The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 162 - 160: She Dislikes Lu Ying’s Aloof and Steady Demeanor

Chapter 162: Chapter 160: She Dislikes Lu Ying’s Aloof and Steady Demeanor

Shen Yinning closed the painting scroll, her expression serious. "Teacher, your kind intentions are appreciated, but at present, I truly have no mind to select an ideal husband. Moreover, the matter of divorce is not something that can be resolved so quickly. When the day comes that I wish to choose a new husband, I shall undoubtedly seek your guidance."

Although Yu Qingheng felt regretful, he couldn’t truly make decisions for her in such matters. He could only let her be.

Due to Lu Ying, Shen Yinning did not stay at the Yu residence tonight.

The two returned to the Shen Garden by carriage, and Lu Ying remained silent the entire journey.

Shen Yinning knew he was still angry about the words from earlier.

She had no interest in placating him. Instead, she rummaged through trunks and chests, eventually finding the tooth bracelet she had stolen from Shen Xinglei’s study among the boxes brought back from the ruins of the Gao Family estate.

She handed the tooth bracelet and a handkerchief to Haitang, instructing her to secretly deliver them to Cui Ji’s residence.

After completing these tasks, she returned to her bedchamber, where she saw Lu Ying, freshly bathed, sitting under the lamplight perusing a copybook.

It was the copybook she had recently been practicing with.

She smiled sweetly, "How do my calligraphy skills look, my lord?"

Lu Ying truly couldn’t fathom how she had the audacity to ask such a question.

This cunning fox obviously had excellent handwriting, yet she always scribbled deliberately messy words to fool him. If not for the Dowager Empress, he would still be kept in the dark.

He glanced at Shen Yinning.

She had clearly been rummaging for something earlier; her face and hair were covered in dust, with even the tip of her nose smudged. She looked very much like a dirty little calico cat.

He closed the copybook. "Are you really planning to go to bed like this?"

Shen Yinning was puzzled. "Why not?"

Lu Ying tapped the tip of his own nose.

Shen Yinning, still confused, looked into the mirror and immediately turned red.

She took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust off her nose, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.

She had always been meticulous and clean. Except for the times during the confiscation of the Shen family estate and when she went to the Eastern Palace to plead with Lu Ying to save someone, it had been years since she’d let herself get so disheveled.

She glanced at Lu Ying again; everything about him irritated her now.

Her alabaster-white cheeks puffed slightly, and her phoenix eyes gleamed with a sly light. Suddenly, she purposely flopped onto the bed, rolled around, and pulled up the brocade quilt to cover the lower half of her face.

She looked at Lu Ying, her voice muffled, "I plan to sleep like this tonight."

Lu Ying had no time to stop her; he could only watch helplessly as she messed up the bed and made it filthy.

His face darkened, and he stretched out his hand to grab her. "Shen Yinning!"

Like a nimble fox, Shen Yinning immediately burrowed into the quilt, rolling to the corner of the bed with the blanket wrapped around her.

She hid inside the brocade quilt, suppressing her laughter. A large hand brushed through her lush, cloud-like black hair. She looked like a fox that had just toyed with a scholar, smugly swishing her fluffy, beautiful tail.

Bathing, of course, was inevitable.

But she simply couldn’t stand Lu Ying’s cool and composed demeanor. She wanted to see him lose his composure.

So, for now, she decided to let him enjoy having a dirty "Forbidden Fruit" in his bed!

Lu Ying left the Shen Garden in a storm of frustration, heading to court before dawn.

After Shen Yinning finished her breakfast, Gao Zheng stormed in, full of fury.

He raged, "Shen Yinning! You actually kicked my mother and sister out of the Hot Spring Villa?!"

Shen Yinning arched her delicate brows, smiling faintly. "Indeed, I did."

"You—" Gao Zheng hadn’t expected her to admit it so readily. "What right do you have to drive them out?! Since you married into the Gao Family, your belongings are my belongings! You have such a fine Hot Spring Villa—what right do you have to forbid my family from staying there?! And to think you’re a legitimate daughter of the Gao Family; the principle of following one’s husband after marriage—did you throw all that knowledge into the belly of a dog?!"

