Thirdly, he knew Shen Yueshan was too upright to conspire with treacherous people over personal gains.
“But the King of Northwest was kidnapped by Crown Prince Jiachen, and then Crown Prince Jiachen appeared in Tujue…” Everything seemed connected to Xiao Jueson.
Having seen Xiao Jueson in person and unaware of his death, Emperor Youning, and Liu Sanzhi didn’t believe Shen Yueshan could cause such a commotion under Xiao Jueson’s banner while remaining silent unless there was some benefit.
“Shen Yueshan isn’t foolish. His conflict with me is merely about power; but with Xiao Jueson, it’s a blood feud,” Emperor Youning couldn’t figure out the connection, but he maintained his rationality, firmly believing Shen Yueshan would never collaborate with Xiao Jueson.
He was more inclined to believe that Shen Yueshan had indeed been kidnapped by Xiao Jueson but escaped, making his story true. He naturally wouldn’t show himself. After Shen Yueshan escaped and faked his death, he might have even fooled Xiao Jueson, which led to Xiao Jueson running to Tujue, hoping to use them to occupy the Northwest. Coincidentally, his supposedly dead son was also in Tujue, which resulted in Xiao Changtai sending him messages.
This was the only reasonable explanation.
Liu Sanzhi nodded in agreement, his doubts instantly dispelled. He dared not say more, as His Majesty was currently grieving over the loss of his spies in the Northwest.
“Has the Crown Prince shown any unusual behavior?” the Emperor asked.
Liu Sanzhi was responsible for closely monitoring Xiao Huayong. Truthfully, before the temporary palace incident, Liu Sanzhi had also suspected Xiao Huayong. But after the incident, when Crown Prince Jiachen suddenly appeared, and they witnessed Xiao Jueson kidnapping Xiao Huayong – Xiao Jueson’s expression and demeanor couldn’t possibly have been fake – it meant their previous suspicions about the Crown Prince were likely Xiao Jueson’s doing.
Especially this time, when Liu Sanzhi had people closely following the Crown Prince, from his request to leave the palace without the Emperor’s approval, to eventually “successfully” escaping the palace while they turned a blind eye.
To the Northwest, the Crown Prince was weak and poisoned, often needing rest due to exhaustion. During this time, he had also arranged for some medical spies to check the Crown Prince’s pulse several times. The pulse readings were sent back and confirmed by imperial physicians trusted by His Majesty, showing no suspicious signs.
The Crown Prince had stumbled his way to the Northwest, then to the Tingzhou Governor’s mansion. Though his men couldn’t infiltrate the mansion, first with Pei Zhan accompanying and later with Xiao Changfeng present, they couldn’t detect any deception from the Crown Prince.
By this point, especially after seeing Xiao Changfeng’s letter, Liu Sanzhi no longer suspected Xiao Huayong: “Your Majesty, the Shen woman had never interacted with the Crown Prince before entering the capital. Upon arrival, she caught attention with her righteous speech at the Court of Justice. Besides the Crown Prince, she never associated with others. Her feelings for the Crown Prince were obvious.
This time, the King of Northwest’s fake death fooled even Prince Xun’s thorough medical examination, proving the Shen woman has skilled physicians by her side. They must have long been certain about the Crown Prince…
Therefore, the Shen woman’s focus on the Crown Prince from beginning to end might have a deeper meaning.”
Some things didn’t need to be stated explicitly. Shen Xihe targeted Xiao Huayong because he was the legitimate heir, albeit supposedly dying, to bear a legitimate grandson, giving the Shen family a chance to compete. This was the best path forward for the Shen family.
Sure enough, shortly after Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe’s marriage, Shen Yueshan eagerly eliminated all of His Majesty’s spies in the Northwest. To call this a coincidence would be too convenient.
Emperor Youning nodded slightly in agreement. After Xiao Huayong was poisoned and went to the Taoist temple, he sent tutors to teach him. Xiao Huayong remained intelligent, though his stamina was poor and learning was more difficult than for others. But he wasn’t stupid, and since beginning to participate in government affairs, he had performed adequately, if not exceptionally.
He also had spies in the Taoist temple recording Xiao Huayong’s development. It was only when various matters were stirred up after Xiao Huayong’s return that he became suspicious.
Looking at it now, Xiao Jueson seemed most suspicious, which meant Xiao Huayong was innocent, though he had now become a pawn of the Shen father and daughter.
The Shen woman truly had remarkable methods, even setting up the trap for Prince Kang. Her intelligence greatly resembled her birth mother’s. The Crown Prince was now completely besotted with her…
Emperor Youning could understand. The Crown Prince had been diagnosed with a short life expectancy since age eight – what noble lady would willingly marry someone destined for an early death? All the noble ladies in the capital avoided him, fearing becoming the former Crown Princess, causing their maternal family to face suspicion from the new ruler.
No lady had ever shown him favor before. The Shen woman was the first, and she was beautiful, with a proud personality, treating others with indifference and superiority, yet showing attention only to him. It was only natural for the Crown Prince to fall for her.
“Future dealings with the three Shen men must be carefully planned,” Emperor Youning felt that none of this family of three would be easy to handle.
Shen Xihe didn’t know that she had achieved her goal through Xiao Changfeng’s actions, completely clearing Xiao Huayong’s name with Emperor Youning. She remained in Tingzhou. On the day of Xiao Changtai and his wife’s burial, Shen Yueshan arrived in Tingzhou, exhausted and covered in dust from travel.
“Father, why did you rush here?” Shen Xihe looked at Shen Yueshan’s unkempt beard with concern and couldn’t help but reproach him.
“Your father missed his precious daughter,” Shen Yueshan cheerfully coaxed Shen Xihe.
Shen Xihe quickly brought Shen Yueshan inside and had Zhenzhu check his pulse. Shen Yueshan had taken powerful medicine – though it was for healing internal injuries, such medicine carried significant risks. Yet he had disobeyed orders, insisting on personally appearing in places like Gouyue City.
After examining Shen Yueshan’s pulse, Zhenzhu calmly reported to Shen Xihe: “Princess Consort, don’t worry. The King only needs to recover slowly according to Doctor Qi’s method, and he will heal completely.”
“Hahaha, is Youyou reassured now?” Shen Yueshan’s voice was strong. “Those cowards – your father only needed to show his face to make them surrender willingly. There was no need to fight at all.
Now, your father can focus on recovery. Once your brother is married, perhaps before long, I can enjoy playing with grandchildren…”
Speaking of this, Shen Yueshan’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to Shen Xihe’s abdomen.
Being a father rather than a mother, he couldn’t directly ask his daughter if there was good news.
Shen Yueshan wasn’t pressuring his daughter to have children soon. It was just that he was getting old, and after so many years of warfare, the Shen clan had dwindled severely. He desperately yearned for the birth of a new life carrying the Shen family bloodline.
Though Shen Yueshan thought he was being subtle, Shen Xihe responded coldly: “Father, you’d better focus on hoping for a grandson first!”
In truth, Shen Xihe herself was quite troubled, not knowing why she and Xiao Huayong still had no good news to share even now.