Chapter 572

Chapter 572 – The Pain from Back Then

The empress dowager had previously sounded out Ye Zhen. Back then, the little girl had given her a definitive answer— she didn’t like life in the palace. What she wanted was freedom. She really didn’t want to relive the days of loneliness, cooped up in a place, dreaming of a man’s love. She had had enough of such days.

Upon discovering that Ye Zhen still felt the same as before, the empress dowager was dumbfounded.

It seems like Yaoyao is yet to fall in love with the emperor. If so, what should Aijia make of his actions over the past few days?

“You—” The empress dowager looked at the little girl in shock. “Yaoyao, are you sure that your heart isn’t moved by His Majesty?”

Ye Zhen opened her mouth, wanting to affirm but realized she couldn’t say it with conviction. How could she not feel anything?

Mo Rongzhan had saved her on the hunting grounds, absolutely disregarding his safety. When she went missing, he personally went to look for her, even traveled to Zhao Jia Island to pick her up… Her heart wasn’t made of stone, however, these touching actions were not enough to make her give up everything else.

The empress dowager sighed. She had her share of experiences in her youth and had even tasted love before. However, she was sent to the palace before she could get engaged to the man she loved. The former emperor only loved her for her youthful beauty, while all she hoped was that he could protect her. As such, it couldn’t be said that they loved each other dearly. Over the past few decades, having witnessed a multitude of life and death—brutality and ruthlessness, happening right here in the imperial palace, she truly knew how precious a true heart could be.

The emperor was her son and growing up, all he had experienced was tyranny. As an empress dowager, she hoped that her son could be a good emperor, but as his mother, all she wished was that her son would experience the beauty of love.

She didn’t care if the Mo family would be blessed with descendants, or rule the world forever. All she wanted was for her sons to have a good life.

It was rare that Ah Zhan had fallen for someone, so naturally, as a mother, she was happy about it. At the very least… Her son wasn’t affected by his past and didn’t become as cold and heartless as the former emperor.

“Imperial Mother, I’m a princess now.” Ye Zhen couldn’t bear to see the empress dowager’s crestfallen expression, so she hugged her and rubbed her face against her shoulder.

“It’s precisely because you’re a princess that the emperor has done all those things. Yaoyao, Aijia has never seen… Hia Majesty put in so much thought towards any other young lady. You’re the first.” The empress dowager touched Ye Zhen’s sideburns. The first time she saw this young lady, she had felt that the latter resembled her late daughter-in-law. Perhaps, this was also a type of fate.

She genuinely liked Yaoyao, especially her pair of clear and innocent eyes that invoked a sense of extreme comfort in the onlooker. A person’s eyes could reflect one’s soul, so she believed that this little girl was a kind and beautiful woman inside too.

Ye Zhen lowered her head and smiled bitterly. The effort that Mo Rongzhan spent on her was something that she dreaded the most. “Imperial—”

“Do you know when the emperor first got married?” The empress dowager seemed to be lost in her memories as she gazed outside of the window. “That was the time when he was most depressed. Back then, even though he was already Qin Wang*, he was never favoured. Not only was he trampled upon by his brothers, but the ministers also didn’t respect him. Whenever he attended any banquet, he would be bullied. As if it wasn’t enough, he was even forced into marrying his wangfei. Aijia had never seen him cry, but on the day of his wedding, he cried in front of Aijia like a child. He was a noble prince, yet he had no say when it came to his marriage, and he was made to marry a woman he didn’t like… At that time, Aijia thought to myself, if one day, the emperor found someone he likes, Aijia would do whatever it takes to help him be with the woman he loves.”

(*秦王 prince of the first rank)

Ye Zhen was shocked by the words. She didn’t know that… Back then, Mo Rongzhan had been in so much pain when he married her…

Back then, she had been too immersed in her own joy that she failed to perceive the emotions of the man she married. She was elated upon finally marrying the man she loved, but how did Mo Rongzhan perceive their marriage? He was forced by the corrupt official Ye Yisong to marry a woman from the family of his enemy…

Was that why he was in so much anguish?

