Chapter 373: Chapter 371: Do You Secretly Resent Me in Your Heart?
The aroma of the wine carried the delicate sweetness of lychees, lingering in Lu Ying’s breath.
The girl in his arms had a slender, soft waist, and her alluring, upturned phoenix eyes brimmed with flirtatious charm, leaving Lu Ying momentarily dazed.
He quickly steadied himself, withdrew his hand, and said, "Stand properly by yourself."
Shen Yinning tilted her head.
She placed her gilded folding fan onto the round table, wrapped her arms around Lu Ying’s neck, and, like a boneless little fish, clung limply to him.
Standing on tiptoes, she lifted her face and pecked at his thin lips. "After punishing you like that, are you secretly resenting me?"
A kiss with the flavor of lychees.
Lu Ying pushed away the thoughts filled with longing and ambiguity, responding coldly, "A noble young lady, born of gold and jade, would she really fear being hated?"
"I’m not afraid of being hated..." Shen Yinning pressed her cheek against his chest. "But I don’t want you to hate me. Brother Lu Ying, you know I like you, yet you still went and did those things with Shen Xinya... I hate that about you, and I also hate those women who approach you. Brother Lu Ying, you belong to me alone."
It was unclear whether the girl was drunk or sober.
Her voice was soft as she spoke, like rich and mellow lychee wine.
As she spoke, she burrowed into his arms, causing Lu Ying to step back several times.
Lu Ying’s thin lips pressed into a hard line.
After a moment, he finally asked in a low voice, "If you love me, would you still report what’s between us to my father, the Emperor?"
"Hitting means affection, scolding means love. Brother Lu Ying, for me to make you lose the Crown Prince title, it must mean I adore you to no end."
The girl was naturally adept at being coy and unreasonable, and after drinking, her words became even more unchecked and relentless.
Lu Ying felt a flicker of anger, mixed with a sense of helplessness.
He lifted his hand, intending to gently pat her head, but remembering his resolution to sever ties with her, he let his hand drop.
He said, "You’re drunk. Go to bed and sleep."
Shen Yinning had indeed drunk quite a bit tonight and was heavily intoxicated.
Her small hand gripped tightly at the lapel of Lu Ying’s clothes. With her muddled senses, she mumbled, "Sleep with me."
Lu Ying sneered softly. "Don’t you already have Cui Ji? Why not ask him to sleep with you? I’m sure he’d be delighted."
Half-asleep, Shen Yinning clung tightly to him, her limbs wrapping around like an octopus. "Although he’s good, in my heart, he’s only good as family. He doesn’t make my heart race the way you do. Brother Lu Ying, my heart has already fallen for you..."
For you... my heart has moved.
Lu Ying felt the soft warmth and fragrance in his arms, and his heart, once as cold and hard as iron, rippled at her words.
If he had heard such words in his youth, he would have been overjoyed.
But now, after experiencing countless lies from Shen Yinning, how could he dare to believe her so easily?
He said nothing, silently picking her up and laying her down on the bed.
Shen Yinning seized his sleeve, drunken tears welling up as she whimpered faintly, "I feel so uncomfortable..."
Her crying was so delicate, so coquettish.
Lu Ying wanted to leave, but his long legs wouldn’t take a step.
He touched her head, confirming she had no signs of fever or sickness, and patiently asked, "Where does it hurt?"
Eyes closed, Shen Yinning fumblingly guided his hand to her chest, over her heart.
Lu Ying felt nothing wrong—just the girl’s uniquely soft fullness.
For some reason, it made his throat dry.
The bed canopy cast a dim shadow.
His narrow eyes fixed on the drunken, unconscious Shen Yinning. His hoarse voice called, "Shen Yinning."
The girl slept deeply, ignoring him.
As she lay there, her clothing was slightly loose, and from Lu Ying’s angle, the curves of her softness were plainly visible.
Inside his chest, the beast howled, his boiling blood rushing through him. Even without inhaling any Aphrodisiac Incense, his mind was clouded, more chaotic than the night before, screaming for indulgence and surrender.
