The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 168 - 166: Lu Ying, I No Longer Have a Home

Chapter 168: Chapter 166: Lu Ying, I No Longer Have a Home

In the snowfield, Lu Ying’s chest was warm.

Shen Yinning buried her face into his chest, almost greedily inhaling the scent of cedar that clung to him.

Her voice was softer than snowflakes: "Lu Ying, I no longer have a home."

Father, mother, elder brother—all her most cherished kin were now gone from this world.

There would no longer be anyone to carve a carousel lamp for her birthday gift, no one to hold her in their arms with a smile and say Zhaozhao looked so much like her mother, no one to sneak in with a puppy over the wall and offer it to her as if presenting treasure.

She was alone in this world, without a home.

The girl’s tears dampened Lu Ying’s lapel.

Though it was a snowy night, Lu Ying felt his chest burning hot.

He gently stroked Shen Yinning’s back and brushed her head lightly with his chin. For a long while, he held her until he was sure the little girl in his arms had calmed down before picking her up entirely.

Shen Yinning clutched his lapel, raising her tear-streaked face in a petulant manner.

She meant for Lu Ying to wipe her tears, but Lu Ying was looking straight ahead and didn’t notice her small gesture at all.

Annoyed, Shen Yinning glared at Lu Ying with embarrassment and anger in her moistened, dewy phoenix-like eyes.

Not only did he not wipe a girl’s tears, but even as she was crying this hard, this shameless man didn’t offer any words of comfort. Truly, a dog’s mouth couldn’t expect to spit out ivory!

Her sense of grievance suddenly deepened, and she choked up, saying, "Don’t think I don’t know your intentions. Carrying me like this, you just want to take advantage of me!"

Lu Ying: "...?"

He was merely carrying the little girl back to the house because her embroidered shoes had fallen into the snow, and he didn’t want her feet to freeze—was that wrong?

Shen Yinning sobbed and grumbled, "The way you’re rushing like this, you’re clearly impatient to share a bed with me! And to think you’re always praised as upright, restrained, and dignified. In private, you’re clearly just a lust-driven scoundrel!"

Lu Ying: "...."

He was only walking faster because the wind and snow were too harsh and didn’t want the little girl to get cold—was that wrong too?!

Sobbing and hiccupping, Shen Yinning struggled and fussed in his arms: "Put me down! Put me down! You’ve ruined my chastity, yet you don’t even like me. You even married my cousin! You’re awful, Lu Ying, I hate you!"

The little girl created a storm out of nothing.

She was practically a mischievous sprite!

Fortunately, Lu Ying was tall, strong, and sturdy. No matter how Shen Yinning wriggled, he held her securely in his arms, preventing her from falling to the ground and landing on her backside.

However, the little girl was as slippery as a fish. As Lu Ying looked ahead to watch his footing, she nearly slid out from the crook of his arm.

He frowned, "Stop squirming."

But at this moment, Shen Yinning completely ignored him.

Seeing her stubborn refusal to behave, Lu Ying decisively hoisted her onto his shoulder as if she were a sack of grain and strode toward the distant pavilion.

Shen Yinning gnashed her teeth.

What decent man carries a woman like this? She was a girl, not a sandbag!

She pounded on Lu Ying’s back with all her might: "I’ll count to three, and you better put me down immediately! One, two—"

Before she could count to "three," Lu Ying directly gave her two firm smacks on her rear.

The crisp "slap, slap" echoed in the snowy silence, prompting Gui Quan and De Sun, who followed behind, to lower their heads in stifled laughter.

Shen Yinning’s cheeks burned bright red.

It didn’t hurt much—it was mostly just mortifying.

She hissed in a low voice, "Lu Ying!"

Lu Ying said, "One more shout, and I’ll keep slapping."

The man’s voice was deep and magnetic, carrying an undeniable authority.

As someone who held the station of Crown Prince and possessed a reserved and profound temperament, he wasn’t one to joke. If he said he would hit, he certainly meant it.