“Imperial Mother—” The rims of Ye Zhen’s eyes had turned red, she couldn’t find the words to console the empress dowager.

A faint smile appeared on the empress dowager’s face, as she continued on, oblivious to the girl’s distress, “After His Majesty got married, he went to the borders to fight the war. He left for two years, he had never ever seen Qin Wangfei before. Before you appeared, he didn’t even know… That his consort was a peerless beauty, and even more so, he didn’t know that his wangfei truly loved him.”

Ye Zhen lay gently on the empress dowager’s lap. “Imperial Mother, do you also hate Ye Zhen?”

“Why would Aijia hate her? She’s also a pitiful child.” The empress dowager sighed. “It’s just unfortunate that the emperor and she are an ill-fated pair.”

That’s right, they were truly an ill-fated pair… If they were truly fated, how could they have known each other from a long time ago yet never learn about each other’s true identities?

“Yaoyao, Aijia is saying so much just to tell you that the emperor treats you differently from other women.”

And he was determined to have her, so much so that even as his imperial mother, she was helpless against his will.

Ye Zhen lowered her head again. How was she going to explain the type of feelings she had for Mo Rongzhan? Who would empathize with her situation? Who would believe her saga?

“Your Imperial Highness, Miss Ye is seeking an audience.”

Just as Ye Zhen was feeling conflicted, a palace maid’s voice sounded from outside the room.

This was immediately followed by Aunt Cheng’s voice. “Miss Ye, Her Imperial Highness is having a chat with Her Highness, the princess.”

Miss Ye?

There was a glint in Ye Zhen’s eyes, and she smiled as she asked the empress dowager, “Imperial Mother, is Miss Ye… The lady who saved the emperor previously?”

The empress dowager nodded. She quickly suppressed the sorrow she was feeling, and replied, “Yes, that’s her. Aijia felt that she is a pitiful girl. She has been an orphan from a young age and lost her memories after being imprisoned for a few years, so I asked Imperial Physician Qi to treat her.”

“Oh.” The corners of Ye Zhen’s lips curled up into a smile. Did she really have amnesia, or was she faking it? This was probably another of Lu Lingzhi’s ploys.

“Let her in. You should take a look at her too,” the empress dowager said with a smile as she asked the people outside to allow the girl in.

Ye Yaoyao, who was waiting outside, was already planning to leave. However, when she heard that the empress dowager would see her, a joyful smile appeared on her face. At the same time, she was feeling a sense of trepidation at the thought of the renowned Princess Yaoyao being in the room too. For some reason, she became increasingly nervous.

Her hands were tightly wound together as she took small steps into the room. Her almond-shaped eyes housed a trembling gaze, and when she saw the lady standing beside the empress dowager, she was utterly dumbfounded.

Her beauty is unparalleled in this world; she’s a special existence who is born only once in a thousand years…

These were the only words that appeared in her mind. Lu Yaoyao was truly devastatingly beautiful. It turned out that the people were not simply flattering the princess when they said that she was beautiful. It turned out that… there was really someone who was more beautiful than she was.

“Yao’er, you’re here,” the empress dowager said with a welcoming smile on her face, jolting the dazed girl back to her senses.

Ye Yaoyao was embarrassed by her actions but quickly curtsied to the empress dowager. “This commoner greets Your Imperial Highness, also greets Your Highness the princess.”

She was surprised at her own behaviour; how could she be shocked simply by Lu Yaoyao’s beauty? Yet, she had never expected that Lu Yaoyao was even more stunning than she had imagined her to be.

The empress dowager smiled and said, “Rise, quickly. What flowers did you go and pick today?”

Ye Yaoyao brought the basket in her hand over to them. “I saw some wildflowers by the lake today, and thought that they looked fresh and pretty, so I plucked some and brought them over.”

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