Chapter 292 - 290: Shen Yunxi is Pregnant with a Dragon’s Child

Words : 1479 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

It was night. Yin Shanshan sat on the steps of the backyard, crying bitterly, her grievances pouring out, still wearing the red wedding dress from earlier in the day. She couldn’t understand—Gao Zheng clearly relied on her to support the family, used to praise her for having clever ideas to make money, saying she was far more useful than Shen Yinning—so why had he turned around today and said such hurtful and heartless things? And hitting her in front of all those guests... Shen Yinning appeared in front of her. She lightly swayed her folding fan and said quietly, "You still don’t understand, do you? The Gao family, mother and son—they’ve never truly regarded you as part of their family." Yin Shanshan hiccupped and raised her tear-streaked face, sniffling as she said, "You’re here to laugh at me, aren’t you?! Let me tell you, even if Gao Zheng and I have a temporary falling out, I still gave him two sons—it’s not your place to laugh at me! You never even consummated your marriage with him. Instead of mocking me here, why don’t you think about your own future!" Stubbornly ignorant. These four words floated through Shen Yinning’s mind. She paused and said, "More than Gao Zheng, I’m curious—how did you come up with all those business ideas of yours? Were they really your own?" Yin Shanshan’s crying suddenly stopped. She looked at Shen Yinning warily, suspecting that this woman might have discovered something. She knew very well that in this era she was an anomaly. If anyone found out she was from another time, these ignorant and feudal people might burn her alive as some kind of demon. Especially this woman in front of her. Although Shen Yinning always seemed composed and occasionally showed her kindness, based on the palace intrigue novels Yin Shanshan had read, these feudal women loved to fight within their own circles, acting all friendly to your face while scheming behind your back. For all she knew, Shen Yinning had already thought about killing her thousands of times. Yin Shanshan knew she had to stay on guard against her. Thinking this, Yin Shanshan wiped her tears and her nose, stood up, and said, "Of course I came up with them myself! Enough, stop trying to sow discord between Gao Zheng and me. Gao Zheng and I have a bond stronger than gold—nothing you feudal women could ever compare to!" With that, she walked away arrogantly. Shen Yinning closed her folding fan, the tip of it resting thoughtfully against her pale chin. She couldn’t shake the feeling that many of Yin Shanshan’s ideas didn’t fit with the realities of the current era. Yin Shanshan wasn’t particularly smart, so it was unlikely those ideas were entirely her own. They seemed more like something someone had taught her. While Yin Shanshan was insignificant in her revenge plans, Shen Yinning still found her intriguing. She called Haitang over and instructed, "Send someone to Gan State to investigate Yin Shanshan’s past thoroughly." "Understood," Haitang replied, then added, "The Crown Prince just sent over a carriage to bring you to Shen Garden tonight." Shen Yinning felt a bit disgusted. They’d only been intimate last night, and that dog of a man wanted her again. For a moment, she thought about spurning Lu Ying, but then she remembered Shen Garden was now under her name. She couldn’t resist the urge to go and see it herself. Besides, her dear cousin was still locked up in Shen Garden. It had been so long since they’d last seen each other—she ought to check on him. She arrived at Shen Garden by carriage, the estate brightly lit. Lu Ying must have been here for some time; he had already bathed and changed, now sitting under lamplight to handle official tasks. Shen Yinning exchanged a glance with the Palace Maid serving tea and water. This Palace Maid had long been bribed by Shen Yinning and was responsible for secretly delivering food to Shen Xinglei when Shen Yinning wasn’t there. In their exchanged look, the Palace Maid subtly nodded, indicating that Shen Xinglei was still alive in the hidden chamber. Shen Yinning felt reassured. She didn’t care about Shen Xinglei’s physical condition. All that mattered was that he wasn’t dead. She wanted to keep torturing him. "Lu Ying, brother." Stepping into the private chamber, Shen Yinning called out sweetly. She familiarly slipped into his