The location was remote with no villagers living nearby. Shen Xihe had taken Princess Yaoxi, who was very cooperative and cleaned up all traces thoroughly. They had agreed to hang Princess Yaoxi here for one night. Shen Xihe had originally intended to hang her for just an hour near dawn, just for show.

Princess Yaoxi insisted on being hung for the entire night. She wanted a full night’s worth of dishevelment and injuries to gain Emperor Youning’s pity, and to use this as a reasonable excuse to stop pursuing Xiao Huayong, thus avoiding suspicion.

Shen Xihe didn’t stay there but had Moyu and Moyuan take turns watching from afar to prevent any unexpected dangers. If the Tubo’s timing and Imperial Guards found her early, it would be Princess Yaoxi’s good fortune, and they wouldn’t need to interfere.

To ensure no one would suspect anything, she deliberately meant to punish Princess Yaoxi. She had left no traces, so the possibility of Princess Yaoxi being found early was extremely low.

As Shen Xihe had predicted, Princess Yaoxi wasn’t discovered. After being hung for nearly three hours in the cold October capital, Princess Yaoxi’s lips had turned purple and her face pale. Moyuan, keeping track of time, took Princess Yaoxi down.

The accompanying Sui Axi was awakened. Sui Axi came forward to apply acupuncture, stimulating Princess Yaoxi’s blood flow. After confirming that Princess Yaoxi’s life wasn’t in danger and her hands wouldn’t be permanently disabled, following Shen Xihe’s instructions from before leaving, they sent the unconscious Princess Yaoxi back to their embassy residence.

When Shen Xihe woke up and finished washing, she was having breakfast when a palace eunuch arrived with His Majesty’s verbal decree summoning her to the palace.

Shen Xihe knew why she was being summoned. Her expression remained composed, not even sparing a glance at the eunuch delivering the decree. After entering the palace, she stood at the gates of Mingzheng Hall, but no one announced her arrival for a long time.

The cold wind was biting, each gust feeling as if it could cut through hair. Zhenzhu stepped forward to inquire, but the palace eunuch said His Majesty was discussing matters with officials. An urgent matter had come up, and he didn’t dare announce her rashly, fearing to incur imperial wrath.

“The Princess is delicate, and the wind is fierce. If she catches a cold, can you bear the responsibility?” Zhenzhu angrily said in a low voice.

The eunuch trembled: “Please calm down, miss. This year’s first snow came early, and many places were hit by snowstorms. Some places concealed it and only reported it today, enraging His Majesty. All officials from the Three Departments and Six Ministries are inside.”

“Such a grand palace has no place to shelter from wind and snow?” Zhenzhu asked with a stern face.

“Miss…” the eunuch looked troubled, “His Majesty is currently angry…”

They didn’t dare make arbitrary decisions. Mingzheng Hall traditionally required an announcement before entry. If they took it upon themselves to let Shen Xihe in and His Majesty was angry, they would be punished. Naturally, leaving Shen Xihe outside, if something happened to her, they also couldn’t escape punishment. In short, they couldn’t win this time – when immortals fight, mortals suffer.

Shen Xihe listened quietly and smiled slightly. She gazed forward, standing proudly, like the winter plum blossoming silently in the wind and snow not far behind her.

After waiting another moment, as the snow grew heavier, Shen Xihe extended her hand from her sleeve to catch a falling snowflake. She rubbed it between her fingers until it melted, then started walking, her steps light and graceful through the wind and snow, causing the eunuchs standing at the hall entrance to become extremely anxious as they watched her approach.

“Princess, this servant will go announce you right away…” Seeing her approach, the eunuch stammered, about to turn inside.

Shen Xihe spoke softly: “No need. Since His Majesty is busy with state affairs, I won’t wait here to avoid disturbing His Majesty’s important matters. I’ll wait at the Eastern Palace. When His Majesty finishes discussing state affairs, you can notify me there.”

The state affairs were certainly real, but whether they were truly so urgent at this exact moment was debatable. Regardless, she had waited here for a quarter hour, still maintaining His Majesty’s dignity.

Having said this, Shen Xihe turned gracefully, her silver-white fox fur cloak catching subtle silver gleams as it moved in the snow, elegant yet seeming to hide a sharp edge.

The eunuch could only watch helplessly as she left, not daring to stop her, and hurried back to find Liu Sanzhi to report.

When Shen Xihe arrived at the Eastern Palace, Xiao Huayong wasn’t there either – the state affairs discussion was real. Tianyuan had known Shen Xihe was left waiting at Mingzheng Hall, but due to her earlier instructions, he didn’t dare inform Xiao Huayong. When Shen Xihe arrived, he quickly ordered hot water to be brought.

“At exactly Chen time, Princess Yaoxi entered the palace to report that she was kidnapped by the Princess last night,” Tianyuan told Shen Xihe as she soaked her hands.

Shen Xihe nodded slightly, her gaze falling on her hands in the hot water basin. The ripples in the water gradually settled to stillness, like her thoughts – impossible to guess.

“The Imperial Physician personally went to examine Princess Yaoxi’s injuries and said her hands were almost ruined. Princess Yaoxi has also caught a cold and is unconscious. His Majesty is very angry,” Tianyuan continued.

Shen Xihe raised her hands, took the towel Zhenzhu offered, and wiped them methodically while smiling at Tianyuan: “It’s fine.”

Tianyuan couldn’t quite guess what Shen Xihe was doing. He firmly believed that Princess Yaoxi was kidnapped by Shen Xihe – not just him, the entire capital knew, especially after news spread of Princess Yaoxi being hung from a tree all night, which matched Shen Xihe’s style.

But hadn’t Princess Yaoxi already backed off? Why would the Princess still use such harsh methods because she was pursuing the Crown Prince? If it was an act, based on what he had heard about Princess Yaoxi’s miserable state, the sacrifice seemed too great.

The Imperial Medical Office said Princess Yaoxi was hanging by a thread – though she wasn’t dead or completely ruined, she had lost half her life force.

Shen Xihe didn’t explain anything to Tianyuan. She had been at the Eastern Palace for barely half an hour when a eunuch came from Mingzheng Hall to summon her.

When she saw Emperor Youning, the court officials had already left. Only Xiao Huayong remained in the hall, occasionally coughing softly.

“Zhaoning, Princess Yaoxi dragged her sick body into the palace early this morning to report that you kidnapped her and hung her from a tree for a night. She’s currently unconscious. How do you explain this?” Emperor Youning asked.

Shen Xihe replied unhurriedly: “Your Majesty, does the Princess have evidence?”

“Zhaoning is indeed different from others. Others would first cry injustice, but Zhaoning’s first words are to righteously demand evidence…” Emperor Youning laughed meaningfully, “According to what you say, without evidence, even if you did it, nothing can be done to you?”

“Your Majesty, Zhaoning simply believes in the law and evidence. Since the Princess is accusing Zhaoning, she has evidence. It can’t be just baseless slander, so Zhaoning is very curious about what evidence makes the Princess so certain it was Zhaoning’s doing,” Shen Xihe replied calmly.

“Princess Yaoxi says she saw with her own eyes that it was done by your subordinates,” Emperor Youning said.

Shen Xihe laughed lightly: “Your Majesty, Princess Yaoxi’s intentions toward the Eastern Palace are clear as day. Our interests conflict.”