Chapter 0193: Xie Chengze the Sandwich, Shen Yuan Who Takes After the Company He Keeps

In Cheng Huan Palace.

The atmosphere was subtly peculiar.

Seated between the protagonist and the antagonist, Xie Chengze—the ultimate villain—rested his chin on interlaced fingers, his legs bouncing faintly.

“Ahem, this is…” Xie Chengze glanced at Sheng Shihai and introduced him to Shen Yuan, “Lord Sheng, Commissioner of the Salt and Iron Monopoly. He has been quite supportive of me during your imprisonment.”

After the introduction, Xie Chengze felt the scene was eerily reminiscent of introducing a “close male friend” to a long-distance partner with the awkward implication, “Hey, this is my buddy who’s been taking care of me while you were away.”

He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.

Shen Yuan smiled faintly. “I’ve long heard that Lord Sheng, despite his youth, holds the prestigious position of Commissioner of the Salt and Iron Monopoly and commands considerable respect in court. I never expected to have the honor of meeting someone of your stature today, thanks to the Second Prince’s arrangement.”

“Not at all. I pale in comparison to Lord Shen, who enjoys the Emperor’s deep favor and serves as a trusted aide to the Second Prince. I must admit, I’m somewhat envious,” Sheng Shihai replied with a calm smile. “Lord Shen’s future achievements will undoubtedly surpass mine. I hope you will look out for me in the days to come.”

Both men narrowed their eyes in a smile—one resembling a cunning old fox, the other a treacherous venomous snake. Their sharp claws and poisoned fangs seemed poised to strike, as if awaiting the moment to entangle and fight to the death.

Meanwhile, Xie Chengze, the pure white rabbit, trembled nervously between them. He poured tea for the two original powerhouses and said, “Come now, from now on, we’re all one family. The grand plans I aspire to achieve will rely on both of you.”

Shen Yuan was the first to withdraw his gaze, accepting the teacup and taking a sip.

Sheng Shihai also took the cup, tapping its surface idly with his finger. “Speaking of which, the Crown Prince has been poisoned twice in succession. Since you’ve been tasked with investigating the truth, Lord Shen, do you have any suspicions about the culprit?”

“Without evidence for now, it’s difficult to speculate,” Shen Yuan replied indifferently.

“Oh? I assumed Lord Shen came to Cheng Huan Palace instead of investigating evidence at Wu De Hall right after your release because you suspected the Second Prince was behind the poison and wanted to test him,” Sheng Shihai raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with mockery and provocation.

Hearing this, Xie Chengze quickly nudged Sheng Shihai under the table and shot him a warning look.

“Is that so? The moment I arrived at Cheng Huan Palace, Lord Sheng followed right after. It’s hard not to suspect that the real culprit, confident in their flawless scheme, came specifically to taunt me,” Shen Yuan said composedly. “Of course, I absolutely don’t mean to imply that Lord Sheng is the culprit.”

Sheng Shihai’s smile faded slightly. “Naturally. Since we both serve His Highness, if the Second Prince had indeed administered the poison, why would he not inform us?”

He then turned to Xie Chengze with a slight smile. “Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

Ahem, ahem. Xie Chengze coughed twice. “Shen Yuan, I just remembered—I left a memorial in my bedchamber. Could you fetch it for me?”

Shen Yuan shot him a glance, clearly disapproving of this attempt to send him away. But under Xie Chengze’s insistent gaze, he reluctantly stood and left the main hall.

Seeing that Xie Chengze had intentionally dismissed Shen Yuan, Sheng Shihai feigned surprise. “Your Highness… do you wish to speak privately with me?”

“The poison the Crown Prince was afflicted with for the second time was indeed administered by this prince.” Only after Shen Yuan had walked far away did Xie Chengze lean closer to Sheng Shihai and explain in a low voice, “This prince believes you won’t speak of this to outsiders. It’s just that Shen Yuan has always been upright and refuses to employ underhanded methods. You must never tell him it was this prince who did it!”

“So that’s…” Sheng Shihai exclaimed softly, “Has Your Highness disposed of all involved?”

“Dispose of what?” Xie Chengze wore an expression of pure innocence. “This prince administered the poison personally. There were no outsiders involved, unlike the previous poisoner who needed outside help to carry out the deed.”

Sheng Shihai: …

“Then what about the source of the poison and those who handled it? Has Your Highness disposed of them?” Sheng Shihai decided to remind him despite previous disagreements. After all, if Xie Chengze fell from power, he would need to find another candidate.

