Chapter 225 - 223 Thank you, Your Highness, for taking in your subject’s wife

Words : 1459 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

The night outside the window was deep and heavy. This Zen room was meant to be solemn and dignified, yet now it carried the sweet, intoxicating fragrance unique to a young maiden. The girl in his arms had a delicate, lotus-like face and a sweet scent that seemed to emanate from her very bones, the only hint of beauty within the gray-blue confines of this Zen room. Even through the fabric of her fine robes, Lu Ying could feel the softness and warmth of her skin. His Adam’s apple rolled, suppressing the overwhelming urge to touch her, as his palm pressed down tightly against the small Buddha table. With a darkened expression, he ordered, "Get down, and put your clothes back on." Shen Yinning didn’t understand. "The Crown Prince shows up at a married woman’s Zen room in the middle of the night, yet pretends to act like a saint. What exactly do you want?" "I’ll say it again—this is *my* Zen room. If you don’t believe me, you can go check the sign by the entrance." Because so many high-ranking officials and noble guests were attending the temple’s rituals and prayers, Shengguo Temple had hung small nameplates at the entrance of every Zen room to prevent anyone from getting lost. Shen Yinning adjusted her dress and skirt, then walked outside, still skeptical. By the light of the lantern hanging under the eaves, she glanced at the sign. Sure enough, hanging beside the door was a wooden plaque inscribed with "Lu Ying." It was just that the darkness of night and the fact that Liu Momo had personally escorted her here had prevented her from noticing it earlier. It must have been Empress Dowager Li who orchestrated this, seeing her and Lu Ying quarreling, and deliberately arranging things this way. Realizing that she had made a blunder, she returned awkwardly, her face flushed, and retrieved her luggage from the wardrobe. "It was my mistake..." Lu Ying mocked, "A mistake? Shen Yinning has always been so clever and meticulous, yet you somehow made this kind of mistake? You even brought your luggage, which means you were planning to spend the night here all along. What’s the matter—disappointed with Cui Ji’s lowly status, unable to gain any advantage through him, so now you want to seduce *me*?" "You—!" Shen Yinning laughed bitterly in anger. "If not for the Empress Dowager’s deliberate actions, having Liu Momo lead me here, I wouldn’t be involved in this misunderstanding! If you don’t believe me, you can go ask the Empress Dowager yourself tomorrow!" With a cold snort, she picked up her luggage and prepared to leave. But as luck would have it, the poorly tied bundle loosened just as she stepped forward, spilling its contents onto the ground. Among the clothes, creams, and jewelry, several oddly shaped items rolled out— Lu Ying instantly recognized them from the Fire Extinguishing Map that Shen Yinning had purchased; they were intimate objects designed for the bedchamber. In the eerie silence, a meticulously crafted, intricately hollowed-out golden sphere rolled toward Lu Ying’s feet, jingling with a golden bell inside and trailing a long thread of red silk. Lu Ying bent down and picked it up, rolling it between his fingers almost absently. A moment later, he looked up at Shen Yinning. "You carry this with you?" Shen Yinning’s face turned crimson as she grit her teeth and said, "I don’t even know why these things ended up in my bundle..." "You don’t know? So, are you saying that these items were given to you by the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager, at her old age, would never indulge in such absurd and foolish antics! Shen Yinning, if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable." For the first time, Shen Yinning felt the frustration of being unable to defend herself. The bundle had been placed here by Liu Momo, and these items undoubtedly had been quietly slipped in under orders from the Empress Dowager. She couldn’t help but wonder—how could the Empress Dowager, at her age, still manage to pull off something this outrageous? And where on earth had she managed to find so many questionable items? Had she known that tonight would turn out this humiliating, she’d have never come to Shengguo Temple at all! She quickly picked up the items scattered across the floor, but when she reached for a jade object designed for... intimate use, her face blushed so deeply it looked like a drop of blood, and she could hardly breathe. She stuffed everything back into her bundle, but finally couldn’t bring herself to retrieve the bell from Lu Ying’s grasp. In a soft voice, she said, "Your Highness, just pretend I was never here tonight." With that, she bolted out of the room. Lu Ying tossed the bell onto the soft couch. The bell spun round and round, still jingling faintly. The sound brought to Lu Ying’s mind the tantalizing image of the little object being used on Shen Yinning, stirring an unbidden fantasy... His barely extinguished fire reignited, burning intensely—reciting the Diamond Sutra over and over in his mind did nothing to help. The scripture stated, "All things compounded are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like a drop of dew, or a flash of lightning—thus should one view them." Yet he couldn’t help but think—Shen Yinning wasn’t an illusion; she was real. The desire she stirred in him was real, so real it made every fiber of his being ache. It hurt, but it was addictive. Realizing that his obsession was taking root and growing again, Lu Ying’s face turned grim. He opened the bone box gifted by Qian Duobao and took out a poisonous insect. Shen Yinning remained ignorant of the events unfolding in the room after she left. Carrying her bundle, she stepped out of the Zen temple, asked a pair of passing young monks, and finally found her own Zen room. Just as she was about to settle down for the night, she caught sight of a shadowy figure clad in black stealthily sneaking into her Zen room. The mountain night was pitch-black; only a few palace lanterns remained lit. The patrolling Imperial Guard had already walked far away, leaving the intruder utterly unrestrained. Shen Yinning didn’t take another step closer. She hid behind a column, silently observing the outlines cast upon the Korea paper-covered windows. The black-clad figure, mistaking her for being asleep on the bed, raised a long sword and struck down without hesitation. This person... Had come to kill her! Who could have sent them? Shen Xinghan? She had encountered Shen Xinghan at Shengguo Temple earlier in the day; he already knew she had detoxified herself. Shen Xinghan was narrow-minded and ruthless, indifferent to gods and Buddha alike. Failing to extract Shen Xinglei’s whereabouts from her, killing her during the temple visit was exactly the kind of thing someone like him would do. The assassin, realizing the bed was empty, stormed out the door in frustration. Shen Yinning watched as he faded into the night, thinking to herself that she likely couldn’t return to her room tonight. With such a vast temple, she had no one to turn to for help, and could only carry her bundle back to Lu Ying’s Zen room. As she opened the door, Lu Ying was just lowering his sleeve, covering the bandages wrapped around his arm. He looked at Shen Yinning, who had returned unexpectedly, and his heart skipped a beat. He had been desperately trying to rid himself of his obsession with her, yet here she was, throwing herself into his presence again! Qian Duobao had said that three to five poisonous insects could eliminate any addiction—be it cigarettes, alcohol, or gambling—with ease. But for him? The cuts on his arm had already exceeded three to five! This vixen—was she trying to make him even more wretched? Lu Ying’s expression turned icy, his anger as cold as water: "Shen Yinning, what exactly are you trying to do?" Shen Yinning coughed lightly. "Your Highness, I just wanted to ask if I could borrow a place to stay for the night..." "Borrow a place?!" "I... I can pay rent..." Shen Yinning cautiously approached the soft couch near the window and pulled a silver ingot from her sleeve, gently placing it on the Buddha table. "Here, for the rent." "You think I’m in need of one ingot of silver?" "Well, if Your Highness doesn’t need it, I’ll just take it back." Shen Yinning cheerfully bowed in gratitude. "Thank you for letting me stay, Your Highness!" Lu Ying watched her go straight to the bed and nearly exploded. When had he ever said he’d allow her to stay?!

Chapter 225 - 223 Thank you, Your Highness, for taking in your subject’s wife

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