That night, while someone deliberately stirred up spring waters, causing bitter flowers to bloom in the cold winter wind, elsewhere, plans fell through, leaving some to rage in their mansions.

The Prince Zhou and Prince Li’s mansions were caught in similar predicaments.

This evening, someone knocked on Prince Zhou’s door. Thinking it was a servant, he called for them to enter, but no one came in. When Prince Zhou eventually rose to open the door himself, he was greeted by two cold corpses falling toward him. No one knew how these corpses had made their way into Prince Zhou’s mansion. Furious, Prince Zhou severely punished all the night guards and thoroughly searched the premises, suspecting an infiltrator, but his efforts were fruitless.

Upon investigation, the corpses were identified as the assassins sent to kill Shen Miao earlier that day.

Prince Zhou felt uneasy and immediately sent word to Prince Jing. The two brothers planned to investigate the matter thoroughly.

As for Prince Li, the situation was even more blatant. Someone had thrown two corpses over the wall into his mansion, startling his guards. When the guards gave chase, they couldn’t find a trace of anyone. They later discovered that the corpses were the assassins Prince Li had dispatched to kill Shen Miao. Prince Li was extremely troubled and anxious. His assassins had been killed, cutting off his path—whoever did this was surely his enemy. It disturbed him that in the entire capital, his enemy’s subordinates were so skilled that they could evade all his mansion’s guards.

Meanwhile, Prince Zhou and Prince Jing were in conversation.

Prince Zhou asked, “Who do you think did it?”

Prince Jing pondered briefly, “Perhaps Prince Li.”

“I thought the same,” Prince Zhou nodded. “Perhaps he’s trying to threaten me, or he had the same idea as I did.”

“But Prince Li has always been outwardly cordial. He wouldn’t do something so confrontational,” Prince Jing shook his head. “It might be the Crown Prince’s doing.”

“The Crown Prince?” Prince Zhou paused, then nodded again. “All these years, the Crown Prince has claimed illness—who knows if that’s just a ruse? None of us has witnessed his methods. If he’s trying to incite conflict between me and Prince Li, the Crown Prince could benefit like the fisherman who profits from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam.”

“Indeed,” Prince Jing sighed. “But there’s someone else you shouldn’t forget—the Ninth Brother.”

“The Ninth? Forget about him,” Prince Zhou dismissed with a wave. “He may talk big, but he lacks the courage. He’s hardly active in court affairs—where would he get the connections? To infiltrate Prince Zhou’s mansion so smoothly, one would need at least a highly skilled subordinate.”

“I don’t know why, but I feel the Ninth isn’t as simple as he appears,” Prince Jing said. “Don’t underestimate him.”

“In any case,” Prince Zhou sighed, “this matter isn’t so simple. Whether it’s Prince Li or the Crown Prince, their intentions aren’t good. I’ll investigate further to see who’s behind this mischief.”

Prince Jing nodded in agreement.

Of course, neither Prince Zhou nor Prince Li knew that the person who had eliminated their assassins and returned them was neither the Crown Prince nor each other, but someone entirely unconnected to them. However, this tactic of shifting blame had indeed worked well—the strife among Ming Qi’s princes was unknowingly intensifying.

As time passed, while the Shen family anxiously sought a “suitable candidate,” the imperial edict from the Ming Qi royal family still hadn’t arrived. This wasn’t due to any other reason than the fact that Emperor Wenhui had recently been troubled by a certain matter.

He asked his son, the Crown Prince, “What does Da Liang mean by this? Are they trying to oppose Ming Qi? I’ve never seen such an arrogant person!”

The Crown Prince stammered, unsure what to say. Prince Rui of Da Liang had visited the palace once, and though no one knew what he had said to Emperor Wenhui, after he left, the Emperor flew into a rage, throwing tables and teacups—he nearly tore apart the Imperial Study.

The Crown Prince guessed that Prince Rui must have said something outrageous to make Emperor Wenhui lose his composure so dramatically.

