For some reason, Xiao Changying had locked horns with Xiao Changmin, arousing the curiosity of Xiao Changzhen, Xiao Changyan, and Xiao Changgen. Xiao Changqing, however, stood straight, appearing uninvolved and making no attempt to intervene.
Only Xiao Huayong glanced at him, understanding perfectly well.
Xiao Changqing, Xiao Changyan, Xiao Changying, and even Xiao Changgen all knew that Xiao Changmin was trying to get to the Crown Prince Consort. Xiao Changying had always harbored feelings for Shen Xihe, so naturally, he couldn’t stand the sight of Xiao Changmin now.
“Ninth Brother, I don’t believe I’ve offended you, so why must you make things difficult for your elder brother?” Xiao Changmin said, unable to contain himself any longer.
“Your brother is straightforward by nature and fond of speaking truth. If Second Brother finds it unpleasant to hear, you’re welcome to refute me,” Xiao Changying revealed a roguish smile.
“You…”
“Enough!” Emperor Youning interrupted the brothers’ verbal sparring, sweeping his gaze over both of them. “Though Ninth Prince’s words may be unpleasant, they carry some truth. Second Prince, if you wish to prove your innocence, I’ll allow you to investigate alongside the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court and the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. I want to see how you’ll prove your innocence!”
Having temporarily resolved one matter, Emperor Youning’s gaze fell on Bu Shulin and Xiao Wenxi: “Since you two have already become husband and wife in Deed, I shall bestow marriage upon you. Regarding today’s events, I will explain to both the Prince of Shunan’s family and the Princess Imperial’s family.”
With His Majesty having spoken thus, no one dared to pursue the matter further, and when His Majesty dismissed them, they could only withdraw.
“Beichen, you were right. I underestimated Alin,” Shen Xihe said casually after entering the Eastern Palace.
The reason Bu Shulin had avoided Xiao Changmin’s incense was because she wore a sachet given to her by Shen Xihe – a special sachet designed to prevent the effects of stupefying or aphrodisiac incense, which Shen Xihe had just noticed.
She had deliberately turned the situation to their advantage. If she had suddenly gone to request His Majesty to bestow marriage or waited until His Majesty began to suspect her identity before finding a way to marry Xiao Wenxi, His Majesty’s doubts wouldn’t have been resolved by Xiao Wenxi marrying Bu Shulin. Instead, he would have suspected Xiao Wenxi and Bu Shulin of colluding, which would have made him wary of the Princess Imperial’s family as well.
Therefore, the marriage between Bu Shulin and Xiao Wenxi was best neither initiated proactively nor reactively after Emperor Youning began to harbor suspicions. Either approach would have seemed like an attempt to cover something up.
This time, going with the flow was the perfect solution. The marriage between Xiao Wenxi and Bu Shulin was forced by a scheme against them. Not only had Xiao Changmin seen Young Master Bu’s upper body and confirmed he was male today, but even if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t dare spread rumors easily in the future.
Xiao Wenxi and Bu Shulin’s incident at Prince Zhao’s residence – given Xiao Wenxi’s reputation as an intelligent lady – suggested that unless the Princess Imperial’s family had some massive secret in the Prince of Shunan’s family’s hands, Xiao Wenxi wouldn’t have endured such humiliation by playing along with Bu Shulin if he weren’t truly male.
No one could understand all the intricacies involved, and now anyone who suggested Bu Shulin wasn’t a man would be met with skeptical looks.
“Although Young Master Bu isn’t a fool, I won’t let others take credit for my work,” Xiao Huayong stood firm, staring intently at Shen Xihe. “Removing the firewood from under the pot, solving the problem once and for all, eliminating future troubles – this was my strategy.”
Under his surveillance, when Xiao Changmin took the incense to have it examined, he had to consider it carefully. So when Xiao Changmin wanted to do something, Xiao Huayong knew the purpose of the incense after examining it and had already anticipated it, then turned the situation to their advantage.
How to bring in the substitute and how to afterward get the person out – those were Bu Shulin’s abilities.
“You’ve certainly been busy, trying to keep me from worrying,” Shen Xihe glared at him.
“It’s all Youyou’s fault. When you worry, I get anxious. When I’m anxious, I can’t help but interfere…”
Xiao Huayong wouldn’t tell Shen Xihe that although he had advised her to worry less and trusted Bu Shulin’s capabilities, he was concerned about the slight chance something might go wrong – wouldn’t Shen Xihe blame him then?
“Fine, it’s all my fault for making you worry so much, is that better?” Shen Xihe snorted lightly and turned to leave.
Xiao Huayong hurried after her: “I-I didn’t mean that… I-I was just joking…”
“Pfft!” Shen Xihe couldn’t help but laugh. The Crown Prince only stammered around her when he was nervous.
It was hard to imagine that a man who could turn the tides, achieve victory from thousands of miles away, and hold the world in his hands could have such awkward moments.
“Oh my, Youyou is teasing me again!” Realizing he’d been played, Xiao Huayong pretended to be angry, but Shen Xihe had already started running ahead, with Xiao Huayong hurrying to catch up.
The couple chased each other around the courtyard for over an hour, while Zhenzhu, Tianyuan, and others watching from afar wore expressions that were hard to describe.
These two people, usually so deep and steady, had suddenly become like this – they still needed time to adjust to it.
If Biyu hadn’t come to report the results of Shen Xihe’s investigation, the two might have continued their playful chase for quite some time.
Shen Xihe looked at the letter Biyu handed over and let out a short laugh through her nose.
Xiao Huayong raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to look: “Consort Su has grand ambitions.”
Xiao Honghong’s fall into the water wasn’t as Noble Consort Song had said – he had needed to use the toilet after drinking too much. Rather, Noble Consort Song had allowed Xiao Honghong to play with children his age from her family, and to encourage their closeness, she had only assigned one eunuch to watch over them.
The eunuch later lost track of Xiao Honghong, which led to him falling into the water.
If this news reached His Majesty’s ears, given his love for Xiao Honghong, and with Consort Su whispering in his ear, Noble Consort Song might lose her right to raise the prince.
Xiao Honghong was only five years old and couldn’t be separated from a mother figure. The right to raise a prince involved many considerations, and in the inner palace, Consort Su was indeed the most suitable.
Consort Su had no natal family, so her raising a prince wouldn’t encourage any ambitious relatives.
“Lately, Consort Su and Noble Consort Song have been in close contact.” The inner palace was under Shen Xihe’s control.
If Noble Consort Song couldn’t see Consort Su’s role in this, losing the right to raise the prince would become certain. Then if Consort Su stirred things up a bit more with Noble Consort Song, or promised her more opportunities to spend time with Xiao Honghong, Noble Consort Song might even choose Consort Su herself to raise him.
Consort Su was a Tubo Princess. His Majesty wouldn’t let her bear children – a princess would be fine, but a prince would be problematic, as Tubo might want to interfere in imperial politics. Consort Su understood this.
From the moment she decided to follow His Majesty, she had given up her right to bear children.
But now she wasn’t content and wanted a prince to plan for the future, so Xiao Honghong was the best choice.
“Do you think she’s just planning for her old age, or…” Shen Xihe gazed at Xiao Huayong with deep meaning.
The Crown Prince wouldn’t live long, but His Majesty was in his prime. A five-year-old prince might outlive his elder brothers – this wasn’t just wishful thinking.
“Why think so much about it? Just make her schemes fail,” Xiao Huayong smiled faintly.
Some things didn’t need deep investigation into their underlying motives. Whatever the intention, simply ensuring it had nowhere to take root would suffice.