In the imperial study of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Mo Rongzhan had finished with the last of the palace memorials. Putting down the red brush, taking a sip of the hot tea, eyes closed he reclined on the back of his chair.

  Right then, Eunuch Fu walked in with a tray and curtsied. “Does Your Majesty wish to flip the tiles* tonight?”


  [Back then, a harem would comprise of the metaphorical 3000 beauties – The head eunuch would bring a tray of tiles (which could be made of wood, jade, porcelain, etc.) etched with the names of wives and concubines. The emperor would then proceed to flip the tile of the beauty whom he wished to spend the night with, and shower them with his ‘heavenly blessings’ (i.e., favor).]

  Mo Rongzhan raised his head, a trace of coldness flashing through his eyes as eyed the tiles in disgust. “Get out!”


  “Yes.” Frightened, with the tray in his hand, Eunuch Fu scurried away.

  Inexplicably miffed and irritated, Mo Rongzhan rose from his seat and stormed out of his palace all alone. Though he did see his master leave, Enuch Fu dared not follow him without being summoned.

  In no time he stopped before the library pagoda. It only took him a few moments to climb atop the structure and sit on its roof, gazing at the stars. Despite the serene night enveloping him, his heart was tumultuous. His mind was in chaos, nothing seemed to give him peace. Slowly, his thoughts penetrated the layer by layer defense he had built up to reach the crux of his agitation.

  He had been deeply immersed in his work just then when he was triggered- the tiles with the name of his concubines.

  He had followed the norms of the imperial harem without any misgivings. He had a Xian Fei now, expanded his harem with quite a few new ladies. They were all exceptional in their own right, beautiful too. He should be immersed in the arms of the beauties instead of sitting on the cold and rough rooftop. Even so, he felt no difference. He had simply gone through the motions of accepting the women, he felt not a smidgen of emotion for them. At first, he had not paid it much mind, but soon the truth had stood to face him.

  The other night he had visited Xu Huiru, but he had no desire of touching her. Not that she was ugly, she was indeed dignified, tender, and talented. He was satisfied with every aspect of her. However, he felt no urge to lay his hands on her, hold her, or spend a moment with her. He had simply left. His heart knew the reason best of it all- he still had a chronic mysophobia for women.

  In the past, the crown prince had sent him no end of women. Despite his disgust, he had accepted them all, playing the role of the skirt-chaser to perfection. Only he knew it was but a ruse to make him lower his guard against him (MRZ). Soon after he went to the frontlines and developed a serious mysophobia for women. At that time, Lu Wushuang hadn’t pretended to be his Yaoyao yet, so he didn’t even want to talk to her.

  As he reminisced the times, his gullibility and her deceit, his killing intent intensified.

  He was more furious at himself. He shouldn’t have been more prudent in his approach instead of readily trusting Lu Wushuang. He had not once tried to verify the facts, he had forgotten the vital details even. The blame lay more with him than her, for he let her deceive him, willingly walking into her trap. This whole thing had only served to intensify his mysophobia for women. He now repulsed them more than ever. But it also had left a hole in his heart, his girl was yet to be found.

  Not a day passed when he had not thought of the girl he met in the woods. Her sweet laughter, honeyed voice, and gentle touch were still fresh in his memory as if it had all happened just then. But off late, every time he missed her the image of the Lu Yaoyao, blissfully sleeping in his arms a few days ago, would inexplicably appear in his mind.

  Thinking of her naturally brought to mind her soft, tender lips …… her fruity fragrance- her taste still lingered on his tongue. His eyes sank, body underwent subtle changes.

  Instantly, his face took a dark and terrifying turn. It dawned on him that he could bear with his mysophobia when he was with Lu Yaoyao, in fact, his body craved for her. She was an exception ……

  Only

  As the thought emerged, he fiercely stood up.

  As he mulled over her stance, this was the only reason he could deduce for her rejection. Why else would a girl throw away the fortune that was willingly knocking on her door?

  Lu Yaoyao had only come to the capital before long and barely met any men.

  As he dived deeper and deeper into it, he was more determined than ever to find the person behind it all. He would send people to thoroughly investigate the person behind who had so thoroughly won her over that she hadn’t hesitated to spurn him.