Chарter 20: Zhaоzhao Таkеs thе Initiаtivе to Lеар intо His Arms~
Dаntai Yao lunged fоrwаrd and wrарреd his аrms arоund Yun Zhаоzhao’s саlf. Thе fifteen-yеar-оld boy was muсh heаvier thаn Yun Zhаozhaо.
Unable to сrаwl оut, Yun Zhаozhaо hаd nо сhoicе but to turn bаck and glаre at Dаntai Yaо in annoyаnсе. “Don’t саll me ‘little brothеr’! We’rе оf different gеneratiоns!”
“Impоssiblе!”
Dаntai Yаo refusеd to beliеvе it, sсrutinizing Yun Zhaozhao’s delicate аnd рretty facе in mаle attire. “Yоu’rе at most three years older than me! There’s no way we’re of different generations!”
“If you don’t like ‘little brother,’ then I’ll call you ‘brother’!”
What brother?
Yun Zhaozhao really wanted to reveal her identity—she was Dantai Yao’s future teacher’s wife!
But remembering she had sneaked out, Yun Zhaozhao grew frantic. Would her cousin be anxiously searching everywhere for her if he couldn’t find her?
“Your Majesty, let go of me first! As the emperor, how can you cling to my leg like this? It’s unbecoming!”
“Hmph! I can’t let you go! If you go out, they’ll know I’m hiding here. I don’t want to go back and listen to that old geezer drone on! It’s so annoying!”
Hearing this, Yun Zhaozhao stared at Dantai Yao in disbelief. Forgetting all about propriety, she angrily questioned him, “How can you call Grand Tutor Pei an old geezer! Where is he old?”
“I wasn’t talking about my teacher.”
Dantai Yao looked innocent. “I meant the Grand Judicial Court Minister. His hair and beard are all white, and his lectures are like chanting sutras—listening to them gives me a headache.”
So she had misunderstood.
Yun Zhaozhao’s pretty face flushed red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I thought you meant… Wait, isn’t Grand Tutor Pei teaching Your Majesty today?”
“It was supposed to be my teacher, but he said he had something urgent to attend to today…” Dantai Yao looked dejected, like a puppy that had been abandoned.
Her cousin had refused the young emperor for her sake!
Yun Zhaozhao grew even more anxious. Looking at the little emperor who refused to let her go, she had a sudden idea. “Your Majesty, you don’t want anyone to know you’re hiding here, right? I’ll help you!”
Yun Zhaozhao picked up a stone from the ground, weighed it in her hand, and cautiously asked Dantai Yao, “Your Majesty, if I help you distract the imperial guards, you won’t make me pay for damages, will you?”
Dantai Yao looked confused.
What did this have to do with paying for damages?
Seeing Yun Zhaozhao staring at him, waiting for his answer, Dantai Yao replied without hesitation, “I am the emperor, my word is law! I won’t ask you for money!”
“Good!”
Yun Zhaozhao curved her lips into a smile, her eyes sparkling with cunning and liveliness. Her radiant smile outshone even a hundred blooming flowers.
Then, she hurled the stone with all her might!
A small stone, but with immense destructive power!
Boom!
A large hole was smashed through the roof of a distant palace! The earth-shattering noise immediately drew all the nearby imperial guards to the scene.
Dantai Yao was stunned.
[Such incredible strength!!!]
“Brother, you’re so fierce! So cool! Let’s become sworn…” Dantai Yao turned around, only to be dumbfounded. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t even know your name yet.” Dantai Yao touched his chest, feeling an inexplicable emptiness.
Yun Zhaozhao had long since crawled out through the dog hole and escaped!
She was clever and had a photographic memory. She remembered every path she had taken clearly, so even without the system’s guidance, she could find her way back with ease.
Coincidentally, the imperial guards and palace servants had all been drawn away by the deafening sound of the collapsing roof!
Yun Zhaozhao smoothly made her way back to the room’s entrance.
However, it was already too late!Grand Tutor Pei stood at the doorway of the empty room, tall and elegant, his back like a sculpture of frost and jade. A chilling aura surged around him, carrying an intimidating and soul-shaking presence!
It was terrifyingly cold!
No one dared to approach him.
