For days, Ah Zhao has kept Zhao Yin at arm"s length.
To be honest, she isn"t really angry but learning about the truth all of a sudden makes her quite at a loss as to how to face Zhao Yin.
Zhao Yin becomes more anxious. He has no idea what Ah Zhao has in her mind.
For days he has been sounding her out through their conversations with the greatest of care which makes Ah Zhao laugh. She is really amused by his reaction and couldn"t help herself but act like she is at a loss which makes Zhao Yin more restless.
Zhao Yin hasn"t been doing nothing at all.
After his talk with Ah Zhao, he thinks more about how to face his father.
It won"t help insisting that he is innocent and has been set up by someone else.
After considering for days, Zhao Yin finally picks up his pen and writes a letter of account.
Between the lines he is calm and at ease, not putting much stress on how he was wronged but described what he did and how he felt on that particular day word by word.
He knows his father well. Too much affectation and exaggeration would only make it fake for him.
At last, he follows Ah Zhao"s advice and explains his true self to Emperor Huizong for the first time.
Not in the way a prince explains himself to an emperor, but the affection of a son to his father.
He knows Emperor Huizong the same way as Emperor Huizong knows him.
Zhao Yin believes that Emperor Huizong could tell whether he is lying when he is cool-headed.
Only that Zhao Yin feels quite divided after finishing the letter.
He hasn"t been very open about his feelings and at the same time he finds it quite hard to speak about and shameful for him to express his respect and admiration for his father.
For years he has been used to being that perfect and commanding Prince Yan in front of everyone else.
It is tough for him to show his tender side even to his own father.
Ah Zhao"s reaction towards how he thinks is a scornful snort.
"Mask is something you wear in front of strangers."
"Show your heart to those you love."
Ah Zhao"s dark and pure eyes stare at Zhao Yin with all seriousness: "Zhao Yin, who is His Majesty to you, your father or the emperor of Great Yan?"
Zhao Yin says without hesitation: "My father, of course."
"So what"s so embarra.s.sing about telling your father that you love him, admire him and respect him?" Ah Zhao asks curiously.
She says very naturally: "I will act like a spoiled child asking papa for hugs and tell him that he"s my favorite person whenever I see him."
After she has said that, the atmosphere around them suddenly changes.
Ah Zhao"s heart skips a bit.
And all of a sudden she hears Zhao Yin"s deep voice with a trace of laugh by her ears: "Acting like a spoiled child? Asking for hugs? favorite? M-hm?"
Ah Zhao"s powerful instinct to seek survival leads her to turn around hastily: "Ah! I remember that I have something to attend to."
But this isn"t going to help her.
She is much slower than that man who is overcome by a fit of jealousy.
A pair of scorching hands touch her waist. With the view in front of her eyes changing, Ah Zhao falls into his broad embrace.
Zhao Yin fixes his gaze on Ah Zhao: "Princess, have you forgotten that you are my princess?"
Ah Zhao: "About that..."
"You should have acted like a spoiled child to me."
"Ask me for hugs."
"And your favorite person must be me."
"Do you understand that?"
Ah Zhao widens her eyes: "Didn"t you say that you have no ulterior motives towards me?"
Zhao Yin raises the corner of his lip: "Oh? Then I take that back."