Chapter 119

Chapter 119 – Audiences Of Great Import

Prancing over the last fence, Ye Zhen showed a brilliant smile. She gasped for breath, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her bright white forehead. While dismounting her horse, she bowed to the examiner.

“Your name is Lu Yaoyao?”

The examiner was a middle-aged man, with a big and tall figure and a pair of bright eyes looking at Ye Zhen with wonder.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me? 

The woman looked too much like the student he knew before! She didn’t only look the same, but she also possessed the same exquisite equestrian skills.

Ye Zhen looked up at him. “Yes, Sir.”

The Lu Family! 

Jiang Haishan sighed softly in his heart; it would be impossible for her to have anything to do with his former student. Unexpectedly, people in this world could possibly be so similar.

“Who taught you equestrian skills?” he asked once again.

Ye Zhen then replied accordingly. “I used to live in the border town and went hunting with my brother. I learned to ride a horse before I knew it.”

She grew up in a border town! 

Jiang Haishan nodded and returned the test card to Ye Zhen.

“Here you are.”

Ye Zhen took it with both hands and saw that the annotation under the riding skill was A.

The corners of her mouth slightly raised. “Thank you, Sir.”

Not far from where she stood, Princess Liu Hua stared at her gloomily. Even as a woman, she had to admit that Ye Zhen looked really dazzling on horseback. It was also because of this truth that she felt even more annoyed with her.

Ah! She wanted to crush her into pieces.

“Even if she gets an A, there are still several exams she has to take.” A girl in yellow robes flattered the princess.

Exactly! Princess Liu Hua mumbled softly and walked over to Ye Zhen.

At that time, Ye Zhen was talking to Sun Wen who was in a slight daze.

“It’s your turn, you must go!” She pushed her out of her trance.

Finally, Sun Wen recovered from her astonishment and cried. “Yaoyao, you were so good! I have never seen a woman who looked as good as you on horseback!”

“When people are good-looking, they look good in everything they do,” Ye Zhen said smilingly.

Deep inside her, she found it really nice to not have to put on a dignified and generous stand as the wang fei. In the eyes of many, she was just a little turtle from the border town, thus, she could say whatever she wanted.

“What a shame!”

Princess Liu Hua just heard her when she came. Ye Zhen then faced her, smiling innocently.

“Doesn’t the princess agree? It’s only true! Only those who look good know about such things.”

The implication of her words was that Princess Liu Hua did not look good, so she didn’t understand this ‘artistic’ concept.

Everyone around them laughed, as everyone in the capital knew that the princess hated people who said that she was not at all good-looking.

She would fight with the previous wang fei all day long. Unfortunately, Wang Fei Ye did not even notice her. Now, even Lu Yaoyao, a miss who ranked beneath her, dared to mock her in front of everyone.

She pointed at Ye Zhen, her face blue with anger but she couldn’t think of a smarter response.

Ye Zhen brushed past her and said to Sun Wen, “Go take the exam, I’ll wait for you here.”

When Sun Wen entered the racetrack, Ye Zhen waited quietly, ignoring the flashy glare from the then quiet princess.

Suddenly, she felt that the atmosphere around her seemed delicate. Except for Ye Zhen, who was still as proud as a peacock’s train and had no expression, all the other girls became gentler and melted in an instant.

Ye Zhen looked back and immediately noticed the girls hiding their faces behind their handkerchiefs.

Mo Rongyi came over on horseback, followed by two teenagers about his age and the charming marquis–Tang Zhen.

Lu Lingzhi did not follow them. His foot injury hadn’t healed enough to ride a horse. He would not have come out if he hadn’t been bored at home for more than half a month.

Tang Zhen looked only at Ye Zhen among the sea of faces. Their gazes met– one with indifferent eyes, the other with utter admiration. Nonetheless, Ye Zhen gave a subtle nod at which the marquis returned.

“Hey you, come here.” Mo Rongyi, the young, handsome, and immature prince pointed at Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen frowned slightly and hesitated before walking past the women.

“Do you still remember me?” Mo Rongyi looked at the woman who had saved him that day and thought that this woman was Lu Lingzhi’s sister. No wonder she didn’t want his gold that day. His young mind told him that she definitely wanted greater benefits!

“Your Highness, it is not easy to forget you even if this miss wanted to.” Ye Zhen gave a salute and looked at Mo Rongyi with a smile.

Mo Rongyi’s face sank. “You have a lot of courage. You are not afraid of the emperor’s punishment, even telling me that you are a woman from an ordinary family!”

Ye Zhen said in a low voice, “Your Highness, please forgive me for my wrong. Truth is, I hardly see myself as a noblewoman.”

“How can you be so glib! Wang Fei Lu is dignified and gentle, but she has such a shrewd sister.” Mo Rongyi was irked, pouting his lips and folding his chubby arms.

“Replying to the imperial prince, this miss has lived in the border town since I was a child. I have been used to being wild since young. If I have erred, I ask His Highness for forgiveness.”

Ye Zhen was displeased, she didn’t want to be compared with Lu Wushuang at all!

Tang Zhen coughed softly. As the moment passed, he became more uneasy that the little prince would quarrel with Ye Zhen here.

“Your Highness, there are many eyes watching her. Don’t dispute with Miss Lu, she is still taking an exam.”

“How many A’s have you got?” Mo Rongyi thought that this woman had saved his life and did not want to continue making things difficult for her, so he changed the subject.

Ye Zhen held out a finger. “One!”

Mo Rongyi chuckled. “I didn’t think you are stupid, why did you get only one A?”

“My A the prince is referring to was the first I earned after taking only two exams.”

“…”

The crowd was speechless, is an A that easy to take?

Sun Wen also finished the examination soon. Unfortunately, no one noticed her equestrian skills except the examiner. Although she was not as good as Ye Zhen, she was also superb and bagged an A.

Without further ado, the two proceeded to the archery exam which took place on the same ground as the equestrian examination.

Ye Zhen won Tang Zhen’s silver whip, so it was easy for her to get her another A. When Ye Zhen’s third arrow hit the red heart, everyone froze.

“It turns out that her archery is so good!” exclaimed Mo Rongyi, his reddened cheeks puffing out as he smiled cheekily.

“The little prince does not know? Third Miss Lu competed with this Marquis Tang and won his silver whip!” Hu Kai, a young man beside the marquis, said excitedly.

He was also present at the last hunt and was Tang Zhen’s good friend.

Mo Rongyi looked at Tang Zhen in surprise. “Really?”

“I did lose to Miss Lu when I competed with her in hunting.” Tang Zhen gazed at Ye Zhen with burning eyes.

Ye Zhen ignored their comments. After retrieving her test card, she smiled with the satisfaction of having another A.

Now, she had only to nail one more exam. Furthermore, there was still music, calligraphy, and arithmetic exam she needed to take. In her original body, she was best at calligraphy, but obviously this wasn’t the case for Lu Yaoyao.

Lu Yaoyao’s handwriting was not good at all. If she were to suddenly write a good hand and poetic words, she would arouse suspicions.

“Let’s go take the calligraphy examination next,” Ye Zhen said to Sun Wen.

Sun Wen, who had also gained two A’s, happily left with Ye Zhen.

When Mo Rongyi saw Ye Zhen leave, he turned to Tang Zhen and said, “This prince won’t go hunting today. I will just wait here and see how many A’s Miss Lu will score. But before anything else, this prince will bet 1,200 taels that she will succeed in entering the academy!”