Chapter 319: Chapter 317 Cui Ji Is Really a Good Dog Raised by Shen Zhaozhao
Cui Ji stood guard outside the palace.
All around was silent and desolate. The palace lanterns hanging from the eaves swayed in the wind, distorting and twisting the shadows of flowers and trees on the tiled ground.
He was watching those shadows when suddenly, a loud "bang" echoed.
He turned sharply to look at the palace, disregarding his identity as a court official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and rushed in without hesitation.
He made his way unimpeded to the palace hall. Yan Zheming was already nowhere to be seen. The thin silk curtains hanging in the hall fluttered and swayed in the night, while the bath slowly revealed shocking red streaks of blood. A delicate figure emerged from the water, her long black hair spreading out like a fluffy fox tail, accentuating her pale face that resembled a sheet of paper.
"Madam Shen!"
Cui Ji called out in a hoarse voice and jumped into the bath without hesitation.
He grasped Shen Yinning’s slender waist and swam with her toward the edge of the bath.
The girl was drenched, her thin gauze dress clinging tightly to her skin, outlining her graceful and curvaceous figure. Cui Ji paid no heed, only noticing the Crescent Blade, unique to Yan Country, lodged in her abdomen. He reached out to press against the wound, but the blood kept gushing out, seeping through his fingers and staining his sleeve a deep crimson.
The air was heavy with the scent of blood.
Cui Ji’s heart pounded like thunder. Ignoring everything else, he quickly carried Shen Yinning out of the palace.
He had spent a year training in the Ministry of Justice and knew this type of wound was serious. If not handled properly, Shen Yinning might die from blood loss or suffer damage to her womb, making her unable to bear children ever again.
Near his home, there was no skilled doctor. After some thought, he urged the coachman to head for Shen Garden immediately.
Doctor Xiao Chen, under Lu Ying’s orders, resided near Shen Garden and was specifically assigned to take care of Shen Yinning’s health.
He came in a rush, cut open the outer garment, and exclaimed in shock, "How could the injury be this severe?!"
Cui Ji stood by the window, his fingers pressed to his brow, consumed with guilt and speechlessness.
"The wound must be treated immediately."
Doctor Xiao Chen’s face darkened as he instructed the maids to prepare hot water and clean bandages on the spot.
The palace maids serving at Shen Garden quickly reported Shen Yinning’s serious injury to the Eastern Palace.
After returning to the palace from the Gao family, Lu Ying had been in the study processing official documents. Shen Yunxi brought chicken soup to visit him, expecting him to dismiss her as quickly as usual after exchanging a few words. To her surprise, Lu Ying was more patient tonight—he not only didn’t send her away, but also instructed the palace maids to serve flower cakes and snacks for her.
Shen Yunxi nibbled on the flower cake, her heart brimming with sweetness.
Her Crown Prince was, after all, different from other men. He wouldn’t be swayed by Shen Yinning’s beauty or be enthralled by her appearance. He was the kind of man who valued inner substance over superficial looks. Even if Shen Yinning danced in front of him and bent herself backward to the point of injury, he wouldn’t spare her a glance.
This realization made Shen Yunxi immensely proud, as though she had finally outshone Shen Yinning.
She smiled sweetly and said, "Your Highness, you’ve already worked hard enough during the day. It’s already so late tonight; you should stop reading those memorials. Anyway, they won’t grow legs and run away—you can look at them tomorrow or the day after. Those trivial matters of the common folk are hardly as important as your health."
Lu Ying focused on annotating the official documents.
He had thought about this during the day. He couldn’t allow himself to make the same mistake as his father, overly favoring his concubines and neglecting the Crown Princess Consort, leaving Shen Yunxi to follow in the same painful footsteps as his mother, the Empress.
But Shen Yunxi also needed to embody the dignity and behavior of a Crown Princess.
