Chapter 280 - 278 Princess Wu Goes Mad from Unable to Bear the Stimulation

Words : 1699 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Lu Ying rubbed his temples. So, it seems that no matter what he says, he’s wrong, and if he says nothing, he’s still wrong. He could only reply, "What is it that I’ve admitted to?" "You’ve admitted that I’m ugly!" "I did no such thing." Shen Yinning sat astride his waist, wrapping her white hair around his neck, as if encircling her prey with a fox’s tail. She fiercely pressed her nose against Lu Ying’s, her bright and bold eyebrows and eyes gleaming like a defiant little fox ready to bare its teeth: "It’s because of you people that I turned out like this! Lu Ying, if you don’t figure out a way to change me back soon, I won’t live well—and neither will any of you!" She looked as though she was prepared to drag everyone down with her. Lu Ying knew she meant every word. Shen Zhaozhao was someone who feared nothing; she’d do whatever she pleased. When Doctor Xiao Chen entered the room, he saw Shen Yinning threatening their Crown Prince, who sat there with an indifferent expression, clearly unwilling to argue with her. His usually cold and solitary eyes even carried a hint of indulgence. Doctor Xiao Chen had already experienced this young lady’s tactics firsthand, and he broke out in a cold sweat before even beginning his examination. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, greeted them with reverent courtesy, and pulled out his pulse pillow and red thread from the medicine chest to diagnose Shen Yinning. After a moment, he smiled and said, "It’s nothing serious; you don’t even need an antidote. Miss Shen can eat, drink, and play as usual. In two to three days, the poison will naturally expel itself from the body." Shen Yinning smoothed her white hair and finally felt a bit more at ease. She stretched out her hand toward Lu Ying. Lu Ying raised an eyebrow. "What for?" Shen Yinning replied matter-of-factly, "Gold ingot." Lu Ying didn’t know her intentions but signaled his attendant to bring a heavy gold ingot. Shen Yinning placed the ingot on the medicine chest. Her eyes shimmered with mischievous light, and her tone was polite as she said, "Doctor Xiao Chen, I understand your trip south has been arduous. Consider this reward money to enjoy a drink. I’ve heard that Doctor Xiao Chen is an expert in gynecology. Should I ever experience any discomfort in the future, I hope you’ll be willing to help me with a diagnosis." Doctor Xiao Chen stared at the gold ingot, utterly dumbfounded. He had been assisting his father in the palace for years but had never seen such a lavish reward! Even when Noble Consort Zhang was pregnant and gave birth, his father only received fifty taels of patterned silver! This Shen Yinning truly was generous—bestowing a gold ingot right off the bat! And she used the Crown Prince’s money to do it! He wiped the sweat from his forehead again, shot a tentative glance at Lu Ying, and only when Lu Ying signaled for him to accept did he gleefully scoop up the gold ingot and medicine chest, bow in gratitude, and retreat. Shen Yinning twisted a strand of black hair around her fingertip. She had no connections in the Imperial Hospital. Although Doctor Xiao Chen belonged to Lu Ying, fostering a good relationship would always hold advantages. Lu Ying pinched her cheek. "You’ve got some nerve using my money to curry favor." "What do you mean your money?" Shen Yinning shot back, "Luo Xibai gifted me half of Liang Garden. The treasures stored here should originally belong to me. You confiscated everything, and I’ve kindly let that slide—what more could you want? During this trip to Jiangnan, I not only endured humiliation but also nearly lost my life. You should compensate me properly!" Lu Ying reminded her, "The twenty million taels of patterned silver that Luo Xibai disappeared with—is it not still with you? You’re hardly at a loss." "Twenty million taels of patterned silver," Shen Yinning swatted his hand away. "I don’t know anything about it, and I’ve never heard of it!" She twisted her waist and slipped beyond the screen to investigate her appearance in the inner chamber. Lu Ying gazed at her shadow behind the screen. He knew this little vixen felt aggrieved. And he also knew that no matter how much he tried to coax or intimidate her, she wouldn’t open her mouth—and he wouldn’t learn the whereabouts of that fortune. His gaze settled on the towering pile of ledgers on the desk. The Luo family’s case was entirely under his jurisdiction. If he turned a blind eye, he could still cover things up. Forget it. Let her be. Behind the screen. Shen Yinning sat on the bed’s edge, clutching the Treasure Pattern Hand Mirror. Though she stared at the mirror, her mind was fixated on the money. She touched the amulet hidden inside her collar, deciding she’d have to sneak off to Juxian Manor before leaving Jiangnan. Twenty million taels of snow-patterned silver... There was no way she’d just hand it over to Lu Ying. ... Because of her white hair and snow-white