The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 140 - 138: Shen Zhaozhao, that vixen, ran away!

Chapter 140: Chapter 138: Shen Zhaozhao, that vixen, ran away!

"Be good," Lu Ying gently ruffled her hair. "Doctor Xiao Chen is renowned in the palace for his expertise in gynecology. Even the bodies of several concubines are under his care. If there’s anything wrong with your health, he will definitely be able to help you recover."

"Brother Lu Ying, I don’t want to..." Shen Yinning pouted and burrowed shyly into Lu Ying’s embrace. "Men and women should avoid physical contact. I won’t let him feel my pulse!"

Doctor Xiao Chen looked awkward.

He was already married with children. It’s just taking a pulse—how does it boil down to "men and women should avoid physical contact"?

He retrieved a silk thread from his medical box. "Lady Shen, rest assured. I’ll tie one end of the thread to your wrist and hold the other end with my fingers. Through the light vibrations in the thread, I can diagnose your condition without overstepping any boundaries."

Shen Yinning gritted her teeth.

The younger generation always surpasses the previous one—imperial physicians these days are truly extraordinary!

She thought for a moment, then said coyly, "But if I let him examine me, he’ll surely make me drink medicine afterward. Brother Lu Ying, you know I hate drinking medicine. I simply won’t go through with it!"

"Lady Shen, there’s no need for concern," Doctor Xiao Chen replied respectfully. "I can grind the herbs into elixir pills and coat them in sugar. You can swallow them with tea and won’t taste any bitterness at all."

Shen Yinning: "..."

This doctor was utterly impervious to persuasion!

Left with no excuse, refusing further might arouse Lu Ying’s suspicion.

Reluctantly, she extended her hand, allowing Lu Ying to help tie the thread around her wrist.

Doctor Xiao Chen examined her for a long while, his expression unreadable.

After a moment, he looked deeply at Shen Yinning, retracted the thread, and cupped his hands toward Lu Ying. "Your Highness, may I speak with you outside privately?"

Lu Ying, seeing his serious demeanor, guessed that something significant might be wrong with Shen Yinning’s health.

Worried she might feel burdened, he gently reassured her, "Wait for me in the room. I’ll be back shortly. Even if you truly can’t conceive, it’s not a big deal—I won’t abandon you because of it. Don’t be afraid."

Shen Yinning lowered her small face.

It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps faded outside the room that she gripped the bed curtains tightly.

Judging by Doctor Xiao Chen’s demeanor, he must have discovered her use of contraception.

If Lu Ying learned the truth, he would surely punish her.

Without hesitation, Shen Yinning quickly donned her lined robe and skirt and leapt out through the window to escape.

When Lu Ying returned, he saw that the bed inside the chamber was empty, the window left wide open. The wind and snow poured in, lowering the room’s temperature.

That little vixen Shen Zhaozhao—she fled!

Beside him, Gui Quan clutched the horsetail whisk tightly, trembling with fear and dumbfounded. "Lady Shen truly has... nerves of steel!"

If not for Doctor Xiao Chen diagnosing her, His Highness might still be kept in the dark about her secretly taking contraception to avoid bearing the Crown Prince’s child every month.

Gui Quan couldn’t fathom why, in a world where countless women longed to bear the Crown Prince’s heirs, Lady Shen was so determined not to.

Thinking of how generously Lady Shen had rewarded the eunuchs and maids in the palace, Gui Quan braced himself, offering a sheepish smile. "Your Highness, Lady Shen is still young—barely eighteen—and with her mother having passed away, she hasn’t been properly guided. Perhaps her fear of giving birth is understandable for now..."

The gusting wind and snow extinguished several lamps in the room.

Lu Ying’s face, shrouded in the flickering candlelight, became difficult to read.

He suddenly turned and stepped out into the swirling snowstorm.

Shen Yinning, wrapped in a fox fur cloak, was sprinting through the snow.

She used to think the Shen Garden wasn’t spacious enough. Now, she felt it was far too large!

