Today seemed no different from usual. The concubine had merely prepared some stimulants, and after returning he had hidden in his mansion. Putting it nicely, he was living in seclusion; putting it harshly, he was nothing but a defeated dog.

With his heart heavy, he hadn’t exercised restraint. How could he have known Yu Xiang was dead? When the news came and Yu Sangning sought him out, what state had he been in? Thinking carefully now, he couldn’t make sense of it. By the time he came to his senses, he heard Yu Sangning had miscarried because of him.

Yu Xiang died in the Min River. Xiao Changmin immediately sensed something was wrong. When he chased after her, Yu Sangning had already run out to kneel at the palace gates. That divorce letter from Yu Sangning was indeed in his handwriting and tone, but he couldn’t remember when he wrote it.

In his hazy memory, he only knew there had been a fierce argument with Yu Sangning at the concubine’s quarters. He had some vague impression of the pushing and shoving, but he felt these weren’t things he would normally do.

Because of Yu Sangning’s miscarriage, Xiao Changmin didn’t suspect Yu Sangning’s trickery but rather grew suspicious of the concubine’s stimulants. However, he couldn’t tell this to the Empress Dowager, especially not in front of the Crown Prince and Princess.

Though Xiao Changmin didn’t speak of it, Shen Xihe could guess – she detected a faint medicinal scent on him.

The scent was a complex mixture of medicines, and what could be distinguished were all hallucinogenic substances, such as datura.

So Shen Xihe could understand why Xiao Changmin was now confused and unable to explain clearly… he truly might not know the sequence of events.

With one unconscious and the other incoherent, even if the Empress Dowager wanted to determine the truth clearly, she couldn’t.

Having made her appearance, Shen Xihe left with Xiao Huayong. Since the Empress Dowager had taken charge of this matter, there was no room for her interference.

“Second Brother has fallen into his own woman’s trap without realizing it. He probably still feels guilty toward her right now,” Xiao Huayong said with some schadenfreude.

“Who could have guessed Princess Zhao would be so ruthless?” Shen Xihe didn’t think Xiao Changmin’s failure to see through it showed a lack of intelligence.

Yu Sangning sacrificed the child in her womb – even tigers don’t eat their cubs. Though there were many dark secrets in great households, how could ordinary people imagine that Yu Sangning would deliberately cause her miscarriage when Xiao Changmin was a perfectly good Prince?

Yu Sangning was clever. She understood the Eastern Palace would certainly settle accounts with Xiao Changmin, and had probably been waiting for an opportunity – one that would let her cleanly break from Xiao Changmin without offending the imperial family or affecting her future standing.

Just for this scheming alone, Shen Xihe admired Yu Sangning. Her methods left even Shen Xihe in awe.

In the current situation, even the Empress Dowager and Emperor couldn’t object to Yu Sangning’s desire for divorce. Her father died, her husband seeking pleasure, harming her to protect a concubine and causing her miscarriage, plus having Xiao Changmin’s divorce letter – she had achieved a perfect exit.

Xiao Huayong nodded in agreement. If he and Shen Xihe hadn’t known Yu Sangning’s true nature earlier, looking at this incident as outsiders, probably no one could have guessed she was the orchestrator.

“It seems Yu Xiang sent a letter home before his death,” said Xiao Huayong.

The prerequisite for all this was that Xiao Changmin didn’t know Yu Xiang had died, while Yu Sangning knew of Yu Xiang’s death before the court’s news arrived. Only then could she set up this scheme, having the concubine drug Xiao Changmin, seeking out the pleasure-seeking Xiao Changmin when the court’s news came, after which everything fell into place naturally?

“In the Yu family’s generation, only Princess Zhao has some cunning…” but confined to the inner court, she was ultimately short-sighted. Shen Xihe didn’t finish the latter part, because most women depended on men for survival, and there were countless like Yu Sangning.

It was just rare to find someone with her intelligence and ruthlessness. Had she been born into circumstances similar to Shen Xihe’s, Shen Xihe didn’t think Yu Sangning would be inferior.

“Yu Xiang rushing to his death certainly required some arrangements, sending word home early was only proper.”

It seemed Yu Xiang had left many instructions, but neither Shen Xihe nor Xiao Huayong feared this. Regardless of whether Yu Xiang was clever or would guide his children to resent them as a couple, the Yu family members weren’t worthy of their vigilance.

“Originally I thought setting up Second Brother so suddenly would leave suspicious loose ends difficult to tie up completely. Princess Zhao has handed me a ladder,” Xiao Huayong’s eyes grew even more amused.

After escorting Shen Xihe back to the Eastern Palace, he went to busy himself. Shen Xihe knew he was going to modify his original trap for Xiao Changmin, now using Yu Sangning to make everything watertight.

For Yu Sangning to dare such a scheme, she must have arranged everything perfectly. But Shen Xihe believed that whatever evidence Xiao Huayong wanted, even if it didn’t exist, he could create it from nothing.

They were the same kind of people!

By nightfall, Xiao Huayong returned looking relaxed, hands clasped behind his back.

“Resolved?” Shen Xihe had just finished bathing and was sitting at her dressing table drying her hair.

“Just missing the crucial step, requiring Youyou’s help.” Xiao Huayong took out a list from his robes and handed it to Shen Xihe.

The list contained all medicines, with several being fragrances.

“Is this…” Shen Xihe took it, “The formula that disturbed Prince Zhao’s mind?”

Several medicines listed were ones she had smelled on Xiao Changmin earlier, leading to her guess.

“Yes.” Xiao Huayong nodded. “I had Axi and others analyze it. It’s not a medical prescription. Thinking of Youyou’s usual perfume formulas, I brought it to ask.”

Yu Sangning wouldn’t dare buy ready-made items, as they’d leave too many traces that couldn’t withstand investigation.

It had to be rare medicines, preferably with a formula only she possessed, personally concocted. Only then could it be done without anyone knowing.

“Second Brother’s concubine has already committed suicide out of guilt, and her relatives have vanished without a trace. The Yu family’s actions were clean and decisive, long planned,” Xiao Huayong continued. Given the Yu family’s dark hearts and ruthless hands, whether these people were dead or alive was unknown, and Xiao Huayong couldn’t be bothered to waste effort investigating.

Currently, with Yu Sangning and Xiao Changmin’s matter still undecided, the Yu family probably wasn’t at ease and wouldn’t dare be careless. They likely still had people watching. If he sent people to inquire, it might alert them.

“Let me look carefully.” Shen Xihe examined the formula. These ingredients couldn’t possibly be combined into a perfume formula – some medicines clearly couldn’t be used together.

However, the large amount of fragrances indicated this couldn’t be a medical prescription.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Xihe had a guess: “Perhaps, being cautious, she included unnecessary ingredients.”

Xiao Huayong didn’t rule out this possibility.

Shen Xihe’s interest was also piqued, though she didn’t immediately start researching: “Give me three days. I’ll reproduce this perfume formula within three days.”

“No rush. The matter between the Yu family and Second Brother hasn’t been settled yet. We can wait two or three days.”