Shen Xiabai closed his eyes and leaned against the carriage wall. After a long while, he slowly opened them. His deep and cold voice came out of the carriage. "Yu Feng, send someone to spread what the emperor said in the imperial study today to the ears of the spies of Prince An and the Crown Prince."
*
"Your Highness," Eunuch Liu scurried into the study in small steps and reported to Xiao Yi, who was buried in official business. "The man has come."
The wind blew in, and the wind chimes jingled. Xiao Yi looked up at the roof, nodded, and said, "Let him in."
Soon, a man in a cloak, wearing black clothes and a black hat, walked in, knelt down and bowed, and said, "Your Highness."
Xiao Yi's face was solemn. "Didn't I tell you not to leave the palace without permission to see me unless there's something important?"
The man's voice was serious. "Your Highness, I'm here to report something important."
Eunuch Liu immediately and tactfully closed the door and windows. The man looked around to make sure there was no one else, and then whispered, "Today, the emperor summoned Lord Shen, probably about the position of Young Master Cui. During the conversation, the emperor mentioned Your Highness and the Crown Prince. The emperor said..."
Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of coldness. "What did he say?"
"He said that he wants to get rid of Your Highness and the Crown Prince once and for all."
The study was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It seemed that even the sound of breathing was clear. Eunuch Liu immediately said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Your Highness is the emperor's own flesh and blood after all."
It might be understandable if it was about the Crown Prince, because the emperor's dissatisfaction with him was not a one - day thing. But what about Your Highness?
Your Highness had never schemed or participated in the affairs of the Cui and Tang families. Even if he occasionally said a few words in the court, they were all insignificant.
"I would never dare to lie. These words were heard by Xing'er, a maid in the imperial study, with her own ears."
Prince An's wild and unruly eyes were gloomy. He leaned back in his chair, with half of his face hidden in the shadow, making it hard to tell his emotions. "What else did they say?"
"It seems that the emperor intended to arrange a marriage for Lord Shen, but Lord Shen refused. During the conversation, Prime Minister Cui and the Second Princess were mentioned, but the details are not clear. Xing'er didn't dare to get too close for fear of being discovered."
Eunuch Liu looked at his master in horror.
What the emperor was doing was like digging his own grave.
"Your Highness, among the eligible princes in the royal family, there are only you and the Crown Prince. Maybe the emperor was just saying it casually. If something happened to you and the Crown Prince, who would inherit the imperial family's throne?"
Prince An said coldly, "As you said, among the eligible princes. In my opinion, Father is in good health. It wouldn't be a problem for him to have ten or eight more sons."
Eunuch Liu was speechless.
Xiao Yi said, "Don't use the word'maybe' anymore. In the royal family, those who take chances will end up dead without a burial place."
Eunuch Liu replied tremblingly, "Yes."
"Go back too. Be careful."
The man agreed and then disappeared from the study in an instant. Suddenly, Xiao Yi turned to Eunuch Liu and asked, "What is the princess doing at this hour?"
"..."
"The princess somehow got a secret recipe for having a son from the Crown Princess and is in the courtyard, discussing with the imperial doctor how to have a child as soon as possible."
A pleasant smile appeared on Xiao Yi's lips. "Let her make a fuss. Tell the imperial doctor not to give her any secret recipes. If she insists, just let her drink some tonics to nourish her body."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Xiao Yi stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. The pleasant smile in his eyes slowly faded away. "My good father is really old and muddle - headed. He doesn't even know who set up the trap and just blamed me and the Crown Prince."
Eunuch Liu frowned. "Your Highness means that the emperor blames you and the Crown Prince for the matter of Young Master Cui's position?"
Xiao Yi sneered. "He can't even tell who is a friend and who is a foe around him. If he keeps sitting on that throne, do you think he'll just give away our imperial family's throne to others?"
Eunuch Liu didn't dare to answer this.
"Your Highness, could it be a trick by Lord Shen? That man is not an easy one. Otherwise, you could go to the emperor to explain?"
Xiao Yi scoffed. "Explain? Do you think he'll believe me, a person he thinks is coveting his throne, or his trusted minister?"
Moreover, it was true that the emperor had the intention to kill him. Regardless of this matter, he had already made a mistake by ignoring the relationship between the monarch and his subject, and between father and son.
Why should he explain?
In the royal family, opportunities are not given randomly. One wrong step means falling into an abyss.
"Or maybe, someone deliberately told me this."
*
At the same time, in the pitch - black night, a figure was moving through the Crown Prince's mansion.
Tang Qingwan had just gone to bed. Suddenly, there was a bird call in the courtyard. The Crown Prince, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, put on his coat, and got out of bed.
There was only a faint light from the glazed lanterns in the courtyard. The black - clothed man came and went quickly. After a moment, only the Crown Prince was left standing in the courtyard.
The little eunuch brought him a cloak and said, "Your Royal Highness, it's cold outside. You'd better go back into the room quickly."
The Crown Prince lowered his head and glanced at his trusted servant but didn't say a word.
He looked up at the faint moonlight in the sky, his eyes sore. "Father and son by blood have finally come to this point."
Before this, he had also hoped for a kind - father and filial - son relationship. So he had endured and made concessions again and again, hoping to balance the relationship between them. But now, his father wanted his life. If he made further concessions, it would mean a pile of corpses and a river of blood.
The Crown Prince looked back at the window lattice.
Under the dim candlelight, he could faintly see Tang Qingwan's slender figure.
He couldn't be selfish. He was no longer alone.
In the Shen Mansion, Shen Xiabai was leisurely sitting in a chair, repeatedly rubbing an old silver hairpin.
The hairpin had been repaired, but the patterns on it were of an old - fashioned style from many years ago. Even Dowager Shen wouldn't use it nowadays.
Yu Feng pushed the door open, then closed it behind him. "My lord, it's all done."
Shen Xiabai responded, and his eyes still didn't leave the hairpin. "Has she sent any news?"
"..."
They had only been separated for half a day. What news could she send? It's not like she couldn't live without him.
Although he thought so in his heart, he would never dare to say it out loud. "No. I suppose she's busy dealing with Prime Minister Cui."
Shen Xiabai slightly raised his eyes. His black eyes were slightly squinted, showing a hint of gloom.
Yu Feng only had business on his mind. "My lord, by doing this, there might not be a problem with the Crown Prince, but will Prince An believe it?"
His Highness Prince An might be a bit crazy, but he was really smart.
Shen Xiabai didn't care. "If someone told me that someone wanted to kill me and A Chu, do you think I'd believe it or not?"
Yu Feng was briefly speechless.
After a long while, he said, "If someone wanted to harm Eldest Miss Cui, even if you knew it was a trap, you'd probably jump into it."
"Yes." Shen Xiabai smiled faintly. "No one dares to gamble their life on an unknown possibility."
Even if there was only a tiny possibility, no one would let their loved one be in danger. He wouldn't, and neither would Prince An. After all, Cui Yunfeng was his lifeblood.
"..."
"Your Highness, it's blowing quite strongly outside today. It's likely to change the weather in the next couple of days," Yu Feng suddenly said.
