Duhuo Tower is in front of the East Market, and there are many people coming and going. There are many shops nearby. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and the bustling sounds rise and fall faintly.
The private room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Shen Yun'an raised his eyebrows proudly and secretly gave his sister a look of praise.
Shen Xihe smiled at him, folded his hands, sat upright, and looked away at Xiao Changying quietly.
Xiao Changying lightly stroked the edge of the tea bowl with his thumb, and said with a half-smile, "The princess is good at bluffing. I believe that the princess is very smart. Unless the rumor about the loss of the defense map came from the princess, how could the princess predict the development of the matter? How could she have tampered with the painting so early?"
After a pause, Xiao Changying's eyes wandered around Shen Xihe and his sister, "This rumor is extremely clever. It neither panics the ministers nor gives Your Majesty a chance to attack. It seems to be true and false, and it is hard to tell the truth. You must know that three people can make a tiger. Forgive me for offending you, but the princess and the prince are not capable of this."
I really don't have this ability. To control rumors and at the same time prevent people from finding out the source of the rumors, this requires considerable control and connections.
Shen Xihe admitted: "Your Highness is right. My brother and I don't have such ability, but I have someone to help me."
Xiao Changying clenched his fingers and asked, "Are you talking about the Crown Prince?"
"It has nothing to do with Your Highness who it is. I just gave Your Highness two choices. Either tell me the truth, or I will go to the palace to see His Majesty. Thank you, Your Highness King Lie, for informing me of the Anxi incident early, which allowed my father to notice the omission in time and avoid a disaster." Shen Xihe smiled faintly.
Xiao Changying chuckled and said, "Princess, basil fragrance will not change color when it comes into contact with water, and neither will adding any spices."
Shen Xihe remained calm. What the Dali Temple did that day was just a small trick. The basil incense really would not change color. The thing that really changed color when it came into contact with water was the spice hidden in Mo Yu's fingernails. Both Ding Zhi and Ding Zhi were pushed into the water by Mo Yu.
"Yes, basil fragrance won't change color, but I still caught the real culprit." Shen Xihe said faintly, "Your Highness can also bet on whether I really tampered with the defense map? Or I didn't tamper with the defense map, but I want to prove that I did tamper with it, and I will definitely be able to make it true."
Just as basil will not turn red when it comes into contact with water, but it has other ways to make water turn red, and no one knows the properties of basil, they will be led by it.
"I believe it." Xiao Changying said lazily, "The princess wants to know who stole the defense map. She wants to catch the poisonous snake lurking in the northwest. This poisonous snake must have made the King of the Northwest sleepless. The princess can go to His Majesty and confuse right and wrong. I will tell His Majesty what I know. If His Majesty is angry with me, I can also say that I am young and ignorant and trapped by love..."
Although Shen Xihe was still calm, Xiao Changying had an intuition that she was a little angry. For some reason, this realization made him very happy: "You will know if I am the mastermind after checking. If Your Majesty is angry with me again, the most he can do is to punish me to reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors."
Xiao Changying took a piece of Hu Bing from the table and took a bite. He hummed with satisfaction, finished the whole piece, drank a sip of tea and then continued, "I wonder if the northwest can still live in peace if His Majesty knows about this poisonous snake and becomes a hidden chess piece in His Majesty's hands?"