The four people fell in a heap, though Shen Xihe, cushioned by Hongyu, suffered the least injury. Both Hongyu and Biyu had bruised and scraped their arms in the collision.
“I… I…” The fallen child, protected from injury by Biyu’s cushioning, was the first to scramble up, standing helplessly to the side.
Shen Xihe rose with Hongyu and Biyu’s assistance, first asking them, “Are you both all right?”
As trained martial artists who had endured worse injuries during practice, this minor harm was insignificant to them. Both shook their heads.
Only then did Shen Xihe turn her attention to the child standing nearby. He was extremely thin and small, appearing around ten years old, wearing old but fine silk clothing. His eyes showed both guilt and anxiety.
Seeing Shen Xihe’s gaze, he quickly bowed and apologized: “I’ve offended the Princess, Changgeng begs forgiveness.”
Shen Xihe was surprised – this frail figure was the Twelfth Prince Xiao Changgeng. Emperor Youning had fathered fourteen princes, of whom ten survived: Second Prince Xiao Changmin, the Prince of Zhao; Third Prince Xiao Zhenzhen, the Prince of Dai; Fourth Prince Xiao Changtai, the Prince of Ding.
Fifth Prince Xiao Changqing, the Prince of Xin; Sixth Prince Xiao Changyu; Seventh Prince Xiao Huayong, the Crown Prince; Eighth Prince Xiao Changyan, the Prince of Jing.
Ninth Prince Xiao Changying, the Prince of Lie; Twelfth Prince Xiao Changgeng; and the Two-year-old Fourteenth Prince Xiao Changhong.
Twelfth Prince Xiao Changgeng should have been the same age as her, yet this male heir was shorter than Shen Xihe, with a sickly yellow complexion. After his fall from the roof, not a single palace maid or eunuch had come looking for him.
She knew about his birth mother’s schemes, but since he was raised by Concubine Liang, how had he ended up in such a state?
“Why was Your Highness on the roof?” Shen Xihe didn’t reproach him, merely looking up at where he had fallen from, spotting a colorful feathered shuttlecock toy gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
“I…”
Before Xiao Changgeng could explain, an impatient voice called from across the wall in another courtyard: “Xiao Changgeng, are you stunned by the fall? If you’re still breathing, get back up there and fetch it for this Princess!”
The voice was familiar – it belonged to the Fifth Princess, Princess Yanling. The Emperor’s four princesses were close in age: Third Princess Anling was sixteen, Fourth Princess Changling was fifteen, while both Fifth Princess Yanling and Sixth Princess Pingling were fourteen.
Hearing the urging, Xiao Changgeng said to Shen Xihe: “If the Princess wishes to punish me, Changgeng will accept it.”
He hoped Shen Xihe would quickly pass judgment so he could retrieve the shuttlecock for Princess Yanling.
Before Shen Xihe could respond, Princess Yanling spoke with concern, knowing that if Xiao Changgeng could stand, he wouldn’t dare remain silent: “Fourth Sister, could Changgeng be hurt from the fall…”
Princess Yanling’s voice carried clearly across the courtyard, allowing Shen Xihe to hear everything.
“How could such a small height cause injury? When have we Xiao family men been so embarrassing?” Fourth Princess Changling scoffed. As they drew closer, their voices became clearer, “What are you afraid of? Even if he’s hurt, Father will only think him useless.”
“If the Princess has any complaints in the future, please seek out Changgeng.” Xiao Changgeng apologized and hurried away.
Was he trying to prevent the Fourth and Fifth Princesses from encountering Shen Xihe, worried she might face their anger?
He ran with a noticeable limp, moving as fast as he could, but still collided with someone at the moon gate – Fourth Princess Changling herself. While the Princess had numerous guards to help her up, no one spared Xiao Changgeng a single glance.
Shen Xihe cast a cool glance before leading Biyu and Hongyu away, but as they passed the moon gate, Princess Changling, now assisted to her feet, spotted them. She shouted harshly: “Stop right there!”
She was furious that Shen Xihe had witnessed her in such an undignified state, and that Shen Xihe hadn’t come forward to pay respects.
Shen Xihe halted, turning slightly to meet the enraged Princess Changling’s gaze: “If the Princess wishes for peace, don’t provoke my anger.”
Princess Changling, deeply spoiled by the Emperor in the palace and known for her tyrannical behavior, was used to even princes showing her deference. Never had anyone both ignored and threatened her!
“What do you think you are? You dare warn me?” Princess Changling raged, stepping forward to slap Shen Xihe.
But before her hand could reach Shen Xihe, something struck her knee, causing her to stumble toward Shen Xihe. As Shen Xihe stepped back, the Princess, having rushed forward without her attendants to catch her, fell face-first onto the ground with a loud thud. Shen Xihe raised an eyebrow slightly.
The frightened palace maids and eunuchs helped her up, discovering she had not only injured her forehead but her nose was bleeding profusely.
“Call for a physician, quickly—”
In the ensuing chaos, someone carried away the terrified Princess Changling, while the clever Princess Yanling, upon seeing Shen Xihe, wisely chose to leave as well.
Shen Xihe gave the frail Xiao Changgeng a meaningful look. Her sharp eyes had caught something striking Princess Changling’s knee, causing her to fall hard.
Only Hongyu and Biyu here were trained in martial arts, and they wouldn’t do such a thing. Everyone else belonged to the two princesses.
“The Princess need not worry, Changgeng will confess to His Majesty.” Xiao Changgeng did not attempt to hide it, giving Shen Xihe a formal bow before turning to follow the others.
“Princess, shall we leave the palace?” Biyu asked tentatively.
“How can we leave without clarifying matters?” Shen Xihe followed as well.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Xiao Changgeng, but rather that she didn’t trust Princess Changling.
Having been deeply humiliated in front of her, Princess Changling must have developed an intense hatred for her. If Shen Xihe left now, not only would Princess Changling believe it was Shen Xihe’s doing, but even if she knew otherwise, she would still blame Shen Xihe.
To Princess Changling, Xiao Changgeng was someone she could torment at will – what she wanted was to make Shen Xihe suffer.
At the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, when she had asked Princess Pingling about Shen Yun’an’s marriage status, she had been expressing her desire to marry him.
Shen Xihe had offended her by telling her to ask the Emperor instead.
She hadn’t yet settled accounts with Princess Changling over the Prince of Kang incident.
Why had Princess Changling specifically asked about marrying Shen Yun’an that day? And how did the Prince of Kang learn of it, leading him to send someone disguised as Princess Changling’s maid to lure her?
It wasn’t that Shen Xihe didn’t care about these matters, but rather that she had prioritized other urgent issues, and Princess Changling’s presence in the inner palace had made her temporarily set these concerns aside.
Though Shen Xihe hadn’t wanted to settle scores, Princess Changling had eagerly rushed into confrontation!
“How did Changling break her nose?” Emperor Youning arrived to hear the imperial physician’s report, his expression dark.
Princess Yanling shrank back: “Father, Fourth Sister, and I were playing shuttlecock, and when it landed on the roof, we asked Twelfth Brother to retrieve it. He fell into the courtyard and encountered Zhaoning. When Fourth Sister rushed over, she tripped. Zhaoning ignored us completely and walked away.
Fourth Sister felt Zhaoning was being disrespectful, so she went to confront her and ended up falling in front of her.”