Hidden Agenda

Zhao Xing discreetly observed the girl before her through her veil, she looked just like the lifeless lady she saw in her vision, she was indeed a beauty, no wonder she was quickly kidnapped. Her cloths didn't look cheap, and her bearing was outstanding, her identity shouldn't be a simple one. When she heard her name she smiled, "It is indeed fate."

Not just because of their similar surnames, she even saw a vision for the first time in a long time because of her. If it wasn't fate what else would it be? She suddenly felt that coming out on this day was one of the smartest decision she has ever made.

"Miss Zhao, how about this, since you didn't bring any servants, let me escort you back home, but we were just intending to have a meal, I wonder if Miss Zhao can join us before she returns home?" Zhao Xing asked.

The young lady smiled. "Then I won't be courteous."

Like that the group of three returned to the restaurant, where Nuo Nuo and Lan'er waited anxiously. When they spotted their master and Xiao Qi, they both let out a sigh of relief and rushed to their side.

"Mistress, what happened?" Lan'er said as she unconsciously checked her master, as if she had been hurt.

Zhao Xing laughed at her actions. "I'm fine, I'm starving let's go eat." She turned to the girl who followed them. "Miss Zhao, I only recently came to the capital, so I'm not familiar with many things, if Miss Zhao could tell me more about this bustling city, I'd be very grateful."

Zhao Qing was somewhat surprised that she had been pulled into the discussion already. She bowed her head with a small smile, "Actually I don't go out much, there's a lot I don't know myself, I'm afraid I can't help Miss Zhao with this…"

Zhao Xing nodded, she suddenly felt sympathy for the young lady. She must have been locked up at home, maybe her parents were even stricter than Zhang Zhengyang. Today she must have ran away from home, considering she didn't even bring a servant with her. It was hard living in a shell throughout one's life.

"Then Miss Zhao should enjoy this evening before you return." Zhao Xing smiled at her.

Zhao Qing eyes widened when she saw this smile. She could feel that Zhao Xing had some sympathy towards her, this really surprised her.

She had thought about finding more about the Noble Princess, who would have thought she would meet her here of all places, who would have thought she would save her from danger at that crucial moment.

When she did meet her though, she realized Zhao Xing's mannerism was peculiar, it was a kind of feeling she gave off, it felt as if, it was out of this world. In addition to that, it was said that she had lived in the mountains all her life, and that her life wasn't an easy one. But the person standing before her was so full of life and energy, she acted freely, and didn't look like someone that was forced to mature early because of circumstance, nor a peasant that lived in the mountains.

Zhao Qing thought Zhao Xing was really interesting and wanted to learn more about this Noble Princess. She wanted to know how exactly she saved the Crown Prince, how she managed to catch the emperor's attention, to the point she was shot up to the rank of Noble Princess, and what the relationship between her and the Crown Prince was.

The group entered the restaurant and took a private room. Zhao Xing felt a bit apologetic towards her maids. She had originally intended for the four of them to sit and have a feast together, and eat till they could eat no more, but with Zhao Qing here, for fear she would feel offended to eat with the servants, Zhao Xing could no longer go with this plan.

Zhao Xing engaged the young lady in a small discussion while they waited for the food to be served. She saw that Zhao Qing wasn't a talkative person. Normally she wouldn't mind and would just keep quiet, but she thought about how frightened she must have been form being assaulted just now, and decided to talk about some lighthearted things to ease the mood.

"It'll be nice to come out every now and then to have fun outside like this. Only, today I was a bit impulsive and came out this late. But it's not a bad thing since I managed to meet Miss Zhao."

Zhao Qing only smiled. She thought of a way to ask her more about herself without sounding suspicious.

"Miss Zhao's name sounds a bit familiar…" She began.

Zhao Xing realized she had indeed giving away her real name, now she couldn't hide it no matter what. It was her name! If she ever wanted to call herself something she didn't know what else to call herself apart from her name. She didn't know how to quickly come up with names, ok?

Xiao Qi who stood behind Zhao Xing looked at her with disdain.

'Stupid.'

"Miss Zhao said you only recently came to the Capital…you wouldn't be the Noble Princess would you?"

"Eh…" Zhao Xing contemplated whether to hide it or not. But taking into account that this young lady was a noble and that they were likely to bump into each other in the future she decided against hiding her identity.

Zhao Qing wasn't going to allow her to deny it even if she wanted to, she quickly got to her feet and performed a curtsy, surprising Zhao Xing.

"This one greets Noble Princess."

Zhao Xing rose up and stopped her. "How can I receive this? The rank of a Noble Princess isn't anything more than a name. Just an honorary title and doesn't hold much power in it, Miss Zhao this…is uncalled for."

"I'm not of a high rank myself, so I still have to greet Noble Princess." Zhao Qing responded.

Zhao Xing felt uncomfortable by this, "Miss Zhao, I just wanted to chat and have fun, I didn't originally learn all these etiquettes, so I don't care about the ranks, let's just sit and have a good time."

Zhao Xing thought about the vision she saw. She really didn't know what it meant. But looking at the well behaved young lady before her, she felt it would be unfair for her to die such a horrible death and at such a young age. Zhao Qing in front of her was around 15 years old, but Zhao Qing she had seen in the vision didn't look much older, that would mean her death would happen in about a few years, it wouldn't be long. But if she wasn't in immediate danger, why did the vision come? Or were visions just coming to her randomly, without a specific purpose?