“I’ll escort you back to your residence,” Xiao Huayong said after they finished eating and drinking.

“Your Highness…”

“Just let Tianyuan say that I’ve regained consciousness but my eyes are extremely uncomfortable. I need to return to the palace, and I’ll escort you home on the way,” Xiao Huayong decided. “It’s not that I underestimate Youyou’s abilities, but I won’t be at ease unless I see Youyou return safely.”

Since he had arranged everything, Shen Xihe didn’t argue with him. Xiao Huayong took the massive entourage left by the Emperor back to the palace, bypassing Shen Xihe’s Princess Manor, and personally escorted her to her doorstep. Only after seeing Butler Shen Qing and Mo Yuan receive her into the manor did he continue his journey.

“Be careful these days,” Shen Xihe cautioned upon returning to the manor.

Whether her suspicions were correct or what Xiao Huayong thought, the possibilities of danger to her were extremely high.

“Princess, this servant will sleep with the Princess at night,” Moyu said.

Shen Xihe didn’t refuse proudly. She nodded, not only allowing Moyu to place a sleeping couch in front of her bed but also bringing Duanming to the room. Duanming was even more alert at night than Moyu and Mo Yuan.

“Have all the people from the medical shop been withdrawn?” Shen Xihe asked.

The medical shop used to deceive Princess Yangling and Mu Nuha was purchased a month ago. The original owner wasn’t skilled in medicine, leading to the shop having no talented physicians and only being able to sell some medicinal materials at a loss, making it easy to purchase from him.

However, he had been holding onto the family business all these years without actively putting it up for sale, which resulted in no inquiries.

“The Crown Prince’s matter gave them sufficient time. Everyone has already left the city, and official investigations won’t be able to trace them,” Zhenzhu reported.

The sale of a medicine shop required a transfer of ownership and contracts, necessitating household registration and travel permits. The holder of these documents was also their person. He had indeed come to buy the medical shop a month ago but never opened for business. He had returned to his hometown early, where people could testify that he hadn’t been in the capital during this period.

Furthermore, the medical shop had been closed for over half a month. During this half month, it never opened, and on that day of the polo match, any free civilians were watching the game, while those who weren’t free were unlikely to pass by the remote medical shop.

Mo Yuan and others were extremely careful. No one should have seen the medical shop open. Even if Mu Nuha were caught, mentioning the medical shop wouldn’t match up, only proving he was lying and further confirming that he killed Princess Yangling.

“The Turkic envoys at the Court of State Ceremonial are all under guard by people the Emperor dispatched,” Zhenzhu added.

Although Mu Nuha was currently suspected of fleeing, since the investigation hadn’t reached its conclusion, Emperor Youning still showed respect to the envoys, only placing them under house arrest at the Court of State Ceremonial rather than directly imprisoning them.

“Princess, why did Mu Nuha need to escape?” Biyu couldn’t understand. “Doesn’t his escape confirm that he murdered and fled?”

“With his alertness, when he fainted from my incense, he must have realized this trap wasn’t one he could escape just because he wanted to,” Shen Xihe explained while slowly walking toward her courtyard. “Upon waking, he was witnessed killing Princess Yangling, leaving him no way to defend himself. Staying would only mean waiting for death. With someone’s help, he needed to escape, and his escape makes this an unsolved case.

If the Turkic side insists that Mu Nuha was killed by Emperor Youning, explaining his disappearance, this matter can’t be concluded. This way, it’s highly likely to avoid war between the two countries, with both sides tacitly accepting life for a life.”

“How could His Majesty accept such a life for a life?” His daughter was dead, and the Turkic prince suspect had fled, yet people would think he had already taken revenge – wasn’t this a great loss?

“What else can be done?” Shen Xihe smiled slightly. “The person was captured without resistance at the time of the incident, then disappeared from the Prefecture. With no trace in the capital, even if it’s confirmed that Mu Nuha is the true murderer if he was killed, his body should be returned to the Turks.”

This unexpected turn not only allowed Mu Nuha to successfully escape but also put the Emperor in the wrong.

Thinking of this, Shen Xihe wasn’t worried that Mu Nuha would seek her out now. His appearance would mean he fled on his own. If he was clever, he should swallow this anger and do everything possible to leave the city and the capital.

However, from now on, he must be a dead man. Even if he escaped back to the Turks, he would have to live in the shadows. Otherwise, once Emperor Youning discovered his whereabouts, he would have the right to demand his surrender from the Turks.

It depended on whether Mu Nuha could accept this. Thinking of this, Shen Xihe ordered: “Keep a close watch on the city gates.”

If Mu Nuha chose to endure, he would want to leave the city as quickly as possible.

Shen Xihe wasn’t the only one who thought of this; Xiao Huayong, after calming down, also realized this point. After returning to the palace, his eyes were covered, and the Imperial Physician said he couldn’t look at anything. Whether he could recover would have to wait until the toxins were cleared in the coming days.

“Seventh Son, don’t worry, I will see justice done for you,” Emperor Youning came to visit Xiao Huayong immediately.

“Your Majesty, I heard that Fifth Sister she…” Xiao Huayong’s tone was somewhat sorrowful. “My matter can wait. We cannot let Fifth Sister die in vain…”

Emperor Youning was also extremely troubled. Recently, one unfortunate event had followed another – his son might be permanently blinded by poison, his daughter died unjustly outside the palace, and the culprit was still missing.

“Regarding Yangling’s matter, I have already sent the Imperial Investigator to handle it,” Emperor Youning said. “You need not worry, just take care of yourself carefully. The Imperial Physician says your eyes can still be saved, don’t lose heart.”

Xiao Huayong, with his eyes covered, showed a faint smile on his pale face: “I am fine. Even if I truly become blind, I’ll just need to leave the residence less often in the future.”

He said to leave the residence rather than leave the Eastern Palace. Although he was very peaceful, seemingly accepting everything without complaint, his calm and composed manner made people feel heartache. Emperor Youning could only say again: “Take care carefully, it will certainly be fine.”

“Your Majesty, why did Mu Nuha want to kill Yangling?” Xiao Huayong asked as if changing the subject. “Could there be some misunderstanding?”

“Some medicine was found in Yangling’s palace. She had drugged Mu Nuha…” Emperor Youning didn’t specify what medicine it was.

Some clues could be investigated if Emperor Youning wanted to investigate. Although Mu Nuha had raised his suspicions about Xiao Huayong, in this matter, Emperor Youning didn’t believe it was Xiao Huayong’s doing to silence Mu Nuha.

Xiao Huayong wouldn’t take such a roundabout approach, sacrificing Princess Yangling’s life to trap Mu Nuha. If he wanted to move against Mu Nuha, he would have confronted him directly. Although all great men use poison, this method was too lacking in blood and masculinity.

It didn’t seem like his prince’s way of doing things – Emperor Youning never doubted this intuition.

“Why did Yangling leave the palace?” Xiao Huayong asked again.

“Mu Nuha arranged to meet her. He must have discovered that Yangling had drugged him, so he lured her out of the palace,” Emperor Youning frowned slightly.

The last time Mu Nuha sent a letter to arrange a meeting with Princess Yangling, he had exposed his handwriting and usual paper to Shen Xihe. Shen Xihe had made a copy, and after Princess Yangling left the palace, it was placed in her palace along with that bottle of medicine.