Bai Yu Yan was rooted frozen in her position as the carriage slowly pulled in front of her. Emptiness filled her eyes while the noises of the surrounding drifted far away and eventually disappeared. All she could hear was the deafening silence that was slowly grappling her from all sides and numbing her senses. 

Without thinking of anything, her body jolted towards the carriage in a rush and grabbed the curtain, forcefully pulling it aside. 

The sudden movement disturbed the girl inside which caused her perfect brows to softly scrunch together.   

Before she should say anything, Bai Yu Yan’s delicate hand pulled at Lu Tong Xiao’s robe and a silent gasp escaped her lips. 

A part of his robe was stained with a large patch of blood which was stuck to his skin. Lu Tong Xiao’s face had turned pale white like a sheet of paper and his breathing was shallow. The man had already turned unconscious but his forehead was still wrinkling like he was in a lot of pain.    

“What happened to him?” asked Bai Yu Yan with a shaky voice. 

Xin An Rou looked at the woman outside the carriage and her fingers gently removed Bai Yu Yan’s hand holding onto Lu Tong Xiao’s lapel. Just when she was about to say something, Xuyi hurriedly ran towards the carriage to Bai Yu Yan’s side before he bowed to her in a greeting.

“Madame, we were attacked at the southern border. Master has been stabbed with a poisonous sword,” answered Xuyi with a dark face. Even thinking about what happened made his blood boil but in front of so many people, he could only maintain composure. 

Bai Yu Yan felt her breath stuck in her chest. How could this happen? In the novel, there was no mention about Lu Tong Xiao getting injured this badly. In fact, it was said how the Princess bravely fought the attackers along with Lu Tong Xiao and his men. When the news reached the capital, the people had cheered their feisty princess who was capable and strong, unlike the sheltered noble ladies. Gradually, people saw how compatible she was with Lu Tong Xiao in every aspect. 

When Xuyi addressed Bai Yu Yan as Madame, sitting inside the carriage, An Rou’s eyes briefly widened as she turned to look at the elegant woman outside. 

“I don’t see even a scratch on other people. Why is he alone in this state?” demanded Bai Yu Yan with a cold voice. She wanted to know what his guards were doing when their job was to protect them and not the other way round.  

Xuyi silently lowered his eyes along with the other guards who had travelled together with Lu Tong Xiao. They had no answer to it as they knew they had terribly failed at protecting their master. 

As Bai Yu Yan looked at the guards, the crowd watched in silence. No one uttered a word until a bell-like voice broke the silence. 

“Miss, this Princess requests you not to take out your anger on these hard-working people. It’s not them who did not protect His Excellency” Xin An Rou paused with a sigh and looked at the man lying with his eyes closed. 

“It’s because of this Princess that His Excellency got injured.” 

Bai Yu Yan knitted her brows hearing what the Princess said and turned her head to understand what the other was implying. However, the Princess did not bother to clarify any further and just sat inside with her eyes on the man. 

Xuyi and the other guards stood with blank faces without reacting to Xin An Rou’s words. However, the imperial armies had a dark face and their eyes looking at Bai Yu Yan had a hint of loathing. 

The people gathered outside had a similar expression smeared on their face. One was a royal Princess and was so much sympathetic towards the servants and the guards whereas the other was the daughter of a small official who had climbed up to her current status and treated people below her like they are nobody. 

“Look at the audacity of this woman. How can she blame the poor guards?”

“She would have surely punished them right here if not for the Princess.” 

“His Excellency willingly took the sword for the Princess,” someone shouted in the crowd. 

Bai Yu Yan had no time to hear what the people had to say about her. She suppressed the thoughts crowding her mind and ordered a servant nearby without wasting a moment further, “Go and bring the doctor. Tell him it requires surgery and is very urgent. Hurry!” 

Since Lu Tong Xiao was still inside the carriage, no one outside knew his condition. But hearing Bai Yu Yan’s grave voice, the servant understood the seriousness of the matter and nodded his head. 

“Xuyi, help me carry His Excellency to my courtyard.” Bai Yu Yan was instructing Xuyi and the other guards when a soft voice came from inside the carriage. 

“Miss, there is no need to call for any doctor. A royal physician is already on his way to Lu manor.”

Bai Yu Yan did not realise how the other person was referring to her as ‘Miss’ instead of her title as a married woman, She paused and turned to look at Lu Tong Xiao. A royal physician was definitely better than a normal one. Moreover, with Lu Tong Xiao’s position, using a royal physician and the rare herbs from the palace was well within reason. 

“Miss Bai, our Princess also has knowledge of medicine. She had been able to stop the bleeding of His Excellency’s wound at the first hour. So now, we only have to wait for the royal physician’s arrival,” said an expressionless imperial guard who had been standing by the carriage. 

