Chapter 772: The Warrior Severing His Wrist
Had Yu Xiang known Shen Xihe would make such a brilliant move, he might have spared his own life and shifted all blame onto Xiao Changyan.
Wasn't his capture by Shen Yungan entirely due to Xiao Changyan's distrust of his intelligence? The insufficient troops assigned to him proved his innocence - his captivity fundamentally demonstrated he hadn't colluded with Shen Yungan.
As for how Shen Yungan obtained the Military Tally and codes to mobilize official ships and deceive Xiao Changfeng - these weren't things a captive should know. If they wanted answers, they should interrogate Shen Yungan himself! At most, he'd be guilty of dereliction of duty, for which Xiao Changyan bore most responsibility.
"Though Yu Xiang is despicable, I'm a woman of my word," Shen Xihe said seriously. "I promised him a way out if he switched sides, and I won't discard him after use."
Yu Xiang wasn't a good man - he deserved to die. But so what? A promise was a promise. She couldn't breach her vow just because the other party deserved death.
"Youyou speaks like a true master..." Xiao Huayong's eyes filled with laughter.
Because against someone like Yu Xiang, she could easily take his life if she wished, hence she didn't care about those opportunities to casually eliminate him.
Even if it weren't Yu Xiang but someone more formidable, she would still honor her word without betrayal or capriciousness.
"Though his death brought us considerable benefits," Shen Xihe glanced at Xiao Huayong.
Now all blame fell on Xiao Changyan. Faced with ironclad evidence, he couldn't defend himself.
When Your Majesty receives the letter from "Yu Xiang" dated before the incident from the Jiannan Governor, he'll question why Xiao Changyan didn't trust Yu Xiang's intelligence?
Could Xiao Changyan admit he had someone versed in the Soul-seizing Art monitoring Shen Yungan's every move?
Of course not!
Because confessing would be futile, only revealing greater incompetence. His proud, ever-successful Soul-seizing Art had become the blade that stabbed him in the back!
Xiao Changyan was completely finished this time.
Your Majesty's wrath, the court's condemnation, and the deaths of thousands of elite soldiers drowned in the river - all became his burden to bear.
"One should not overly rely on their sharpest tools," Xiao Huayong sighed softly.
Xiao Changyan lost because he depended too much on his Soul-seizing Art, believing it invincible. Otherwise, with his sharpness and wit, he wouldn't have so easily staked everything on Shen Yungan's message delivered by Mo Yao.
"The Soul-seizing Art can only be broken by the caster himself, as the medium varies too widely. Even those knowledgeable in the art find it hard to decipher."
Shen Xihe went through all this trouble mainly to understand the mysterious Soul-seizing Art. Xiao Changyan's advisor, captured by Shen Yungan, was tortured and lifted the spell on Mo Yao.
Though he revealed everything he knew about countering the Soul-seizing Art, the results didn't satisfy Shen Xihe.
"Are you worried..." Xiao Huayong looked down at Shen Xihe, "...about me?"
"Yes." Shen Xihe nodded. "You once told me you fell under such a spell in childhood. Jing Wang was younger than you then - it couldn't have been his doing."
"Some dangers, once revealed, must be guarded against."Xiao Huayong held Shen Xihe's hand, his gaze falling upon the pomegranate blossoms swaying in the wind outside the window. The crimson flecks in his eyes dotted his profound dark pupils like flames in the night, emanating an eerie glow.
No one knew what he was thinking.
The news of Yu Xiang's sacrifice reached the capital that same evening. His Majesty had just awakened, his complexion exceedingly poor, yet he remained unclear about what exactly had transpired at Minjiang or why this time's losses were so severe.
For the moment, he merely dispatched someone to inform the Yu residence.
What Shen Xihe never expected was that very night, something shocking would occur at Prince Zhao's mansion.
It was said that upon learning of her father's death, Princess Consort Zhao, in her grief and indignation, went to seek out Prince Zhao. Coincidentally, Prince Zhao was amusing himself with a concubine. Although there was a distinction between ruler and subject—Xiao Changmin being a prince—he was also a son-in-law. With his father-in-law's body not yet cold, Prince Zhao's revelry enraged Princess Consort Zhao, who immediately sought to punish the concubine. In the process of protecting the concubine, Prince Zhao pushed and shoved, causing Princess Consort Zhao to fall.
Yu Sangning, who was four months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage. This alarmed the Imperial Hospital, necessitating a report to Shen Xihe, who oversaw the six palaces.
After hearing this, Shen Xihe fell into thoughtful contemplation.
"The Yu father and daughter indeed possess the courage to sever a limb like a warrior," Xiao Huayong praised verbally, yet his tone and gaze were filled with sarcasm.
They both understood that Yu Sangning had sensed trouble upon learning of the Shunan Prince Heir's safe return to Shu. Regardless of whether Xiao Changmin would be purged by the Eastern Palace, the bottom line was that Xiao Changmin had no future prospects, and she needed to extricate herself early.
Now it was perfect: Xiao Huayong, as a son-in-law, indulged in pleasure and debauchery while his father-in-law's body was still warm—an act of filial impiety.
Injuring his principal wife to protect a concubine, resulting in the loss of their child—favoring the concubine over the wife—was an act of inhumanity and injustice.
But it didn't end there. After Yu Sangning woke from her miscarriage, she neither cried nor made a scene. Instead, she went directly to the Vermilion Bird Gate and knelt, refusing to rise. She openly declared herself unworthy of being a royal consort due to her lack of virtue, obedience, and her jealousy and impurity. Holding Xiao Changmin's letter of divorce, she came to confess her crimes before His Majesty.
Shen Xihe had just finished listening to the external report when someone arrived from the Hall of Diligent Governance. Such matters were delegated by His Majesty to Shen Xihe to handle.
Involving the royal family's dignity and becoming so unsightly, it was reasonable to assign this to Shen Xihe as the Crown Princess in charge of the six palaces.
Just as Shen Xihe was about to rise, Xiao Huayong pressed her shoulder: "With Grandmother here, you need only observe."
It wasn't that Shen Xihe pushed the matter to the Empress Dowager; rather, as soon as Shen Xihe received His Majesty's imperial edict, the Empress Dowager had already sent people to carry Yu Sangning into the palace and summoned Xiao Changmin.
Shen Xihe still had to make an appearance, so she went with Xiao Huayong to the Empress Dowager's palace. Upon arrival, Xiao Changmin was already kneeling at the palace gate.
Shen Xihe glanced at Xiao Changmin—disheveled, frowning, his clothes seemingly hastily arranged, looking rather wretched.
Entering the Empress Dowager's palace, Shen Xihe found Yu Sangning had cried herself unconscious, and the Empress Dowager's face was as dark as water: "Bring that scoundrel in!"
Soon, Xiao Changmin followed the eunuch inside. At the Empress Dowager's loud command to kneel, he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Tell me, are these the actions of a human? How are you any different from a beast?" the Empress Dowager scolded angrily.
Xiao Changmin seemed to want to speak but hesitated, his face pale, his eyes still carrying a trace of confusion: "Grandmother... your grandson doesn't know... doesn't know how it came to this..."Xiao Changmin genuinely did not understand. When he and Yu Sangning had a disagreement over Bu Shulin’s matter and he returned in utter defeat, Yu Sangning even went so far as to mock him sarcastically. From then on, he no longer wished to engage with her. He had concubines and usually doted on one or two of them. After his return, he often stayed in the concubines’ quarters.
(End of Chapter)
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