The Empress Dowager’s vision darkened at the news, and she began to fall backward. Fortunately, her lady-in-waiting caught her in time.
“Mother…”
“Don’t call me that!” The Empress Dowager brushed away Emperor Yuning’s hand. “Who have Ah Yong and I offended? Ah Yong was perfectly peaceful in the Taoist temple all these years, but since returning to the palace, he’s constantly been frightened or shocked into fainting. If there’s no place for Ah Yong and me in this palace, I’ll take him and leave immediately!”
“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty.” The court officials dropped to their knees in unison.
Emperor Yuning quickly intervened: “Mother, you speak as if you wish to condemn me. Please calm down. I will punish those responsible severely. Since the Seventh Prince cannot be moved easily, I will have the Imperial Physicians take turns watching over him. With Heaven’s protection, he will surely overcome this danger.”
“How you choose to punish is your affair as Emperor. I only want Ah Yong safe,” the Empress Dowager said, her eyes reddening. “If anything happens to Ah Yong, this old body of mine won’t have any reason to go on living.”
Emperor Yuning spent quite some time comforting the Empress Dowager. With her sitting there, he immediately stripped Wang Zheng of his position as Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and ordered him to return home to reflect on his actions and pray for the Crown Prince’s well-being.
The tone made it clear that if anything happened to the Crown Prince, Wang Zheng would have to pay with his life.
When Shen Xihe woke early the next morning and heard about the previous night’s dramatic events in the palace, she was quite stunned.
“Ha! That old fox Wang Zheng finally got what was coming to him!” Shen Yun’an felt greatly satisfied hearing the news. Setting aside his past grievances with Wang Zheng in official circles, just considering how Wang Zheng’s daughter had targeted his sister since he arrived in the capital, and how Wang Zheng had sided against them in the Prince Kang incident—Shen Yun’an had investigated Wang Zheng and found him to be as slippery as an eel. Though everyone knew he was corrupt, they could never catch him!
“Hey, what are you thinking about?” After rejoicing for a moment, Shen Yun’an noticed Shen Xihe’s distracted state.
Blinking back to awareness, Shen Xihe didn’t brush off her brother’s question: “I just think it’s too coincidental.”
“Coincidental?”
“At the chrysanthemum banquet, there were three people who targeted me. The ladies from the Marquis Xuanping’s household and the Wang family were two of them. The Marquis Xuanping was exposed for treason when Qu Yanguang reported him to the Crown Prince. Now Wang Zheng has been suspended and investigated for frightening the Crown Prince by charging through the palace gates on horseback. Both incidents involve the Crown Prince…”
“Now that you mention it, your brother hadn’t even thought of that connection.” Shen Yun’an contemplated this and laughed heartily. “The Marquis Xuanping case was purely coincidental—the Crown Prince was made ill by the Sixth Prince, and it just happened that Qu Yanguang’s grandparents and parents were all doctors, so she had a prescription to offer. With nowhere else to turn, Qu Yanguang sought help from the Crown Prince. Wang Zheng’s case is even more coincidental. If you hadn’t had plans to meet the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t have been at the palace gates last night. Moreover, Wang Zheng being urgently summoned to the palace late at night couldn’t have been controlled by the Crown Prince. It would be quite difficult to deliberately arrange for two people who normally wouldn’t be at the palace gates late at night to be there.”
Shen Xihe still felt these matters weren’t simple, but she couldn’t figure out the connection.
Seeing his sister still deep in thought, he added, “Xihe, if the Crown Prince did arrange all this deliberately, your brother would be relieved.”
Shen Xihe looked up at Shen Yun’an, not understanding.
“For him to scheme so much for your sake shows his sincerity. He must surely intend to be wholeheartedly devoted to you in the future.”
Shen Xihe showed no joy at hearing this, instead furrowing her brow even more. “I don’t want wholehearted devotion. I only want mutual benefit.”