His turbulent gaze darkened further and further, until at last, as though giving up his struggle, he removed his clothes, exposing a well-toned, muscled chest.
Placing his large palm beside her face, he bowed his head to claim her lips—
*Slap!*
Even in her drunken stupor, Shen Yinning instinctively slapped him. In her sleep, she murmured some unintelligible curses, then rolled over, dragging the blanket over her head. A moment later, her slender white hand peeked from beneath the blanket, tossing out her undergarments.
A faintly lilac-colored embroidered dudou landed right on Lu Ying’s face.
Expressionless, Lu Ying removed the dudou from his face.
He glanced at the cocoon of blankets where she hid, knowing full well her preference for sleeping without clothes.
Yet here he was, caught halfway, awfully uncomfortable.
He restrained himself, over and over. Still, with a warm, fragrant little vixen lying beside him, how could he truly hold back?
He stared at the dimly lit canopy for a long time before picking up the dudou she had flung out and silently moved his hand beneath the blanket.
The next morning.
Shen Yinning, having gone to bed early, woke up early.
Opening her eyes, she realized she was once again enveloped in Lu Ying’s arms.
She immediately shoved him. "Who allowed you to hold me?"
Awoken by her push, Lu Ying’s bangs were a messy halo, partially covering his sleep-heavy, half-lidded eyes. A faint shadow of exhaustion lingered in his narrow gaze, and his handsome face carried a lazy, half-asleep air.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. He made no reply, simply sitting up to get dressed.
Shen Yinning shot him a vicious glare. Groping around the bed, she found her dudou, only to discover it sticky and damp.
With just a glance, she understood what Lu Ying had done to the dudou.
She hurled it aside with seething rage, grinding her teeth. "Lu Jingwei!"
"Hmm?"
Lu Ying’s faint reply carried a playful lilt. His dressing movements remained unhurried and unaffected.
Grabbing another dudou from the chest at the foot of the bed, Shen Yinning slipped it on, layering it with a loose robe. As she combed her long hair, her glare at Lu Ying grew sharper. "Do you truly think there’s nothing I can do to you?!"
Lu Ying continued dressing quietly, his expression calm, as if her threats hadn’t registered.
Infuriated, Shen Yinning snatched a golden silk whip hanging on the bedpost for decoration. "I should’ve punished you properly yesterday—"
Before the whip could strike, Lu Ying caught hold of it.
With a slight tug, Shen Yinning, along with the whip, fell into his arms.
He lowered his gaze, his voice cool and detached. "If the Commandery Princess doesn’t wish to suffer so early in the day, she would do best to put down this whip."
Shen Yinning’s phoenix eyes widened in disbelief.
How dare he—a mere prisoner—threaten her!
"You—"
Just as she was about to snap at him, she noticed something firm pressing against her.
Lu Ying...
Still aching from the previous night’s torment, Shen Yinning had no desire to endure more of his punishment.
She tore herself from his embrace, putting away the golden silk whip, and instead asked, "How is the injury on your back?"
Lu Ying, now seated and putting on his shoes, replied, "It’s fine."
It had been at least seven or eight hours since he was injured.
If she’d asked any later, the wound might’ve already healed.
The vixen was utterly insincere.
Summer had fully arrived.
With the new Crown Prince officially appointed, the Capital was abuzz with frequent banquets.
The fact that Lu Ying had been gifted to Shen Yinning became the hottest topic of gossip at these gatherings. The news of his being punished to kneel and whipped by her spread rapidly. Now, many noble families couldn’t help but smirk when mentioning him.
Lu Yu and Lu Zhengliu, upon hearing the news, no longer considered Lu Ying a threat.
Occasionally, Shen Yinning would still attend some of these banquets, leaving Lu Ying to spend more and more time alone in the Shen Garden.
On one such night, while Shen Yinning hadn’t yet returned from a banquet, Xue Ling quietly entered the Shen Garden.
Seeing Lu Ying sitting by the window, reading under the lamplight, he bowed respectfully and reported, "General Huo’s troops have already reached twenty li north of the city. Should the attack commence, we await Your Highness’s command."