Blind Beauty - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My life or my virtue? Did that even require thought?

I hesitated for all of one second before decisively stripping off my inner robe and flinging it at the Crown Prince’s face, blocking his line of sight perfectly.

I stepped into the bathtub and sank into the warm water. Steam curled around me. I let out a long breath, then watched with my own two eyes as the Crown Prince stroked his chin, suddenly drew a dagger from his sleeve, and twirled it twice between his fingers.

What the hell, Xiao Yuan? Are you even human? I’m blind.

You can still bring yourself to do this? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?

I was shocked, furious, and scared half to death, but on the surface I could only pretend nothing was wrong.

There was a chair beside the bathtub, my clothes draped over its back. The Crown Prince strolled over and sat down at his leisure, crossed one leg over the other, and reached his long arm out over the water.

One moment, the dagger pointed at my neck. The next, it pointed at my chest, as if he were considering the best place to strike.

When I saw that glint of light flash past the tip of my nose, I was so frightened I started crying.

My eyes were open as tears slid down my cheeks, one after another, dripping into the water and rippling across the surface.

The Crown Prince arched a brow and tightened his grip on the dagger.

I quickly raised a hand to cover my cheek, sighed deeply, leaned back against the wall of the tub, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“Xiao Yuan… I heard you’re getting engaged.”

The Crown Prince: ?

“I know I have no right to like you. You’re the Crown Prince, and my father is merely a fifth-rank official. We were never a suitable match to begin with. I don’t dare hope I could marry you. But now that I’ve gone blind, even seeing you once more may be too much to ask.”

“You must look very handsome in red.”

“Boohoo, Xiao Yuan…”

I muttered to myself for a while, weeping pitifully. My black hair spread through the water, and the corners of my eyes were red. I embodied the words fragile and forlorn to perfection.

The Crown Prince was stunned. He yanked his hand back and stared at me, at a complete loss.

If you could still bring yourself to kill a blind, naked young woman who had a secret crush on you, then damn, I would have to respect you.

So I cried even more pitifully.

“Three years ago, when you led the troops back to the capital, you sat astride your horse in full armor. I fell for you at first sight and could never forget you.”

After a pause, I wiped my face with water, frowned, and sighed softly, brimming with sorrow.

“Xiao Yuan, I wonder when you’ll ever notice me.”

The Crown Prince went rigid. The dagger slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor with a crisp clang.

I quickly turned my head.

“Who’s there? Liuli?”

“My lady, would you like some tea?”

Liuli called from outside the door. Seeing this, Xiao Yuan immediately picked up the dagger, opened the window, and climbed out.

A gust of cold wind swept into the room. The tension in my heart loosened, and my whole body slid down into the water.

I replayed everything that had just happened in my head, patted my chest, and gave myself a thumbs-up. Shen Yaoyao, you really are a damn genius.

My response just now had been brilliant, flawless. Hopefully Xiao Yuan would stop watching me and just let me go like a bad fart.

The next day, when Father returned from court, I realized I had oversimplified things.

“Yao Yao, Lord Lu, the Vice Minister of the Grand Court, will be coming to question you shortly. Go change your clothes and prepare yourself.”

Mother was horrified.

“My lord, Yao Yao is in poor health and has already been badly frightened. How can you let her meet with some Lord Lu now? Just refuse him.”

Father glared, then set the teacup in his hand down heavily on the table.

“What does a woman like you know? Yesterday, Censor Pei was ambushed and killed outside the peach grove on the road into the capital. His Majesty is furious. Even if they have to turn the world upside down, they will find the murderer! Lu Yunjing is already being courteous by coming here to ask questions in person. If I make excuses and obstruct him, he can issue a warrant and drag Yao Yao back to the Grand Court. That would be true humiliation.”

After Censor Pei’s body was discovered, the memorial he had submitted the day before his death impeaching the Third Prince had just so happened to arrive before the emperor. In the memorial, he accused the Third Prince of ten major crimes. The Third Prince went pale with terror, knelt, and begged for mercy, insisting that Censor Pei had framed him.

The court officials were unconvinced.

“Hmph. If it really was a false accusation, then why was someone so eager to send assassins after him?”

Censor Pei had used his own life to prove the truth of that memorial. The Third Prince could not argue his way out of it. That very day, the emperor ordered him confined in the Imperial Clan Court.

The Third Prince’s maternal clan was powerful, and he was Crown Prince Xiao Yuan’s greatest rival. With this sudden turn of events, his maternal clan immediately sprang into action and sought out Lu Yunjing, the Vice Minister of the Grand Court, who had long been known as a brilliant investigator, to personally handle the case.