CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 254 LU YING’S AURA IS PIERCING

Shen Yinning caught her arm tightly at the very moment before she fell out of the window.

Luo Wanzhao’s figure looked like a withered butterfly teetering dangerously mid-air.

She tilted her head back, her frail little face twisted grotesquely. "Let go of me!"

Shen Yinning clenched her teeth.

Her bedroom was on the third floor of Zhaoyue Pavilion. Although there was grass below, a fall from this height would cause injury. Outsiders who didn’t know better might think it was her who pushed Luo Wanzhao, especially when so many nannies had died in her room tonight. By then, she wouldn’t be able to explain herself no matter how hard she tried.

She didn’t want trouble for herself.

Luo Wanzhao’s eyes were bloodshot, her voice hoarse. "You refuse to yield to the Prince, and now you’re pretending to be a good person?! You want the Prince to think you’re kindhearted, want him to pity you? I’m telling you, you’re dreaming! Tonight I’ll make the Prince see clearly just how vile and ruthless you are!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she extended her sharp nails, viciously scratching Shen Yinning’s arm!

It was already spring, and Shen Yinning was wearing only a lightweight gauze sleeve. Because she had leaned over to save her, half of her arm was exposed.

With Luo Wanzhao’s furious attack, five long bloody gashes instantly appeared on the snow-white delicate arm, the flesh flipping outward grotesquely—proof that her strike was full of hatred.

Shen Yinning winced in pain and instinctively loosened her grip on her arm.

Luo Wanzhao dropped straight out of the flower-window, but in midair, she flashed a sinister smile at Shen Yinning.

Clutching her wounded arm, Shen Yinning saw countless lanterns suddenly light up in all directions as Luo Wanzhao hit the ground, shadows flitting and voices clamoring.

Luo Wanxiang screamed as she dashed forward, "Sister!"

Night winds scattered the white pear blossoms.

Through the chaos of the maids and servants, Shen Yinning gazed from afar at Lu Shiyan among the crowd.

He sat in his wheelchair, his expression filled with disbelief as he looked up at her.

Suddenly, it struck her—tonight had been a setup from beginning to end.

Luo Wanzhao had long arranged for Lu Shiyan and the others to appear at this exact moment. If she hadn’t suddenly taken action to kill, what Lu Shiyan and the others would’ve seen were the "proofs" of her illicit rendezvous with Lu Ying. Coupled with Luo Xibai being lured away strategically, tonight she would’ve no doubt ended up as Lu Shiyan’s plaything in bed. Furthermore, due to Lu Ying’s involvement, Lu Shiyan’s affection for her would’ve greatly diminished—just as Luo Wanzhao intended.

But things had gone off-script—

She acted.

And so Luo Wanzhao decided to jump out the window, using self-inflicted harm to frame her.

The outcome would ultimately achieve the same goal—

To make Lu Shiyan disappointed in her, and push him away from her.

Luo Wanxiang screamed sharply, her voice shrill: "Brother-in-law, it was Shen Yinning who pushed my sister! Shen Yinning did it!"

Guards rushed into Zhaoyue Pavilion, soon discovering the bodies of the nannies and quickly carrying them outside.

The hastily summoned mansion doctor checked Luo Wanzhao’s pulse and sighed. "Thankfully, the madam only fell from the third floor. If it were higher, it could have been fatal. The madam has fractured her arm and will need to have her bones reset. Her head is injured as well, which is why she’s unconscious. As for whether any aftereffects will remain, we’ll have to see once she wakes up and recover fully."

Maids carefully placed Luo Wanzhao on a stretcher and carried her away, anxiety etched deeply on their faces.

Luo Wanxiang sobbed while shaking Lu Shiyan’s arm. "Brother-in-law, my sister was so kind to that wretched woman, even better to her than she was to me! Yet that wretched woman still tried to kill my sister! Clearly, she’s vile, vicious, and a venomous snake of a woman! You must punish her severely!"

"Zhaozhao..." Lu Shiyan murmured in disbelief, his eyes full of disappointment and puzzlement. "Why did you harm the Princess?"

Shen Yinning stood under the eaves, clutching her injured arm.

