The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 190 - 188: It seems I should start calling you Little Imperial Sister-in-Law

Chapter 190: Chapter 188: It seems I should start calling you Little Imperial Sister-in-Law

"Indeed, a true enchantress." Luo Wanzhao murmured softly, her voice so low that only Shen Yinning could hear, her eyes clouded with an inexorable sadness. "No wonder I’ve treated him so well all these years, yet he remains fixated on you..."

Shen Yunxi, standing nearby, froze in shock.

How had events deviated so far from her expectations?

According to her plan, Luo Wanzhao should have been overtaken by jealousy, storming in and slapping Shen Yinning across the face of that wretched woman!

Yet here she was, sitting alone and whispering to herself, showing no trace of anger?!

Clearing her throat, she prompted, "Dear sister-in-law, don’t you have anything you’d like to say to Shen Yinning?"

Like admonishing that wretch in public, telling her to stay in her place and forbidding her from approaching Prince Wu ever again.

Branding this vixen with the name of a temptress, ensuring her ridicule by everyone!

Luo Wanzhao paid her no heed. Instead, she took Shen Yinning’s hand and said, "I have some words to exchange with you. Shen sister, may I borrow a moment of your time?"

Shen Yunxi watched the pair leave Hanging Fragrance Hall, silently consoling herself that Luo Wanzhao must be dragging Shen Yinning aside to privately rebuke her.

In a chirping tone, she declared, "How shameful it is for everyone to witness this! My elder cousin has always been immodest; even after marriage, she cannot restrain her wandering heart. Why, wasn’t there almost a sordid scandal with Cui Ji not long ago? Surely, my second sister-in-law is off disciplining her now. A woman like her truly needs to be put in her place, lest she tarnishes the reputation of the Shen Family by enticing married men!"

Lu Shiyan furrowed his brows, his normally gentle features hardening with sharpness: "Mind your words, Crown Princess Consort!"

Shen Yunxi was startled: "Why are you being so hostile, second elder brother? Are you telling me I’ve misspoken?! Look at you defending Shen Yinning like this—she’s clearly ensnared you too! First Cui Ji, now my second elder brother—why, Shen Yinning might as well hurl herself into a brothel!"

Lu Shiyan was thoroughly incensed.

He could not, for the life of him, fathom what Lu Ying had ever seen in this woman who blurted out such uncouth drivel, so far from decorum.

As a man, arguing publicly with a woman was unseemly; thus, with a darkened expression, he turned and strode out of Hanging Fragrance Hall.

In a secluded corridor of the Imperial Garden.

Luo Wanzhao dismissed the palace maids following her, leaving only Shen Yinning to support her.

As they walked along the corridor, Luo Wanzhao said, "The Prince didn’t want to marry me. I spent years persuading him and even had my father petition the Emperor for the imperial edict, only to finally earn the right to wed him last spring. Yet the Prince often calls out your name in his dreams. I sent people to the Capital to investigate his past and only then learned that you were his childhood sweetheart, and that you almost became his wife.

The spies reported that you are widely recognized as a peerless beauty in the Capital, surpassing even my sister Xiang’er—who is the famed beauty of Jiangnan. I didn’t believe there could possibly be a woman more beautiful than her. But today, after meeting you, I realize I had been blind, trapped in a well viewing only a sliver of the sky. Shen, you are so stunning that the Prince will never spare me another glance in his entire lifetime."

The northern wind howled fiercely.

Luo Wanzhao, frail as she was, could not help but erupt into a fit of harsh coughing.

Shen Yinning, uninterested in the tangled love-hate between Luo Wanzhao and Lu Shiyan, responded dismissively, "Your Grace, focus on recovering. Once your health improves, you, too, will look beautiful."

Suddenly, Luo Wanzhao removed the white jade bracelet from her wrist and slipped it onto Shen Yinning’s arm. "This is a token of my thoughts."

Shen Yinning declined, "What does Your Grace mean by this?"

Luo Wanzhao’s almond eyes, slightly sunken from illness, lit up with a faint pleading glimmer. "I want to petition the Prince to take you as a concubine."

