Chapter 429: Chapter 427: Shen Yinning Really is Your Majesty’s Substitute!
Lu Ying’s expression was unreadable: "You hadn’t thought of that?"
Shen Xinya dropped to her knees, her delicate face tilted up amidst the biting cold wind, pitiful yet composed: "Xue Mianmian is Sister’s best friend. Now that something has happened to her, I definitely had to tell Sister. However, my lack of foresight has caused Sister’s early delivery. I feel deeply troubled by this. I am willing to accept punishment!"
Lu Ying said coldly, "Thirty strokes."
Shen Xinya’s pupils shrank abruptly, as thin as needles!
She had thought that the Emperor would at most confine her to reflect upon her actions—at worst deduct two years of her monthly stipend.
But she had not expected, not in the slightest, that the Emperor would actually want to have her beaten!
Thirty strokes—that was practically a death sentence!
And hadn’t Shen Yinning and her son come out of this unscathed?
At this moment, Shen Xinya finally realized she had underestimated Shen Yinning’s place in Lu Ying’s heart.
Even though she had conspired with Lu Zhengliu to betray the Emperor, even had his men flog him during his time of suffering, none of it had shaken her position in the Emperor’s heart!
But—
A hint of delight flashed in Shen Xinya’s eyes.
The deeper the Emperor’s feelings for Shen Yinning, the deeper his feelings must be for her!
This was a good thing!
As the Imperial Guards advanced to seize her, she hurriedly wriggled free from their grasp: "Sister and her son are safe and sound, yet the Emperor still seeks to blame me? Sister’s premature delivery was only Haitang’s baseless claims—how could that possibly prove that I caused it? It might have been that Sister stumbled or was bumped while she was out for her morning walk! Moreover, Sister doesn’t even have a proper title, while I am Your Beauty. Compared to Sister, I am the one who shares a closer bond with you! Is it not overly harsh to sentence me to such punishment, Your Majesty?"
Her eyes turned red, and imitating Shen Yinning’s demeanor, she stared directly at Lu Ying, exuding a stubborn, cold, and innocent charm, as if she were a pure and untarnished white flower standing fearless amid the storm.
In the end, she was a concubine—the Imperial Guards dared not forcibly grab her and instead turned their heads toward Lu Ying.
Lu Ying enunciated steadily, "I said, thirty strokes."
Just because no harm had occurred, does that mean there is no guilt?
Must the mother and child perish before one can be convicted?
Lu Ying could not agree to such reasoning.
When a malicious person harbors evil intent and acts upon it, punishment should follow, even if the consequences are not grave.
As the Imperial Guards approached, Shen Xinya suddenly covered her mouth and burst into tears: "Your Majesty, would you harm me for Sister?"
Would you harm the girl you once fell in love with at first sight for a case of mistaken identity?
Even as Lu Ying, normally stoic, his eyebrows furrowed this time.
The two daughters of Shen Yan—one seemingly foolish, the other clever—yet both managed to infuriate him in inexplicable ways.
Take now, for example, Shen Xinya’s words, suggesting as if he and she had shared some grand, world-altering history.
Shen Xinya continued to sob: "I truly didn’t mean to upset Sister. If His Majesty doesn’t believe me, I am willing to prove my innocence with my death!"
Suddenly, she sprinted toward the pond not far from Furong Palace.
It was early spring—the water bitterly cold.
With a loud "splash," she leaped in!
Cold water flooded Shen Xinya’s mouth as she struggled, sinking and rising helplessly.
She had resolved to recreate that long-past scene.
She wanted Lu Ying to remember the girl he had fallen in love with at first sight in his youth!
Two Imperial Guards fished her out, wrapped her in a cloak, and brought her back before Lu Ying.
Shen Xinya, drenched from head to toe, shivered uncontrollably in the freezing chill.
She hadn’t expected that Lu Ying wouldn’t jump in to save her.
It was the two Imperial Guards who had rescued her instead!
