CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 117 SHE RUBS CUI JI’S LIPS

Shen Yinning narrowed her eyes: "What did you say?"

Zhang Cuichun stayed silent, her expression darkly venomous, breaking into an eerie laugh.

The laughter was aged and raspy like a crow, echoing repeatedly through the cell, sending chills down one’s spine.

Shen Yinning’s face was cold and stern as water as she took a whip off the wall and struck Zhang Cuichun without hesitation.

In an instant, Zhang Cuichun’s twisted, sinister smile transformed into an agonized grimace, screaming incessantly: "I am now the Chief Palace Maid of the Eastern Palace! The Crown Princess Consort will come save me without a doubt! Sister Yinning, if you dare lay hands on me, the Crown Princess Consort will have you killed, she will surely kill you!"

Blood splattered onto Shen Yinning’s dress and onto her cheek.

The young woman looked delicate but was lithe and strong, with not an ounce of excess flesh on her slender frame. Hidden within her graceful body was a startling power. Lash after lash, the force of her strikes was indistinguishable from the strength of a grown male prison guard.

Cui Ji observed her quietly.

He knew that during those three years in Gan State, Shen Yinning had not spent her days idly confined to the inner halls.

She had practiced horseback archery in the outskirts, paying heavily for skilled teachers to instruct her in bow drawing and the use of precise techniques.

The iron furnace burning with charcoal illuminated the entire cell. Shen Yinning appeared as if bathed in a glow, her radiant and beautiful visage mingling with cruel, crimson blood droplets, creating an added allure of withering ruin. Her amber-hued eyes reflected the golden candlelight, while a few strands of jet-black hair dampened by sweat clung messily to her fair temples.

Cui Ji subconsciously moved his fingers.

He wanted to step forward and smooth the stray hair by her temples.

A woman like her was born to be flawless from her strands of hair to the tips of her embroidered shoes, destined to stand high above the clouds, untouched by any filth or impurity.

It wasn’t clear how long she’d whipped. Finally, Zhang Cuichun spat out a mouthful of blood and fell completely unconscious.

Shen Yinning tossed the whip aside.

Cui Ji saw her sweep her gaze across the surroundings, guessing she was looking for a basin to wash her hands.

He stepped forward: "The Imperial Prison under the Ministry of Justice is always a filthy place, without clean items prepared. If you don’t mind, please use my handkerchief for now."

Shen Yinning lowered her gaze to the hand he extended.

The man’s hand was accustomed to holding a brush; his fingers were long and jade-like, and the handkerchief he offered was clean and pure white.

She paused but didn’t take it.

She used her fingertips to wipe the blood droplets off her cheek and slowly smeared it onto Cui Ji’s thin lips.

She stared into Cui Ji’s eyes and smiled faintly: "I don’t just want Zhang Cuichun to confess; I want her to speak the truth about my father and brother’s rebellion years ago. Lord Cui, is it possible?"

The woman’s fingers were soft and slender, tenderly caressing Cui Ji’s lips over and over.

The faint fragrance of her skin pierced through the stench of blood, lingering lightly around Cui Ji’s nose.

Her scent pervaded each of his breaths, growing richer and warmer as it mingled with the charcoal heat, as if it had come alive and was drilling into every pore, igniting the ambition and desire he had buried deep within.

He wanted to possess the beauty before him.

No matter if she was already married, no matter if she’d become the Crown Prince’s Forbidden Fruit.

Cui Ji reached out his hand, gently smoothing the unruly strands of hair by Shen Yinning’s temple.

Their skin touched, burning hot.

His gaze darkened as it locked onto a crimson droplet of blood resting at the corner of her eye. Suddenly, he lowered his head, leaning in to kiss away that drop of blood with his lips.

The woman’s skin was as smooth and delicate as mutton-fat jade.

Cui Ji was intoxicated by the sensation, his eyes deepening as the taste lingered. His lips paused at the corner of her eye, then began probing further, aiming to kiss her lips—

But Shen Yinning pushed him away forcefully.

