Chapter 257 – Desire (1)

The days of the emperor were always busy and today was no exception.

Mo Rongzhan had finally finished reading the last palace memorial on top of his writing desk. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked up to the sky outside to check its color. Immersed in the perusal of a pile of those palace memorials, he had been oblivious to the passage of time. When he did come about, he noticed it was getting dark.

Eunuch Fu quietly brought a cup of hot tea and said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, would you like to go to the Cining Palace today?”

Recently, the Xiunu had tried to present themselves at their best and greeted the empress dowager in the Cining Palace. At the same time, they wished to see the emperor. Ever since Wang Fei Lu’s confinement, the emperor had not shown favor to any woman. Although there were no other concubines in the inner palace yet, the Xiunu that had entered the palace today were all very beautiful and accomplished in their own right. Indeed, only the finest in the country were the potential concubines of the harem. If the emperor were to like one … the one would indeed be very fortunate. But hey, who would believe that the emperor didn’t like being close to women? In the past, he had even thought he really liked Wang Fei Lu, but now it seemed as though this was not the case anymore.

“Has anyone entered the palace today?” Mo Rongzhan lightly asked.

A retainer’s efficiency was determined not just by his ability to execute his master’s orders, but more so by his capability to deliver the answer his master sought. Needless to say, the one who mastered this “game of discerning”, kept his head over his shoulder the longest.

However, at this moment, the most efficient Eunuch Fu almost failed to keep pace with Mo Rongzhan’s question. Who could have entered the palace today to make the emperor care this much? He carefully deliberated for one slip up and he would be the ‘honored’ recipient of the monarch’s undivided wrath. A moment passed, he cautiously said, “Your Majesty, I heard … Aunt Cheng went to pick up Third Miss Lu and accompanied her into the palace.”

Mo Rongzhan’s eyes sank slightly. “Hmm?”

What does the emperor mean? Does His Imperial Majesty want to know more? Although he had served the emperor for many years and seemed better than everyone else in gauging his mood, at this instance, he was ill-disposed to tell what the look on his master’s face meant.

In a flash he thought things through and said, “Third Miss Lu went to the library pagoda to read books. She has spent most of her day there, and it seems she is still inside the pagoda right now.”

“Hmm, you may go now.” Mo Rongzhan’s handsome face was still indifferent. No one could seem to tell what he was thinking.

However, Eunuch Fu vaguely felt that the emperor’s mood seemed to be getting better. Ever since a month ago, this master’s face had not been this relaxed.

Not long after, Mo Rongzhan came out from the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he had changed out of his dragon robes and now wore casual clothing with a cloak draped over his shoulders.

“I am going for a walk.” He faintly told Eunuch Fu.

Eunuch Fu: “……”

Looking at the emperor’s relaxed demeanour, Eunuch Fu thought to himself, when did the emperor ever have the habit of taking a walk at night?

Mo Rongzhan’s tall and lofty figure soon disappeared into the night. Fude collected himself and silently followed him. As they drew closer and closer to the library pagoda, he knew what the emperor’s so-called walk was for.

This made him even more curious about what happened between the emperor and Lu Yaoyao in the imperial study last month which made the emperor seem preoccupied with something lately.

Does one act like his soul was someplace else? Ah, that’s very disrespectful! There’s no way my grand and magnificent emperor would reveal such a strange behavior. I must’ve overthought.

“Fude, keep watch here.”

Mo Rongzhan’s deep voice interrupted Eunuch Fu’s flights of fancy, but the seasoned retainer that he was, he swiftly took the orders at once. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Old Master Jiang heard voices, he immediately went out. Upon seeing that the man was the emperor, he bent down, saluted, and returned to his room in silence.

Mo Rongzhan pushed open the gates and went in. He was greeted by a petite figure, her upper body perched on the desk near the window. The soft light of the night pearls shone a faint halo on her. Her skin on the other side of her face looked as white as porcelain and glistened like jade.

How could one be this reluctant to leave, even sleeping here?

With nimble steps, Mo Rongzhan quietly approached the slumbering girl, his lidded eyes never once leaving her serene visage. She seemed to be at peace, head lying on her arms as if she were resting on a lush, downy bed and not hardwood. Slowly his gaze traced down to the open book underneath, it seemed she was reading it. He carefully picked it up and saw that it was a medical book about acupuncture and moxibustion; uninterested, he put it down thinking that there was nothing to see.

Draped in a light-yellow satin jacket with bamboo orchid patterns and yellow-green cotton silk skirt, Ye Zhen’s delicate waist was especially fetching to his eyes, he was fighting hard the urge to hold her right here and now.

As his gaze on the sleeping beauty intensified, his breathing turned ragged. In the end, he succumbed to his desire. Slowly he sat down beside her taking care not to wake her and gently enveloped her in his embrace and couldn’t help stroking her rosy cheeks.