Chapter 1 Who are you?
The night was as dark as ink, and the spring rain pattered against the green tiles, weaving a fine beaded curtain under the eaves. This small mansion in Jiaxing County was filled with an unusual tension and solemnity because of the arrival of an important person.
Su Jingyu carried a bowl of freshly brewed herbal medicine and walked lightly under the covered walkway. She wore a soft, lotus-root-colored silk skirt, over which she wore a moon-white silk vest. Her dark hair was adorned with only a fresh magnolia blossom, making her as fresh as the rainy night itself.
"Yu'er, be careful not to spill the medicine." Su's mother's gentle voice came from behind, with a hint of worry in her eyes. "His Highness is of noble status. After you deliver the medicine, come out and do not disturb him."
"Your daughter understands, Mother can rest assured." Su Jingyu turned around and smiled, her demeanor gentle and submissive. Only she knew that beneath her wide sleeves, her fingertips were slightly cold.
The person coming from there is the Crown Prince, the heir apparent, a figure who only exists in his father's excited descriptions and in popular folk tales.
My father, Su Mingyuan, though only a seventh-rank county magistrate, was a truly good official who genuinely cared for the people. This afternoon, the Crown Prince's carriage suddenly arrived at the county office because His Highness's arrow wound had flared up on his way back to the capital, causing a high fever, and he needed to rest nearby.
The father, both apprehensive and proud, welcomed the man into the most secluded courtyard, personally attending to him and murmuring repeatedly, "Heaven blesses our Great Sheng; His Highness's literary and military prowess is truly a blessing to all the people..."
Su Jingyu had no real feelings for the perfect crown prince everyone talked about. She only felt sorry for her father's busy schedule and was grateful to the crown prince for being injured in battle for the country. Therefore, when her mother asked her unmarried daughter to deliver medicine, she felt it was inappropriate but did not say anything.
Amidst her jumbled thoughts, she arrived at the entrance of the villa. The head of the Crown Prince's personal guards, a young general with a stern face, carefully examined the medicine bowl, gave her a deep look, and then stepped aside to let her pass: "Thank you for your trouble, young lady. His Highness has just taken his medicine and fallen asleep, so please be quiet."
"Yes." Su Jingyu bowed her head in response, picked up the tray, and gently pushed open the carved wooden door.
The room was filled with the strong smell of medicine, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood. The candlelight flickered, casting long shadows of the furniture. She walked around the screen, her gaze settling on the sleeping figure on the canopy bed.
Even in his illness, he still possessed an imposing presence. His eyebrows were thick and dark, his nose high and straight, and his thin lips were dry and pale due to the high fever. His long, raven-feather-like hair was spread out on the pillow, further emphasizing his fragile yet handsome appearance.
He was covered with a brocade quilt, but the white cloth wrapped around his bare collarbone and chest could still be seen, faintly revealing the color of blood.
Su Jingyu's heart skipped a beat. She had to admit that this Crown Prince was extremely handsome, possessing a striking and almost aggressive kind of handsomeness that made people afraid to look directly at him.
She tiptoed and placed the medicine bowl on the low table by the bedside. She hesitated whether to wake him or wait for him to wake up naturally, but the person on the bed suddenly let out a very soft murmur, his brows furrowed tightly, as if he had fallen into a very painful nightmare.
Su Jingyu subconsciously took a half step back, only to see his hand unconsciously rise, as if to grab something.
For some inexplicable reason, she remembered the existence of her spiritual spring space. The spring water had the effect of strengthening the body and calming the mind; she drank it daily, which was how she maintained her fair and delicate skin. Perhaps… it could make him feel better?
The thought arose in her mind, and she quietly turned her back. With a slight thought, she drew a drop of spiritual spring water from her spatial storage and let it fall into the clear water prepared on the table. Then, she picked up the glass of water, moistened a soft towel with it, and carefully brought it close to his lips, intending to wipe them dry.
Just as the handkerchief was about to touch him, his tightly closed phoenix eyes suddenly opened!
His eyes held no trace of the confusion of someone just awakened, only the sharpness of a hawk, the coldness of ice and snow, and an unfathomable vigilance and killing intent.
Su Jingyu was so frightened that her handkerchief fell to the ground, and she froze on the spot, meeting those abyss-like eyes.
"Who are you?"
His voice was hoarse from the fever, yet it carried an undeniable, chilling authority. At the same time, a hand gripped her slender wrist like an iron clamp, the force so great that tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
"I...I am the daughter of Magistrate Su..." Her voice trembled, like a frightened fawn, "I am here on my mother's orders to deliver medicine to Your Highness..."
Xiao Jingzhan stared intently at her, seemingly trying to determine the truthfulness of her words. He had just escaped the nightmare of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and his consciousness was not yet fully clear. He only saw a stunningly beautiful woman approaching him and reacted instinctively.
The pain in her wrist brought tears to Su Jingyu's eyes. She bit her lip, trying hard not to cry out. Her delicate, helpless, and pitiful appearance strangely softened the fierceness in Xiao Jingzhan's eyes.
His gaze slid from her tearful almond-shaped eyes to the tip of her slightly reddened nose, and then to her lips, which had lost their color from fright. Her skin, nourished by the moisture of Jiangnan, was flawless up close, like the finest white jade.
He had never seen a woman like this before. The noble ladies of the capital were either dignified or radiant, but none of them were as fragile and pure as a dewdrop on a flower petal in the morning, so delicate that they would shatter at the slightest touch.
The grip on her wrist loosened unconsciously.
"go out."
He closed his eyes, then opened them again. His voice was still cold, but the killing intent had faded.
Su Jingyu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. Forgetting all etiquette, she withdrew her already red wrist, curtsied, and practically fled the room.
Only after running back to the veranda, the cool raindrops hitting her face, did she clutch her wildly pounding heart and lean against a pillar. The burning, dangerous touch still seemed to linger on her wrist.
Inside the room, Xiao Jingzhan closed his eyes again, but a faint, elegant magnolia fragrance seemed to linger around his nose, mixed with the unique sweet scent of the young girl, which was more soothing to his restless nerves than any calming incense.
That panicked and bewildered figure from Jiangnan on that rainy night was like a drop of ink, silently dripping onto the once calm lake of his heart.
Since that terrifying day, Su Jingyu had deliberately avoided the villa. However, Su's mother felt sorry for her daughter who had been frightened, and seeing that the Crown Prince did not blame her, but instead had a guard bring her a bottle of imperial blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment after she regained her senses, she felt a little relieved. She only told her daughter to stay in her room and not to go any further.
However, the prince's condition did not improve. Although the arrow wound had not reached the root of the problem, the residual poison lingered, and coupled with the fatigue from days of travel, he developed a high fever that night, which was even more severe than before.
The villa was brightly lit, and the accompanying imperial physicians were busy going in and out. Su Mingyuan was so anxious that he developed blisters on his lips and paced back and forth outside the courtyard.
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