A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 45

As dawn came upon them, the four started their day getting ready to continue back to the Xie Kingdom. They have been riding their horses with only little rest these past few days and were becoming weary.

Already on their horses, it was now only Ru Mingyu who was tying his saddle onto his horse's back and Lian Yu gathering her things. Coming up to her, Xin Hua spoke, "Lian Yu, are you ready?"

Finished packing, she turned to him. "Yes, Your Highness."

Now that the Crown Prince thought about it, it didn't sit right with him that she addressed him that way. He very much rather she called him by his name since he always called her by hers. "Would you like to ride with me?" his hand outstretched to her. He was quite flustered behind that composed face whilst asking her this.

But, coming up behind the two was the Commander, Lian Zhong. "Nope, Yu come with me instead." he insisted having overheard him.

This caused Xin Hua to subtlety glare at his brother-in-law, thinking "Why must you intervene?" Lian Zhong did the same but it was obvious. Seeing this all unfold before her, the Crown Princess couldn't help but to laugh at their childishness. "Sorry, but I'll just ride with Mingyu as always." It was the only way to avoid such a conflict like this.

As they rode with ease in order to not exhaust their horses this early morning, the beautiful sunrise could be seen ahead of them. And quite a distance from the other two, Ru Mingyu took a quick glance behind at his friend. "Is there something wrong?" he questioned her.

Lian Yu who was in a sort of trance, became startled by his voice. Settling, worry began to fill her. "I'm scared....."

This made his brow raise out of concern, "Why so?" With her finally back with them, wouldn't everything at least be better? What was there to be afraid of when he along with her brother and the Crown Prince vowed to protect her?

"Crown Prince Han Yinjie is not the Crown Prince," she revealed.

He remained silent with shock, waiting for her next words.

"When he found out that he was in fact an illegitimate child, he decided to keep the title not meant for him. The king did not know of this because the queen secretly had a servant carry him because she was in fact with a daughter. To hide the truth, he killed his half-sister, mother, and father." Looking away, she felt shame for not saying anything until now. "I'm sorry, I should've said something sooner." This was due to uncertainty and fear the imposter Sui Crown Prince had engraved into her. Although she was strong against his remarks, it still had an effect on her.

"There's no need to be sorry about anything. We've already sent a messenger hawk to Prince Han Zhaohui to return immediately the moment we entered Sui Kingdom territory." That message had the royal insignia of the vermillion bird as well, meaning that his return could not be denied no matter what and even overruled the orders of the Sui royal family, and Crown Prince Yinjie who was the reason for him being there in the first place.

It was also so that with his return, they could retreat back to the Xie Kingdom along with Prince Han Zhaohui to devise a plan to put an end to Han Yinjie's treachery.

Although she was somewhat settled by this information, Lian Yu still held the same feelings. "I just hope we're safe and that we get out of here immediately."

Turning to her for a moment, he expressed an assuring smile. "I promised you didn't I? If I am unable to fulfill my promise to protect you, I shall cut my hair."

Lian Yu lightly chuckled as she rested her head against his back. She knows he will fulfill that promise like every other one that he's sworn to before. "In the beginning, Zhong told me to not hold anything for His Highness as he was unworthy," she paused for a moment as she tried to find what words she should say.

Ru Mingyu was patient with her moments of silence. It didn't matter if it took the whole day and even weeks or months, he will always wait until she's ready.

"But with all this time that has passed, I don't think there's anything that I don't hold for him, who was deemed unworthy. That day I saw His Highness in that sorrowful state, I began to feel in way responsible. I wanted to take away the sadness he held deep within, and I still do. To me.....he is worthy."

Right away, Ru Mingyu knew the true meaning behind those words of hers but did not say it. Instead, a short smile formed on his lips as he was glad she was able to realize the things that have been on her mind. Then, he remembered something, causing his eyes to narrow and lips forming into frown. "There's actually a reason behind why His Highness is filled with such sorrow, and it's not Song."

"Growing up, His Highness lost everyone he loved and everyone he tried to protect. As only one prince is born each generation, they are heavily protected by an invisible force you could say." This invisible force was Her Divine Goddess Xifeng. "If His Highness is in any sort of danger caused by an individual, that person is bound to die no matter what. And if he protects someone from danger, the person he protects will die so that the threat could also cease." It was through these experiences, that his life changed.

No one ever really spoke of the reason behind his prevailing persona because it scarred the Crown Prince so much. If one were to ever mention it, they'd hold their tongue before they could speak as it was truly an unfortunate thing to witness. Every person Xin Hua has ever protected, was killed one way or another to ensure that he would survive no matter what, and it didn't matter how hard he tried to save them because all efforts would come to nothing in the end. All he would see, was their lifeless bodies as he stood there in dread and the light that would slowly vanish from his once hopeful eyes.

This shocked the Crown Princess as she thought that it was just her sister, Lian Song. Of course she put into mind that there were other factors but she didn't think it would be something so traumatic. Fate was unfair concerning a serious issue like this where protecting someone resulted in unbearable pain instead.

"....What if I protected him?" her head still against his back. Would she break this chain of misfortune that followed him?

Ru Mingyu lightly smiled with a huff. It made him think back on the time where the Crown Prince said something similar about her before. "Then I'll protect you both."

The morning slowly approached noon as they continued on with ease. Entering Wei Kingdom territory, the Commander who lead the group at the front gestured those behind him to stop marching forward. Still, everyone listened closely and Lian Yu only wondered what it is that they were listening for since it must have been very faint. Xin Hua who rode at the back of the group, looked around and behind him on high alert.

Quickly, the Crown Prince spoke in a loud whisper. "Get Lian Yu out of here immediately!"

From the moment those words left his mouth, the sound of snow crunching could be heard and it was loud. Flicking his reins, Ru Mingyu urged his horse to run; however, men emerged from all sides blocking off their path of escape with their swords in hand. And among the attackers, Xue lead them.

Coming before them, Crown Prince Han Yinjie's right-hand simply smiled. "Greetings,"
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