These boastful words made Shen Xihe’s temples throb slightly, and she couldn’t help but raise her hand to massage them gently.

Ziyu and Biyu pressed their lips tightly together, afraid they might laugh out loud. The Crown Prince’s words weren’t particularly funny, but his deliberately fragile appearance, combined with their decisive Crown Prince Consort’s apparent helplessness against him, made it impossible for them to suppress their smiles.

“I’m just a puppet in the Crown Prince Consort’s hands. Youyou made this happen, so Youyou surely wouldn’t want others to see through your careful planning? Therefore, you must protect me,” Xiao Huayong declared confidently.

Fingertips pressed to her forehead, Shen Xihe calmed herself before completely ignoring Xiao Huayong. She called Mo Yuan in and instructed: “Ignore the street rumors. Given Dengzhou’s current situation, few people have the energy to care about such gossip. Send word to Qi Pei, tell him to spread this message in Jiangnan…”

At this point, Shen Xihe deliberately paused and handed Mo Yuan a letter she had prepared earlier from her sleeve.

Xiao Huayong strained to listen but heard nothing. When he looked over, he saw Mo Yuan accepting the letter and withdrawing.

Now it was his turn to be curious. He pretended to be reserved while occasionally making noises to attract Shen Xihe’s attention, but she remained focused on reviewing the accounts, completely undisturbed.

When his small actions failed to achieve their purpose, Xiao Huayong coughed lightly twice and walked toward Shen Xihe with his hands behind his back.

After staring at her for a while, he finally spoke when she finished reviewing one ledger: “What brilliant strategy has Youyou devised? How can you not share it with me?”

Shen Xihe glanced up at him briefly before picking up another ledger: “Your Highness will know in due time.”

But he wanted to know now!

His composure and steadiness crumbled before Shen Xihe. He wanted to understand everything about her immediately.

“If Youyou tells me, I’ll reveal who spread these rumors here,” Xiao Huayong attempted to negotiate.

Shen Xihe remained unmoved, her delicate fingers like jade scallions with rosy tips, manipulating the abacus up and down like camellia flowers blooming and closing: “It’s just those people. Dengzhou is troubled waters, and no one dares to interfere carelessly. Those who can must have already been involved. If Prince You wanted to inform us, he would do so privately, earning our gratitude.

Prince Jing has the capability, but though I dislike him greatly, I can’t be prejudiced. He’s too lazy to engage in such trivial matters that only irritate us.

Thus, only one person remains…”

Her clear, bright eyes met Xiao Huayong’s gradually fading smile, and the usually graceful Shen Xihe rarely showed her pearl-like white teeth: “Second Prince, Prince Zhao.”

Having such a clever wife could be troublesome – she was impossible to read. Xiao Huayong felt slightly defeated and sighed lightly: “What must I do for Youyou to tell me?”

“All of this is merely my speculation; I haven’t sent anyone to investigate. Your Highness’s wisdom surpasses mine, why not try guessing?” Shen Xihe buried her head again, the speed of her abacus calculations increasing.

This was the first time Xiao Huayong had seen Shen Xihe use an abacus. In previous years, she had handed the Independent Living Tower’s ledgers to Hong Yu. With Hong Yu remaining in the capital to monitor the palace for her, and Dengzhou’s supplies being crucial, Shen Xihe had to handle it personally.

So, his wife was skilled with an abacus.

Somehow, watching her fingers fly over the abacus beads, Xiao Huayong found it more pleasing than playing the qin.

After watching for a while, he suddenly lowered his eyelids, his tone carrying an indescribable melancholy: “Your thoughts, Youyou, I can never guess; while you read mine so easily…”

That final deep sigh made even Shen Xihe feel deeply guilty as if she had wounded a sincere heart.

The Crown Prince’s true talent wasn’t in feigning illness, but in acting. If he claimed second place in this skill, who would dare claim first?

