The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go
Chapter 208 - 206 She loathed him... Did she really hate him this much?

Chapter 208: Chapter 206 She loathed him... Did she really hate him this much?

"What you’re saying is," Shen Xinghan’s eyebrows knit tightly together, "Shen Yinning?"

Xue Ling glanced at Lu Ying, coughed lightly, and said, "I didn’t say anything."

Shen Yunxi was puzzled: "Leaving aside where that wretch even got the skills to forge so many letters, why would she bring us here? The private room is filled with rare delicacies and fine wines—why would she spend a fortune arranging such a sumptuous banquet for us? Is she trying to please us?"

Lu Shiyan shook his head.

Zhaozhao loathed Shen Yunxi’s family to the bone; he didn’t believe Zhaozhao would go about pleasing them in this manner.

He turned to Lu Ying: "What do you think?"

Lu Ying remained silent, only lowering his eyes to the letter in his hand.

The faint scent of peach blossoms lingered on the letter.

She lied to him.

She had lied to him again.

He thought she wanted to reconcile with him tonight, but instead, she’d set a trap and invited everyone to Gold & Jade Pavilion.

The one thing everyone here shared in common was having bullied her.

For instance, the Gao Family—Gao Zheng had clearly relied on her to get where he was, yet he consistently oppressed and humiliated her.

As for the Wu Family sisters, they had never treated her as a human being, frequently threatening to send her to Jiangnan as a concubine and boasting about how they’d punish her harshly once she arrived.

Then Xue Ling—because of Xue Mianmian, there had always been tension between him and Shen Yinning, a tension that climaxed at the Xue Mansion’s family banquet a few days ago, when Xue Mianmian was formally recognized by her ancestral lineage.

The Shen Yan family didn’t even need to be mentioned.

Her entire family had been executed, her father and brothers killed—Shen Yan’s family played no small part in this, their feud steeped in blood.

And then there was himself and Lu Shiyan.

Had Shen Yinning come to hate even them?

Yes. One treated her as a shameful secret, a forbidden fruit hidden in the dark; the other treated her as a mere plaything, a toy-like concubine. Yet she had always been a proud young woman, with the unbending spirit of a noble family etched into her very bones. It made sense for her to hate them too.

So then, what was her purpose in bringing all of them here?

Lu Ying’s narrowed eyes flickered with complex emotions.

Just then, the massive palace lantern hanging from the ceiling of the restaurant suddenly extinguished.

The light in the entire restaurant instantly dimmed to darkness.

Luo Wanxiang exclaimed, "What on earth is going on tonight?!"

Mrs. Qin pointed downstairs in fear: "There... there seems to be someone down there!"

The group quickly leaned over the ornate balustrade to look below, and sure enough, a shadowy figure stood in the main hall.

It was unclear if the figure was male or female, draped in a voluminous crimson hooded cloak. Amid the dim lighting, they skillfully wielded a heavy wooden staff.

A metal basket filled to the brim with glowing-hot charcoal hung at the end of the staff.

As the figure swung the staff, the charcoal began to combust, scattering countless sparks through the iron mesh into the air like a fiery shower of molten stars.

Each swing of the staff exuded mastery.

Golden sparks danced and whirled through the air, like countless fireflies coalescing into a sea of amber illumination. It was as if a goddess had descended, scattering her divine fireworks. The billowing red cloak flared dramatically in the light of the flames, and the dark gold mask obscuring her face lent her an enigmatic allure, reminiscent of a high priestess from an era long past, from the days of the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou.

Lu Shiyan murmured, "Fire wards off malevolent spirits, ensuring peace across households... This is the Fire Pot ritual..."

"What nonsense," Shen Yunxi sneered. "This person went through all this trouble to gather us here, acting all mysterious, only to perform some sort of Fire Pot ritual? Sure, it’s visually impressive, but it’s ridiculously theatrical. Hmph. Daring to use my second brother as bait—this princess will not accept such insincere flattery!"

Shen Xinghan frowned deeply: "It’s not that simple."

The jade pendant accompanying the letter—it truly belonged to his second brother.

But his second brother was already dead. How could such a personal belonging end up in someone else’s possession?

Could it be that his brother’s death held hidden truths?

He locked his gaze tightly on the figure in the main hall. As the person continued to swing the Fire Pot, countless sparks scattered into the air, like burning funeral paper carried upward by the cold night breeze, wafting toward the upper levels of the restaurant.

The upper levels...

Suddenly, he tilted his head upward.

