Chapter 44 "He was still too indulgent towards her..."

Chapter 44: My Husband ==

The sky was dark today, and people's minds were not very clear. As soon as he finished speaking, Su Wanyue's hand stiffened. Since their marriage, Su Wanyue had never called Xiao Yu "husband," but had only fulfilled her duties as a princess consort, which he had always accepted. Why today...?

Su Wanyue couldn't bring herself to call him "husband."

Xiao Yu noticed his wife's hesitation and inner conflict. He grasped her shoulder and asked casually, "Does Your Highness have some unspeakable difficulty, or does Your Highness wish to accompany me to Fuzhou?"

His dark, phoenix-shaped eyes were filled with a thick, uncontrollable surge of dark emotions that wanted to hide her away. He vaguely realized that even if he didn't care about her identity, and no matter how loving they were in public, none of it was real. His wife not only didn't treat him as her husband, but she wouldn't even call him "husband."

The man was practically asking, "Do you consider me your husband?" Su Wanyue's chest heaved slightly, and she quickly put on a gentle smile, "My husband."

Xiao Yu's temples throbbed, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and even though he knew she called him "husband" reluctantly, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his chest.

He suddenly pulled his wife into his arms, calling her "Wanwan" in his heart. He gently rubbed her slender waist, his voice hoarse, "Wait for me to come back."

The palace was heavily guarded, and she also had other people assigned to her side, so there was no need to worry about her safety.

Xiao Yu was on the Emperor's orders to go to Fuzhou. Soldiers and carriages were already waiting outside the gate. Several coroners from the Dali Temple were also accompanying him. After the Seventh Prince's accident, Xie Cheng, the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple, and the Imperial Physician were still in Fuzhou and had not yet returned to the capital.

Su Wanyue saw Xiao Yu to the door, just like an ordinary wife seeing her husband off on a long journey. But only Xiao Yu knew that she was just fulfilling her duties as a princess and completing her task. Xiao Yu gave her a deep look, and after getting into the carriage, he smiled and realized that he was still too indulgent towards her.

Once everything has settled down, he will settle this score with her properly. She felt wronged, and so did he. She will make it up to him.

In late February, the weather in the capital was unpredictable. A cool breeze blew, and Qin'er draped a cloak over Su Wanyue's shoulders. "Your Highness, let's go back first."

Su Wanyue withdrew her gaze and was about to return when another carriage slowly drove by. Before the carriage even got close, the person inside was already waving to Su Wanyue. Who else could it be but the Seventh Princess?

Qin'er: "Your Highness, the Seventh Princess has arrived."

Su Wanyue stopped and looked at the newcomer with a smile. As soon as the carriage stopped, the Seventh Princess jumped up from the carriage, startling all the servants.

"Why has the princess come?"

The Seventh Princess first pouted, then smiled and said to Su Wanyue, "Isn't it because my brother was worried that my sister-in-law would be scared alone in the manor, so he made me stay in the manor to keep her company these days?"

Su Wanyue felt helpless; she wasn't that delicate.

The Seventh Princess was not about to miss any opportunity for her brother to be in front of his sister-in-law. She said with a smile, "Brother is just showing concern for his sister-in-law."

"Princess, please come in."

They were still together in the palace that morning, but Xiao Yu was leaving for Fuzhou that afternoon, which made the Crown Prince worry. His face was cold, and his annoyance was undisguised. He asked his advisor, "What do you think Father Emperor means by this?"

Since the person is already dead, just bring back a handful of earth for burial. Why did Father Emperor still send Xiao Yu over? Does Father Emperor suspect something?

“The Seventh Prince is already dead, but we must bring him back, whether he is alive or dead. We must bring back something.” Compared to the Crown Prince’s anxiety, the advisor was not flustered at all and could even comfort the Crown Prince.

“What you said makes sense, but he died so badly that even his body couldn’t be found. What else can we find besides a handful of dirt?” Xiao Ruofei gave him a cold look, and even his advisors were reluctant to believe him.

"The Seventh Prince is of noble status and is definitely different from ordinary people. His Majesty's actions are certainly meant to be seen by the people of the world."