“Don’t worry, there were no handlers either!” Xie Chengze’s expression grew increasingly guileless and harmless as he declared with immense pride, “This prince personally extracted corpse poison from a body that had been dead for many days! Only you and I know about this matter. Shen Yuan will absolutely never trace it back to us!”

Sheng Shihai: ???

What kind of poison?

Sheng Shihai was so shocked he was momentarily speechless, unable to regain his composure for a long time.

This Second Prince seemed even more… brutal than he had imagined?

However, it appeared Xie Chengze was still keeping things from Shen Yuan. Given Shen Yuan’s upright nature, he probably could only accept the Second Prince’s good side, yet the Second Prince was willing to show his dark side in front of him…

Did this mean he would be more valued and trusted than Shen Yuan?

In the future, he could use this to easily drive a wedge between Xie Chengze and Shen Yuan.

“Your Highness was right not to explain this matter to Lord Shen. Given Lord Shen’s temperament, he might have broken with Your Highness and switched his allegiance to someone else.” Sheng Shihai planted a seed of doubt in Xie Chengze’s heart before adding praise, “The Second Prince is truly both courageous and resourceful. However, aren’t you worried that if Lord Shen fails to identify the real culprit, he might be punished by His Majesty?”

After all, Shen Yuan was currently his only remaining right-hand man. Could he really bear to let Shen Yuan be punished?

“Hmm, you make a valid point. Mainly, this prince didn’t anticipate that Father would assign Shen Yuan to investigate this matter.” Xie Chengze sighed. “In the past, this prince could have found a scapegoat, but currently, this prince’s forces have all been purged by the Crown Prince. There’s no one around whom this prince can use…”

Xie Chengze suddenly remembered something and turned to Sheng Shihai with blazing eyes. “Ah? Lord Sheng must have people under your command, right? How about… you find a scapegoat for this prince?”

He smiled charmingly, his beautiful face displaying obvious calculation.

Anyone could see what he was thinking at a glance.

Working under the Second Prince was no simple matter. Rebellion was a capital offense, and to gain the Second Prince’s trust, one inevitably needed to present a pledge of loyalty.

Helping him resolve this poisoning incident was the test Xie Chengze had set for Sheng Shihai.

Sheng Shihai stood up and made a slight bow. “This subject is willing to relieve Your Highness of your worries.”

By the time Shen Yuan returned, Sheng Shihai had already left.

“What did you talk to him about?” Shen Yuan sat down, placing the empty memorial in his hand on the tea table.

“Nothing much, just establishing my persona as a vicious and brutal person~” Xie Chengze leisurely took a sip of tea. “And incidentally having him prepare a scapegoat to boost your performance metrics.”

“So, the Crown Prince’s poisoning was fake?” Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose it’s true.” Xie Chengze propped his chin with one hand, smiling playfully at him. “Shen Lang, if I were truly the one who poisoned the Crown Prince, and he died from it, what would you do?”

Shen Yuan reached out and gently tapped his forehead. “Support the Fourth Prince’s ascension.”

Xie Chengze rubbed his forehead, puzzled. “Why the Fourth Prince?”

“Because his maternal family is wealthy and could conveniently replenish the national treasury?” Shen Yuan calculated seriously. “Although the First Prince holds military power, whether he becomes emperor makes little difference to Jian’an. We might as well make the most of the situation by supporting the Fourth Prince’s enthronement and seize the opportunity to extract a huge sum from the Jiang family.”

Xie Chengze: …

Shen Yuan, you’ve really changed! You would never have spoken such money-tainted words before!

Could it truly be that proximity to darkness blackens the soul? Had he corrupted Shen Yuan?

Absolutely impossible, absolutely impossible…

Xie Chengze hurriedly denied this in his heart, then asked, “Then why not simply support my enthronement? I think I’d make a decent emperor too?”

Shen Yuan cast him a lazy glance. “Emperors have to review memorials. Let the Fourth Prince handle the memorials while the Second Prince provides governance strategies during critical moments. Wouldn’t that make more efficient use of the imperial family’s human resources?”

The term “human resources” was something Shen Yuan had learned from him.

Xie Chengze was utterly amazed, clapping his hands in astonishment. “What a waste that you don’t become a leader.”

“Flattery.” Shen Yuan took a sip of tea. “I learned it all from Your Highness.”

After all, Xie Chengze had been exceptionally skilled at “exploiting” the common people’s labor force back in Yi Province and Liaozhou, particularly the bandits’ labor in Liaozhou, from which Shen Yuan had indeed benefited greatly.

Xie Chengze couldn’t help but touch the tip of his nose, muttering, “You didn’t learn the good things, only the bad ones.”