“Your Highness…”

Tianyuan wanted to say that although they had started the trouble, Princess Zhaoning hadn’t suffered any losses. On the contrary, they were the ones who had been tormented by Princess Zhaoning and punished by His Majesty.

The Princess hadn’t lost a single hair and had won both in substance and face.

But Tianyuan swallowed the words that had come to his lips. His gaze fell on the black jade Go piece in His Highness’s hand.

When it was first brought back from the white-haired elder in Luoyang, His Highness would only look at it occasionally when he thought of it. Lately, he had become reluctant to part with it.

“The Chen family, the Hu family, the Wang family.” Xiao Huayong’s fingertip tapped the black piece lightly on the Go board, touching it once for each name he spoke. In the quiet warm pavilion, the piece and board made low, crisp clicking sounds as they met.

“I seem to recall that Chen Zhong received the Tubo tribute mission three years ago?”

Chen Zhong was the Marquis of Xuanping, a hereditary title. He was a jinshi scholar and now held the position of Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

“Yes,” Tianyuan answered stiffly, knowing Chen Zhong was finished.

“He also accepted quite a few rare treasures from the Tubo prince.” Xiao Huayong’s smile gradually flattened. “In recent years, Tubo has been testing our borders, with several successful raids. How could they be so coincidental without someone leaking border defense maps?”

“Your Highness…” Tianyuan’s eyes widened – this charge was enough to cost the Marquis of Xuanping his life.

“Chen Zhong won’t let her off easily. Even if he doesn’t know she was behind Madam Xiao’s death, he’ll view her driving Madam Xiao out of the prince’s residence as the root cause.” Xiao Huayong ordered, “It’s time to change the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial anyway, perfect for putting our person in place.”

“Yes.” Tianyuan acknowledged.

“As for the Hu family…” Xiao Huayong contemplated.

Tianyuan was already growing alarmed and hurriedly said, “Your Highness, if three families that have just made enemies with the Princess suffer misfortune in succession, His Majesty might grow suspicious of her.”

He wasn’t trying to stop His Highness from seeking justice for the Princess, but His Highness’s moves were too big and likely to be exposed under His Majesty’s watchful eye. When that happened, all those who followed His Highness would blame the Princess.

Xiao Huayong cast a sideways glance at Tianyuan: “You speak well. We’ll deal with Chen Zhong first. The Hu family won’t escape the spring imperial examinations next year. As for the Wang family…”

“Lord Wang is shrewd and calculating, and the Wang family’s roots run deep. Your Highness should be cautious,” Tianyuan warned in a small voice, shrinking his neck.

He wanted to switch places with Difang and let Difang follow His Highness. His Highness was no longer the clear-minded prince of before – now he had to risk his life constantly to advise His Highness against becoming a benighted ruler!

“When did I say I would personally move against the Wang family?” Xiao Huayong raised his eyebrows. “Give all our evidence of the Wang family’s crimes to Fifth Brother.”

“Prince Xin?” Tianyuan was startled.

“The Gu family’s destruction came about because the noble houses weren’t united. While the Fan family was the chief culprit, the Wang family surely helped push things along.” Xiao Huayong’s silver-bright eyes gazed out the window. “If not for Fifth Brother’s princess consort setting up a final gambit at the cost of her life, today’s Minister of Personnel would be Wang Zheng. Fifth Brother will settle this account with him.”

“If we give the evidence to Prince Xin, and he realizes someone is trying to use him as a blade to kill another – will he… proceed according to Your Highness’s plan?” Tianyuan worried.

He worried that Prince Xin would grow suspicious of the Crown Prince and report him to His Majesty.

“Even knowing it’s a trap, he’ll still proceed without hesitation.” Xiao Huayong was certain. “Our Emperor may be cold-hearted, but his sons are all romantics. Fifth Brother is still at Fahua Temple, refusing to return despite His Majesty sending people to urge him repeatedly. It’s a silent resistance.”

Only hatred could bring him back.

Shen Xihe knew nothing of Xiao Huayong’s arrangements, nor of the several letters Xiao Huayong sent to summon Xiao Changqing back from his vigil at Fahua Temple.

After returning to the Princess’s residence and dropping Bu Shulin off, she also began considering how to bring down Chen Zhong.

The Chen family was Madam Xiao’s maternal family. Previously affected by the rouge case, they had to keep a low profile. Madam Xiao’s death had been so sudden that they had no time to attend to it, but recently they had begun privately inquiring into the circumstances before her death – they were starting to suspect her.

“The Court of State Ceremonial is a very good place.” Shen Xihe’s hand gently stroked Short Life’s back. “The most suitable place for charges of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country.”

“Meow!” Short Life’s spine inexplicably shuddered.

Bu Shulin, who had been eating a guifei cake, also froze with her mouth open. Crumbs of the cake fell as she stiffly turned her neck, her wide eyes meeting Shen Xihe’s in horror as the latter continued to pet the cat gently.

Bu Shulin had been sent to the capital as a hostage at age six and had grown up safely among all the shrewd characters there. She wasn’t a good person and had blood on her hands, but she had never been struck with crimes that would lead to the execution of entire families right from the start.

Shen Xihe was three years younger than her, yet her ruthlessness and sharpness were beyond Bu Shulin’s reach.

“What kind of person is Chen Yi?” Shen Xihe asked softly as if she hadn’t noticed Bu Shulin’s fear.

Chen Yi was Chen Zhong’s eldest legitimate son. The Chen family had risen through military merit but gradually declined until the old marquis contributed to Emperor You’s ascension to the throne and regained their title. Chen Yi had inherited his ancestors’ valor and was now in the military in Southern Shu.

“If I tell you he’s loyal, brave, and upright, would you spare him?” Bu Shulin blinked, put down her guifei cake, and asked Shen Xihe seriously.

“No.” Shen Xihe replied flatly. “The Marquis of Xuanping’s household and I are like fire and water, and as a member of that household, he is destined to be my opponent. Since I’ve moved against the Marquis’s household, I won’t give my enemies a chance to make a comeback.”

“If that’s the case, why ask me what kind of person he is?” Bu Shulin didn’t understand.

“If he’s treacherous and cunning, I’ll use him as an entry point to tear apart the Marquis’s household,” Shen Xihe answered. “If he’s loyal and upright, I won’t target him directly but will find another way to deal with Chen Zhong. Whether he gets implicated or not won’t be my concern.”

Bu Shulin felt relieved – she knew Shen Xihe wasn’t someone who would use any means necessary.

Just then, Shen Xihe poured cold water on Bu Shulin’s relief: “Don’t overestimate my conscience. My conscience depends on the urgency of the situation. When I have time to plan carefully, naturally I don’t want to harm the innocent. But if I don’t have time…”

She left the rest unsaid. When the nest falls, can any eggs remain intact?

Noble houses, powerful families, official circles – which of these places wasn’t interconnected, where pulling one thread wouldn’t affect the whole?

United in fortune and misfortune, just like the Gu family. At their peak, one person’s success elevated the whole clan; in their fall, the entire family was executed. This was the bloodiness beneath power transitions.

“Neither of us is a sage. In this imperial city of swords and daggers, we’re all fighting bloodily just to survive. Showing mercy to any enemy is cruelty to oneself,” Bu Shulin said seriously. “Though we haven’t interacted much, I know you’re not someone who harms others unprovoked.”

After all, when Shen Xihe first entered the city, the Marquis of Xuanping’s household tried to use the Northern Marquis’s household to take her life.