Empress with no Virtue Chapter 86

When Ye Zhen Zhen woke up, she found herself on a beach sh.o.r.e still tied to the piece of wood. The calm waves flowing by, reflecting the golden rays of the sun within, cold and indifferent, it made her feel as if the flood was just a dream.

But the destruction of vegetation in her vicinity as well as the damp smell of silt in the air hinting otherwise.

Ye Zhen Zhen laboriously set herself up to look towards the west. She could clearly see in the distance, the sun towering over the earth, dyeing it in a frightening crimson color.

The dazzling red harshly stung her eyes, sadness filled her mind.

Suddenly the red light was blocked by a shadow. A shadow of a man, wearing white. A tall visage, his eyes sparkling, giving off an expression as if smiling at her.

Ye Zhen Zhen before was looking at the bright sun hence when the shadow covered her sight it took a while for her to adjust, she just dazedly looked at the indistinct form, squinting.

"Ji Wujiu..." She was unable to stop herself from uttering those words. Due to weakness, her voice sounded as if she was whispering to herself.

The shadow of the man squatted, he raised his hand to help set aside her disheveled hair and gently wiped the mud off her face.

"Chen brother, do you recognize me?" He whispered.

Ye Zhen Zhen closed her eyes, fighting back her tears she said: "How can I not, Li You."

Ju Li You helped her out of the bindings, then carried her by the waist, "Let's go, I will help you find a shelter first."

Ye Zhen Zhen affirmed with a nod. She did not refuse him.
Ji Li You knows who she is, he must have come prepared, otherwise, it made no sense for him to be here, now even if she refused, it will serve no good. Rather, it would be better to pretend to follow then try to make an escape.

Although she knew his intentions and ident.i.ty clearly, Ji Li You probably did not know that he had been exposed. Hence, she was willing to play 'the fool' for a while.

To keep up the act, she deliberately asked a question to which she already knew the answer to, "Why are you here?".

"I was pa.s.sing by and happened to see someone lying on the sh.o.r.e, at first I did not recognize you. Brother Zhen... or should I call you sister Zhen?"

"Whatever."

Ji Li You pursed his lips, "Ah, sister Zhen... why are you so distressed, what happened?"

Ye Zhen Zhen recalled Ju Wujiu's figure engulfed in the flood, finally, the tears she had been holding back came rolling down, she soon began to cry.

"Good, I won't ask again, don't cry anymore.", He said, trying to comfort her. Seeing Ye Zhen Zhen crying this miserably, he frowned a little but soon returned to his normal expression.

Ye Zhen Zhen absent-mindedly wiped her tears and said in between her sobs "Li.. Li You,... tha,... thank you."

"You do not have to be so formal towards me"

Ye Zhen Zhen looked around her and asked, "How fierce was the flood around here?"

Li You explained, "Not so much, there's a river around here and it helped diminish the force of the flood."

"By the way, where is here?"

"This is the border of the coastal county territory."

Ye Zhen Zhen did not recall any information about this place in her mind. It was hard for her to a.s.sume just how far she has been washed up to. Her only memory is that of being carried by the water down a large slope, a.s.sumably a waterfall, and then she fainted.

She had the aid of the piece of wood, but Ji Wujiu... thinking till here, she felt her heart suffering a burst of pain, of sorrow.

Ji Li You led Ye Zhen Zhen into the courtyard of a residence. This residence was built at the edge of a small village, roof covered with tiles, a s.p.a.cious courtyard, planted within were big mulberry trees. Nothing different from ordinary farmhouses.

Ye Zhen Zhen took a hot shower and then changed into some clean clothes provided by Ji Li You.
She then sorted out the stuff which she carried that did not get washed away by the flood. She was only left with a purse, a folding fan and as well as a bottle of medicine.
The purse and the folding fan were given to her as a pair by Ji Wu Jiu, while the medicine was something she recently bought to scare Ji Wujiu with. (TL Note: The 10-day impotency medicine, in case you have all forgotten)

Ye Zhen Zhen unfolded the fan, it was made out of silk and while the water did not do much damage to it but it still managed to cause the inscription aswell as the image on its surface to appear fuzzy. She touched the fan, recalling the memories of the times she hit him with it, while he playfully evaded... pleading for his life, this memory caused her to feel as if her heart has been pierced by countless needles.

No, he can not die, he must not die. He is the dragon amongst men, emperor under the heavens, he will not easily die. He is the omnipotent Ji Wujie, how can he die?

While she was comforting herself she subconsciously cradled the folding fans in her arms, while dazedly thinking that she must find him.

But for now, her priority is to escape from Li You's hold.

Ye Zhen Zhen intentionally walked out to test something, just as she stepped a mere three steps out of the room, someone immediately came into to the yard and respectfully asked if she needed something.
She casually made up a reason and walked back into the room under his attentive gaze.

She was under house arrest, surrounded by who knows how many eyes.
Ye Zhen Zhen sat on a chair while ma.s.saging her temples to calm herself down.

Due to the colossal flood, whether she, or Ji Li You, can not so easily find out about the situation of Ji Wujiu. Perhaps this is the reason Li You is still hiding here, making no move.

