Chapter 694: The Only Deception of a Lifetime
The early spring breeze brushed against the green willows along the riverbank, their slender branches swaying gently. The Eastern Palace had a small river, and the willows by its banks were exceptionally verdant. Shen Xihe wore a goose-yellow silk skirt today, with layers of translucent gauze draped over her shoulders like white mist. A pale green silk shawl wrapped around her arms and floated down from her shoulders, swaying beneath the rustling green willows, making her features appear exceptionally tender.
Shen Xihe usually favored cool hues like snow white, moon white, sky blue, and lilac. This was likely the first time in the three years since Xiao Huayong had known her that he saw her dressed in such warm, sunrise-like attire.
She stood by the riverbank, holding a Ding kiln porcelain dish adorned with a double-fish pattern, filled with fish food. Her fingers unconsciously scattered a few pellets onto the water's surface, attracting a flurry of koi fish. Yet her gaze wasn't fixed on these playful fish; instead, she looked ahead as if seeing through the dense riverside woods, beyond the towering palace walls, and past the bright sky, settling on some distant, unknown place.
Xiao Huayong stood at the bridgehead and raised a finger to Biyu, gently shaking it twice to signal her not to disturb Shen Xihe.
Zhenzhu, who had returned with Xiao Huayong, silently led Biyu away. Tianyuan also tactfully withdrew. Xiao Huayong quietly moved to Shen Xihe's side, his expression gentle, his eyes soft, watching her silently.
Yet as time slipped by, Shen Xihe maintained this posture. Were it not for her fingers occasionally scattering fish food, she might have been mistaken for a statue by the river.
In the end, it was Xiao Huayong who broke the silence. He cleared his throat softly, stepped forward, and stood beside her. "What has Youyou so lost in thought?"
He had been standing there for at least the time it takes an incense stick to burn, yet she hadn't noticed him at all. Xiao Huayong felt a twinge of discontent.
When it came to major matters involving Shen Xihe, he never indulged in petty emotions. But in the small, everyday interactions, he couldn't help being narrow-minded—a trait he couldn't control.
Shen Xihe withdrew her gaze but didn't look at him. Instead, she lowered her eyes and tossed another handful of fish food into the water. "I was waiting for you—waiting for you to speak."
Before he had even reached her side, she had caught the distinct, complex, and potent scent of medicinal herbs that always clung to him. Whenever he appeared in his true form, this aroma was noticeable even to ordinary people nearby.
Only when he slipped away secretly, hiding his tracks for unspeakable purposes, would he use an incense formula to wash away the medicinal scent and instead perfume himself with his beloved Duojialuo. But Duojialuo was subtle; unless they embraced, only someone with Shen Xihe's keen sense of smell could detect it.
Her words were light and calm, but he knew she must have asked Xie Yunhuai about the antidote. She hadn't insisted on accompanying him because she was waiting for him to tell her himself.
She was so trusting and forthright. He deeply believed that whatever he said now, she would believe without seeking confirmation from Xie Yunhuai. That was the kind of woman she was—once she trusted, she never doubted.
Xiao Huayong gazed at the figure before him, so gentle that even her wind-tousled hair seemed soft to the core. In this moment, he understood that she might have dressed this way intentionally. She was telling him that here and now, she was merely his wife. Between them, there were no other matters—only the unwavering trust shared between husband and wife."Youyou..." Xiao Huayong gazed at the lake surface for a long moment before slowly turning to face Shen Xihe. "My poison has reached a point beyond remedy. We must make preparations early. Also..."
Before he could finish, Shen Xihe abruptly turned as well, now facing him directly. Her obsidian-like eyes, usually carrying an impenetrable aloofness when she looked at others, now held a faint glimmer of moisture.
Though her eyes didn't redden, Xiao Huayong clearly caught that fleeting shimmer - like a shooting star vanishing instantly, yet it buried itself deep in his chest, piercing him with such sharp pain that he momentarily forgot what he meant to say next.
For a long moment, they stood in silence facing each other.
One appeared restrained and calm on the surface while turmoil raged within. Her hands hidden in her flowing sleeves clenched the layered gauze so tightly her knuckles turned white.
The other felt his throat constrict, his expression seemingly normal while his heart tightened as if countless nerves were pulling at it from all directions. The dense, spreading pain traveled from his chest along these nerves to every limb.
He had partly deceived her. Xie Yunhuai's method remained uncertain even to its proposer. If she knew, he couldn't predict whether she would have him relinquish his position as Crown Prince for this uncertain chance at treatment - embarking on an extremely difficult path that, if failed, could doom the entire Shen clan to eternal ruin.
Or whether she would coldly pretend ignorance and remain unmoved.
Neither outcome pleased him, hence his concealment - the only time in his life he'd ever deceive her.
If he miraculously returned, he'd accept any punishment. But if he never came back, at least she wouldn't have exhausted everything only to trade hope for disappointment.
This was Xiao Huayong's carefully considered decision.
Shen Xihe felt a deep ache spreading from behind her eyes. Suddenly lifting her swan-like slender neck, she glanced at the cloud-drifting sky before calmly lowering her gaze moments later. "How long... remains."
Xiao Huayong had never heard her voice so dry, deep, and faintly fragile. Not even when she first arrived in the capital, before taking the Bone Shedding Pill, when her health was at its weakest. Her backbone had always been supported by integrity, her proud spirit evident in every word and action.
The pain in his chest intensifying, Xiao Huayong dared not look at Shen Xihe. His voice turned gravelly: "Less than... a year."
He wouldn't await death passively. By year's end he would leave to undergo Xie Yunhuai's potentially doomed detoxification attempt - staking everything on this desperate gamble. Whether he could return remained entirely unknown.
"But... there's still next year?" Clearly it was said he wouldn't live past twenty-four, yet next year he would only be twenty-four.
"The Crown Prince won't survive two cycles." Xiao Huayong also recalled this prophecy. Perhaps he should trace its origins - aside from the poisoner, who else could so accurately predict his poisoning's timeline?
These "two cycles" allowed different interpretations. Those wishing his early demise naturally hoped he wouldn't pass his twenty-fourth birthday. Those reluctant to lose him might believe he wouldn't survive his twenty-fifth.
Shen Xihe clearly belonged to the latter.
Silence fell again - oppressive and heavy.
The spring scenery remained perfect: emerald willows dripping green, delicate blossoms blooming bright, caressed by gentle breezes under warm sunlight.Such a beautiful scene, yet in Shen Xihe's eyes at this moment, it felt more oppressive than the dark clouds gathering before a storm.
Xiao Huayong took a deep breath and forced a smile as he said to Shen Xihe, "Youyou, in a few days, let's announce to the outside world that you are pregnant."
(End of Chapter)
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