Chapter 578

Chapter 578 – I Don’t Like Him

Mo Rongzhan was enjoying the young lass’ proactiveness, but when he suddenly heard her frightened and nervous voice, his gaze chilled, and his arms tightened around her waist as he asked hoarsely, “Did Lu Lingzhi touch you?”

Ye Zhen rubbed her face on his chest. “He said that he didn’t want to be my brother. Then what does he want to be? Is he thinking of exposing my identity?”

“He won’t dare to expose your identity. Don’t worry.” He hugged the young lass in his arms and lightly patted her shoulder. “Even if your identity is exposed, zhen won’t let you suffer in any way.”

“Why don’t you just assign him some tasks? He’s staying at the manor at the foot of the mountain. I don’t want to see him,” she said. She didn’t know if it was because she was going to leave Jin Country soon, but she was no longer resistant to being intimate with Mo Rongzhan.

Mo Rongzhan liked to see her acting coquettishly, especially when she whispered in his embrace. His heart melted, and he asked, “Do you really dislike Lu Lingzhi so much? He’s still considered your cousin.”

“I mean it when I say I don’t like him. Previously, when Lu Wushuang tried to frame me, he tried to get me to become the scapegoat. He’s not even my brother, so why should I like him? If it were my brother, he would definitely protect me,” she said indignantly, trying to justify the reason she hated the man.

“Are you talking about Lu Xiangzhi?” He had some impression of her brother; he was the tanhua* that he had personally picked this year.

*The top scorers in the palace examination: 1. 状元 zhuàng yuán- the highest rank of the Imperial Examination system/Han-lin examination- lit. the most brilliantly talented person in the field; leading light. 2. 榜眼 bǎng yǎn- the candidate who came second in the Han-lin examination; lit. eyes positioned alongside. 3. 探花  tàn huā: the candidate who came third in the Han-lin examination; lit. flower snatcher.

She held his hand and shook it. “So are you going to send Lu Lingzhi away?”

He pressed her under his body as he said, “It’s fine for him to remain here. Anyway, you’ll be going back to the capital soon.”

“What do you mean?” She was baffled, failing to understand the meaning behind his words. Unfortunately, he didn’t allow her to ask another question as he lowered his head and captured her lips.

Ye Zhen was kissed until she lost her train of thought, her limbs were so weak that she couldn’t push him away. Mo Rongzhan continued to kiss her as though he still hadn’t tasted enough before whispering in a hoarse voice beside her ear, “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, zhen is here. Regardless of who it is, I won’t allow them to hurt you.”

“The only person who hurt me is you.” Ye Zhen’s eyes were brimming with tears as she glared at him furiously.

Mo Rongzhan laughed, assuming that she was referring to his frequent kisses. “Zhen does it because I like you.”

Ye Zhen reached out her hand and beat him weakly.

“Zhen needs to go back now.” Mo Rongzhan helped her to put on her undergarments, and while doing so, his palm slid over her smooth back. “Just be good and accompany Imperial Mother here. If she* wants to go back in a couple of days’ time, then you can go back with her.”

*empress dowager

“Hurry up and leave.” Ye Zhen closed her eyes lazily. She was already very tired today, but after his visit, she was so sleepy that she didn’t want to keep her eyes open any longer.

He carried her over to the bed, placed her down, and covered her with a soft blanket. Then, he kissed her ear and said reluctantly, “Zhen will leave now.”

He received no response whatsoever from the slumbering beauty.

“She’s still so spoiled.” He shook his head in amusement.

It was only after he had covered her properly with her blanket, that he left the villa quietly, using the night as a cover.

At the foot of the mountain, Eunuch Fu was almost falling asleep. Just before dawn was to set in, his master finally arrived.

“Let’s go back.” Mo Rongzhan entered the carriage, leaned against a wall, and closed his eyes to rest.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Eunuch Fu quickly followed him into the carriage and instructed the servants to set off. “Your Majesty, did you manage to see… Her Highness?”

