Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Phoenix (2)

Upon rushing back to her chambers, Ye Zhen reopened her palm to look again at the lifelike phoenix tattoo. She remembered her soul was trapped in the palace for two years and finally, broke free when the jade pendant split in half. Lu Wushuang’s hands were scorched by the flame the stone emitted, so she had quickly loosened her grasp causing the stone to hit the floor hard. This tattoo, in her deliberation, somehow had a connection with the jade pendant given by Mo Rongzhan.

Brushing these thoughts aside, she reined in her composure and accidentally caught her reflection in the mirror near her. She let out a sigh of frustration at what she saw. Nowadays, nothing worried her more than her appearance.

In fact, her twin’s appearance was not exactly the same as hers. Though they shared the same features, her sister’s skin, hair, and physique were different. Ye Zhen was raised by a refined woman in her boudoir since her childhood. Her skin was pearly white, seldom touched by the sunlight and her hair well-kept was showered with scented oils frequently.

All the while, her sister Lu Yaoyao grew up in the border town without her freedom constrained. Aside from having sunbaked skin, her complexion was much darker; blemishes from long exposure to sunlight was an unpleasant sight. The illness barely left her with meat on her body; she looked scraggly and unhealthy.

Dark and thin, people would probably doubt she was connected, a twin even, to the former wang fei.

On the brighter side, this was an advantage. She did not want anyone to know of her relationship with the Ye Family. Not yet. It was only when the enemy saw her twin sister in her person that she could act conveniently. For the past half month, she looked nothing like a person seeking revenge, only a dependent daughter and sister. She had already enjoyed the glory and wealth in her past life but even that couldn’t help her achieve her wants.

How was she to avenge?

More than anything else, she wanted to see the people who had brought her family their miserable end; trampled and crushed them. But even with her current strength regained, she couldn’t do anything. Let alone destroy, she couldn’t even lay a finger on them!

One of the people who had wronged her was Mo Rongzhan, the most powerful figure in this era. How could she, a frail young woman of fifteen, make him repay?

“Yaoyao?” came the voice of Lu Xiangzhi from outside her door.

Ye Zhen snapped out of her stupor and looked at herself in the mirror, but this time, she fixed a bright, cheerful smile on her face, all traces of hatred gone. She had to remind herself that in everyone’s eyes, she was not the Ye Zhen who was reborn out of resentment and most certainly, not the sweet girl of the Ye Family. Instead, she was Lu Shiming’s adopted daughter and the Lu Family’s Third Miss.

She was now Lu Yaoyao whose nickname was Yaoyao, so she acted gaily just like her.

Ye Zhen took the initiative to welcome him. “Eldest Brother, why are you here?”

“You always called me ‘eldest brother’, but there are still three elder brothers ahead of me in our lineage.”

Lu Xiangzhi looked at his sister who had recovered and fondly raised his hand to rub her head like he always did.

“Today, one of our eldest brothers has been anointed as an imperial official. An assistant war minister!” Lu Xiangzhi informed, the excitement obvious in his tone. “Grandma is going to host a family dinner to celebrate. Mother asked me to bring you.”

Lu Lingzhi! 

Ye Zhen’s eyes flickered with hatred. A sense of self-mockery washed over her for after her rebirth she found herself living in an enemy’s house, thrust with the obligation of calling him ‘eldest brother’ for the next months to come, or even the rest of her life! Meeting Lu Lingzhi was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Eldest Brother, I’m afraid… I am still not feeling well.” Ye Zhen bowed her head and feigned weakness.

“Where are you still sick? Don’t talk nonsense! You must not think too much. You are the third miss of our family. How can you not attend the family dinner?”

Ye Zhen just laughed out and shrugged, running out of excuses.

“Fine!”

Noticing how her robes barely hung on her bony shoulders, Lu Xiangzhi couldn’t help but comment on it, rubbing salt to the wound.

“You’ve lost too much weight. Look at you! You’ll have to take care of yourself or else… ” He grinned from ear to ear.

“Or else?” Ye Zhen challenged him to continue.

“You’ll forever look like a black monkey!” Lu Xiangzhi imitated a monkey by rubbing his forehead and chin simultaneously.

“You are the monkey!” Ye Zhen rebutted.

She knew from his sister’s memory that Lu Xiangzhi used to poke fun at Lu Yaoyao’s looks. But this was just his way of expressing his concerns, so she didn’t take his words to heart.