He was implying, both directly and indirectly, that she hadn’t opened her heart to him. If this had happened when they first married, Shen Xihe might have retorted that he brought it upon himself, but now she felt reluctant to hurt him so.

Just as she was about to speak, Shen Xihe realized that if this had happened when they first married, would Xiao Huayong have dared to make such indirect accusations? If she had told him to guess then, he would have obediently done so. Now he was… spoiled by her favor.

He claimed he couldn’t fathom her thoughts, but in her view, he understood them perfectly!

“Whether or not His Majesty believes these baseless talks, they’re like a thorn. If we don’t stop these rumors in time, while we’re still managing disaster relief in Dengzhou, no one would dare cause trouble,” Shen Xihe said softly, despite recognizing Xiao Huayong’s presumption. “If this disaster relief succeeds, it will benefit the people, and the Eastern Palace’s influence will inevitably grow stronger. Some might fan the flames against us.

Therefore, the best solution is to remove this thorn from His Majesty’s heart.

Since we’ve used divine possession to unite Dengzhou’s people in fighting the floods, we can’t retract it. So we must explain why the divine spirit chose you and not His Majesty…”

It was simple – even divine possession couldn’t offend the emperor. The emperor was mandated by heaven, and in all supernatural tales, those who could be possessed were never healthy and strong-willed individuals. Xiao Huayong’s weakness made him the perfect vessel.

Shen Xihe had instructed Qi Pei to find people to write stories and have them spread in the best restaurants.

They would emphasize the emperor’s inviolability and untouchable majesty. This way, no one could use it against the Eastern Palace.

“Fighting rumors with rumors.” Xiao Huayong clapped softly.

The common people loved novels and legendary tales, and Shen Xihe’s version would be fascinating and memorable.

“Youyou had already anticipated someone would use this to cause trouble.” So she had prepared countermeasures.

“The incident at Xiangguo Temple and this coincided. One might be overlooked, but three times requires preparation,” Shen Xihe nodded.

Hearing this, Xiao Huayong reclined on a nearby chaise lounge, crossing his legs and putting his hands behind his head, saying smugly: “I’m truly fortunate to have such a wife.”

With such a female Zhuge Liang as his wife, he could win while lying down.

Shen Xihe didn’t know what expression to make, finally shaking her head helplessly and returning to her accounts.

The message was sent by Falcon and quickly reached Qi Pei in Jiangnan. The task was easy – Jiangnan had many talented people, especially scholars, and no shortage of imagination. In just one evening, Qi Pei received the story and immediately arranged for its circulation.

Soon, tales spread throughout the land of Emperor Youning’s nobility, how even the gods wouldn’t let his subjects suffer, hence the divine warnings. Stories of how healthy the emperor was, how evil spirits couldn’t approach him, and how even divine beings dared not violate his royal person spread across the country.

In essence, the Crown Prince hadn’t superseded the emperor; he was merely the second choice because even the divine spirits had to defer to His Majesty. This also validated His Majesty’s judgment in choosing his heir.

All credit went to His Majesty, who remained first in the people’s hearts, and they listed his achievements during his reign, lavishing praise upon him.

Though Emperor Youning knew it was all false, the people’s eager repetition of these tales greatly enhanced royal prestige, pleasing him.

At this moment, Shen Xihe made another move – she presented evidence of Prince Zhao’s earlier rumor-mongering to Emperor Youning’s desk, righteously declaring that Prince Zhao had destabilized Dengzhou’s people and attempted to drive a wedge between father and son. She requested severe punishment to appease the people.

She also mentioned that the Crown Prince, already weak, had traveled far to manage disaster relief on His Majesty’s behalf, and upon hearing these rumors, became anxious and his condition worsened. She asked His Majesty to give the Crown Prince justice.

When Xiao Huayong learned of Shen Xihe’s actions, he couldn’t help but laugh, proudly declaring once again: “Youyou are just like me.”