Emperor Wenhui was indeed seething with anger. He understood Ming Qi’s national strength better than anyone—it was no longer as powerful as during the old Emperor’s time. Facing the slightly superior Qin and the prosperous and powerful Da Liang, there was little to be proud of. This tributary banquet, with its grand display, was merely an attempt to mask his insecurity and show Da Liang and Qin that Ming Qi still had some capability.

But this was just self-deception. Emperor Huangfu Hao of Qin might show surface respect, but in reality, he wasn’t much better. Due to Princess Ming An’s death, he still held the officials of the Ministry of Justice, and Ming Qi’s officials were busy trying to clear the Qin Princess’s grievances—it was embarrassing. Yet Emperor Wenhui dared not refuse, as he still hoped to ally with Qin against Da Liang.

As for Da Liang, there was even less to say. Prince Rui operated with his own set of rules. At least Emperor Huangfu Hao showed Emperor Wenhui some respect on the surface, but Prince Rui did as he pleased, showing no signs of respect. Emperor Wenhui had been consoling himself that it was just Prince Rui’s nature, but yesterday, when Prince Rui visited the palace and they talked in the Imperial Study, Emperor Wenhui had expressed his desire to establish good relations with Da Liang, only to be subtly rejected by Prince Rui.

Although not explicitly stated, the attitude left Emperor Wenhui with no face-saving room. As the ruler of a nation, he naturally became displeased, and his expression darkened. But Prince Rui didn’t care whether he was angry or not and casually mentioned several cities at the border between Ming Qi and Da Liang, implying that he wanted to reclaim them.

Emperor Wenhui’s expression changed immediately.

Those cities weren’t particularly large, but they contained several mines. The ore extracted from those mines was precisely what was needed to forge large weapons. The cities were situated right at the border between the Ming Qi and the Da Liang. In the past, Da Liang hadn’t paid much attention to them, and the cities were inhabited by Ming Qi citizens. Now, with these words, what did it mean? It meant that Da Liang had intentions of occupying these cities!

Even if Emperor Wenhui was incompetent in other matters, he was extremely sensitive about territorial issues. First, Da Liang would seize a few cities, but who knew what they would take next? Today they coveted these cities, tomorrow they might eye others, and the day after, what if they targeted the capital? Eventually, they might simply bring troops to flatten Ming Qi!

Ming Qi’s military strength couldn’t match Da Liang’s.

Prince Rui was an envoy sent by Da Liang, representing Emperor Yongle’s intentions. Prince Rui’s seemingly casual remarks revealed some of Da Liang’s ambitions. What made Emperor Wenhui inwardly distressed was that, even knowing the other’s ambitions, he didn’t dare to detain Prince Rui, this insolent individual. This was because he couldn’t bear Emperor Yongle’s wrath. Perhaps after allying with Qin, he might have some confidence, but with Ming Qi alone… he could only endure.

Being an emperor without dignity made Emperor Wenhui extremely frustrated.

“With Da Liang harboring such ambitions, who knows what they’ll do next. Your marriage to Shen Miao can wait,” Emperor Wenhui said. “I can’t afford to offend Shen Xin at this critical moment. If Shen Xin becomes dissatisfied with me and Da Liang exploits the situation, it would be problematic.”

The Crown Prince felt disappointed but knew better than to say much. He understood Emperor Wenhui’s temperament—at times like these, it was best to go along with him. So he said, “I’m not in a hurry, naturally, the major affairs take precedence. I didn’t expect Da Liang to harbor such sinister intentions; we must remain vigilant.”

Pleased with the Crown Prince’s response, Emperor Wenhui patted his shoulder and said, “I understand. Don’t worry, though Da Liang has such ambitions, I won’t sit idly by. Tomorrow I’ll discuss an alliance with the Qin Crown Prince. Once Qin learns of Da Liang’s ambitions, they’ll surely be alarmed. An alliance with Ming Qi would be natural. When that time comes, we won’t need to fear Da Liang anymore. I’ll personally issue an edict then—both the Shen family’s military power and the Shen girl will be yours.” Throughout his words, he treated Shen Miao as an object, certain she would fall into their hands.

