Chapter 449: Chapter 447: You Know Full Well I Favor You
Lu Ying sat upright, recalling how she dared to bet on Huo Mingxu’s victory but didn’t bet on him. Jealousy inevitably sprouted in his heart.
So, he turned a page of the book, ignoring Shen Yinning’s intention.
Shen Yinning wasn’t in a hurry either. She sat across from him, took the hot almond tea Gui Quan brought over, sipped it leisurely, and then turned her head to gaze at the scenery through the Ruyi Flower window.
Lu Ying turned another page of the book but ultimately couldn’t resist asking, "Why don’t you go talk to Huo Mingxu?"
"Are you jealous?" Shen Yinning’s phoenix eyes sparkled, her smile teasing yet mysterious.
Lu Ying’s expression darkened, his voice low: "You know full well that I hold you dearly in my heart."
"Dearly..." Shen Yinning savored the word, "If that’s the case, Your Majesty, would you grant your humble wife a small request?"
Lu Ying pressed his thin lips tightly together.
He was fully aware that this fox spirit approaching him proactively certainly wasn’t for anything good.
But he still put away his book and faced her squarely. "What request?"
"This humble wife hopes that in the second half of the contest, Your Majesty can lose to Young Master Huo."
"Shen Yinning!"
Shen Yinning closed her folding fan, casually resting the end beneath her fair chin. Her almond-shaped phoenix eyes rippled flirtatiously. "Is that not possible?"
Lu Ying’s hand on the book clenched as veins bulged on its back.
After a while, he took a deep breath, barely suppressing the jealousy rising in his chest. "I can lose to him, but you should know what I want in return."
Shen Yinning rose and walked over, stopping in front of him.
She leaned down and left a kiss on his cheek.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on Lu Ying’s robes.
His hands, resting on his knees, clenched again.
The girl’s light fragrance lingered in his nostrils, the pearls and jade pins on her hair bun swaying near his cheek, making his breaths feel heated.
Shen Yinning’s red lips lightly brushed against his ear as if by chance. "Please, Lu Ying dear brother."
Lu Ying’s heartbeat instantly faltered.
For a brief moment, it felt as if he had returned to that very year.
Lu Ying’s palm rested lightly on the girl’s slender waist.
It felt as if in the next instant, he could pull her into his arms, as he had in the past, whispering sweet nothings to her amidst undying passion, coaxing her to call his name over and over, promising to love him endlessly.
The atmosphere grew tender and ambiguous, but Shen Yinning promptly stepped away. "Is that satisfactory now?"
Her gaze was calm yet distant.
Lu Ying could not find the slightest trace of emotion in her deep, black eyes.
She knew exactly what he wanted, so she used this kiss as the price of their transaction. She had always been someone who wouldn’t shy away from any means to achieve her ends.
The disappointment in Lu Ying’s heart sprawled like the somber rain clouds of the plum rain season, endless and devoid of brightness.
His face alternated between light and shadow. After what felt like a long time, he finally lowered his voice and said, "As you wish."
Shen Yinning was like a candied plum.
She lured him to have a taste, and amidst his surprise, he savored the sugary sweetness. But when his heart leapt with joy and he eagerly took another bite, his tongue was met with the sour flesh beneath.
Gui Quan brought over a plate of red bean blossom cakes.
Shen Yinning had no intention of staying to enjoy them. Having gotten Lu Ying’s promise, she left swiftly.
Lu Ying picked up a piece of the cake.
The intricately prepared dessert from the Imperial Kitchen was sweet from the inside out.
Yet, under Gui Quan’s puzzled gaze, he slowly put it back down.
These cakes were indeed sweet.
But for some reason, he had come to love that candied plum instead.
Even if its sourness brought tears to his eyes, even if the plum pit inside would cut through his insides, he still wanted to swallow it whole.
...
The second half of the archery contest began quickly.
Shen Yunxi glanced at Shen Yinning, who arrived fashionably late, and snapped, "Where did Cousin go off to again? Today’s banquet is filled with important figures in the palace, and you, still in mourning, shouldn’t go recklessly offending anyone!"
Shen Yinning’s gaze swept over her lightly.
Shen Yunxi was terrified and shrank her neck, no longer daring to speak.
"I heard Sister wagered fifty thousand taels of patterned silver on His Majesty," Shen Yinning said, gently fanning herself. "Quite bold of you."
"This palace is wealthy and prosperous. What’s a mere fifty thousand taels in the grand scheme of things?" Shen Yunxi’s round almond-shaped eyes glimmered as she looked toward Lu Ying in the field. "Moreover, His Majesty is the one this palace admires. Spending money on the person I adore—it’s a pleasure I embrace with open arms! Unlike someone like you, who betrays trust and lacks any understanding of romance!"
