"An inevitable battle," Shen Xihe also sighed softly.
She lifted her gaze to the boundless blue sky, where drifting clouds were reflected in her obsidian-dark pupils, as if seeing through thousands of miles to land upon the soil of Liangzhou.
Since the ambush in the capital, Bu Shulin had vanished without a trace. Various forces had cast a wide net, following every clue, yet all trails were abruptly cut off mid-way, as if this person had evaporated into thin air.
From then on, finding Bu Shulin was like searching for a needle in a vast ocean.
Three days later, someone finally discovered traces of Bu Shulin and deduced she was heading toward Liangzhou. Outside Liangzhou city, she encountered the encirclement of His Majesty's Invincible Army. Fortunately, she had chosen to move under cover of night to cross mountains into Liangzhou. The two forces clashed in the silent, dark depths of the mountains without alerting local authorities, avoiding a pincer attack.
The high-hanging moon illuminated splattered blood as the scent of gore spread, provoking roars from nocturnal beasts. The commotion kept villagers at the mountain's foothills on edge until dawn gradually brought calm.
The village chief organized a group of strong men to investigate the mountain, fearing villagers wouldn't dare sleep at night and couldn't endure prolonged vigilance. If truly fierce beasts approached, they could report to authorities for preparedness.
Unexpectedly, they were met with dismembered limbs and unrecognizable corpses. The scene bore signs of struggle but was dominated by animal footprints. The chief hastily led the villagers away and reported to officials.
The county magistrate under Liangzhou's jurisdiction arrived swiftly. From the bloody remnants, they managed to retrieve several tokens belonging to the Shu Southern Royal Manor. Without delay, these were sent to the prefect's residence, who then dispatched riders to rush them to the capital.
"Outside Liangzhou city, over thirty bodies were pieced together. Based on attire, we can determine at least four different forces were involved," Xiao Huayong informed Shen Xihe after court adjourned, sharing the morning's discussions.
Naturally, this Bu Shulin was an imposter, arranged by him. Tokens from the Shu Southern Royal Manor were easily obtainable in whatever quantity he desired.
Standing in Xiao Huayong's study, Shen Xihe faced the map hanging on the wall, her eyes deepening. "You intend to lure them into the Jialing River."
Xiao Huayong strode to her side, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze also fixed on the map. His midnight-dark eyes locked onto the Jialing River. "If we engage on land, His Majesty holds excessive advantage. The Jialing River is where true skill will prevail."
Though he spoke of equal footing, the battlefield Xiao Huayong prepared favored his strategic setups.
"The Jialing River is better—it won't disturb the common people," Shen Xihe remarked calmly.
Xiao Huayong couldn't help but smile. "Youyou truly cares for the populace."
No matter the situation, her first thought was always for the people.
Shen Xihe glanced at him sideways before asking, "With four forces clashing in Liangzhou, besides His Majesty, are the other two Prince Zhao and Prince Jing?"
"No," Xiao Huayong refuted, a spark of interest igniting in his eyes. "The second prince didn't move. It was the eighth prince's people and one group of unknown origin."
"Unknown origin?" Shen Xihe expressed surprise that even Xiao Huayong hadn't uncovered their background.
"Their origins remain unclear for now," Xiao Huayong confirmed with a nod.This is extremely intriguing. The most anxious Xiao Changmin actually remained inactive, as if he hadn't been deceived by Xiao Huayong. He clearly sent people rushing over, yet chose to sit back and watch, which seemed somewhat unlike his usual style.
What surprised Xiao Huayong even more was the sudden appearance of a group whose motives were unclear. Unlike His Majesty and Xiao Changyan who wanted Bu Shulin dead, this group aimed to capture her alive.
"Capture her alive?" Shen Xihe's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "What good would capturing A Lin do?"
The Prince of Shunan was already dead. Capturing Bu Shulin couldn't possibly threaten Bu Tuohai. Could they still believe that capturing Bu Shulin would make her switch allegiance? Otherwise, without any benefit, what would be the point of capturing Bu Shulin?
"If Worldly Son Bu were my enemy, I would also capture her." Xiao Huayong presented another possibility to Shen Xihe. "Only by having the real one in my hands could I create a fake one to take over the Shunan princedom and its military power."
"Aside from His Majesty and Jing Wang, who else would want the Shunan military power?" Shen Xihe lowered her gaze in deep thought.
Only ambitious princes would dare to covet military power. Currently, besides Jing Wang, only Xiao Changmin, Xiao Changtian, and Xiao Changqing remained...
If Xiao Changmin had sent people, he couldn't have deployed another group, and it was unlikely that Xiao Changmin's men could escape Xiao Huayong's notice.
Both Xiao Changtian and Xiao Changqing were possibilities. Xiao Changtian appeared indifferent to contention, but no one knew what he truly thought in secret. After all, he had a consort with sky-high ambitions and ruthless determination.
Ever since Li Yanyan tried to win her over two years ago and was rejected, she had been behaving properly, causing no trouble and forming no close alliances. Shen Xihe didn't believe she had given up or accepted her fate—she was merely waiting for the right moment to strike.
Xiao Changqing was even harder for Shen Xihe to judge. After Lady Gu passed away, he seemed to have lost his drive all at once. His determination to claim the throne appeared to have shifted to indifference, and he hadn't made any further plans since then...
"Let's take it step by step. The fox will eventually show its tail." Xiao Huayong wasn't in a hurry to uncover this person's motives. He lightly tapped the table with his slender fingers. "Compared to that, I'm more curious about why Second Brother has changed his temperament."
Shen Xihe's eyebrows lifted slightly. She remained silent. This definitely wasn't due to Yu Sangning's influence. Yu Sangning didn't hold that much sway over Xiao Changmin. Unless Xiao Changmin was in a desperate situation, he would never listen to a mere woman like Yu Sangning.
Meanwhile, at Zhao Wang's residence, Xiao Changmin had just received the news. After reading it, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Your Highness, has Worldly Son Bu's whereabouts still not been found?" his trusted aide couldn't help but ask.
"The poison was administered to the guard serving by Worldly Son Bu's side. The men I sent followed the trail toward Qizhou and are now heading straight for Minzhou. Could it be that Worldly Son Bu intends to flee to Tubo?" Xiao Changmin wondered in confusion. "We still haven't caught up with her yet."
Bu Shulin was unaware, and even Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe hadn't anticipated that Xiao Changmin had poisoned Bu Shulin's trusted aide, Yinshan.
Bu Shulin was a regular at the brothel, which was owned by Xiao Changmin. Before Bu Shulin's one-night affair with Cui Jinbai was exposed, Yinshan often accompanied Bu Shulin to the brothel and had long been targeted. If Bu Shulin, as the Shunan Prince Heir, hadn't regularly had doctors check her pulse, Xiao Changmin would have actually tried to scheme against Bu Shulin herself.As a second choice, he selected Yinshan beside Bu Shulin. This gu did not harm people but merely lived inside the human body. As humans consume grains, they excrete waste, which would carry a particular scent that attracted another type of small flying insect to follow the trail.
The people he sent to Liangzhou were merely a diversion to avoid arousing suspicion.
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