The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go-Chapter 31: Bringing Her into the Eastern Palace as a Concubine
Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Bringing Her into the Eastern Palace as a Concubine
The dim light of a green lantern flickered in the washroom.
The small foot rested high on the edge of the bathtub, the golden bell tied around the pale ankle jingling, like a wild beast restrained of its freedom.
Candle wax dripped and rolled down.
The sound of water had never ceased, with droplets scattered across the floor, and in the bathtub, Shen Yinning had gradually lost the strength to struggle.
Lu Ying lifted her out, grabbed a towel to dry her off, and then carried her to sit on the imperial concubine couch by the window.
Shen Yinning leaned weakly against Lu Ying’s chest, her eyes closed, speaking faintly: "Your Highness, when you summon the Crown Princess Consort to serve in bed, is it also like this?"
Lu Ying did not answer her question, his voice cold: "How many times have I told you not to provoke the Crown Princess Consort? Yet you never seem to understand. It was you who stirred the whole matter of her imprisonment at the Ministry of Justice, and the trouble at the cherry blossom banquet as well. Shen Yinning, I’m running out of patience."
He lowered his lashes. At this moment, he knew the woman in his arms was wholly his.
She was no longer the high-born daughter of the Duke Mansion; she was merely a disgraced daughter of a traitor, a lowly official’s wife. To be frank, while the waves she made in the Capital in recent months might have caused great trouble for Shen Yunxi, in his eyes, it was nothing more than petty mischief.
There was no need to kill her.
She still had value.
For example, serving him in bed.
He was not a man consumed by desire, but the feeling of sharing a bed with Shen Yinning was better than with any concubine in the Eastern Palace.
Just for this reason, it did not seem necessary to kill her.
When the time was right, bringing her into the Eastern Palace as a concubine wouldn’t be out of the question.
Rough fingers brushed against the tender softness of her lips.
Suddenly, Haitang’s voice came from outside: "Madam, Master Gao is here, saying he has something to discuss with you."
Shen Yinning clenched the bedding tightly.
Gao Zheng could not have come at a worse time.
She was about to instruct Haitang to send him away when Lu Ying’s playful yet dangerous voice came from behind: "I didn’t know that he would come looking for you at night. Do you two often meet like this under the cover of night?"
"I... I have not..."
Shen Yinning tried to explain, but she heard Lu Ying order, "Let him in."
Shen Yinning’s body stiffened: "Your Highness?"
Soon, Gao Zheng’s footsteps came closer and closer.
He stopped outside the screen in the washroom, not daring to look rashly inside, lowering his head respectfully: "Miss Shen, are you bathing? Is it convenient to talk now?"
The gauzy screen was thin and translucent, clearly casting Gao Zheng’s silhouette.
Lu Ying’s expression remained cold and impassive, his fingertips trailing down Shen Yinning’s nape and spine, leaving her shivering from the tingling sensation spreading through her.
He whispered in a low voice: "Shen Yinning, your husband is speaking to you."
Shen Yinning, facing away from the screen, was unsure if Gao Zheng could see the shameful state she was in through its transparency.
She forced herself to maintain an air of frosty pride usual to her: "What matter brings you here, Master Gao?"
Outside the screen, Gao Zheng frowned.
He felt that Shen Yinning’s tone was a little different from usual, her voice hoarser.
Perhaps it was because of the bath?
He thought to himself, nervously smiling as he replied, "It’s like this—Shanshan and I have discussed opening a cold drinks shop in the Capital. We’ve picked out a venue and plan to open tomorrow. I’d like to invite Miss Shen to come and try it out."
Shen Yinning buried her face in the bedding, forcing herself to reply, "I’ve never been one fond of crowds, I—hmm..."
Gao Zheng froze.
He wasn’t a fool.
The sound from within...
He mustered his courage and glanced at the shadowed figures through the screen. The shimmering outline revealed two figures on the imperial concubine couch by the window.
The man’s broad shoulders and narrow waist loomed tall, almost entirely covering the woman beneath him.
What they were doing... needed no explanation!
Gao Zheng’s mind erupted with a thunderous shock!
He stumbled backward two steps: "Shen... Shen Yinning..."
Shen Yinning trembled violently: "I... I won’t go tomorrow—"
Before she could finish, a sudden cry escaped her lips!
A cry that spoke of both unbearable pain and ultimate ecstasy.
Gao Zheng stood dumbstruck in place.
He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the screen.
Though the marriage had been a sham from the start, an agreement forged in pretense, after three years, Shen Yinning had become his cherished treasure, his unattainable moonlight, his everything.
But now, the woman he had enshrined on an untouchable pedestal, his sacred beauty, was being wantonly defiled by the Crown Prince. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
A surge of seething hatred welled up in his chest.
He wanted to storm in and drive Lu Ying away. He wanted to tell Lu Ying that Shen Yinning was his wife!
But he dared not.
His face turned ashen, his feet feeling rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Only when the moon rose high in the sky did the movements behind the screen finally cease.
Lu Ying, now clothed and composed, stepped out from behind the screen.
He cast a dark, cold glance down at Gao Zheng’s desolate face before leaving indifferently.
Gao Zheng stood petrified by that oppressive, frigid look. Only when he returned to his senses did he bow his head in respect: "This humble servant wishes Your Highness a safe departure."
After seeing Lu Ying off, Gao Zheng noticed the lack of sound from behind the screen, and cautiously, driven by boldness, stole a glance inside.
