Before Xu Qing could pursue his attack, a crimson figure rushed forward, sword flashing with lethal precision, each strike aimed to kill.

Shen Xihe watched as Xiao Changying intervened, her hand resting on her belly as she lowered her gaze, hoping Xiao Changqin had given proper instructions.

Her plan couldn’t allow this person to die so easily.

Xiao Changqin naturally knew his brother’s feelings for Shen Xihe. When Shen Xihe went to pay respects at the Imperial Mausoleum, his foolish brother had secretly followed to see her off. Thus, he knew the Emperor would likely test Shen Xihe, and had told his brother about the plan.

Though Xiao Changying had agreed readily, when he witnessed that scene, his eyes had turned bloodshot. He was barely keeping himself together, not daring to think deeply – if Xu Qing hadn’t been there, that sword thrust into Shen Xihe’s body would have surely killed both mother and child.

Just thinking of this possibility made him want to tear this person to pieces right now.

“Go assist the Fierce Prince!” The Emperor Yu Ning, seeing something amiss, commanded the Imperial Guards.

Zhao Zhengxuan seized the opportunity to join in, having received the Emperor’s subtle hint to capture alive, so his moves were all aimed at blocking Xiao Changying.

As Xiao Changying gradually calmed down and slightly relaxed his stance, the assassin seized the opening, feinting before sweeping past him like the wind, charging toward Emperor Yu Ning once more.

This time, Shen Xihe had already pretended to move fearfully to a safe position and had deliberately blocked Liu Sanzhi, leaving the Emperor’s side exposed. Everyone who saw this paled, thinking the Emperor was about to be successfully assassinated.

However, unexpectedly, the Emperor slid a sword from his sleeve and thrust forward, while the assassin, who could have stabbed into the Emperor’s body, stopped at the crucial moment.

It was such a bizarre scene that everyone was stunned, staring wide-eyed.

Even Emperor Yu Ning, who had been prepared for mutual destruction, was taken aback.

The assassin, now run through by the Emperor’s sword, reached up and pulled off his mask, revealing a handsome face.

Standing behind Emperor Yu Ning, Shen Xihe drew in a sharp breath, instinctively looking toward Xiao Changqin.

This person, this face…

It was at least sixty percent similar to Emperor Yu Ning!

How had Xiao Changqin found someone so similar in such a short time?

Seeing this face, the Emperor was even more shocked.

Then the wounded assassin took out a jade pendant from his robes, its peony flower pattern vivid and lifelike, its glow subtle in the wavering light.

“You—” The Emperor’s hands began to tremble.

At this moment, the sword-pierced assassin lurched forward, driving the blade deeper, pressing almost body-to-body with the Emperor: “Your Majesty, Supreme Ruler… what are you afraid of? You’ve already killed your brother, what’s killing another son? Moreover… I’m not Your Majesty’s first child to be killed… No, I should have been the first, just that I didn’t die then, isn’t that right? Hehe…”

His voice was extremely low; even Shen Xihe, standing very close to the Emperor, couldn’t hear what else he said.

No one dared approach, as they could all see that His Majesty had no heart to pull out the sword and deliver another blow.

The assassin collapsed into His Majesty’s arms, leaning on his shoulder: “Your Majesty, curious… about who raised me? *cough cough*… It was the person you wish to see… However, he has already passed away… He died… died without regret, only because Your Majesty… will soon meet him…”

After struggling to breathe for quite a while, he finally managed to speak his last words with great difficulty: “Your Majesty, how well does the ink serve you…”

He stared at Emperor Yu Ning until his death, never taking his eyes off him.

If Shen Xihe hadn’t known the whole truth, she would have believed this was truly the Empress’s exchanged prince.

How had he managed to be so convincing? Such bearing and actions, and such righteousness in facing death?

Emperor Yu Ning stood rigid, holding the dead assassin, clutching the bloodstained jade pendant in his hand. No one knew what the Emperor was thinking. With their leader dead, the other assassins began committing suicide, poison sacs in their mouths.

As for the group of assassins who had been taking advantage of the chaos in the mist, most had already died at the hands of the Imperial Guards and others.

Amidst the pervading smell of blood was a deathlike silence.

No one knew how much time passed – perhaps just an instant, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, perhaps longer. Emperor Yu Ning coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted, finally breaking the suffocating stillness.

Liu Sanzhi and others hurriedly carried the Emperor, who had truly fainted this time, back to the Qinzheng Palace.

Shen Xihe rushed to Shen Xihe, and seeing that her color was still good with no signs of pain, finally breathed a sigh of relief before turning to leave with the guards.

“Imperial Sister-in-law… shall we summon the Imperial Physician?” Xiao Changying didn’t follow Xiao Changqin and Xiao Changgeng to Qinzheng Palace.

Shen Xihe expressionlessly shook her head at him. Everything had been within her expectations; how could she be shocked?

Nevertheless, she pretended to faint in Zhenzhu’s arms, letting them take her back to the Eastern Palace. Even if she was calm and collected, she was pregnant – it was reasonable that she might not react immediately, and then faint from the lingering fear once she did.

With this fainting spell, there was no need to request Imperial Physicians now – they had all gone to Qinzheng Palace, as the Emperor’s faint wasn’t feigned this time. However, everyone knew the Eastern Palace had its medical officials.

