Chapter 64: Past Life (Part 4)

Zen Zhen's body lay stiffly on His Majesty's chest, the back of his head was pressed tightly, and he dared not move under the scorching gaze behind him.

Why did His Highness come here? She was very careful and didn't show any abnormality. Now that His Highness saw this scene, what should she do?

Her mind was in a mess, and she almost subconsciously grabbed the clothes in front of her.

Chen Dingyao felt her movement, hugged her tighter, and looked calmly at Yun Yi who suddenly broke in.

"Why are you here?"

Chen Yunyi looked at the scene in front of him with a gloomy face. His father, whom he had admired since childhood, was hugging the woman he loved in the most powerful and domineering posture. He did not look guilty at all when facing him, but instead had a hint of condescending questioning, as if he had suddenly barged in and disturbed their good thing.

His heart was pounding like a thousand hammers, and it took him a long time to speak: "Didn't you, Father, deliberately expose it, allowing me to witness this?"

It was ridiculous that he came to pay his respects to his father this morning with great enthusiasm, wanting to ask him to grant Chan Zhen a title, but suddenly he learned from a maid that Chan Zhen had been often summoned privately by his father recently.

Like a sudden enlightenment, all the details that he had never noticed before suddenly surfaced.

Why did Zen Zhen cry like that behind his back? Why did his father assign him so many tasks recently? It turned out that it was to make things easier for him.

After hearing what King Jin said, Chan Zhen was shocked and angry and immediately raised his head from the man's arms: "Why?"

Her fingers, gripping the man's collar so tightly they turned white, asked him in disbelief. Did he think their affair was worth sharing? Wasn't His Highness his own son? Why did he have to be so cruel and expose this matter?

Since his crime had been exposed, Chen Dingyao did not defend himself and even forced a faint smile on his lips.

"Why should I hide this?" He placed his large hand on the back of Chan Zhen's head, lowering his gaze to meet hers. "Am I to remain hidden forever, witnessing you living with someone else?"

He was the emperor, so high and mighty, why should he hide in the shadows and be a lover? Yesterday's incident was his fault, and Yun Yi had taken advantage of it. How could he possibly give her another chance to commit herself to someone else?

"Madman!" Zen Zhen glared at him, pushing his chest with both hands, trying to get away from him.

Chen Dingyao was not angry even when being scolded. In his eyes, her struggle was just a gnat trying to shake a tree. He ignored Yun Yi's presence and stared at her with his eyes downcast: "I am crazy. You should have known that I am a desperate lunatic."

He must be crazy to fall in love with her regardless of her identity even though he knew it, disregarding ethics and morals, and not hesitating to destroy the achievements and reputation he had accumulated in the previous twenty years as emperor, just to get her.

Zen Zhen saw the obsession and madness in his eyes, and tears of fear rolled down like pearls from a broken string.

"Let me go!" She looked at Yun Yi not far away for help, "Your Highness, please save me..."

She cried and begged him, shaking her head and explaining to him: "Zenzhen didn't betray you on purpose, I was also forced to do it, please save me!"

Seeing her crying so hard, Chen Yunyi felt a sharp pain in his heart. How could he not know that she was being forced? She was so weak, how could she possibly resist his tyrannical father?

He closed his eyes and fell heavily to his knees.

"I beg you, father, to spare Chan Zhen," he said, knowing that he currently lacked the strength to fight his father, and that all he could rely on was the tiny sliver of affection they shared. "Chan Zhen is the only one I love. I will offer you anything your father desires, except Chan Zhen."

"Really?" Chen Dingyao was unmoved by his humble attitude. "What a coincidence! Chanzhen is also my only true love. I once said that of all my sons, you are the most like me. Now it seems that your vision is the same as mine."

Chen Yunyi's body stiffened, and he almost couldn't hold back his anger.

What did the emperor mean by this? It was clearly he who fell in love with Chan Zhen first, but the emperor, who came later, flatly denied his feelings for Chan Zhen.

"Father," he raised his head, his dark eyes looking at him without retreat, "Chanzhen and I have long been in rapprochement. I cannot live without her. Do you really want to force me to death?"

"A connection of mind?" Chen Dingyao bit back the words, a sour feeling boiling in his heart. However, he was always proud and would never allow himself to be outdone by Yun Yi, so he sneered, "Shouldn't the one who is in tune with you be the princess you married?"

He twisted Chanzhen's face with his hands, forcing her to turn her eyes away from Yunyi.

"Yun Yi, what have you given her? You let her be your concubine and suffer all kinds of grievances in your house. Is this what you call mutual understanding?" He knew where his advantages compared to Yun Yi were, so he poked at Yun Yi's pain points without any hesitation, and saw that his face really turned pale.

But at this moment, Zen Zhen said firmly: "I like Your Highness, and I am willing to follow Your Highness without any status or position."

Chen Dingyao's face darkened, but Yun Yi's face regained some brightness.

Chan Zhen slightly avoided Yun Yi's gaze and took a deep breath to make himself look more determined.

"Your Majesty, I will not fall in love with you. It is meaningless for you to have a woman who has her heart set on someone else by your side."

Chen Yunyi immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "Your Majesty, I beg your Majesty to grant me this."

Chen Dingyao stared at the woman in front of him. She had a firm gaze and did not shy away from his gaze, as if she was ready to die.