"You'd better not leave any evidence against him." Xiao Ruofei glanced at him irritably. Other things were fine, but if he left evidence of harming his own siblings, his father would definitely not let him be the crown prince anymore.

The royal family disregards kinship and may even commit patricide or regicide if they harm their own siblings. There are examples of this in previous dynasties, and Xiao Ruofei understands this better than his advisors.

His advisors claimed that he had not left any evidence against him, so the crown prince need not worry.

The crown prince waved his hand irritably and paced back and forth in the hall. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. He couldn't just sit and wait for his doom; it was best to make some plans.

Furthermore, His Highness Prince Cheng suddenly came to Fuzhou to investigate the assassination of the Seventh Prince. The officials below were terrified, fearing that His Highness Prince Cheng would investigate them.

His Highness Prince Cheng's reputation is absolutely no less than that of the current Crown Prince.

The prefect and magistrate of Fuzhou had bathed and changed clothes early in the morning, preparing to welcome His Highness Prince Cheng. Just as they were about to leave, Xie Cheng arrived with several coroners. He glanced at the prefect and magistrate of Fuzhou, who were trembling with fear and dared not even breathe loudly, and said, "His Highness Prince Cheng has already gone to the scene of the Seventh Prince's fall from the cliff. You two should cooperate with these coroners to handle the bodies of the murderers."

Since Xie Cheng had spoken, how could the two officials dare to disobey? Just thinking about the bloody scene to come, the prefect of Fuzhou turned pale, and the magistrate of Fuzhou felt his stomach churning. What kind of mess was this?

Xie Cheng glanced at the prefect of Fuzhou and the county magistrate, then turned and led the coroner to the prison, with the two officials following closely behind.

At this moment, amidst the misty, swirling clouds, two distinguished young men sat facing each other. One possessed an air of refined elegance, while the other, though his face and eyes held a youthful air, exuded an aura that was clearly beyond the reach of ordinary people, with extremely sharp eyes.

Xiao Yi pushed the tea towards Xiao Yu and said with a smile, "Third Brother, how does this tea taste?"

Xiao Yu calmly and composedly drank the tea, saying, "Very good."

Xiao Yi's smile looked even more genuine. He held the girl's hand beside him, his smile filled with pride, "It's because Bai Shuang's cooking is so good."

Xiao Yu, without glancing to the side, asked calmly, "What are your plans for the future?"

Xiao Yi scratched his head and sighed with a maturity beyond his years, "My younger brother can't compare to my third brother's shrewdness, nor can he compare to my elder brother, the Crown Prince, who is full of schemes. Before, I only had my mother, but now I have another person. After this period of time is over, I will travel all over the country with Bai Shuang to save lives and heal the wounded."

Xiao Yi looked up at Bai Shuang, and Bai Shuang was also looking at him. The two smiled at each other. Xiao Yu was not surprised by this and did not say anything.

When Xiao Yi was young, he was in the palace. The people who treated him the best were Consort Qin and his elder brother. Although they were not born of the same mother, they had a very good relationship. Xiao Yi had always admired his elder brother since he was a child. In Qingzhou, Xiao Yi would send a letter to Xiao Yu every month. He did the same in Fuzhou. Suddenly, he thought of his brother's reply and asked, "But I still have a question."

Xiao Yu nodded slightly, signaling him to speak. Xiao Yi asked why he suddenly wanted to deal with the Eastern Palace. Those people sent by the Eastern Palace did not actually want to kill him, but only wanted to make him a cripple. A crippled prince would certainly not be qualified to inherit the throne. It was the Seventh Prince who turned the tables on the Seventh Prince, using himself as bait and falling off the cliff.

All of this was within the Third Brother's expectations. Although he was not dead, the blame for all of this would definitely fall on the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince lost power, the Prince Cheng's Mansion would certainly rise in status. Murdering a prince, colluding with his cronies, and then pointing out that the matter of selling smuggled salt was not done by the Eighth Prince—all of these things could lead his father, the Emperor, to depose the Crown Prince from his position as heir apparent.

Xiao Yi didn't quite understand why his elder brother was suddenly in such a hurry to seize power; his brother had never been like this before.