Hearing him say that, Bai Yu Yan didn’t know what else to say. She somewhat felt thankful to Xin An Rou for what she had done but a part of her felt helpless seeing that there was nothing left for her to do.  

As she stood there with pretty face and designer clothes, her soft and feminine charm was in contrast to the pure but bold image of Xin An Rou who didn’t seem like she cared much about her appearance. There was no excess jewellery on her body except for the jade hairpin inserted in her hair and her simple white robe made her look plain but precious like the first touch of snow.  

The crowd of people were in awe when they heard that the Princess also practised medicine. The eyes directed at Xin An Rou became of much more reverence and admiration. On the other hand, to everyone, Bai Yu Yan looked like a wallflower without any purpose except for decoration. 

Half an hour later, Bai Yu Yan stood outside Lu Tong Xiao’s chamber in his courtyard with her back leaning against the cold wall. The Princess had suggested bringing Lu Tong Xiao to his own courtyard where there would be no one to disturb his rest. In his sleeping quarter, except for the two doctors and the Princess, no one was allowed inside with the ongoing surgery.   

Bai Yu Yan’s eyes looked at the clear sky where the bright moon hung without any obstacle from the cloud. Unlike the moon, her mind felt foggy where everything seemed unclear and blurry. 

Did Lu Tong Xiao really get injured from a random attacker? Although earlier she saw his state with her own eyes, Bai Yu Yan was having difficulty believing it. From what she had known, Lu Tong Xiao’s martial arts was comparable to the strongest Generals in the whole continent. To add to it, he had his most trusted guards along with him. So how could he get injured, that too so terribly?

Earlier, she had not been able to think properly because of the panic but now that she thought about it, something seemed missing about this incident. She turned to look at Xuyi who was standing erect with a cold face. The situation of Lu Tong Xiao’s personal guards was not any better. 

Meanwhile, the news that Lu Tong Xiao is in a critical condition because he took the sword for the Princess had widely circulated across the capital. While people were concerned about their Prime Minister’s wellbeing, they had found a new piece of information to gossip about. To the common people, the incident was no less than a fairy tale straight out of a novel. 

Something they had never imagined before took root in their mind...what if the Princess and Prime Minister Lu became a couple?  

Back in Lu Tong Xiao’s courtyard, Bai Yu Yan and the guards were still outside his sleeping chamber. It had been more than an hour but the people inside had still not come out. During this time, the personal eunuch of the Emperor came with the order from the Emperor that only the best of the medicines should be used for His Excellency’s treatment. Following that, the palace maids carried the rare herbs to the Lu manor all the way from the royal treasury. 

The door suddenly opened from the inside. Bai Yu Yan’s expectant eyes turned towards it with a jerk. However, it was the doctor carrying bloody towels and gauges. Seeing that, she turned her head to the other side and closed her eyes. 

Unexpectedly, Bai Yu Yan felt a wave of flashes forming before her eyes. The sudden bright white light made her feel like she was about to pass out. 

Was she dreaming? 

All of a sudden, it seemed her mind had travelled elsewhere deep in the misty forest where everything was covered with thick fog. Gradually, it cleared up and she saw the view before her. It wrenched her heart. A tall man was kneeling in front of a grave. Her eyes travelled to the tombstone where her own name was engraved in bold letters.   

“Bai Yu Yan, in this life, I have wronged you,” he whispered with a deep voice which was devoid of any feelings other than remorse. 

Bai Yu Yan couldn’t breathe normally anymore. Her nails were pressed on her palm in the hope of waking up due to the pain. However, her body seemed numb to the pain as no matter how she tried, she could not escape that place. 

“Miss, Miss!” Xiao Fan’s cold hand touched Bai Yu Yan’s shoulder and shook her body. She did not like how the others were talking about her Miss that she didn’t care about His Excellency and could fall asleep without a care even when he was being treated. 

Startled, Bai Yu Yan opened her eyes with a jolt. Her body was burning with heat while sweat gathered all over her face and neck as if she was standing under the afternoon sun. 

Was I hallucinating? Breathing heavily, Bai Yu Yan touched her face with the back of her hand trying to awake her mind. It slowly dawned on her that it was not the first time she saw the scene. 

“Miss, what happened? Are you having a fever?” asked Xiao Fan with concern. She took out a handkerchief and wiped Bai Yu Yan’s face which had turned red from the heat. 

Bai Yu Yan shook her head at her maid, “It’s nothing. I just feel a little stuffy” she said but unlike the nonchalant face, her eyes had turned deep. 

She knew it wasn't nothing. It was not a dream. It was reality.