“Your Highness, do you understand what you’re saying?” Shen Xihe rarely found herself speechless from shock, but Crown Prince Xiao Huayong always seemed to say the most startling things.

To present a false Emperor!

What was he planning to do?

Was it rebellion?

Kill the real Emperor? Replace him like substituting a peach tree with a plum tree, using a fake?

If they could capture or kill the Emperor, why would he need to control a fake one? He could simply ascend to the throne himself.

Controlling a fake Emperor would be precarious – one wrong move would lead to eternal damnation.

They couldn’t even get close to the Emperor’s trusted confidants. While she believed Xiao Huayong could understand Emperor Youning’s temperament, how could anyone hope to imitate the Emperor’s habits, experiences, and imperial dignity and strategy that belonged uniquely to him? This couldn’t be accomplished overnight.

This was completely different from Lu Bing’s situation.

Seeing Shen Xihe’s serious vigilance, Xiao Huayong felt somewhat helpless. “Youyou are thinking too far ahead. I never intended to control a fake Emperor.”

Setting aside all of Shen Xihe’s concerns, the throne was tempting. Anyone who sat on it, unless they were completely incompetent, would inevitably desire to become the true Emperor. And how could an incompetent person possibly imitate His Majesty?

“Then why does Your Highness want to present a false Emperor?” Shen Xihe asked, puzzled.

“I have no long-term plans. I simply want to witness the art of impersonation firsthand, thinking it might prove useful someday,” Xiao Huayong replied candidly.

Shen Xihe didn’t know what expression to show him, so she simply tilted her chin upward, her gaze lifting to merge with the orange candlelight.

Though she hadn’t rolled her eyes – her pupils and jaw merely lifted upward – even her dismissive look was elegant and enchanting. Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but break into a besotted smile.

Unable to tolerate the Crown Prince’s infatuated state, Shen Xihe simply stood up and went to the side chamber. She had already discovered Xiao Huayong’s little schemes and the Imperial Physician had reported that the Crown Prince’s condition was gradually stabilizing, so she no longer stayed in the bedroom of the wing chamber.

A few days later, news arrived that made Shen Xihe happy – Shen Yun’an and Xue Jinqiao had set their wedding date for next May, after Shen Xihe’s wedding. Her father would come to escort her to her wedding, while Shen Yun’an would remain in the Northwest to prepare for his wedding.

Shen Xihe knew this was meant to provide some comfort to Shen Yun’an. He surely wanted to personally carry her bridal sedan chair, but he and Shen Yueshan inevitably couldn’t come together. Letting him prepare for the wedding gave him an excuse not to enter the capital, beyond just the political situation – a self-deceptive comfort.

Therefore, although Shen Xihe didn’t show it these past few days, Xiao Huayong could tell she seemed somewhat melancholy.

He remembered she became emotionally subdued after receiving a family letter, so he inquired about matters in the Northwest. Within days he learned there were only joyous events and no misfortunes there. After pondering for a moment, he largely figured out her thoughts.

“I’ll accompany you to the Northwest for your brother’s wedding,” Xiao Huayong said softly.

Shen Xihe was slightly stunned. She somewhat doubted her ears: “Your Highness, what did you say?”

“I said, I’ll accompany you to the Northwest to personally witness your brother’s wedding,” Xiao Huayong repeated.

“Your Highness, the journey would be arduous, and it’s not proper,” Shen Xihe had never dared to hope for such a thing.

Being able to attend her cousin’s wedding was already pushing the boundaries, barely justifiable under the pretense of her status as a hostage giving her some freedom. Her brother’s wedding was after hers – how could she act so willfully as the Crown Princess?

“Proper? I only set rules for others, I never follow others’ rules,” Xiao Huayong’s lips curved upward, his eyes gleaming. “I want you to marry me and find joy and peace because of me. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that from the day you marry me, you’ll have fewer regrets in life. When we’re both old and gray, looking back on the past, if you can feel that marrying me was life’s blessing, that will be my life’s fulfillment.”

The prospect of attending her brother’s wedding made even the usually composed Shen Xihe’s heart flutter. She didn’t want to be insincere, knowing that for this to happen, Xiao Huayong would have to go into considerable trouble.

If she directly expressed unwillingness to let him trouble himself, he would likely be annoyed and ask what he wanted. He would surely be displeased. What he wanted was to exchange hearts with her, not make transactions and discuss pros and cons, but she couldn’t reach the level he desired right now.

She could only keep his thoughtfulness in her heart, and smiled gently: “Alright.”

She said “alright” without using distant and polite phrases like “thank you, Your Highness” or “I trouble Your Highness,” nor did she ask what he wanted in return. Like a cool breeze blowing into Xiao Huayong’s heart, it dispersed the gloom, making his heart instantly brighten.

Their interactions subsequently became less constrained by formalities, with Shen Xihe growing more at ease with him, treating him with increasing attentiveness and care.

Early that night when he awoke to find her slouched by his bedside, Xiao Huayong knew he would willingly sacrifice everything for this woman who treated him with genuine tenderness and concern.

At the beginning of August, Emperor Youning indeed granted marriage between Yu Sangzi and Prince Zhao. Shen Xihe witnessed Yu Sangzi’s thunderstruck expression before everyone’s eyes.

As the legitimate daughter of the Pingyao Marquis’s household, marrying a prince as his second wife wasn’t technically beneath her status, but in reality, how could she be willing to become a stepmother in her prime years?

Moreover, she wasn’t malicious-hearted and had never thought about mistreating Prince Zhao’s legitimate son. She realized that with a legitimate eldest son already present, even if she bore legitimate sons in the future, they couldn’t inherit the prince’s title. From her perspective, this was an unacceptable marriage.

She had dreamed of a husband who would understand her feelings. Prince Zhao already had a primary wife – no matter how she stood in Prince Zhao’s heart or others’ eyes in the future, she would always be compared to his previous wife. During festivals and holidays, she would even have to pay respects to a memorial tablet as a concubine.

Just thinking about it made Yu Sangzi feel stifled.

No one cared about Yu Sangzi’s thoughts. Besides arranging this marriage, Emperor Youning also planned to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for Shen Xihe in October. Shen Xihe was exactly ten months younger than Shen Xihe.

Many people secretly observed Shen Xihe, but she remained completely unconcerned. She was more puzzled by another matter: “The Empress Dowager held a spring banquet, yet besides the royal clan members like Prince Xun, neither Prince Xin nor Prince Lie, nor even Prince Jing who is away, were granted marriages. Why is this?”

This wasn’t normal – typically all thunder but a little rain.

“Just received news that Tubo is sending a princess for a political marriage,” Xiao Huayong explained to Shen Xihe.

At the beginning of the year, Tubo wanted to request a princess in marriage. After Munuha was manipulated by Shen Xihe, creating the incident of Munuha killing Princess Yangling, Emperor Youning originally didn’t want to agree to the marriage alliance and planned to turn hostile, though he hadn’t succeeded. Tubo was determined to establish marriage ties with the celestial dynasty – if they couldn’t take a bride, they would send a princess.

The princess would necessarily have to marry into the royal family, at minimum someone like Prince Xun Xiao Changfeng from the royal clan.

“Another bloody storm is coming,” Shen Xihe sighed softly.

Whoever married the princess would be cut off from succession to the throne, unless it was the Emperor or Crown Prince who married her.