The Crown Prince smiled and agreed, but inwardly blamed Prince Rui of Da Liang for saying such things to Emperor Wenhui at this time. The timing was too coincidental. The Ding Prince had just come up with this excellent plan, only for it to be ruined by Prince Rui’s few words, leaving the Crown Prince feeling quite displeased.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

…

When news returned from the palace that Shen Miao and the Crown Prince’s marriage had been temporarily shelved, although the reason was unknown, Princess Rongxin was relieved.

That day in the palace after seeing Shen Miao, she had her personal palace maid escort Shen Miao out while she personally went to see Emperor Wenhui. Emperor Wenhui was still courteous to Princess Rongxin. She told him she was very fond of Shen Miao and hoped he would reconsider his decision to marry her to the Crown Prince.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Wenhui flew into a rage, even bringing up the notion that “women shouldn’t discuss politics.” Princess Rongxin, being straightforward, retorted, “Shen Miao’s marriage is a woman’s affair; how did it become entangled with state affairs?” They immediately began arguing, and in the end, Emperor Wenhui became angry and had her “escorted” out of the palace.

That night, Princess Rongxin’s heart condition flared up again out of anger.

Fortunately, Emperor Wenhui hadn’t questioned why Princess Rongxin was doing this. Shen Miao had been rescued by Princess Rongxin several times when they met. To outsiders, it would seem the Princess and Shen Miao had a natural affinity, so it was understandable that Princess Rongxin treated Shen Miao specially. No one would suspect that Princess Rongxin’s protection of Shen Miao also stemmed from a desire to watch over her on Xie Jingxing’s behalf.

“This is good,” Princess Rongxin said to Lady Yang beside her. “I thought I couldn’t help her this time and felt very guilty. Now that it’s been temporarily shelved, there’s room for maneuver, and I can give her a response. Otherwise, in the underworld, I wouldn’t have the face to meet Jingxing.”

Lady Yang quickly consoled her, “If the young lord knew of the Princess’s sincere efforts, he would surely be comforted.”

As they were speaking, someone entered from outside. A palace maid curtsied and whispered, “Your Highness, people from the medical hall have brought the medicinal ingredient.”

Princess Rongxin was slightly startled and asked, “Wasn’t it all gone?”

Her heart condition had afflicted her for many years, with a specific prescription. Unfortunately, one of the medicinal ingredients in the prescription was extremely rare and difficult to find. There was only so much available each year, and almost all of it from the capital’s medical halls ended up at the Princess’s Mansion. When Xie Jingxing was still alive, he somehow managed to find plenty from outside sources every year, so Princess Rongxin never worried.

After Xie Jingxing died, the medicine from the medical halls returned to its previous state of being available one day and gone the next. As winter set in, the medicine became even harder to find. Princess Rongxin had been taking medicine without this ingredient for a long time. A few days ago, it was still said to be unavailable, so she hadn’t expected it to be delivered today.

The palace maid happily said, “The doctor at the medical hall said that yesterday a merchant from afar came to sell medicine, and among it was a large basket of that particular ingredient. The medical hall bought it all. The doctor said it’s enough to last until next year—what a coincidence!”

Lady Yang also smiled, “It seems we’ve had a stroke of luck.”

Princess Rongxin waved her hand dismissively, saying, “Send it to the kitchen.”

The palace maid acknowledged and left. After she was gone, Princess Rongxin gave a bitter laugh and sighed, “When Jingxing was around, he would send baskets of this medicinal ingredient regularly. How is it now considered a stroke of luck?”

Lady Yang knew she was thinking of Xie Jingxing and feeling sorrowful. Just as she was about to change the subject, Princess Rongxin said, “Help me to Xingzhi Courtyard.”

