Chapter 230 – The Marquis’ Advise (1)
After she had given Lu Fang the rose water, Ye Zhen did not immediately return to the academy. Rather, she instructed Dai Mei to watch over the second miss. Once news of her second sister visiting Liu s.h.i.+ with to bottles of rose water reached her ears, she broke into a leisurely smile.
“All right, I have to go.” Ye Zhen chirped looking at her brother.
Lu Xiangzhi wanted to send her off to the academy but flatly refused.
“Elder Brother, I’m not a child. Don’t you have Quan Fu to send me?” Ye Zhen said with a smile, pushed Lu Xiangzhi back, and continued, “You better return and read your books. Did Master Xu not give you a lot of homework?”
Lu Xiangzhi smiled at how much his sister had changed. Inwardly, he was prouder than ever. “Well, then, be careful.”
Ye Zhen waved goodbye and got on the carriage. A lot had happened these last few days, she needed time to settle her emotions. If only they were that easy to settle.
Trying to take her mind off things, she looked through the window. Glimpsing the mesmerizing scene of a sea of people bustling on the streets, inexplicably her chest tightened. As she placed her hand on her heart in a bid to soothe its rapid beating, a thought inadvertently surfaced in her mind.
She was once Ye Zhen, the n.o.blest woman in this capital. These were the very people who had admired and looked up to her. Then, she had died but given a second chance. Not just that, she was reborn two years back in time even. Such a phenomenon was beyond all imagination not to mention logic. She would herself have not believed it had she not been the recipient. How then would she explain, let alone convince the people of Jinkou City? What method would she have to use to prove that she, Ye Zhen, is now reborn as her twin- Yaoyao. Bizarre as it was, she couldn’t begin to imagine the repercussions it would have. How would people react? How would it affect them? Would it even matter…?
She sighed. Although this was a huge problem, it was one whose time had yet to arrive. She was getting ahead of herself. Right now, her focus should be elsewhere. In order to take the big leap later, she had to ensure her foundation was strong. And for that, she needed her father’s confidants.
If she could convince those confidants in Jinkou City, then she could start to do what she wanted to do. But all this needed time. And unfortunately, it was the very thing she was lacking.
As much as she wanted to head to Qianjin right now and get things started, she knew better. Going there and back to the academy, demanded a lot of time. Plus, the matter she wanted to deal with was not something to be finished in a jiffy. So right now, the best recourse was to put this on hold until she had the opportunity to sneak out again.
*
Arriving at the academy, Ye Zhen saw a carriage outside the gate. She wondered who was still outside the academy at this time. When she was about to enter the gate, she was stopped by a voice.
“Yaoyao.”
Tang Zhen had been waiting for about half an hour now, and finally, the purpose of his visit had arrived. His tall and upright figure soon stepped emerged through the carriage.
“Marquis Tang?” Ye Zhen looked at him in surprise.
What is Tang Zhen doing here?
There are times when the body reacts faster than the mind. And one such time was now.
A pair of burning orbs fixated on the beautiful young lady standing by the gate. It was only natural for they hadn’t glimpsed this beauty for a long time now. While the heart raced, the mind slowly regained its senses.
As if it seemed she felt touched by his visit, he smiled. “Did I surprise you?”
“Have you come to see me?” Ye Zhen asked, puzzled as to why Tang Zhen thought so.
“Yaoyao, I have something to ask you,” Tang Zhen said in a low voice.
The last time the two had met, it had ended with a heated argument. Ye Zhen had lost her cool and reprimanded Tang Zhen for his prejudice about the late w.a.n.g fei. After that, the two had not had a single opportunity to happen upon each other.
Needless to say, Ye Zhen had reined in her emotions, except for the time before Mo Rongzhan, she was resolving to hold her cool. Besides, there was no point in developing animosity with the man before her. He was after all an influential personage.
Ye Zhen took a look at him, turned her head, and said to Quan Fu, “You can go now. We have already arrived at the academy.”
A reluctant Quan Fu looked at Tang Zhen. “Third Miss, I shall leave later.”
“All right.” Ye Zhen knew that he was just worried, not knowing why Tang Zhen came to see her. She smiled and stepped aside to talk with Tang Zhen, she somehow had and inclination as to why he was here.
“Marquis Tang, you’ve come to see me here at the academy at this time. What is the matter?” Still smiling, Ye Zhen asked.
“It’s nothing serious. Do not worry,” Tang Zhen said hastily, looking at her jade-like face with eyes downcast.
There was a moment of silence, before the man, taking a deep breath spoke. “Yaoyao, what you said to me last time about the Ye Family… Did you say anything about it elsewhere?”
Indeed as expected it really is related to the Ye Family! Did Mo Rongzhan order Tang Zhen to investigate me?
“Why do you ask?” Ye Zhen frowned and asked lightly.
“In that case, you can only talk about it in front of me in the future. Do not talk about the matter just about anywhere. What if someone hears you? If anyone out there wishes to bring you trouble, you could be punished when they spin a tale.” Tang Zhen concernedly warned in a low voice.
Ye Zhen looked at him coldly. “Do you mean even if everyone in the Ye Family is dead, others still cannot mention them? How heinous are they to get those who mention them punished?”