Blind Beauty - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On my way back to the capital, my carriage broke down.

There happened to be a dense grove by the roadside. It was early March, and the peach blossoms were in full bloom, hanging from the branches like rosy clouds. I had been cooped up in the carriage until I felt stifled, so I went into the grove alone for a stroll.

I spread a handkerchief on the ground and had just sat down when someone suddenly tumbled out from behind a tree trunk.

The man was dressed in a blue official robe, and the rank badge embroidered on it showed an egret-a sixth-rank official. His face was deathly pale, both hands clamped tight around his throat. Blood sprayed from his neck, splattering all over my face.

Warm, sticky liquid slid down my cheeks. I froze.

The next second, another figure stepped out from behind the tree, a long sword in hand, and planted one foot on the sixth-rank official’s back.

“To die by my sword is your good fortune.”

With a cold snort, he calmly drove the sword into the official’s back, right through the heart. His bearing was elegant, as if he were not killing someone at all.

The moment I saw his bright yellow robe, my pupils shook.

Damn it. The Crown Prince! I’m dead!

I stiffened where I was, my heart pounding wildly. My mind raced for a long while before an idea suddenly came to me.

I reached up and touched my cheek.

“Why is it raining? Liuli-it’s raining. Help me back to the carriage, Liuli-”

As I called out, I braced one hand against the tree trunk and stood, then stretched both hands straight out in front of me, feeling my way toward the outside.

The Crown Prince stood to the side, staring at me with suspicion written all over his face, his sharp brows drawn tight.

“Miss, I’m over here-”

Liuli lifted her skirts and ran toward me from afar, delighted.

“We’re in luck. We ran into Madam Lu. She said she can give us a ride back.”

The Crown Prince heard her and immediately slipped back behind the tree. My whole body went rigid as I grabbed Liuli’s arm in a death grip, my nails digging into her flesh.

“Ah! Miss, why is there blood on your face? Are you hurt?”

I halted and said hesitantly, “What blood? Wasn’t it raining just now?”

As I spoke, I frantically shot Liuli meaningful looks and mouthed at her.

“I’m blind. Blind-”

Liuli was quick-witted and understood at once. She coaxed me in a gentle voice.

“It’s all right. Let’s go back to the carriage first.”

“Miss, Madam Lu said just now that she knows a famous physician who specializes in eye diseases. There’s hope for your eyes.”

I widened my eyes and gave Liuli a thumbs-up.

Beautifully done!

On the road, I told Liuli what had happened in the softest voice possible. She sucked in a sharp breath as she listened.

“Crown Prince Xiao Yuan?”

Xiao Yuan was no kind soul. Before he was made Crown Prince, he had been leading troops at the border and was a prince very much out of favor. But a few years ago, when the emperor fell gravely ill, Xiao Yuan returned to the capital to attend to him. Somehow, after all that back and forth, the emperor actually issued an edict naming him Crown Prince.

Xiao Yuan was only the seventh prince. He had six elder brothers ahead of him, so naturally the others refused to accept it. The princes all plunged into a chaotic struggle, and not a single day in the capital was peaceful.

My father was only a fifth-rank official. If our family got dragged into this fight for the throne, we would not even know how we died.

Liuli and I both knew how serious this was, so the two of us immediately prepared a plan to deal with it.

I had been frail since childhood and would fall ill from time to time. My family had a hot spring villa on the outskirts of the capital, much warmer than the city itself. Whenever the weather turned cold, I would stay at the villa and only return to the capital after spring began.

Now this made the perfect excuse. We would say I had developed an eye disease this time and had gone to the estate to recover.

The Crown Prince would not know my identity for the time being. I had Liuli immediately send someone back to the estate so that the few personal attendants there could all get their stories straight. We also bribed the doctor who had treated me.

When I returned home, Mother learned that I had gone blind and held me as she cried.

“Don’t worry, Yao Yao. Mother will definitely find a doctor to cure you.”

After dealing with my parents, I returned to my room and leaned against the doorframe, utterly exhausted.

I had changed out of those bloodstained clothes the moment I got into the carriage, but my back was sticky, and I had broken out in a cold sweat. I told Liuli to prepare water for a bath.

The bathtub was in my bedroom, placed behind a folding screen and facing a window. Outside the window stood a magnolia tree, its faint fragrance drifting in through the cracks.

I took a deep breath, and my whole body relaxed. I untied my sash and slipped off my outer robe.

Just as I was taking off my inner garment, I saw the window suddenly swing open. A man in black leaped inside with astonishing speed, then reached back to shut the doors and windows tight.

I was scared stupid. Was it the Crown Prince? Had he come to kill me and silence me?

The Crown Prince leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He had clearly not expected me to be about to bathe. His brow lifted in surprise, and then a faint smile curved his lips, as if he were settling in to watch a show.

I stood frozen in place, not moving an inch.

It seemed the Crown Prince was not here to kill me. So… he had come to test me?