Li Yanyan reached out to steady Shen Xihe, making her perfume even more distinct. Indeed, there was the sandalwood scent that belonged to Xiao Changtai, and not just that, but also the scent of burning incense – Xiao Changtai must have been burning incense daily at the Imperial Mausoleum…
So Li Yanyan and Xiao Changtai had actually…
Shen Xihe, supported by Zhenzhu, got up and left with a grave expression.
Xiao Changtai had secretly returned during the Lantern Festival – it couldn’t have been just for a private meeting with Li Yanyan. What were they plotting? Was this chaos related to Fourth Prince Xiao Changtai?
Back at the Princess’s manor, Shen Xihe said to Tianyuan: “Inform His Highness that the Fourth Prince has secretly returned to the capital and met with the Dai Wang’s consort.”
Tianyuan was slightly surprised, not understanding how Shen Xihe could be so certain about the Dai Wang’s consort meeting with the Fourth Prince after just one encounter with her. Yet her tone was definitive, not mere speculation, so he respectfully acknowledged the order.
“Fourth Brother?” Xiao Huayong pondered with lowered brows. “It does seem like something he would do, though Fourth Brother doesn’t have such capabilities alone.”
Tianyuan looked at the wound on Xiao Huayong’s arm: “Could it be… His Majesty?”
“If His Majesty wanted to test me, he wouldn’t use the Lantern Festival to do so,” Xiao Huayong rejected this idea. “With foreign envoys present, the Lantern Festival is too important. His Majesty wouldn’t risk our nation’s dignity just to test me.”
His Majesty was particularly angered by this chaos. With so many visiting envoys watching, it was meant to be a display of our great nation’s grandeur. His Majesty had even set up lantern trees within the palace for universal celebration, to show the visiting dignitaries the unity and prosperity of the celestial empire.
Someone’s sabotage was like a slap to His Majesty’s face. Both generals of the Imperial Guards had been reprimanded.
“Who could it be?” Tianyuan couldn’t figure it out.
All the princes were under their surveillance. Though they occasionally managed to slip away from control, it wouldn’t be anything major. Creating such a huge disturbance during the Lantern Festival without any prior indication was simply impossible.
Even Prince Xin had been under increased surveillance from the Crown Prince’s people since the Imperial Mausoleum incident.
“Look at this matter from the opposite angle,” Xiao Huayong’s eyes flashed with a cool smile. “This person targeted me specifically. Their martial arts were exceptional – I had just caught up when the Imperial Guards arrived. If I hadn’t noticed beforehand, my martial abilities would have been exposed to the Imperial Guards.
This person’s goal was to expose me to His Majesty, which means they already knew my true nature, while Fourth Brother doesn’t.”
This point alone ruled out Xiao Changtai. Xiao Changtai was fully occupied with his schemes, seeing only Fifth Brother and Eighth Brother as strong opponents.
Only Xiao Changqin brothers and Xiao Changgeng knew his true nature. Xiao Changgeng’s influence wasn’t developed enough to accomplish today’s events.
Xiao Changqin and Xiao Changying were indeed the most suspicious, but Xiao Changqin wished for him to live longer to help undermine His Majesty – he would never set such a trap for him.
“In that case, this wasn’t done by any of the princes,” Tianyuan was startled.
“There are only so many people in the capital who hold grudges against me,” Xiao Huayong said with a meaningful smile. “The one who hates me most would be Wang Zheng.”
If Wang Zheng hadn’t realized the Crown Prince’s intentional collision at the palace gates before, the near-drawing of swords by envoys at the grand court assembly was enough for him to figure it out. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have reached his current position.
Moreover, Mu Nuha’s words would have deepened Wang Zheng’s suspicions about Xiao Huayong. Wang Zheng would think the Crown Prince was playing dumb while targeting him to eliminate His Majesty’s confidants. Following this line of thought, he would attribute the deaths of Dong Biquan, Prince Kang, and even Prince Xun to Xiao Huayong, becoming increasingly convinced that Xiao Huayong was the most dangerous hidden threat.
“He must have spoken to His Majesty about this, but unfortunately, His Majesty knows better than anyone about the poison in my body,” Xiao Huayong smiled sarcastically.
Xiao Huayong’s poisoning was well known to Emperor Youning. The reason it was publicly announced as a sudden strange illness was that when he was poisoned in Mingzheng Hall, he had eaten cherry-filled cheese meant for His Majesty. It was during the crucial moment of dealing with the eunuchs, and to avoid shaking the court officials’ confidence, they had concealed the truth.
Over the years, His Majesty had seen fabricated case reports, but he knew they were fake. However, His Majesty also knew the poison remained unresolved. What His Majesty didn’t know was that he had met Ling Huzheng, who had helped control the poison in his body. Apart from being sensitive to cold in winter, he could normally practice both literature and martial arts.
His Majesty naturally wouldn’t fully believe Wang Zheng’s words, suspecting that Wang Zheng was slandering him out of resentment.
Wang Zheng was desperate. He deeply understood the threat Xiao Huayong posed to the emperor, and Xiao Huayong disliked him. Once Xiao Huayong won, he would be doomed, which was why he went to such lengths to try to expose Xiao Huayong.
“How dare Wang Zheng!” Tianyuan was so angry he wanted to immediately take his sword and cut down Wang Zheng, especially seeing Xiao Huayong’s arm still seeping blood.
“Without such daring, how could he have achieved his current position?” Xiao Huayong chuckled lightly. “Since he has made his move, how could I not repay him in kind?”
Tianyuan: “Please instruct me, Your Highness.”
“No rush. Since he knows I’m not to be trifled with, and this assassination attempt failed, he must think I’ve figured him out,” Xiao Huayong twirled a black chess piece between his fingers. “I’ll let him stew for a few days. When he lets his guard down, I’ll use His Majesty’s hand to… eliminate him.”
Knowing the Crown Prince already had a plan, Tianyuan remembered another matter: “Your Highness, why didn’t you let the Princess know you were injured?”
That way, the Princess would have shown concern and tenderness, and Your Highness could have used the injury to gain some advantages.
Xiao Huayong glanced at him: “That would be too obvious. She’ll come to visit me tomorrow anyway.”
Then wouldn’t she naturally discover his injury? Why deliberately inform her and appear calculating?
Shen Xihe naturally came to the palace to see Xiao Huayong, of course regarding the Lantern Festival incident.
“Your Highness is injured?” As soon as Shen Xihe approached Xiao Huayong, she smelled a faint scent of blood.
Xiao Huayong was slightly surprised. To avoid being obvious, he had specifically worn a cloak. The wound was on his arm, completely hidden by the cloak. He had planned to casually raise his hand to let Shen Xihe notice but hadn’t expected her to know he was injured as soon as she sat down.
“How did Yaoyao know I was injured?” Xiao Huayong was curious.
After being injured yesterday, he had secretly returned to the palace, with only His Majesty knowing about his wound. Even the Empress Dowager had been kept in the dark.
Her unusually keen sense of smell was something she had only revealed when exposing Bu Shulin. She had never mentioned it to anyone else. She lowered her long lashes and took a small sip of Pingzhong tea. Looking at the clear tea, she said: “I’ve had a keener sense of smell than others since childhood. I detected a trace of blood scent coming from Your Highness.”
Xiao Huayong’s gaze intensified, and Tianyuan was also astonished. Xiao Huayong’s wound had been there for a whole night. Though it hadn’t scabbed over, it was no longer bleeding. He was a martial artist, yet hadn’t smelled any blood, but the Princess had detected it.
Her sense of smell wasn’t just keener than others – it was truly heaven-sent!