After sending a bowl of wontons, Shen Xihe decided to personally visit to express her gratitude the next day.
"Your Highness, your hand..." Shen Xihe noticed several of Xiao Huayong's fingers were bandaged and couldn't help her curiosity.
Tianyuan, standing behind Xiao Huayong, hurriedly lowered his head, desperately suppressing his disobediently twitching lips.
Having served the Crown Prince since he was five, Tianyuan had always known him to be brilliant and perceptive—whether studying literature, martial arts, or any subject, His Highness grasped things faster and with deeper understanding than others. He had always believed there was nothing Xiao Huayong couldn't master with ease.
Never did he expect His Highness would be defeated by a kitchen knife!
Xiao Huayong gazed at his bandaged fingers, his eyes momentarily vacant, before casually remarking, "The weather has turned cold... cough cough... I developed chilblains as a child in the Taoist temple. When it gets cold... cough cough... they tend to recur."
Shen Xihe subtly turned her head. Beyond the carved window lattice, maple leaves blazed red, osmanthus flowers bloomed richly, and chrysanthemums flourished vibrantly.
She had never suffered from chilblains herself but had heard they recur in cold weather. Still, she faintly felt it might be too early for that?
Meeting Shen Xihe's half-believing, half-doubting gaze, Xiao Huayong coughed lightly before murmuring, "My constitution is weak..."
So it was because of his weak constitution that they recurred easily?
Though not entirely convinced, Shen Xihe didn't press further: "I came today to thank Your Highness for your assistance."
"It was but a small matter... County Princess need not trouble yourself..." Xiao Huayong's voice was frail. After speaking, he added with a hint of suggestion, "County Princess... cough cough... the wontons you made yesterday were quite... delicious."
Shen Xihe pretended not to catch his implication: "I'm glad Your Highness didn't find them disagreeable."
"How could I find them disagreeable..." Xiao Huayong urgently denied, triggering a fit of rapid coughing that took him a while to recover from. "I've loved wontons since childhood... cough cough... For some reason, others' versions always smell... cough cough... greasy to me."
Tianyuan: ...
His master was truly... shameless in his efforts to scam another bowl of County Princess's wontons!
If those words got out, wouldn't he worry about Jiuzhang—who meticulously prepared His Highness's meals—crying right before him?
Shen Xihe hadn't expected Xiao Huayong to be so blunt. She could only say, "Zhaoning will write down the recipe for Your Highness."
"Cough cough... I'd be indebted to the County Princess." Xiao Huayong seemed to have been waiting specifically for the recipe.
Tianyuan promptly instructed a eunuch to prepare the Four Treasures of the Study.
Shen Xihe asked seriously, "My abrupt visit today is not only to express gratitude but also to seek clarification on another matter."
Xiao Huayong: "County Princess, please ask..."
"How did Your Highness come to know about the affairs in Anxi?" This was Shen Xihe's primary purpose.
Since Xiao Huayong had expressed his intention to ally with her, she saw no need to ponder or investigate indirectly—she would ask him straightforwardly.
Shen Xihe reasoned that if Xiao Huayong had learned so quickly, he either had people in the northwest as well or was monitoring Xiao Changying. Whichever it was, it proved he commanded considerable resources.
However, based on the fact that Xiao Huayong had only acted after Xiao Changying approached her, the latter possibility seemed more likely.
"I won't hide it from you..." Xiao Huayong's sickly face revealed a feeble smile. "I have people in every royal residence."
Shen Xihe's eyes flickered. He said "royal residences," not specifically the Liewang Manor!
Meaning he had informants in every prince's estate!
For someone who left the palace at eight years old to achieve this was truly astonishing.
"Your Highness..." Shen Xihe lifted her gaze, her eyes fixed on his pallid face. "What are your views on the northwest?"A faint smile touched Xiao Huayong's lips: "The Northwest King is valiant and skilled in warfare... his heir is heroic and unmatched—cough—as long as the Turks remain undefeated, the Northwest cannot be without fierce generals. Separating civil and military governance is ill-suited for the Northwest."
