Chapter 445: Chapter 443: The Mistake Lies with You, Not Her
The galaxy swayed, and a boat rested deep amidst the lotus leaves.
Shen Yinning reclined against the boat’s railing, her gauzy attire gently draped over alabaster toes. Her jet-black hair cascaded downward, trailing the water’s surface. Two small golden combs adorned with tassels at her temples refracted glimmers of light, and her delicately radiant face seemed to shimmer with golden hues. Her phoenix-shaped eyes evoked the tenderly flushed bloom of satisfaction following joy.
Lu Ying watched as she reached out to tease the lotus leaves and murmured, "The Spring Banquet, would you like to attend?"
The banquet was primarily to celebrate the triumph at the border, coupled with a feast for the newly appointed scholars of the imperial examination. Held by the Lishui River within the palace, it would not only welcome noble families and officials from the Capital but also renowned and illustrious figures from outer provinces.
It could be called the most extravagant event in the Great Zhou in a century.
Shen Yinning picked a young and tender lotus leaf and replied hoarsely, her voice tinged with mockery, "And what identity would I take to attend? The daughter of a condemned minister? Cui Ji’s widowed concubine? Or perhaps... Your Majesty’s secret treasure in the golden pavilion?"
Undercurrents stirred beneath the Penglai Pool.
The small boat rocked gently, shattering the galaxy’s reflections across the lake.
Lu Ying grasped one of her feet, kissing her snow-white instep slowly and gently. "No matter your identity, no one would dare trouble you."
Shen Yinning turned to glance at him with disgust. "Even if no one troubles me, I’d feel humiliated myself! Lu Jingwei, you live only for your own pleasures, never stopping to consider what I might want! You’ve imprisoned me here, without name or status—do you intend to keep me for ten years, twenty years, or perhaps an entire lifetime?!"
Lu Ying remained silent.
He acted as he pleased.
He had no regard for consequences, nor any plans for the future.
If he were truly rational, he should have sent Shen Yinning away—that would have been the most logical decision.
She was a cunning and ruthless vixen, arrogant and unyielding. She could turn the Capital upside down, toy with an emperor in the palm of her hand, and drive him to madness, making him abandon his principles!
If he were rational, he would have sent her away.
Yet sending her to Jiangnan back then had already cost him half his life.
He could no longer bear the price of losing her.
Blend with depravity or embrace absurdity—what the world might say, what the history books might record, these mattered not to him in the slightest.
The hand gripping her slender ankle silently tightened.
He fiercely suppressed the beast roaring within his veins.
His narrowed eyes darkened into a storm of obsessive intensity, fixed firmly on Shen Yinning. "If I were to imprison you for life, so that we grow old together, then I’d willingly endure your hatred. Shen Zhaozhao lured me, ruined me, and now she thinks she can withdraw cleanly? That would be impossible."
Shen Yinning retracted her foot and swiftly kicked him.
She adjusted the stray hairs clinging to her temples.
Lu Jingwei was nothing short of a lunatic, and here she was, absurdly attempting to reason with a madman!
She looked at him with a half-smile and shifted the topic. "The palace maids say Huo Mingyan is stingy by nature. Entrusting her with such an important event like the Spring Banquet—aren’t you afraid she’ll make a mockery of herself and disgrace the occasion?"
"Empress Dowager Li and Shangguan Min are involved as well."
Truthfully, Lu Ying knew well that Huo Mingyan had never handled such grand festivities before.
Among the concubines in his harem, Shen Yunxi and Wen Kuixiang were also not capable of handling major affairs.
Therefore, he had no choice but to personally request Empress Dowager Li and Shangguan Min to lend their assistance.
Shen Yinning shifted into a knee-hugging position and picked up a golden hairpin from the floor.
The Phoenix with Pearl design of the hairpin gleamed brightly under the moonlight, a masterpiece of intricate craftsmanship. Yet it still fell short of the regal opulence of the Phoenix Hairpin worn by the Empress of the Central Palace.