Shen Yinning smiled, her tone serene. "Shall I remind you of the agreement between the two of us?"

Before their fake marriage, they had drawn up an agreement that stated neither party would interfere with the other’s personal assets after marriage.

Gao Zheng’s words clearly violated the terms of that agreement.

Gao Zheng flushed with anger. "So what?! It’s your fault that the residence in Lotus Alley was reduced to rubble by Second Master Shen. Isn’t it only fair that you compensate us with the Hot Spring Villa?!"

He was truly desperate now.

Originally, when his mother and sister were evicted, he had thought they could simply repair the residence in Lotus Alley. But unexpectedly, his brother-in-law Yin Yang had shown up last night, demanding repayment of a debt.

Only then did he learn that Yin Shanshan had borrowed twenty thousand taels of patterned silver from Yin Yang in order to support her Western restaurant.

Although they had mortgaged the restaurant for some funds, it was still far from enough to repay Yin Yang.

Yin Yang had been relentless, showing no familial leniency. With no other options, they had to mortgage the deed to the Lotus Alley residence to scrape together the amount owed.

Now, with the entire family homeless and on the streets, their only hope was Shen Yinning’s Hot Spring Villa.

Shen Yinning responded indifferently, "If I were you, I wouldn’t waste time coming here to trouble me. With the New Year approaching, Lord Gao should hurry and rent a small courtyard, at least to let the entire family celebrate a proper reunion. After all, it’s your first New Year in the Capital—one shouldn’t neglect such an occasion, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Rent... rent a small courtyard?!" Gao Zheng’s lips quivered, as though he had suffered some great humiliation. "I’m now a Capital Official, and appearances matter the most! How can I drag my family to rent a place in the common alleys? If a colleague were to visit, wouldn’t that be utterly disgraceful?!"

Shen Yinning laughed aloud.

Standing on the staircase with a small hand warmer in her hands, she gazed down at him with amusement as if savoring the humiliation on his face. "I’ve heard that Lord Gao came from humble beginnings, enduring years of hardship in modest cottages while studying. Even as the Magistrate of Gan State, you lived in nothing more than an ordinary tiled courtyard. What, you could endure it before, but not now?"

Gao Zheng angrily flung his sleeves. "How can the past compare to the present?!"

Shen Yinning’s expression turned icy. "Not everyone who pursues education is as fortunate as Lord Gao, with an opportunity to scale to great heights in an instant. A year in the Capital, and while you’ve produced no accomplishments in governance, you’ve certainly mastered vanity, extravagance, and debauchery! Gao Zheng, what did you tell me back in Gan State? You said you were grateful for the chances I gave you. You said you wanted to serve the common people of the world, to be a virtuous and upright official. You even said that one day, if you had the chance, you would return to Gan State to benefit its people and your homeland! Gao Zheng, have you forgotten your aspirations?!"

The young woman’s rebuke landed like a slap in the face.

For a moment, Gao Zheng’s mind wavered, as if transported back to his younger, impoverished days of burning the midnight oil in a dingy study.

His face turned pale, then flushed, his fists clenched tightly. His voice now lacked confidence, "I just want my family to have a place to stay in the Capital."

Shen Yinning shot Haitang a glance.

Understanding her signal, Haitang pulled out a pouch of silver ingots from her sleeve and tossed it onto the steps.

Shen Yinning said coldly, "This is all I can give you."

Greed flickered across Gao Zheng’s face as he licked his lips, seemingly unbothered by the implied insult. Instead, he hurriedly stepped forward, picked up the pouch, and shyly muttered, "Thank you..."

Shen Yinning stood silent, though disappointment flashed briefly in her eyes.

As Gao Zheng clutched the silver pouch and stepped out, he paused, as if remembering something. Turning back, he said, "Oh, right. Someone from the palace came to the Gao residence earlier. They said the Crown Princess Consort has summoned you to the palace."