Running from her bedroom to the garden’s east gate took an entire quarter of an hour!

The carriage waited at the east gate. All she wanted now was to escape to the Gao Family’s residence.

Though Lu Ying could act despicably, surely he wouldn’t go so far as to storm a minister’s house to capture her, right?

The biting wind and snow made it harder to move.

With one hand clutching a lantern and the other lifting her heavy, intricate skirts, Shen Yinning trudged through the snow. After struggling for a while, she finally glimpsed a row of red lanterns hanging beneath the east gate in the distance.

Her eyes lit up with joy. Just as she quickened her pace, a piercing sound came from behind her!

An arrow whistled through the air, knocking loose the golden hairpin that secured her hair.

Shen Yinning turned around. Her unbound ebony hair unraveled in the night snow, whipping wildly like ink-painted strokes, making her delicate, rosy face seem even paler.

Her coy and charming phoenix-shaped eyes filled with panic and terror the moment they reflected a familiar figure cutting through the storm.

Lu Ying rode toward her on horseback.

The dark horse galloped through the snow, reaching her in a thunderous instant, rearing with a sharp whinny that raised its forelegs high.

Caught off guard, Shen Yinning fell to the ground. The lantern in her hand flew from her grasp, its flames licking the fabric and bamboo frame, quickly transforming into a small burst of orange fire that illuminated Lu Ying clearly.

Clad in a black robe with gold accents, his face was stern and cold. The oppressive aura emanating from him far outmatched the icy force of the storm that night.

He discarded his bow and drew his riding whip.

The whip lashed out deftly, coiling around Shen Yinning’s slender waist and pulling her onto the horseback in an instant.

Lu Ying clenched her sharp, delicate chin with his fingers.

As their gazes met, Shen Yinning saw his eyes glint with a faint redness.

He asked, "Why?"

Why deceive him?

Why promise to give him an heir, only to secretly consume contraception?

Why profess to love him deeply, yet constantly lie to and betray him?

Snowflakes settled lightly on Shen Yinning’s brows and lashes, like crystals adorning her face.

She blinked, feigning innocence and naivety. "Why? Your servant-wife suddenly remembered I left my handkerchief in the carriage, so I rushed to retrieve it. Could it be that Your Highness thought I was trying to escape? Your Highness worries too much."

Lu Ying’s breathing grew heavier.

Again...

The same old ploy from this woman.

Diverting the topic, answering questions with irrelevant nonsense.

His voice was sharper and colder than the northern wind. "Shen Yinning, do you assume that my patience is infinite?"

"What’s wrong, Your Highness?" Shen Yinning bit her lip in fear, her teary phoenix eyes trembling with crystalline droplets. "You were fine back in the room. What has upset you so suddenly? Could it be... that Doctor Xiao Chen slandered me before you?"

Lu Ying thundered, "Shen Yinning!"

The Shen Garden fell into an eerie silence.

His voice echoed far across the snowy landscape.

Shen Yinning burst into soft sobs. "Your servant-wife truly doesn’t know what’s wrong... Your Highness’s current demeanor terrifies me!"

A vein throbbed in Lu Ying’s temple as he suppressed his fury. "The imperial physician said you’ve been taking contraception every month! Shen Yinning, you claim to love me, to want to bear my heir, but you’re lying! Over and over again, you deceive me! Have I not treated you well?!"

Shen Yinning silently watched his outburst.

Tears streamed down her delicate face, but a faint chill and mockery lingered in her eyes.

He believed everything she said. Yet when she claimed her father and brother were unjustly accused, why wouldn’t he believe that?

"Shen Yinning!"

Seeing her maintain her silence, Lu Ying raised his voice again.

"I’ve been taking contraception every month?" Shen Yinning displayed just the right amount of shock and fear. "Your Highness, I swear, I had no idea about this! Someone must be plotting against me in secret! Could it be... could it be the Crown Princess Consort?!"