An eerie silence surrounded the man and the woman, arresting them in a battle of glares. The doe-eyes were seething with anger and resentment, while the hawk-eyes anxiety and envy.

  Her grievances of the past, his coercion of the present assaulted her rationality, and the desire to rain curses and hurl abuses at this so-called righteousness started to overtake her. She almost yelled at the man but never did the storm in her heart reflect on her countenance. She simply looked at him calmly and said, “Yes.”


  There was once a person who she thought she would love for her entire life. One who was the most precious to her, who she knew would treasure her heart just like she would his.

  The indifference and gloom in those dark irises couldn’t be more pronounced as they bore right into the misty eyes without breaching the silence.

  Ye Zhen’s heart was pounding fast, not knowing what he would do to her.

  “Send her back!” Mo Rongzhan’s deep and cold voice roared in the depths of the silent alley.

  Before Ye Zhen could react, a shadow appeared behind her. “Miss Lu, please.”


  She stared at the stranger, deathly frightened. She hadn’t known there was someone else other than them here.

  Mo Rongzhan didn’t leave a word to her, just his cold back.

  Ye Zhen nodded slightly to the man in black and followed him out of the dark alley.

  ♚


  On the other side, the chaos at the lantern tower had subsided. Xie Longyuan and his entourage had disappeared, and Lu Xiangzhi and Mo Rongyi were anxiously looking for Ye Zhen.

  “Little Prince, Brother.” Ye Zhen tidied up her clothes and ran to them.

  “Yaoyao, where have you been? We’ve been looking for you.” Lu Xiangzhi was nervous because he couldn’t find her.

  Ye Zhen smiled and said, “I was just pushed away by the crowd and got lost. But I found you now.”


  Mo Rongyi took a look at her and was relieved to see that she was not hurt. “We thought you were caught by Xie Longyuan’s men. I’m glad to see you’re all right.”


  “Are you all okay?” Ye Zhen hurriedly asked and ran a casual glance to her rear, but the man in black was already nowhere to be seen.

  “Of course we’re all right. You didn’t see us beat Xie Longyuan? Princess Liu Hua was also here, trying to put pressure on me. But don’t worry, I have avenged you,” Mo Rongyi said.

  Ye Zhen smiled. “What did you do?”


  It was Lu Xiangzhi who answered. “While Little Prince was beating Xie Longyuan up, Xie Liu Hua was holding a lantern and trying to smash it on Little Prince, but she was blocked back and her hair was burnt instead.”


  “She deserved it!”


  Xie Liu Hua was really audacious, going as far as to do whatever she pleased. So pompous and conceited she was, that she dared not think twice before hurting the little prince.

  Mo Rongyi smiled. “The two of them used to bully me, but they didn’t know who I was. Then when he did learn of my identity, he was scared to death.”


  Ye Zhen smiled and nodded. “They were blind.”


  Xie Longyuan was not the only one who didn’t recognize Mo Rongyi since the little prince was not favored before. At that time, probably no one would have thought that Mo Rongzhan would suddenly become the emperor.

  “It’s getting late, we should go back,” Lu Xiangzhi said to Ye Zhen.

  Mo Rongyi had his servants bring his lantern over. “Lu Yaoyao, this lantern is for you.”


  Ye Zhen’s eyes lit up. “Really?”


  “I promised to give you one, and this is the King of Lanterns.” Mo Rongyi looked very complacent.

  “Thank you.” As Ye Zhen took the lantern, she expressed her sincere gratitude. She could tell he wanted to stand up for her with Princess Royal, otherwise, he wouldn’t hide his identity and fight with Xie Longyuan deliberately.

  Mo Rongyi’s cheeks flushed slightly, but he pretended to be calm. “No need to thank me. This is my reward for you.”


  Ye Zhen couldn’t help but laugh, how could she not know that behind the imperial facade, this prince was just a little boy. “I will cherish it. Thank you for your reward, Your Imperial Highness.”


  After parting ways with Mo Rongyi, Lu Xiangzhi sent Ye Zhen back to Lu Mansion. Sitting in the carriage, Ye Zhen curled up into a ball and buried her face in her knees, still shaken up by the events just then. She was really afraid that Mo Rongzhan …… wouldn’t let her go!

  Only

  At this moment, Lu Xiangzhi was recounting to her how they’d fought with Xie Longyuan. “—Xie Liu Hua brought several men with her, and we almost lost. But suddenly some guards came from nowhere and beat their ass out.”


  Ye Zhen thought.

  “Yaoyao, was everything all right tonight?” Lu Xiangzhi asked her outside of the carriage.

  Ye Zhen raised her head, showed a faint smile knowing well the meaning behind her brother’s words. Her heart warmed and she promptly reassured him. “No, I already told you, I was just lost.”


  Lu Xiangzhi smiled back. “All right then.”