Chapter 415: Chapter 413: Lu Ying Can’t Be Jealous, Right?
Lu Ying scrutinized him for a moment, then coldly said, "What does my affair with Zhaozhao have to do with you?"
"Zhaozhao?" Lu Shiyan grew even angrier. "Lu Ying, how dare you call her by her given name?!"
"I’m unworthy, but are you worthy? Didn’t you also take her to Jiangnan back then with the intention of making her your concubine? So, when she’s a concubine for Cui Ji, it’s being a concubine, but when it’s for you, it’s not?"
Lu Shiyan was humiliated and enraged, roaring, "How can I be compared to Cui Ji?! Lu Ying, don’t think that just because you’ve ascended the throne, you can act recklessly! Don’t forget how you came by your throne, and don’t forget that your father is still soft-imprisoned in Qixiang Palace! Someone as unfaithful and unfilial as you deserves to be punished by all! This time, I’ve come to the Capital to take Zhaozhao away. If you won’t release her, don’t blame me for proclaiming all the filthy things you’ve done to the world!"
Lu Ying sneered coldly, "Proclaim to the world? Lu Shiyan, is this all you have left, mere bluster? Do you think I fear public opinion?"
He is the Emperor.
With the border troops led by the Huo Family under his control, and the Northwestern Border army at his command,
why would he fear public opinion?
Knowing he couldn’t threaten him, Lu Shiyan continued, "Since you and she are disgusted upon meeting, and you even humiliate her with talk of concubinage, why not simply let her go? You and she, after all, once shared a fleeting romance. As a man, why put an end to every path like this?"
Let her go?
Lu Ying would never let her go.
In an icy tone, he said, "Entering the Capital without imperial decree is a grave crime. If you don’t wish to be stripped of your title, then leave."
Lu Shiyan refused to leave.
He still wanted to say something, but Lu Ying, entirely fed up, directly ordered his men to drag him out.
The Imperial Study finally quieted down.
Lu Ying exhaled deeply, took the hot tea handed to him by a trembling eunuch, and suddenly asked, "Where are Gui Quan and De Sun?"
The eunuch answered nervously, "Your Majesty, they were punished by the Empress and sent to the Punishment Room."
...
Elsewhere.
Shen Yinning had just returned to Furong Palace when Wei Yu led Li Zhu over.
Li Zhu glanced her over, sneering, "Didn’t you say you encountered trouble and needed Imperial Grandmother’s help? Looks like you’re sitting here just fine."
"There was a bit of trouble." Shen Yinning motioned for Haitang to serve tea.
When Han Sang arrived, she thought she would be troubled by Empress Huo and potentially driven out of the Imperial Palace, so she had sent Wei Yu to Cining Palace for help.
What she hadn’t expected was Lu Ying speaking up for her, even allowing her to stay in the palace.
That man...
Who knows what he’s plotting?
She touched her belly and deeply suspected that Lu Ying intended to use her child to manipulate Cui Ji.
"Since nothing’s wrong, I’m heading back to Cining Palace." Li Zhu clutched her handkerchief, preparing to leave but couldn’t resist another look at her. "Although Imperial Grandmother said you could help me become Cousin’s concubine, I doubt you have that capability. If you could, then why haven’t you secured a Noble Consort title for yourself? Imperial Grandmother, after all, is aging, and her judgment is becoming flawed. In my view, Shen Yinning, you and I are nothing but defeated pawns of Huo Mingyan. The imperial family is heartless; you lost due to your lineage, and so did I."
With that, she left Furong Palace with a frosty expression.
Shen Yinning leaned back against the Imperial Concubine Couch, fiddling with a silk handkerchief.
Li Zhu said she lost because of her lineage—this, Shen Yinning accepted.
But Li Zhu claiming she couldn’t help her become one of Lu Ying’s concubines? That, she didn’t accept.
To put it shamelessly, she had served Lu Ying in bed longer than any other woman. She knew exactly what type of women Lu Ying liked; she could easily shape Li Zhu into his ideal.
Lu Ying was meticulous about propriety; since ascending the throne, he’d treated everyone equally.
