This edict serves as evidence that Your Majesty bears the greatest responsibility for Pei Zhan’s death and has wronged the Pei family!
"Keep it and send it back to the capital along with Minister Pei’s remains," Xiao Huayong instructed calmly.
"Acknowledged," Tianyuan immediately withdrew to make arrangements.
While eating, Xiao Huayong seemed lost in thought. When Shen Xihe brought in a plate of honey cakes, she noticed his pensive expression and placed the cakes before him. "What are you thinking about?"
"The position of Minister of War is vacant again," Xiao Huayong replied, snapping out of his reverie with a meaningful smile.
Shen Xihe understood—Xiao Huayong was beginning to strategize his next moves in court affairs. Previously, the Minister of Revenue had been Dong Biquan, a trusted ally of the emperor, whom Xiao Huayong had removed. The Minister of Personnel had been Xue Hui, who was also ousted and replaced by the former Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Xue Cheng.
He seemed to disregard the Ministry of Rites entirely. The Minister of Works was due to retire within two years at most, while the Minister of Justice had only recently been replaced due to the Qi Pei family incident. Thus, over the past three years, nearly all six ministries had undergone complete reshuffling.
"Your Majesty will surely compensate the Pei family," Shen Xihe remarked. In her view, even if no one from the Pei family was qualified to take the position, it would inevitably go to someone closely connected to the Pei family or to Jing Wang.
"Then let His Majesty compensate the Pei family," Xiao Huayong said, picking up his medicine bowl. He frowned, visibly reluctant, and took a tentative sip, his expression twisting with distaste. He glanced furtively at Shen Xihe before steeling himself and downing the medicine in one gulp.
Shen Xihe couldn’t stand his dramatic antics. She picked up a honey cake and, as he set down the bowl, brought it to his lips.
Having achieved his goal, Xiao Huayong beamed, leaning forward to bite the soft, melt-in-the-mouth cake from her hand. Whether intentionally or not, his warm tongue brushed against her finger.
He savored the cake with evident pleasure, even licking his lips afterward.
Shen Xihe wasn’t overthinking—Xiao Huayong’s actions blatantly conveyed one word: seduction!
Yes, Shen Xihe was certain—Xiao Huayong was trying to seduce her!
She felt irritated, but seeing his still-pale face, she couldn’t bring herself to scold him.
Taking a deep breath, she finally said, "We’ve already caused quite a stir this time. His Majesty has suffered significant losses, so we should avoid further actions."
This time, Xiao Huayong’s scheme was exceptionally clever. Though the emperor found no evidence against him, the Northwest had reaped all the benefits. Shen Yueshan successfully eliminated the formidable threat Geng Liangcheng without inciting internal strife. Shen Yungan had likely conspired with Xiao Huayong early on, laying traps at the Turkic base while they marched straight to Tingzhou.
That was how they so easily breached the Turkic royal camp. This campaign would likely cripple the Turks, forcing them to cede territory and pay reparations. Not only would this expand the Northwest’s domain and intimidate neighboring regions, but it would also justify requesting rewards from the emperor.
Shen Xihe could already imagine the twisted expression on the Youning Emperor’s face when Shen Yungan’s merit petition reached the throne. Furious yet powerless, the emperor would have no choice but to bestow rewards. Instead of expressing outrage, he would have to lead the praise as the Northwest grew even more powerful.Your Majesty had begun scheming in the Northwest at some unknown point—perhaps after the eunuchs fell from power, or even earlier, when he was first exiled to the Northwest. In any case, years or even over a decade of meticulous planning were dismantled overnight by Xiao Huayong, enough to make Your Majesty spit blood in fury.
Not only that, but he also lost Pei Zhan in the Northwest, and Prince Jing Xiao Changyan required appeasement…
Just thinking about the predicament the Youning Emperor now faced brought Shen Xihe immense satisfaction.
Shen Yueshan had feigned his death after discovering collusion with the Turks. The Youning Emperor could not punish him for this—it was a matter of acting out of necessity, where a commander in the field may disregard orders from the court.
The one who killed Pei Zhan was Xiao Juesong, who had since vanished without a trace. The Emperor’s pent-up rage found no outlet, forcing him to swallow his bitterness. Even during the era of eunuch dominance, the sovereign who ruled over all under heaven had likely never suffered such a silent, humiliating defeat.
The Emperor’s fury was unimaginable.
But what could he do? With no vent for his anger, Shen Xihe could only hope His Majesty wouldn’t fall ill from the suppression. "I’ll listen to Youyou," Xiao Huayong replied with an obedient demeanor.
He had never intended to meddle with the Six Ministries. There was no need for his influence there; at most, he wanted to use the position of Minister of War to stir the pot and add to the Emperor’s headaches.
"If you have thoughts, you may share them with me," Xiao Huayong said. Though he had specifically mentioned the Minister of War position earlier, he now backtracked. Shen Xihe did not want him altering his plans on her account.
"I merely wish to make things more difficult for His Majesty," Xiao Huayong admitted without concealment. However, his dark eyes shifted thoughtfully. "But it occurs to me that someone else would be even more eager to do this. Since we’ve gained so much advantage, we might as well catch our breath and enjoy the show."
"Who?" Shen Xihe sensed mischief in his tone.
"The Fifth Prince." No one was more enthusiastic about troubling the Emperor than the Fifth Prince.
For instance, without the Fifth Prince’s instigation this time, the Emperor would not have been able to relay orders to Pei Zhan so swiftly.
The intelligence provided by the Fifth Prince was accurate—it was the Emperor’s envoys who proved incompetent. There were no grounds to suspect the Fifth Prince.
"Prince Lie did assist us…" Shen Xihe felt it somewhat unjust.
"This time, the Fourth Prince also incited the Mongols to cause trouble. I did the Fifth Prince a favor by tipping him off. Thanks to Rong Ce’s thorough preparations, the Mongols were repelled quickly—a feat that will surely earn him great merit." Xiao Huayong believed he owed the Fifth Prince and his brother nothing.
Thus, he righteously insisted to Shen Xihe, "If others urge me to be lenient with those two brothers, I might consider it. But Youyou, you mustn’t speak such words in the future, or I’ll deliberately make things hard for them."
Though he said "them," he primarily meant Xiao Changying. Xiao Huayong disliked Xiao Changying’s attempts to approach his sister-in-law. However, since Xiao Changqing fiercely protected his younger brother, targeting Xiao Changying inevitably involved Xiao Changqing—hence "them."
Despite knowing she had no connection whatsoever to Prince Lie, Xiao Huayong unabashedly displayed his displeasure. Yet, his behavior never struck her as domineering or unreasonable.His appearance was exactly like Duanming baring his teeth after being provoked by Zhenzhu—fierce yet harmless, with no intimidation at all, making Shen Xihe unable to hold back her laughter. Her laughter caused Xiao Huayong’s expression to darken, and she quickly restrained herself: “Alright, I won’t mention Lie…”
“Hmm?”
Before she could even utter the word “Lie Wang,” Xiao Huayong’s face soured again. Shen Xihe gave a helpless smile: “I won’t mention it, I won’t mention it.”
The Crown Prince, now satisfied, leaned back comfortably: “Xiao Changtai, how should Youyou be dealt with?”
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