The deep pink sleeves hung low, concealing the wounds underneath.

Lantern light flickered against her lashes; her tone was cold and low. "It was her, she jumped on her own."

"Even lies have their limits!" Luo Wanxiang yelled loudly. "My sister loves Brother-in-law so much; what grievances could make her jump out the window? When I arrived, I saw it clearly—it was you who let go of her arm!"

"I saw it too." Lu Shiyan frowned deeply, his gaze toward Shen Yinning now utterly unfamiliar. "Zhaozhao, the you I remember was spoiled and willful, but kindhearted. Yet how... how did you become like this?"

Shen Yinning remained expressionless. "I’ll only explain once. Whether you believe me or not is up to you."

She turned and began walking back into Zhaoyue Pavilion, but Luo Wanxiang chased after her, grabbing her injured arm.

"Wretch! Our family never wronged you, so why would you seek to harm my sister?! You’ve already harmed her, and you want to walk away unscathed?!"

She fiercely raised her hand to slap Shen Yinning.

Shen Yinning caught her hand and, with swift retaliation, slapped her hard in return.

Luo Wanxiang held her face in disbelief. "You... you hit me?! You actually dared to hit me?!"

Shen Yinning shook her hand dismissively, her tone light. "I hit you, so what? I’ve wanted to hit you for a long time."

"You—" Luo Wanxiang abruptly drew a long whip from her waist. "You women, always coquettish and scheming, only know how to seduce men and vie for favor! Tonight, I’ll bring justice for my sister!"

Though she only had rudimentary training, she had still learned some martial arts.

Caught off guard, Shen Yinning could only dodge sideways, but the whip struck her squarely across the back.

She leaned against the screen door, groaning softly, and involuntarily turned to look at Lu Shiyan.

But Lu Shiyan only sat silently in his wheelchair, his face stern and somber, his brows slightly furrowed—as if he too wanted Luo Wanxiang to teach her a lesson.

He didn’t believe she had been framed by Luo Wanzhao.

Or maybe, he knew she was innocent. But ever since she came to Jiangnan a month ago, she’d slipped completely out of his control, deviating from his envisioned life of a harmonious household filled with beauty and poetry. He resented her unpredictability, and so deliberately exploited Luo Wanzhao’s plot to teach her a lesson, to make her understand who truly rules over Jiangnan.

She couldn’t help but recall those youthful days.

Back then, Lu Shiyan’s legs had been unscathed, and he’d always taken opportunities to visit the Duke Mansion to secretly meet her.

He would bring her delicacies from the Capital, as well as odd little trinkets from the marketplace.

A boy as bright as spring clouds, all smiles, always striving to make her happy, his heart and eyes full of her.

He had been such an ambitious young man.

They would sit under the pear blossom tree, chatting about everything under the sun. He’d tell her about his experiences accompanying the Emperor on tours, about refugees wandering homeless and starving, about merchants and farmers crushed under heavy taxes.

He said, "Zhaozhao, if I serve as a minister in the future, I’ll ensure my deeds are upright and my land is peaceful."

"If I ever ascend to the throne, I’ll care for the nation and cherish its people like my own children."

The spring breeze of that year fluttered through the pear blossoms, his white sleeves dancing in the wind.

But the pear blossoms of that year had long since fallen into the muddy ground, sullied and broken.

And so had he.

The whip, adorned with jagged thorns, whipped through the air once more, striking toward Shen Yinning!

A sudden gust of force intervened.

A Copper Coin struck Luo Wanxiang’s wrist sharply, forcing her to drop the whip in pain.

Lu Ying withdrew his hand, his gaze listless. "What’s all this commotion?"

Standing amidst the night, the man wore a Dark Robe and Golden Hairpin, leather belt, and military boots. His impossibly handsome face was veiled in faint frost, emanating a chilling authority.

His peripheral glance fell upon Shen Yinning.

She stood disheveled, her clothes torn and her skin battered. In addition to the lash across her back from Luo Wanzhao, her arm had been wounded badly, with thick blood dripping relentlessly from her fingertips onto the ground.

Lu Ying’s brows furrowed tightly, his aura suddenly sharpened.