Such petty tactics. Shen Xihe smiled faintly, feeling it would be a waste of energy to even engage with her.
Her water sleeves lightly draped, her eyes indifferent.
Shen Xihe stood behind the long desk, head slightly bowed as she gently stirred the fragrant ink in her hand—a new type of ink she had developed, which produced a refreshing and calming fragrance when ground.
"Your Highness... you don't intend to confront her?" Ziyu watched Shen Xihe's serene expression. The Crown Princess appeared perfectly composed, without even a furrowed brow, yet Ziyu sensed an almost innate disdain emanating from Shen Xihe.
A complete disregard for An Zhengyi.
After finishing the ink preparation, Shen Xihe picked up the brush. The soft tip rolled once in the rich, fragrant ink before she lightly scraped off the excess. Then, in one fluid motion, she wrote a character on the spread white paper.
As if she hadn't heard Ziyu's question, Shen Xihe examined her calligraphy and praised, "The ink is good."
Fragrant ink was something Shen Xihe had researched for a long time. She had produced earlier versions, but none had met her standards. The ones sold at the Living-Alone Pavilion were ordinary fragrant inks she refused to use herself. This batch, however, finally satisfied her requirements.
Now she could proceed to the next phase of her research.
Xie Yunhuai had obtained a peculiar flower from the Western Regions whose fragrance could refresh the mind. However, many who cultivated this flower died of poisoning after prolonged exposure.
Though these people all died from poisoning, since they were in different locations and the flower itself was non-toxic if accidentally ingested, no one suspected the floral scent. It was only after Xie Yunhuai visited several places and heard similar stories—all involving households that kept this flower—that he realized the fragrance might be the cause.
Such a strange, invisible killer was precisely what Shen Xihe favored. To incorporate the flower's scent into ink, she first needed to create an excellent ink that people would find irresistible.
Whether the fragrance was truly the cause remained unconfirmed, but Shen Xihe was in no hurry. She would first release this harmless, premium fragrant ink for sale at the Living-Alone Pavilion.
She handed the formula to Hongyu: "Produce a batch and place it in the Living-Alone Pavilion."
Establish the fragrant ink's reputation first. If the flower indeed possessed such peculiar properties and could be blended into the ink, Shen Xihe would have proof ready for future use—proof that her ink was unrelated to any incidents. As for how to make the toxic and non-toxic versions indistinguishable, she would figure that out after obtaining the flowers.
"Your Highness..." Ziyu couldn't help calling softly. She couldn't bear to see anyone bully Shen Xihe.
Knowing Ziyu's indignation on her behalf, Shen Xihe lowered her gaze to the character she had written. "Do you recognize it?"
Ziyu craned her neck for a look and frowned. "Endure?"
"Not 'endure'," Pearl also glanced over and noticed a missing dot. She quickly understood, "It's 'not endure'."
"She's holding a blade over Your Highness's heart, yet you should endure her?" Biyu immediately grasped Shen Xihe's meaning.
An Zhengyi wanted to marry into the Eastern Palace and had designs on the Crown Prince—and not honorable ones at that. Wasn't this precisely like driving a dagger into Shen Xihe's heart?
Ziyu's eyes sparkled with understanding. "Your Highness, how shall we vent our anger?"
Shen Xihe had already picked up the teacup beside her. After taking a sip, she set it down and spoke casually, "There's no need to actively set traps for her. Since she has created this situation, it surely isn't just to make me hesitate to move against her easily."
"Huh?" Ziyu didn't understand.Zhenzhu furrowed her brows in contemplation for a moment before saying, "Her goal is to marry into the Eastern Palace. Since the Crown Prince refuses to relent, and Your Highness and the Crown Prince are still newlyweds, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager would never casually add someone to the Eastern Palace. She has only one way to enter."
"What way?" Ziyu grew increasingly confused.
Biyu suddenly understood: "Make the Eastern Palace... no, make Your Highness feel indebted to her!"
"Make Your Highness feel indebted to her?" Ziyu thought this was wishful thinking. "Is she out of her mind?"
Zhenzhu glanced at her and said to Shen Xihe, "This servant will go keep an eye on her immediately."
What Shen Xihe had done to Shu Fei earlier, though lacking evidence, was known to all—an indelible display of dominance.
An Zhengyi was leveraging this to position herself as the vulnerable party. Next, she only needed to find an opportunity, be ruthless with herself, and stage a false accusation, making everyone believe it was Shen Xihe who had harmed her—just as Shen Xihe had done to Shu Fei. Though no evidence could be found, everyone would know it was Shen Xihe's doing. Thus, His Majesty would have to pacify the An family. With the prior incident involving Shu Fei, Shen Xihe's domineering attitude could sufficiently anger His Majesty, making it not impossible for him to forcibly marry the victim, An Zhengyi, into the Eastern Palace.
"Keep a close watch. If necessary..." Shen Xihe slowly lifted her drooping eyelids, her obsidian-dark pupils meeting Zhenzhu's gaze. There was no trace of killing intent, yet they were as terrifying as a bottomless abyss.
"This servant understands." Zhenzhu acknowledged and left.
If An Zhengyi truly had a next step—waiting until public opinion was stirred before planning to harm herself to frame Shen Xihe—then let her fall into her own trap, turning self-harm into self-destruction!
Once dead, she would no longer harbor improper ambitions. This would also serve as a warning and counterattack against His Majesty.
As for whether Shen Xihe was the one who killed her, everything must be based on evidence. Without proof, one could not rashly accuse the Crown Princess of murder.
In the blink of an eye, Zhenzhu returned, her expression grim: "Your Highness, Lady An has fallen from the rockery. It is said she was pushed by the Second Young Lady."
Shen Xihe's gaze sharpened.
An Zhengyi moved swiftly. Shen Xihe had thought An Zhengyi was spreading these rumors to target her directly. She hadn't expected An Zhengyi to be clever enough to draw Shen Yingluo into it, making Shen Yingluo the scapegoat.
In truth, Shen Xihe had underestimated An Zhengyi. Ever since the incident in the northwest, His Majesty had begun to wary of her. Adding someone to the Eastern Palace was what His Majesty deemed the best solution. He had even informed his trusted ministers about this matter, and An Zhengyi was the first to step forward and accept the task.
Having learned from His Majesty exactly how formidable Shen Xihe could be, An Zhengyi would never confront Shen Xihe directly.
At yesterday's banquet, she had deliberately expressed her admiration for the Crown Prince, fully expecting both the Crown Prince and Shen Xihe to refuse her entry into the Eastern Palace. She then used the incident with Shu Fei to portray herself as pitiable and vulnerable.
She knew well that once these rumors reached Shen Xihe's ears, Shen Xihe would assume she intended to step by step force the Eastern Palace to accept her. But facing Shen Xihe head-on, her chances of winning were slim.So she had someone send a message to Shen Yingluo early on, letting her know that she had deliberately spread the rumors. Unexpectedly, Shen Yingluo remained composed upon hearing this and did not confront her. Left with no choice, she resorted to using Liu Sanzhi’s informants to arrange a "chance encounter" with Shen Yingluo.
Seizing the right moment, she deliberately provoked Shen Yingluo. Yet again, Shen Yingluo’s calmness took her by surprise—she did not retaliate but instead tried to leave. It was at the moment Shen Yingluo brushed past her that An Zhengyi threw herself down the rockery.
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