Using substitute tactics and fishing in troubled waters, when Xiao Huayong captured the Divine Warrior Army soldiers, he would surely torture them one by one. Although these men had undergone rigorous training, they hadn’t been baptized on the battlefield. Their willpower would inevitably be limited, and they certainly wouldn’t be as unbreakable as Prince Xun.

“This move might arouse His Majesty’s suspicions,” Shen Xihe wasn’t certain whether the Emperor would grow suspicious.

After all, they were soldiers who couldn’t move without orders, so how could they suddenly withdraw and come to the temporary palace to protect the Emperor? Especially that particular phrase, which seemed extremely deliberate.

“Hehehe…” Xiao Huayong laughed with pleasure, “Those two men were merely disguised as Divine Warrior Army soldiers, but were Crown Prince Jiachen’s men. Why would Crown Prince Jiachen do this? Naturally to expose His Majesty’s private intentions. What does that have to do with me?”

Shen Xihe suddenly looked at Xiao Huayong. His expression was composed; everything was under his control.

His Majesty wouldn’t think that Xiao Juexong and Xiao Huayong had conspired together beforehand because His Majesty couldn’t know that Xiao Juexong was already terminally ill and near death. Therefore, in His Majesty’s view, if Xiao Juexong wanted to join forces with Xiao Huayong, he wouldn’t expose himself so suddenly – there would surely be a grand scheme to justify his years of lurking in the shadows, busily maneuvering.

Since there was no suspicion of their collusion, His Majesty wouldn’t think that those two who impersonated his secret guards and deliberately came to the temporary palace to rescue people were Xiao Huayong’s attempt at covering up. He would only think it was purely Xiao Juexong’s method of antagonizing him.

What a masterful move of deceiving heaven and crossing the sea. Xiao Huayong had leveraged Xiao Juexong, disrupting His Majesty’s line of sight. By using Xiao Juexong to absorb all of His Majesty’s attention, while playing the role of a victim on both sides, he controlled the entire situation and gained all the benefits.

“In the future, Your Highness will have an additional mask,” Shen Xihe couldn’t help but admire Xiao Huayong’s foresight.

Xiao Juexong was dying, and only Xiao Huayong knew this. His Majesty couldn’t imagine it. In the future, whatever Xiao Huayong wanted to do, he could disguise it as Xiao Juexong’s doing, gradually using Xiao Juexong to cover himself.

In this move, without expending a single soldier, Xiao Huayong had caused His Majesty to lose over two hundred elite soldiers, with more than ten captured alive, and His Majesty remained unaware.

His Majesty’s elite troops could fight a hundred men each. Xiao Huayong had no army, and he couldn’t let His Majesty act recklessly at this time. If the Divine Warrior Army were to be deployed and achieve a great victory, His Majesty would gain tremendous confidence and would surely launch a massive campaign against Shen Yueshan or Bu Tuohai, or perhaps directly attack foreign tribes, using military achievements to legitimize the Divine Warrior Army’s acceptance by the people and their support, thereby naturally replacing the Northwestern Army or the Shu Southern Army.

Xiao Huayong’s single strike killed hundreds, leaving no survivors for His Majesty, which would make His Majesty doubt the Divine Warrior Army’s capabilities and hesitate to act rashly, buying himself effective time to continue plotting.

To annihilate these two hundred-plus men, Xiao Juexong had almost lost his entire force. Xiao Huayong had indeed expended considerable effort, but His Majesty wouldn’t see it that way because Xiao Juexong had escaped unscathed. How many men must he have had to accomplish this?

His Majesty naturally wouldn’t imagine that the escape was possible because Xiao Huayong acting as an inside man – an inside man who had been poisoned. Given the lethal poison aimed at taking his life, he would need to continue lying low for a long time, perhaps even facing several critical moments, to let His Majesty see how pitiful and miserable he was, making it increasingly implausible that he would collaborate with Xiao Juexong.

Xiao Juexong’s effortless disappearance would make His Majesty deeply wary. In the future, when Xiao Huayong acted under Xiao Juexong’s name, no matter how much bloodshed he caused, His Majesty would find it credible and grow increasingly fearful of someone already dead, never seeing clearly that the true troublemaker was right before his eyes daily, playing the role of a weak lamb awaiting slaughter.

“One who knows me is Youyou,” said Shen Xihe, easily realizing that from now on, Xiao Juexong would be his outer skin, a facade to deceive others. This pleased him, giving him a sense of their tacit understanding.

“Your Highness once said, fortunately, I am not your enemy,” Shen Xihe sighed. “Today, I return these words to Your Highness.”

She too was grateful they weren’t enemies. Otherwise, having such an enemy would truly be impossible to guard against, causing constant terror and sleepless nights.

“I am frank with you not because I want you to fear or dread me, but because I hope you can know and understand me,” Xiao Huayong said softly.

“I admire Your Highness’s wisdom, respect Your Highness’s methods, and am convinced by Your Highness’s superiority.” Shen Xihe smiled faintly, with a naturally confident light flowing about her. “I do not fear Your Highness.”

Her radiance was captivating, making it impossible for him to look away. He gazed at her deeply, with both affection and intensity: “You are heaven’s mercy upon me.”

He was always like this, never going three sentences without flirting with her, yet speaking as if from the depths of his heart. She didn’t want to respond to this, yet didn’t feel right questioning him. Seeing his smug expression irritated her, and she couldn’t help but retort: “Then you must be heaven’s punishment upon me.”

Xiao Huayong’s smile instantly froze on his face. He lay down and turned his back to Shen Xihe.

Now it was Shen Xihe’s turn to suppress her amusement, though she held back her laughter. She had no intention of coaxing him – his behavior was aimed at getting her to do just that. She hadn’t even brought up his earlier refusal to take medicine, and now he was throwing another tantrum. Coaxing him too much would only spoil him. Shen Xihe simply turned around, pushed the small table on the couch to the end, pulled over a thin blanket, removed her outer robe, and lay down still clothed.

Xiao Huayong was waiting to be coaxed, but after waiting a while and hearing rustling sounds, he wanted to secretly turn his head to peek, but his upbringing and Shen Xihe’s reaction restrained him.

Though he could be glib and occasionally made nighttime visits to ladies’ chambers, he still observed proper male-female boundaries and hadn’t thought of taking liberties with her before marriage. His stirring heart gradually settled, and that bit of petulance also instantly vanished.

Soon he felt her breathing become deep and even with sleep. He slowly turned around and saw Shen Xihe lying on her side on the couch. Only one lamp remained lit, its dim light falling on her face, which was peaceful and gentle in sleep.

Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but smile, his gaze softening. He adjusted his position to lie on his side facing Shen Xihe.

Suddenly he felt that the greatest benefit from this scheme against His Majesty wasn’t the Divine Warrior Army, nor the ability to stir up trouble under Xiao Juexong’s name in the future, but rather the opportunity to spend each day with her while pretending to be poisoned.

This was an unexpected joy. Now that Shen Xihe had started this, she couldn’t abandon it halfway. Her every move influenced others’ speculation about his illness.

“Hmm, must think of a way to delay returning to the palace,” Xiao Huayong muttered to himself.

Only here could Shen Xihe continue caring for him like this. Once back at the palace, she would have a reason not to come anymore.