Yu Zao was certainly the real Yu Zao – he knew well that if he dared deceive Shen Xihe and Xiao Langmin, while they could manipulate circumstances to protect the Yu family, they could just as easily destroy it.

“Is there truly no trace of who might be conspiring with Lady Li?” Since this involved major court affairs, Shen Xihe couldn’t investigate directly lest she arouse Emperor Youning’s suspicions. His constant scrutiny would be counterproductive, hence her questioning Xiao Huayong.

“Clean and thorough, without leaving a single trace.” Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but secretly admire the execution.

Shen Xihe pondered for a moment. “For this to work, there’s only one possible method.”

A smile creased Xiao Huayong’s lips. He had already concluded, but since even Xiao Langmin hadn’t considered this angle and kept focusing on the Third Prince, he wanted to know if Shen Xihe’s thoughts aligned with his. “What method would that be?”

“The Princess Consort of Dai lives in seclusion within the inner court, and being from the Li family, even if she’s skilled at deception and concealing her true nature, any unusual movement would surely be noticed by His Majesty. Therefore, she likely has no one directly under her command.”

Shen Xihe analyzed further: “Yet this scheme is massive and couldn’t be entrusted to anyone but the most trusted confidants. Therefore, I believe Yu Zao wasn’t forced into this by her people. Rather, after they had trapped Yu Zao as their pawn, he would naturally need to know whom he was serving before continuing. That’s when the Princess Consort met with Yu Zao, leading him to believe everything was the Prince of Dai’s doing.

In this case, the Princess Consort’s only role was likely just lending her name to shield her true conspirator.”

Yu Zao wouldn’t have dared participate in such matters without absolute certainty about the Prince of Dai’s involvement, even under threats or manipulation.

The Prince of Dai hadn’t truly been lying low all these years, but he could not also orchestrate something of this magnitude. Moreover, his usual stance of staying out of major affairs after the grave robbing case was exposed showed he knew nothing about it.

Li Yanyan had no one at her disposal, and when the matter came to light, though the Prince of Dai fell under suspicion, no evidence could be found. Even when they investigated Li Yanyan based on their suspicions of the Prince, they found nothing linking her to it.

This could only mean Li Yanyan was a smokescreen, which explained her boldness.

Even if everyone suspected her, they could do nothing about it. Therefore, those who were caught must have been planted by another mastermind using Li Yanyan’s name to convince Yu Zao, making him increasingly impressed by the Prince of Dai’s supposed hidden power and thus securing his absolute loyalty.

A muffled yet pleased chuckle rumbled from Xiao Huayong’s chest: “Youyou and I are of one mind.”

Shen Xihe deliberately ignored Xiao Huayong’s suggestive phrasing, maintaining her composure without bothering to correct him. Arguing would only encourage him further, possibly leading to even more explicit remarks – he was simply taking advantage of her determination to cooperate with him.

“Does Your Highness have any suspicions about who might be conspiring with the Princess Consort?” Shen Xihe asked.

“The royal family has only so many members.” Xiao Huayong’s smile remained. “Second Brother is innocent, Third Brother is innocent, Fourth Brother went to the imperial tombs and is suspicious – his secretly cultivated power base can’t be underestimated. Fifth Brother exposed the tomb explosion, indicating he was not involved.

Ninth Brother shares the same mother as Fifth Brother – if this were Ninth Brother’s doing, Fifth Brother would be covering for him rather than exposing it. That leaves only one person.”

While there were two or three other princes, the Sixth Prince was “dead,” and the Twelfth Prince, aside from being too young to have such influence, was now Xiao Huayong’s shield, which eliminated him. This left only the Eighth Prince, Xiao Langyan, who was far away in Annan.

Shen Xihe’s greatest concern had come to pass. Compared to the Fourth Prince Xiao Langzhen, she leaned more toward suspecting Xiao Langyan, especially given the tattooed individuals, which aligned more with Xiao Langyan’s methods.

