Chapter 420: Chapter 418 Shen Zhaozhao, You Can’t Abandon Me
Shen Yinning suddenly yanked her hand back, like a cat that had its tail stepped on.
She turned her face away, her profile cold and stubborn.
In the dim light of spring curtains, after a long silence, she suddenly glared furiously at Lu Ying, her voice compressed into sharp anger: "Lu Ying, do you think you know me well?! Do you feel proud of analyzing my thoughts without permission? Let me tell you this—I am in love with Cui Ji! I love him enough to willingly bear his children! He is better than you, better in every way!"
Her glossy black eyes brimmed with malice.
It was as if a dragon, having shown off its treasure for ages, suddenly found itself publicly exposed: what it hoarded was nothing more than worthless rubble. Enraged and humiliated, the dragon roared, desperate to bite off the throat of the one who uncovered it.
Lu Ying stared at her.
She curled up in the corner of the bed like a wary little beast, her delicate body taut defensively. Her rosy face had turned ghostly pale, and her lips seemed to tremble lightly.
She had nothing left.
Her family’s protection was gone, her mother’s shield was destroyed, her once-glorious status stripped away. Following his arrangements, she was sent to a desolate and frozen land, married off to an insignificant eighth-rank official to endure three harrowing years.
When she was left alone in Cui Ji’s residence, she heard of his ascension as Emperor. She heard of him crowning Huo Mingyan as Empress. She heard that even Shen Yunxi and the others had been made concubines...
How should she feel at that moment?
She was a fiercely proud woman. She would never allow herself to show even the slightest weakness or pity in such an unequal relationship. She would only grit her teeth and walk alone through those long nights, just as she had endured those three years in Gan State by herself.
Lu Ying closed his eyes deeply, veins bulging on the back of his hand, his nails nearly piercing his palm.
Ignoring Shen Yinning’s frantic resistance, he pulled her back into his arms once again.
The girl was delicate and frail. He held her forcefully yet carefully, afraid of hurting her stomach.
He rasped, "I permit you to love him."
Permit you to see Cui Ji as a temporary refuge from the storm.
"But... Shen Zhaozhao, you cannot abandon me."
The young Emperor’s voice carried a trace of vulnerability—an emotion he had never revealed to anyone before.
Shen Yinning, unable to fight back, was forced to lean into his embrace.
With every breath, she was surrounded by the cold scent of cedar.
It was the scent of him.
And in the darkness, her cold eyes remained open, her features unmoved and untouched by emotion.
It wasn’t until Lu Ying lowered his head, cupped her face, and tried to kiss her lips that she pushed him away.
She raised a hand to smooth her hair, the edges of her eyes catching a suppressed blush. Her thoughts remained inscrutable, her gaze dark and heavy.
Suddenly, she lifted her foot and pressed it against Lu Ying’s chest, halting his attempt to come closer once again.
She tilted her head back and met Lu Ying’s gaze directly: "So, are you bowing to me now?"
Lu Ying grasped her foot, cradling it slowly in his palm.
He remembered Doctor Xiao Chen saying that some women developed swelling during pregnancy, even in their feet. Yet her feet remained smooth and fair, without the slightest deformity.
Unable to understand why, he guessed it might be that the child in her womb wished to spare her from suffering too much.
Amid his deep-seated hatred for the child, an unexpected flicker of affection emerged.
Seeing him absent-mindedly touching her foot, Shen Yinning growled in irritation and kicked him away: "Lu Ying, I’m asking you a question!"
Her tone was like scolding a dog.
Lu Ying snapped back to attention.
For a man who valued his dignity above all else, admitting this was shockingly straightforward: "Yes."
In the past, he thought bowing to Shen Yinning was the most unbearable thing he could face.
But now he realized that bowing wasn’t the real fear—losing her was.
Shen Yinning smiled faintly, her eyes betraying undisguised calculation: "But if you’re asking for something, shouldn’t you show the appropriate demeanor? Lu Ying, if you want me to return, shouldn’t you be making an effort?"
"What do you want?"
"Reinvestigate the case against my father and brother. Bring Shen Xinghan to justice."
Lu Ying fell silent.
Shen Yinning gritted her teeth: "They used to say you were just and virtuous when you were Crown Prince. Lu Ying, my father was practically your teacher. You, of all people, should know his character better than anyone. Cui Ji, who’s never met my father and brother, even knows they couldn’t possibly have committed treason. Yet you, my father’s past student, believe them guilty? Isn’t clearing a loyal subject’s name something a wise ruler should do?!"
Lu Ying’s gaze darkened, his emotions unreadable to Shen Yinning.
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
After a long pause, Lu Ying finally said: "I cannot clear their names, but I can take you to the Ministry of Justice to look through the case files from back then."
Shen Yinning tightened her grip on the brocade quilt beneath her.
Lu Ying’s reaction was strange.
He wasn’t a bad Emperor. Given his personality, he should have chosen to help her family.
Could it be that the case from back then held secrets she didn’t know?
She remembered how the maid who served Shen Yunxi, Madam Zhang, once said her father and brother’s deaths were connected to her.
Later, when Shen Yan died, he also mentioned her father and brother.
—"Ling-jie, do you... do you really think your father and brother’s deaths were solely my doing? Don’t you realize that just by planting that dragon robe and a few forged letters in your father’s study, I couldn’t possibly convince the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Justice to convict him?"
—"It’s all because of you. It’s all because of you that the one in the palace allowed me to scheme against your father and brother! I only wanted the Duke’s title; I never intended to destroy your entire family. If you want to blame someone... blame the one in the palace with a ruthless heart and endless suspicion!"
And now, combined with Lu Ying’s strange response tonight...
What seemed like a straightforward case now felt shrouded in mystery.
Shen Yinning was increasingly unable to understand.
Without hesitation, she made her demand: "I want to go to the Ministry of Justice to review the case files now."
"Not now. It’s already past the hour of Chou, and dawn will be here in about an hour. You’re already struggling with the fatigue of pregnancy; how can your body endure an all-night vigil? I promise to take you there tonight."
In certain matters, he was unyielding.
Shen Yinning knew she couldn’t sway him, so she wrapped the quilt around herself and said, "Then leave."
"Since it’s almost time for court anyway, I’ll rest here for a bit."
After saying this, Lu Ying lay down on the outer side of the bed.
Shen Yinning: "..."
He was towering and strong, and the guards outside were all his men. Shen Yinning had no way to kick him out.
She glanced at his closed eyes, figuring he wouldn’t cause any more trouble.
Yet, the brocade quilts and pillowcases in Furong Palace were all items she had painstakingly ordered and purchased from outside the palace recently, costing her a great deal of silver coins. Watching him use her intricately woven treasure-pattern brocade pillowcase made her huff in annoyance.
Frowning disdainfully, she reluctantly lay down on the inner side.
After taking another look at Lu Ying, she carefully held her belly and turned inward.
No sooner had she closed her eyes than a hand reached over, resting at her waist.
Lu Ying drew close to her, his muscular chest pressing tightly against her frail, slender back.
He buried his face in the hollow of her neck: "These days, I’ve missed you so much..."
Shen Yinning opened her eyes.