Chapter 359 – It Won’t Affect You (2)
“Just now, you didn’t say that you’d only give me one day. Since that’s the case, it’s only natural that I can stay in the library for as long as I want.” Ye Zhen beamed confidently as she spoke.
Mo Rongzhan just chuckled with a low voice and said in a doting tone, “Little Girl, don’t act so presumptuously.”
Ye Zhen immediately glared at him. “When did I act presumptuously? You have said it yourself. I only need to solve the Go game and you’ll let me go to the Library Pagoda. You never mentioned any time limit, therefore, I can spend several days there as I wish.”
“You can only go there for one day every single time you visit the place. If you stay in there for days, you’ll become pedantic,” Mo Rongzhan said.
“Since you say one day, then one day it is.” That’s still better than none anyway. “Then, Imperial Brother, I’ll go back to Cining Palace first. Tomorrow, I’ll rely on your expertise to choose the book from the Library Pagoda.”
Mo Rongzhan also stood up and said, “Zhen is going to send my greeting to Imperial Mother as well. Let’s go.”
Ye Zhen seemingly smiled as she looked at him and said, “Imperial Brother, do you want to see Xianfei Xu?”
Today, after discovering that it really wasn’t his intention to forget her little name, Ye Zhen felt he was pardonable. However, that didn’t mean that she could feel at ease with him.
After all, she couldn’t easily forget the pain and heartache brought about by that glass of poisoned wine. In fact, physical pain couldn’t even compare to what her soul went through.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Mo Rongzhan said.
Ye Zhen tugged her lips downward and walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity in silence.
By this time, the entire imperial palace was already brightly lit. However, it was different from before. During the time of the former emperor, the inner palace had never lacked a sound. The night was filled with revelry and frolicking, entertainers singing and dancing to the tune of the guqin. It was a time when everything was luxurious and prosperous, at least on the surface that is. It was a very different time compared to the silence of today’s era.
She had to admit that Mo Rongzhan was really a good emperor. Even though his reign was stable now, his life continued on as if nothing had changed. He was still a quiet man.
Eunuch Fu walked in front with the maids, leading the group with the peony lantern in hand. When he passed the imperial garden, he found the light there was dimmer than elsewhere. Seeing this, he looked back at the two people walking side by side at the end, he then motioned to the two maids holding the lantern to walk faster.
Ye Zhen was oblivious to it all as she walked with her head down. She really didn’t want to walk side by side with Mo Rongzhan. However, no matter how fast or slow her pace, he still kept up.
All of a sudden, the lights dimmed down, disallowing her from seeing the road ahead. In the face of the sudden situation, she could only opt to walk more carefully lest an accident befell.
Back then, Mo Rongzhan’s eyes would constantly tear up and were quite weak despite having recovered from the blindness. But now, not only did they no longer stung or pained but they could also see clearly in the dark. However, his eyes had always stayed on her the entire time they were walking, looking at the rich and lovely expressions that appeared on her beautiful face. And the longer he watched, the more he felt his heart soften, so much so that it felt as if water could drip out at any time.
“Ah!” Ye Zhen exclaimed, having stepped on a stone, almost tripling in the process.
Fortunately, the moment she exclaimed, Mo Rongzhan had already put his arms around her waist and prevented her from taking a tumble. With his thin lips almost pressed against her ear, he whispered, “Be careful. Do you not look at the road when you walk?”
“How can you look at it when the road is so dark?!” Ye Zhen asked angrily as she gave a hard push on the other’s shoulder. “Let me go!”
Mo Rongzhan tightened his grip and looked at her with half-lidded eyes. He wanted to kiss her.
OnlyYe Zhen looked up and saw the look in his eyes, surprised. “Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Yaoyao—” Mo Rongzhan called her name with a husky voice, wanting to get closer to her and kiss her earlobe.
“Imperial Brother! I am your sister!” Ye Zhen exclaimed. She had thought that he no longer harboured this kind of idea about her!
Mo Rongzhan’s eyes sank before he then smiled, “Did zhen scare you?”
Ye Zhen did not answer. She pushed him and immediately strode away.