Green mountains rolled on endlessly, their silhouettes rushing by as the carriage sped past; wheels rumbled, and dust silently settled after being stirred up.
Shen Xihe released her grip, letting the carriage curtain that had been hooked on her fingertip fall back into place, cutting off the view outside. She turned to look at Xiao Huayong, who was reclining against the carriage seat, his eyes fixed intently on her, as though he had been watching her for a long time.
"Enjoying the view?" he asked, his tone tinged with melancholy as her gaze finally returned to him.
Shen Xihe nodded sincerely. "I thought the journey here would be affected by Dengzhou's plight, expecting to see dispirited commoners along the way."
They were already close to Dengzhou, but outside the prefecture, the people—perhaps due to effective guidance from local officials—seemed to have retained their vitality. With the autumn harvest approaching, the fields were lush and fruitful, a sight that brought joy to the heart.
As long as the regions beyond Dengzhou remained prosperous, the disaster in Dengzhou, no matter how long it lasted, would not be an insurmountable challenge.
Xiao Huayong raised an eyebrow slightly. So, she had been looking at the fields...
He couldn't help but chuckle at himself, wondering what had come over him. Knowing her temperament, he still let his thoughts run wild—truly, deep affection breeds confusion.
"You..." Sensing Xiao Huayong's odd reaction, Shen Xihe finally caught on. She lifted the curtain again and noticed Xiao Changqing riding alongside the carriage, his gaze meeting hers. They exchanged a slight nod of acknowledgment.
Turning back, Shen Xihe wasn't sure what expression to wear. This man had actually thought she was looking at Xiao Changqing!
Caught in his thoughts by his wife, Xiao Huayong felt a rare flicker of embarrassment. But the Crown Prince could not allow himself to feel unsettled. Clearing his throat lightly, he declared, "It is out of love that worries arise!"
Shen Xihe couldn't be bothered to expose him. After being married for so long, how could she not understand Xiao Huayong's temperament?
In other matters, the Crown Prince was decisive and astute, but when it came to her, he possessed an overwhelming possessiveness. He cared deeply about where she directed her attention—whether to other people or matters unrelated to him—and would let his imagination run wild.
Fortunately, he never voiced these irrational thoughts outright. Otherwise, Shen Xihe would have long since distanced herself, unable to bear being controlled or watched so closely without a moment's respite.
"I thought you would have Prince Xin volunteer to escort us. It was unexpected that His Majesty would explicitly assign him to the task," Shen Xihe remarked, inevitably saying a bit more now that Xiao Changqing had come up.
"Expected," Xiao Huayong replied with a faint smile. As long as Shen Xihe was speaking to him, even if the topic was someone else, he didn't mind. Eagerly, he began to elaborate on his strategic foresight. "The Strange Stone falling from the sky is an exceedingly mysterious event, and since it involves me, neither His Majesty nor the Eighth Prince would believe I orchestrated it. They suspect someone else set a trap for me, and there are few with such capability. The Fifth Prince is the prime suspect."
Convinced it was the Fifth Prince's doing, they couldn't fathom his motive. The Eighth Prince likely believed the Fifth Prince sent me to Dengzhou to harm me through his hands, achieving two goals with one move. How could he let the Fifth Prince remain unscathed?"
Thus, he would ensure Xiao Changqing was also sent to Dengzhou. Even if His Majesty hadn't considered it, Xiao Changyan would push for it. If Xiao Changyan's assumptions were wrong and Xiao Changqing wasn't behind it, then this person was deeply concealed and posed a threat worth fearing.Xiao Changyan needed to find a capable partner, and aside from Xiao Changqing, he likely regarded no one else as worthy.
Whether Xiao Changqing was behind the scheme or not, bringing him to Dengzhou was the best option for Xiao Changyan.
Even if the Emperor overthought matters and considered Xiao Changqing an unlikely candidate, Xiao Changyan would still work behind the scenes to make it happen.
Shen Xihe thought of the words on the stone. If she hadn't known it was Xiao Huayong's doing, she wouldn't have suspected him of orchestrating such a spectacle himself.
A small stone with just sixteen characters—if handled carelessly, it could one day become evidence of treason and rebellion. Even if the Youning Emperor possessed this stone, should he ever truly wish to eliminate Xiao Huayong, it would provide him with a pretext.
To many, Xiao Huayong gained nothing from this stunt but left behind countless hidden dangers. Thus, it seemed unlikely that he would be suspected as the mastermind.
With this understanding, suspicion would naturally fall on others.
At this thought, Shen Xihe couldn't help but let out a brief, light laugh, the sound fading almost instantly with the wind.
"Why are you laughing, Youyou?" Xiao Huayong asked, puzzled.
When clever people are together, there is a downside: both are deep-thinking and intricately shrewd, making it occasionally difficult to instantly decipher each other's thoughts from a mere smile or word.
"I was thinking that the Crown Prince is adept at playing the victim while executing the schemes of a perpetrator," Shen Xihe stated bluntly without evasion.
Upon reflection, he always enjoyed tripping people up this way. Each time, it seemed as though he had suffered the greatest injustice and persecution, making those trapped in his snares sympathize deeply with him, unaware that they themselves were the ones most harmed.
"People tend to pursue profit and avoid harm, often acting without allowing themselves any room for grievance or concession, forgetting that rigidity leads to breakage. Thus, they cannot believe anyone would harm themselves to injure others, easily blinding themselves with their narrow-minded thinking," Xiao Huayong sighed softly. "If one can both remain detached and eliminate enemies using others' hands, why not do it?"
"Your Highness's methods are beyond the capability of ordinary people."
Every time, Xiao Huayong appeared to be the victim, with others believing he had endured immense persecution and peril. In reality, the situations were all of his own making. Not only could he fully control the risks he faced, but he also never truly suffered any loss. The superficial victim facade was merely a smokescreen.
Take this Strange Stone falling from the sky, for example. Xiao Changyan would never dare to employ such a tactic because he harbored ambitions for the throne. This hidden ambition made him as jumpy as a startled bird on this matter, afraid to let others catch even a glimpse of it.
How could he dare to use such a risky move to scheme when he was busy concealing his intentions?
It was precisely because of this mindset that he projected his own feelings onto others, excluding Xiao Huayong from suspicion, believing the Strange Stone must be someone else's doing.
"In conduct and dealings, one should put oneself in others' shoes and refrain from imposing on others what one dislikes—this is the mark of virtue and integrity," Xiao Huayong said slowly. "But in observing people and situations, one must avoid projecting one's own feelings onto others, or else risk being blinded by a single leaf and crushed to pieces—this is the height of foolishness."
Shen Xihe first nodded, then shook her head. "Beichen speaks wisely, but those in this world who can truly achieve this are as rare as phoenix feathers."It is extremely difficult—whether it is handling matters, conducting oneself by putting oneself in others' shoes, or delving deeper into understanding people and strategizing, stepping outside oneself to grasp the bigger picture, and breaking free from one's habitual thought patterns—all are as challenging as scaling the heavens.
Many cannot even achieve the former, let alone the latter.
"As rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns..." Xiao Huayong's lips curved into a smile. "Thank you for the praise, Youyou."
Was he not precisely such a rarity?
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