Chapter 7 His Majesty Wants a Kiss
The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone could see that His Majesty was in a bad mood.
Guo Kai and Fang Wen looked at each other, unable to understand what had offended His Majesty. He and Miss Song were so affectionate and affectionate just now, and Miss Song had said nothing wrong, so why did His Majesty suddenly change his expression?
Zen Zhen bit his lip, stood up from his chair and knelt down to apologize.
No matter what the reason is, His Majesty became unhappy after hearing what she said, so it can only be her fault.
"I know I was wrong. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
She knelt on the ground, her waist bent very low, hoping that His Majesty would punish her less severely because she had taken the initiative to admit her mistake.
Chen Dingyao looked at her, as if seeing their first meeting in a previous life. He felt bitter and uneasy, as if he could change nothing in his next life.
He walked forward and almost half dragged and half held her up from the ground.
Zenzhen raised her head nervously in his arms, her eyes still filled with timidity, which made his heart ache. She was still afraid of him.
"It's not your fault." Chen Dingyao reached out and gently stroked her eyebrows. His slightly cool fingers made Zen Zhen tremble unconsciously.
It was his fault. He couldn't let go of his past life. The thought of Yun Yi still felt like a lump in his throat. If Yun Yi was anyone else, Chen Dingyao could have simply made him disappear from this world, leaving him and Chan Zhen with no chance of ever meeting again. But Yun Yi was also his child, the prince he had once placed the greatest hope in.
"Come walk with me." For fear of scaring her again, he could only suppress the resentment from his previous life and try his best to show his gentle side to her.
The fear in Chan Zhen's heart had not completely dissipated. After all, His Majesty was so fickle and unpredictable. She had no choice but to be extremely careful and try her best to obey His Majesty's wishes.
"Yes, I obey your command."
Chen Dingyao frowned, "Don't address yourself like that to me."
His Chan is the most noble woman in the world, the one who will stand shoulder to shoulder with him in the future. Who dares to let her call herself a slave?
Chan Zhen secretly complained that His Majesty was truly difficult to please, but she didn't show it on her face. She just frowned a little awkwardly before tentatively asking, "Then...I am your concubine?"
She couldn't think of a better name. After all, she had no identity at the moment and was not her concubine, so she couldn't call herself a concubine.
Chen Dingyao still didn't like what he heard. In his previous life, Chan Zhen hated him and didn't want to admit that she was his woman. She always called herself "I" to him, and he was used to it. But now it was just the beginning, so he couldn't rush things.
"Let's leave it at that for now." He touched the top of her head lovingly.
He did not let too many guards follow him, only Guo Kai and Lu Zhu accompanied him. In fact, there was nothing good to see in the prefectural mansion. Although Ye Wenyuan had ordered people to renovate it in advance in order to welcome the emperor, the actual scenery was still far inferior to that of the imperial palace.
Chan Zhen originally loved the scenery in the garden, but being with His Majesty made his heart jump, so he had no time to appreciate the spring scenery in the garden.
The two of them walked in silence, Chen Dingyao trying to figure out how to speak without startling her and yet still making her smile. Chan Zhen, on the other hand, was too nervous to speak, fearing he would say something wrong and displease His Majesty.
"I remember..." Chen Dingyao finally spoke first. He couldn't stand Chan Zhen's silence beside him. "You must like crabapple flowers. After returning to the palace, I will plant crabapple flowers for you in the imperial garden, okay?"
In his previous life, he did the same thing to please her. In hindsight, the Imperial Garden did become a place she often visited.
Guo Kai's teeth grieved. His Majesty was planning to bring Miss Song back to the palace, and judging from the situation, he would definitely be favored.
"Slave...I do like crabapples, especially the Western Mansion crabapple." Chan Zhen's eyes revealed a hint of doubt. "But how did Your Majesty know this?"
No one around her knew about this, not even her father.
Chen Dingyao couldn't suppress the joy in his voice, "Perhaps, you and I are in tune with each other."
This was something Yun Yi didn't know about her preferences. After all, Yun Yi had only been with her for one year in his previous life, while he had been with Chan Zhen for seven full years and knew all her preferences well.
Hearing his teasing, Zenzhen couldn't help but blush and lowered his head shyly, "Your Majesty, you are joking."
As for His Majesty's suggestion of planting crabapple blossoms in the Imperial Garden for her, Chan Zhen simply thought it was a joke to cheer her up. Even if His Majesty took her back to the palace, given her background, she would only be able to start as a concubine at the bottom of the hierarchy. How could it be worth His Majesty's efforts to care for her?
"The scenery of this prefectural mansion is still much worse than that of the imperial palace." Chen Dingyao reached out and picked the most blooming peony beside him and gently inserted it into her hair.
Chan Zhen was wearing a pomegranate-red dress today, which perfectly matched the peony. The intense crimson flower complemented her dark hair, framing her face even more beautifully.
He couldn't help but laugh: "But the flowers are blooming quite well, they complement you."
Chan Zhen blushed under his smiling gaze and couldn't help but raise her hand to touch the peony by her temples. Unfortunately, she only touched the soft petals and couldn't see what she looked like at this moment.
She tilted her head slightly towards him, raised her eyes and asked him with moist eyes: "Really?"