Shen Yinning realized she truly couldn’t do anything to counter him, so she grudgingly pounded his shoulder in anger, helplessly enduring being carried into the pavilion.

After bathing, it was already late at night.

Sitting cross-legged on the cushioned platform, Shen Yinning combed through her long, inky hair with her fingers while stealing glances at Lu Ying.

This man, as always, appeared to be drowning in official matters. Even when visiting Shen Garden, he often brought along towering stacks of memorials to peruse.

Just then, Gui Quan entered with a tray of calming tea, and Shen Yinning seized the moment to ask, "Eunuch Gui, since you’ve just come from the palace, do you know how Shen Xinglei and Lu Qianqian are doing?"

Gui Quan glanced at Lu Ying. Seeing that he showed no reaction, Gui Quan replied respectfully, "To respond to Madam Shen, Princess Qianqian suffered severe injuries: three broken ribs and a fractured nose. Fortunately, her life isn’t in danger. Lady Liu, distressed for the Princess, demanded that His Majesty severely punish the Second Young Master Shen. However, the Shen Family smoothed things over, claiming it was because Princess Qianqian tried to kill Little Fan that Second Young Master Shen lashed out in desperation. The dispute dragged on for some time until it alarmed the Empress Dowager. In the end, she issued a small penalty to make an example—Second Young Master Shen received twenty strikes, and Princess Qianqian was sent back to the Shen Family to continue being his wife."

Shen Yinning smirked faintly.

This outcome—was it punishment for Shen Xinglei or for Lu Qianqian?

She sipped the calming tea. "What else?"

Gui Quan looked at her with admiration.

As expected of Madam Shen—she already guessed there was more to the matter with Shen Xinglei.

He responded, "The Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Master Cui, went to the palace overnight to impeach Second Young Master Shen for atrocities committed during his tenure as General at the border. He listed crimes of indiscriminate slaughter of innocents, leading soldiers to massacre villages, and cruelly murdering countless elderly, women, and children. With the evidence, including witnesses and material proof, the Emperor was enraged and immediately had Second Young Master Shen thrown into the Imperial Prison!"

As he recounted, he shook his head in dismay. "Initially, Second Young Master Shen denied the accusations, but Master Cui had prepared thoroughly and produced a witness—a border villager who survived the atrocities. The man tearfully accused Second Young Master Shen of committing unspeakable acts, including violating and pillaging, before slaughtering his entire village. He was the sole survivor. The man even produced a bloody letter written across a handkerchief, exposing Second Young Master Shen’s sins in explicit detail, marked by the bloodied fingerprints of the entire village!"

Shen Yinning smiled knowingly.

The villager—he was the unfortunate soul Bai Heming had rescued from the mountains.

"His Majesty then ordered an immediate search of Second Young Master Shen’s residence. And guess what? They uncovered a full chest of tooth bracelets hidden in his study! The eldest Shen son tried to defend his brother, claiming the teeth belonged to enemy soldiers."

"But Master Cui was prepared for this too. He summoned a forensic doctor on the spot. The forensic doctor was horrified and declared that many of the teeth came from children and adolescents, meaning they clearly didn’t belong to enemy soldiers but were forcibly extracted from the mouths of civilians by Second Young Master Shen! The twisted man kept them as trophies before bringing them back to the Capital. These teeth became essential evidence of his guilt."

The calming tea, at first bitter, gradually unfolded a sweet aftertaste on the palate.

Shen Yinning curiously asked, "What punishment will he face? Beheading, or exile?"

"By law, he should be executed," Gui Quan explained, "but the Duke and Crown Princess Consort pleaded for mercy, and with Second Young Master Shen being a Prince Consort, His Majesty took familial ties into account, as well as his extraordinary physical strength. He decided on exile to the border as a common soldier. He must atone for his crimes through service and is forbidden for life from returning to the Capital."

After Gui Quan left, Lu Ying remarked, "Do you think the punishment was too light?"