Cui Ji stumbled back two steps, holding his gaze on Shen Yinning’s eyes, a faint curve at the corner of his lips, his voice low and husky: "When the lady commands, who dares disobey?"

Shen Yinning raised her hand to where he had kissed her at the corner of her eye. Her phoenix-shaped eyes betrayed no emotion.

After a while, she grabbed the handkerchief from his hand, pressing it heavily against her eye corner, then tossed it to the ground by Cui Ji’s feet.

She let out a proud humph, donned her cloak and hood, and walked away with a lofty poise.

Cui Ji’s trusted attendant couldn’t suppress his anger: "What does Lady Shen mean by this?! She’s merely the daughter of a convicted traitor! Even if she’s been made the Crown Prince’s Forbidden Fruit hiding in the shadows, what gives her the right to look down on you?!"

Cui Ji leaned down and picked up the handkerchief.

That face, usually serene like fine rain over cold spring, was stripped of all calm, leaving only an almost deranged greed and possessiveness.

He deeply inhaled the scent on the handkerchief: "Without her, there is no such thing as Cui Ji today. If Cui Ji desires her, then she has the right to disdain me."

Just as the master and servant exchanged words, a prison guard rushed in frantically to report: "Lord Cui, bad news! Liu Lao Wu suddenly died in the cell!"

Liu Lao Wu was the crucial witness accusing Zhang Cuichun of murder. Cui Ji’s pulse quickened as he hurried to the adjacent cell to investigate.

After Cui Ji left, Zhang Cuichun, who had appeared unconscious, suddenly opened a slit in her eyes.

Blood blurred her pupils, and her withered lips curved into an exaggerated, sinister arc.

So, Sister Yinning hadn’t just married Gao Zheng; she had secretly seduced Cui Ji as well.

And shamelessly, she had even become the Crown Prince’s Forbidden Fruit.

"Your Highness..." she gasped weakly, mumbling deliriously, "You must hurry to get this old servant out of here. I have intelligence to report to you..."

Several shadows crept into the cell.

A page boy whispered, "Young Master, Cui Ji has already been lured away. We must act quickly."

Shen Xinghan stepped out of the shadows, removing the hood that obscured his face.

He gazed at Zhang Cuichun, chained to the interrogation frame, and idly stroked the dagger in his hand.

Truth be told, Zhang Cuichun was their family’s longest-serving servant.

She had nursed him, his second brother, and Xi’er as infants.

They were not ungrateful people. However, the situation was dire—should Zhang Cuichun confess, she could implicate them all.

And so, after discussing with his second brother and Xi’er, they’d concluded that it would be best to silence this old hag quickly and completely.

As he resolved to personally send Zhang Cuichun on her final journey, she suddenly thrashed about in excitement: "Is it Xinghan who’s here?! I think I smell that scent on you! I knew, I knew YOU and Her Highness would save me!"

She strained to open her eyes, but blood flowing down her forehead clung to her pupils, rendering her vision blurred. She could, however, faintly catch the scent of light bamboo ink.

She remembered this was the fragrance Shen Xinghan had preferred from boyhood. Whenever she sewed a sachet for him, she would spend her private savings to buy the spice and stitch it into the pouch.

On the prison walls, shadows flickered as Shen Xinghan raised his knife: "The old maid’s sense of smell remains impressive."

"Naturally!" Zhang Cuichun boasted, "When you were young, you hated celery the most. Those careless maids dared serve celery-filled dumplings to you, forcing them into your mouth. I smelled the celery from three paces away and punished those lazy maids severely!"

Shen Xinghan grew impatient with her reminiscing.

He was about to strike when Zhang Cuichun exclaimed eagerly: "Xinghan! Quickly take this old servant away! I want to meet Her Highness! Just now, I eavesdropped on Cui Ji and learned an earth-shattering secret about Sister Yinning—I must inform Her Highness at once!"