Thinking of his wife, Xiao Yu's expression softened considerably. He remained composed and said calmly, "Because of her."

"Is it my sister-in-law?" The use of "he" was quite intriguing. Xiao Yi asked, puzzled, "Does my sister-in-law want to be empress?"

Xiao Yurui lowered his phoenix eyes and remained silent.

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become somber, Xiao Yi wondered if he had said something wrong. Bai Shuang noticed Xiao Yi's pleading look and smiled, "Speaking of which, I have also heard a little about Princess Consort Cheng."

Xiao Yi said "Oh," somewhat curious.

Xiao Yu hit the nail on the head: "You're from Nanqiong."

Bai Shuang nodded. She was actually a little embarrassed by the man in front of her. Xiao Yi asked her how she got involved with her sister-in-law, and Bai Shuang laughed, "I'm from Nanqiong. Brother Yi, have you forgotten? My master is Master Huiyuan's junior sister. In fact, I should call Master Huiyuan my senior uncle. Back then, my senior uncle traveled all over the world and chose two disciples, Brother Lu Er and Sister Zilu. His Majesty and the Empress wanted my senior uncle to take Princess Weiyang as a disciple as well, but Princess Weiyang didn't want to go."

Under heaven, only Master Huiyuan, Master Yunyang, and Abbess Jinghui are highly respected. Master Huiyuan spends most of his time in Yunshan, Nanqiong, and his disciples in Guanzhong are Su Wanyue and Lu Qingchen. Master Yunyang spends most of his time in seclusion at Guimin Temple and is the master of Prince Cheng, Xiao Yu. As for Abbess Jinghui, she is not good at martial arts but is good at divination and medicine. She has also taken on a female disciple, who is Bai Shuang in front of us.

These words piqued Xiao Yi's curiosity, and he quickly asked, "Why doesn't sister-in-law want to go?"

If one could become a disciple of Master Huiyuan, how prestigious that would be! Of course, my sister-in-law is of noble status and doesn't need such things.

Because Xiao Yi was there, Bai Shuang was no longer afraid of Xiao Yu. She said, "Master later asked my senior uncle, and he said that Princess Weiyang yearns for freedom and doesn't like to be restrained. If she were to practice martial arts, it would definitely take half a year or even a year before she could return to the capital."

Bai Shuang wasn't curious about Princess Weiyang, but she was very curious about her other sister. However, every time she was able to see her master, that sister would go home. She had only heard that she was exceptionally beautiful.

Let's see if we can see that sister again when she returns to Nanqiong.

Xiao Yi squeezed the girl's palm. "You seem quite familiar with these things."

Bai Shuang proudly raised her eyes, "Yes, and on the eve of Princess Weiyang's marriage, Prince Xiang even came to see my martial uncle."

What was he going to do with Master Huiyuan?

"It seems they requested a certain medicine."

Just as Xiao Yi was about to ask what kind of medicine the other party was asking for, Xiao Yu had already smoothed his sleeves and stood up.

Xiao Yi hurriedly asked him if he wouldn't like to have some more tea, but Xiao Yu said that the prefect had important matters to attend to and left first.

Xiao Yi wanted to go with him, but his identity couldn't be exposed yet, so he sat down. With his brother and Xie Cheng there, they should be able to find evidence soon. Bai Shuang looked annoyed. "Brother Yi, did I say something wrong just now?"

Xiao Yi gently pinched the tip of her nose, his voice cool, "Third Brother is clearly trying to keep Sister-in-law as a mistress, and you come here saying that Sister-in-law yearns for freedom. How can Third Brother be happy about that?"

The fact that his third brother and sister-in-law were a perfect couple was something Xiao Yi had heard of, even though he was in Qingzhou. However, Xiao Yi didn't quite understand why his third brother would orchestrate such a scheme, all because of his sister-in-law, just to force their father to depose his elder brother, the Crown Prince. Everyone had witnessed his third brother's abilities; he had the talent of an emperor. But there were some methods that his third brother had previously disdained to use.

Third Brother is now personally involved. The first step is to get Father Emperor to depose Crown Prince and his elder brother from the position of heir apparent. The second step is to get Father Emperor to abdicate or to seize the throne. Based on Xiao Yi's understanding of Third Brother, Third Brother is not that kind of person. He is not doing this for himself. He wants to be emperor, but it seems to be to... protect the people he wants to protect.

