Chapter 324: Chapter 322: Lu Ying, Do I Give You Face?
Not all questions have answers.
Shen Yinning chose silence.
The posthouse.
Night fell, and the rain poured relentlessly.
Everyone braved the rain and moved into the posthouse. The Posthouse Minister hurried to assign them rooms and boiled several pots of hot water.
The damp, cold moisture seeped through the cracks in the windows and floor tiles. The shabby brick-and-tile house was filled with chill. Lu Ying lit a stove in his room, tied a straw rope, and hung his rain-soaked clothes on it to dry.
Shen Yinning was carried in by him, wrapped tightly in a cloak, so not a drop of rain touched her.
Shen Yinning leaned against the bed, twirling a strand of black hair between her fingers, while watching Lu Ying.
Lu Ying sat with his back to her by the stove, flipping through a book of ancient texts.
Shen Yinning knew that he had always loved reading since childhood. There were always a few serious and complex classics in the carriage. He didn’t like the popular romance novels sold in the marketplaces.
She tested softly, "Are you still angry?"
The air was silent, the night rain tapped against the windows.
Lu Ying turned a page of the book, ignoring her.
Shen Yinning bit her lip, pulled out a handkerchief, tied it into a knot, and threw it at him.
The knotted handkerchief hit the back of Lu Ying’s head, landed on his nape, and rolled down his spine to the floor.
Lu Ying resisted for a moment, then bent down to pick up the handkerchief from the floor.
He untied the knot, smoothed the handkerchief on his knee. "What’s this for?"
From Shen Yinning’s angle, she could only see a sliver of his profile. His brow line pressed low, the corners of his eyes shadowed with a sharp gloom, an air of unapproachable hostility.
She said cautiously, "Are you still angry?"
Lu Ying smoothed out the wrinkles on the handkerchief one by one, then shot her a cold sideways glance. "What do you think?"
Shen Yinning weighed her words carefully. "I joined hands with Yan Zheming for a reason..."
She wanted to explain but found any explanation would seem hollow.
No matter the reason, betraying Lu Ying was an undeniable truth.
Her family’s vengeance was hers alone and had no connection to Lu Ying.
Her tender, pale fingertips quietly clenched the quilt covering her legs. She pressed her crimson lips tightly and said no more.
Lu Ying glanced at her.
The damp air filled the room, the light indoors was dim and subdued. Her pale little face was tinged with a petal-crushed blush. That radiant, translucent beauty had appeared in his dreams many times—the kind of beauty that could light up the entire room.
And yet, it was this exceedingly beautiful girl who had a heart as cruel as a blade laced with poison.
The honest and kindhearted Duke Shen and his wife somehow birthed a daughter so adept at manipulating hearts.
A surge of vehemence welled inside Lu Ying’s chest. He withdrew his gaze and placed the handkerchief and ancient text on the table. "I’ll sleep in the room next door."
"Don’t go..." Shen Yinning softened her voice to stop him. "We’re in the wilderness, there’s thunder and rain outside. If you leave me alone in the posthouse room, I’ll be scared."
Lu Ying remained standing by the stove.
The fire danced, casting shifting flames across his face.
He fixed his gaze on Shen Yinning and mocked, emphasizing each word: "During the day, when you were alone in that abandoned manor in the Deep Mountain, weren’t you just fine? Why are you scared now?"
Shen Yinning silently clenched the quilt tighter.
Lu Ying seemed to have unlocked a torrent of words: "One lie after another, Shen Yinning, is that all your mouth does—lie and deceive me? Using Xue Mianmian, making me believe you’ve liked me since long ago, that you’d forsake diplomatic alliances to come save me, only to be rewarded with betrayal... Shen Yinning, playing me like a pawn—does it make you proud?"
Clearly, she had never loved him.
Clearly, she had only ever been using him.
Yet the way she called him "Brother Lu Ying," sweeter than anyone, and the way she leaned into his arms, seemed like he was her whole world.
Clearly, there was no love...
Yet she acted so deeply in love.
Shen Yinning lowered her thick lashes.
She felt annoyed.
Ever since returning from Jiangnan, she had clearly delineated her relationship with Lu Ying—they were merely having an affair.
Through this arrangement, she gained power and information from him, while he found indulgence and joy in her. It was clearly mutual gain; she didn’t understand why Lu Ying was so intent on proving whether there was genuine affection between them.
Lu Ying’s gaze shifted to her abdomen.
Around the edges of his dark pupils, a vivid scarlet began to spread.
His voice was low and hoarse, tinged with cutting hostility: "To quash my doubts, to make me believe you truly hated Yan Zheming deeply, you even had him stab you, creating the illusion of reprisal. You fooled both Cui Ji and me completely. Shen Yinning, you truly are ruthless—not only that, but to yourself as well. So, toward me, how much crueler can you be?"
Shen Yinning had had enough of his grievances.
She snapped, "Lu Ying, am I being too generous with you? Since you already see through me, you should understand what kind of person I am! Lu Ying, since you already know I’m a cold-blooded, self-serving woman, why are you still chattering on?! What’s the matter, you can’t bear to end things decisively, so you try to trap me with words, hoping I’ll feel shame, regret, or reflection?! Lu Ying, let me tell you, Shen Zhaozhao has never regretted what she’s done!"
"You betrayed Great Zhou, and you think you’re in the right?"
Shen Yinning curled her lips mockingly. "Betrayed? If the Crown Prince accuses his subject’s wife of betraying Great Zhou, then he ought to provide evidence. After all, isn’t all of this just your own imagination? Without proof, I won’t admit guilt."
The young woman was like a slippery fish.
Lu Ying tried to grasp her, yet she slipped through his fingers effortlessly, leaving only the trail of water from her tail as evidence of her existence.
Lu Ying’s hands, hanging at his sides, silently clenched into fists.
He stared at Shen Yinning, as if looking at someone beyond saving.
Outside, the wind and rain wailed mournfully, as though aiming to drive the chill deep into one’s bones.
After a while, he spoke slowly: "Just because your father and brothers were wrongfully killed, you choose to betray Great Zhou?"
Shen Yinning lifted her head.
The traces of once tender gazes vanished, leaving her piercing Dan Feng eyes sharpened. "Yes. I refuse to swallow this indignation. Why should my ancestors, my father, and my brothers—who have guarded the borders and lived upright lives for generations—end up beheaded and disgraced?! Let me be clear: when I climbed into your bed, it wasn’t because I liked you, or couldn’t bear to part with you. It was a gamble that you’d one day pull me out of Gan State and bring me to the Capital.
"Lu Ying, if you weren’t the Crown Prince wielding power, then I wouldn’t have looked at you even once. I couldn’t care less about whether you loved me as a youth. All I knew was that your feelings were a tool I could use. I couldn’t care less about being your concubine or consort. All I wanted was to destroy Shen Yunxi, to destroy her entire family! I didn’t even want to bear your child, but if having that child meant getting more from you, then I wouldn’t mind giving birth to several!"
Her voice grew faster and faster.
With each word, she struck like a dagger.
She seemed to retaliate for the lies Lu Ying had exposed.
When she finished, she reveled in the sight of Lu Ying’s face teetering on the verge of collapse, even laughing in delight.