Chapter 198 - 196: Seeking Solitude

Words : 1236 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

A sudden sense of loss. Shen Yinning’s eyes glistened with damp clarity. She looked helplessly at the man mere inches away, clearly reading the mockery in his gaze. Shen Yinning’s eyes reddened and moistened, her voice hoarse to the brink of breaking: "You’re bullying me..." Lu Ying’s eyes darkened: "I only enjoy bullying you." Shen Yinning’s eyelashes trembled lightly; she shut her eyes, struggling to endure. Tears of anguish streamed down her cheeks, and she murmured through her sobs, "Lu Ying... Lu Ying..." The man’s scorching breath spilled over her neck: "Beg me." His cruelty and dominance felt like deliberate revenge. Shen Yinning bit her lip in torment, on the verge of collapse: "Lu Ying..." "Beg me." Those two cold words were like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing into Shen Yinning’s heart. Her emotional defenses were utterly shattered. Shen Yinning’s broken sobs collapsed into incoherent pleading: "I beg you..." Lu Ying himself was enduring agony, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead. A tempestuous onslaught of passion overwhelmed Shen Yinning, drawing uncontrollable cries from her lips. At that moment, outside the rockery’s flowered path, Lu Shiyan and Luo Wanzhao happened to walk past. The faint, indistinct sounds were heard entirely by them. Luo Wanzhao coughed lightly, her face flushing with embarrassment, immediately assuming it to be a secret tryst between a palace maid and a guard. As a guest from Jiangnan, it wasn’t her place to comment, much less step forward to reprimand. She merely chuckled and said, "Spring hasn’t even arrived yet, and the cats are already calling." Lu Shiyan caught the woman’s voice drifting from the depths of the rockery, his gentle, jade-like face shrouded in the night, indiscernible in expression. Half an hour later. Luo Wanzhao had bathed and changed in the palace, while Lu Shiyan, having left, silently returned to the rockery. The sound—it had still not ceased. His face darkened entirely as he ordered, "Push me inside." Lu Shiyan appeared abruptly. His trusted attendants carried palace lanterns, abruptly illuminating the entire stone chamber. Out of the corner of her eye, Shen Yinning saw him, and the blood drained entirely from her face! Her dress and skirt were still left outside on the Taihu Rock, leaving her no choice but to frantically pull over a fox fur cloak to barely shield herself. Lu Ying had just finished. He tied his trousers with a detached air, then slid on his inner and outer robes. He addressed him: "Why does the Crown Prince have the leisure to visit here?" Lu Shiyan’s eyes were bloodshot, fixed unblinkingly on Shen Yinning. Shen Yinning lowered her reddened eyelashes, stray strands of ink-black hair framing her face. She clutched the fox cloak tightly to her chest with one hand and knelt into a seated position, retreating silently behind Lu Ying. But her porcelain-white legs, like the tails of an exposed fox, remained visible under Lu Shiyan’s gaze. The stark, clean whiteness was blinding. Recalling that brief, searing glimpse, Lu Shiyan felt his heart twist violently with pain. His brows furrowed tightly, and his voice was rough: "Zhaozhao, how could you..." How could you become like this? He choked, his heart aching so intensely that he couldn’t finish the question. Lu Ying watched his anguish with cold eyes. A faint thrill of satisfaction welled up in his heart. He wondered, after witnessing Shen Yinning like this on his bed, would Lu Shiyan still take her to Jiangnan as his concubine? Lu Ying curled his thin lips: "What’s the matter, Crown Prince? Have you never seen her like this? But I see it often." "Lu Ying!" Lu Shiyan roared furiously, "You’re despicable!" Lu Ying chuckled coldly: "Crown Prince, tonight—she begged me for this." Lu Shiyan froze briefly, his reddened gaze shifting to Shen Yinning. Lu Ying also turned to look at her, his tone brimming with satisfaction tinged with mockery and cruelty: "Shen, tell him yourself—was it not you who pleaded with me?" Because of Lu Ying’s shift, Shen Yinning had nowhere to hide. Her loose black hair descended like a waterfall, her slender, pale hands gripping tightly at the fox cloak covering her chest. The inky black fur emanated opulence, its dark tones highlighting her snow-white skin’s smooth luster. Her collarbone and shoulders’ delicate curves looked as though they had been meticulously sculpted from pure white jade, inch by inch. Even her tender legs and toes adorned with scarlet nail polish were flawless. Lu Shiyan’s guards dared not glance again, turning away with utmost caution. Snow began to fall abruptly in the stone room. Fine flakes drifted through the gaps in the rockery above, descending gently onto the girl’s hair and fox cloak. She knelt quietly in a pool of moonlight, as though an ancient spirit of the mortal world had just awakened. Her delicate face and strikingly vivid features paired with her obsidian gaze depicted a naïve and pure innocence. Both Lu Ying and Lu Shiyan stared at her, momentarily trembling, their minds clouded and distracted. After what felt like an eternity, Shen Yinning finally lowered her gaze, her voice hoarse as she said, "Prince Wu, all of this was of my own volition. It was I, shameless as I am, who pleaded to the Crown Prince to share intimacy with me. I am not a virtuous woman, unworthy of being your concubine." With those words, a solitary tear slipped down her cheek. Like a loose pearl, it landed on the fox fur, pitiful and poignant. Was it from shame, or grievance? Lu Shiyan’s hands, placed on his knees, clenched fiercely into fists: "Zhaozhao..." He couldn’t believe Zhaozhao was a wanton woman. None of this could have happened unless Lu Ying had coerced her! His gaze burned with rage as he glared at Lu Ying, his urge to command action disrupted by his dread of spreading rumors, which could irrevocably tarnish Shen Yinning’s reputation. After a long pause, he ground out each word with gritted teeth: "Lu Ying, I will never forgive you!" Lu Ying let out a low chuckle. What cunning, he thought. Shen Yinning had even driven this composed, gentle Crown Prince to spit such venom. Shen Yinning’s allure indeed stirred chaos, setting brothers at odds and sowing discord in the Capital. He languidly extended a hand to wipe away the tear from her cheek: "Victory belongs to the strong. Four years ago, when you lost to me, you should have anticipated today’s outcome. If you seek vengeance, I’ll be waiting." ... Shen Yinning was discreetly escorted onto a carriage by Lu Ying’s trusted palace maid. Her tear-streaked face had dried, and she adjusted the cloak around herself, her eyes glinting with cold hatred. Both Lu Ying and Lu Shiyan were already married, yet they continued to treat her like this. One regarded her as a forbidden fruit; the other considered her a concubine. She was a living person, not a toy! Wei Yu’s soft voice came from outside the carriage: "Madam, Gao Yun is here." Swallowing her grievances, Shen Yinning quickly saw Gao Yun, who lifted the curtain and entered with light, cheerful steps, her demeanor confident and triumphant. Gao Yun didn’t notice Shen Yinning’s strangeness at all, eagerly boasting, "Shen Yinning, aren’t you curious about where I’ve been all day in the palace? The Princely Heir of Prince Cheng’s Mansion—do you know? I spent the entire day strolling through gardens with him!"

Chapter 198 - 196: Seeking Solitude

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