CH 76

In Public—It is I, the Emperor, Who Lost My Mind (2)

“You need to be taught a lesson!”

A burst of sensation spread from his back. He gritted his teeth, pressing her into his cloak harder and harder, and couldn’t help urging the horse to run wildly.

Her mahogany horse had been banished to the edge of the course, while his steed carried the two straight to his tent.

There were a lot of people around, and Chu Ning noticed that something was wrong. Her whole person was buried in his arms and became uneasy. She couldn’t help hugging him tightly and asked in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty, where are you taking A’Ning?”

“Shh!” He motioned for her to keep silent, held the reins with one hand to stop the horse, and firmly pressed her to his chest with the other, preventing her from raising her head. He wrapped the cloak around her tightly, “If you don’t want to be recognized, just keep quiet.”

Through the thick cloak, she had already heard the noise of hooves, footsteps, and voices. She was so frightened that her heart skipped a beat, and she dared not to move.

In front of everyone’s eyes, he wrapped her tightly into his mussed cloak and dismounted, striding towards the imperial tent.

“Your… Your Majest, this—” The servants and guards who were waiting by the Imperial tent were stunned, and they all stared at the situation in front of them, not knowing how to react.

The Emperor just said that he wanted to look around by himself and told them not to follow. Why did he come back with a woman, and in public too? Looking at their disheveled appearance, anyone with a discerning eye could guess what happened!

“Get out of the way!” Xiao Kezhi said with a sullen face and a hoarse voice. His sharp eyes were faintly bloodshot, and his tense look was obviously unbearable.

The servants were busy suppressing the horror in their hearts. They opened the curtain for him, and let him into the tent.

“Stay far away. No one is allowed to approach!”

When the low-pitched order came, the inner servants and the guards looked at each other and bowed their heads and retreated in tacit agreement. They surrounded the entire Imperial tent with a radius of ten feet, and no one was allowed to approach.

The curtain that was lifted had already fallen down again, covering the situation in the tent tightly.

…

The movement from the Imperial tent quickly attracted everyone’s attention.

Countless pairs of curious, inquiring, or nervous eyes stared straight at the airtight imperial tent, but no one dared to step forward to spy on them or find out who the woman was.

The Emperor had been at Lishan for nearly half a month. During this period, many girls often came and went to the stables at the foot of the mountain.

Everyone was wondering whether the Emperor was into women, and he suddenly came back with a woman who was covered up so tightly that people didn’t know her identity. It was really shocking!

For a time, many people began to quietly count the young girls in their sight, trying to find out who it was.

Zhao Yue, who was teaching Guoer to ride a horse, also became absent-minded.

She was as shocked as everyone else, but she hadn’t bothered to find out which girl it was.

It was only because it would be impossible for her to figure it out from all the noble ladies and maids that were there that day.

For example, when she glanced at Guoer next to her, she immediately remembered that the Crown Prince’s Consort Chu, who had brought Guoer, was not nearby now, but could she conclude that the woman in the tent was she?

It was just that this situation made her feel a little embarrassed.

She put down her restraint and took the initiative to flatter the new emperor, and almost everyone saw the situation. Before, she could comfort herself that the Emperor was naturally cold and never had the slightest reaction, but now, she could no longer deceive herself.

There were a few sneering glances around her, which made her feel humiliated, and it was almost impossible to maintain the smile on her face.

“Lady Zhao…” Guoer sat nervously on the little red horse, seeing that the other didn’t respond for a long time, and finally timidly spoke up.

Zhao Yue suddenly returned to her senses, pulled the reins for her with one hand, and smiled at her, “Is the little lady tired? Do you want to take a break?”

In any case, even if she didn’t like this petty child, she must always remember that this is the Emperor’s cousin and cannot be neglected.

Guoer shook her head, tried to sit up straight, and said boldly and earnestly, “Lady Zhao, I-I don’t want to rest, I want to learn quickly! Or else, or else I can’t live up to the goodness of His Majesty and the Crown Prince’s Consort!”

Although she was young and shy, her mind was very delicate and sensitive. She understood that Xiao Kezhi and Chu Ning treated her sincerely. Her mother asked her to learn how to ride horses, and she wanted to practice her courage. Even if it felt difficult, even if she knew that Lady Zhao was contemptuous and perfunctory, she must continue to learn.

“It’s naturally good for the little lady to have this kind of yearning, but learning to ride a horse is not something you can do overnight. We have to take it slow.” Zhao Yue’s eyes flashed and she asked tentatively, “Little lady is the cousin of the Emperor, and she should be very close to the Emperor. Maybe you can guess who the person who entered the tent with the Emperor just now was?”

She asked in a very natural tone, as if out of pure curiosity.

Guoer turned her head to look at the Imperial tent and shook her head awkwardly: “I-I have only met His Majesty two or three times. No, we’re not close…”

Disappointment flashed across Zhao Yue’s eyes, and she said in her heart, “As expected. How could such a plebian girl really get so close to the Emperor?

She smiled reluctantly, pulled the reins for Guoer and continued to walk slowly forward, but her mind was no longer on teaching her how to ride. She kept thinking about the situation she had just seen.

With the identity of an emperor, any woman that he wanted he could get. Why would he hide the identity of that woman from outsiders? But since he wrapped the person so tightly, there were only two possibilities, either, the woman’s identity was special and he didn’t want the others to know, or the Emperor cherished her and did not want to ruin the woman’s reputation.

No matter which one was true, it showed that the Emperor was not completely immune to feminine wiles.

In this case, she still had a chance to succeed. She just needed to think carefully.