Chapter 573

Chapter 573 – The Flowers are Poisonous

Ye Zhen finally got to meet Ye Yaoyao, the pawn that Lu Lingzhi had hidden from view for probably a long time.

True enough, she was a beauty that put flowers to shame, like a lotus that had just emerged from the water. With her outstanding beauty, it was no wonder Mo Rongzhan’s heart had been moved, and he thought that she was truly his saviour from when he was young. Even if she wasn’t his saviour, with her beauty, it would also be a pleasant thing to keep her in the palace and pamper her.

Would Mo Rongzahn really be unmoved by someone this beautiful? Did he really not want to bring Ye Yaoyao into the palace? Ye Zhen was feeling doubtful.

“…These wildflowers really look quite attractive.” The empress dowager looked at the wildflowers in Ye Yaoyao’s basket and nodded, looking pleased.

At those words, Ye Zhen shifted her gaze to the said flowers, then heard Ye Yaoyao reply gently, “Your Imperial Highness, this commoner will place the flowers into a vase.”

Ye Zhen didn’t stop Ye Yaoyao, but whispered softly to the empress dowager, “Imperial Mother, I’ve brought you two pots of king chrysanthemums. These wildflowers might look nice, but it’s actually the best time to admire the chrysanthemums.”

“Aijia forgot that it’s the blooming season of chrysanthemums now! Have the servants bring the king chrysanthemums that you brought in and let me admire them,” the empress dowager immediately said, her interest in Ye Yaoyao’s wildflowers completely dissipated.

Ye Yaoyao was stunned. She looked at Ye Zhen and wondered, could it be that the princess doesn’t like me? Why else would she say this to my face?

Aunt Cheng had someone to bring the king chrysanthemums over, which instantly outshone Ye Yaoyao’s wildflowers.

“Will there still be a Flower Appreciation Festival at the Baihua Garden this year?” the empress dowager smiled and asked. “Aijia isn’t in the capital, so I don’t know who is organising this year’s Flower Appreciation Festival.”

Ye Zhen replied with a smile, “I think it’s the Chen family.”

“That sounds about right,” the empress dowager nodded. As she suddenly recalled that her younger son had also come to Chengde Mountain Villa, she asked, “Where is Ah Yi? Wasn’t he coming here to pay his respects to Aijia? Where did he run off to again?”

Aunt Cheng smiled and reported, “The young prince had come by just now, but when he heard that you were taking your afternoon nap, he said he would go to the mountain to hunt.”

The empress dowager frowned. “He really can’t sit still, this child. Is he forcing Aijia to send him back to the palace?”

Ye Zhen knew that the empress dowager must have recalled what happened in their previous hunting trip. “Imperial Mother, let me go and look for Ah Yi.”

The empress dowager grabbed her arm and quickly said, “Bring a few more men along,”

“Yes, Imperial Mother.” Ye Zhen blinked, then added, “Just wait for us to come back with some game, and we’ll grill them later.”

The empress dowager laughed. “Go on.”

Ye Yaoyao was dumbly watching them from the side. She didn’t know how to interrupt the conversation. The empress dowager and Lu Yaoyao really looked like a pair of mother and daughter. She felt envious, and yet another unfamiliar feeling surged from the bottom of her heart.

She had heard that Lu Yaoyao was not of noble birth, and the Lu family used to be merchants. In contrast, she had been held captive by the very Lu family for so many years. How could Lu Yaoyao act so freely in front of the empress dowager, as though she thought of herself as a real princess? As for her, even though she had the favour of the empress dowager, she always acted carefully in front of the latter and was always worried that she might make mistakes. In the past, she didn’t think that she was any different from Lu Yaoyao, and it was only now that she understood the distance between them.

“Miss Ye, do you want to come along?” Ye Zhen had just taken a few steps before she turned and said with a smile.

Ye Yaoyao’s interest was piqued. She really wanted to know what type of abilities Lu Yaoyao had to make both the empress dowager and the emperor favour her so much. “Sure.”