With patience, he instructed her, "You and I may hold esteemed positions, but these were granted by the people. The water that carries the boat can also capsize it. The concerns of the common people are the greatest matters, far more important than you or me. As the Crown Princess, you should have the heart of a mother to all under heaven, caring for the people as if they were your children."
Shen Yunxi smiled outwardly in agreement, but secretly rolled her eyes dramatically.
As the dignified Crown Princess Consort, her status was exalted beyond comparison. How could those commoners be measured against her?
She was born to become Empress; she had no intention of being a "mother" to mere commoners!
Lu Ying noticed the slight disdain in her eyes and knew she had hardly taken his words to heart.
Shen Yan and Mrs. Qin had failed to properly educate their daughter, or perhaps their entire family had been rotten to the core from the start. Now, as he attempted to change Shen Yunxi’s worldview, he realized how utterly futile his efforts were.
At that moment, Gui Quan hurriedly entered the room and whispered a few words into Lu Ying’s ear.
Lu Ying’s thin lips tightened, and the veins at his temple throbbed.
"Your Highness..." Shen Yunxi felt a pang of anxiety. "Has something happened?"
"I’m leaving the palace for a while."
Lu Ying stood and walked out.
"Your Highness!"
Shen Yunxi chased him out of the study, but Lu Ying was already striding swiftly ahead, accompanied by Gui Quan and De Sun, vanishing from her sight.
Shen Yunxi angrily slammed a hand against the corridor pillar. "It’s rare for me to get the chance to speak with His Highness, and now some clueless fool has caused trouble, stealing him away from me!"
Lianxin cautiously said, "Could it be that same vixen from outside the palace?"
"That shameless woman has clung to His Highness for a whole year," Shen Yunxi fumed at the mention, "and His Highness insists on protecting her. To this day, I don’t even know who she is! I simply can’t understand how any woman in the Capital could possess the skill to make him so deeply infatuated!"
Over the past year, from aristocratic ladies to merchant daughters, she had investigated everything she could.
But she hadn’t been able to uncover the identity of the vixen hiding beside the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince cherished that vile woman as if she were a treasure, guarding her identity zealously against discovery. Such devoted protection filled Shen Yunxi with utter rage.
"Stealing for a moment won’t mean stealing forever," Lianxin reassured. "No matter how cautious she is, someday that vixen will reveal her true face. What concerns me now is Your Highness’s pregnancy."
Shen Yunxi touched her abdomen lightly.
She had pretended to be pregnant for four months.
Every day, she strapped a small cushion to her stomach when appearing in public, terrified of being discovered for her deceit.
Gritting her teeth, Shen Yunxi ordered, "I asked you to secretly investigate other pregnant women across the Capital—did you do so properly?"
"You may rest assured, Your Highness," Lianxin lowered her voice. "Our people have already targeted several families. They also have women who are four months pregnant. When one of them gives birth to a son, he will be secretly brought into the palace and presented as your child."
"That’s good..."
Shen Yunxi gently caressed her stomach, as if there truly were a child growing within.
Meanwhile.
Lu Ying arrived at Shen Garden, where Doctor Xiao Chen had already treated Shen Yinning’s wound.
He reported, "Fortunately, the injury didn’t affect vital organs. Although she suffered significant blood loss, with proper rest for a month, she should fully recover."
Lu Ying frowned slightly, staring at the unconscious girl with her pale complexion lying on the bed.
This vixen had overreached herself, sneaking out to see Yan Zheming in the dead of night—her intentions utterly unclear—and now she had endangered herself. Truly, she had brought this calamity on her own head.
He couldn’t bring himself to blame Shen Yinning. However, his eyes darkened as he turned to Cui Ji and asked coldly, "What happened?"
Cui Ji remained by the window, appearing colder and grimmer than the night outside. "When I entered, the Yan Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen, and Madam Shen was already injured. I know nothing of what they discussed."
Nothing of what they discussed.
Lu Ying smirked faintly.
Cui Ji was indeed Shen Zhaozhao’s loyal dog.