Their conversation did not escape the ears of Huo Mingyan and Wen Kuixiang.
Wen Kuixiang scoffed, "Even Consort Rong, out here in front of everyone, can’t stop speaking of her feelings. Does she have no sense of shame? Aren’t the capital’s noble ladies supposed to be well-read and polite? I don’t see any of that in her!"
Huo Mingyan said softly, "You’re all sisters. Why speak of her this way?"
Wen Kuixiang laughed. "Your Majesty is right. I am indeed not as gentle and magnanimous as you."
Huo Mingyan sipped some tea but couldn’t help glancing toward Shen Yinning and Shen Yunxi with a trace of disdain.
Shen Yinning suddenly smiled and looked in Huo Mingyan’s direction. "I’ve heard the Empress also placed quite a bit of silver coin on His Majesty winning. I suppose that’s another expression of pleasure?"
Her beauty was almost excessive.
When her gaze shifted over, it brought an unplaceable sense of pressure to Huo Mingyan.
Huo Mingyan loathed this subtle feeling.
She instinctively straightened her back and met Shen Yinning’s gaze. "This palace and His Majesty share a bond as husband and wife. Betting on His victory is natural. But you, Commandery Princess, two thousand taels of patterned silver is no small amount. Are you that confident in my younger brother? At present, the one in the lead is His Majesty."
"Indeed!" Shen Yunxi suddenly found herself agreeing with Huo Mingyan for once. "Cousin, when you lose all your silver coins later, don’t come crying to us!"
Most of the onlooking ladies also firmly believed Lu Ying would win.
Even Xue Mianmian couldn’t help but nervously count on her fingers and mutter, "Zhaozhao, that’s two thousand taels of silver! Can Young Master Huo really win? I just asked Lady Liao—because most people bet on Lu Ying to win, Young Master Huo’s odds have already climbed to a stunning ten-to-one. It’s high, but His Majesty had a commanding lead in the first half; he only needs a few shots to secure victory..."
Shen Yinning looked toward the field.
Lu Ying held his bow and nocked an arrow.
His narrow eyes glanced ever so slightly in her direction.
She lifted her fair fingertip and pressed it meaningfully against her lips.
Lu Ying averted his gaze, and the arrow flew forward with a sharp whistle.
Shen Yunxi exclaimed in delight, "His Majesty is sure to hit the bullseye!"
But before her words finished, they saw the arrow indeed hit the bullseye—of the adjacent target.
The collective gasps from the crowd fell silent, turning into stunned silence.
Wen Kuixiang couldn’t believe it. "His Majesty mistook his target?!"
Shen Yunxi gritted her teeth, her face darkened. "It seems so... It must be that His Majesty grew tired from the earlier rounds and wasn’t paying attention! In the next round, he’ll surely hit the target!"
"Hahaha!" Huo Mingxu raced forward on horseback, grinning. "I didn’t expect you, Cousin, to have a moment of error! But I won’t be polite—I’m going to seize first place!"
The young man pulled the reins tight, full of youthful energy, as he nocked an arrow to his bow.
He was in excellent form, hitting the bullseye with a single shot!
Lu Ying’s eyes turned icy cold.
The flamboyant youth on horseback...
His peripheral vision swept toward Shen Yinning outside the field. Lu Ying’s hand, gripping the massive bow, tightened unconsciously.
Shen Zhaozhao, is this the type of young man you currently favor?
Do you disdain me for being old?
But I’m barely in my twenties!
Even Huo Mingyan couldn’t help sneaking glances at Shen Yinning.
Others might not know, but she knew perfectly well how fearsome her cousin’s archery skills were.
Her father once said that even the bravest and most skilled hunters outside the border couldn’t defeat her cousin’s ability to kill with one arrow from a hundred feet away. If not for her cousin’s constrained status, he should have been the most battle-hardened General of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
But today, in this trivial contest, her cousin actually missed!
This was simply impossible!
Unless her cousin deliberately threw the match!
For Shen Yinning to win, he intentionally held back!
And what of her?
What was to become of her fifty thousand taels of patterned silver?!
And what of her dignity?!
Even on such a grand and formal occasion, even while carrying the burden of a relationship she couldn’t disclose, her cousin would still secretly elevate Shen Yinning?!
Shen Yinning, however, didn’t think too much of it.
She chatted and laughed with Xue Mianmian, enjoying how she’d tricked Shen Yunxi yet again.
That cousin of hers was simply too foolish.
So gullible, she genuinely suspected that her aunt must have thrown out the real baby and raised the umbilical cord by mistake!