He was filled with rage, hurt, and hatred, but he laughed out loud: "Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times in a row, his eyes swept across the magnificent but empty palace, stopped on Yun Yi, and his tone was strangely gentle.

"Yun Yi, I'm giving you a chance to choose," he said with a loving look, "Shu Fei, power, or Chan Zhen, which one do you want?"

Chen Yunyi clenched his fists and looked at him in disbelief.

His father actually used his mother to threaten him?

Chan Zhen's heart tightened, and he looked at Yun Yi worriedly: "Your Highness..."

"Answer me, Yunyi." Chen Dingyao said slowly.

"Your Majesty," Zen Zhen glared at him angrily, "Empress Shufei is also your woman!"

He looked into her beautiful eyes with great interest, and even though there was anger in them, he loved them so much.

"Having you is enough for me from now on."

Zen Zhen wrinkled his nose, turned away and cursed: "You are shameless!"

"Mad, shameless, what else?" He stroked her face inch by inch with his hand, raised his eyebrows and said, "Curse her a few more times, I think you sound very nice when you curse."

Zen's face flushed red with anger. He tried to open his mouth, but seeing his expectant look, he was at a loss for words.

How could there be such a shameless person in the world, even though he is the emperor.

She turned to Yun Yi, who had been silent for a long time, and her uneasiness grew stronger.

"Your Highness!" Her eyes were filled with anticipation, but this brilliance gradually dimmed in his long silence. "Your Highness, please don't abandon me..."

Yun Yi's expression was empty, and after a long while he finally uttered a harsh voice: "Your son..."

Zen Zhen vaguely realized something and stared at him without blinking.

"Your Majesty..." Yun Yi felt a chill run down his face. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, bids farewell."

After saying that, he bowed heavily in the direction of Chen Dingyao, stood up and didn't dare to look back, turned around and walked out.

"Your Highness!" Zen Zhen cried miserably, finally pushing away the man in front of him and chasing after him.

Chen Dingyao did not stop her anymore. He lowered his head, held his forehead and laughed deeply. As he laughed, a tear fell from the corner of his eye.

The relationship between him and Yun Yi as father and son finally came to an end.

After chasing him to the eaves, she finally grabbed Yun Yi's hand and begged him with tears in her eyes: "Your Highness, please take me away!"

Her voice choked with sobs: "I don't want to leave you, Your Highness, please take me away..."

Yun Yi froze in place, almost wanting to agree to her regardless of the consequences, but another cold voice sounded behind him.

"Yun Yi, you are the child that the emperor values most. Don't let me down."

Chan Zhen watched helplessly as her only life-saving straw pushed her hand away little by little, without ever looking back at her, and left her behind and walked away.

"Your Highness..." She opened her eyes wide, "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

She kept calling him, each call louder than the last, but he didn't stop for a moment. Instead, he quickened his pace and gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor.

She suddenly lost all her strength and collapsed to the ground, falling into a broad embrace.

Without looking back, she knew who caught her.

The man's deep voice sounded above her head: "I will never abandon you."

Zen Zhen slowly turned his head, his face pale, and said word by word: "I hate you."

"I know." The man held her hand tightly, interlocking his fingers with hers. "But I love you."

Zen closed his eyes in despair.

…

When they returned to the palace, no one noticed that someone was missing from the Prince Jin's residence. Even if a lowly concubine died in the palace, no one would have noticed. As for the Princess of Jin, even if she had discovered it, she would not have said much. Instead, she would have applauded and rejoiced that a big problem had finally been solved.

At this time, Chan Zhen was quietly sent to the emperor's phoenix carriage and returned to the Purple Palace together.

Raindrops were falling outside the window, and the crabapple buds on the branches were soaked through. The petals were slightly curled inward, making people feel both love and pity for them.

The room became hot and sticky due to the rain, and wisps of fragrant mist spread to every corner of the palace. The gauze curtains that hung to the ground fluttered in the air, kissing the gentle night breeze intimately, and low, rapid breathing sounds flowed freely in the huge palace.

Zen Zhen opened his eyes and stared blankly at the swaying gauze curtain above his head.

She was like a small boat drifting on the water, swaying in the raging waves, but unable to escape the huge whirlpool below. Day and night, the wind and rain never stopped.

Thunder suddenly sounded, and Chen Dingyao raised his head from her. His sinister and dark eyes ignited a cluster of fire in the night, wanting to burn her to ashes.

"Zenzhen..." He kissed her face and neck inch by inch, until he reached her heart, leaving a string of beautiful red plum blossoms.

Zenzhen could no longer remember how long this kind of days had lasted.

After returning from the palace, she was locked in this magnificent golden house. Her hands and feet were free, but she seemed to be tied with invisible ropes.

"Are you still thinking about Yun Yi?" Seeing that she was distracted, he suddenly bumped into her hard. "Is it better for me? Or for Yun Yi?"

Zenjin frowned and turned away without saying a word.

Seeing that she was unhappy, he slowed down his movements and tried to coax her: "I have decided to make you a noble concubine first. After you give birth to a child, I will make you the queen, okay?"

He asked cautiously, and when she didn't reply he took it as a tacit agreement, pressing down his muscular body and hugging her tightly.

"I want a child who looks like you. If she's a princess, I'll grant her a fiefdom of ten thousand towns and let her enjoy wealth and splendor. If she's a prince..."

"I will offer him the kingdom as a sacrifice, so that he may ascend to the highest throne in the world."