The first ones to know whether Ji Wujiu survived or not would be the court of ministers.

Ji Wujiu is the emperor, if the emperor died, the whole world would certainly be made aware of it. Ye Zhen Zhen heart felt peng of worry when she thought if Ji Wujiu truly is... whatever the case, she will soon know.

But now she was under house arrest, whatever news there is, how will she know?

Perhaps, Ji Li You can also pa.s.s on fake news to her?

Ye Zhen Zhen thought of Ji Li You, this man, he is Ji Wujiu' cousin, after Ji Wujiu's death, he will be the one to inherit the empire.
Li You probably initiated contact with her because he cannot determine the situation of Ju Wujiu.
In fact, from Ji Li You's reaction, it will not be hard to guess Ji Wujiu's situation.

If Ji Li You will keep her under house arrest or take her northwards, then Ji Wujiu should still be alive, only then will she have a use to Li You; If Ji Li You later tries to kill her then it can be determined that Ji Wijiu is confirmed dead... by that time she will be able to die with tranquility.

Ye Zhen Zhen summed up her current situation and determined two trailable courses of action. First, Do not believe in anything Ji Li You or people surrounding him says. Second, closely observe the att.i.tude of Ji Li You to obtain clues while still trying to find an escape route.

While she was still in her thoughts, Ji Li You knocked on her door, carrying a tray of food.

Ye Zhen Zhen opened the door and asked him to enter. Ji Li You observing her red eyes, haggard face, came to the conclusion that she had been crying and started comforting her.

Ye Zhen Zhen politely thanked him, while inwardly rolling her hers.

They stayed in the village for a few days, during which Ye Zhen Zhen attempted to escape multiple times, but unfortunately always ending up in failure.

Ji Li You visited her every day, chatting with her, playing the role of a gentle and caring friend.

Ye Zhen Zhen's acting is not as good as Li You's, and one day she accidentally slipped out of her act which was caught by Ji Li You.

Ji Li You's expression turned a bit cold.

Ye Zhen Zhen looked a bit guilty, and then she impatiently said, "Brother Li, thank you for your care, I feel much better now. But I'm a little exhausted, I would like to rest now. "

"Very well, this is a lot better.", he stood up, looking down at her he said, "When I become the Emperor, you will still be the Empress, you do not have to worry."

Ye Zhen Zhen suddenly looked at him, stunned.

Facing that surprised look of hers, he laughed, his deep laughter resounding throughout the quiet room, sounding dark and gloomy.

Ye Zhen Zhen timidly held her head down, eyes darting around, unaware of what to do next.

Ji Li You while still laughing said, "You already knew everything, it must have been hard for you to pretend for so many days, my little Zhen Zhen."


Ye Zhen Zhen took a long breath and just bluntly said, "He will not die."

"Yes, but I heard that his body has been found, and now the whole nation is mourning", his laughter now had a hint of pride, "How about I do you a favour, allowing you to wear mourning apparel for a few days as a filial piety towards your ex-husband, what do you say?"

Calm, must calm down, must not believe in any of the nonsense he speaks.
She closed her eyes and said, "One thing I'm unable to understand, the day of the incident, it wasn't raining, how did the flood break out? And why was there an earthquake before the flood? After giving it some thought, there's one conclusion that comes to my mind-- Explosives. Tell me, Am I right?"

He laughed, and then gently tapped her head with the folding fan, "Smart."

Ye Zhen Zhen's whole body suddenly turned cold. This man to kill a single person manufactured a flood. This piece of land is a fertile one and in merely a month it was supposed to be the season of harvest, but he, to achieve his purpose turned this fertile land into a swamp, turning six months of effort of various people into nothing. Even more frightening is the fact that countless innocent lives were taken by that flood.

Ye Zhen Zhen felt cold to the root of her teeth.

She then stood up, walked in front of Ji Li You, unwaveringly looking at him, his face calm.

Ji Li You felt attracted by her pure eyes which seemed to be untainted. Those eyes, filled with everything he ever desired.

Clean, pure, simple, happy.

He has always felt he was a person stuck in dark, damp and a cold place never to see light. But, looking at her, he felt as if she was a blooming flower, emitting a bright, warm and supremely pure aura.

She to him is like a magnet, his opposite, he simply cannot help but be attracted to her.

Pa!

Ji Li You snapped out of his thoughts by her slap. Ye Zhen Zhen saw deep in his eyes a coldness emerged.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!", Ye Zhen Zhen shouted, "Do you know how many people died because of you?"

"I don't know, nor do I care", he said coldly, "The only thing I know is, what I want, I will make sure to get."

Ye Zhen Zhen trembled with rage. How could such a person exist?! This kind of cold-blooded, shameless person is even worse than beasts!

"You only care about how many people I killed, but did you know, my uncle, your husbands' father, how many people died because of him?---

---In the past, no one in the world helped me, now why must I take them into account? The so-called country for me is nothing but a heap of corpses."

He stroked her face, while his own carried a smile.




----------END OF CHAPTER 86-----------