Shen Yinning did not take it to heart and rose to leave directly.
Only then did Gao Zheng recount verbatim to Lu Ying the words he had overheard at the Shen Guogong Mansion that day.
— "Lu Ying, that hypocrite, always clings to appearances, pretending to be noble and upright. But in private, he does such despicable things—turning on his own brother and stealing another man's wife. Righteous or vile, in the end, he's nothing more than a stepping stone for my ascent."
— "Does Sister Shen dislike my imperial brother?"
— "Dislike? On the contrary, I like him. I like him for his status as the Crown Prince, for the power he holds, for the way he humiliates me time and again but still can't seem to let go of me."
