CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 363: CUI JI, I’M A BIT COLD

Shen Yan deeply despised Shen Zhi.

As the eldest son, Shen Zhi always wore a facade of hypocrisy since childhood, frequently asking how his studies were going, or how his archery and horse-riding were progressing. He would even gift him old books and bows and insist on personally teaching him swordsmanship and horse-riding.

But he was also a son of the Duke Mansion; why should he use Shen Zhi’s old things!

His maid told him that Shen Zhi wasn’t caring for his brother; beneath his facade of brotherly love, he hid a sense of superiority.

He believed what the maid said was true.

If Shen Zhi truly cared for him as a brother, he should have shared his military honors with him and allowed him to inherit the Lord’s title instead of speaking false words of concern that anyone could say.

He wasn’t as skilled as Shen Zhi in strategy, archery, or Kung Fu; thus, he poured all his effort into studying.

He achieved academic success without the family’s backing, step by step entering the Court as an official. Even Shen Zhi looked upon him in a new light, boasting to others about having a studious younger brother, and everyone in the Capital respectfully addressed him as Young Master Shen.

Yet, despite these achievements, his father still looked down on him.

His father said he had an improper mind and would not go far, claiming that only Shen Zhi could bear the family’s responsibility.

He would not resign to this.

The maid said if it weren’t for Cheng Hui and Shen Zhi, his father would not have treated him so harshly, and originally, they were a happy family of three, ruined by the existence of Cheng Hui and Shen Zhi.

He hated Shen Zhi to death.

He originally thought he would never surpass Shen Zhi in this life, but Han’er’s words changed his mind.

Han’er said:

—— Father and I are both outstanding, no less than uncle and cousin. The Duke Mansion should be ours, so why let them stand over us? Once they’re dead, the little maid Yinning poses no threat, and the entire Duke Mansion will be ours.

An idea buried deep within took root and wildly grew like weeds.

For the first time, he had the idea of plotting against Shen Zhi and his father.

The framing and betrayal that followed occurred naturally...

The night wind was chilly.

The guards pressed Shen Yan to kneel in front of the ancestral hall, forcing his head to bow hard against the memorial tablets.

Shen Yan shouted defiantly: "Yinning, you and your father and brother cannot defeat me, so you use despicable means to harm me! You, a mere woman, instead of thinking about marriage and children, dare to usurp and kidnap your uncle, bringing shame to your father and brother!"

The guards, annoyed, pressed his head even harder, making the stone ground echo with loud thuds.

In just a short moment, Shen Yan’s forehead was bruised and bloodied, staining the stone with a dark red patch of blood.

"Shame me?" Shen Yinning sneered, pressing her foot on the back of his head, forcing it to the ground, "You, who plotted against your brother, are the real shame!"

Being stepped on by a woman...

Shen Yan had never been so humiliated, yet he was held down tight by the guards, unable to struggle free!

He trembled with rage: "Shen Yinning, have you gone mad, you little bitch? I am your uncle!"

Shen Yinning’s eyes were cold, her lips curving upward: "What uncle? I only know you killed my father and brother. Murderers deserve death; if King Yan won’t take you, I’ll personally send you to hell! Cui Ji!"

Cui Ji understood and immediately blew a whistle.

Several wolf dogs raised in the Shen Garden charged forward.

The leader was a wolfhound Luo Xibai had gifted to Shen Yinning in Jiangnan.

In just a few short months, the wolf pup had grown tall and fierce, pure white with no blemish, eyes cold as knives, leading several similarly formidable wolf dogs rushing through the night.

Shen Yinning and the guards stepped aside.

The wolfdogs swarmed in, mercilessly biting at Shen Yan.

Shen Yan’s eyes widened in shock.

He never imagined Shen Yinning would dare to kill him!

He was, after all, the current Lord!

"Get away! Move!"

He rolled on the ground struggling, trying to fend off the wolf dogs.

But he was no match for them; his fat body became the best prey in their eyes.

Their teeth flashed, drool dripping as they relentlessly tore at his flesh.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Shen Yan screamed in agony.

Soon, his arms and legs laid bare the stark white of bone, and even his stomach and organs were gnawed at by the wolf dogs.

As he lay in a pool of blood, his voice weakened: "Yinning, you...you think your father and brother’s deaths were all my doing? Do you not realize, merely hiding a dragon robe and some treasonous letters in your father’s study wouldn’t convince the Ministry of Justice to convict him?"

Shen Yinning remained expressionless.

Shen Yan barely opened his bloodied eyes, staring fixedly at Shen Yinning, laughing hoarsely: "It’s all because of you, all because of you. The one in the palace indulged my plot against your father and brother! Yinning, their deaths were spurred by him behind the scenes! I only wanted the Lord’s position; I never intended to kill your whole family. If you must blame...blame the heartless, suspicious one in the palace!"

He used the last of his strength, his voice breaking as he shouted these words.

As the last word escaped, a wolf dog viciously snapped his throat.

Blood splattered, and chaos stained the ground before the ancestral hall.

Shen Yan’s body lay, half flesh, half bone, eyes staring as the fierce dogs feasted upon him.

Cui Ji: "What did he mean?"

Shen Yinning stood unmoved, recalling similar words spoken by Nanny Zhang before she died.

Nanny Zhang said she caused her father and brother’s deaths.

The metallic stench of blood filled the air.

Staring at Shen Yan’s corpse, Shen Yinning’s hands trembled slightly at her side, her little finger twitching as if in spasm.

Could there truly be another truth behind her father and brother’s deaths?

But back then, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl, knowing only of indulgence daily.

How could she have become the reason the Holy Emperor feared her father and brother?

The wind carried dampness, with a downpour arriving by the latter half of the night.

Shen Yinning whispered: "Cui Ji, I feel cold."

Cui Ji draped a cloak over her shoulders and took an umbrella a guard handed him, "Commandery Princess, your clothes are bloodied, best bathe and change. As for Shen Yan...cut off his head, place it on the altar to commemorate your father and mother."

He took Shen Yinning’s hand, leading her to the pavilion next door.

From a distant high tower.

Lu Ying watched Shen Yinning be obediently led away by Cui Ji.

Cui Ji must have visited the Shen Garden many times, knowing his way around, even the young maids took his instructions warmly, preparing a bath, screen, and hot water.

The pavilion’s lattice window was ajar.

Lu Ying clearly saw Cui Ji personally helping Shen Yinning into the bath, gathering her long hair with a hairpin.

Noticing the window wasn’t shut, Cui Ji walked over, glanced in his direction as if sensing, then frowned and immediately closed the window.

Lu Ying’s thin lips tightened.

He knew all too well what was about to transpire inside the pavilion.