Deep affection and profound loyalty...
This person really knows how to seize every opportunity to glorify himself!
"Honored guests, your dishes are all served. Please enjoy your meal!" Clearly, sensible people knew that those in high positions were not to be casually discussed by commoners like them. The innkeeper immediately took the chance to leave.
Shen Xihe shot a warning glare at the beaming Xiao Huayong—did he think that just because they had altered their appearances, no one would recognize them?
Given the current situation, with no pedestrians on the streets and most roads into the city blocked off (though the city gates weren't officially sealed), it was extremely difficult for outsiders to enter. The two of them walking around so openly had likely already drawn the attention of the authorities. Yet he dared to casually discuss the Crown Prince's temperament in front of others.
Wasn't this blatantly signaling to people that they were suspicious?
Shen Xihe didn't believe that Xiao Huayong failed to understand such an obvious reasoning. Still, he acted carefree and utterly unconcerned. Who knew what scheme he was brewing this time?
Her intuition told her it must be related to setting a trap for Xiao Changqing and Xiao Changyan. Therefore, she didn't say much and allowed Xiao Huayong to diligently serve her dishes. The meal was quite enjoyable. After eating, they didn't seek lodging but chose to continue their journey.
The innkeeper repeatedly tried to persuade them to stay, warning them that the road ahead was treacherous and urging them to abandon their plans, remain there, and gather information.
Xiao Huayong bought some dry provisions, declined the well-meaning advice, and set off again with Shen Xihe. This time, however, they didn't share a horse—they had acquired an extra one when changing clothes at the Taoist temple.
Braving the light rain, they had just left the town when they sensed someone following them.
Xiao Huayong produced a flute from somewhere, tossed the reins to Shen Xihe, and brought the flute to his lips. A melancholic melody drifted through the fine rain, carried by the cold wind.
Knowing he had everything under control, Shen Xihe rarely cooperated by becoming a leisurely listener, immersing herself in the flute's music. With elegant notes in her ears, cool wind at her side, and the gentle patter of rain, she felt as if she were in a crystal-clear world of ice and snow, her mind becoming exceptionally clear.
So much so that Shen Xihe momentarily forgot she was riding through the rain. Instead of steering the horse, she let it follow a certain scent in the air, moving unhurriedly in one direction.
Normally, Shen Xihe was as alert and vigilant as a beast ready for battle on the front lines—the slightest rustle would put her on edge. In moments like this, when she lost herself, even she wasn't aware of how much she had come to trust Xiao Huayong unconsciously.
It was because he was by her side that she could relax so completely.
By the time their figures vanished into the white mist woven by the enduring drizzle, a group of people who had been following at a distance caught up. Passing through the haze, they gave chase only to find the flute-playing man suddenly turn his head, catching them red-handed.
They initially intended to retreat nonchalantly, but unexpectedly, the man and woman abruptly attacked, leaping into the air with curved blades in hand, thrusting toward them.
The several men immediately went on full alert. However, before they could even draw their swords, they sensed a sharp, cold glint flash in their pupils. They had been entirely focused on defending against the man closing in on them. It wasn't until the moment they fell that they realized it was the woman on horseback who had taken their lives.After everyone had been taken down, Xiao Huayong finally led the horses out from behind a large rock with Shen Xihe. A man and woman dressed similarly to them stood directly ahead, silently bowed to them from a distance, then quickly departed.
Shen Xihe withdrew her gaze from the direction where the pair impersonating them had vanished after carrying out the killings. Her eyes swept over the several corpses lying in pools of blood, heads severed from bodies: "You're framing Prince Xin again."
No wonder Xiao Huayong had made such a conspicuous appearance in a town where he shouldn't have been. He had deliberately drawn attention to himself while parading through the streets. When these men failed to report back in time, someone would inevitably come searching. All it took was for these corpses... no, simply reporting the manner of these deaths to Xiao Changyan's ears was enough to make him suspect Xiao Changqing.
The corners of Xiao Huayong's lips curled upward as he drew a silver wire from his sleeve, about half the thickness of a chopstick: "This is the unique murder weapon used by Fifth Prince's subordinates."
Xiao Huayong had spent those years studying numerous corpses of people killed by Xiao Changqing's subordinates before fully understanding the secretly developed weapons. Not only was Xiao Huayong researching them, but even Xiao Changyan was investigating them, though he hadn't yet figured them out completely.
Xiao Changqing had once been the most trusted confidant of the Youning Emperor. Xiao Huayong studied his subordinates' secret weapons purely to pass time and satisfy his curiosity, while Xiao Changyan, harboring imperial ambitions, had always regarded Xiao Changqing as a formidable rival. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in all battles.
After so many years of studying Xiao Changqing's secret weapons without success, when Xiao Changyan saw these corpses, he would be unlikely to believe it was a frame-up. This was the fatal flaw of clever people - their excessive arrogance. Since he hadn't figured it out himself, he naturally wouldn't believe anyone else could have deciphered it to frame Xiao Changqing.
At the corner of Xiao Huayong's eye was a mole the size of a black sesame seed. This mole was quite remarkable - when he pretended to be frail, with his eyes slightly drooping, it added a touch of fragile vulnerability to his appearance.
When he shed that feigned weakness and became cunning and deceitful, the mole, combined with the glint in his eyes, lent him a sinister air.
Just like now, his sinister appearance of delighting in chaos seemed to make that small mole at the corner of his eye come alive with mischief.
Shen Xihe withdrew her gaze and took hold of her reins: "Let's go."
Xiao Huayong's intention to pit Xiao Changqing against Xiao Changyan was already inevitable. Xiao Changyan was already an enemy, and Xiao Changqing was no friend either. Such was life in the imperial family - constant mutual suspicion and probing. As long as one didn't withdraw like the Sixth Prince Xiao Changyu had, getting embroiled in these schemes was inevitable.
Shen Xihe didn't think Xiao Huayong was doing anything wrong. As long as it didn't harm the people of Dengzhou, she wouldn't interfere with whatever he planned to do.
"As you command." Xiao Huayong even played the fool, pretending to be amusing as he swayed and followed Shen Xihe like an eager servant.
The couple traveled smoothly along the way. As long as Xiao Huayong didn't stir up trouble, no trouble would find them.
Meanwhile, Xiao Changyan's expression was extremely grim. Not even enemies attacking from all sides on the battlefield had ever clouded his judgment, but the gradually gathered intelligence now was causing him to lose his discernment.
All signs pointed to the person he was looking for being his fifth brother, Prince Xin - Xiao Changqing.When rumors predicted by the Imperial Observatory spread in Dengzhou, they triggered civil unrest. Then the emergence of the Strange Stone further entangled the Crown Prince, complicating matters immensely. By now, he was personally escorting the Crown Prince and his consort...
"Your Highness, Prince Xin's men have already killed several of our scouts," Xiao Changyan's advisor said with fury.
"Something feels amiss about this situation..." Yet Xiao Changyan couldn't articulate why it felt wrong.
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