“Yaoyao, Yao’er doesn’t know how to ride a horse,” the empress dowager said helplessly.

“Your Imperial Highness, this commoner will just slowly ride. Recently… Of late, I’ve also been learning how to ride,” Ye Yaoyao reported shyly.

That was something that the empress dowager didn’t expect. She smiled and said, “Go ahead then.”

Ye Zhen and Ye Yaoyao walked out together. Yu Ping and Chun Mei were already waiting for their respective masters, and the moment they saw them, they went up quickly to greet them.

“Miss, why did you bring these flowers out? Didn’t Her Imperial Highness like them? It wasn’t easy for you to pick them,” Chen Mei asked in surprise when she saw the basket in Ye Yaoyao’s hand.

“Oh, today… Today, the empress dowager fancied other flowers,” Ye Yaoyao said, her face flushed in embarrassment.

Chun Mei recalled the two pots of chrysanthemums that she had seen Aunt Cheng getting the servants to send in. She secretly took a peek at Ye Zhen, then whispered, “Miss, let his servant place the flowers in your room then.”

Originally, Ye Zhen wasn’t planning to say much, but when she heard the maid’s words, she felt that it would not be good if she didn’t say anything. “Miss Ye, these flowers are known as oleanders*. They’re poisonous, so it’s best to just look at them from afar. It might be unsuitable to place them in the room, or to play with them.”

(*It is true that these pretty flowers are poisonous:)

“They’re poisonous?” Ye Yaoyao’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at the fresh and colourful flowers in the basket in disbelief. “How… How is this possible?”

“It’s very possible. You shouldn’t just recklessly pick any flowers by the road.” Ye Zhen smiled faintly as she saw the maid throw away the basket in her hand. “There’s no need to be so terrified. So long as you don’t accidentally ingest it, you won’t be poisoned.”

Ye Yaoyao was embarrassed. It turned out that Lu Yaoyao had been helping her back then, preventing her from making a terrible mistake, and not intentionally going against her. “Your Highness, I have to thank you for what happened back there. Otherwise… Otherwise, I’d probably have committed a heinous crime.”

“It’s not a big deal. If you don’t mind, can you give these flowers to me?” Ye Zhen smiled and asked. “Even though these flowers are poisonous, after processing them a little, they can be used as medicine.”

“Of course!” Ye Yaoyao immediately nodded her head, then picked up the basket which had been tossed to the ground, and personally handed it over to Ye Zhen.

Yu Ping received the basket on Ye Zhen’s behalf. “Thank you, Miss Ye.”

All along, Ye Zhen had been secretly observing Ye Yaoyao. If this young lady isn’t innocent, then her intentions are truly deeper than I could imagine…

“Yao’er,” Ye Zhen called out. “Can I call you this too?”

“Certainly.” Ye Yaoyao nodded her head shyly.

Ye Zhen smiled at her in return. “Do you really want to go with me to the hunting grounds to look for the prince? If you don’t wish to go, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“It’s fine. I… I also want to learn how to hunt,” Ye Yaoyao said softly. She had heard that the emperor usually liked to hunt, so she also wanted to learn.

“All right, let’s go choose our horses then,” Ye Zhen said, as she walked side by side with the other. Then, almost nonchalantly, she asked, “I heard that you have forgotten your past?”

Ye Yaoyao nodded her head lightly. “That’s right. Apart from what happened over the past few years, I have already forgotten about what happened in my childhood.”

“If so, how did you know your name is Ye Yaoyao?”

How could there be such a coincidence that she has such a misleading name?

“I… I only remembered that this is my name,” Ye Yaoyao said sullenly. “When I regained consciousness, I had forgotten everything. I had always been locked in the house, and apart from the auntie who brought me food, I never met anyone else.”

Ye Zhen’s gaze dimmed. She couldn’t tell if Ye Yaoyao was speaking the truth. “Do you know who was the one who locked you up in that house?”

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