell her, because this was all his doing. He wanted to stay at the temporary palace, to share a room with her every night, to have her revolve around him all day long. This indescribable pleasure intoxicated him.
"Recently, it seems someone has been fueling rumors behind the scenes, spreading that you are not the Emperor's son," Shen Xihe asked further.
This, of course, was also Xiao Huayong's doing, intended to make the Youning Emperor more determined to stay. There was another purpose as well: "Once the seed of doubt is planted, someone will inevitably want to test it. It's better to let them see His Majesty's attitude clearly, saving us some trouble."
Since it was indeed Xiao Huayong's work, Shen Xihe didn't inquire further.
Instead, seeing her silence, Xiao Huayong suddenly said, "The Empress Dowager and His Majesty plan to arrange some celebratory events to counter the recent misfortunes."
"Celebratory events?" Shen Xihe's first thought was the Empress Dowager's birthday, but that wasn't until the end of next month.
"The Empress Dowager and His Majesty have decided to betroth the eldest daughter of Pingyao Marquis to Second Brother," Xiao Huayong informed Shen Xihe in advance.
The Pingyao Marquis's household was to produce a princess consort. After Yu Sangning's maneuvering, the Emperor indeed wanted to honor the Pingyao Marquis's family. Whether in quelling the unrest at the temporary palace or pursuing Xiao Juesong, Pingyao Marquis had performed admirably and deserved to be rewarded.
"It's actually Prince Zhao..." Shen Xihe was somewhat surprised. She didn't mean to look down on Prince Zhao, but Xiao Changmin already had an eldest legitimate son. Marrying another noblewoman from a prominent family seemed somewhat unfair to her.
She had thought it might be Prince Xin or his brothers, since one had no children and the other was not yet married.
"It was originally intended for Ninth Brother," Xiao Huayong explained. "However, when the matter of His Majesty's Hidden Guard was exposed, she and Liyang County Princess were involved. His Majesty developed some reservations, so it naturally fell to Second Brother."
That day, he actually wanted to find witnesses. He had to look among the women to avoid suspicion. If it were court officials, they might not reveal the matter; even someone foolish might disclose it to their fathers or brothers before the bodies were returned and be stopped.
Only women, who were more isolated from information, would do. During such major events, their fathers and brothers were busy handling the aftermath, wishing to stay by His Majesty's side at all times to share his burdens. They rarely saw their fathers or brothers and were highly unlikely to disclose anything in a short time.
Once the incident occurred, since there were two of them, they couldn't lie for fear of being exposed by the other. Unaware of the political winds, they had no choice but to report the truth.
Xiao Huayong hadn't targeted anyone specifically. As Shen Xihe thought, these young ladies were beneath his notice. He had only instructed to find two who were together but isolated, and it happened to be Yu Sangzi and Gu Qingshu who were alone.
Because of this one incident, Yu Sangzi missed out on a better marriage.
"That marriage fate wouldn't have fallen to her anyway," Shen Xihe said, having no strong impression of Yu Sangzi.This crown princess position was something Yu Sangning had schemed to obtain. She was likely even more satisfied that it was Zhao Wang rather than Lie Wang.
Had it been Lie Wang, it would have been difficult for her to substitute identities—her status wouldn't have been sufficient. With Zhao Wang, however, there was much more room for manipulation.
"Sigh, if I had known earlier they wanted a joyous occasion, I would have set my plan for a later time." Just in time to prepare for their grand wedding.
On May 20th, I could only desperately write six thousand words, finally explaining the Crown Prince's intentions behind each step. Seeing some readers misunderstand and think I was padding the word count made me anxious, but I've truly been too busy lately. I'll see if I can find time for a small burst of updates at month's end as slight compensation.
(End of Chapter)
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