Blind and Bereft

Chapter 26 | Behind His Barrier

Jingrui was only a maid, and she knew that no matter how hard she begged Prince Zhanying, his words were absolute. It was pointless to bargain with him; in fact, she was in no place to bargain with him right from the beginning. With that in mind, after the banquet, she pretended she had lost interest in going. But it was not that she had given up. She would find her own way.

A few days after the banquet, Madam Fu instructed Jingrui to go run an errand, and Jingrui felt something was off. Since the last time she ran into Emperor Yihuai, no one had ever sent her on an errand again. It was as if Madam Fu wanted her to be away from the palace that day.

Jingrui had learned her lesson from her last errand: never to stray somewhere she should not. But since Madam Fu raised her suspicion, she decided to stay hidden by the gate of the Heavenly Palace.

There was no doubt about it, Madam Fu had sent her on an errand because she didn't want her to see Prince Zhanying and Yuansong leave the Palace and riot trouble.

It wasn't until the short shadow hour that she saw Prince Zhanying and Yuansong flying out of the Heavenly Gate and disappearing into the clouds of mist. Jingrui smiled to herself before rushing out the gate and leaping into the air, following them.

As she left, a thought struck her. The great Heavenly Gate was rather deserted. It was normally guarded by rows of Heavenly Guards, yet she was able to leave with free will. Shrugging off the sombre feeling, she looked ahead at the Prince's fading figure amidst the clouds.

Soon, they landed on the ground in the middle of a forest. Jingrui kept her distance from the figures in front of her, well aware of the Prince's excellent hearing and sense of smell.

The forest stretched into the far horizon, enshrouding dull shadows overhead. Pine and wet dirt scent filled her nose as she stepped on the snow puddles. Her soft footsteps echoed within the hollow wood, and she scrunched her nose, fearing that the sound would travel to Prince Zhanying and Yuansong.

As she tried her best to keep her steps light, a sudden gust of wind bellowed, almost knocking over her body. Chills pierced her bones, and taken over by a sudden fear, she shivered.

Jingrui swallowed, sweat trickling down her forehead despite the cold. She took a careful step forward, but before she could move further than a pace, an icy metal whooshed past her ears. Strands of her dark hair snapped apart, and her skin was grazed with a cut. She froze, staring as a glimmering knife embedded into a tree trunk before her.

"A little immortal maid?" a voice called from behind, and she forced her stiff head to turn to him.

A dozen masked men, dressed in black, stood like a pack of wolves. They glared at her with threats, their swords pointing towards her. Jingrui's eyes widened as she recognised them; they were dressed just like the men that chased after Prince Zhanying that night. She trembled as she took a step back.

The leader of the group dug his heel into the wet soil and held out his hands, ready to attack her. He hauled himself at her rigid body, blacklight darting from his fingertips. She squinted her eyes shut, and narrowly dodged his fist, only to get kicked in the stomach. Blood gushed from her lips as she stumbled back.

"He told us to kill all the witnesses in our way. Goodbye, little maid," the man in black said before he lunged himself at her once more. His hand shot out towards her shoulder, and his blunt force burned against her skin. Sizzling smell of burnt flesh entered her nose as she fell back onto the melting snow, clutching onto her wound in pain.

Her eyes widened when the man jumped at her once more. But before he could trample on her like a beast, silver light flashed past and hit the man right in his stomach. He darted back to the group of panicked dozen men and collapsed cold.

Yuansong flew from behind her, his sword flashing in his hand as he landed in the middle of the group. Prince Zhanying walked into the crowd of men, his body radiating with light, and his eyes were dark with raw rage. He swung his sword once, and a furious wind blew her hair into her face, followed by debris and dirt.

When the wind had died down, all that was left were dead corpses which slowly vanished into the air.

"One of them got away," Yuansong said as he watched the immortals dissipate into dust.

Prince Zhanying brushed the fallen strands of hair out of his face as he dispelled his sword. "I'm tired. We'll pursue him later. Besides. . ." He shot Jingrui a dark gaze. "We have something more important to deal with."

Jingrui's hands grew clammy and she bowed. "P-Prince."

He stepped in front of her and crouched down. "I told you to be good, didn't I?"

She fiddled with her fingers under his intense glance. "I-I'm sorry."

He gave a resigned sigh as he rubbed his forehead with a shake of head. "What am I going to do with you, Bao Bao?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated as butterflies flew in her stomach. She clenched her fist, shifting with discomfort. "Your Highness . . . you saved me. But frankly speaking, I have also once saved you. . ." Her expression lit up as she pinched her fingers on his sleeves and tugged it. "How about we . . . consider it equal? I know that all these times you have been treating me well because of those five nights, right? But now, I am under your disposal, and you are free to use me as you see fit."

Yuansong immediately flared up. "You dare bargain with our Prince, you little unscrupulous-"

Prince Zhanying held up a hand to stop Yuansong. He turned to her. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Her eyes wavered at his question. No one had ever asked her if she were hurt. She shook her head. "No," she lied. Her whole body was rid of its usual warmth, but she brightened it up with a reassuring smile.

Prince Zhanying didn't seem convinced, but he tilted his head to the side and stood up. Without saying anymore, he waved for Yuansong to follow him as they began their walk again.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked her as she sat, frozen on the ground.

Jingrui blinked, confused. She pointed her shaky finger at herself. "Are you talking to me?"

Prince Zhanying gave her a side glance. "Who else?"

A smile overcame her face and ignoring her pain, she pushed herself to stand and hopped to the Prince's side. "Your Highness is taking me with you? You really are taking me with you?"

He nodded with a stoic expression, but even that made her smile widen. Up until now, she had thought the Prince to be a stern and cold-hearted person who was out to make her days difficult, but it turned out that within his rigid barrier hid kindness.

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