Chapter 81 – Meeting (2)

A tremendous regret in her heart, Ye Zhen wished she left much earlier!

She got off her horse and stood directly behind Tang Zhen, hoping that the emperor would pay no heed to them.

Most importantly, she hoped that Mo Rongzhan won’t recognize her as the one who kicked him in the hot spring pool the other night!

Mo Rongzhan was behind the first line of imperial guards. He looked tall and handsome in his black gold-embroidered riding suit. His face was as usual, indifferent and cold.

His dark and deep eyes did not see Ye Zhen at first. Instead, he only noticed Tang Zhen standing by the roadside.

His eyebrows slightly shot up, Tang Zhen was supposed to investigate Lu Lingzhi’s accident, what was he doing outside the villa?

He stopped in front of him but was surprised by a glimpse of the woman standing behind him with her head down. She wore a simple pink tightly-fitting sleeved gown, her skirt was flared just enough for her to move with ease.

With her head bowed down, at an odd angle, he could only see her slender white neck exposed.

“I pay my respects to the emperor.” Tang Zhen knelt down on one knee, leaving Ye Zhen in full view behind him!

She trembled visibly, and ineptly knelt down beside Tang Zhen as well, her eyes shut to not see the man on horseback.

This was because, without a doubt, the hatred in her eyes would show the moment she opened it…

“Get up, why are you here?” Mo Rongzhan’s asked in his deep voice while his searing eyes were fixed on Ye Zhen.

The woman, he realized, looked familiar, very much like the woman he saw by the hot spring pool that night.

Tang Zhen gave a faltering smile. “To answer his majesty, standing before him is the third miss of the Lu family, who upon knowing that her eldest brother was injured, came to pay him a visit. Her mother decided to stay in the villa to take care of a.s.sistant minister Lu Lingzhi.”

Ye Zhen’s heartbeat quickened, she felt like at any moment it would jump out of her chest!

This was the first time that she faced Mo Rongzhan at this close range since her rebirth. She was not prepared at all.

Mo Rongzhan’s narrow phoenix-like eyes squinted slightly towards her.

“Third miss from the Lu family?”

Instead of looking up and greeting the emperor, Ye Zhen bowed her head lower, pretending to be timid and afraid.

Tang Zhen at this time also felt troubled, he knew how attractive she was… What if the emperor wanted to put her in the palace?

This was one of those moments where he felt fear in front of the emperor. If Mo Rongzhan becomes interested with the woman he likes, there was literally nothing he could do but watch her live inside the palace…

Without a moment’s delay, he slightly s.h.i.+fted his body on one side, blocking half of Ye Zhen’s body from Mo Rongzhan’s view. He looked up and smiled anxiously at Mo Rongzhan’s imposing figure.

“Your Majesty, third miss Lu had just returned from the border town. She is inevitably timid in the presence of his majesty. Please don’t take offense.”

Aware of what he was doing, Mo Rongzhan’s eyebrow slightly raised, finding it ridiculous that Tang Zhen believed that blocking the third miss Lu from his gaze would hinder something.

In the eyes of these officials, will he still be taken by beauty? Even if miss Lu is very beautiful, she was still surnamed Lu, he couldn’t afford to have another Lu in the imperial palace.

“How is Lu Lingzhi?” he asked casually. When he was hunting, he heard about the accident — Lu Xiangzhi’s brother suddenly lost control of his riding horse.

He intuitively thought that someone had made a move on the horse. As for how he did it, he had to have someone investigate it.

It took Tang Zhen a second or two to realize that the emperor asked him of Lu Lingzhi, veering their conversation away from the woman behind her.

“Back to the emperor, the imperial doctor had checked on him. He has a terrible fracture in his leg and needs to stay in bed.”

Mo Rongzhan frowned slightly. “I see.”

Casting a final glance towards the woman who had been hanging her head in silence, Mo Rongzhan noticed how tense her slender figure appeared to be. She seemed to really fear him.

On that night, Mo Rongzhan felt sure that she didn’t know he was the emperor or why else would he kick him? Her timid disposition now was only because she was already aware of the ident.i.ty of his ident.i.ty.

“Go ahead.” Mo Rongzhan had lost interest on when the miss would lift her head, pulled the reins of the horse between his legs, leading it towards the now wide-open gates of the villa.

As soon as the emperor pa.s.sed them, Ye Zhen shoulders loosened, then she promptly mounted her horse and galloped without notice, ignoring Tang Zhen who was following behind her.

“Yao Yao, wait for me!” Tang Zhen shouted.

Mo Rongzhan who had come inside the villa suddenly tightened his hold to the reins…

With his sharp gaze, he looked back at the disappearing figures outside…

Yao Yao?

He heard Tang Zhen yell this very familiar name…