Lady Yang was startled. Xingzhi Courtyard was a compound within the Princess’s Mansion. After Princess Yuqing passed away, Princess Rongxin, furious at Xie Ding’s actions, had taken Xie Jingxing to live in her mansion for a period. Finding Xie Jingxing charming and lovable, she had specially ordered a courtyard built for him—Xingzhi Courtyard. Later, when Xie Ding took Xie Jingxing back, Princess Rongxin didn’t have Xingzhi Courtyard demolished. As Xie Jingxing grew up, he occasionally stayed at the Princess’s Mansion, lodging in Xingzhi Courtyard.

However, since Xie Jingxing died in battle two years ago, Princess Rongxin had ordered Xingzhi Courtyard sealed. Apart from daily cleaning by servants, no one was allowed to enter. She feared the reminders would bring back memories and had never set foot in Xingzhi Courtyard. Today, remarkably, for the first time in two years, she wanted to visit Xingzhi Courtyard.

Lady Yang didn’t dare disobey Princess Rongxin’s orders and somewhat worriedly supported her as they walked toward Xingzhi Courtyard. Princess Rongxin said, “Recently, I don’t know why, but I keep dreaming of Jingxing…” As she spoke, her expression became strange. Lady Yang noticed and was perplexed.

Princess Rongxin felt uneasy.

These past few days, she had been dreaming every night of a young man in purple robes wearing half a silver mask. She didn’t know who he was, so she reached out to remove his mask, revealing a face identical to Xie Jingxing’s, but he called her “Princess Rongxin.”

It was Prince Rui of Da Liang’s voice.

Princess Rongxin would wake up startled, her back drenched in sweat. She wondered if seeing Shen Miao and Prince Rui’s entanglement that day, and because of his childhood name, she had mixed Xie Jingxing and Prince Rui together, to the point of being haunted even in her dreams.

The more she thought about it, the more she missed Xie Jingxing, so she decided to visit Xingzhi Courtyard today.

As she pondered this, they arrived at Xingzhi Courtyard. The guards outside were surprised to see her—Princess Rongxin hadn’t set foot here for two years and had forbidden others from entering. The guards made way, and Princess Rongxin and Lady Yang entered.

The room was exactly as it had been two years ago. Because it was cleaned daily, not a speck of dust had settled, making it look new and tidy, as if time had stood still. Princess Rongxin vaguely felt that if she turned around, she would see that handsome young man lying on the bed with his legs crossed, carelessly eating an apple.

The shelves held all the little trinkets Xie Jingxing had enjoyed from childhood, and his old clothes were still draped over the chair.

Princess Rongxin walked over to the clothes, picked them up, and ran her hand over the patterns, reminiscing, “Just like before.”

Lady Yang didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say anything, fearing Princess Rongxin would sink into memories and become sad. So she said, “The gold thread is still new.”

Princess Rongxin laughed, “Jingxing was such a particular child. When he was young, we made him colorful clothes, but he refused to wear them. He only liked purple. I thought purple was too somber, unsuitable for children, and wanted to embroider flowers on his clothes, but he disliked that very much. Later, it was only when the palace embroiderer used gold thread to stitch subtle patterns on the hem and collar that he would wear them. He wanted elegance but didn’t want it to be too obvious on his person—always full of mischievous ideas.”

Lady Yang laughed along, “The young lord was precious like gold and jade. Purple is noble, and only the young lord could look so good wearing it. When Your Highness brought the young lord into the palace back then, others thought he was a prince.”

“He naturally had the bearing of someone from the royal family, even Princess Yuqing didn’t have such dignity,” Princess Rongxin also laughed. As she stroked the subtle patterns embroidered with gold thread on the hem, her laughter faded.

Her expression gradually became grave.

As she and Lady Yang had just mentioned, Xie Jingxing was very particular about his clothes. He loved wearing purple robes, desired elegance yet didn’t want to be too showy, and always insisted on using dark gold silk thread to embroider patterns on the hem or collar. Because of his high standards, the silk thread was very fine, and the patterns were very special.