About an hour later, people gradually came to see her, including physicians from the Imperial Medical Office sent by the Empress Dowager, indicating that the situation with the Emperor had stabilized.

Even the three Xiao brothers came to visit together.

“You won the bet,” Xiao Changqin said, finally relieved.

Shen Xihe had taken too great a risk this time. The former Empress must have given birth to a child, but who could be certain it was a boy? What if they had just claimed it was a boy to make it easier for Xiao Huayong to take his place? What if it was a princess? Wouldn’t they have walked right into a trap, exposing everything?

The Emperor had awakened but remained silent. His reaction and that mouthful of blood proved that the Empress had indeed given birth to a prince and that the Emperor had arranged to have this prince silenced, even silencing those who had done the silencing.

“Your Highness, where did you find such a person?” Shen Xihe was more curious.

“Long ago, I kept him by my side. He was originally a beggar – I only kept him because of his appearance,” Xiao Changqin wasn’t sure what had prompted him then, just that the child’s features resembled the Emperor’s.

He was a death warrior raised by himself, with outstanding martial skills. Death warriors were always prepared to sacrifice themselves for their masters. The rest was hastily taught – having been by his side for several years, he had learned some of his bearing, enough to handle this scene.

“Now, can you tell me why you insisted on this move?” Xiao Changqin didn’t think it was merely to trouble the Emperor’s heart.

Although doing so would indeed make the Emperor more haunted.

Shen Xihe lowered her gaze: “To end His Majesty’s desire to open the coffin.”

The Emperor must have suspected Xiao Huayong. If they had followed the original plan, the Emperor might not have doubted, because once the Emperor suspected Xiao Huayong was the mastermind, he would be convinced that Xiao Huayong knew his true identity.

From an emperor’s perspective, he wouldn’t believe Xiao Huayong would give up the throne for Shen Xihe – this was also why the Emperor hadn’t initially suspected Xiao Huayong’s death was fake.

Therefore, in the Emperor’s view, if Xiao Huayong was the mastermind and had faked his death, Xiao Huayong would certainly return. Since he couldn’t return as Crown Prince, what identity would allow him to seize the throne?

Only the identity of Prince Qian’s son.

Now, Shen Xihe had delivered someone who truly knew the secret of his identity to Yu Ning’s presence.

This would make him believe everything was unrelated to Xiao Huayong, that it was all revenge from Xiao Juesong and his true son.

Xiao Changqin hadn’t considered this point – no wonder Shen Xihe had been so urgent, willing to take such a great risk.

“Crown Princess, your mind is as precise as silk threads.” Xiao Changqin sincerely praised, then added, “Even if His Majesty believes this, it can’t completely dispel his suspicion that the Crown Prince knows his identity.”

The autumn wind swept up fallen leaves, clearly showing some decay, but her smile beneath her fluttering hair was like the warm spring sun, incomparably bright: “His Majesty surely won’t want to bury this assassin hastily…”

Unlike Xiao Changmin and the others, who all had thoughts of rebellion and usurpation – that was self-destruction, the Emperor felt no guilt – this child was different. He was the Emperor’s true source of guilt. The Emperor had killed him and coughed up that mouthful of blood, showing the pain in his heart. Even if just to ease his conscience, he would give this child a grand burial.

How to give a grand burial? There was a ready-made reason.

After today’s events, the Emperor would need to give the court officials an explanation for the emotional display that everyone had witnessed.

The most mutually beneficial explanation would be to declare this was Prince Qian’s son, kidnapped by Xiao Juesong years ago. Conveniently, hadn’t he claimed Xiao Juesong sent people to attack when he killed his brother for the throne? This would corroborate that past event, covering up the truth.

Now the child had been instigated and deceived by Xiao Juesong, leading to this assassination attempt.

As his brother’s only flesh and blood, and due to his negligence of allowing villains to take advantage, he would naturally give him a grand funeral.

This would explain his unusual reaction, ease some guilt, allow the child to return to his ancestral line, and prevent any future claims of Prince Qian’s heir – achieving multiple goals at once.

Shen Xihe had thought it all through for His Majesty, and she firmly believed he would do exactly this.

Once His Majesty made this conclusion, whether the Crown Prince had faked his death wouldn’t matter anymore – he truly couldn’t return.

Xiao Changqin didn’t know what to say. Shen Xihe truly deserved to be Xiao Huayong’s woman.

“After this incident, His Majesty will no longer trouble me,” Shen Xihe didn’t look at Xiao Changqin, her hand gently resting on her belly. “He killed his true seventh son with his own hands, while the child in my womb is, by blood, the only continuing bloodline of the brother he feels guilty toward, and in name, the bloodline of the son he wronged even more deeply.”

Xiao Huayong was Prince Qian’s flesh and blood, Xiao Junzhu inherited this lineage’s blood.

Xiao Huayong’s position was as His Majesty’s seventh son, the “own” son whom His Majesty sacrificed for the throne and now killed with his own hands.

Xiao Junzhu inherited his nominal line.

His existence would become His Majesty’s redemption.

Xiao Changqin’s pupils dilated. He considered himself deep-thinking, but the machinations of this seemingly fragile woman before him made his hair stand on end.