Chen Dingyao looked at her wet eyes, and a surge of tenderness suddenly surged in his heart, making him unable to restrain himself and lower his head, slowly approaching to kiss her.
Zen Zhen noticed his movements, but didn't quite understand his intentions. She just stood there quietly with her head raised. As his face got closer and closer, so close that she could feel the heat from his breath, the heat was transferred to her face, making her face become hot.
She held her breath, not knowing whether she was feeling anticipation or fear, and just looked at him quietly with her wet eyes.
Just as their lips were about to touch, a burst of crisp laughter broke the ambiguous atmosphere.
Zen Zhen suddenly woke up, and subconsciously looked over his shoulder. He took a step back with a blushing face, putting some distance between them.
If she hadn't been in this open garden with other people watching her, she would have covered her face with her hands and found a crack in the ground to crawl into.
What was she doing just now? Why was she just standing there motionless? She almost got seen. It was so embarrassing.
Unlike her shame, Chen Dingyao pursed his lips, feeling deeply annoyed. He was just one step away from kissing her, and this was the first time Chan Zhen had been so obedient, tilting her head and letting him have his way. Who had ruined his plans?
Anger welled up in his heart, and his eyes, like a knife, swept towards the source of the sound.
A group of gorgeously dressed women came over here with smiles on their faces. When they got closer, they seemed to realize that someone was already there and quickly stopped laughing.
Chen Dingyao's eyes were so sharp that they recognized at a glance that this was His Majesty, whom they had the honor of meeting at the banquet the day before. So they hurriedly adjusted their manners and bowed in greeting.
"This servant greets His Majesty."
Her voice was soft and gentle, with the unique grace of Jiangnan women, which made people feel half of their body go numb.
Guo Kai sighed inwardly, "Oh, look at these beauties, each one so delicate and charming. It must be hard for old man Ye Wenyuan to find so many beauties in such a short time. And the Miss Song that His Majesty is currently favoring is truly a peerless beauty, one of a kind in the world."
Chen Dingyao frowned irritably. He knew exactly why these women had been gathered. He had assumed that since he had clearly conveyed his displeasure at the banquet yesterday, Ye Wenyuan would not allow them to be an eyesore again. He hadn't expected that today's plan would be ruined.
He was slow to call out, and the women's faces gradually turned pale. They tried hard to maintain their polite posture and dared not move.
Chan Zhen was unaware of what had happened at the banquet yesterday. He assumed His Majesty was upset because someone had disturbed his peace and quiet, and fearing he would punish him, he pleaded, "Your Majesty, these are the sisters who came into the palace with me to serve Your Majesty."
Chen Dingyao lowered his eyes to look at her, and seeing that her face was full of worry and not at all worried, he became even more angry.
"I don't need them to serve me." He gritted his teeth, wanting to be angry at her but reluctant, and said coldly, "They are not worthy of being your sisters."
Did he not know? Chan Zhen was supposed to dance with them last night, but she was the only one missing. He had sent Guo Kai to investigate, and he knew she had been framed and her dance costume had been cut. He had seen many such petty jealousies in the palace, but because a fluke had played into his favor, he hadn't pursued the matter. Now, they had come to him on their own accord.
This must have happened to him in his previous life. He had no idea how Yun Yi handled it, but he would never let the woman he loved suffer any injustice again.
"Your Majesty." Chan Zhen saw his gloomy face and hesitated for a while before speaking, "They had no choice."
It was common knowledge that the emperor's southern tour would stop in Jiangnan. Prefect Ye had already spread the word that he would seek out beautiful women from Jiangnan within his jurisdiction to accompany him. Upon hearing the news, my father eagerly sent her to his house. Who cared whether she was willing or not? Putting himself in their shoes, many of these women were likely forced by their families to accompany him.
Chen Dingyao was almost so angry that he laughed. This silly girl thought that everyone avoided the emperor like her. How could he not see whether someone had intentions towards him? Hadn't he been sitting on the throne for more than ten years in vain?
But he couldn't bear to erase her innocence. This was Zen Zhen's original appearance, a purity that he had never seen in his previous life and had not been tainted by anyone.
In this life, he will be the only man who possesses her completely from beginning to end.
"Everyone, get up." He decided to do as she wished.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
When the leader Xu Yinong stood up, he couldn't help but look up at Chan Zhen, then shifted his gaze with a complicated expression.
As expected, she came out on top.
Xu Yinong recalled the instructions from her father and brothers, the high hopes they had placed on her to revitalize the family, and all of that was shattered. She had originally vowed that she was the best in both appearance and family background, but it wasn't until Song Chanzhen entered the palace that the prefect showed unusual interest in him, even prioritizing him when welcoming the emperor, which made her extremely resentful.
Chen Dingyao didn't want outsiders to disturb her and Chan Zhen's interaction, so he said, "All of you leave."
After saying this, he realized that Zen Zhen had the intention of moving away from him, so he pulled her over and held her waist to prevent her from moving.
Zen Zhen was forced to cling to him, and she couldn't help but frown. His Majesty was too overbearing, leaving her no room for resistance.
"I obey your command." When Xu Yinong retreated, she saw her leaning weakly in His Majesty's arms out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but pinch her fingers, and a fierce look flashed in her eyes.
But Zen is completely unaware.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
