Shen Xihe was so angry she didn’t even want the apricot blossom rain painting Xiao Huayong had given her and strode away from the Eastern Palace.

However, by dusk, Tianyuan brought the painting, pleading miserably: “Princess, if I fail this task, His Highness will punish me for digging earth on the east side. Please have mercy.”

Shen Xihe didn’t like her matters affecting others – if she truly didn’t want the painting, she would have returned it herself.

Seeing Shen Xihe accept it, Tianyuan gave profuse thanks, then added: “Princess, His Highness says the Eastern Palace will be lively tomorrow. Since the Princess enjoys quiet, perhaps you could tour elsewhere in the palace.”

Whether Xiao Huayong felt guilty and didn’t dare invite her to the Eastern Palace, or there truly were matters tomorrow, Shen Xihe indeed didn’t want to go. Xiao Huayong truly made her lose her composure and want to commit violence at any moment.

“Any news from outside?” At night after washing up, Shen Xihe asked Zhenzhu while letting down her hair before the mirror, preparing to rest.

Zhenzhu was laying out the bedding: “Mo Yuan is watching everything – there’s nothing, neither at the Princess’s residence nor the Shen mansion.”

Shen Xihe had sent Mo Yuan to watch the Shen mansion, partly worried about implicating Shen Yingruo, and partly because if Munuha tried to target Shen Yingruo, they could capture him.

Before Shen Xihe could ask further, Zhenzhu added: “The city gates are under strict guard; he likely hasn’t left the city. However, the envoys have been causing trouble lately – they’ve reached their scheduled departure date.”

It wasn’t that they didn’t understand His Majesty, but they needed a definite date to look forward to. They couldn’t just be trapped here indefinitely. With Munuha missing, the Turkic envoys also found the matter suspicious.

They insisted that if Munuha meant to escape, he would have fled before the Capital Prefecture officials arrived.

It was a fact that he had been captured and taken to Yingtian Prefecture. As foreigners, they couldn’t possibly have escaped from the Capital Prefecture prison. Munuha hadn’t fled out of fear of punishment. If they hadn’t seen Munuha’s body with Princess Yangling’s corpse themselves, they likely would have turned the accusations around.

“Where could he be hiding?” Shen Xihe didn’t want Munuha to escape the city – he would be a huge future threat.

But she had posted people at every location she could think of. Three days had passed, and Munuha seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“Munuha wasn’t injured. He just needs a place with sufficient food and water to hide,” Zhenzhu felt it was natural they couldn’t find him. After all, the capital was so vast – since they could rescue Munuha from the Capital Prefecture, hiding him would be even simpler.

“I feel he may have already left the city,” Shen Xihe had an ominous intuition.

His Majesty had been delayed somewhat by Xiao Huayong’s matter. Between His Majesty investigating the cause and going to interrogate Munuha, there was about half to one hour. During this time, Prefect Zhang sent Munuha to the Capital Prefecture. Since it involved the Princess’s murder, he had no authority to question it, and could only gather evidence to present during His Majesty’s interrogation.

If she had rescued Munuha, she would certainly have guessed His Majesty would order strict control of the city gates. Only before they discovered Munuha had been rescued could they successfully send him away.

Zhenzhu’s expression grew serious – she also felt the person who freed Munuha was targeting the Princess.

“His blue eyes couldn’t possibly hide in…” As Shen Xihe spoke, Xiao Huayong’s cloth-covered eyes suddenly appeared in her mind.

If Munuha fled back to the Turks in such a pathetic state, given his condition, he could never be trusted with important duties again, and might even be punished for this incident. His status would plummet dramatically. Moreover, if his return to the Turks was discovered and reported to the capital, Emperor Youning would have to send troops, but Emperor Youning had his plans – he wanted to attack Tibet first.

Munuha spoke Chinese – he could completely pretend to be blind and hide somewhere outside the capital, gathering intelligence about the Great Dynasty. This way, he could still earn the Turkic Khan’s trust.

Thinking of this, Shen Xihe stood up, put on a robe, and went to the small study connected to her bedchamber, having Zhenzhu grind ink for her.

She drew Munuha’s likeness, then added a blindfold, instructing Hong Yu to deliver it to Xiao Huayong first thing in the morning.

Xiao Huayong had Hua Fuhai, whose spy network spread across the four seas through his merchant business – he could surely make it impossible for Munuha to hide.

After Xiao Huayong finished his morning meal, he heard Hong Yu had brought a painting. He thought Shen Xihe was returning the painting he had given her yesterday, worried that he had crossed a line and thoroughly angered her.

However, as soon as he held it, he could tell it wasn’t yesterday’s scroll. When he opened it to see Munuha’s vivid likeness on the paper, Xiao Huayong’s expression darkened. He immediately threw the painting to Tianyuan: “Pass this to Hua Fuhai, have people search and watch for him everywhere.”

Shen Xihe hadn’t included any message, but Xiao Huayong could understand the painting’s meaning – telling him Munuha had likely already left the city, perhaps even disguising himself as a blind man to hide and become a spy.

Xiao Huayong was very unhappy because Shen Xihe had drawn another man!

Thus when Master Xuqing arrived, he sensed the difficult-to-dispel gloom around Xiao Huayong. He carefully checked Xiao Huayong’s pulse and examined his eyes, confirming they were damaged, and not just for a day or two, but seemed to have undergone special treatment.

“Master Xuqing, how is Qilang?” Emperor Youning asked after Xuqing finished his examination.

“His Highness’s eyes are indeed damaged from poisoning,” Xuqing answered Emperor Youning directly. “He can still see objects, but cannot distinguish colors.”

When Xuqing examined Xiao Huayong, Emperor Youning watched the whole process – they couldn’t possibly have coordinated their stories. Moreover, Xuqing had been away from the capital and only returned two days ago, unaware of what had happened in the capital.

Xuqing didn’t inquire about the situation – as a monk, he simply answered what His Majesty asked.

After hearing this, Emperor Youning asked: “Can Qilang’s eyes be treated?”

“There are treatment methods, but whether they’ll be effective is uncertain,” Xuqing couldn’t be sure.

“Thank you for your efforts, Master Xuqing,” Emperor Youning instructed.

“Amitabha, this humble monk will do his best.”

Emperor Youning didn’t linger long in the Eastern Palace, but his departure didn’t dispel all his doubts.

Liu Sanzhi, who best understood the emperor’s thoughts, bowed and asked: “Is Your Majesty worried Master Xuqing’s words weren’t true?”

“Xuqing is upright and would never speak falsely,” Emperor Youning didn’t doubt Xuqing. “However… if the Crown Prince could arrange such a scheme, he might have skilled physicians nearby – pretending to be poisoned wouldn’t be impossible.”

Emperor Youning’s suspicions about Xiao Huayong weren’t heavy, but since it involved his trusted Wang Zheng, he had to get to the bottom of it.

“Go to the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau and find someone. Go personally, don’t let a third person know,” Emperor Youning suddenly said.

Though Liu Sanzhi didn’t know why, he respectfully accepted the command.

On Shen Xihe’s side, Hong Yu returned saying: “His Highness saw the painting and his expression turned terrifyingly dark.”