Shen Yun’an: …
“Feelings are the most unreliable thing. Benefits can bind people together permanently,” Shen Xihe said coldly. “As long as I can provide him with the highest benefits forever, he will never betray me in the slightest.”
Shen Yun’an: …
“Xihe, you…” How could you think this way?
“Brother, isn’t this better?” Shen Xihe asked, puzzled. “Romantic entanglements waste time and energy. If feelings change one day, it hurts both body and heart. But if betrayal comes from conflicting interests, it simply means being outmaneuvered—a loss one can accept gracefully.”
Her logic was so sound that Shen Yun’an didn’t know how to argue against it.
After staring at his sister in shock for a while, Shen Yun’an finally said stiffly, “Xihe, you can’t approach everything purely based on benefits.”
“I know. One must also consider reciprocity, sincerity, and reputation,” Shen Xihe nodded.
Shen Yun’an: …
Tugging at his hair in frustration, Shen Yun’an asked, “Is your relationship with Young Master Bu and Miss Xue also based on benefits?”
“With Bu Shulin, yes. With Xue Qiniang, it’s for your sake,” Shen Xihe answered matter-of-factly.
“Why did you make perfume for Bu Shulin?” Shen Yun’an asked.
“She helped me investigate Cui Jinbai’s background. This was reciprocal,” Shen Xihe replied.
Shen Yun’an: …
“So making wontons for the Crown Prince, sending him letters, accompanying him up the tower on Double Ninth Festival—all of this was based on the same principle?”
“Yes.” Shen Xihe nodded.
Shen Yun’an looked at his sister speechlessly for a long while before breaking into hearty laughter.
“Brother, what are you laughing at?” Shen Xihe stared at him, confused.
Shen Yun’an waved his hand, still laughing: “Nothing. Xihe, just keep maintaining your reciprocal relationships this way.”
A person without sentiment performs actions they believe to be fair exchanges, while others misinterpret them as signs of a secretly tender heart.
Such misunderstandings, if Shen Xihe didn’t point them out, probably no one would realize—and perhaps that was for the best.
As long as others didn’t wrong his sister first, she wouldn’t hurt them either.
As for the Crown Prince…
Shen Yun’an, who had previously found the Crown Prince disagreeable from every angle, suddenly felt some sympathy for him.
After all, he was just a short-lived person. His sister’s lack of sentiment toward him was better than her being hurt by his early death.
With this pleasant mood, Shen Yun’an took the items Shen Xihe had prepared and departed magnificently from the capital back to the northwest.
Shen Xihe personally saw him off at the city gates, only turning back to the Princess’s mansion after watching him take the lead on the official road and disappear beyond the city gates.
After having someone by her side for over half a month showing concern and finding various ways to make her happy, Shen Xihe thought she could adjust, but upon returning to the mansion, she felt somewhat lonely.
After passing a distracted day, Shen Xihe had planned to retire early, but unexpectedly, Xiao Huayong arrived quietly. The strong medicinal smell on him made it impossible for Shen Xihe to ignore as she woke up, and opened her eyes to find him sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Your Highness!” Shen Xihe was very unhappy.
She inherently despised the act of sneaking into her private chambers—it was an uncomfortable violation of her territory.
“My apologies, Princess. I am leaving the capital due to my illness, and came specially to bid you farewell.” Xiao Huayong stood and conscientiously retreated behind the screen.
Shen Xihe put on her clothes and cape, lit a lamp, and walked out. Looking at Xiao Huayong, whose complexion was still somewhat pale, she sat expressionlessly across from him: “What was the purpose of the Wang Zheng incident?”
The gentle look in Xiao Huayong’s eyes sparked with hints of amusement: “For the Princess’s sake and my own.”
“I need to leave the palace, and I needed a reason. Wang Zheng provided that reason,” Xiao Huayong smiled elegantly. “If the Wang family hadn’t shown disrespect to the Princess, I wouldn’t have chosen him as a scapegoat.”