"In previous years, the three Protectorate Headquarters and three Military Commands governed jointly—was that not preferable?" Shen Xihe chuckled lightly.
Xiao Huayong shook his head gently: "Mutual restraint is suitable for the capital and local regions, but not for border territories—cough... Everyone has selfish motives... Some pursue profit with ruthless ferocity... Ultimately, it's the border people who suffer..."
Before Shen Yueshan's time, the Northwest was governed by six Protectorate Headquarters and Military Commands sharing power. While no territory was lost to foreign enemies, conflicts were frequent. Foreign tribes easily stirred trouble, leading to constant warfare that plunged the Northwest's people into misery.
Only when Shen Yueshan became the Northwest King, directly administering all six commands and unifying the Northwest's development with equal emphasis on civil and military affairs, did the region truly achieve recuperation and freedom from war.
"Your Highness also said everyone has selfish motives," Shen Xihe remarked. "The Northwest King's power is sufficient to carve out his own territory. How could any sovereign tolerate that?"
Indeed, one couldn't blame the Youning Emperor for distrusting Shen Yueshan. After Shen Yueshan reorganized the Northwest, the region grew increasingly prosperous, and foreign enemies trembled at his name. The simple-hearted commoners cared not who sat on the throne, but only respected whoever ensured their food, clothing, and peaceful livelihoods.
Shen Yueshan became a god-like figure in the Northwest, where people gradually forgot the Youning Emperor's existence. Even if Shen Yueshan harbored no greater ambitions, who could guarantee the same for Shen Yungan? And even if Shen Yungan remained loyal, what about his future sons?
The Northwest—the entire Longyou Province—hadn't it been a unified kingdom during the era of the Five Domains and Sixteen States?
Moreover, the Northwest bordered Qinzhou to the east, stretched beyond the deserts to the west, connected to Shu and Tibet to the south, and reached the northern deserts. Beyond the Northwest lay direct access to the Central Plains.
Who could rest easy allowing such strategic land to remain under another family's control for generations?
Should any ambitious heir arise, it would be nurturing a tiger to court calamity—endangering the entire realm.
"Eliminate the Turks, reorganize the military, strengthen the imperial guards, and purify internal governance," Xiao Huayong offered Shen Xihe these twelve characters.
Destroy the Turks, and the Northwest would face no powerful external threats. Reorganize the military to achieve unification, concentrating military power in the emperor's hands.
Strengthen the training of capital guards to create a force surpassing the Northwest Army, making any rebellious thoughts among Northwest commanders untenable.
Purify the Northwest's internal administration by appointing officials truly capable of governing the region with priority given to the people's welfare.
After speaking, Xiao Huayong added softly: "The key lies in employing the right people."
With the right appointments, the Northwest would naturally remain peaceful and loyal to the court.
"Not a task achievable in one day," Shen Xihe sighed softly.
She gained new understanding of Xiao Huayong—a Crown Prince with profound vision and lofty aspirations. Should he become emperor, he would surely be celebrated as a wise ruler.
"Your Highness, do you know what I seek?" Shen Xihe lifted the warm teacup, taking a small sip.
"The Shen family's safety, and the Northwest... free from turmoil," Xiao Huayong responded with a faint smile.
His gentle smile bloomed across his pale face, evoking both familiarity and involuntary pity.
"Can Your Highness grant this?" Shen Xihe asked.
"Yes," he answered cleanly and decisively, his words ringing with conviction.
Shen Xihe watched him quietly, her calm eyes revealing no emotion. Suddenly, she smiled: "Your Highness, I am someone who trusts no one, nor would I ever entrust my life and family to others."
She didn't say she distrusted him specifically—only telling him what kind of person she was.Xiao Huayong's pale lips curved into a wider smile as he said to her, "What a coincidence, so am I."
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