As the night gradually darkened, Mo Rongzhan left the capital with two shadow guards. He went to find the villa that Lu Shifeng had mentioned. If Xiao Yao was real, she should be there under house arrest there.
Mo Rongzhan rode his horse and left the city gate like a shooting star. The two shadow guards struggled to keep up with him.
Soon, they found the house. There weren’t many servants in the villa. When two big men saw someone coming, they immediately came forward to enquire. They were easily brought down by a secret guard behind Mo Rongzhan. He then strode into the villa.
The villa was not big, and there were only a few rooms in total. In the last room, Mo Rongzhan found the person he was seeking for.
The little girl in the room looked like she to be about fourteen or fifteen. She was hugging her knees and hiding in a corner. She looked at him like a frightened kitten, her jet-black hair veiling her face. Mo Rongzhan narrowed his eyes and looked at her coldly.
“Your Majesty, the other rooms are empty,” the pair of shadow guards walked behind and whispered.
Therefore, the woman in front of him was the person he was looking for.
“What’s your name?” Mo Rongzhan looked at the girl and asked.
The girl’s shoulders stiffened and she slowly raised her head. Her black hair slid down from her face, revealing an exquisite and beautiful face. She was wearing plain clothes, but it couldn’t hide her beauty that was as beautiful as flowers. Her black eyes were even more like black grapes soaked in water.
“Who are you?” she whispered, her voice sweet and soft — one couldn’t help but be moved.
Mo Rongzhan took a step closer to her. “What’s your name?”
She took a few steps back and looked at Mo Rongzhan. “You guys go out. Don’t come over!”
“Why are you here? What’s your name?” Mo Rongzhan’s cold eyes softened slightly. He crouched down and looked at her, trying to match her with the girl in his memory, but he found that other than her voice, he had no other impression.
He had always remembered that little girl, but now all he thought about was Yaoyao. It was not Xiao Yaoyao, but Lu Yaoyao who had attracted his soul.
“Me… I don’t know why I’m here.” She shook her head. “I don’t remember. Who are you?”
Mo Rongzhan stared intently at her. “I’ll ask you again. What’s your name?”
“I remember… In the past, someone called me Yaoyao…” She began to cry. “I forgot everything, don’t ask me.”
“Is your name Yaoyao?” Mo Rongzhan’s expression darkened. “Do you remember saving someone in the forest? What secret code do you have?”
The girl screamed and pushed Mo Rongzhan away in fear. “I don’t remember. My head hurts so much. I don’t remember anything!”
Mo Rongzhan coldly ordered the guards behind him, “Go and find out, what’s going on?”
One of the shadow guards quickly grabbed a woman. This woman was dressed like a momo*. She must have been taking care of the girl.
(*elderly servant)
“This lord, this servant also doesn’t know where Yaoyao came from. Our master has locked her up here for several years. In the beginning, he fed her medicine every day until she couldn’t remember anything else. She only remembers her name. This matter has nothing to do with this servant. This master, please spare this servant’s life.” She cried and begged.
“What was her surname? Which Yao is it?” Mo Rongzhan asked coldly.
“This servant only remembers that Master had said that her surname was Ye and that she was…It seems to be Yao from Yaotai,” she replied with a trembling voice.
Mo Rongzhan looked back at Ye Yaoyao. As far as he knew, this Ye Yaoyao was the person he was looking for. Could it be that she also had the nickname Yaoyao?
“Bring them back to the palace first!” Mo Rongzhan said in a low voice. She couldn’t remember anything now, even if he wanted to ask her about the past, it was of no use.
“Yes.”
♚
When Ye Zhen found Huangfu Chen, his face was pale as he leaned against a wooden bed. He looked very weak and was not even aware of her arrival.
“Master.” Seeing him so, her heart ached. ‘Didn’t you drink the tea I gave you?”
Huangfu Chen tried his best to open his eyes to look at her. His dry lips moved, but he could not muster a word.
Ye Zhen hurriedly took out a water bag and poured out the medicinal soup that she had brought along. She poured in the entire bottle of lingquan. “Master, drink the medicine first. You will be fine once you drink the medicine, you will be able to leave here very soon.”
She helped Huangfu Chen sit up and fed him the medicine bit by bit. He was unable to drink quickly, but he had it all nonetheless.
Ye Zhen was relieved. When Huangfu Chen went to sleep, she went outside to check how many had yet to recover. She was satisfied to see that although they had not healed completely, at least the illness hadn’t relapsed.
After two days, Huangfu Chen finally got better. He looked at Ye Zhen who was busy, and a light flashed in his eyes “Yaoyao, you shouldn’t have come in.”
Ye Zhen was brewing medicine. Hearing his words, she turned around and smiled. “If I hadn’t, who would have taken care of you and given you the medicine?”
Huangfu Chen shook his head and smiled. “What about the others?”
“They’ve all gotten better but are yet to recover fully, so they can’t leave the village.” Ye Zhen smiled and said, “But they can all get up and walk. Today, I even asked a few people to help sterilize the bowls and chopsticks.”
“The doctors have all left?” Huangfu Chen frowned. He was not satisfied with the doctors who had fled from the village.
Ye Zhen sneered, “They’re afraid of death.”
“Then who cooks food for the villagers?” Huangfu Chen asked coldly.
“Lord Zheng has tasked someone to prepare it and place it at the village gate. It’s almost time. I’ll go and get the food. Please wait,” Ye Zhen said.
Huangfu Chen stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Ye Zhen said, “You’ve just gotten better, so don’t go out. I’ve boiled water and even brought a set of clean clothes. Please take a bath first.”
“Yaoyao, thank you for your hard work,” Huangfu Chen said softly, looking at her gently.
At night, while everyone was deep asleep, a group of people wearing masks walked through the village. And soon after, several dozens of unconscious people appeared on the streets of the west village.
When Ye Zhen got up the next day, she was a little perplexed when she saw the extra patients on the street.
“What’s wrong?” Huangfu Chen’s spirit was much better today. Seeing Ye Zhen standing outside in a daze, he followed her out.
“These people have come from nowhere,” Ye Zhen whispered and went to take their pulses. “They were drugged.”
Huangfu Chen’s eyes turned cold as he looked at the village gate. “Something happened!”
Ye Zhen immediately stood up. “I’ll go take a look.”
♚♚♚