Gazing at it for a long while, she suddenly sighed. "If I were you, I’d summon a few senior palace matrons to properly educate her on the customs and etiquette of the Capital. She grew up in the borderlands and knows little about the aristocratic norms of the Central Plains. Her petty actions are understandable. As her husband, you’ve failed in your duty to guide her, causing her reputation to suffer in the palace. Thus, the fault lies with you, and not with her."
Lu Ying studied her.
The girl’s gaze carried complicated emotions.
She was someone who strove for greatness and coveted the phoenix’s throne but had never attained it.
Facing another woman who had secured the phoenix’s throne, perhaps she was resentful, perhaps despondent. But tonight, she could still utter the words, "The fault lies with you, and not with her."
Lu Ying spoke softly, "Zhaozhao is quite generous."
Shen Yinning countered, "And if she weren’t generous—what could she do about it?"
Lu Ying’s thoughts drifted to the past without reason.
Back when he was still the Crown Prince, Shen Yunxi was far from an ideal Crown Princess Consort. Her reputation was even worse than Huo Mingyan’s.
Yet Shen Zhaozhao had never said such words as tonight.
Was it because she and Shen Yunxi were enemies, whereas she did not have enmity with Huo Mingyan?
Or perhaps...
Lu Ying gazed at Shen Yinning, who had tilted her head to admire the lake in the spring night.
The dark golden light of the rippling waves reflected on her snow-white and exquisitely beautiful face. Her cherry-red lips and arched brows shone with unparalleled vibrancy.
But in her eyes, it seemed he was no longer present.
So was it, in fact, because she no longer loved him that she could say, "The fault lies with you, and not with her," so calmly?
Did that mean she had truly... loved him in the past?
It felt like something precious and irreplaceable was slipping away from his fingertips.
He only realized this long after the moment had passed.
His narrow eyes flushed with poignant red as his heart seemed gripped in someone’s hand, aching so intensely he could barely breathe.
Suddenly, Lu Ying seized Shen Yinning’s hand and kissed her lips with reckless abandon, as if he wished to engrain her into his very bones.
"Lu—"
Shen Yinning only managed to utter one syllable before all her words were stifled.
She leaned back against the boat’s railing, her long hair trailing into the water.
A few koi fish meandered through the clear waves and disappeared into the lotus leaves.
Inside the boat was a haze of sensual tension, stars scattered across the heavens and waters alike.
The boat seemed to have drifted until dawn.
Lu Ying was indeed mad.
Between moments of push and pull, Shen Yinning couldn’t help but think so.
...
"Tomorrow is the Spring Banquet." Haitang served Shen Yinning as she soaked in the White Jade Pool, carefully massaging her shoulders and neck. "His Majesty’s message is that the Commandery Princess may attend if she wishes. You’ve been confined here for days now; this servant thinks it might be good for you to step out for a while."
Shen Yinning kept her eyes closed.
Although she was trapped here, news from the Capital still trickled to her through Cuicui and the others.
She wasn’t certain what methods Lu Ying had employed, but few people in the Capital now mentioned her. If they did, it was merely to say she had been invited by the Empress to enter the palace and copy scriptures in prayer, assisting the Empress Dowager in raising the young prince.
Indeed, Lu Ying enjoyed a reputation for virtue and was known for his commanding influence. Establishing an Empress and taking concubines were customary affairs for emperors. Even though he and she had once shared a romance, most men would scoff at the notion of him harboring feelings for his younger brother’s concubine—especially one who had borne his brother’s children.
She brushed off the petal sticking to her arm and suddenly brought up a different subject. "What did Lu Ying say to you that night?"
Haitang froze.
Faced with Shen Yinning’s cuttingly cold gaze, Haitang instantly broke into a cold sweat.
She knelt on the floor, her head bowed low and trembling as she replied, "His Majesty discovered that bronze key in your dressing table. He asked this servant where the key had come from. This servant dared not hide anything and confessed everything..."
Shen Yinning gently caressed Haitang’s cheek, speaking softly, "His methods are clever, and you were right to say what you knew. I won’t blame you; there’s no need to fear. I only wish to know—after he found out, what did he say?"