When the Prince of the Northwest went missing after being attacked, it sent shockwaves through all regions. His Majesty issued orders to the Military Commissioner of Liangzhou and the Protector-General of Longxi Circuit to search with all their might. He also secretly commanded the troops stationed along the Türkic borders to maintain constant vigilance over any movements and prepare for potential conflict.

Shen Xihe quietly awaited the results of their search. Once word reached the capital that the search had proved fruitless, she could approach His Majesty to request permission to personally search.

“With such a major disturbance, will the Türks truly rise in rebellion?” Although Shen Xihe knew that Xiao Huayong must have made thorough arrangements, she still wanted to know if he harbored any intentions of using this to provoke war.

Perhaps due to unfulfilled desires, Xiao Huayong appeared completely deflated today, his entire being listless and dispirited. He drooped his eyelids, casting a reproachful gaze at Shen Xihe.

Shen Xihe glanced at him, and just then heard Duanming’s cry. She clapped her hands, and Duanming responded with two meows before darting inside, making straight for Shen Xihe.

Shen Xihe took some dried meat strips from nearby and offered them to Duanming. The cat’s round eyes shone brilliantly as it prepared to reach out with its paw, its mouth already open. However, Shen Xihe suddenly twisted her hand and stuffed the meat into Xiao Huayong’s mouth instead.

“Meow?” Duanming let out a short cry, its round eyes widening as it raised its claws and pounced toward Xiao Huayong.

Before Xiao Huayong could grab it, Shen Xihe had already pressed down on its neck. Duanming flattened itself against the ground, mewing pitifully with drooping eyelids, its gaze filled with resentment.

Shen Xihe brought Duanming close to Xiao Huayong’s face: “Do you see?”

Xiao Huayong, still savoring the meat strip his wife had fed him and completely absorbed in thoughts of her, was momentarily confused by her sudden question.

“Its current expression is identical to yours just now,” Shen Xihe tapped Duanming’s little head.

Xiao Huayong finally shifted his attention to Duanming. After observing for a moment, he had to speak truthfully: “Truly ugly.”

“Meow—” Duanming could least tolerate others calling it ugly. It seemed to understand these words; when Bu Shulin had once called it ugly, it had scratched him viciously.

Now hearing Xiao Huayong call it ugly, it somehow mustered unexpected strength to break free from Shen Xihe’s grip and lunged at Xiao Huayong with a desperate demeanor.

How could someone of Xiao Huayong’s martial prowess not evade such an attack? Yet just as he instinctively began to dodge, he deliberately suppressed the impulse, merely shifting slightly. Duanming’s claws grazed the side of his neck, leaving three fine scratch marks.

“Beichen!” Shen Xihe’s pupils contracted as she rushed forward, examining the wounds on Xiao Huayong’s neck which showed signs of bleeding. She called out, “Zhenzhu, bring the medicine box!”

Since Xiao Huayong disliked having servants attend to him closely, after his marriage to Shen Xihe, except for morning ablutions and the preparation of meals twice daily, all servants typically waited in the outer chambers, leaving only him and Shen Xihe in the inner chambers.

Zhenzhu, hearing Shen Xihe’s call from outside, hurried in, retrieved the medicine box from within the chamber, and moved to tend to Xiao Huayong’s injury.

Xiao Huayong avoided her: “It’s but a minor scratch, no need for concern.”

“It must be examined,” Shen Xihe said firmly.

“Unnecessary.” For the first time, Xiao Huayong, who never contradicted Shen Xihe, opposed her wishes.

Zhenzhu looked at Shen Xihe, then at Xiao Huayong, finding herself in a difficult position. She dared not disobey the Crown Princess’s command, yet the Crown Prince wouldn’t cooperate, and she dared not offend him.

Seeing Zhenzhu’s dilemma, Shen Xihe took the medicine herself and forcefully pulled Xiao Huayong down, making him sit. Xiao Huayong allowed himself to be easily pulled down, sitting obediently before her, a trace of a triumphant smile flickering in his eyes.

Shen Xihe worried about his injury, for she had seen him try to dodge, though he hadn’t managed to avoid it completely. She never suspected that Xiao Huayong had deliberately avoided only the vital areas while allowing himself to be scratched.

Moreover, since Duanming was her cat, and she had called it over to make a point to Xiao Huayong, and it was she who had stuffed the meat into Xiao Huayong’s mouth, provoking Duanming’s hostility toward him, she now felt extremely guilty.

She mixed the medicinal powder with water and carefully used a soft cloth dampened with the solution to clean his wound.

“Hiss…” Xiao Huayong couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

“Does it hurt very much?” Shen Xihe withdrew her hand slightly, asking softly, her gaze full of concern.

Zhenzhu quickly lowered her head nearby.

The Crown Prince was being ridiculously affected, yet the Crown Princess believed him.

“It hurts!” At this moment, Xiao Huayong cared nothing for masculine dignity, caring only that his wife would show him sympathy!

His exaggerated, delicate manner made Zhenzhu lower her head even further. If the Crown Princess hadn’t needed her guidance, she would have requested to withdraw immediately.

As a servant, this was not something she should be witnessing!

Shen Xihe typically disliked affected people, yet somehow she failed to notice the Crown Prince’s theatrics.

She grew more concerned, turning to ask Zhenzhu: “Do we have any medicine that won’t cause pain?”

Zhenzhu: …

She had to question whether this was truly her mistress!

Her mistress had suffered injuries before, not to mention being scratched by cats in the past and using this same medicine powder – surely she knew exactly how much it stung?

Though these thoughts ran through her mind, Zhenzhu dared not speak them. The Crown Prince only showed this weak side before her mistress; to others, he was as fierce as a tempest. She wouldn’t dare offend the Crown Prince.

Diligently, she produced another box of ointment and handed it to Shen Xihe: “Crown Princess, this can be applied to the wound.”

The ointment felt cool and soothing when applied, making it difficult for Xiao Huayong to continue his act. He cast a cool glance at Zhenzhu.

Zhenzhu appeared completely bewildered.

Even after leaving the inner chamber, she couldn’t figure out how she had offended the Crown Prince – hadn’t she refrained from exposing his act?

“Tianyuan, help me figure out where I went wrong?” Having served in the Eastern Palace for so long, Zhenzhu and the others had become quite close with Tianyuan and his colleagues, addressing each other by name.

Zhenzhu recounted the day’s events in detail to Tianyuan.

After listening, Tianyuan secretly scorned the Crown Prince, then cast a sympathetic look at Zhenzhu: “As trusted servants, sometimes we shouldn’t be too capable.”

Not too capable?

Zhenzhu pondered this carefully, her expression cracking slightly.

So when the Crown Princess asked if there was a medicine that wouldn’t sting, she should have said no, allowing the Crown Prince to continue his act and receive more sympathy from the Crown Princess.

This… was this the Crown Prince?

Was this the same magnificent, heroic Crown Prince who stood as tall as a pillar of state?

Zhenzhu’s complicated expression caught Tianyuan’s eye, who shot her a look that suggested she was making a fuss over nothing before leaving.

As someone who had weathered various storms with the Crown Prince, such scenes meant nothing to him.

Of course, this was before Tianyuan had witnessed the Crown Prince’s evening behavior, or his eyes would have bulged just the same.

Having been injured, the Crown Prince deliberately held his neck stiffly all day, walking about peculiarly.

He made it impossible for Shen Xihe to ignore the wound on his neck, especially at bedtime, when he pounced forward righteously. Before Shen Xihe could even resist, he whimpered pitifully: “My neck hurts.”