Adding one more who suited his tastes would only please that secretly passionate man.
Getting Li Zhu titled as a concubine? A trivial feat!
Cuicui suddenly entered, brushing snow off her sleeves, and whispered mysteriously, "Princess, I’ve caught word that Prince Wu has entered the palace—he’s currently arguing with His Majesty in the Imperial Study!"
"Prince Wu?"
Shen Yinning was startled.
Prince Wu, Lu Shiyan, had been practicing Buddhism far away in Jiangnan. Why had he suddenly come to the Capital?
She guessed it might be some official duty and didn’t give it much thought, continuing her comfortable eating and sleeping routine.
But the next day, as she strolled through the Imperial Garden as usual, she discovered Furong Palace had been surrounded.
It was Hei Ling.
The trusted head of the Imperial Guards under Lu Ying’s command.
Hei Ling lowered his gaze and saluted her with clasped fists. "I was ordered by His Majesty to guard this area. Recently, the palace has seen many schemers, and to prevent any trouble for Princess, His Majesty requests that you stay inside Furong Palace."
Shen Yinning frowned. "Trouble? Who would dare trouble me? Lu Shiyan?"
"I don’t know, Princess. I am merely carrying out orders."
Shen Yinning laughed bitterly in anger.
In the past, when Lu Ying treated her as the Forbidden Fruit, he kept her heavily guarded, forbidding her from approaching Lu Shiyan—that, she accepted.
But now that they’d long severed ties, he had no right to restrict her!
Besides, ever since she returned from Jiangnan, she hadn’t contacted Lu Shiyan. There was no chance of anything happening between them!
With a cold expression, Shen Yinning said grimly, "Move!"
Hei Ling remained immovable. "Please don’t make things difficult for me, Princess."
The Imperial Guards stationed outside Furong Palace were all elites.
Shen Yinning knew it was impossible to force her way out, so she retreated to the palace, visibly frustrated.
Seated by the window, she glanced at Hei Ling and his men in the distance. "What is Lu Ying playing at here? He can’t actually be jealous, can he?"
She loved herself dearly but wasn’t narcissistic enough to believe that Lu Ying, ruler of all, master of three palaces and six courtyards, would be jealous because of her.
After all, who gets jealous for over a decade?
And who gets jealous about someone else’s concubine?
Perhaps Lu Ying thought she intended to conspire with Lu Shiyan to rebel?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, instructing Haitang, "Tell Lu Ying I want to see him."
Imperial Study.
Gathering up Haitang’s message, Gui Quan delivered it.
He and De Sun had just been released from the Punishment Room.
Fortunately, the staff there recognized their status and didn’t dare mistreat them, striking a symbolic few blows that were quickly bandaged with the best ointments. Now the pain had faded.
Still, they held some resentment toward Huo Mingyan.
Lu Ying rubbed the Moyu Ring idly. "She wants to see me?"
Gui Quan and De Sun exchanged a glance and smiled. "The Princess is exceptionally shrewd. Surely, she sees that Your Majesty still cares for her. Inviting you to Furong Palace might be her way of rekindling your relationship. From spring to winter, it has been months, and this is the first time she has taken the initiative to ask for an audience!"
Lu Ying exhaled slowly, his thin lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile. "Tell Haitang I will visit Furong Palace tonight."
That evening, he bathed and changed into fresh attire before quietly heading to Furong Palace.
He wore a newly tailored robe for this winter.
A jet-black silk robe trimmed with gold and embroidered with dragon motifs, cinched with a belt that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Over that, a deep purple fox fur cloak added an air of regal elegance, with a Purple Gold Crown binding his hair. Under the lamplight, his strikingly handsome features were illuminated like a sculpture.
This outfit was personally selected and paired by Gui Quan and De Sun.
Both had praised it as exceptionally flattering.
Wei Yu stood by the palace’s entrance awning and hurriedly lifted the woolen curtain upon seeing him arrive.
Lu Ying stepped into Furong Palace.
He turned into the inner chamber, lifting the beaded curtain.
As he mulled over what first words might strike the perfect balance between sincerity and dignity, a hot cup of tea splashed toward him.