“When did His Majesty find out? Which year was Your Highness eight?” Shen Xihe pressed.

With a faint smile, Xiao Huayong shook his head slightly: “This story begins twenty years ago…”

In early winter twenty years ago, the day Xiao Huayong was born, too many things happened in the capital.

The imperial city would fall the next day. Prince Qian, gentle and refined, considering their shared ancestry, didn’t wish to utterly destroy them. He gave those barricaded in the palace one day to consider – either open the gates and surrender, or they would storm the palace.

Which royal clan member wanted to die violently? Some were wavering. With the situation lost, they naturally persuaded the young emperor, who had just been elevated to the throne without even having his coronation ceremony, to open the gates and welcome Prince Qian and Empress Dowager.

That day, Emperor Youning did something no one expected. This person who had always obeyed his elder brother and served his mother with filial piety, upon learning the palace had sent a surrender letter and would open the gates tomorrow, arranged to meet Prince Qian and personally served him a poisoned cup of wine.

Shen Xihe’s expression grew stern.

But Xiao Huayong spoke like an outsider, telling Shen Xihe in a calm voice as if storytelling: “Back then, most people followed my father. When His Majesty could kill his brother for the throne, who would dare follow him? If this news leaked, the empire would fall into chaos. Those who followed my father could openly rebel against His Majesty.

His Majesty knew this deeply, so when he poisoned my father, he summoned Grandmother. When Grandmother arrived, it was just as my father was succumbing to the poison.”

The Empress Dowager was both shocked and enraged. She drew her sword and stabbed it into His Majesty’s chest. Emperor Youning didn’t dodge, only coldly explaining the situation to the Empress Dowager – either their whole family would enter the Yellow Springs together, or the Empress Dowager would help him cover this up and secure his throne.

At that time, Prince Qian, though mortally poisoned but still breathing, held the Empress Dowager’s hand. His last words were to let Emperor Youning have his way.

What else could be done? Could they return to those harsh days in the Northwest, with wind, frost, rain, and snow? They couldn’t!

If Emperor Youning’s killing of Prince Qian came to light, various forces would break free, each raising armies to divide the empire.

That day, Emperor Youning’s first wife secretly visited Prince Qian’s wife. The two couples had plotted together, ostensibly just to talk, as they were sisters-in-law both nine months pregnant.

But Prince Qian’s wife sensed something wrong. The two women, not knowing what had happened, collided and both went into labor simultaneously.

To the outside world, they claimed only Prince Qian’s wife gave birth, not wanting to raise suspicions about why Emperor Youning’s first wife, heavily pregnant, visited Prince Qian’s wife at night, and why both delivered early at the same time.

At this crucial moment when everything was about to be settled, even the smallest detail could raise countless suspicious eyes. Prince Qian’s wife gave birth to Xiao Huayong, Emperor Youning’s first wife bore a princess. When this news reached Prince Qian’s camp, he breathed his last upon hearing this joy.

The Empress Dowager saw his eyes, though unable to speak, endlessly pleading for her to raise his only flesh and blood.

The Empress Dowager agreed to cover for Emperor Youning and create a staged murder but with two conditions: First, kill Emperor Youning’s first wife as penance; second, Xiao Huayong would be recognized as born to Emperor Youning’s first wife, his only legitimate son.

The first condition served as revenge, a warning to Emperor Youning, and protection for Xiao Huayong.

Under these circumstances, Xiao Huayong couldn’t be Prince Qian’s son. Otherwise, as he grew up, someone would tell him about the past, making those who followed Prince Qian resent Emperor Youning and pin their hopes on Xiao Huayong’s growth.

This would be bad for both the situation and Xiao Huayong. Emperor Youning agreed.

The supposed enemy attack on Prince Qian, the Empress Dowager, and His Majesty was merely a play performed by the Empress Dowager under duress alongside Emperor Youning. Of course, for this play to so perfectly deceive everyone, one person’s help was indispensable.

“Who?” Shen Xihe’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

“Gu Zhao.”

The expected answer left Shen Xihe somehow at a loss.

“This is also one reason why His Majesty won’t tolerate Gu Zhao living.” It wasn’t just the game between the emperor and ministers – Gu Zhao knew Emperor Youning’s greatest secret.

Back then, the capital’s power was divided in two: inside the palace were eunuchs promoted by the Previous Emperor, and outside were civil officials of Gu Zhao’s generation.

Only with Gu Zhao’s help could they deceive everyone. Even if some had suspicions, they couldn’t find any evidence.

Gu Zhao helped because he was forced by circumstances. At that time, he had no choice. If Prince Qian didn’t take the throne, it would go to another prince supported by the palace eunuchs. If so, these eunuchs would be even harder to remove, and when the time was right, they would target the Gu family first.

With eunuchs in power, what would become of the empire? How could Gu Zhao tolerate that?

“Father must have known…” Shen Xihe murmured after hearing everything.

How could someone as perceptive as Shen Yueshan not know what happened? But what could he do? Emperor Youning dared act because he had calculated everything. No matter how suspicious, wary, or disgusted the Empress Dowager, Gu Zhao, and Shen Yueshan were with His Majesty, they had no choice.

If someone else had taken the throne, Shen Yueshan probably wouldn’t have made it back to the Northwest before being labeled a traitor.

Shen Yueshan knew Xiao Huayong’s background. He hadn’t considered Xiao Huayong before because he thought Xiao Huayong was fighting alone – even with the Empress Dowager’s support, he probably couldn’t overcome Emperor Youning. There was also the matter of Xiao Huayong’s supposedly short life.

His quick approval must have been because Xiao Huayong demonstrated his abilities and power, to the point where Shen Yueshan might now be misled into thinking Xiao Huayong’s short life expectancy was just an act.

Prince Qian’s son, Xiao Huayong had a blood feud with His Majesty over his murdered parents. He would inevitably clash with His Majesty and would never betray his wife’s family for His Majesty. As for whether husband and wife might turn against each other later for imperial power, no one could say for certain now, so that wasn’t considered.

But at least they could be sure that before Xiao Huayong ascended the throne, he would necessarily stand united with his wife’s family.

“I told you, Youyou’s choice must be me,” Xiao Huayong gazed at her deeply.

That day when she came to dissolve their engagement, he had thought about telling her his background. This way, Shen Xihe would choose him again for benefits, but feeling unwilling, he didn’t speak up.

He still wanted to try, relying solely on his true heart and feelings, to gradually move her, let her discover the oddities around her, and ask him about this matter on her own.

If she asked, he would answer.

Telling her such a big secret was to let her know his sincerity.

“Your Highness, we have a hard battle ahead,” Shen Xihe looked back at him.

His Majesty hasn’t acted yet, probably waiting for Xiao Huayong’s early death. Once Xiao Huayong was still alive after four years, would His Majesty tolerate someone, not his flesh and blood taking the throne?