Chapter 37: Doesn’t She Just Look Down on Him?

Words : 1468 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Doesn’t She Just Look Down on Him?Shen Yinning pieced together the general course of events through Gao Zheng’s words. Initially, she was worried that Yin Shanshan might deduce her relationship with Lu Ying through the cherries, but it turned out this girl didn’t have the brains for it after all. She used her round fan to cover the lower half of her face and feigned distress. "Oh dear, my little sister has seen through my thoughts—what’s to be done now?" "Hmph!" Yin Shanshan was both smug and disdainful. "Isn’t it all because you resent that ever since I entered the household, Zheng-lang has loved me exclusively? You envy me for having a powerful elder brother and are jealous that my brother has earned favor before the Crown Prince, while you’re just a pitiful woman with no support who can’t even bear children! But Shen Yinning, no matter how much you resent me, you shouldn’t have tampered with the gifts from the Crown Prince! Do you even understand that thunder and rain are manifestations of imperial favor, and that the Crown Prince’s gifts must never be discarded at whim? This time, it was fortunate that I picked them back up. Otherwise, your skin would have been flogged to death!" She spoke in an assured manner, adopting an air of one well-versed in palace regulations. "Amitabha Buddha!" Gao Mother hurriedly recited a Buddhist blessing, thumped her chest in lingering fear, and said, "Shanshan, oh dear, who knew there were so many rules in the Capital? We are so ignorant of them! Luckily, we have you. From now on, you must teach the Shen woman proper conduct so she doesn’t commit more mistakes!" Yin Shanshan nodded confidently. "Mother, please rest assured. I will teach elder sister about the rules." Although the identity she crossed over to was that of a farm girl from Gan State, in the modern world, she had read countless internet novels! She knew perfectly well how to address nobles and perform proper bows! Unlike Shen Yinning, a country woman with a big chest but no brains! Yin Shanshan then turned to Gao Zheng and advised, "Zheng-lang, although I’m not yet a secondary wife and don’t have the status to chastise elder sister here, elder sister has indeed committed a grave error this time. I think Zheng-lang should have her kneel in the ancestral hall for reflection—it’ll teach her a lesson and prevent her from making further mistakes in the future." She deliberately said this in front of the many maids and servants of the Gao household. Clearly, she intended to establish dominance within the household. Gao Zheng cast Shen Yinning a conflicted look. He didn’t quite dare to force her to kneel in the ancestral hall, but every time he thought about how she had moaned and writhed under the Crown Prince that night, he couldn’t help but develop a sense of contempt for her in his heart. Shen Yinning was clearly a shameless and wanton woman, yet she consistently put on a virtuous facade in front of him and forbade him from touching her. Didn’t she simply look down on him?! But she should take a good look at her own status—just the daughter of a guilty minister, no more than the Crown Prince’s plaything, and she dared to act as if she were important. Whenever the Crown Prince grew tired of her, only then would she truly fall under his control as her nominal husband. Determined to show off his authority in front of Shen Yinning, he furrowed his brow and said, "Lady Shen, Shanshan is right. You do need to reflect in the ancestral hall." Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Shen Yinning planned to continue residing with the Gao family. For now, she wasn’t ready to confront Gao Zheng and the others directly. Thus, she cast a pitiful glance at Yin Shanshan and said weakly, "I regret exposing myself. To think that tossing cherries would reveal me to my clever sister—your intelligence shames me. I’ll go to the ancestral hall to reflect right away." She hid her face behind her fan, her shoulders trembling as though she were crying, then turned gracefully and floated away. She did not go to kneel in the ancestral hall. The next evening at dusk, she carefully dressed and adorned herself before leaving the Gao household through the side gate. Today was the Qixi Festival, and she had no intention of spending it alone in the Gao household. Thus, she had proactively sent Cui Ji an invitation for a gathering on a pleasure boat. Cui Ji was a rare, intelligent man. During her three years in Gan State, she had thoroughly enjoyed playing chess against him. But ever since arriving in the Capital, she hadn’t had the chance to spend time alone with him. She missed the thrill of battling him on the chessboard. The twilight deepened, and fiery clouds painted half the sky in red. As Shen Yinning stepped onto the pleasure boat, a slender hand with distinct joints lifted the curtain at just the right moment. Cui Ji bent slightly. "Lady Shen." Shen Yinning looked over. Cui Ji was dressed in a plain azure robe, standing quietly with his usual demeanor. In his eyes, there seemed to be an eternal spring mountain’s warmth and coolness, akin to a spring drizzle that would never cease to fall. She smiled. "It’s been a long time, Lord Cui." The pleasure boat slowly glided across the water, and Cui Ji gazed at the lamps along the riverbanks. "The Qixi Festival in the Capital is quite different from that in Gan State." The crowd’s nighttime revelry was thunderous, vendors crowded the streets, people of all trades paraded, and it seemed the entire city was out in full force. Towers and pavilions lined the shores, thousands of lanterns were hung at varying heights, and the whole of Fengjing City appeared to be a sea of golden light. Shen Yinning remarked nonchalantly, "It’s merely wealthier here, that’s all." Cui Ji’s gaze fell upon the riverbank. On the banks were couples who had come out to enjoy the festivities. Young women wore newly tailored summer dresses and styled their hair into intricate buns adorned with flowers or golden hairpins. The air was filled with the scents of powder, magnolias, and Haitang blossoms. Almost every girl carried a newly bought lantern, their smiles more radiant and delicate than the fiery clouds at sunset. Unexpectedly, Cui Ji asked, "Lady Shen, when you were younger, did you ever watch lanterns with someone?" Shen Yinning didn’t reply. But she thought back to the time when she and Lu Ying had once watched lanterns together during Qixi. Back then, she had found Lu Ying cold and taciturn, and so she rarely treated him kindly. Only when she was happy would she call him "Brother Lu Ying" a few times. She had always assumed Lu Ying didn’t like her either. His reason for inviting her out to watch lanterns was simply because she was, in name, his fiancée. Lu Ying, with his cold and solemn demeanor, had always been someone who respected tradition, incapable of favoring a concubine over a wife. Before marriage, he would only treat his fiancée well; after marriage, he would show the utmost respect only to the Crown Princess Consort. Just like now, after marrying Shen Yunxi as the Crown Princess Consort, he would severely punish her every time she targeted Shen Yunxi. Shen Yinning thought of the note she had left in the innermost layer of Shen Yunxi’s jewelry box and couldn’t help but curve her brows and eyes in delight. It had already been two days—had Shen Yunxi discovered the note yet? As Shen Yinning and Cui Ji drifted on their boat, over in the Eastern Palace... It was Qixi Festival today. Shen Yunxi bathed and dressed nervously. "Lianxin, do you think the Crown Prince will come to celebrate the festival with me?" Lianxin, while carefully doing her hair, answered cautiously, "Based on previous years, His Highness should come to see you first, then accompany you to Qianqing Palace to pay respects to the Emperor and Noble Consort Zhang, and finally return to the Eastern Palace to worship the Weaver Girl." After worshiping the Weaver Girl came the part Shen Yunxi anticipated most. Her cheeks flushed. "I just hope that His Highness won’t be influenced by Yin Shanshan’s affairs. Oh, I must wear that most magnificent phoenix-and-kingfisher golden hairpin tonight. Quickly, fetch it for me." Lianxin opened the jewelry box’s lowest layer and was about to take out the hairpin when she noticed a note lying beside it. She picked up the note curiously. "What’s this?"

Chapter 37: Doesn’t She Just Look Down on Him?

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