But that day in the palace, Prince Rui, who was pulling and tugging at Shen Miao, wore a purple and gold robe. When he pulled up Shen Miao’s hand, the gold thread on his sleeve was identical to what Xie Jingxing used to wear.

Princess Rongxin’s health might be poor, but her eyes weren’t blind. That day when she saw Prince Rui and heard Shen Miao call him Xie Jingxing, for a moment, she had mistaken Prince Rui for Xie Jingxing. But later, observing Prince Rui’s demeanor and temperament, which were quite unfamiliar, and hearing his explanation, she had dismissed the thought. Yet she felt something was amiss and, after returning to the Princess’s Mansion, frequently thought of both Xie Jingxing and Prince Rui.

She had always believed her fixation was due to Prince Rui and Xie Jingxing sharing the same childhood name, but now, in a flash of insight, she realized it had nothing to do with the name but rather because she had seen the pattern on his sleeve.

Having spent over a decade with Xie Jingxing, Princess Rongxin regarded him as her child. A mother is always attentive to her child’s matters, no matter how small. She remembered the sleeve pattern clearly, but since Xie Jingxing’s death, she hadn’t seen this pattern for two years and hadn’t recalled it immediately. Today, here, she remembered—the pattern was identical to Prince Rui’s!

Some things are destined by fate. Sometimes, all it takes is a single clue, like stringing scattered beads together, for everything to make sense.

The same love for purple robes, the same hem pattern, the same name “Jingxing,” and the same special relationship with Shen Miao.

Princess Rongxin suddenly thought of that basket of medicinal ingredients.

Why had there been none before, but it appeared today? Was it because she had suffered her heart condition in front of Prince Rui a few days ago, and not long after, a merchant arrived selling medicinal herbs?

When coincidences happen too frequently, they cease to be coincidences. The seed of doubt, once sprouted, cannot be forced back. It quickly extends branches, growing into a towering tree, until it becomes immovably rooted in the soil, standing there unshakably.

Thinking back, the young Xie Jingxing had always possessed an indescribable nobility, which they had attributed to his natural good breeding, not realizing it might have been due to different bloodlines. Although his temperament and appearance had changed, some things couldn’t be altered, like small habits, like… the connection between relatives.

Princess Rongxin suddenly crouched down, pressing her chest. Lady Yang was startled, seeing Princess Rongxin’s face turn pale white, large drops of sweat beginning to form on her forehead. She immediately called out loudly, “Someone! Call the doctor quickly! The Princess’s heart condition has flared up again!”

A hand suddenly gripped Lady Yang’s hand. Princess Rongxin’s face was contorted with pain, but her tone was very resolute. She said, “Help me back to the study, and bring an invitation card.”

She needed to verify something herself.

…

When Shen Miao awoke, Luo Xueyan happily told her that her marriage to the Crown Prince had been temporarily shelved by the palace. Shen Xin had made connections within the palace, and it was related to Prince Rui.

It was said that when Prince Rui was chatting with Emperor Wenhui, he had inadvertently mentioned several border cities. Emperor Wenhui, concerned that Da Liang had ill intentions, needed to win over General Shen Xin at this critical moment. Therefore, Shen Miao’s marriage wouldn’t be mentioned for now.

Luo Xueyan said, “Prince Rui’s timing was fortunate, relieving Jiaojiao’s urgent crisis. With more time, we can slowly select a suitable talent for Jiaojiao.”

Luo Xueyan spoke without thinking, but Shen Miao listened attentively. She naturally knew that Prince Rui hadn’t “inadvertently” mentioned the city matter, causing Emperor Wenhui to change his mind. While she felt relieved, Shen Miao was also secretly alarmed by Xie Jingxing’s methods.

Xie Jingxing’s approach wasn’t particularly sophisticated, but it was highly effective. With just a few words, he had made the emperor hesitant and unwilling to act. The Crown Prince’s marriage was off, the Ding Prince’s plans had failed—several birds with one stone, truly satisfying. Recalling how Xie Jingxing had mentioned this matter with seeming indifference earlier, she realized he had possessed this ability all along.