Cui Jinbai had close ties to Xiao Langyan’s maternal Pei family, and there was also Xiao Fuxing, who had grown up with Xiao Langyan.

When she had Bu Shulin pursue Cui Jinbai, she had intended both to test Cui Jinbai and to help Bu Shulin out of his predicament. However, given these two’s notorious reputations and deep connection, how would Bu Shulin position himself if they ended up serving different masters?

“Youyou, what troubles you?” Xiao Huayong suddenly sensed a slight ripple in Shen Xihe’s emotions.

Shen Xihe had wanted to warn Xiao Huayong about Cui Jinbai but worried that if she mentioned it, Xiao Huayong might take harmful action against Cui Jinbai in his vigilance. She decided she should first ask Bu Shulin about his thoughts: “Just some personal matters.”

Suddenly, Shen Xihe thought of Hua Fuhai. Cui Jinbai and Hua Fuhai had once been played by the same person – if Cui Jinbai were Xiao Langyan’s man, it would mean Hua Fuhai was also Xiao Langyan’s man. With a wealthy subordinate like Hua Fuhai commanding resources across the four seas, why would Xiao Langyan need to rob graves for money?

Even if he did need to raise funds through grave robbing, why go through such elaborate means to launder the money? One voyage by Hua Fuhai’s ships could handle it without anyone knowing.

Therefore, Cui Jinbai couldn’t be Xiao Langyan’s man – perhaps he was someone approaching the Pei family!

Shen Xihe suddenly looked up, her bright eyes fixed on Xiao Huayong: “Between the Fourth Prince and Prince Jing, whom does Your Highness find more suspicious?”

For the first time, Xiao Huayong failed to detect Shen Xihe’s probing intent. He answered honestly: “Youyou must suspect Eighth Brother.”

“Does Your Highness suspect the Fourth Prince more?” Shen Xihe carefully observed Xiao Huayong’s expression but could detect no deception.

“The Northwestern King’s knowledge of us brothers comes only from investigations and analysis with you. We are the younger generation and have never interacted with the Northwestern King – he doesn’t know Eighth Brother’s true character.” Xiao Huayong spoke softly. “Eighth Brother is both brave and clever. Among us brothers, he and Ninth Brother are the most skilled in military strategy, a rare military talent. Eighth Brother has been through bloody battles on the battlefield, where soldiers as close as brothers to him were wrapped in horsehide for burial. Some of these men’s remains couldn’t even be fully recovered from the battlefield for proper burial.

He wouldn’t do such things because he knows how heartbroken he would be if these people’s graves were ever desecrated.”

Shen Xihe could hear the admiration in Xiao Huayong’s words about Xiao Langyan.

“As for Fourth Brother, once his ambitions were exposed and he could no longer maintain his facade in the capital, he found an excuse to resolve His Majesty’s urgent problem. Though he was demoted to a commoner guarding the imperial tombs, he wouldn’t give up on over a decade of scheming so easily.” Xiao Huayong’s expression turned solemn. “Without confidence, how could he remain so dormant?”

As Xiao Huayong analyzed each point, Shen Xihe found his reasoning particularly convincing. This wasn’t mere placation or intentional misdirection. Regarding Xiao Langyan, who had gone to Annan at fifteen and never returned to the capital, Shen Xihe indeed couldn’t be certain of his true nature.

“There’s also…” Xiao Huayong reminded Shen Xihe of another small detail, “that day at Madam Ye’s birthday celebration, Lady Li attended. They don’t have much of a relationship, and Lady Li dislikes palace gatherings.”

Yes, Li Yanyan disliked the Xiao family – she hadn’t even attended Noble Consort Rong’s chrysanthemum banquet, yet she went to Ye Wantang’s birthday celebration.

Shen Xihe had originally thought she attended because she’d feel more at ease without senior relatives present, but now it seemed highly likely she was conspiring with the Prince of Ding.