complexion, Shen Yinning had avoided appearing in public over the past two days and had been kept hidden by Lu Ying in the side wing. A Palace Maid delivering meals mentioned that the whole Lin’an City was now abuzz about the "Lv Zhu Maiden" of Liang Garden. People were astonished by her sudden disappearance at the Buddhist Tower that day, and their conversations over tea and meals showed more interest in her than in Luo Magistrate, Luo Xibai, or other corrupt officials. Tang houses and taverns had become hosts to destitute scholars writing romantic tales about her, turning her story into a legendary anecdote of Jiangnan. Shen Yinning, however, showed no concern over such things. She studied her reflection in the bronze mirror, her appearance now fully restored, and asked idly, "What about Luo Wanzhao?" The Palace Maid arranged the delicacies neatly on the table and replied respectfully, "It’s said that Prince Wu insists on divorcing the Princess and wants to become a monk at Ciyin Temple. The Princess couldn’t bear the shock and went mad! Prince Wu had no choice but to temporarily put aside his plans for ordination; these past few days, he’s been seeking renowned doctors across Lin’an to treat the Princess." "She went mad?" Shen Yinning stared into the bronze mirror, raising her eyebrows in surprise. By the night of Luo Wanxiang’s seven-day memorial, Shen Yinning slipped deftly out through a latticed window and headed straight for Luo Wanxiang’s grave. Despite her claims during life that she wasn’t colluding with the Luo family, Luo Wanzhao still buried her in the Luo family’s ancestral tomb. Hiding behind the grave, Shen Yinning waited until she heard rustling footsteps approaching. The moon was obscured by dark clouds. Luo Wanzhao set down the lantern, knelt before the tombstone, and took out candles and paper money from her wicker basket, burning them while she wept: "Xiang’er, it was all because of your useless elder sister. If I had discovered sooner that Shen Yinning was black-hearted, I would never have brought her to Jiangnan... "Xiang’er, now the Prince is determined to divorce me. I’ve had no choice but to feign madness and sickness to delay the inevitable. But I can’t go on like this—what should I do? If I were Shen Yinning, if I were as beautiful as her, wouldn’t the Prince have refused to abandon me? Xiang’er, I’ve already lost Father, my brothers, and you. I can’t lose the Prince. If you have any spirit left in you, could you help elder sister rid herself of Shen Yinning?" Because of the Luo family’s downfall, no one had tended the graves recently; weeds now grew rampant across the site. The woman’s hoarse crying echoed far and wide like the mournful wails of wild cats on a spring night. As lightning cracked through the clouds and drizzle fell across the hills, the newly covered grave seemed that much more melancholic. Shen Yinning pressed herself against the grave and crept stealthily to the front of the tombstone. Luo Wanzhao was so absorbed in her sorrow that she didn’t notice her at all. Rising slightly, Shen Yinning leaned close to her ear and murmured, "I heard the Princess has gone mad, but she seems perfectly lucid to me—doesn’t seem mad in the least!" Luo Wanzhao’s eyes widened abruptly. Incredulously, she turned to look at the figure beside her. The lantern on the ground illuminated Shen Yinning’s face from below. The girl knelt in a pristine white dress, her posture reminiscent of a fox. Her jet-black hair framed each side of her cheeks, and while her features were stunningly beautiful, her pallor made her look unnervingly eerie. Her slightly tilted eyes, curved lips, and upward sloping, sharp features rendered her face foxlike in its allure and cunning—a visage so intense it sent chills down anyone’s spine in the dead of night! "Ahhh—!!" Luo Wanzhao let out a deafening scream. She scrambled backward in utter terror, abandoning even the lantern in her flight. Shen Yinning seized her hair and dragged her back, sneering coldly, "Lu Qianqian and Luo Wanxiang are pig-headed idiots without any wit—so was it you who directed them to poison my tea and turn me into this wretched creature? Luo Wanzhao, you pretended all along to want to be my sister while secretly plotting to kill me—don’t you find that just a little hypocritical?" Luo Wanzhao thrashed wildly, her cries miserable: "It’s because of you that the Prince and I grew estranged! That’s why I resorted to harming you! You refused to behave and settle for being the Prince’s concubine; instead, you endlessly seduced my elder brother! I only meant to teach you a lesson, yet you instigated the Prince to divorce me! Shen Yinning, you’re nothing more than the failed daughter of a disgraced official—what gives you the right to refuse the Prince’s love? What gives you the right to dismiss being his concubine? Why do you resist my arrangements? Why... Why aren’t you willing to accept your fate?!"

Chapter 280 - 278 Princess Wu Goes Mad from Unable to Bear the Stimulation

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