arms, sitting on his lap, and encircled his neck with her delicate arms. She planted a kiss on his cheek, her expression seductive: "Are you so unwilling to part with me, Lu Ying, brother? You couldn’t bear to be without me even during those two months in Jiangnan—fine, I can forgive that. But now you’ve returned to the Capital, yet instead of staying in the Eastern Palace with Yunxi, you’ve summoned me here so eagerly to share the night... If Yunxi finds out, she’ll certainly be upset. I don’t mind no matter what happens, but for Yunxi’s sake, Lu Ying, brother, why don’t you return to the Eastern Palace to keep her company? Spare her the loneliness of guarding an empty chamber—it’s truly pitiful." Lu Ying raised an eyebrow. Reaching out, he brushed her forehead: "Do you have a fever? Or have you encountered something demonic?" Shen Yinning tilted her head to dodge his touch, pouting as she said, "I’m talking to you nicely, and you call it something demonic? Lu Ying, brother, you always love to tease me—how annoying..." Lu Ying pinched her small face, scrutinized her for a moment, then let go. If it weren’t for the slyness always lurking in this vixen’s eyes, he might have thought she was possessed by something. He adopted a serious tone: "Speak properly. Stop putting on airs." As Shen Yinning played with a silk handkerchief around her fingers, her gaze fleetingly scanned the direction of the hidden chamber. She wasn’t really speaking to Lu Ying—she was deliberately taunting Shen Xinglei. Meanwhile, in the pitch-black hidden chamber separated by the wall. Shen Xinglei heard Shen Yinning’s voice for the first time in two months, and he couldn’t help but struggle violently in excitement. But his tendons had been severed, his tongue cut and mouth gagged, making it impossible to make any sound. After just a moment of struggle, he fell into impotence and silence. Months without leaving the chamber had caused all his muscles to atrophy. Living on two bowls of congee per day was barely enough to keep him alive. At this point, he was nothing but a ruined man, unable to summon any strength— No, he wasn’t just ruined. He was closer to being something not entirely human, nor fully a ghost. Listening to the laughter exchanged between Shen Yinning and Lu Ying, two blood-tinged tears rolled down Shen Xinglei’s cheeks. He didn’t know how long he’d remain imprisoned. His heart was filled with despair. He didn’t even have the strength to hate Shen Yinning anymore. He only wanted to die, to escape this suffering... As Shen Xinglei endured in lonely agony in the darkness, Shen Yinning bathed, then climbed into bed once Lu Ying was still busy with his tasks, rolling languidly across the mattress. Her dewy phoenix eyes stared at the canopy above, as she idly chewed on a loose strand of dark hair. Though Shen Garden was hers now, she wanted even more. Suddenly, she glanced toward Lu Ying. If a scale were placed in Lu Ying’s heart, with one side weighing the benefits brought by Shen Yunxi and the Shen Family, and the other side holding her unfinished quest to clear her father and brothers’ names, which would he choose? Thinking from his perspective, Shen Yinning felt certain that if she were in Lu Ying’s shoes, she would unquestionably choose what brought her the most profit. She was someone who placed profit above all else. Was Lu Ying the same type of person as her? While she mulled over these questions, beyond Shen Garden’s high walls. Lu Qianqian’s carriage halted in the shadows. She lifted a corner of the curtain, warily surveying the tree silhouettes within the estate. Her trip to Jiangnan had confirmed that the vixen attempting to seduce her royal brother for the past year was none other than Shen Yinning, that wretch. But the Crown Prince had forbidden her from acting against Shen Yinning, warning that otherwise she wouldn’t even know how she’d end up dead. Frustrated, she struck the side of the carriage, a bold idea suddenly surfacing in her mind. If she could orchestrate it so Shen Yunxi "accidentally" discovered that Shen Yinning was the vixen, wouldn’t she effectively achieve her aim of borrowing someone else’s knife? With Shen Yunxi currently pregnant with the royal heir, surely her importance in the Crown Prince’s eyes outweighed that of Shen Yinning, that lowly wretch?

Chapter 292 - 290: Shen Yunxi is Pregnant with a Dragon’s Child

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