CH 118

After about half a stick of incense time, Zhao Zhi opened the door of the study, dressed in a lake blue zhizhui. His posture was upright and straight, no expression could be seen on his pale face and his thin lips were slightly pursed into a straight line, like an icy blade, sharp and apathetic.

Ming Zhu had slept for so long, the back of her head was aching a bit. Even after opening her eyes, she still felt exhausted. She yawned and tried to go back to sleep, but when she turned around, she accidentally pressed down on her hair. Her hair was fine and soft, black and dense, like silky satin, it was smooth to the touch.

The mild tingling coming from her scalp dispelled her remaining sleepiness.

Ming Zhu sat up, her eyes were in a daze for a while, while her long hair was spread out in her back. She belatedly realized that something was amiss, when she raised her hand to touch her head, her hair bun had been loosened, it was unsure who had helped her remove the hairpins on her head.

Ming Zhu gradually came back to her senses, got out of bed, and put on her shoes.  Looking outside, she discovered that it was already evening. She lit up two candle lamps with a match, the light in the room was then slightly brighter, as the bright flame of the red candle lamp swayed with the wind blowing inside from the window.

Ming Zhu’s thin sleeves also swayed with the wind while the candlelight illuminated her snow-white side profile, the face reflected in the mirror was gorgeous and vivid.

Ming Zhu looked at herself in the mirror, after a comfortable sleep, she seemed to look somewhat even more beautiful, full of energy, glowing with good health. She couldn’t help but reach out and touch her face. Her skin felt exquisite and smooth.

She sat in front of the dressing table’s mirror and took out a comb from the trousseau box. She had combed half of her hair when her gaze suddenly froze. The medicine bottle in the box had disappeared.

Ming Zhu panicked inside and called Biying in. She asked with a white face, “Did you touch my trousseau box?”

Biying shook her head, “No, I didn’t.”

She had never entered the miss’s room today, let alone touched her things.

Seeing her anxious look, Biying said, “Miss, did you lose something?”

In ordinary large households, there would be servants with loose hands and feet, but this was the crown prince’s residence, the servants had gone through a strict training, so they wouldn’t dare to do such things as stealing. Moreover, random people had no chance to enter miss Ming Zhu’s room.

Ming Zhu shook her head, her voice sounded very weak as she said, “No.”

She planned to look for it again carefully. Maybe she had misplaced it herself in a moment of confusion.

Before Ming Zhu had the time to look for it, the little maidservant outside the door said respectfully, “Your Highness.”

As soon as the words fell, the door of the room was pushed open by him at the same time.

Ming Zhu looked at him, not knowing how to react.

Zhao Zhi, with a cold look, swept a glance at Biying’s face, before ordering her to get out.

The heavy oppressing pressure on the man’s body collapsed on Ming Zhu, his cold eyes, with an indifferent look, quietly stared at her while he remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

Seeing this kind of look, Ming Zhu’s small legs turned weak, she slowly stood up. Her slender small hands rested on the desk, supporting her body. She wanted to raise her spirit and smile at him, but she wasn’t even able to make a smile to cope with the situation.

The medicine bottle was gone.

There were only a handful of people who could freely come in and out of her bedroom. Apart from him, there was really no one else.

Just now, Ming Zhu had been able to deceive herself, by telling herself that she might have remembered wrong, and that she might find it if she looked for it again.

But seeing the look on Zhao Zhi’s face, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore.

Zhao Zhi’s voice was hoarse. He spoke to her with his usual tone, “Have you had enough sleep?”

Ming Zhu nodded. The wind blowing in from the two open windows behind her lifted her cloud-like hair as the hem of her lotus-leaf-fringed skirt fluttered away the dust. The candlelight illuminated her pale like snow face, which was bloodless.

Zhao Zhi appeared as if he couldn’t feel her fear. The corners of his mouth curled up and he lightly laughed, before asking again, “You have lost something?”

Ming Zhu guessed that he must have heard the conversation between her and Biying. In that moment when the last layer of the window paper was about to be pierced, contrary to all expectations, her panicked heart calmed down.

Her eyes turned red, and she didn’t say anything.

Zhao Zhi didn’t need her to answer. He took out that small medicine bottle from his sleeve and placed it in front of her, asking in a warm voice, “Is this what you’ve lost?”

Ming Zhu almost bit her tongue, he had indeed found out. Then, she felt some kind of anger rising up, how could he just go through her things? Could it be that in his eyes, she couldn’t have any privacy at all?

Ming Zhu’s teeth bit down so hard, her lower lip was torn. Thin beads of blood seeped into her mouth and a light salty taste spread inside.

It was as if Zhao Zhi could read what was in her mind. The curve of his mouth deepened, but the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes, as he said somewhat mockingly, “I saw it unintentionally.”

She was still wearing hairpins on her head, it was inevitable that she would feel uncomfortable sleeping that way, for they would tug at her hair when she turned around a bit.

“Tell me, what’s in here.” Zhao Zhi said indifferently as he took a sip of tea.