Chapter 165 - 163: Loving and Doting on Her

Words : 1306 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Chapter 165: Chapter 163: Loving and Doting on HerEmpress Dowager Li calmly burned incense: "She is merely an orphan, with no one to rely on. If she doesn’t listen to what I say, who else can she listen to? Once she bears a child, I will hand her over to you for care. You always complain that Jingwei doesn’t come close to you. Once we have a child, he will surely visit Cining Palace often, and by then, there will naturally be endless conversations between you two." The young girl was delighted and shyly bowed: "Thank you, Imperial Grandmother!" Empress Dowager Li watched the curl of incense smoke rise, and a glimmer of intrigue shone in her cloudy old eyes: "Our Li Family must produce another Empress." Shen Yinning quietly returned to Shen Garden by carriage. That night, Gui Quan came to deliver a message saying that the Crown Prince would visit tonight. As Shen Yinning bathed and changed clothes, Haitang dismissed the maids and quietly took out contraceptive medicine, testing her: "Empress Dowager cares for you so much, do you still need to take this medicine?" Shen Yinning did not hesitate, emptied a pill into her throat. "Hide the bottle well, don’t let anyone find it." She buttoned her inner garment one by one, "Although Empress Dowager Li is a close friend of my grandmother, she has been navigating palace life for decades and may not still have her original intentions. Her caring for me is one thing, but whether she uses me is another. I must keep my child by my side to be at ease." Haitang solemnly nodded and put the bottle away. Shen Yinning dried her hair and entered the sleeping chamber, where Lu Ying had just arrived, taking off his fox fur cloak brushed with snow. Shen Yinning smiled and took the cloak, hanging it on the wooden rack: "Is it snowing outside?" Lu Ying remained silent. Shen Yinning coquettishly embraced him: "Why is His Highness not speaking?" Lu Ying pinched her delicate face: "I was thinking that Shen Zhaozhao really lacks personal skills. The fox fur still carries snow, and you hung it up without brushing it, not afraid it would ruin the fabric. How were you doing laundry for the Crown Princess Consort during that half a month if you can’t even hang a garment properly?" Shen Yinning was guilty. She was embarrassed to tell Lu Ying that she hadn’t washed by hand at all, only used a stick to roughly stir them. She was delighted at the thought of doing laundry ensuring Shen Yunxi would have no descendants, feeling motivated enough to work! Lu Ying saw her eyes darting around and knew she surely hadn’t honestly done laundry for Shen Yunxi. He was disinclined to delve into past matters and sat down: "Did you orchestrate Sun Miaoniang’s miscarriage in the Eastern Palace today?" "How could I!" Shen Yinning quickly sat alongside him, pouring tea herself, "I’m timid and cautious, how dare I cause someone to miscarry? I clearly saw the Third Princess kicking Sun Miaoniang to miscarriage! How are they now? Was the child saved?" Lu Ying didn’t believe a word. Shen Zhaozhao was sharp-tongued and must have fanned the flames, prompting Lu Qianqian to act. He sipped tea: "The child was not saved. The matter reached Father, and Lu Qianqian has been punished with house arrest until her marriage day." Shen Yinning curled her lips, picking a dried apricot from the fruit tray to eat. No matter how frivolous Lu Qianqian was, she was ultimately a Princess, and would not be heavily punished for a concubine’s miscarriage. However, Shen Xinglei would likely not take this lying down. When Lu Qianqian marries into the Shen Guogong Mansion, that will be when her troubles truly begin. Feeling pleased, she leaned on Lu Ying’s shoulder, purposefully blowing air by his ear: "Speaking of which, Your Highness has been meeting with me too often these days. Hasn’t the Crown Princess Consort noticed our relationship? Always sneaking around, it’s truly embarrassing for me, all because of Your Highness, putting me in such an awkward situation." The warm breath sprayed on the neck, carrying a sweet and sour apricot scent. The little vixen’s voice was soft and charming, like countless little claws teasing Lu Ying’s heartstrings. He was in his prime dragon-like and tiger-spirited age, how could he resist her half-night provocations? He held Shen Yinning’s slender waist, his large hand exploring inside her upper garment: "You were the one who seduced me first." The young girl’s body was soft and charming. Lu Ying took a deep breath, full of love and pity for this enchantress. He pinched her chin and kissed her deeply. Shen Yinning responded, but deliberately dodged playfully like a fish, sometimes calling out in pain, sometimes coquettishly telling him to find other concubines in the Eastern Palace. Until Lu Ying, eyes red with anger, gave her two hard slaps on the buttocks, did this little vixen become obedient. ... Ten days passed swiftly, and soon it was the day of the grand wedding between Shen Xinglei and Lu Qianqian. The Princess was wed at dusk, and Shen Yinning also attended the ceremony. Perhaps due to the tight schedule or their tarnished reputations, the grand wedding was conducted very hastily, reflecting a sense of perfunctoriness everywhere. Despite the numerous guests, they came only for the powerful status of the Imperial Family and the Shen Guogong Mansion. Some left after presenting their gifts without even staying for the banquet, while some official’s esteemed wives didn’t even allow their daughters to appear, only bringing their sons to the ceremony, as though fearing Lu Qianqian would corrupt their daughters. Lu Ying also didn’t attend, only Shen Yunxi did. After the couple’s ceremony, Shen Xinglei joined the male guests in the front hall for drinks. The ladies in the rear hall utterly ignored Lu Qianqian, not even bothering her bridal chamber, leaving her alone in the new room. Shen Yinning stood outside the window of the new room, observing that the inner decorations were simple, adorned with only a few red silks, and the dragon and phoenix wedding candles were thin and short. According to tradition, the longer the wedding candles burned, the longer the marriage was expected to last. This pair in the new room seemed to prevent Shen Xinglei and Lu Qianqian from growing old together. Lu Qianqian yanked off the bridal veil and, in a fit of fury, swept cold tea and cold water off the table onto the floor. Flushed with anger, she pointed at the room’s door and shouted, "Has this Princess been disgraced by the Shen Family?! What is this attitude?! I, being of royal lineage, marry into their family, and not only do they not cherish me, they dare treat me so dismissively?! Shen Yunxi too, despite our sisterhood, didn’t even add to my trousseau! Truly, just like that wretch Shen Yinning, not a single good person in the Shen Family; I misjudged them!" The Palace Maid quickly advised: "Please don’t be upset, Your Highness, or your makeup will be ruined, and you have to consummate the marriage with the groom later. Before you married, Consort Liu repeatedly reminded you, the past matters little, the child is the most important. Once you have a child with the groom, he won’t care about the inn incident anymore!" "Consummation..." Lu Qianqian gnawed on the word, her anger subsiding a little, returning to sit on the bed, placing the bridal veil back on her head, "Consummation is essential. Though I’ve been with many men, I refuse to believe I’m lesser than a woman who’s borne a child. I will win Shen Lang’s heart back!" Shen Yinning observed for a while, then turned and left, going straight to find Sun Miaoniang.

Chapter 165 - 163: Loving and Doting on Her

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