Chapter 170 Only Interests Are Eternal

Thus, the imminent confrontation in the floral parlor of Prince Xuan’s Manor was successfully averted through the seamless cooperation between Wanyan Ping and Shen Qianmo.

Of course, Shen Qianmo was well aware that someone as cunning and slick as Wanyan Ping would not have gone out of his way to rush to Prince Xuan’s Manor and help her obtain the Blazing Lotus from Wanyan Lü simply out of the goodness of his heart or a desire to do a good deed. Naturally, he had an ulterior motive.

According to Shen Qianmo’s deduction, Wanyan Ping’s intentions boiled down to two possibilities: first, to create obstacles for Wanyan Lü and humiliate him in public; and second, to extend an olive branch to Prince Xuan’s Manor and signal his attitude.

This indicated that in the struggle for power and the throne against Wanyan Lü, Wanyan Ping had never given up and would continue the fight.

Clearly, he hoped to gain the support of Prince Xuan’s Manor—or rather, a partnership.

"So that’s why you said there are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests." Meng Yuanheng lay flat on a daybed by the bedroom window, his eyes narrowed slightly as he sneered, "Wanyan Ping has quite an ambitious scheme, actually plotting to cooperate with me. Is he not afraid that I might turn around and bite him back?"

"Would you?" Shen Qianmo asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat on a round stool right beside the daybed, pressing close to him while gently wiping his chin with a white towel.

Meng Yuanheng merely let out a noncommittal hum. "I will only make the two of them fight each other even more fiercely."

Shen Qianmo smiled knowingly. Indeed, the Northwest was currently recovering from devastation and needed time to recuperate and rest. The more fiercely the surrounding nations fought among themselves, the more relaxed the situation in the Northwest would naturally become.

Perhaps it was also time to reveal the matter that Yan Mo and his men had uncovered a few days ago to the person who had been kept in the dark all along.

In that affair, Meng Yuanheng had played the scapegoat for seven years. Although this fellow didn’t care all that much, still... consider it repayment to Wanyan Ping for helping her acquire the Blazing Lotus.

Wanyan Ping had rendered great service in enabling her to obtain the Blazing Lotus smoothly from Wanyan Lü, and Shen Qianmo was a person who repaid kindness and remembered favors.

"By the way, how is the defense of Yunzhou?" Shen Qianmo put down the towel after finishing wiping and asked Meng Yuanheng.

"Indestructible." Just four short words, yet they conveyed absolute confidence.

Shen Qianmo smiled faintly. Since he said so, there was no problem at all.

Turning around, she picked up a gleaming, sharp little dagger from the small side table. With highly practiced movements, she held it against the chin of the reclining Meng Yuanheng and said, "Alright, don't speak for a moment, or I might scratch you."

Meng Yuanheng stretched out his arm, wrapping it naturally around Shen Qianmo’s waist. After a contented sigh of satisfaction, he smiled lightly, "Even if I were to be scratched by you, Mo'er, I would be more than willing."

During those ten-odd days of patrolling the city in Yunzhou, goodness knows how much he had missed her.

Shen Qianmo shot him a sidelong glance. "You are leaving for your inspection of Yuanzhou tomorrow. If you carry a scratch on your chin, it will ruin your wise, martial, and illustrious image as Prince Xuan."

Mentioning this matter instantly dampened Meng Yuanheng’s previously cheerful mood.

Staring with a gloomy expression at Shen Qianmo’s already noticeably protruding lower abdomen, his eyes were full of resentment. It was all because of this restless little creature that Mo'er couldn't accompany him on inspections throughout the Northwest. Truly... the more he looked at it, the more of an eyesore it became!

Seeing his overtly disgruntled expression, how could Shen Qianmo not understand what he was thinking? She rolled her eyes helplessly, thinking to herself that this fellow was truly becoming more childish by the day.

Although she would have loved to accompany him on the city inspections, her current physical condition simply did not permit it. However, the Northwest was newly established, and both military morale and the hearts of the people needed pacification; the inspection work naturally could not be delayed. It was impossible to wait until after she had given birth and completed her month of postnatal confinement—that would still take several months.

Therefore, the two of them would simply have to endure more partings than reunions during this period.

"Alright, A'heng, stop picking on the baby all the time. Although he's still in my belly, if you keep acting like this, he will be able to feel it too, you know?" Shen Qianmo pinched his lean cheek quite hard, scolding him playfully.

Meng Yuanheng pressed his lips together unhappily, pulled Shen Qianmo's hand away from his cheek, and glared resentfully at her belly once more.

Mo'er actually pinched him so heartlessly on account of this little thing. Hmph, I'll settle this score with you after you're born!

Thus, the little heir of Prince Xuan’s Manor caught a stray bullet even before he was born, drawing the deep hostility of his royal father.

Shen Qianmo couldn't be bothered to comfort this childish man any further, as she was long used to his occasional bouts of petulance in front of her. Glaring at him to tell him to behave and stay still, the small knife in her hand made a soft scraping sound as she skillfully and decisively began to shave away the dark blue stubble on his chin.

