Lu Ying was already annoyed.
He swiftly pinned Shen Yinning down and grabbed a silk quilt to completely cover her from head to toe.
He cast a icy and disdainful glance at Shen Yunxi, "Have you caused enough trouble?"
Shen Yunxi's eyes were bloodshot, red as if bleeding, and she pointed furiously at the faintly rising bulge under the quilt. "Your Highness, are you seriously protecting this wretched woman?! She has repeatedly flaunted her superiority in front of me, deliberately keeping me from spending the festival with you. Such a vixen ought to have her face destroyed and be sent to the military camp—let her taste the agony of being unable to live nor die!"
Lu Ying's brow twitched incessantly. "As Crown Princess Consort, are these the words you should be saying?!"
Shen Yunxi tightly gripped her handkerchief, tears rolling down in streams. "But I waited for you all night last night, Your Highness—I am aggrieved..."
"Last night, I broke my promise; it was my fault. I'll compensate you—"
"Your Highness..."
From beneath the quilt, Shen Yinning suddenly called out coyly.
She began to crawl outward while rasping in a delicate voice: "It's all my fault—last night, seeing how heavy the rainstorm was, I was afraid Your Highness would catch a cold rushing back to the Eastern Palace. So I invited Your Highness to stay here. It was only thanks to Your Highness's favor that I was privileged to serve you all night. Alas, it delayed Your Highness's reunion and merrymaking with Her Grace. The blame lies with me, not Your Highness—I'll offer my apology directly to Her Grace..."
Lu Ying's forehead veins throbbed violently.
He immediately pressed Shen Yinning back beneath the quilt, his voice low and commanding: "Don't move."
Shen Yunxi stood dumbfounded on the spot.
This wretched woman claimed she had served the Crown Prince all night?
Was she deliberately provoking her?!
Shen Yunxi was seething with the urge to scream, but with Lu Ying present, she restrained herself from lunging forward to tear Shen Yinning apart.
Yet Lu Ying was shielding this vile woman, and she did not even know who the other party was!
Shen Yunxi trembled with rage, then turned and began smashing everything in the room. While breaking things, she screamed, "You wretched slut! The Crown Prince is only curious about you for the time being—what are you so smug about? What are you so smug about?! You're nothing more than a toy for amusement, you'll never even set foot into the Eastern Palace! How dare you flaunt yourself before me? Aaaaah—!!"
Her frantic screaming was deafening.
Lu Ying's expression grew extremely unpleasant.
He had always known Shen Yunxi lacked restraint.
But he had not expected her to descend into such madness!
He was not a man of excessive lust.
Since marrying Shen Yunxi as his Crown Princess Consort, he had not touched any other concubines. Only after two years without bearing children with Shen Yunxi did he begin to visit other concubines in his chambers, however, each encounter seemed cursed: one drowned in the well, one hanged herself, and others were tortured to death after being falsely accused.
He knew these acts were orchestrated by Shen Yunxi.
Out of consideration for her father and brothers, he had refrained from holding her accountable. Yet, unknowingly, this leniency had emboldened her jealousy and arrogance to the point of smashing things right in front of him.
From beneath the quilt, Shen Yinning wrapped her arms around Lu Ying's waist and began sobbing. "Your Highness, Her Grace is so frightening—I feel terrified..."
Her soft and timid plea for protection stood in stark contrast to Shen Yunxi's crude ferocity.
Upon hearing this delicate voice, Shen Yunxi's anger intensified further.
She disregarded Lu Ying's presence and reached out to grab the quilt. "You vile woman! I'll slap your face crooked!"
Before her fingertips could so much as touch the covers, Lu Ying firmly seized her wrist.
Shen Yunxi cried out in pain, and the next moment she was shoved onto the floor.
She lifted her head in disarray, meeting the man's cold, indifferent gaze. "Crown Princess Consort, you have overstepped."
Shen Yunxi cradled her aching wrist, tears streaming as she sobbed, "It was Your Highness who first broke your promise. I merely wished to see who this vile woman truly was. How am I in the wrong?! Or am I ranked beneath this wretch in Your Highness's heart?!"
"Do you still remember how I punished you by making you copy *Women's Virtue* and *Women's Precepts*?"
At the mention of those two books, Shen Yunxi's lips tightened nervously.
