Chapter 414: Chapter 412: I, Want to Take Her
Huo Mingyan tightened her hands.
Her cousin knew she was entertaining guests here—why did he suddenly barge in?
And he used that kind of gaze to look at Shen Yinning—
That gaze, dense and unclear, complex and obscure, emotions surging—it was by no means innocent.
Yet her cousin had never used such a gaze on any other woman in the harem.
Thinking back to how her cousin still called out Shen Yinning’s name even when unconscious, Huo Mingyan’s heart seemed gripped tightly by an invisible hand. The pain was so intense she had to clench her palm to suppress the jealousy in her expression.
She lowered her head, stood up, and bowed respectfully: "Much health to Your Majesty."
Shen Yinning followed suit, bowing.
Lu Ying’s burning gaze remained fixed on Shen Yinning.
He wanted so badly to ask her: if he no longer minded her betrayal with Lu Shiyan back then, if he no longer cared about her three years with Cui Ji in Gan State, if he no longer cared about her carrying Cui Ji’s child...
Then could she...
Come back to him?
A flood of emotions surged in his heart. Lu Ying suppressed the impulse to pull her into his arms and spoke in a hoarse voice: "You—"
"Is Your Majesty also here to drive me out of the palace?" Shen Yinning interrupted him, her delicate face full of sorrow and pity, "I know that staying in the palace is inappropriate, but my husband has gone to the Northwest Border, and the house is cold and lonely. The physicians outside aren’t as skilled as the Imperial Physicians here, and besides, I’m about to give birth. Traveling back and forth would be terribly inconvenient. Her Grace the Empress Dowager and my two sisters-in-law have shown me great kindness and repeatedly urged me to stay in the palace to give birth, as it would be easier for them to care for me. Yet I didn’t expect the Empress to insist on driving me away..."
She held a small hand warmer, lifting her tear-filled Dan Feng eyes, looking pitifully at Huo Mingyan: "I don’t know what I have done to offend Her Majesty the Empress, to make her despise me so much?"
From the moment she entered the door, Huo Mingyan had not once shown her a kind face.
Since they were destined to be at odds, why bother being polite?
Even if Lu Ying wanted to side with Huo Mingyan, she would bring out Empress Dowager Li’s backing—could Lu Ying possibly override Empress Dowager Li in matters concerning women?
Lu Ying furrowed his brows and stared at Huo Mingyan: "What’s going on?"
"This concubine..."
Huo Mingyan was at a loss for words.
She hadn’t expected Shen Yinning to suddenly pull such a stunt.
Lu Ying said coldly, "She doesn’t need to leave the palace. She can stay as long as she wishes."
Huo Mingyan’s expression grew even harsher: "She’s a wife of an outsider, not someone without a home. How can she live in the palace indefinitely? Does Your Majesty intend to set a precedent that undermines palace rules?!"
"Rules?" Lu Ying’s face remained emotionless. "The Empress has relaxed restrictions on Chunxi Palace, secretly allowing Consort Rong to keep noble ladies overnight for gambling games—that wasn’t breaking palace rules?"
Huo Mingyan trembled violently.
She looked up at Lu Ying in disbelief.
She had never expected her covert actions to be discovered!
To her cousin, she had always been a magnanimous, broad-minded woman, different from the superficial Capital ladies. Such sordid affairs would make her seem as petty as them, harming her image in his eyes, wouldn’t it?
"Your Majesty..." She looked at Lu Ying pleadingly, "It’s not like what you’ve seen..."
Shen Yinning glanced from Lu Ying to Huo Mingyan, an enigmatic expression flickering across her dazzling face.
This couple—
Seemed about to argue!
Quickly, she bowed and said, "Since Your Majesty and Her Grace the Empress have matters to discuss, I’ll take my leave."
She wasn’t foolish.
She wouldn’t stay stuck between them. If the fire were to spread to her, wouldn’t that be a loss?
Lu Ying saw her stepping over the threshold and instinctively turned to follow her, only for Huo Mingyan to seize his sleeve tightly.
Huo Mingyan raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes faintly red: "Your Majesty thinks I drove her out of the palace simply due to jealousy? Yesterday, when Your Majesty was unconscious, you kept calling her name. I heard it, fine—but what if others heard it? Your Majesty is now the supreme ruler, praised throughout the lands for your virtue. Shouldn’t you cherish your reputation? Why risk it all for a single woman?"
Lu Ying did not know he had called out Shen Yinning’s name yesterday.
All he knew was that yesterday, in his dreams, it was all her.
Huo Mingyan’s words were all admonition: "She is already married, and Your Majesty has an Empress and consorts. The distance between you and her is more than mountains and seas; it is morality, the censors’ pens, the people’s mouths, and the history to be recorded for generations! Since Your Majesty has already decided to draw a clear line with her, then you must make a clean break!"
A clean break...
Lu Ying’s narrow eyes turned bloodshot, as he slowly loosened Huo Mingyan’s hand.
His face was shadowed by the winter light filtering through the windows, as if coated with a layer of gloom: "I once thought the most painful wounds were those caused by blades and swords. Today, I realize there are women whose words and glances can inflict unbearable agony..."
He closed his eyes deeply.
His once noble and refined features, now overly thin and gaunt under the shadows.
The pallor left by his illness only made the dark circles under his eyes appear more pronounced, enhancing his haggard loneliness.
Closing his eyes, he envisioned Shen Yinning with Cui Ji: the two of them smiling warmly as a family at the dinner table, her giving the tenderness she once reserved for him to Cui Ji, her vibrant charm directed at another man...
Lu Ying’s heart felt like it was being torn apart by a thousand swords.
How, in the past, had he managed to endure it?
His throat bobbed as if choking back a sob, his voice rasping: "All along, it wasn’t her who couldn’t leave me—it’s me who couldn’t leave her. I fear no blades or swords; I only fear losing Shen Zhaozhao. I no longer care about her affair with Lu Shiyan, nor her life with Cui Jisheng raising children. All I want is for her to stay by my side—that’s enough."
Huo Mingyan’s pupils constricted sharply.
She stared at Lu Ying in disbelief, as if meeting this young and wise Emperor for the first time.
She shook her head slowly, so overwhelmed she forgot to use formal titles: "Cousin—do you know what you’re saying?!"
Lu Ying opened his eyes, concealing his lingering affection. His narrow gaze turned as sharp as a blade.
He spoke each word emphatically: "I will take her back."
Madness!
That was the word that flashed through Huo Mingyan’s mind.
Watching Lu Ying step over the threshold, Huo Mingyan, unwilling to give up, grabbed his sleeve once more: "She’s Cui Ji’s concubine—your subject’s concubine! A ruler taking his subject’s wife, the censors’ accusations will drown you! Will you disregard the virtuous reputation you’ve painstakingly built and the loyalty of civil and military officials?!"
Lu Ying shook her off.
Huo Mingyan stumbled to the ground, lifting her delicate and pale face, staring at him in utter disbelief.
But he clearly retained no special patience or affection for her.
As always, he remained silent and reserved. With a mere indifferent glance, he turned and left.
Lu Ying initially intended to seek out Shen Yinning.
However, before he could take a few steps, he was met by a young eunuch who greeted him reverently: "Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Wu has arrived in the Capital."
Lu Shiyan had entered the Capital unexpectedly.
His attendants pushed his wheelchair into the Imperial Study. His eyes were bloodshot as he bluntly confronted Lu Ying: "You dare let Zhaozhao become Cui Ji’s concubine?!"