The corners of Mo Rongzhan’s lips curled up into a smile, and he simply hummed in acknowledgement.

No wonder he looks like he is in a good mood. Eunuch Fu covered his mouth to hide his smile, not daring to disrupt his master’s rest anymore.

♚

The next day, Mo Rongzhan summoned Lu Lingzhi into the palace.

Lu Lingzhi had stopped going to the morning court sessions ever since he was poisoned. Even though he held the titles of marquis and general, so long as the emperor didn’t allow him to regain his authority, he could only stay home and recuperate.

Upon receiving the verbal edict at the manor, there was no smile on Lu Lingzhi’s face. Instead, his voice was cold as he asked Leng Mei*, “Did anyone visit Third Miss last night?”

*She is Lu Lingzhi’s secretly trained subordinate

“This subordinate saw a horse carriage at the foot of the mountain, but I was almost discovered when I wanted to go closer to the villa, so I didn’t dare to enter recklessly,” Leng Mei replied softly.

“What kind of carriage was it?” Lu Lingzhi’s heart fell as the answer appeared in his mind, even though he was unwilling to acknowledge that things had not developed the way he had hoped.

Leng Mei pondered for a moment before speaking.

“It was larger than most carriages, and seemed like it was completely black.”

Even though it was under the moonlight, she could still tell that the colour of the carriage was deeper than ordinary carriages.

It was the emperor’s carriage! Why would he appear at Chengde Mountain Villa in the middle of the night, and even park his carriage at the foot of the mountain? Who did he meet?

Lu Lingzhi felt as though the tip of his heart was being clenched by a large hand; it was so painful that it was suffocating. He recalled that the emperor would appear in Yaoyao’s room every night in the past, so he knew that the man was here to look for her… But didn’t he already say that he was going to bestow Yaoyao a marriage? Didn’t he already decide to appoint an empress? So why was he still pestering her?

“Marquis, when will you go back to the capital?” Leng Mei asked softly.

“I’ll go and see Yaoyao first,” Lu Lingzhi said in a dull voice. At the thought that the emperor might not have intended to let Yaoyao off, he suddenly had the urge to take the girl and leave everything behind.

But he couldn’t do that… He still had to take care of the lives of the entire Lu family.

“All right, Marquis.” Leng Mei looked at her master’s figure with pity, not knowing how to help him.

All Lu Lingzhi had in his mind now was that he didn’t want to lose the person he loved, and even more so, he didn’t want his beloved to be sad and cry for another man. He had to persuade Yaoyao so that she wouldn’t promise Mo Rongzhan anything.

At the thought that Yaoyao might have already spent the night with the emperor, Lu Lingzhi felt like a ball of fire was rolling in his heart, almost burning away the last bit of his rationality.

When he reached Chengde Mountain Villa, he saw Yaoyao and Ye Yaoyao walking out with their horses. He forced a smile and called out, “Yaoyao!”

Ye Zhen looked up, and her expression changed.

“Who is he?” Ye Yaoyao eyed Lu Lingzhi with suspicion and leaned closer to Ye Zhen in fear.

“Yaoyao, I have something to say to you.” Lu Lingzhi walked over, and as though he didn’t notice Ye Yaoyao standing there, reached out to grab Ye Zhen’s hand.

Ye Zhen looked coldly. “Eldest Brother, do you have something to say?”

“Come with me!” Lu Lingzhi’s voice was anxious, and he looked at her with a darkened expression.

Seeing the way Lu Lingzhi was acting, Ye Yaoyao instinctively hid behind Ye Zhen.

“Miss Ye, do you know him?” Ye Zhen turned around to ask. No matter how timid Ye Yaoyao was, there was no way she could be this scared of someone.

“I—” Ye Yaoyao cautiously looked at Lu Lingzhi, then shook her head furiously. “I don’t know him.”

How could she know someone this scary? Just one look at him, and she was already terrified.

“Come with me.” Lu Lingzhi grabbed Ye Zhen’s hand, then dragged her away.

♚♚♚