The cold man

She came across old man Long when she was visiting a temple. There she saw him cure extremely poisoned and sick people. She was punished to stay in that temple for a week by the Ruan family. While her stay there she observed the old man for a while and then gradually got close to him.

So she knew exactly how to warm up to him and convince him to cure her of the poison in her body.

When she visited his small courtyard, she noted that there was already someone pestering physician Long.

The man was cold. An icy face along with a sharp-tall body. He was extremely good-looking.

They both observed each other for a while. Before the Old man broke the silence, "Young lady, what do you need from this old man?"

"Physician Long, I am here for…." Zhang Ziyi trailed while glancing at the man standing opposite her.

Understanding the situation old man turned to that man and spoke, "Young man, how many times should I ask you to leave. So don't just stand here, and get going. I have already said it million times that I'm not going to treat anyone else from now on."

Hearing this, Zhang Ziyi understood that it might be the period where the old man had lost his wife and was still grieving for her. For many years, he would not treat anyone because he couldn't get the picture of her dead wife out of his head whenever he saw any patient lying in front of him. It took him a while to realize that other people still needed him and even if he couldn't save his wife, he could save other's loved one.

[Ah! True love, isn't it?]

But when Zhang Ziyi met him in her previous life, he had already come around his trauma. So, she didn't have to go through his tantrums and bad temper.

She told her situation to the old man in front of the cold man who refused to budge. She didn't care anymore and explained the whole thing to the old man.

He listened to her. But the answer was still the same – No.

Both the cold man and she refused to leave him alone.

His house was not big, but similar to a small courtyard. Both of them stayed there for a course of time, where she offered the old man his second favorite thing in the world – food.

She could cook well since she was forced to feed herself in the Zhang mansion.

The cold man offered the old man his most favorite thing – wine. Both of them would meet each other when they visited the Long courtyard. The beginning was chaotic, but later Zhang Ziyi helped him few times out of kindness, and in turn, he started behaving friendly with her. She didn't have time to be friendly or cozy with a man, so she didn't pay him much attention.

Since she was just cured half a month ago, she stopped visiting the Long courtyard, while the man still went there for his treatment.

He had been poisoned - is what she gathered after all this time. That's the reason why he had pestered old man Long to treat him. Because he wanted the whole thing to be low-key.

All along, Zhang Ziyi was not aware of the cold man's identity. Her instincts just told her that he was a powerful man but never knew that he would a prince.

[Can anything be more cliché than this? – NO.

The female lead didn't know about the identity of the male lead who was a secret big shot – who had become interested in her because she was 'different from other girls' who 'ran' after him for his status and good looks.]

FLASHBACK ENDS

Zhang Ziyi was shocked to see Zhou Zuoren sitting amongst the royal children. He too was enjoying the expected reaction. But what he didn't expect was for her to frown her eyebrows and look in the other direction with a look of deep contemplation and trouble.

[THIS GIRL IS THINKING ABOUT THE TROUBLE A PRINCE CAN BRING HER AND HER FURTURE-REVENGE-PLANS]

It was his first time to experience a girl not acknowledging him. If the other girls who knew him personally would never miss such an opportunity.

[Of course, it would be his first. Because why not. *Eye Roll*]

Anyone else noticed this or not, but Lin Huiying noticed the whole exchange. She knew the plotline that they will meet in the palace for the first time. So, she watched the whole show from the female lead's shocked face to the male lead's smirking-teasing face.

'Can this get any more typical?' She thought while looking at them.

Soon the emperor and the empress arrived in the hall. Everybody stood and saluted them.