Chapter 147: The Crown Prince's Visit

The moment the tent flap was lifted, Shen Zhao instinctively sprang up from her bed. Before she could see who had entered, the sudden movement and her excessive blood loss caused her to fall backward onto the bed. In an instant, the world spun wildly, and the bed beneath her seemed to whirl in circles.

Damn it, no one was to stop her—she needed to replenish her blood.

If she had been attacked at this moment, she probably would have died without a chance. If news spread that a commander fell due to blood loss during an assassination, it would become a laughingstock—a true disgrace. From then on, the world would have one more legend: a general who was shamefully killed because of excessive blood loss!

“Brother Crown Prince, you smell awful!”

Still dizzy and lying on the bed, Shen Zhao’s expression darkened at the words. She was already feeling nauseous enough. What were Shen Qianmeng and the Crown Prince doing in the camp? Were they here just to disgust her even more? Smelly? Had Shen Qianmeng lost her sense of smell? Aside from a faint metallic scent of blood, there was nothing foul in the tent. It was just her usual pretentiousness, irritating to no end.

“Yanran, you must not be rude,” came the cold, serene voice of the Crown Prince.

If one only listened to the voice, they might think this man was aloof and noble, indifferent to worldly matters. But Shen Zhao curled her lips—he was not just a voice; she knew the man. Crown Prince Li Yu was sly and treacherous, always fond of stabbing people in the back. He probably didn’t care if he ended up cursed in future generations.

A man should not do too many immoral things. The Crown Prince had been married to the Crown Princess for five years, yet she had not borne a single child. Among his five concubines and consorts, none had given birth either. It was unlikely the Crown Prince had been poisoned with infertility drugs; it was more plausible that his immoral behavior had cost him any chance of offspring.

Shen Zhao spoke calmly, “Your Highness, I pay my respects, but I beg your forgiveness, for I am too weak to rise and salute you properly. I am unable to stand at the moment and can only greet you thus.”

She was politely dismissing him, and the Crown Prince was clever enough to understand.

Chu Mu and the Crown Prince were not friends but enemies. The Crown Prince was not supposed to be in the eastern palace brooding; why had he come to her camp in the capital—and brought that insufferable woman with him?

“What kind of attitude is this, Chu Mu? Brother Crown Prince has kindly come to see you, and this is how you treat him? As long as you are alive and able to move, you must rise and pay proper respect to your lord. Truly, you are a stinking bug crawling out of a gutter, knowing no manners.”

Shen Qianmeng had always looked down on Chu Mu, even though he was a commander in his own right. To her, he was nothing but a lowly soldier with no family background, no status, no wealth—nothing. Only her foolish older sister could be enamored with such a man.

Hearing this, Shen Zhao wanted nothing more than to tear Shen Qianmeng’s foul mouth apart. The Crown Prince’s visit was certainly not benevolent. If she could stand, would she be lying here so humiliated?

“Enough, Yanran. General Chu is unwell; as Crown Prince, it is my duty to show compassion for my subordinate.”

Ha! The two of them in cahoots were definitely here to disgust her.

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness. May I ask if your sudden visit to the camp is on the Emperor’s orders?” Her words were clear: Did the Emperor know you came to see me?

The Emperor was a man who, when it suited him, would not hesitate to show his hand. Turning trivial matters into imperial commands was a skill of its own.

“It is indeed the Emperor’s order that I come to check on you. Seeing your condition, I must ask: in recent days, have you come into contact with any suspicious individuals?” Crown Prince Li Yu approached Shen Zhao.

Chu Mu lay down while he stood, making him feel as though he were subordinate, awaiting reprimand. It was an unpleasant sensation.

Li Yu sat heavily on the large bed—there was plenty of room for one more. Sitting down like this, with Chu Mu lying and him sitting, he could look down on Chu Mu and Chu Mu would have to look up. That was the proper dynamic.

Shen Zhao’s face darkened instantly. What was this man trying to do? Sitting on her bed—did the Crown Prince have some secret preference, perhaps of an unspeakable nature?

She gathered all her strength and slid aside, putting distance between herself and the Crown Prince.

What surprised her most was that the old Emperor would send the Crown Prince to check on her. She was truly flattered.

Since he asked, she would speak freely and fully.

“There is indeed one suspicious person I have been in contact with recently.”

The Crown Prince’s expression shifted slightly. “Who? Does General Chu know this person’s identity?”

“Chen Baoyi, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of the Protectorate. It was because I saved her today that I suddenly fell unconscious.” She had already begun to suspect the truth.

Her fainting was not due to poisoning but because of changes in her and Chu Mu’s bodies. Yet if she could drag Chen Dingtian—the old scoundrel who harmed her father and brothers—into this mess, she was more than willing.

The old Emperor feared not Chen Dingtian but the old warrior at the frontier who was quietly assuming the posture of an independent king. This time, she intended to make Chen Dingtian another thorn in the Emperor’s side.

The Crown Prince’s eyes darkened, uncertain and veiled.

“I understand. I will surely report this matter truthfully to Father.”

“So, Brother Crown Prince, now that the matter is clear, let us leave this foul place quickly,” Shen Qianmeng said, covering her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief.

She had bumped into the Crown Prince on the street outside the camp and hadn’t seen him for a long time. Shamelessly, she had climbed into his carriage and come to the camp with him. If she had known the place was so filthy and stinky, she wouldn’t have gotten out.

The Crown Prince still wore a gentle smile, but his gaze toward Shen Qianmeng held a faint impatience.

From her vantage point, Shen Zhao saw that impatience clearly—it was the man Shen Qianmeng longed for.

Because of this man’s impatience with her, her father and brothers were exiled, and the Shen family was torn apart.

“Yanran, General Chu is your brother-in-law after all. I will allow you this once, but next time, you must not be disrespectful to him. Do you understand?” If she were not Chu Mu’s sister-in-law, he would never have let her climb into his carriage so easily.

He had hoped to ease the tension between Chu Mu and himself, but Shen Qianmeng was so clueless, lacking even the basic skill of reading a room. Had she not noticed his changed attitude toward Chu Mu? Yet she still dreamed of entering the Crown Prince’s household.

His household never kept idle people. Even a concubine had to possess exceptional skills, not be a foolish woman like Shen Qianmeng.

“Yanran understands. Brother Crown Prince, please do not be angry with Yanran.” It was all that stinking soldier Chu Mu’s fault. At his age, he couldn’t even protect himself and had been poisoned. If he had not been poisoned, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have come to see him, and she wouldn’t have been scolded by the Crown Prince.

Shen Qianmeng glared resentfully at Shen Zhao lying on the bed.

When she had dragged that barren woman from the position of Crown Princess and became the Crown Princess herself, she would make Chu Mu and Shen Zhao pay dearly.

Facing Shen Qianmeng’s inexplicable hostility, Shen Zhao’s mind was as clear as a mirror. She knew this fool was blaming her for everything again.

How could they share the same blood? Such stupidity, being used and sold out, and still counting other people’s money—there was no way she was her biological sister.

Suddenly, a thought struck Shen Zhao sharply. Could it be as she suspected?