"Just how many days has it been since you shaved, fellow? How did your stubble grow out like this!" Shen Qianmo asked, half-puzzled as she scraped.

Meng Yuanheng closed his eyes, enjoying Shen Qianmo's meticulous and gentle service, while his handsome face relaxed into an easy and comfortable expression. Taking advantage of the moment Shen Qianmo paused the blade to wipe his face, he drawled lazily, "I haven't shaved since I finished the inspection and left Yunzhou."

That meant it had been at least three days. No wonder the stubble was a full half-centimeter long. Meng Yuanheng, just how pressed for time and eager to return home were you! Shen Qianmo inwardly complained.

As she shaved, however, a very realistic question suddenly occurred to her, and she voiced it out: "My Lord, do the men around here all start growing beards after they get married?"

She seemed to remember that Great Dasheng had such an unwritten custom: men would stop shaving after marriage, letting their beards grow out and merely trimming the shape rather than cleaning them off entirely.

"The customs of Great Dasheng are indeed so." Meng Yuanheng naturally caught the note of nervousness in Shen Qianmo's words. He hooked the corners of his lips and replied with a soft smile.

The corners of Shen Qianmo's twitching slightly, and she almost couldn't help but wail inwardly. She found it hard to imagine what Meng Yuanheng would look like if he grew a long beard. Just imagining it made it somewhat hard to accept.

Although growing a magnificent beard reportedly four feet long like Lord Guan from the Three Kingdoms made one look ethereal, transcendent, and a recognized beauty among men, yet... she still preferred Meng Yuanheng without a beard.

At this thought, she couldn't help but speed up the shaving motion of her hand, while simultaneously making a silent resolution in her heart: for the next ten or twenty years, she must dedicate herself to carrying out the task of shaving Meng Yuanheng's face right to the very end.

At least until he turned forty, she wouldn't let him grow a beard. As for what to do after forty... they could discuss that when the time came!

How could Meng Yuanheng not know what was on Shen Qianmo's mind? Feeling the movements of her hands become even gentler and more meticulous, the arc of his lips widened gradually. If he were to open his closed eyes at this moment, they would surely be brimming with triumph and doting affection.

It seemed he wouldn't need to worry in the future about Mo'er being unwilling to shave him.

What he had said earlier about the customs of Great Dasheng being true was accurate, but nowadays the Northwest was under his command, so whether or not to shave was not an issue at all. However, saying that shouldn't be considered deceiving Mo'er, right?!

Two days later, Princess Yongle of Nanzhan was the first to submit a farewell document to Qiao Yuan, the prefect of Mocheng. The stated reason was, naturally, the necessity to transport her late husband's remains back to their native country for burial so that he could rest in peace.

Of course, Shen Qianmo understood in her heart that there was another, far more important reason which Princess Yongle had left unspoken. During the days she spent on her diplomatic mission to the Northwest, the struggle for the royal succession within Nanzhan had grown increasingly fierce. If she did not return soon, she feared there would be no share of the throne left for her.

Sisi was, after all, a naive maid who had seen little of the world; Princess Yongle had not needed to exert much effort to extract from her lips the identity of the mastermind who had instigated her to poison and assassinate the consort.

That person turned out to be none another than her own half-brother, King Xuanhai of Nanzhan.

Hearing this news, Shen Qianmo was somewhat surprised. Rumor had it that King Xuanhai spent his days idling away and living a life of debauchery, making him a standard playboy. Compared to contending for power and the throne, his interest in women was evidently far greater. So all of that had been a disguise?

Indeed, not a single person in the imperial family could be trusted; everyone had to wear a mask to survive.

This time, it was entirely thanks to Shen Qianmo that Princess Yongle had been able to uncover King Xuanhai's plot. Therefore, before her departure, Princess Yongle made a special trip to Prince Xuan’s Manor to thank Shen Qianmo and bid her farewell.

"Your Highness need not stand on ceremony. As for the matter of the consort... I hope Your Highness will accept your grief and adapt to the change." Inside the manor's floral parlor, facing Princess Yongle's lavish gifts and expressions of gratitude, Shen Qianmo remained composed, gentle, and poised, fully displaying a magnanimous and proper demeanor.

Princess Yongle was also a bold, forthright, and unpretentious person. Having gotten to know Shen Qianmo over these past few days, she found that the temperament of the current Princess Xuan suited her own tastes quite well, and she couldn't help but wish to forge a deep friendship with her. With a carefree smile, she said, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, but... as for the murderer who killed my consort, this Princess will certainly not let them off lightly!"

This was the internal family business of the Nanzhan royal family, so it was naturally inconvenient for Shen Qianmo to say much. However, seeing the murderous aura radiating from Princess Yongle's entire body as she spoke these words, along with her firm and resolute gaze, it was clear that this princess was no ordinary woman. With her return to her home country, the Nanzhan imperial court was surely destined for a period of turbulence.

That being the case, Meng Tianxu's ambition to form an alliance with Nanzhan would probably come to a premature and fruitless end once again.