HomeAfter I Bloom Hundred Flowers DieChapter 686: Cui Jinbai's Grave Injuries

Chapter 686: Cui Jinbai’s Grave Injuries

“By marrying a princess of a fallen nation, His Highness Prince Dai has lost his right to compete. While His Highness Prince Xin is at his peak, lately he’s been concealing his edge, making him more mysterious and unpredictable. Even if Prince Xin truly has no desire for the throne, he should still support His Highness Prince Lie in the future.

His Highness Prince Jing has achieved brilliant military accomplishments and controls military power. How can Your Highness be certain Prince Jing will be content to remain subordinate?

His Highness Prince Lie has devoted himself to the military, and though without battle achievements, he associates with the sons of meritorious officials and has Prince Xin as his blood brother.

His Highness Prince Yan appears to have just entered court politics, yet shows signs of a young eagle spreading its wings.”

Yu Sangning expressed all her thoughts: “Whoever becomes master of the Eastern Palace now becomes everyone’s target.”

Xiao Huayong could maintain his position in the Eastern Palace because everyone was waiting to see if the prophecy about the Crown Prince not living past twenty-four springs would prove true. If Xiao Huayong was still alive after two years, hidden currents would likely surge.

His Majesty was still in his prime, and the Crown Prince might not live long – why should they fight to the death so early? Better to accumulate strength while storms haven’t yet risen, then when great winds blow, they can unleash their power and strive for supremacy.

This was the key to the current balance of power. If Xiao Changmin broke this balance now, he would only turn himself into a living target.

Unless Xiao Changmin was confident he could, by his power alone, not only avoid His Majesty’s suspicion but also firmly suppress all his brothers.

But could Xiao Changmin achieve this?

The answer was, naturally, no.

“According to your view, should I keep this matter buried in my heart and pretend to know nothing?” Xiao Changmin asked.

Yu Sangning felt relieved. Though Xiao Changmin’s expression remained neutral, she could sense he wasn’t angry, hadn’t felt embarrassed by her words, nor considered her statements nonsense.

This seemed to indicate he accepted her words. Yu Sangning pondered what kind of answer Xiao Changmin wanted. He wasn’t acting impulsively, but he also didn’t want to pretend ignorance about this matter. He wanted to create some movement to verify whether this speculation was true.

“This humble one mentioned earlier about having His Majesty arrange a marriage for Heir Bu,” Yu Sangning smiled, pursing her lips. “His Majesty must want to know more than anyone whether Heir Bu is truly female.”

Xiao Changmin understood Yu Sangning’s meaning. Revealing this information to His Majesty should be done subtly. If it proved false, His Majesty couldn’t blame him, and if true, His Majesty wouldn’t reward him either. He wouldn’t have to stand at the storm’s edge, yet could still watch an interesting show unfold.

But how did His Majesty suspect Bu Shulin was female?

Spreading baseless rumors wouldn’t be enough to make His Majesty force Bu Shulin to verify their identity. If Bu Shulin claimed humiliation and made a scene, then demanded to return to Shu territory, wouldn’t His Majesty’s losses outweigh the gains?

His Majesty wouldn’t be swayed by mere words.

Xiao Changmin accepted Yu Sangning’s suggestion and began thinking of ways to make His Majesty suspicious of Bu Shulin’s true identity.

Meanwhile, Shen Xihe waited for Xiao Huayong’s return. She stood at the Eastern Palace entrance where maple trees had withered and fine snow danced. Xiao Huayong, wearing a dark cape, walked unhurriedly toward her, snowflakes swirling around his steps.

“This is the first time Youyou has welcomed me here. My heart rejoices,” Xiao Huayong held Shen Xihe’s hands, bringing them to his lips to blow warm breath, gently rubbing them. “But please don’t do this in the future. The weather is cold, and if you catch a chill, my heart would ache.”

Shen Xihe looked at him, unable to resist a smile tugging at her lips. His face remained serene, and Shen Xihe couldn’t read anything from it, so she had to ask: “How did it go?”

“Not good.”

Those two words made the smile vanish from Shen Xihe’s lips. She couldn’t help sighing for Bu Shulin’s child, who came unexpectedly but couldn’t stay.

“What’s done is done. Being sad won’t help. If you truly want to help her keep this child, I can think of a way,” Xiao Huayong couldn’t bear to see Shen Xihe downcast.

Holding his hand that rested on her shoulder, Shen Xihe shook her head slightly: “It’s not just about this child, but thinking about Alin’s fate. When will she be free?”

“Youyou can completely decide when she’ll be free,” Xiao Huayong’s lips curved upward. “When we ascend to supreme power, someone will protect her and restore her freedom.”

Shen Xihe raised an eyebrow: “You’re persuading me to commit treason.”

“Would you?” Xiao Huayong asked.

“No,” Shen Xihe answered honestly.

Though Bu Shulin was her closest friend, and she would do everything in her power to help when possible, now wasn’t the time to rise. Attempting rebellion now offered little chance of success and would implicate the entire Northwest.

Moreover…

Though Shen Yueshan had many grievances against Emperor Youning, he never considered becoming a traitor. As long as Emperor Youning didn’t make the first move, Shen Yueshan wouldn’t strike first. Although Shen Xihe disliked this passivity, she knew this was the inevitable weakness of being a subject.

The Shen family ancestors took loyalty to the country as their duty, and their descendants must follow these ancestral teachings, not becoming the family’s sinners.

Deep amusement filled Xiao Huayong’s eyes. He had always known Shen Xihe would never lose rationality for friendship. He led her inside: “Their matters don’t need our concern. Zhihe returns tomorrow; they know their limits in how to proceed.”

After speaking, Xiao Huayong deliberately changed the subject, not letting Shen Xihe dwell on Bu Shulin’s situation.

However, neither Xiao Huayong nor Shen Xihe knew that plans rarely keep pace with changes.

After finishing his case, Cui Jinbai rushed back overnight, riding hard, but was ambushed before entering the capital. All his escorts were killed, and he was severely wounded. If he hadn’t sent word to Xiao Huayong in time, and if Xiao Huayong hadn’t dispatched aid quickly, he likely wouldn’t have survived.

Even so, the rescued Cui Jinbai remained unconscious.

“Who would dare ambush an important court official?” Shen Xihe was shocked and furious.

Cui Jinbai had been accompanied by imperial guards, conducting official business. They all carried official insignia – ordinary bandits and fugitives wouldn’t dare act rashly. Shen Xihe didn’t believe this was a targeted killing.

“They fled extremely fast. When local forces arrived with reinforcements, they had all retreated. Unknown whether they thought Zhihe was beyond hope, or for other reasons, they didn’t stay to engage with my men,” Xiao Huayong frowned, his bright black eyes covered with a layer of frost.

“How is Young Official Cui’s condition?” Shen Xihe’s heart jolted upon hearing this.

“Later, Lord Cui will personally come to the Eastern Palace seeking medical help. You can then naturally send Zhenzhu and Axi to check,” Xiao Huayong wasn’t clear about Cui Jinbai’s condition either, as those who rescued him only said the situation was critical.

Yet they couldn’t show excessive worry or eagerness, only waiting for the Cui household to send someone requesting help before they could dispatch people to assist with treatment.

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