Thinking about it, Shen Miao felt somewhat irritated. The dangerous situation she had found difficult, Xie Jingxing had resolved so easily, making her appear incompetent. She couldn’t help but recall Xie Jingxing’s arrogant actions that night, wishing she could give him a sound beating.

Luo Tan said, “Little cousin, why are you gripping that book so tightly? You’ll tear the pages.”

Only then did Shen Miao come to her senses and quickly released her grip, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Lately, whenever she thought of Xie Jingxing, her emotions seemed to spiral out of control. It was all because of his unexpected behavior that day, and only she seemed to be dwelling on it.

Luo Tan rested her chin on her hands, looking at her mischievously, “Hey, are you thinking about Brother Ling, Young Master Su, and Brother Feng? They’re all excellent—is it hard to decide which one to choose?”

Shen Miao replied, “You’re overthinking.”

Luo Tan was about to say something else when Luo Ling walked in from outside. Luo Tan stuck out her tongue and called out, “Brother Ling.”

Luo Ling smiled and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“We’re discussing little cousin’s marriage,” Luo Tan said bluntly. “Little cousin hasn’t decided who to marry yet, so I came to inquire about the news.”

Shen Miao felt helpless. Couldn’t Luo Tan be a bit more tactful like other girls? To speak so directly—it was fortunate that Shen Miao was worldly; an ordinary girl would have been embarrassed to death.

Shen Miao didn’t react, but Luo Ling seemed somewhat awkward. He coughed lightly into his hand, looked around, and said, “Cousin, do you like the safety pendant?”

“Safety pendant?” Shen Miao frowned and asked, “What safety pendant?”

Luo Ling was startled and said, “The one I saw yesterday…”

Before he could finish, a servant interrupted from outside, saying that Luo Xueyan wanted Shen Miao to come to the front hall.

Luo Ling swallowed his words and smiled, encouraging Shen Miao to go first. Shen Miao gave him an apologetic smile and said, “I’ll talk with Cousin Ling later.”

When she reached the front hall, she learned that someone from the Princess’s Mansion had come to the Shen residence. They said Princess Rongxin had sent an invitation card, asking Shen Miao to visit the Princess’s Mansion.

Princess Rongxin had saved Shen Miao several times, and the Shen Xin couple was very grateful to her, so there was no reason to refuse. Shen Miao couldn’t possibly say anything against it. She smiled and accepted the invitation, but her heart was extremely heavy.

In the past, if Princess Rongxin had sent Shen Miao an invitation, she would have accepted without hesitation. Honestly, Princess Rongxin had treated her well, caring for her because of Xie Jingxing. When she learned that Emperor Wenhui intended to marry Shen Miao to the Crown Prince, she had even tried to speak up for Shen Miao, for which Shen Miao was grateful.

But Princess Rongxin had sent the invitation at this particular time. If it were about the Crown Prince matter, she could have simply sent someone to say a word. Sending an invitation, asking her to visit the Princess’s Mansion, clearly indicated she wanted to discuss something face-to-face.

But what matter was so important? Important enough that Princess Rongxin, who rarely saw people, would actively invite Shen Miao to sit with her at the Princess’s Mansion?

Shen Miao couldn’t help but think of that day in the palace when her entanglement with Xie Jingxing was witnessed by Princess Rongxin. At the time, she had called Xie Jingxing by name, which was later explained away by Xie Jingxing, but she still felt uneasy. If it were someone who understood and loved deeply, no matter what form the other person took, there would always be some traces of the past to follow.

Shen Miao’s intuition was usually accurate. She never believed that after Xie Jingxing and Princess Rongxin had met face-to-face, he could continue to hide safely. But this speculation was too frightening, and the consequences were unpredictable, so she didn’t want to think too deeply about it.

But avoidance wasn’t a solution; trouble had come knocking.

Shen Miao felt that Princess Rongxin might have discovered something suspicious, but she couldn’t refuse this invitation because refusal would be an admission in itself.