Chapter 510: Your Highness Is a Trustworthy Person
"If Youyou wishes to learn, I would gladly teach you everything I know." Xiao Huayong's voice drifted leisurely from behind.
Shen Xihe turned around. He hadn't come alone—he had brought a young woman with him. Xiao Huayong had always maintained impeccable conduct, never keeping maidservants by his side. Before Shen Xihe married into the Eastern Palace, the palace maids there were only assigned trivial cleaning duties and never allowed close proximity to Xiao Huayong. Thus, this was the first time she had seen a woman following him.
Even though the woman maintained a posture of utmost deference, not daring to lift her head, Shen Xihe couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
Those few glances made Xiao Huayong beam with delight. He walked up to Shen Xihe and said in an extremely cheerful yet slightly proud tone, "Youyou, you're jealous."
Shen Xihe: ...
Where did she show any jealousy? Did he really think everyone was like him, capable of getting jealous at any time and anywhere?
"Because I glanced at her a few more times?"
"If you didn't care, why would you glance at her more than once?" Xiao Huayong argued confidently.
He smiled even more happily. His Youyou was not only jealous but also too embarrassed to show it.
Shen Xihe suppressed the urge to twitch her lips. Even with poor judgment, she could discern the relationship between the two. The young woman practically groveled in humility, yet her back remained straight—clearly a well-trained, loyal subordinate. Such a person would never entertain any inappropriate thoughts about her master.
Moreover, it was one thing for Xiao Huayong to doubt her intelligence, but to accuse her of jealousy, he was even denying his own character. How could someone as perceptive as him not know whether someone harbored feelings of admiration for him?
And if he knew, would he keep such a person by his side?
But he looked so genuinely happy that Shen Xihe couldn't bring herself to voice these thoughts that were on the tip of her tongue.
"Whatever makes Your Highness happy," Shen Xihe said, not bothering to argue with him.
"Youyou being jealous for me naturally makes me happy," Xiao Huayong replied gleefully.
Shen Xihe responded with a proper smile.
Overjoyed, Xiao Huayong walked to her side and naturally took the fan from Moyu's hand. The sun was rather harsh today, the mountain breeze was light, and it was somewhat stuffy where they stood. He personally began fanning Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe initially meant to stop him. Although they were husband and wife, and she didn't believe the husband was inherently superior to the wife, he was, after all, the Crown Prince—his status was exceptional. She felt uncomfortable enjoying his personal service.
"Serving my wife is my privilege as her husband," Xiao Huayong said, evading Shen Xihe's hand and switching to fan her from the other side. "Youyou still haven't said whether you wish to learn this art."
Following Xiao Huayong's gaze to where Xiao Changfeng and the others were trapped down the mountain, Shen Xihe shook her head slightly. "I do not."
Her swift and decisive refusal caused Xiao Huayong's smile to fade. "Why not?"
"This must be a profound field of study, not something one can master in a short time," Shen Xihe explained.
"We see each other day and night. As husband and wife, we have all the time in the world. Why worry about not being able to learn it?" Xiao Huayong urged enthusiastically. He truly wanted Shen Xihe to study it with him. Just imagining teaching her hands-on in the future filled him with inexplicable longing.
"Your Highness may not know this, but I have a stubborn temperament. If I don't learn something, I leave it be. But once I start, I must grasp its essence," Shen Xihe remained unmoved. "Didn't Your Highness say you didn't want me to overthink things?"The saying "great wit leads to misfortune" exists precisely because the wise, burdened by excessive contemplation and worry, damage their vital essence and thus suffer shortened lifespans.
Xiao Huayong's brow furrowed with slight gravity. The art of esoteric strategies was indeed extremely mentally taxing. He immediately abandoned his intention to teach Shen Xihe and beckoned to the young woman he had brought along: "This is the person sent by the local authorities. She will be impersonating you during this period."
The young woman stepped forward and bowed respectfully to her. Only then did Shen Xihe notice their statures were almost identical.
However, each person's posture and bearing differed, and such discrepancies could only be detected by those quite familiar with them. Her appearance bore no resemblance to Shen Xihe's whatsoever. Shen Xihe was astounded by Xiao Huayong's mastery of disguise, though this particular skill wasn't particularly difficult.
"Rise," Shen Xihe said calmly.
"She is also skilled in the art of disguise. Would Youyou like to keep her by your side?" This was Xiao Huayong's true purpose in bringing her here.
He had never considered placing someone by Shen Xihe's side—Shen Xihe neither needed it nor would he want her to misunderstand. Today, he had merely happened to bring this person back from the relay station and decided on the spur of the moment to let Shen Xihe see who would be impersonating her.
"You've recalled her?" Shen Xihe didn't believe Xiao Huayong intended to plant someone beside her. More than whether to keep the person, she was concerned about Xiao Huayong removing her at this moment. The "Crown Princess" couldn't simply vanish without a trace from the relay station.
"His Majesty has just dispatched many people. I had someone 'abduct' the Crown Princess. The city is now under strict martial law, with forces from all directions searching for your whereabouts." Xiao Huayong's lips curved slightly.
Shen Xihe's substitution scheme meant she had left the main contingent at an unknown time. Since Xiao Changfeng already knew about this, they had to remove the impostor before he could react, preventing him from detaining her. This would also facilitate Shen Xihe's return.
This move indeed proved Xiao Huayong's foresight: "Your Highness has considered everything thoroughly."
"You trust me." Xiao Huayong didn't believe Shen Xihe hadn't thought of these points herself. It was simply that since he had sent the person, she couldn't overstep by giving orders, and she trusted he would realize this.
"Your Highness is a trustworthy person." Shen Xihe spoke from the heart.
These were her sincere feelings. Xiao Huayong was indeed someone worthy of trust. When working with him, she could fearlessly turn her back to him, confident that his intellect and capabilities could keep pace with hers. Marrying such a person felt remarkably effortless.
If only Xiao Huayong could be more composed in daily conduct, it would be perfect for Shen Xihe.
Whenever serious matters weren't involved, Xiao Huayong always managed to give her headaches, irritate her, and leave her speechless.
Yet she remained completely unaware that her once stagnant, uneventful life had become vibrant and colorful precisely because of Xiao Huayong.
She had intended her praise of Xiao Huayong to be earnest and proper, but to his ears, it sounded like sweet marital endearments, making his smile brighter than the blazing sun beyond the pavilion, his gaze tender and lively.
Shen Xihe finally realized that in certain aspects, she still couldn't achieve mental synchronization with Xiao Huayong. She averted her gaze: "Shall we go see Father now?"
She missed Shen Yueshan intensely.
"Not yet." Xiao Huayong reined in his smile slightly, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked to the edge of the pavilion to look downward. "My cousin is a capable man. We can detain him for a short while, but not for long."Shen Xihe also walked to his side: "Even if he can break through Your Highness's formation, he cannot escape the illusory fragrance laid out for him."
The world only knows that datura can cause hallucinations, but they do not know that the ever-present morning glory possesses an equally potent hallucinogenic power.
A note here: the concept of the "green hat" existed in the Tang Dynasty, but it was originally a punishment where a county magistrate made offenders wear such hats. It wasn't until the Yuan Dynasty that it began to symbolize a wife's infidelity.
Morning glory is another name for bindweed, and there is a blue variety of bindweed that can induce hallucinations, while other varieties do not pose this danger.
(End of Chapter)
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