The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go-Chapter 21 Your Highness, I have a surprise I want to tell you

Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Your Highness, I have a surprise I want to tell you

At the Eastern Palace, while Shen Yinning was heading to Mantangchun.

Shen Yunxi looked at the dozen or so booklets on the desk and felt very satisfied.

She stretched out her nails painted with vermilion lacquer, stroking the covers of the booklets, and gleefully said, "In the past, I looked down on those pretentious scholars, but it turns out they do have some skill. These plots are vivid and lively, they make my heart race and my emotions surge. The illustrations are the best—I even want to frame them and hang them inside my bed curtains!"

Her complexion was dark and tired, a result of staying up late reading for the past couple of days.

Lian Ye flattered her, "The shopkeepers at the bookstore told me that the sales of these booklets have far surpassed that of ’Crown Prince, This Wife Greets You’. Not only are the people of the Capital discussing Your Highness and His Highness the Crown Prince, but even folk from other prefectures have heard of your name. Your Highness, you’ve become famous!"

Shen Yunxi arrogantly lifted her chin, "Let those cheap women in the Capital know just how deep the affection is between me and His Highness. They’d better not entertain any thoughts about him!"

Just as her words fell, a eunuch reported that Lu Ying had arrived.

Shen Yunxi quickly rushed out in excitement, "Your Highness, I have a surprise to tell you—"

Before she could finish, she noticed that Lu Ying’s expression wasn’t quite right.

She asked with concern, "Your Highness, what’s wrong? Did someone upset you?"

Lu Ying glanced at the pile of booklets on the desk, his brows furrowing tightly, "These filthy things—what are you doing keeping them in your chambers?"

Filthy things...

Shen Yunxi clutched her handkerchief as her heart skipped a beat.

This was bad—she had been too absorbed in her own pleasure and hadn’t thought to consider whether the Crown Prince liked these booklets or not.

From the look of it, he probably didn’t like them...

She forced a smile and awkwardly replied, "They were sent by the servants below. I wasn’t sure how to deal with them."

"Burn them. I’ve already ordered an investigation into who maliciously crafted these things. Don’t leave the palace for the next few days, lest you make yourself a laughingstock."

Shen Yunxi was baffled.

As the story’s heroine—cherished singularly by the Crown Prince—she was living at the pinnacle of glory. How could she be considered a laughingstock?

She asked, confused, "What does Your Highness mean by this? Who could possibly laugh at me? They’re probably too envious to even form such thoughts."

Lu Ying’s temple throbbed with veins.

Shen Yinning’s clever cunning aggravated him to no end, but Shen Yunxi’s foolish ignorance was equally exasperating.

He suppressed his anger, "Your private affairs within the palace chambers have been spread publicly. Do you think this brings you honor? At the mention of the Crown Princess Consort, all anyone will think of now is the vulgar, wanton, shameless depictions in these books. Where is your dignity? Where is your decorum? Shen Yunxi, these booklets have spread so widely that even your parents and elder brother have seen them! In just these two days, the censors’ memorials have piled up like snowflakes on Father’s desk, condemning me and you for public displays of debauchery and disorderly conduct!"

Vulgar, wanton, shameless, public displays of debauchery...

Even her parents and elder brother had seen them... freēwēbnovel.com

Shen Yunxi felt a literal explosion in her head!

She had been so focused on competing against ’Crown Prince, This Wife Greets You’ that she completely forgot these booklets were being read by everyone!

Her mind raced with the thought of her parents and elder brother seeing the scandalous descriptions about her—the ones where "Shen Yunxi lay stark naked by the Crown Prince’s side" and "Shen Yunxi cried while shedding her clothes, actively lifting her leg"... Shen Yunxi’s blood surged to her head, and she nearly fainted on the spot!

She burst into tears—crying harder than even the dramatic depictions in the booklets.

She knelt on the ground but dared not confess that it was she who had spent money hiring people to write all of this.

"Your Highness!" She grasped tightly at Lu Ying’s robe hem, "You must think of a way to salvage my reputation; otherwise, how am I to face the civil and military officials in the future, or their wives and families?"

Lu Ying drew his robe hem out of her grasp, "I came here today to ask you—have you offended anyone recently? The details such as the red birthmark on your waist are so precise that it must be someone close to you."

Shen Yunxi’s tearful expression froze.

These details...

Of course, she had disclosed them herself in order to make the stories more realistic.

But there was no way she could admit this to the Crown Prince—he would surely punish her!

Lowering her head guiltily, she choked out, "I’ve always been kind-hearted and could never offend anyone. Perhaps it’s one of my sisters who dislikes me and is targeting me! Your Highness, you must stand up for me!"

Lu Ying had already formed a suspicion in his mind—

Shen Yinning.

But there was no concrete evidence yet.

He rubbed his forehead, "I’ll be leaving the palace for a bit."

Lu Ying arrived at the Gao Family, only to be told that Shen Yinning had gone to Mantangchun.

At this moment, in a private room on the upper floor of Mantangchun.

"Sister Shen!"

A clear and bright voice of a young man sounded.

A youth with golden-crowned hair hurriedly stepped across the threshold, his face lighting up with joy, "When did Sister Shen return to the Capital? Why didn’t you send word? I wanted to welcome you back and host a feast in your honor!"

Shen Yinning smiled, "It’s been a year since we last saw each other. A-ze has grown taller."

Lu Jiazhe, the princely heir to the Prince of Su Mansion and Lu Ying’s cousin.

He was two years younger than Shen Yinning, adored beauties, and often trailed behind Shen Yinning as her little sidekick during childhood.

After Shen Family’s misfortune and Shen Yinning’s exile to Gan State, Lu Jiazhe coincidentally visited Northern lands to see the Prince of Su. During this period, Shen Yinning and Lu Jiazhe became closer than ever, more like siblings who confided in each other unreservedly.

"Oh," Lu Jiazhe stepped aside, "Sister Shen, you told me to bring Cui Ji along. I’ve brought him here!"

The young man behind Lu Jiazhe was dressed in a plain blue robe, with brows light and clean as spring mountains, as if he had stepped out from a painting of a scholar. His demeanor carried a cold air, though it was entirely different from Lu Ying’s coldness.

Lu Ying was like the unyielding frost of precious jade—distant, dignified, and untouchable, with consequences for daring close.

But this young man exuded the chill of spring rain on a cold night—a fleeting touch that left only the soft coolness seeping into the skin.

Shen Yinning’s voice was gentle and sweet, "Cui Ji, it’s been a long time."

Cui Ji bowed in greeting, "Lady Shen."

Three years ago, Gan State suffered a severe drought.

Cui Ji had been an orphan Shen Yinning saved during her exile.

At the time, he was penniless and collapsed on the roadside, surviving only because Shen Yinning provided him with food. She saw him as a scholar and supported his studies in Gan State until the spring court exams last year, when she released him to travel to the Capital and sit for the metropolitan exam. She even wrote to Lu Jiazhe, asking him to look after Cui Ji.

Thus, Shen Yinning was, in truth, Cui Ji’s benefactor.

Once seated, Shen Yinning toyed with her wine cup, her phoenix-like eyes glimmering with a smile, "Cui Ji, I heard you passed the imperial exam as the third-rank laureate last year and were appointed by the Emperor as Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Congratulations."

Cui Ji lowered his eyes and softly replied, "If you have something to say, Lady Shen, please speak directly."

"Let me ask you this—if someone writes defamatory works about the Crown Prince, spreads rumors, and stirs up trouble, what sort of crime is this?"