Chapter 293 – Anger (2)

So it turned out that Lu Yaoyao was not scared of the bandits; she was frightened at having killed someone. Her beautiful face emerged in his mind. Suddenly, he felt the urge to see her and hear her voice.

Mo Rongzhan frowned. His thoughts had again drifted to the girl who had rejected him time and again. He was utterly baffled by his own behaviour, his lack of pride … Off late, the moments he thought of her were beyond his own imagination. He couldn’t come up with a reason why his mind would wander off in her direction at the slightest pretext.

He looked at Shen Yi and said in a deep voice, “Continue searching for the whereabouts of the girl named Yaoyao and gather evidence regarding the crimes in Princess Royal’s household.

He could endure Princess Royal’s despotic arrogance, but he couldn’t tolerate her putting her hands into the Ministry of Justice. What made him angrier was Liu Hua’s viciousness, wanting to hurt Lu Yaoyao without a care for consequence. As an emperor, he couldn’t vent his temper openly, but he could do many a things furtively. He didn’t intend to just let Princess Royal’s household get away with everything.

Didn’t Liu Hua want to enter the palace? Then let her enter. When she is in the palace, let’s see how far her arrogance will bring her.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Shen Yi bowed his head and accepted the emperor’s orders.

♚

Xinhe Palace

Not far from the emperor’s dwellings, on the other side of the palace, was a brightly lit abode. A beauty, dressed particularly well tonight, gazed out the window eagerly awaiting an arrival.

“Did the emperor really go to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility?” Xu Huiru asked the maid-in-waiting, her refined eyebrows revealing a touch of sorrow.

In the eyes of others, she seemed to be quite favored. However, only she knew the bitterness gnawing at her heart. How could she be called ‘the favored one’ if she hadn’t received it at all?

Xu Huiru did not understand why the emperor, despite being at her palace several times, had never touched her. He asked her to paint and play an instrument while he just sat watching. No one knew what he was thinking, once done, he would get up and leave.

But if the emperor hated her, why should he make her his concubine? Does the emperor really only have Lu Wushuang in his heart, to the point that he doesn’t even want to touch other women?

No. It can’t be.

She had heard that there were several Jieyu and noble people who had gone to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to serve in bed. If the emperor really only liked Lu Wushuang, how could they have served him in bed?

Lu Wushuang … Xu Huiru had only ever envied one person in her life- Ye Zhen. Upon her death, she hadn’t felt a tinge of jealousy in a long long time.

Yes, she liked the emperor. When she had first seen him, she was already moved. She had never seen such a handsome and dignified man as him. How could she not be moved at first sight?

“Your Highness, the emperor did go to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, but left shortly after.” Qian Lan whispered. “It seems that the emperor didn’t spend the night with Lu Wushuang.”

Xu Huiru lips curled into a satisfied smile, even so, her mood was somewhat glum. Lu Wushuang was once touted as to ‘favoured’, now she was enjoying the same courtesy. The difference was, in the case of the latter it had been true while hers was only a sham. She was more skilled at reading people than anyone her age. So, she knew for certain the emperor was not ignoring her for Lu Wushuang’s sake. If so, he wouldn’t have deigned to visit her at all. Then why? The more she mulled, the more she could see it clearly … there was someone in his heart. Who was that woman?

“Your Highness, it looks like Wang Fei Lu has really fallen out of favour,” said another maid-in-waiting, Yu Lan, with a smile.

“As long as Lu Lingzhi is still the Marquis of Anyang, Lu Wushuang will not fall out of favor.” Xu Huiru said softly, “Tomorrow is the first day of the lunar new year, I wish to pay my respects to the empress dowager early. I want to rest now”

Qian Lan said, “Will the emperor come here tonight?”

“Yes, Your Highness, the emperor loves you so much. Perhaps he will come here tonight,” Yu Lan said with a smile.

Xu Huiru frowned. “If the emperor wished to come, he would have already been here.”

Seeing that their mistress was unhappy, the two maids exchanged glances and started to help her wash and change.