Chapter 331: Who’s This Enchantress? Loving Glances
The man, who had been partially hidden by the doorframe, finally stepped fully into Tao Wanxin’s view.
Everything else before her eyes seemed to dim. It was as if even the light around her was being drawn into this man.
Zhao Minghong stood in the light, the anger not yet faded from his face, as his eyes met with the person staring up at him in a daze from the bottom of the steps.
Tao Wanxin was still gasping for breath, unable to see anything else.
Her heart, which had felt like it was floating in a void, finally settled back into place.
Inside the room, the Emperor and Ji Qingwu watched as Prince Yong, who had just been chasing and beating Su Fengyue, suddenly grew docile. His hands and feet seemed to have nowhere to go, and he even scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Ji Qingwu stood on the opposite side of the doorway, wondering who Prince Yong could have seen. After all, not even the Emperor’s presence had been enough to subdue him.
She curiously peeked her head out for a look, then immediately pulled it back.
Princess Yong had arrived.
No wonder Prince Yong, who had been like a wild, rampaging lion just moments ago, had now fallen completely silent. He wasn’t entirely composed, though; he fidgeted like he had fleas, scratching here and there.
Zhao Minghong took a step back into the shadows, out of Princess Yong’s sight. He hastily straightened his golden crown, then quickly brushed a shoe print from his shoulder. Noticing his lapels were askew, he even considered undoing his belt to straighten his collar.
Emperor Wu Su shot Prince Yong a cold glance.
Zhao Minghong’s body stiffened, and he managed to recover a sliver of his princely dignity.
The smile at the corners of Ji Qingwu’s lips couldn’t help but widen.
Prince Yong hadn’t yet recognized the unfamiliar maid before him. He assumed she was a spy the Emperor had planted by Prime Minister Su’s side.
He clasped his hands behind his back, coughed, and said to her sternly, "Let me ask you, what’s so funny?"
Ji Qingwu finally restrained herself a little, offering a faint smile.
She replied loudly, "Your Highness, it’s amusing because... well, it’s funny."
Zhao Minghong feigned anger. "Is your smile so beautiful that you must show it off?"
In the next instant, a teacup flew toward Prince Yong, striking him squarely on the headdress he had just straightened.
How could celadon porcelain compare to the hardness of a golden crown? It shattered on his head in an instant, sending shards of porcelain flying everywhere.
Zhao Minghong was no longer laughing now. His eyes trembled as he watched Emperor Wu Su wrap an arm around the maid’s waist.
The Emperor whispered something in her ear, and the smile on her lips vanished immediately. She even pressed her lips tightly together.
’Where did this enchantress come from!’
Zhao Minghong’s feelings were a complicated mess. Although he hoped his Imperial Brother would forget their Fifth Cousin, who was now married into the Wei Family...
...how long had it been, and now another maid had appeared?
He lamented that his Imperial Brother was like a ten-thousand-year-old iron tree that had finally bloomed—and not just with one flower, but a whole field of them.
Outside the door, Tao Wanxin heard the sound of shattering porcelain and rushed in, frantically lifting her skirts.
As she drew closer, she finally got a clear look at Prince Yong’s current state.
His clothes were dirty and wrinkled with dust, his golden crown was askew, and a few strands of hair had come loose. He looked like he had been in a fight, and his hand seemed to be badly injured.
But Tao Wanxin found she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his disheveled, unruly appearance.
The eyes that looked at her were bright and warm, shining straight into the depths of her heart.
Startled by Tao Wanxin’s sudden appearance before him, Zhao Minghong’s expression instantly shifted to one of profound gravity. His deep, affectionate gaze was intense enough to drown someone.
Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but glance over, sucking in a quiet breath.
’The way Zhao Minghong acts in front of his Princess Consort is the very picture of a doting lover.’
Her lapse in attention was caught in an instant. A large hand pressed against her slender neck, applying just enough force to turn her head back around.
Ji Qingwu, having lost her right to watch Prince Yong and his wife exchange loving glances, muttered under her breath.
"A little peek won’t hurt."
Zhao Mingyan’s fingers moved to pinch her soft cheek, giving it a little squeeze.
Ji Qingwu immediately changed her tune. "I won’t look."
But the soft flesh of her right cheek had still briefly lost its sovereignty.
From the moment Princess Yong ran to his side, Zhao Minghong had been completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Before he could even speak, his eyes reddened. His voice grew hoarse, and his throat felt tight and raw, as if it were filled with sand.
Su Fengyue’s words hammered at his heart like a heavy mallet.
Even though that old bastard had been taken away to face his death, Prince Yong still didn’t feel his hatred had been assuaged.
How old was his Wanyin back then? She was at an age of pure innocence, knowing nothing of the world, not yet knowing she would one day meet him...
Zhao Minghong thought of the past, of their wedding night.
He should have been gentler. He shouldn’t have stormed off. He shouldn’t have made this face stream with tears. There were so many things he shouldn’t have done...
Prince Yong longed to cup Tao Wanxin’s face, but then he remembered that this hand had touched that old bastard, Su Fengyue.
He put his right hand behind his back, terrified she would notice something was wrong.
It was only at this moment that Zhao Minghong understood why that maid had said the evidence against Su Fengyue was insufficient.
Tearing open a scar that had already healed would only reveal a bloody mess.
This kind of evidence came at the price of ripping the wound open again.
Zhao Minghong felt a thousand words clog his throat, and his heart ached with sorrow.
After a long struggle, he finally managed to force out a single sentence.
"You... why did you come here?"
Only then did Tao Wanxin realize how improper her actions had been.
In the middle of the night, ignoring the curfew, she had barged into the Prime Minister’s Mansion while it was surrounded by the Black-clothed Guards.
She lowered her head. "I was just worried about you, Your Highness... Did I interrupt you while you were attending to important matters? It was reckless of me."
Zhao Minghong said, "I’m not blaming you."
He stiffly extended his arms and wrapped them around her, his heart pounding like a drum.
Tao Wanxin’s body trembled at the contact.
His hand patted her back with a deeply soothing touch. It felt just like when her mother would pat her to sleep, only even gentler.
Tao Wanxin’s eyes were half-closed, but then they suddenly flew wide open.
If she remembered correctly, when she had rushed in, there had been two other people standing on the other side of the room. She hadn’t paid them much mind, as they appeared to be servants.
Being so intimate in front of outsiders was too much for the shy Tao Wanxin. A faint blush crept up behind her ears, and she struggled lightly in his arms.
Zhao Minghong sensed her reluctance and immediately let her go, afraid of making her uncomfortable.
He pulled his hands away so quickly that it left Tao Wanxin’s mind reeling. The feeling of being cherished vanished in an instant.
An indescribable feeling of reluctance washed over her heart.
Zhao Minghong’s gaze fell upon her face. Tao Wanxin met his eyes for a moment before looking down. The air was now heavy with silence.
The two people on the other side of the room were not making a sound; she had no idea what they were doing.
After a moment, Tao Wanxin asked softly.
"Your Highness, when are we returning to the manor?"
Zhao Minghong looked across the room and coughed lightly, seeking Emperor Wu Su’s permission.
Only then was the flesh of Ji Qingwu’s cheek finally rescued.
Just now, the Emperor had been treating it like some amusing stress-relief toy, pinching and flicking it with great enjoyment.