Thirdly, because he knew Shen Yueshan was too upright to conspire with treacherous villains for personal gain.
"But the Northwest King was abducted by Jiachen Crown Prince, and later Jiachen Crown Prince appeared among the Turks..." Everything was connected to Xiao Juesong.
Having personally seen Xiao Juesong and unaware of his demise, the Youning Emperor and Liu Sanzhi couldn't believe Shen Yueshan would use Xiao Juesong's name to stir such major events without making a sound—unless there were benefits involved.
"Shen Yueshan is no fool. His conflict with me is merely about power; but with Xiao Juesong, there is blood feud." Though the Emperor couldn't unravel the mystery, he maintained his rationality, firmly convinced Shen Yueshan would never collaborate with Xiao Juesong.
He leaned toward the theory that Shen Yueshan had indeed been captured by Xiao Juesong but managed to escape. Thus, Shen Yueshan's account was truthful, and he naturally wouldn't reveal himself. After escaping, Shen Yueshan faked his death—perhaps even deceiving Xiao Juesong—which explained why Xiao Juesong went to the Turks seeking to use them to seize the Northwest. Coincidentally, his supposedly dead capable son was also in Turkic territory, leading to Xiao Changtai sending him the message.
This was the only logical explanation.
Liu Sanzhi nodded upon hearing this, his doubts instantly dispelled. He dared not say more, knowing the Emperor was currently lamenting the loss of his northwestern informants.
"Any unusual movements from the Crown Prince?" the Youning Emperor inquired.
Liu Sanzhi was responsible for closely monitoring Xiao Huayong. Truth be told, before the imperial villa incident, Liu had suspected Xiao Huayong. But after Jiachen Crown Prince's sudden appearance and witnessing Xiao Juesong abduct Xiao Huayong with their own eyes—those unmistakable eyes and demeanor that couldn't possibly be faked—they realized their previous suspicions toward the Crown Prince were likely Xiao Juesong's doing.
Especially this time, when Liu Sanzhi had people closely follow the Crown Prince: from his denied request to leave the palace, to his eventual "successful" escape under their tacit permission.
Tracking him all the way to the Northwest, the Crown Prince—frail and afflicted with the Unique Poison—frequently needed rest due to physical exhaustion. During these breaks, Liu had planted medical informants to examine the Crown Prince's pulse several times. The pulse records were sent back and verified by the Emperor's trusted physicians, showing no irregularities.
The Crown Prince practically stumbled his way to the Northwest before reaching the Tingzhou Protectorate Headquarters. Though Liu's men couldn't infiltrate the protectorate, with Pei Zhan accompanying him initially and Xiao Changfeng present later, they detected no deception from the Crown Prince.
By this point, particularly after reading Xiao Changfeng's submitted letter, Liu Sanzhi no longer suspected Xiao Huayong: "Your Majesty, the Daughter of the Shen Family had no prior contact with the Crown Prince before arriving in the capital. Since her arrival, she only spoke up righteously at the Court of Judicial Review and has associated with no one but the Crown Prince—her intentions toward him are glaringly obvious."
"The Northwest King's successful death feint, undetected by all physicians Xun Wang summoned across the city, proves the Shen girl has exceptional medical experts by her side. They must have long determined the Crown Prince's..."
"Therefore, the Shen girl targeting the Crown Prince from beginning to end might carry deeper implications."Some words need not be spoken outright. Shen Xihe had set her sights on Xiao Huayong simply because she recognized him as the legitimate heir, albeit with a short lifespan. Her intention was to bear a legitimate grandson, striving for the Shen family's sake—this was the Shen family's best path forward.
Indeed, barely after Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe had married, Shen Yueshan couldn't wait to uproot all of His Majesty's spies in the northwest. To call this a coincidence would be stretching it too far.
The Youning Emperor nodded slightly in agreement. Ever since Xiao Huayong was poisoned and sent to the Taoist temple, he had dispatched the Crown Prince's tutor and others to educate him. Xiao Huayong remained intelligent, though his energy was lacking, making his studies more arduous than most. Still, he was not foolish. Since beginning to observe court affairs, he had performed adequately but without exceptional brilliance.
The Emperor had also planted informants within the temple, documenting Xiao Huayong's growth in records. It was only because recent events since Xiao Huayong's return seemed subtly stirred by unseen hands that he had grown suspicious of him. Now, it appeared Xiao Juesong was the most likely suspect. Thus, with Xiao Huayong cleared of suspicion, he had now become a pawn for the Shen father and daughter.
The Daughter of the Shen Family truly wielded skillful tactics—even the matter involving Prince Kang was a trap she had set. Such cunning greatly resembled her biological mother. The Crown Prince was already utterly bewitched by her...
The Youning Emperor could understand this. Since the Crown Prince was eight years old, he had been declared not long-lived. Which noble daughter would willingly marry a man with a short lifespan? The noble daughters of the capital all avoided him, fearing they might become the next Crown Princess and implicate their maternal families in future distrust from the new ruler.
No young lady had ever shown him kindness before. The Daughter of the Shen Family was the first. Moreover, she was exquisitely beautiful and possessed such an aloof temperament—dismissive and haughty toward others, yet attentive solely to him. It was only natural for the Crown Prince to fall for her.
"In dealing with the three members of the Shen family—father and children—we must plan carefully before acting." The Youning Emperor felt that not a single one of this trio was easy to handle.
Unaware that she had used Xiao Changfeng to achieve her goal and completely cleared Xiao Huayong's name with the Youning Emperor, Shen Xihe remained in Tingzhou. On the very day Xiao Changtai and his wife were buried, Shen Yueshan arrived in Tingzhou, exhausted and covered in dust.
"Father, why did you rush here in such a hurry?" Shen Xihe looked at her unshaven father, her heart aching with concern yet unable to hold back her reproach.
"Your father missed his dear daughter," Shen Yueshan chuckled, trying to soothe Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe quickly brought Shen Yueshan inside and had Zhenzhu examine his pulse. Shen Yueshan had taken potent medication—though it was meant to cure his hidden injury, such drugs carried significant risks. Worse, he had disobeyed orders by personally showing his face in places like Gongyue City.
After checking his pulse, Zhenzhu reported calmly to Shen Xihe, "Crown Princess, rest assured. His Highness only needs to follow Doctor Qi's regimen for gradual recovery, and he will be fully healed."
"Hahaha, is Youyou reassured now?" Shen Yueshan boomed with vigor. "Those cowards—your father only needed to show his face to make them surrender meekly. There was no need for a fight!"
"From now on, your father can focus on recuperating. Once your brother is married, it might not be long before your father can dandle his grandchildren on his knee..."
At this point, Shen Yueshan couldn't help but glance subtly at Shen Xihe's abdomen.
After all, he was her father, not her mother—it wasn't his place to ask if there was any good news.Shen Yueshan wasn't actually urging his daughter to have children early. It was just that he had grown old after years of military campaigns, and the Shen clan had declined severely. He desperately longed for a new life carrying the Shen family's bloodline.
Though Shen Yueshan thought he was being subtle, Shen Xihe responded with indifference: "Father, you should first look forward to holding a grandson!"
In truth, Shen Xihe herself was quite troubled, wondering why she and Xiao Huayong still hadn't received any good news.
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