“No.” Shen Xihe firmly refused.

Last time in the Eastern Palace, Xiao Huayong had mentioned this pet name given to him by the Empress Dowager. At that time, Shen Xihe was focused on testing Xiao Huayong and didn’t feel any awkwardness about it. But hearing it again today made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Xiao Huayong chuckled softly, clearly in good spirits, and went to wash up briefly under her puzzled gaze.

Thanks to A Xi’s medicine and acupuncture, Shen Xihe recovered quickly. In the morning, she had prepared a pot of meat porridge with simple ingredients – just meat and rice, along with some medicinal herbs. The aroma was exceptionally fresh and pleasant.

When Shen Xihe took a bowl to serve the porridge, Xiao Huayong hurriedly came over to take it from her: “Let me.”

Without standing on ceremony, Shen Xihe released the bowl. Though she was skilled at cooking, she neither particularly enjoyed nor disliked preparing food.

Xiao Huayong first served a bowl for Shen Xihe, then one for himself. Noticing two more empty bowls, he raised his eyebrows and looked up to ask A Xi and Mo Yu gently: “Would you two like some porridge?”

A Xi had been craning his neck waiting, as the rich aroma had already made his stomach growl.

However, when he met Xiao Huayong’s gaze – despite the smiling face and gentle tone – he felt inexplicably uneasy.

A Xi instinctively shook his head: “This humble one… doesn’t like porridge.”

After speaking, A Xi internally wept. He did like porridge, especially the kind his mistress made – he had never smelled such a wonderful aroma before.

Mo Yu was Shen Xihe’s maid and the most indifferent one at that. She was exactly like Shen Xihe, completely unable to read anyone’s expressions except her mistress’s. She wasn’t intimidated by Xiao Huayong and stepped forward herself: “I wouldn’t dare trouble Your Highness to serve porridge.”

With that, she took a bowl. Her reaction didn’t anger Xiao Huayong; rather, it earned a trace of his approval.

However, approval aside, he smiled and handed the ladle to Mo Yu. Before she could grasp it, he let go. Though Mo Yu’s reflexes were quick enough to catch it, Xiao Huayong flicked a pearl he had pulled from his belt, striking Mo Yu’s arm.

Mo Yu’s hand loosened, and the ladle fell to the ground.

The noise startled Shen Xihe, who turned to see the fallen ladle: “Pick it up and wash it.”

“Yes,” Mo Yu responded. Though she didn’t understand the Crown Prince’s intentions, she only followed Shen Xihe’s orders and wouldn’t report what had happened.

Seeing Mo Yu’s wooden inability to read the situation, A Xi took out some dried food from his pack to share with her as she washed the ladle: “Have some dried food.”

Mo Yu wasn’t picky about food, and since A Xi was also one of Shen Xihe’s people, she didn’t refuse his offering and began eating.

After placing down the cleaned ladle, she didn’t serve any porridge. By the time Mo Yu finished her dried food, there was no porridge left in the pot.

Xiao Huayong asked Shen Xihe: “Would you like more?”

Shen Xihe had a small appetite and shook her head. Xiao Huayong then quickly finished the porridge in his bowl, poured all the remaining porridge into it, and seeing there was still more, quickly finished another bowl. The remainder was exactly enough for one more bowl.

Shen Xihe: …

Xiao Huayong drank contentedly, then said: “I haven’t eaten since coming to look for you yesterday.”

This wasn’t a lie – he truly hadn’t eaten anything since setting out to find Shen Xihe, and even three bowls of porridge hadn’t fully satisfied his hunger.

Shen Xihe looked at him suspiciously, then inadvertently noticed a pearl near the bottom of the pot, and her gaze moved to his belt.

Xiao Huayong followed her gaze and said very naturally: “Oh? When did I lose a pearl? I didn’t even notice.”

A Xi’s lips twitched. He had seen clearly that it was the pearl His Highness himself had pulled off to strike Mo Yu!

But he dared not say anything!

Mo Yu was a woman of few words, and since the Crown Prince held such an esteemed position, she wouldn’t argue over such a harmless matter, though she didn’t quite understand why the Crown Prince had done this.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside. Mo Yu quickly moved to investigate. It was Xiao Huayong’s guard captain who had led Mo Yu up the mountain: “Your Highness, His Majesty plans to slay the snake in half an hour.”

“Proceed as planned,” Xiao Huayong said simply.

As the guard captain withdrew, Xiao Huayong remained seated motionless, directing A Xi to clean and pack up: “Leave these items here.”

“Your Highness, shall we go down and take a look?” Shen Xihe stood up.

Xiao Huayong grabbed her wrist: “It’s dangerous.”

The reason Xiao Huayong hadn’t let Shen Xihe return to the palace immediately was that he knew Emperor Youning would certainly want to slay the snake when he saw it, and he needed the snake’s gallbladder. But the snake’s strength was difficult to estimate. Though he had poisoned it last night, the poison still hadn’t taken effect, showing how resilient it was.

There would surely be a fierce battle below, and staying here would be safest.

“We’ll stay here and wait for news,” Xiao Huayong said.

Shen Xihe didn’t insist otherwise. If Xiao Huayong said this, he must have made proper arrangements.

“Your Highness, do you hope for casualties in this fierce battle?” For some reason, Shen Xihe suddenly wanted to ask.

“You’re wondering if I’ve set up this situation to take lives… such as His Majesty’s…” Xiao Huayong smiled faintly.

Xiao Huayong wasn’t displeased; rather, he was delighted. That someone like Shen Xihe would ask such a question meant she saw him as someone trustworthy. Although this trust had nothing to do with love, it was enough to please him.

Shen Xihe had asked without intending to hide her thoughts and suspicions and nodded in acknowledgment.

“I suggested using poison precisely because I don’t want His Majesty to lose his life here,” Xiao Huayong was equally frank. “If His Majesty were to die now, it would leave many hidden troubles, and I’m not ready to ascend the throne.”

Shen Xihe smiled at him: “There’s Prince Xin and Prince Dai in the palace, and Prince Jing commanding the army.”

This time, neither Prince Xin Xiao Changqin nor Prince Dai Xiao Changzhen had come – one was mourning his deceased wife, the other his mother.

Prince Jing held military power in the South. If the Emperor and princes met with misfortune at the hunting grounds, Princes Xin and Dai could control the court while Prince Jing would lead his troops into the imperial city, throwing the realm into chaos.

“That’s one reason,” Xiao Huayong no longer concealed his thoughts. “Also, His Majesty’s private troops would be left leaderless, and with external enemies surrounding us, internal strife would invite foreign invasion. An unstable empire would only cause suffering for the common people.”

Hearing his words, Shen Xihe had a thought: “Your Highness has a benevolent heart. If one day, Your Highness had to choose between ascending to the throne, which would cause the people to suffer from war, or stepping aside to protect the people at the cost of your life, what would Your Highness choose?”

“Oh? You want to hear the truth?” Xiao Huayong asked with a smile.

Shen Xihe: “The truth.”

“The truth is, if there were no you in this world for me to care about, I would sacrifice myself to save the realm,” Xiao Huayong’s lips curved in a faint smile, his eyes intense, gentle as spring waters stirring. “But if you need my protection, I can only fail all under heaven.”