Chapter 153 There is still someone else in the estate

Right now, Shen Hezhi had no desire to waste any more breath with the Emperor here. Paying no heed to whatever the Emperor was saying, he simply turned and left.

Watching Shen Hezhi depart, the Emperor narrowed his eyes. From the shadows behind him, a mysterious figure emerged.

"It seems you have no way of wresting the authority of the Nanyang Kingdom from his hands," the mysterious figure said.

Hearing this, the Emperor let out two notes of deeply disdainful laughter and replied, "I will undoubtedly obtain the authority of the Nanyang Kingdom that is currently in his hands. Do not forget, no matter what he becomes, he remains my son. Even if I have never favored him all these years, what of it? That is an immutable fact. Unless I die, there is no way for him to shake off this destiny. Even if he is truly unwilling to hand that power over to me, can he possibly silence the public censure of the common folk?"

The Emperor laughed triumphantly. Without another word, the mysterious figure turned and vanished into the shadows as well.

Upon returning to his manor, the Prince of Qi was in an exceedingly foul mood. Seeing the Prince in such a state, Shen Yi did not dare to step forward and ask what had happened.

Just at that moment, Yan Heru emerged from her rooms and entered the courtyard. The instant Shen Hezhi caught sight of his little wife, his foul mood instantly improved considerably.

However, he soon noticed a heavy look of worry upon his little wife's face, as if she had encountered some troublesome matter.

Shen Hezhi stepped up to Yan Heru and asked, "Has something happened? Why does my wife look so distressed? Has someone bullied you?"

Yan Heru let out a sigh, shook her head helplessly, and replied, "It is not quite being bullied, but it seems the Prince has forgotten that there is still a concubine residing within the estate..."

It was only upon hearing these words that Shen Hezhi remembered there indeed was a concubine in his household, and moreover, he had not seen Cen Changxiao upon his return.

Where were Cen Changxiao and Cen Changjing?

Perhaps he had been preoccupied with matters on the border for far too long, causing him to completely forget the existence of these two individuals.

***

Shen Hezhi turned his head to look at Shen Yi and demanded, "Where is Changxiao?"

Shen Yi had remembered, but seeing that the Prince of Qi had seemed in high spirits upon his return, he had deemed the matter unimportant and thus had not reported it immediately.

Now that the Prince was suddenly asking, Shen Yi had no choice but to reply. He answered, "Young Master Cen... he is... not currently in the Prince's manor. Originally, I intended to inform Your Highness, but seeing that you were constantly busy with vital affairs—and assuming Young Master Cen might also have had matters elsewhere—I chose not to trouble Your Highness with it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Hezhi felt a flicker of anger. Cen Changxiao was hardly an insignificant personage. Now that he had returned from the frontier, Cen Changxiao ought to have been in the manor to welcome him. He had only himself to blame, really; having been so busy lately, he truly had lost track of such a person's existence.

Had this been in the past—before Cen Changxiao and his sister had caused such incidents—the Prince of Qi would never have forgotten about him.

Yet those events had indeed driven a wedge between the two sworn brothers. Furthermore, though they appeared to be brothers, in every practical sense, their relationship remained that of master and servant.

With Shen Hezhi as the master and Cen Changxiao as the servant, once a crack formed between them, their bond could never return to what it once was. Thus, it was only natural that the Prince of Qi had not thought of him the very first moment he returned.

"You should have informed me of this sooner. Cen Changxiao is no longer the Cen Changxiao of the past," Shen Hezhi said.

Knowing that he had erred in handling this matter, Shen Yi had no defense against the Prince's rebuke. All he could do now was try his utmost to remedy his mistake.

"This subordinate acknowledges his fault. Please punish me, Your Highness," Shen Yi said, dropping to his knees before Shen Hezhi.

Shen Hezhi rubbed his throbbing temples and waved a hand, saying, "This cannot be blamed entirely upon you. Rise first. After all, the impression he left on all of you while serving by my side was too deep. It is understandable that you cannot change your perception of him overnight. Do you know where he is now? If you do not, send out scouts to investigate immediately. I want intelligence on him as quickly as possible. Oh, and his sister's whereabouts as well."

For some inexplicable reason, upon hearing his wife mention that concubine, coupled with the Emperor summoning him that evening to speak of such weighty matters, the Prince of Qi began to suspect there might be a mole within his own household.

***

Yet, after pondering for a long time, he could not think of anyone who might be a traitor. It was his little wife's remark that had reminded him: although Cen Changxiao had once been utterly loyal to the Prince of Qi, the incident involving his sister had created a rift between them.

Therefore, it was entirely possible that, because of this, he no longer remained fiercely loyal to the Prince. That was a distinct possibility.

"Your Highness, you do not need to send anyone to investigate. I know where he is right now," Yan Heru said calmly.

Hearing that his wife knew the whereabouts, the Prince of Qi looked at her in bewilderment and asked, "How could you possibly know where he is?"

Yan Heru sighed and replied, "Earlier, when I mentioned to the Prince that someone in the manor had been forgotten, I was referring to the Prince's concubine. And right now, the Prince's concubine is together with her brother. They are inside the concubine's courtyard and have not left the estate at all.

"The reason I brought this up just now was because, as I was passing by, the concubine immediately came over to flaunt herself before me. Though I have no idea what she thought she had to boast about, her behavior left me quite displeased. However, I did not engage in any lengthy conversation with them and simply walked away. When I came out to the courtyard, I ran into the Prince, who asked what was wrong, and so I told him about it."

Having said this, Yan Heru paused, feeling as though her explanation might still be insufficient, and added, "Actually, I originally had no wish to bother the Prince with this; it was hardly a major matter. But that woman truly managed to upset me. Since the Prince asked, I simply told the truth."

As she finished speaking, a knot of worry tightened in her chest. What if the Prince grew to resent her because of this petty complaint? In truth, she would have no idea how to handle such a situation.

Though their hearts had met and they harbored a deep love for one another, a lingering thread of anxiety always remained between them.

Yan Heru could never be entirely confident. She could not be certain whether the Prince's love was profound enough to withstand any trial, or if he might abandon her decisively should some major crisis arise.

Therefore, even though she cared deeply for the Prince of Qi, she still dared not entrust her entire heart to him without reservation.