Chapter 323: Chapter 321: I Don’t Want to Like You Anymore
Lu Ying knelt on one knee before her, his hand brushing through her dark hair, gently stroking her delicate face. "Don’t cry."
He lowered his eyes and saw her clutching her abdomen, his brows furrowing slightly. "Did the wound tear open?"
Shen Yinning took a deep breath, nodded, then shook her head, her expression composed and understanding. "It’s nothing, it just opened a tiny bit. Once we return, I’ll ask Doctor Xiao Chen to rewrap it."
Lu Ying scooped her up horizontally in his arms.
Perhaps because she had been abducted in the midst of her sleep, she wasn’t wearing shoes or socks. Her silk inner trousers were rolled halfway up, revealing her fair, tender calves and small feet.
Her raven-black hair cascaded like flowing silk, partially revealing an exquisite, snow-white face brimming with radiance.
That blindingly pure and fragile beauty was like a white peony beaded with dew, tenderly raised in the depths of the harem—one glance was enough to know she had lived a life of privilege. A flower nurtured by luxury and indulgence, cradled in the palm of the Crown Prince, untouched by hardship. Her presence formed a stark contrast with the desolate and filthy surroundings of the village.
The guards averted their eyes, lowering their heads instinctively to clear a path.
Lu Ying had brought a carriage when he came.
He placed Shen Yinning inside and casually drew the curtains closed.
Leaning against his chest, Shen Yinning spoke in a soft, coquettish voice: "I was sleeping soundly last night when Yan Zheming suddenly abducted me. They blindfolded me and shoved me into a carriage. I thought I might never see Brother Lu Ying again. Imagine my surprise when he dumped me in this wretched place and left, disregarding whether I lived or died. Even though it’s a desolate mountain village, I wasn’t afraid at all because I knew Brother Lu Ying would definitely come to rescue me..."
She lifted her delicate, radiant face, her bright eyes shimmering with tears, her voice sweet and tender. "Brother Lu Ying is my hero..."
Clad only in a thin layer of underclothing, the girl exuded a natural fragrance, sweet and alluring.
Leaning against Lu Ying’s chest, she seemed the embodiment of fragility, charm, and innate seduction.
Lu Ying stroked her dark hair. "As long as you’re unharmed."
"But Brother Lu Ying, for Yan Zheming to kidnap someone in the Imperial City—isn’t that outrageously bold?"
"Shen Zhaozhao."
"Hmm?"
Lu Ying gazed down at the delicate figure in his arms, hesitated for a long time, and then asked with a taut face, "What you told Xue Mianmian last night—how much of it was true, and how much was false?"
Shen Yinning met his gaze, their eyes locking.
Her fingertips unconsciously played with the hem of his sleeve.
He was actually asking her how much of what she said last night was true and how much was false.
Anyone could guess with their toes that it wasn’t true.
When he was younger, among the princes, Lu Ying had neither favor nor prominence. He always wore a stiff, lifeless expression as if the world owed him a fortune.
How could she possibly have liked that version of Lu Ying?
Lu Ying carefully chose his words and continued, "Xue Mianmian said that you’ve loved me since childhood, that I’ve always been the most important person in your heart. She even said that not being able to marry me is the greatest regret of your life."
Shen Yinning: "..."
She had deliberately used Mianmian to convey her supposed affection for Lu Ying, thinking it would soften his heart and make him come to her rescue.
What she didn’t expect was for Mianmian to take the initiative to embellish those words further.
Now they sounded even more fabricated.
Lu Ying was so shrewd—how could he ask her so directly whether they were true or not?
Lu Ying’s voice lowered. "I know what kind of woman you are. Initially, I didn’t believe it. But Xue Mianmian is your closest confidante. Even if you’d lie to me, you wouldn’t deceive her, would you? Besides, she has never lied. What she said must align with your thoughts. That’s why I’m asking you face-to-face... Shen Zhaozhao, when we were younger, did you ever love me?"
In those days when he watched her from afar, trembling with inadequacy.
In those nights when he burned with longing, utterly consumed by thoughts of her.
In those tender, youthful years spent collecting her lost hairpins and ribbons, only to gaze at her fading portraits in the *Analects*, an act of thirsty desperation.
