His Majesty wasn’t acting out of suspicion or ill will toward Shen Yun’an – he was secretly working to prove Shen Yun’an’s innocence.
Of course, once it was revealed and confirmed that Shen Yun’an had abandoned his post to secretly infiltrate the Min River, His Majesty would be seen as a wise ruler who captured a treasonous official.
He could either attack or defend.
However events unfolded, the emperor would always be impeccable and watertight in his actions.
His skillful maneuvering could only be applauded.
“His Majesty won’t have concerns until Eighth Brother reaches Min River,” Xiao Huayong’s gaze fell on the Pingzhong leaf bonsai on his desk, his eyes distant. “But the Bu heir is in trouble.”
Bu Shulin was in trouble? What trouble?
For her sake, Xiao Changying had led Silver Mountain to draw away Xiao Changmin’s men, who in turn drew away Xiao Changyan and His Majesty’s forces. Now with news of Shen Yun’an reaching Min River, His Majesty had no attention to spare for Bu Shulin.
In His Majesty’s eyes, ten Bu Shulins weren’t worth one Shen Yun’an. Though His Majesty regretted not seizing the opportunity to reclaim South Shu’s military power, he didn’t mind letting Bu Shulin continue for a few more years if he returned unscathed.
But if Shen Yun’an came to Min River and brazenly returned to the Northwest, that would be His Majesty’s great humiliation, causing him to gnash his teeth in regret!
His Majesty had stopped pursuing Bu Shulin. The reason he still wanted to send Xiao Changying to Min River, besides the pros and cons analyzed earlier by Shen Xihe and Xiao Huayong, was that he knew Xiao Changyan feared Bu Shulin and would continue pursuing him.
However, Xiao Huayong had disrupted this move with Xiao Changying, and with Min River being urgent, His Majesty had no choice but to send Xiao Changyan.
Would Bu Shulin be let off so easily then?
Of course not – wasn’t Xiao Changmin still persistently pursuing him?
While not sufficient to deal with Shen Yun’an, he was certainly capable of handling Bu Shulin. Throughout this journey, Xiao Changmin had been the one truly able to track Bu Shulin.
The day Xiao Changyan led troops from the capital, His Majesty summoned Xiao Changmin. Xiao Huayong didn’t need to inquire to guess the purpose – to hint that Xiao Changmin should continue targeting Bu Shulin, with rewards awaiting success.
His Majesty’s great achievements and position as imperial father made him revered among the princes. Except for Xiao Huayong, even Xiao Changqin had deeply admired His Majesty. Gaining His Majesty’s recognition and trust had Xiao Changmin eager to act.
While the ambitious Xiao Changmin was discussing plans with his subordinates, the typically measured Yu Sangning burst in despite attempts to stop her.
Several gazes in the room turned to Yu Sangning as Xiao Changmin showed his displeasure.
Yu Sangning didn’t even glance at those present, looking directly at the enraged Xiao Changmin. Before he could shout in anger, she spoke first: “I have something to tell Your Highness. Please dismiss everyone else.”
With a loud “bang,” Xiao Changmin slammed his palm on the table, veins bulging on his temple, but Yu Sangning didn’t back down.
Seeing this, a leading subordinate quickly smoothed things over: “The Prince and Princess must have private matters to discuss. We’ll report to Your Highness later.”
Family matters of the royal clan weren’t for them to meddle in, so they withdrew quickly.
“You better truly have an urgent business!” Once the doors closed, leaving just the couple, Xiao Changmin warned through gritted teeth.
“Your Highness, do you know how the Prince of Lie was injured?” Yu Sangning asked.
Xiao Changmin grew more furious: “Don’t beat around the bush with me. If you continue being mysterious, don’t blame me for disregarding that flesh in your belly!”
He had tolerated Yu Sangning’s interruption only because of her pregnancy. If anything happened to Yu Sangning’s child because of him, his reputation for lacking virtue would be cemented, hindering his advancement.
“The Prince of Lie wasn’t in the military camp. He had been secretly following since the Bu heir left the capital, escorting him all the way. The Prince was injured by Your Highness and others working together, then secretly sent back!” Yu Sangning didn’t get angry and spoke directly, clearly stating everything she knew.
Why did Yu Sangning know all this? Because she had maintained good relations with Gu Qingzhu. Though the Prince of Xin had no interest in Gu Qingzhu, she was still a Gu and had never harmed the Prince of Xin’s household. The Prince couldn’t directly order his household to refuse to receive her.
Everyone in the household knew how much Xiao Changqin valued his late wife. With her identity as the late Princess’s sister, it wasn’t difficult for Gu Qingzhu to gather information at the Prince of Xin’s residence. By combining what she knew with careful deduction and verification, the truth wasn’t hard to piece together.
Xiao Changmin froze, then firmly denied: “Impossible!”
“Why not?”
Glancing at Yu Sangning, Xiao Changmin said: “Our three forces ambushed three days ago thousands of li away. If that person was Ninth Brother, how could he return to the capital in two days with severe injuries?”
Xiao Changying had “encountered an attack” in the capital just one day ago.
“This shows the Crown Princess’s capability.” Yu Sangning didn’t find it impossible – others might not be able to do it, but that didn’t mean Shen Xihe couldn’t. “Your Highness, if all this is true, the Prince of Lie’s injury wasn’t beyond the Crown Princess’s ability to save him, but rather deliberately arranged to make him avoid leading troops to Min River!”
Seeing Xiao Changmin’s dismissal and disbelief, Yu Sangning delivered a heavy blow: “Only the Crown Princess could make the Northwest Prince’s heir go to Min River!”
His Majesty couldn’t even spare attention for the Bu heir, even willing to send Prince Jing to Min River. This showed His Majesty had confirmed Shen Yun’an was in Min River, otherwise he wouldn’t stake everything on this.
From this, one could deduce that Shen Yun’an deliberately went to Min River and intentionally leaked the news, deliberately drawing His Majesty into a decisive battle. Thus, the Crown Princess had anticipated His Majesty would certainly respond, and His Majesty might have preferred the Prince of Lie – after all, Prince Jing was still pursuing another of His Majesty’s major concerns!
Xiao Changmin didn’t want to believe it but had to admit that according to Yu Sangning’s explanation, it was all logical.
The logic depended on whether Xiao Changying had truly escorted Bu Shulin all the way, and whether the Crown Princess could bring the severely injured Xiao Changying to the capital in two days!
But was this possible?
When had his ninth brother become involved with Bu Shulin? Knowing His Majesty wanted to eliminate Bu Shulin, why would he oppose His Majesty for Bu Shulin’s sake?
Was it to secretly win over Bu Shulin? To gain control of the South Shu army?
But Bu Shulin was close to the Eastern Palace – Xiao Changying would be stealing from a tiger’s mouth. If he had done this, how could the Crown Princess let him return alive? She wasn’t the one who killed him – if Xiao Changying died at their hands, Xiao Changqin couldn’t blame the Eastern Palace.
“Why would the Crown Princess save him?” This didn’t make sense.
“The Prince of Lie harbors affection for the Crown Princess,” Yu Sangning answered.
Xiao Changying normally maintained his distance from Shen Xihe. Without someone pointing it out, even careful observation might not reveal any clues.