She disdainfully threw off their cloak, lifting her pale face as tears streamed down, tremblingly calling: "Your Majesty..."
She tried to evoke Lu Ying’s memories of her.
But Lu Ying coldly stated, "Thirty strokes."
"Your Majesty!" Shen Xinya forgot about relying on Lu Ying to recall things on his own and immediately threw herself forward to embrace his leg, crying out, "Your Majesty, do you remember? During the Lantern Festival that year, I fell into the water, and you saved me! You told me I didn’t look ugly and even said my bright red pomegranate skirt was beautiful! Don’t you remember these things, Your Majesty?!"
She pressed her tear-streaked face close against his leg, her voice trembling: "Afterward, I often wore red pomegranate skirts, but your gaze never fell upon me again... In your eyes, you only saw my cousin. I know now—it must have been Cousin secretly witnessing what happened at the waterside and then stealing a bright red pomegranate skirt to impersonate me and meet with you under false pretenses!"
Lu Ying’s expression remained steady and focused.
During that Lantern Festival, when Shen Xinya fell into the water, he had found her pitiable and kindly pulled her up.
His compliment about her pomegranate skirt had only been because Shen Yinning often wore such vibrant clothing.
In that fleeting moment, he had wondered how splendid that pomegranate skirt would look on Shen Yinning.
He rubbed his temples.
Shen Xinya was still crying: "Does Your Majesty have any idea how I’ve spent these years? Watching you mistake Shen Yinning for me, my heart has been wracked by endless grief, turning sleepless night after sleepless night. But I could never face you—I was powerless, and Shen Yinning was ever dominant—I was afraid!"
"Your Majesty!" She raised her swollen eyes to him, gripping his robes tightly. "I never expected the day would come when you would punish me for Shen Yinning! I never wanted to use our past to vie for favor, but I have no choice—I must reveal the truth to you, Your Majesty! From beginning to end, Shen Yinning has always been nothing more than a stand-in for me!"
Her voice was resolute.
As if she had unveiled an appalling truth.
The winds around them swept fiercely.
Lu Ying’s expression grew dark and foreboding.
The palace maids and matrons serving in Furong Palace were all quietly listening with curious ears.
Gui Quan and De Sun, along with other eunuchs, held their horsetail whisks tightly, exchanging glances filled with repressed laughter.
Who knows how much time passed before Lu Ying restrained his rising fury: "Who told you that I fell in love with you at first sight by the water that year?"
Shen Xinya choked on her tears: "I guessed as much. Besides, if you weren’t moved by me, why would you praise me?"
"Long before I met you, I had already fallen for Zhaozhao. When I was studying at the Yu family estate, I had already fallen for Zhaozhao." Lu Ying’s words were crisp and deliberate. "My compliment about your pomegranate skirt was only because, in that instant, I imagined Zhaozhao wearing it."
Shen Xinya stared at him with disbelief, her eyes wide.
Lu Ying continued: "From start to finish, all of this was nothing but wild, pointless fantasies on your part. Shen Beauty, you should really request the Imperial Physician to treat you for these delusional thoughts!"
"Impossible!" Shen Xinya screamed in denial. "Your Majesty, are you being controlled by Shen Yinning somehow?! You can’t possibly not love me!"
A vein throbbed furiously at Lu Ying’s temple.
His patience with Shen Xinya had completely unraveled: "Drag her out—thirty strokes!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Shen Yinning truly is just my substitute, Your Majesty! I am the girl you’ve held in your heart for all these years!"
Shen Xinya wailed as she was dragged away.
Lu Ying’s expression was thunderous.
He suddenly realized that her shrieking might have reached the inner chambers.
He briskly turned and entered the palace.
The metallic tang of blood had already been cleared away by the palace maids, and the floor was now warmed by the heated furnace.
He parted the beaded curtain and saw Shen Yinning leaning her head slightly, staring at him with a faint, sardonic smile.
"Lu Ying, so it turns out I’m Shen Xinya’s substitute."