Whenever she committed a mistake in the past, the Crown Prince would force her to copy those books, teaching her the principles of being a wife.
But she simply didn't have the patience for it.
She always delegated the task to the palace maids.
She coughed lightly and muttered faintly, "The way of husband and wife… aligns with yin and yang… aligns with yin and yang, yin and yang…"
She repeated "yin and yang" for ages yet failed to articulate the full passage.
Lu Ying asked, "And the rest?"
"I… I don't remember..."
Lu Ying remained silent.
He knew it; every line of those books had been copied by someone else in her stead.
For all the cunning and wit possessed by Duke Shen and his sons, how could they have birthed such a foolish woman?
From underneath the quilt came a rustling sound.
It was Shen Yinning struggling to suppress her laughter.
Who knows whether she was mocking Shen Yunxi's idiocy or laughing at her miserable wait in the Eastern Palace last night.
But Shen Yunxi was, after all, his wife. Her dignity represented the dignity of the Eastern Palace, and such mockery and belittlement from Shen Yinning was intolerable.
Lu Ying spoke calmly, "I broke my promise last night; that was my fault. As I said, I will compensate you."
Shen Yunxi sobbed, "How does Your Highness intend to compensate me?"
Lu Ying donned his outer robe. "Jewels, ornaments, silks, whatever you desire."
Shen Yunxi hesitated.
She did indeed have a penchant for extravagance and luxury.
Besides that, she enjoyed gambling with noble ladies, and her poor luck had cost her most of the dowry she brought into the palace. Though the Crown Prince allowed her access to the palace treasury, its contents were imperial property and couldn't be converted into silver.
After some thought, she decided to request ten thousand silver notes from Lu Ying.
Just as she was about to speak, her trusted maid Zhang Cuichun stopped her.
Zhang Cuichun was a longtime companion meticulously trained by Shen Yunxi's mother. Over the past three years, she remained by Shen Yunxi's side, often helping her make decisions. She was Shen Yunxi's most reliable confidant.
Maintaining a stern expression, Zhang Cuichun stepped forward and gave Lu Ying a deferential bow. "Your Highness, permit me to speak plainly: Her Grace's heart is solely devoted to you. She does not wish for any material compensation. However, there's one matter that requires Your Highness's judgment."
"Speak."
Zhang Cuichun cast a glance at the quilt, her aged features flashing with veiled malice. "The Eastern Palace's first imperial grandson concerns the empire's prosperity and lineage. Such an heir must never be born from the womb of an unnamed, unranked woman. Your Highness should understand what the elder servant means."
The sleeping chamber fell silent.
Shen Yunxi gazed at Zhang Cuichun with admiration.
No wonder people often said "ginger gets spicier with age." Zhang Cuichun's words hit the nail on the head; such a demand was far more potent than asking for a trivial ten-thousand silver notes!
Lu Ying remained silent for a long moment, then said, "Of course."
Zhang Cuichun bowed again. "Then, Your Highness, kindly provide the medicine."
Under the quilt, Shen Yinning's laughter disappeared.
In the darkness, she opened her eyes wide and clenched the quilt tightly.
It was Zhang Cuichun...
Of course she remembered that treacherous old hag!
The most cunning crone by her step-aunt's side. Years ago, when her family's women were imprisoned, her maternal grandfather had been a key figure stationed at the border. Moreover, the Empress Dowager had been childhood friends with her grandmother, and with the Empress Dowager's intercession, the Emperor had no intention of punishing her mother fatally. Yet it was this hag who lied to her mother, claiming that not only were her father and brothers dead, but she—her mother's only daughter—was gone too!
Back then, the women were all separated into different cells, so her mother had no way of knowing her real status. Believing the lie, her mother thought she had truly lost everyone dear to her.
Husband, sons, daughter—all lost—driven by despair, her mother hanged herself in the Heavenly Prison using a white silk scarf.
Zhang Cuichun, Zhang Cuichun...
Shen Yinning's eyes burned red with hatred.
De Sun quickly brought over a steaming bowl of Abortion Soup.
Zhang Cuichun sniffed the bowl and smiled with satisfaction. "This brew is fortified with strong ingredients—far more potent than ordinary Abortion Soup. Once consumed, it may not sever the possibility of all offspring, but it will ensure that no child can be conceived for at least five years."
Shen Yunxi elegantly took her seat. "Please proceed."