That night, with the joint efforts of Wei Ya and Shen Xihe, the mourning hall caught fire, and the coffin was reduced to ashes. Citing military affairs as the reason, Shen Xihe hastily buried the ashes, bringing the long-awaited funeral to an abrupt end. No one could find any flaws in the arrangement.
After the burial, Shen Xihe returned to the mansion. As she passed through the corridor leading to the inner courtyard, she saw Xiao Changfeng standing right in the middle. Holding her plain white shawl, she walked forward slowly, but Xiao Changfeng did not make way for her.
He clasped his fists and bowed to Shen Xihe. "Your Highness, the Crown Princess, is the Northwest King truly deceased?"
Before the mourning hall caught fire, Xiao Changfeng had not actually suspected that Shen Yueshan was feigning death. On the day Shen Yueshan was rescued, Xiao Changfeng had gathered all the doctors in the city, and not a single one believed Shen Yueshan could be saved. What kind of medical skill would it take to deceive so many doctors of varying expertise?
Shen Yueshan was sent back to the northwest, and the reactions of everyone, including Shen Yungan, seemed genuine. Xiao Changfeng became even more convinced that Shen Yueshan was truly gone, which was why he confidently sent a letter to His Majesty.
His Majesty dispatched Pei Zhan to the northwest. As soon as Pei Zhan arrived, Shen Yungan went missing. Shen Yungan's disappearance planted a seed of doubt in Xiao Changfeng's mind. The subsequent series of events unfolded so rapidly that there was no time to catch one's breath, yet they all seemed perfectly reasonable.
On the eve of Shen Yueshan's funeral, the mourning hall caught fire, burning down a building in the Northwest King's mansion. With so many people in the mansion, how did the fire start? Why wasn't it extinguished in time? All of this was highly suspicious.
"What does Xun Wang mean by this?" Shen Xihe tilted her head and looked at Xiao Changfeng calmly.
"I suspect the Northwest King is feigning death," Xiao Changfeng sneered. "If I were to spread this news now, the people of the northwest would undoubtedly be furious and disbelieving. After all, you and the Northwest King are deeply cherished here—you are their protectors, their faith. They trust your words implicitly.
But the Northwest King is indeed not dead and will have to return eventually. The more they hate me now for spreading rumors and slandering you, the more they will resent their own foolishness when the truth of the Northwest King's feigned death is exposed. I wonder if they will remain as united and devoted to the Northwest King as they are now?
Moreover, if I were to amplify these rumors, people would inevitably come to the mansion to seek confirmation from you, the Crown Princess. I wonder, when faced with these steadfast believers in the Northwest King's mansion, would you avoid them or deceive them outright?"
Avoiding them would imply guilt, while outright deception would inevitably backfire.
Xiao Changfeng's aggressive questioning made Shen Xihe smile gracefully. She raised her eyes, her chin slightly lifted, exuding an air of pride. "Xun Wang, let me tell you this: my father is indeed not dead. Not only that, but my brother has never been missing either."
Meeting Xiao Changfeng's shocked and uncertain gaze, Shen Xihe appeared even more composed. "You are welcome to try your methods. See for yourself whether, when my father returns after feigning death, the people will feel deceived, whether they will criticize the Shen family's rule over the northwest, or whether my father and brother's authority will be shaken!"
What reason could make the people forgive Shen Yueshan for feigning death, especially when it led to the Turks invading?
Xiao Changfeng thought for a moment and understood. "Geng Liangcheng is His Majesty's man!"
Her pink lips blossomed like a flower, and Shen Xihe's eyes gleamed with a profound light. "Indeed. It's a pity His Majesty did not trust you enough to inform you earlier. If you had known Geng Liangcheng was His Majesty's man, you would have seen through everything long ago.""Do not attempt to sow discord," Xiao Changfeng said gravely.
"Merely speaking the truth," Shen Xihe replied with detached calm. "Geng Liangcheng belongs to His Majesty, Pei Zhan serves Jing Wang—neither returned alive. These... are the costs His Majesty must bear for his miswritten characters!"
"The Crown Prince..."
"The Crown Prince?" Shen Xihe raised an eyebrow with a faint smile. "What manner of woman does Xun Wang believe me to be?"
Xiao Changfeng didn't understand why she asked this, but answered frankly: "Your Highness is a woman who would make even men tremble."
"Precisely. Would such a woman marry a worthless glutton?" Shen Xihe smiled meaningfully before expressionlessly stepping past Xiao Changfeng, her pace remaining unhurried as she departed.
In this entire affair—Shen Yueshan's disappearance, detaining Xiao Changfeng, including luring him into the remote mountains and slaughtering all his men—Xiao Changfeng believed the Shen father-daughter pair were the masterminds.
Shen Xihe would never defend Xiao Huayong at this moment, as that would make them suspect Xiao Huayong's capabilities. By speaking thus, she made them view Xiao Huayong as a pitiful pawn manipulated by the Shen family.
After all, Xiao Huayong had been constantly monitored by the Emperor's men, never leaving imperial sight. His trip to Tingzhou with Pei Zhan was solely because she'd discovered traces of her missing brother while being unable to leave the Northwest King's city herself.
That Shen Yueshan still lived was undeniable truth—impossible to conceal from Xiao Changfeng. Even if Xiao Changfeng dispatched urgent messages to the Youning Emperor now, the situation was already settled beyond imperial intervention.
"Crown Princess! To achieve your ends, you harm loyal officials—what crime did General Pei commit?" Xiao Changfeng suddenly turned, shouting the question at her retreating back.
Shen Xihe halted, lifting her gaze forward with detached indifference: "Xun Wang, what crime did my father and brother commit in guarding the northwest, bringing stability and prosperity to its people? That His Majesty must turn my father's right-hand men against him?"
"His Majesty has treated Northwest King generously, yet northwesterners see only the Northwest King!" Xiao Changfeng retorted sharply. "Even without rebellious intent, how does this differ from treason?"
Shen Xihe whirled around, the hairpin at her ear swinging through the air like a blade's gleam, mirroring her sharp gaze: "If His Majesty desires the northwest's loyalty, what has he done for it? Fought on battlefields? Sent relief during droughts?"
"In Youning Year 2, during the great northwestern drought, my Father petitioned the court thrice for aid. His Majesty refused, citing eunuch control over the court. Xun Wang, do you truly believe His Majesty was completely powerless to assist the northwest then?"
"In Youning Year 9, when Turks allied with Mongols and Tibetans besieged the northwest, my Father nearly died in battle while imperial pleas went unanswered. Our Shen clan's branch lines were entirely wiped out in that war—precisely when His Majesty exploited the situation with Chancellor Gu to overthrow the eunuchs."
"In Youning Year 12, under the pretext of civilizing barbarians, His Majesty sent officials nominally to assist my Father, governing through both civil and military means. As a subject, my Father dared not disobey. Yet what resulted? These envoys oppressed foreign tribes, discriminated against surrendered peoples—within a year, throwing the northwest into chaos that nearly sparked rebellion."My Father gave Your Majesty the opportunity, but it was Your Majesty who lacked the magnanimity to tolerate others. Your Majesty never regarded the people of the northwest as your subjects. In Your Majesty's eyes, the people of the northwest all bear the surname Shen. It was not that they disrespected Your Majesty, but that Your Majesty abandoned them first.
Your Majesty has no right to claim the northwest!
Update in the morning.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel