Physician Hua did not leave tonight, staying with Mo Sen to watch over Shen Qingyao. After Qian Tong retrieved the medicinal herbs, he began decocting the medicine according to Physician Hua’s instructions.
Half an hour later, feeding Shen Qingyao the first bowl of medicine proved difficult. As she was unconscious and unable to drink, Mo Sen had to pinch her jaw, feeding her while helping her swallow.
After finally managing to feed her all the medicine, Mo Sen was drenched in sweat—this was more exhausting than when he had followed the prince on campaigns to the south and north.
After that, they simply waited quietly.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Physician Hua confirmed that Shen Qingyao was out of danger and left. If he stayed longer, it would only raise the prince’s suspicions more quickly.
Song Jiuchen was an early riser and was now impeccably dressed, having his breakfast.
Though he appeared calm and composed on the surface, his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of a woman.
Would that girl regret her actions out of fear after witnessing the punishment?
After experiencing the yin descent, would she still want to persist?
These two questions swirled in his mind, lingering until he went to the Hall of Heavenly Mandate to review official documents.
Today, many officials came to inquire about Liu Hui and Shen Qingyao. Liu Hui’s dismissal, though not yet officially announced, had already caused quite a stir. However, they were all silenced by Song Jiuchen’s cold glare.
By noon, not wanting to dine alone, he went to Xiao Che’s place.
Currently, only he and Xiao Che resided in the prince’s mansion. His elder sister and Xiao Che’s younger brother were far away at the military camp and would not return for another two months.
His parents were no longer alive, having passed away one after the other eight years ago—one died from a poisoned arrow on the battlefield, and the other succumbed to illness due to prolonged melancholy.
His current princely title and independent administrative authority were hard-won through years of bloodshed and struggle, fought alongside his elder sister.
His family was not complicated, and he had few close relatives. Those who remained were all in the capital of the Central Plains and could not come here. They served as a bargaining chip for the emperor to keep him in check. The emperor had once decreed that he could refuse marriage proposals but was not allowed to take a principal consort without permission.
This was essentially cutting off his lineage, as the eldest son born to the principal consort would be the first in line to inherit the title, automatically qualifying as the heir without needing additional imperial approval.
Sons born to secondary consorts were considered illegitimate and had inheritance rights only if the principal consort bore no children. In such cases, they would need to petition the emperor for the heir’s title.
But would the emperor grant it?
Sons born to concubines had no right to petition for the title at all. In other words, he had no legitimate heir, effectively cutting off his lineage.
For the sake of his grandfather’s and maternal grandfather’s families, he had chosen to comply for now.
Arriving at Xiao Che’s residence just in time for lunch, the two sat facing each other.
As they ate, Xiao Che couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “A’Chen, did you really dismiss Liu Hui just like that? What were you thinking? And what about Shen Qingyao? Tell me, please?”
He had been bombarded with questions from officials all day, leaving him dizzy.
Song Jiuchen held his chopsticks, chewing slowly and thoughtfully. After a moment of consideration, he put down his chopsticks and looked at Xiao Che.
“Liu Hui was scheming against me.”
“What?”
This statement made Xiao Che’s eyes widen in disbelief.
But he was no fool. Following Song Jiuchen’s train of thought, his expression immediately turned both angry and grave.
“So, that morning when he invited me out for tea, he knew I would definitely bring you along? To set you up to see Shen Qingyao?”
That day at the Elegant Sage Teahouse, Liu Hui had only invited him.
Song Jiuchen neither confirmed nor denied it, saying only, “He didn’t come to apologize immediately not because he was afraid of exposing his scheme, but because he knew that if the matter was revealed too quickly, it wouldn’t achieve his purpose.”
“So he deliberately aroused my suspicions, wanting me to personally investigate, so that he could cover up and solidify the charges the next day. If I’m not mistaken, his goal was to harm himself, to leave himself with nothing.”
This was the reason he refused Shen Qingyao and firmly refused to show leniency. In fact, he had already noticed some issues with Liu Hui, but without evidence, he couldn’t explain it to her.
Xiao Che was stunned, truly stunned this time.
He had imagined that Liu Hui was a spy, deliberately using a beauty to bewitch Song Jiuchen to achieve some goal, such as creating a weakness in Song Jiuchen to exploit in the future. He never expected!
His goal was actually to frame himself. But why?
“A-Chen, why would he, a perfectly good third-rank official, want to bring about his own downfall?”
Song Jiuchen pondered briefly. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s for that Lady Ying of his! He loves that woman deeply, but due to an imperial decree, he had no choice but to marry another woman from a prominent family as his principal wife.
Although he also elevated Lady Ying to the status of a co-wife, a co-wife is essentially still a concubine. So he wants to leave himself with nothing, hoping that his principal wife, for the sake of their son’s future and the family’s honor, will divorce him. That way, he can fully legitimize Lady Ying.”
Liu Hui had two wives. His principal wife, Pan Shiru, came from a noble family. Her father was also a third-rank official, serving as the supervising censor in charge of the Southern Ridge Fortress, the gateway to the Central Plains, and was a trusted confidant of the Central Plains Emperor.
His marriage to Pan Shiru was a political alliance. At that time, Song Jiuchen’s father was the Grand Governor of the Southern Territory, and Liu Hui was one of his subordinates. Liu Hui was exceptionally capable and had already risen to the rank of fourth-rank lieutenant general. The Emperor, wanting to control Song Jiuchen’s father, meddled with his subordinates.
Thus, Liu Hui ended up betraying the daughter of his mentor, Mei Ying, the woman he loved most.
When Mei Ying found out, she was so heartbroken that she nearly took her own life.
Because Mei Ying’s father was only an eighth-rank instructor, he was simply not worthy of being Liu Hui’s principal wife.
The reason Liu Hui was able to marry Mei Ying as a co-wife was after Song Jiuchen’s father died. The Emperor issued an edict appointing Song Jiuchen as the Grand Governor of the Southern Territory. Liu Hui followed Song Jiuchen and made significant contributions, kneeling and begging Song Jiuchen to grant him this favor.
At the time, Song Jiuchen took advantage of the situation in the Southern Territory and wrote a letter to the Emperor, requesting permission for Instructor Mei to send his daughter to become Liu Hui’s concubine.
The Emperor, considering the bigger picture, agreed to this minor matter. The elevation to co-wife came later.
Xiao Che knew all this, but he frowned in thought, his eyes filled with disbelief. After pondering left and right, he looked up.
“So that means Liu Hui had been planning this for a long time. He didn’t rush to set the trap because he didn’t want the Pan family or the Emperor to suspect him. He also needed time to first understand Shen Qingyao and then use her.
Because he knew that scheming against you in this way, although it would anger you, wouldn’t constitute betrayal or a capital offense. Perhaps you would even forgive him for breaking free from the Pan family without dragging you down with him. If he used other methods, even if he achieved his goal, he would still die?”
“Mm,” Song Jiuchen nodded.
“Then would Shen Qingyao know?” Xiao Che immediately asked. “I mean, is she pretending to be ignorant while fully aware?”
Song Jiuchen thought for a moment. “Probably not. Last night, I deliberately revealed the truth to her. She was very surprised when she heard it—that expression wasn’t feigned. Moreover, she seemed to have sensed something was off, but likely out of gratitude for Liu Hui’s kindness, she chose to trust him for now.”
“…”
Xiao Che was stunned after hearing it. What a foolish woman.
Then he said, “Liu Hui is a bit despicable. In that case, his kindness toward Shen Qingyao isn’t really kindness—it’s more like raising a pawn. If you hadn’t been soft-hearted and forgiven her, Shen Qingyao would have died.”
Song Jiuchen fell silent for a moment. “You can’t say it like that. Without Liu Hui’s care, Shen Qingyao, as an orphaned girl, wouldn’t have been safe until now. Between people, aside from parents, there’s no such thing as a free favor. She enjoyed it for years, so she should have known that one day she’d have to repay it.”
After saying this, he added, “That’s why the girl did very well. She didn’t selfishly abandon Liu Hui—she risked her life to protect him. That’s repaying the favor. So I allowed her to do it, so that from now on, she owes Liu Hui nothing.”