Yun Zhaozhao’s heart thumped wildly as she dawdled, inching her way over step by step.
Standing behind Pei Yan, she called out in a soft, timid voice, “Cousin.”
Initially indifferent to the person behind him, treating her as if she were air, Pei Yan abruptly turned around the moment he heard Yun Zhaozhao’s voice. His cold eyes, sharp and piercing like a wild beast’s pupils, locked onto her!
Yun Zhaozhao was so startled by his gaze that her legs went weak, and she instinctively took a step back.
Little did she know that this retreat of hers provoked Pei Yan.
With a cold expression, Pei Yan advanced step by step, while Yun Zhaozhao, frightened, retreated step by step until her back hit a redwood pillar carved with gold, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.
Why couldn’t she hear her cousin’s inner thoughts?!
Yun Zhaozhao was frantic inside.
As Pei Yan drew closer, the cold, frosty scent of ink enveloped her, overwhelming her to the point where she could barely breathe.
Yun Zhaozhao immediately called out softly, “Cousin, I went to the restroom. I didn’t run off anywhere.”
Pei Yan stopped, leaving almost no distance between the two of them.
His eyes, deep and unfathomable like an icy pond, swallowed all emotion. Pei Yan lowered his gaze, staring at Yun Zhaozhao without a word. He simply extended his jade-like, slender fingers and plucked a stray blade of grass from Yun Zhaozhao’s hair.
He said nothing, yet it felt as if he had said everything.
If she went to the restroom, where did the grass come from?
Too guilty to meet Pei Yan’s gaze, Yun Zhaozhao grew anxious, unable to hear his inner thoughts.
What was her cousin thinking?
Just then, Pei Yan suddenly leaned down, pressing close to Yun Zhaozhao’s cheek, ear, and neck, sniffing without actually touching her skin.
He didn’t make the slightest contact with her skin.
Yet his presence was so overwhelming that Yun Zhaozhao felt the places he had sniffed burn as if on fire.
[Ambergris.]
Yun Zhaozhao finally heard Pei Yan’s inner thoughts again. [Zhaozhao has met His Majesty.]
[With so much of this scent on her, what did Zhaozhao do with His Majesty?]
Pei Yan’s gaze was like a ruler, meticulously scanning every inch of Yun Zhaozhao’s face.
He spoke coldly, his tone unhurried, his voice like ice beads falling onto a jade plate: “Zhaozhao, where exactly did you go?”
Yun Zhaozhao, like a sensitive little creature, sensed danger.
Her cousin was truly furious!
Without a second thought, Yun Zhaozhao’s body moved faster than her mind. She opened her arms and threw herself into Pei Yan’s embrace, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist. “Cousin, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry, okay?”
Pei Yan was completely stunned by her sudden embrace.
His mind went blank!
His heart raced, warm blood flowing through his entire body, melting the ice in his heart into gentle spring water.
[Zhaozhao… took the initiative to hug me.]
Pei Yan pressed his pale lips together and gently raised a hand to stroke Yun Zhaozhao’s back. The soft, trembling figure quivered lightly under his palm.
[…I frightened Zhaozhao.]
A flicker of regret appeared in Pei Yan’s eyes. He softened his voice, “I’m not angry, Zhaozhao. Don’t be afraid. I spoke too harshly. I apologize to you.”
Yun Zhaozhao pressed her ear against Pei Yan’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and his inner thoughts.
Did he really stop being angry?
Only then did Yun Zhaozhao secretly let out a sigh of relief. She looked up at Pei Yan obediently and said, “Cousin, let’s go home.”
“Mhm.”Pei Yan’s eyes flickered subtly in the shadows. No matter what Zhaozhao was hiding, he would never take her into the palace again.
His possessiveness was intense and overwhelming, domineering yet tinged with a hint of obsessive madness.
[Go home!]
[Have Leng Zhu go to the goldsmith and have a… made…]
Yun Zhaozhao pricked up her ears—why couldn’t she hear again?
She grumbled inwardly at System 009, “Little monster, your cheat is malfunctioning!”
[No malfunction—I blocked it.]
“Blocked it? Why won’t you let me listen?” Yun Zhaozhao was utterly bewildered.
[You’re still too young to hear it.]