Had she, during that time, reciprocated even a fraction of the feelings he dared not disclose to anyone?
Young Lu Ying had been overly sensitive and full of pride, carefully burying his emotions for fear anyone might notice.
Only now, upon hearing Xue Mianmian’s words, did he finally muster the courage to ask Shen Yinning.
Shen Yinning fluttered her lashes.
She was, at her core, selfish to an extreme. In her youth, she hadn’t loved anyone; she had only ever loved the title of Crown Princess Consort.
Maintaining a look of naive innocence, her phoenix eyes filled with affection, she deceived Lu Ying by saying, "When I was young, who didn’t dream of romance in the boudoir? Who didn’t fancy a few handsome young men? And of course, Brother Lu Ying, with your elegance and charm, I admired you. But you always had a stern demeanor back then, so I didn’t dare get close to you."
Stern demeanor...
Lu Ying recalled that, indeed, he had always worn a stiff expression.
He asked, "Then your later closeness with Lu Shiyan—was it because I wouldn’t speak to you?"
His heart tightened with unease.
He suddenly wondered if her affection for Lu Shiyan had stemmed from his own inability to endear himself to her during those youthful years. Was that why, out of spite, she had later uttered those hurtful words in the Shen Garden?
After all, he knew better than anyone how isolated, peculiar, and unlikeable he had been in his youth.
Shen Yinning followed his train of thought and said, "Exactly! Who could endure your perpetual sternness? It was no fun at all. Don’t you remember how lively I was as a child? I tried speaking to you a few times, but when you ignored me, I didn’t want to like you anymore. After all, I do have my pride."
At that moment, a deep rumble of thunder echoed outside.
Shen Yinning pulled aside a corner of the curtain.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, and though it wasn’t yet dusk, the sky had already taken on a gloomy hue.
Lightning streaked across the horizon as the first summer downpour came pouring down.
Shen Yinning voiced her concern: "With rain like this, how can we return to the capital? Brother Lu Ying, let’s rest at the relay station ahead for the night. We can return to the city tomorrow morning."
Her words had just landed when the previously tranquil atmosphere inside the carriage grew oppressive.
Lu Ying shot her a penetrating glance.
"Brother Lu Ying, why are you looking at me like that?"
Half of Lu Ying’s face was obscured in shadow, his voice colder than the rain outside. "You said you were blindfolded and stuffed into a carriage by the Yans; how do you know there’s a relay station ahead?"
"I passed by here before."
"That relay station was only built half a month ago."
Half a month ago, Shen Yinning had still been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison.
The carriage was submerged in an eerie silence.
The torrential rain pounded against the roof. Inside, the dim light made it impossible to discern their expressions.
Lu Ying grasped her hand. "When I found you, there were scattered grass ropes near the threshold. But your wrists and ankles showed no signs of being tied."
Once one inconsistency came to light, others surfaced one by one, unraveling the illusion and exposing the pitiless, ugly truth beneath the painstakingly curated facade—laying bare that all the tender moments, the lingering gazes, the heartfelt confessions were simply lies.
Lu Ying’s eyes reddened faintly as he stared at Shen Yinning.
Perhaps he had already noticed these discrepancies but had instinctively ignored them, unwilling to confront the truth.
He continued, "In Shen Garden, you vanished into the night undetected, leading us to believe you’d been taken by the highly skilled Yan Zheming. But if you left willingly, it would explain why Xue Mianmian wasn’t awakened. And as for the relay station, you only knew about it because you rode the carriage there yourself. You were aware today was the day of the treaty signing with Yan Country, and from the stomach injury to the supposed kidnapping—everything was a carefully orchestrated trap. Your goal was to ensure I would be absent, leaving Lu Zhengliu and Yan Zheming free to finalize the treaty."
His voice was cold and calm, like the perennial snow atop a mountain peak.
He pinched Shen Yinning’s chin, forcing her to lift her head.
His deep-set eyes were as dark and somber as the stormy sky outside.
Fixing her in his unyielding gaze, he demanded, "Why? Why did you conspire with Yan Zheming?"
Why would you exploit my feelings for you... yet again?