“Are you suggesting that Princess Yaoxi put her own life at risk just to frame you?” Emperor Youning looked at Shen Xihe.

“It’s not impossible,” Shen Xihe replied calmly. “After all, the position of Crown Princess is worth betting one’s life on, isn’t it? Though the Princess’s condition is severe, she has turned from danger to safety. It’s just a month or two of bed rest in exchange for becoming mistress of the Eastern Palace – hardly a loss.”

“Kah kah kah…” Xiao Huayong suddenly broke into rapid coughing.

He was trying to cover up his laughter. He had heard that Shen Xihe was particularly sharp-tongued when facing His Majesty, but this was the first time seeing it firsthand, and he found it rather amusing.

Emperor Youning glanced at him, then looked at Shen Xihe standing naturally in the main hall. Her argument was well-reasoned and difficult to refute. Though both sides stood firm, and everyone knew this couldn’t possibly be Princess Yaoxi’s self-inflicted scheme, without evidence, no one could pin the blame on Shen Xihe.

“Wait until the Princess wakes up, then you two can confront each other,” Emperor Youning said.

Hearing this, Shen Xihe bowed: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty *kah kah kah*… if there are no other instructions… son will escort the Princess… out of the palace,” Xiao Huayong spoke up timely.

His heart and eyes were full of Shen Xihe. Emperor Youning waved his hand to dismiss them.

“Why did you do this?” The two walked side by side against the wind and snow, with Xiao Huayong holding an umbrella for Shen Xihe as they headed toward the palace gates.

Thick snow crunched under their feet with crisp sounds. When they lifted their feet, powdery snow flew up.

The palace had servants sweeping daily, making the clean ground wet and slippery. Shen Xihe deliberately chose to walk through the accumulated snow. The northwest had frequent snow and wind – she not only enjoyed the sound of rain hitting the eaves but also loved the sound of stepping in snow.

“Didn’t Your Highness want me to let others know how much I care about you?” Shen Xihe’s clear voice carried through the wind as she walked steadily.

After today, everyone would know Princess Zhaoning’s determination to have the Crown Prince. If anyone dared to covet His Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Yaoxi’s fate would await them.

Xiao Huayong suddenly stopped in his tracks, stunned.

Shen Xihe didn’t stop. A snowflake landed on her long lashes, and she blinked gently. The snow melted away as her lips curved slightly.

The cold wind blew, and Xiao Huayong came to his senses to see Shen Xihe had gone far ahead. He hurriedly ran to catch up with her, umbrella in hand. As he ran, even the falling snow seemed to become lighter and more cheerful.

Shen Xihe had left Princess Yaoxi hanging in the cold all night, nearly taking her life. Imperial physicians even spread the word that if someone hadn’t given Princess Yaoxi timely acupuncture treatment, she likely wouldn’t have survived – which further proved it was Shen Xihe’s doing.

But what did it matter if everyone knew? What did it matter that Princess Yaoxi insisted she saw Shen Xihe’s guards hang her up? Without other evidence, Shen Xihe firmly maintained it was Princess Yaoxi’s self-inflicted scheme, and the Imperial physicians’ claims about someone saving Princess Yaoxi’s life beforehand couldn’t be proven either.

This ruthless yet clean method made the young men and women of the capital once again fear Shen Xihe, who had been quiet and peaceful for a year without taking action.

Princess Zhaoning was still Princess Zhaoning – domineering and forceful, fierce and decisive.

Somehow, rumors of sympathy for the Crown Prince began circulating, with people feeling that the gentle Crown Prince would surely be completely controlled by Princess Zhaoning in the future without any power to resist.

Both Shen Xihe and Xiao Huayong dismissed these words with a smile.

Princess Yaoxi lay in bed for a full month before she could walk again. Afterward, she became afraid of Shen Xihe and stopped pursuing the Crown Prince, turning her attention to Prince Xin instead.

“Who?” Shen Xihe was somewhat surprised when she heard Ziyu and Hongyu discussing this.

“It’s Prince Xin. The Princess has now set her sights on Prince Xin,” Ziyu replied.

Shen Xihe had thought Princess Yaoxi would seek out Xiao Changying again to put on a show since Xiao Changying was close to her age and unmarried.

In any case, whoever she pursued now was all an act for Emperor Youning to see. Judging from how Emperor Youning had left Shen Xihe standing in the cold wind outside Mingzheng Hall that day because of her complaint, Princess Yaoxi had already caught the emperor’s attention.

“Prince Xin is the most handsome, so naturally I seek him out,” Princess Yaoxi said when she met Shen Xihe at Princess Imperial Ruyang’s plum blossom viewing banquet that day, specifically coming to chat with Shen Xihe.

Princess Imperial Ruyang had presided over her coming-of-age ceremony, so Shen Xihe naturally couldn’t refuse her invitation. However, she disliked socializing, and the noble ladies of the capital had seen what kind of person she was – even the emperor’s princesses kept their distance from her out of respect.

Shen Xihe, enjoying the peace, was thinking about asking Princess Imperial Ruyang for some plum blossoms before leaving to make fragrances and preserves when Princess Yaoxi came over to find her. Zhenzhu and others immediately went to keep watch.

The two were supposedly incompatible as fire and water now – it wouldn’t look good if people saw them together.

Princess Yaoxi chatted away while Shen Xihe occasionally responded politely. When this topic came up, Shen Xihe asked casually, just not wanting Princess Yaoxi to feel coldly treated, but she answered quite seriously.

“Most handsome?” Shen Xihe gave her a skeptical look.

Princess Yaoxi covered her mouth and laughed: “The Crown Prince is always ‘sickly’ – even if he were supremely handsome, it would diminish his looks by half. I thought Prince Xin was the most handsome at first glance. If I hadn’t thought the Crown Prince was unfathomable at the time, I would have gone after Prince Xin first.”

“Different eyes for different flowers,” Shen Xihe said indifferently.

Everyone had different preferences, but even without preference, Shen Xihe thought Xiao Huayong’s beauty was unmatched in the world.

“I’m just joking with you,” Princess Yaoxi gradually stopped smiling. “I’m going to great lengths for you. I always felt that Noble Consort Rong is no simple person – she definitely won’t hand over palace power willingly.”

Noble Consort Rong had controlled the inner palace for over ten years, from initially coordinating with four consorts to now holding power alone. How could someone with such capability be simple?

“Now I’m pursuing her son. After some time, when His Majesty keeps me in the palace, she will surely hate me,” Princess Yaoxi smiled brightly. “When you marry into the Eastern Palace and try to take her palace power, she will hate you too. Guess whether she’ll try to use me against you?”

Princess Yaoxi performed this act with Shen Xihe firstly to avoid suspicion about her sudden distance from Xiao Huayong, and secondly so they could work together in the future – first letting the whole world know they had fallen out and even become mortal enemies.

It would benefit their future actions and easily reveal their enemies, as those who opposed them would try to use one against the other since their mutual animosity was common knowledge.

If Noble Consort Rong truly harbored hatred towards Shen Xihe for seizing power, she would surely fall into Princess Yaoxi’s trap.