Bloody young man

Taking a deep breath, Ming Shu opened her eyes and looked at the blue sky without clouds.

In the blue sky, a flock of mandarin ducks approached Ming Shu's safe place and dived into the lake. Looking at the couples of mandarin duck that were now in front of her, Ming Shu had a complex mood.

They remembered her of the third problem she has to deal with... find a husband.

She just completed 12 years old and the talks of marriage already started. Her parents, as well as her grandparents, recently asked if she had any favourite person but the only answer that she managed to give them was a lost face. Her family thought her response was due to be too young and was not interested in love yet, but the truth is she never thought of marrying another person beside Zhao Song.

After 13 years of a pure obsession for him, she didn't know if she was prepared to love someone else or dedicate herself as a good wife should.

Of course she longs for a family of her own, but she was not sure how should she proceed the search for a husband... should she marry only with a political factor or should she try to look for someone she could honestly love and be loved back?

As these questions started to fill Ming Shu's head, a young man covered in blood approached the hidden place. Without aim, the only thought that the boy could muster was to find somewhere safe where he could rest and hide for his pursuers.

Following the intoxicating scent in the air, the boy found a dream-like place covered with white peonies and butterflies roaming around them. In the centre, it had a lake where the scene a slender girl was sitting above the water.

Looking at the scene that he only thought it could be made by a painter's imagination, the young man only had the strength to say only one word:

"Fairy?"

As if he used all his forces to ask the simple question, the young man fell to the ground.

Startled with the sound, Ming Shu looked towards where the young man had just met the ground. She could faintly smell the blood that his body was emitting. She didn't know if the blood was his or someone else, but judging by his fall, Ming Shu decided that it was safe to approach the intruder.

Leaving the lake, she grabbed her outer robes and her sword and approached the fallen strange.

The closer she got, the heavier was the smell of blood.

'If this smell is all from his blood, this Gege is in the brink of death'

She walked on a normal pace, but once she saw the face of the intruder she ran as if her life depended on it.

The intruder was no one else than her saviour, Si Yifeng. Approaching his body, she couldn't care less about the distance about a woman and man. This was her Crown Prince and her saviour she couldn't possibly let him die because she tried to keep the right rites.

Taking out her outer robe she laid it down beside Si Yifeng and carefully rolled him over to it.

"Sorry for this. I will be responsible if you want"

Saying rogue words, Ming Shu opened his robes and analyzed the injuries he got on his torso, where most of the blood was.

After confirming that his injuries were many but none of them was serious and that he fainted for loss of blood, Ming Shu went to the horse to pick the few pharmaceuticals that she had brought in case she had an accident.

She cleaned his wounds and applied the hemostatic powder on them. Soon the blood stopped flowing out and Ming Shu put the few gauzes that she brought where the cuts were more concentrated.

Looking at his pale visage, Ming Shu was now sure that someone had found out about his true identity.

"Seriously your Family only gives others headache, if you were all more civilized you would solve your disputes in a more reasonable way... alas, but this is just human nature isn't it?"

Sitting at the side of the young man who now has stable breathing, Ming Shu decided to wait for this poor soul to wake up, but the sun went down and there was still no response from Yifeng. Although she was worried about his safety, she couldn't stay the night with him here and she couldn't afford to reveal his whereabouts since she didn't know who was his allies.

She took the few rations she still had on her purse and covered him with an inner robe she had sparing.

"You are lucky that I have spare clothes Saviour or else wouldn't I be forced to go back with only inner robes? If that happened I would make you marry me you want it or not"

Ming Shu took his pulse and saw that his situation had stabilized and was more confident in leaving him here.

"Dear Savior, it seems we are even now. Unfortunately, I can't stay to accompany you but beside you, you have food and water. This is a secluded place so you should be safe for now. I will try to cover the smell of blood that you let. Tomorrow I will try to bring you some necessities, so good luck tonight Yifeng-ge. I hope you can survive"

With these parting words, Ming Shu left the hidden place with only a sick man inside it.