Why must one be an emperor to protect someone? Is it because his sister-in-law is too beautiful and attracts the covetousness of others, and only by becoming an emperor can his brother truly protect her? Xiao Yi was puzzled.

Bai Shuang pouted in annoyance, "But what I said was the truth. Princess Weiyang is really an unrestrained person. Back when the two countries were arranged to marry, Princess Weiyang was not very willing."

Xiao Yi quickly covered her mouth. His third brother hadn't gone far, and his brother had amazing hearing. He was really afraid that these words would reach his third brother's ears.

Bai Shuang looked at him almost with tears in her eyes, "Then tell me, should I perform a divination for His Highness Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng?"

Xiao Yi shook his head and told her not to make a fuss. Bai Shuang was annoyed and was about to hit him when the girl's charming laughter soon came from Yunshan.

When Xiao Yu returned to the prefectural government, Xie Cheng came to find him immediately. Mo Yu went in first to announce, "Your Highness, Lord Xie has arrived."

Even after coming from prison, Xie Cheng was dressed in white, spotless. He handed the coroner's autopsy findings to Xiao Yu and said, "These corpses were poisoned long ago, and they all died from poisoning. If I'm not mistaken, the poison should be 'Drunken Beauty,' which is a hundred times more potent than arsenic. Moreover, this medicine is extremely rare and hard to come by, and ordinary people cannot obtain it."

If we can find out who's behind this, wouldn't we have witnesses? You can't find anything if someone is dead, but there are still living people around, aren't there?

***

A few days later, at Prince Cheng's residence.

Because the Seventh Princess was staying temporarily at Prince Cheng's residence, the residence was bustling with activity every day. During the day, the Seventh Princess would play the zither and chess with Su Wanyue, and at night, the Seventh Princess would take her to the pavilion to admire the moon. She lived a very relaxed life.

That evening, as the Seventh Princess and Su Wanyue were enjoying the moon and eating fruit, Qin'er hurriedly entered carrying something. "Your Highness, His Highness has sent a message."

The exquisite dice are inlaid with red beans, do you know how deep my longing is? [1]

The Seventh Princess's expression became complicated. Wasn't this just a young lady's thought? The Seventh Princess really couldn't associate these two poems with her brother. Her brother was going to great lengths to please his sister-in-law.

Seventh Princess: "Brother always keeps sister-in-law in his heart."

She was determined to find such a considerate husband this year. If one wasn't enough, she would keep a few more male concubines. The Seventh Princess clenched her fist, full of ambition.

After the Seventh Princess went back to rest, she saw that the Princess was still staring at the Eight Treasures Box. Qin'er took a deep breath and was about to ask the Princess if she had fallen for His Highness when Su Wanyue touched a small switch, turned it on, and found a letter hidden inside. Qin'er opened her mouth wide in surprise.

Su Wanyue read it through from beginning to end. The letter only stated the results of her investigation, but if she wanted to break the deadlock as soon as possible...

Su Wanyue thought of someone.

That day at the Water Fetching Pavilion, before leaving, Jingfeng bowed to Su Wanyue and said, "I owe Princess Cheng a favor. If Princess Cheng ever needs anything, I will do my best to help."

The Yan Gui Sect is the number one sect in the martial arts world. As the former sect leader, it would certainly be easier for her to investigate matters of the martial arts world. The only question is how she can contact Jing Feng.

Su Wanyue picked up the hem of her skirt and went into the inner room, with Qin'er hurrying after her.

Dipping her brush in ink, Su Wanyue quickly wrote a letter, instructing Qin'er to make sure it was delivered to Zhou Heng. She told him he would know what to do, and that this matter must not be known to anyone else.

Qin'er always handled Su Wanyue's instructions perfectly. "Please rest assured, Your Highness."

In early March, flowers were in full bloom in the capital. In previous years, the major families of the capital would have held flower-viewing banquets, but this year there was no sign of such events.

On this day, the Crown Princess Lin Ruohan invited Su Wanyue to sit in the East Palace.