The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 149 - 147: I Don’t Like Any of the Concubines

Chapter 149: Chapter 147: I Don’t Like Any of the Concubines

Lu Qianqian wiped her embroidered shoes clean and picked up the wine cup again. "Shen Yinning, after finishing this drink, let’s bury the hatchet, shall we?"

Shen Yinning took the cup, pretending not to notice the eager glint in her eyes. "I humbly obey Your Highness’s command."

Both downed their drinks in one go. Lu Qianqian enthusiastically tugged on Shen Yinning’s arm. "I remember that before your family’s downfall, we often went shopping together. We were so close back then. Come, let’s go to the night market now."

Shen Yinning followed her out of the private room.

As they turned the corridor, Lu Qianqian suddenly let go of her hand. The smile vanished from her face as she lowered her voice and snarled, "You wretched woman! Do you really think the Crown Prince can save you every single time? Someday, there will be a time when he cannot look after you!"

Shen Yinning toyed with a lock of dark hair draped over her shoulder, smiling faintly. "In theater troupes, young actors spend money and bow to masters to learn how to change their expressions fast. But here you are, Princess, doing it for free. The way you change your face so quickly; you could perform on stage directly. Think of the effort you’ve saved!"

"You filthy wench! Always so sharp-tongued—I can’t out-talk you! But haven’t you felt the slightest change in your body yet?"

"Change? Not at all. It’s you, Your Highness—wearing so little on such a chilly night. Aren’t you cold?"

Cold?

Lu Qianqian didn’t feel cold at all.

In fact...

She even felt hot!

She couldn’t help but tug at her collar.

A wave of heat started spreading from deep within her body. She felt uneasy all over. Though she had just drunk wine in the room, her mouth and throat now felt inexplicably parched, as if craving something.

Her legs rubbed together subconsciously, and suddenly, she realized. "You... you switched the two cups of wine?!"

Shen Yinning looked innocent. "Yes, that’s right."

"You—"

Lu Qianqian was struck speechless. She lunged forward, aiming to slap Shen Yinning, only to have her wrist caught.

With arched brows and a playful gaze, Shen Yinning studied Lu Qianqian’s flushed face. "Looking at your state, I have a pretty good idea of what kind of drug you planned for me. Shen Xinglei is in the adjacent room. Why not hurry and have him detoxify you? Although the paralytic I gave him numbed his limbs, I’m sure *that* part still works—though it may be a bit of effort for you."

"You..." Lu Qianqian was both humiliated and infuriated, trying to slap her again—but utterly lacked the strength to do so.

The drug she’d used was among the world’s most potent aphrodisiacs, with no antidote. The only cure was to engage with five or six men within an hour; otherwise, death would result.

She had planned to lure Shen Yinning to a nearby brothel, where she had picked out five or six of the ugliest, oldest men to completely break and ruin her.

But she never expected...

That the poisoned victim would end up being her!

Lu Qianqian was barely able to stand.

Shen Yinning gently pushed open the door to the adjacent room for her. "Your Highness, time is running out. Hurry along—I’m starting to feel bad for you."

Lu Qianqian was so furious that her tears spilled. She stomped into the room, but not without turning back to point at Shen Yinning. "Just you wait!"

She stumbled toward the bed, suppressing her disgust and shame as she commanded sharply, "A-Da, A-Er, A-San, A-Si! All of you, come in!"

Shen Yinning’s pupils slightly widened.

Goodness, this drug was powerful!

Apparently, Shen Xinglei alone wouldn’t suffice!

Well, Lu Qianqian was only reaping what she had sown.

She closed the door behind them.

As she left the inn, light snow began to fall.

Without an oiled-paper umbrella, she could only stand under the eaves, patiently waiting for the snow to stop.

The towering pavilions and terraces were adorned with lanterns, illuminating the drifting snowflakes. The street vendors had pitched dark yellow tung-oil umbrellas; townspeople walked with umbrellas and lanterns, laughing and chatting as the rows of lanterns stretched endlessly. The scene brimmed with human warmth amidst the snowy backdrop.

Tiny snowflakes, blown by the cold wind, fell onto her face.

A familiar scent of cedar drifted nearby. A wide paper umbrella suddenly tilted over her, shielding her completely.

Startled, she glanced up and saw—it was Lu Ying.

She withdrew her gaze.

There was no denying that Lu Ying, at least tonight, had not sided with Lu Qianqian or Shen Xinglei—this alone could be considered help.

She swallowed the bitter remarks on the tip of her tongue and simply muttered, "Your Highness has already severed ties with me. Why bother holding an umbrella for me? You have a wife. Offering affection here and there hardly seems fitting."

"Let me ask you again: why did you take the contraceptive elixirs?"

"Does the answer to this question matter so much to Your Highness?"

"It does."

Shen Yinning looked up at Lu Ying.

Their eyes met. His dark, narrow eyes were deep, hiding emotions Shen Yinning couldn’t decipher.

She didn’t flatter herself, thinking Lu Ying asked this because he cared for her.

His probing was merely due to his injured pride.

A man, especially a man destined to be Crown Prince, could hardly ignore his dignity.

He could dislike her, abandon her—but as his gilded songbird, she wasn’t allowed to dislike him, let alone abandon him.

Seeing her silence stretch, Lu Ying pressed in a firmer tone, "Shen Yinning, answer me."

"To be frank, from childhood to now, I’ve never found conversations with Your Highness enjoyable," Shen Yinning said leisurely. "Take tonight’s question, for instance. If I remain silent, you’ll be upset. If I answer, your mood will likely sour as well. In the end, I’m always at a disadvantage. What does Your Highness expect me to do?"

"I only want the truth."

"Alright." Shen Yinning sighed as if she had given up. "I took contraceptive elixirs because of the Crown Princess Consort. I don’t wish to carry a child for ten months, only to separate from him in the end, watching helplessly as he calls another woman his mother."

Her clear and lucid eyes betrayed no lies.

Lu Ying gripped the umbrella tighter.

So, she took the elixirs—not because she didn’t like him or didn’t want to bear his children—but because of Shen Yunxi.

No wonder she wouldn’t say it.

Back in Shen Garden at Mountain Moon Residence, she’d once given this reason as well.

The result? Being locked in a dark room and tormented for half a month.

Lu Ying felt a pang of regret, though his expression remained calm.

The shadow in his heart seemed to lift slightly, as delicate snowflakes fell gently, as if soothing the scars she’d left there.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "That night at Shen Garden, you said you could bear children for Cui Ji, Lu Shiyan, and Gao Zheng—anyone but me. Truth or lie?"

"Of course it was a lie. I didn’t like any of them."

"That night, you said you don’t love me. Truth or lie?"

Shen Yinning found Lu Ying strange.

In theory, men cared less about love than women did—especially someone like Lu Ying, born into the Imperial Family and holding immense power.

Yet ever since her return to the capital, it seemed as if Lu Ying had been persistently trying to prove that she loved him.