Shen Yinning: "...?!"

Every year brought its share of oddities, but this year seemed particularly absurd.

She reminded her, "Are you aware that I am already married?"

"To a mere Eighth-Rank clerk, whose looks, lineage, and talents cannot hold a candle to the Prince. I refuse to believe you truly love him." Luo Wanzhao’s tone was earnest. "I can help you dissolve your marriage and take you to Jiangnan, where you can become the Prince’s concubine. I know you have many enemies in the Capital, but Jiangnan is different. Jiangnan is under the control of the Prince and the Wu Family—the Crown Princess Consort’s influence cannot reach there."

"Does Prince Wu know you wish to make me his concubine?"

"This is the result of my discussions with him."

"You love him so much, and yet you’re not jealous?"

"So long as the Prince is happy, I am happy."

Furrowing her delicate brows, Shen Yinning was baffled by this unexpected development.

Just then, a mocking laugh echoed from across the corridor.

Through the shadowy outline of plum blossoms, Shen Yinning saw Lu Ying standing with his hands clasped behind his back, golden hairpin glinting above his dark robe, having clearly overheard her conversation with Luo Wanzhao in its entirety.

Shen Yinning felt a headache coming on.

That detestable Lu Ying! He had already suspected her of harboring unclear ties with Lu Shiyan; now this! With his naturally suspicious temperament, he’d surely conclude that she had schemed to leave the Capital and cling to Lu Shiyan’s high status!

Luo Wanzhao also noticed Lu Ying and bowed deeply. "This servant greets the Crown Prince."

Shen Yinning reluctantly followed suit with a curt courtesy.

Lu Ying fixed his cold gaze on Shen Yinning, his tone frozen like the northern wind: "It seems it won’t be long before I must call you my dear sister-in-law. After enduring so many hardships, your suffering has finally borne fruit. Congratulations are in order."

Without waiting for an explanation, he stormed off, his face frosty as he brushed his sleeves aside.

Luo Wanzhao, oblivious to the complicated history between Lu Ying and Shen Yinning, tirelessly persuaded her once more: "The Prince is a paragon among men. Even as a concubine, you would hardly lose out. I like you, Shen sister—I would never make things difficult for you as the principal wife. I know you were once illustrious, but times have changed. The Prince is your best, perhaps only, option—"

"Your Grace," Shen Yinning interrupted, "I have no romantic feelings for the Prince, and I have no interest in becoming a concubine in Jiangnan. With your family backing you, you need not debase yourself to appease a man by arranging concubines for him at the expense of your integrity."

"Debase myself?" Luo Wanzhao shook her head. "As long as it brings him joy, I feel no degradation at all! Shen sister, have you never loved someone in your life? To love someone is to wholeheartedly make their happiness your own, their sorrows your sorrows. Madam Shen, I tell you, if bringing him joy means arranging for him ten or even a hundred concubines, I would gladly embrace it!"

At the thought of Lu Shiyan, a radiant light glimmered in her eyes.

It was as if her entire world revolved around him.

Shen Yinning could not fathom Luo Wanzhao’s state of mind at all.

She dismissed her words as the ramblings of someone with too much time on their hands, performed a quick courtesy, and left promptly.

Lu Shiyan appeared in the corridor, pushing his wheelchair forward.

"My Prince." Luo Wanzhao hurried to his side, attentively adjusting the woolen blanket over his knees. "Shen sister refused my proposal—she doesn’t wish to go to Jiangnan to become your concubine."

Lu Shiyan gazed at Shen Yinning’s retreating figure. "She was once such a privileged daughter of heaven. Asking her to leave for Jiangnan and lower herself as a concubine—it is indeed beneath her."

Looking at the gentle and refined face of Lu Shiyan, Luo Wanzhao murmured, "I also like Shen sister very much. I plan to request Your Majesty and Her Noble Consort to grant her to you as a secondary wife. While it cannot compare to the prestige of a formal primary marriage, at least she could officially enter the Imperial Family’s genealogy. That way, she would not be disgraced."