His pupils contracted sharply!

The ceiling of the restaurant was festooned with countless strings of oiled paper lanterns and silk ribbons—all highly flammable. Now, several of them had already caught fire, with the orange-red flames beginning to spread rapidly!

He shouted a warning: "The restaurant is on fire!"

"Fire?!"

The crowd snapped out of their daze and looked upward. The lantern strings and ribbons were ablaze, flames spreading swiftly toward the massive palace lantern overhead!

Lu Ying cast another glance toward the main hall.

The figure who had been wielding the Fire Pot was already gone.

The restaurant’s doors and windows had been tightly sealed from the outside; there was no need to guess—they had been deliberately locked.

Clutching the letter tightly, an inkling of Shen Yinning’s plan seeped into Lu Ying’s mind.

"Run!"

The crowd screamed, only to realize their bodies felt utterly powerless!

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Shiyan’s forehead as he grimly noted, "The food and tea were drugged."

Among them were nobles of the Imperial Family, people who exercised utmost caution when dining out. Every dish and beverage was tested with a silver needle.

And yet, the culprit had foregone obvious poisons in favor of the odorless, tasteless Soft Muscle Powder, which even the silver needle couldn’t detect!

Shen Yunxi slumped against the balustrade, red-eyed and cursing: "This lunatic went through all this effort—what on earth does she want?!"

What does she want?

Lu Ying’s face darkened.

Shen Yinning wanted every last one of them to perish in the fire.

She wanted them dead...

As for him, it was pure coincidence that he’d had an excuse not to consume the tea or food—he had been preoccupied preparing a bowl of glutinous rice balls for Shen Yinning.

But even so, his strength seemed to dissipate; he stood frozen, unable to move.

On a strange impulse, he suddenly turned back and returned to the private room.

He pushed open the latticed window.

Directly opposite was the northern city’s Lamp Sea Bodhisattva.

Squinting into the distance, he saw a figure climbing the Heavenly Ladder, swiftly ascending toward the Bodhisattva’s flower-holding hand.

Through the dim night, he could vaguely make out the figure tossing away a mask and pulling back her hood.

The crimson cloak billowed wildly in the night breeze, long black hair disheveled. As she suddenly turned her head, even from so far away, Lu Ying instantly recognized her face.

It was Shen Zhaozhao.

So it was her.

The one who orchestrated this trap was her; the one who poisoned them was her; the one who set the fire was also her.

Tonight, she wasn’t seeking reconciliation with him.

She wanted him dead.

She hated him to the core, just as she loathed Shen Yunxi’s family.

Did she truly hate him this much?

The cold wind lashed at his face.

Yet Lu Ying felt searing heat radiating through his body; his heart felt like it was being simmered in boiling oil, scorched beyond recognition.

Though not poisoned, he felt as though all his strength had drained away.

Gripping the window frame tightly, his knuckles turned white with effort, barely keeping him from collapsing onto the chair behind him.

The fire at Gold & Jade Pavilion raged with increasing intensity.

The people in the corridors were all slumped on the floor, unable even to muster the strength to jump to their deaths for escape; they could only scream helplessly for salvation.

Thick smoke began to fill the restaurant, choking the crowd. They clutched at their mouths and noses but could not make a single sound.

Shen Yunxi, Luo Wanxiang, and the other women began to cry in terror.

Luo Wanzhao clung tightly to Lu Shiyan, intertwining their fingers as she croaked, "Your Highness, I’m scared..."

Lu Shiyan forced himself to remain calm, whispering, "Nothing will happen."

Yin Shanshan wailed uncontrollably, "I’ve only been here a year since transmigrating, and now I’m going to die?! What happened to being the protagonist?!"

"..."

In the northern city, at the Lamp Sea Bodhisattva.

Shen Yinning stood atop the Heavenly Ladder, now perched on the flower-holding hand of the Bodhisattva.

She sat in the palm of the Bodhisattva, gazing distantly at Gold & Jade Pavilion.

Towering flames shot into the sky; the entire street was buzzing with citizens scrambling to extinguish the fire.

She curled her lips into a smile.

Shen Yunxi and all those people were about to die—how delightful.

As she thought this, her gaze was suddenly drawn to the window where Lu Ying stood.

Not surprisingly, the Crown Prince, having clawed his way through countless royal siblings, had deduced that she was the culprit. Silently, he watched her from afar.

Her smile grew brilliantly radiant. She blew him a kiss through the distance.

Her lips moved silently: "So easy to fool."