Chapter 281 - 279: Lu Shiyan’s Love Is Simply Not Presentable

Words : 1382 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Over the years, Luo Wanzhao had pieced together an image of Shen Yinning from Lu Shiyan’s words, bit by bit— Brightly beautiful, willful and spoiled, a noble young lady with sharp wits and a prestigious upbringing. One a Prince, the other the pampered daughter of a Duke Mansion, they had grown up together since childhood—a match made in heaven, the perfect pair! Luo Wanzhao was jealous. The reason she forced Shen Yinning to become a concubine was not only to appease Lu Shiyan but also out of a twisted desire to humiliate her. She wanted to shatter the pampered and willful image of that noble daughter in the Prince’s memory, to utterly destroy her, to reduce her to someone so lowly and insignificant! Only then, she believed, would the Prince lose all affection for her, would he completely abandon her. She had plotted for a long time, convinced that her façade was flawless. But no matter how meticulous her calculations were, she never accounted for Shen Yinning’s defiance and ruthlessness. Foolishly, she had been deluded by the Prince’s frequent praises of Shen Yinning’s kind heart, gentle and graceful demeanor, and lack of guile. Luo Wanzhao mistakenly deemed her an easy target until prolonged interactions with her unveiled Shen Yinning as a venomous beauty, completely incompatible with those flattering descriptors! "Accept fate?" The spring rain drenched the grass and trees surrounding the Luo Family’s ancestral graves. Shen Yinning’s gaze turned icy, "I’m beautiful and smart, and many people adore me. Even Lu Ying and the Empress Dowager are willing to back me. Luo Wanzhao, I have timing, geography, and human support all on my side. I’ve not reached a dead end yet—why should I accept fate? Who are you to tell me to give up? And how do you know I won’t have the chance to turn things around in the future?" Cold raindrops dripped onto Luo Wanzhao’s frail body. Already weak and sickly, she was gripped by the chill, unable to suppress her incessant coughing fits. She acted as though she’d heard the most absurd joke, her shoulders shaking with laughter even amidst her coughing, "Father and brothers massacred, the family confiscated... What chance is there to turn things around? Now, you and I are the same. But at least I know when to yield to reality—I know my only salvation lies with the Prince. As long as I keep my position as Princess Wu, I can continue to live gloriously as before! But you, you’re so clueless, refusing to be a mere concubine for the Prince—" "We are not the same." Shen Yinning cut her off. "The Luo Family was corrupt, guilty of bribery and every imaginable crime. But my father and brothers were framed by treacherous officials. I care not for my own honor, only this—I know someday... Someday, I’ll overturn their case!" The spring rain pattered ceaselessly. The horned-tassel lanterns were drenched in the rain, their light flickering in and out. Luo Wanzhao weakly raised her eyelids to look at her. The young girl’s gaze was more unyielding than wild grass, unafraid of this tempestuous storm. Such a gaze, such a tenacious life force, made Luo Wanzhao feel both fear and an overwhelming sense of inferiority. Suddenly, a wild thought struck her—could it be that the Prince’s infatuation with Shen Yinning stemmed not from her beauty alone, but from this unquenchable vitality of hers? In stark contrast to her own cowardice and frailty, Shen Yinning was like a radiant, dazzling sun, arrogantly driving away the cold shadows of the night... Murky tears rolled down the corners of her eyes. In that moment, Luo Wanzhao felt as though her eyes had been stabbed. She was left utterly defeated, her spirit broken, teetering on the brink of collapse. She avoided Shen Yinning’s gaze, covered her mouth as she coughed, and feigned strength by clinging to her pretense as Princess Wu, barking orders with pitiful dignity, "It’s time for my medicine. Take me back!" "Take you back?" Shen Yinning tilted her head, mocking her with a sneer. "Luo Wanzhao, do you even realize what you’re saying? You schemed to have me killed, and now that you’re in my hands, you dare hope I’ll send you back? What, do I look like some big-hearted idiot or doormat in your eyes?" "This is the Luo Family’s ancestral grave!" Luo Wanzhao screamed hoarsely, "The grave next to you belongs to Xiang’er! You killed Xiang’er—what gives you the gall to act against me here at her grave?!" Before her words could even settle, Shen Yinning grabbed one of her arms with a twist, yanked her by her hair, and slammed her head into the tombstone! Luo Wanzhao had no strength to resist! With three dull thuds, her head spilled blood, and like a fallen leaf in the storm, she slid lifelessly to the ground. Scarlet stained the tombstone. Blood gushed from the split on her forehead, mixing with the graveyard rainwater, seeping into the wild grass roots and soil. Shen Yinning stood up, looking down at her coldly, "I didn’t fear her when she was alive—why would I fear her now that she’s dead?" Luo Wanzhao, at death’s door, clung to her final shred of consciousness, flickering like a fragile candle in the stormy night. She lay beside the tombstone, her skull fractured, half her face sullied by blood, rain, and spring mud. Trembling, she extended a hand, unwilling, desperate to grip Shen Yinning’s ankle. Her lips moved, her voice barely audible, "Why... refuse the Prince’s love...? Why... refuse to be his concubine...?" It was the Prince’s love. The precious thing she had yearned for her entire life but could never possess. How could Shen Yinning reject it? Shen Yinning was utterly annoyed at the mere mention of "concubine." "Concubine" was nothing more than a plaything in the backyard, barely more dignified than a servant, their life and death at the mercy of others, let alone any shred of respect or dignity. If a woman had no other way out, there was nothing wrong with becoming a concubine. But if there were any other choice, why degrade oneself to such a position? What’s more, being forced into concubinage only proved that Lu Shiyan’s so-called love was utterly unpresentable. She threw out, "You’re sick—I’m not," then shook off Luo Wanzhao and hurriedly left the graveyard. The night was pitch black, filled with dense threads of rain that pierced like icy needles. Alone, Luo Wanzhao lay in the rain, staring blankly as Shen Yinning’s figure gradually vanished from sight, until she finally succumbed to her unwilling last breath. Luo Wanzhao’s death caused not a ripple in Liang Garden. Apart from Lu Shiyan shedding a few tears at the funeral for the sake of their marriage, no one came to mourn her, let alone grieved or cared. Eager to check the funds at Juxianzhuang, Shen Yinning used the excuse of sightseeing in Lin’an City to leave Liang Garden amidst Lu Ying’s busy schedule of meeting officials from various parts of Jiangnan. Lu Ying, unwilling to let her travel alone, assigned a group of maids and guards to escort her. Arriving at Juxianzhuang, Shen Yinning dismissed the maids to wait downstairs and went upstairs alone to see the shopkeeper. To her surprise, the shopkeeper of Juxianzhuang was a young girl of merely eighteen or nineteen. The girl was fair and delicate, with a neat, sharp jawline. She wore her hair in a simple Daoist bun tied with a pearly white ribbon, donned a blue-and-white Daoist robe layered with gauzy fabric, and sat behind the desk with a golden abacus in her arms, engrossed in accounting. When the girl caught sight of the token Shen Yinning handed over, she rose holding the golden abacus: "This Juxianzhuang, outwardly running various businesses, actually solely serves Lord Luo. Over the years, under my management, the funds have doubled several times. Since you are the new Manor Owner, if you wish, I can provide all the ledgers and records accumulated over these years." More than the ledgers and materials, Shen Yinning’s curiosity lay with the girl before her. She took a seat, "What’s your name?" In the Capital, where her position was precarious, a handful of reliable confidants would significantly ease her future pursuits.

Chapter 281 - 279: Lu Shiyan’s Love Is Simply Not Presentable

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