Chapter 24: Murder (3)

Again. Why was it him again? Did he follow her? Did he know what she did? Did he know whose blood was on her clothes? Was he going to report her?

No. He was a prince. The one Crown Prince of the State of Zhou. When would he ever need to report someone like her? Especially when she was posing as a maid.

He was going to send her straight to prison and not even allow her the right to a fair trial.

But then again, she did kill the owner of the pawnshop. Fair trial or not, people would find her guilty and condemn her. It didn't matter that she acted in self-defense.

Her parents wouldn't help her. Knowing them, they were already looking for a way to send her away as some nameless young woman. If she was arrested, they would surely deny her identity and claimed they never saw her before.

"Miss, are you alright?" Ji Mo Yuan repeated in an even softer voice when he failed to get an answer from her.

Her eyes flickered and she attempted to pull back. The movement caused the dark cloak to slide down and reveal the blood-stained dress underneath. Flustered, she tried to catch the cloak and stop it from sliding down further, only to have the scarf falling down too.

Although she had wiped off her face - or tried to at least -, there was still dried blood on her cheeks.

Ji Mo Yuan's grip tightened and he gave a quick glance around him. No witness. Good.

Discarding the very notion of propriety, he pulled her into his arms and pressed her face into his chest. Then, leaning back against a wall, he whispered, "Don't move."

Almost immediately after, Bai Yue stopped moving. Not because she wanted to comply, but simply because she couldn't afford a mistake like before and kill the Crown Prince. By then, there would truly be no way out for her.

"Tang Lu, find some woman clothes and bring the carriage."

Tang Lu, who had just been fretting over his illustrious yet oh so cruel master touching a poor, dirty maid, jumped in fright.

"Your Hi- Master?!"

Realizing what he just said, the manservant of the Crown Prince wished he could swallow back his words. Sadly, it was absolutely impossible to do so and His Highness' glare sent shivers down his spine.

"Yes, master!" Tang Lu yelled before running away. A good thing there were shadow guards secretly protecting His Highness or Tang Lu would have never left. Still, it didn't feel right to leave the Crown Prince with some unknown girl. Shadow guards were all trained but even they could only do so much when the danger was so close. Who knew what that girl would do if she were to learn His Highness' identity?!

Once Tang Lu was far enough, Bai Yue tried to push on the chest of the man holding her. His embrace was strangely warm and the scent of cinnamon surrounded her, coiled around her nose and filling her nostrils. It tickled her nose which couldn't stop twitching. Taking a deep breath in spite of herself, her body stiffened.

Ji Mo Yuan misunderstood and a soft murmur came out of his mouth, "Don't worry, you are safe here."

Although lacking ill intent, those words sounded particularly heinous to her ears. Safe? Here? In his arms?! The safest place in the world was far, far away from any members of the imperial family! Certainly not in the arms of a man who spent almost a decade ignoring his disabled son!

She pushed against his chest once more and clenched her jaw when his grip didn't loosen.

"Do you want to get caught? There are people coming."

Every time he spoke, only silence followed his words. Yet, it didn't seem to bother him. Really heinous!

Still, listening to their surroundings, Bai Yue did hear footsteps coming toward them. Understanding dawned upon her and her movements ceased. Her body relaxed in his embrace. Although she disliked the Crown Prince, she wasn't one who couldn't recognize goodwill when it slapped her in the face.

Anyway, it wasn't like she had another choice.

"Mother, what are they doing?" a young boy asked innocently, and Bai Yue felt her whole face heating up.

What were they doing? Indeed, that was a good question. Why was the Crown Prince helping her get away with murder?

The boy's mother gasped out and exclaimed in a shocked voice, "Outrageous! And in broad daylight!"

Before, Bai Yue had been too focused on running away and then getting the Crown Prince to release her. Upon hearing the woman's words, she finally took notice of their intimate posture. Any outsider would certainly believe the two of them were a pair of lovers up to no good.

The mother covered her son's eyes and rushed away, the sight bringing a slight smirk on Ji Mo Yuan's lips. Once they were alone again, he loosened his hold on Bai Yue who quickly raised her head. Their eyes met, black against black, both trying to guess the other's thinking, not looking away.

Her brow furrowed and Ji Mo Yuan watched the way her forehead wrinkled and the baby hair near her hairline swayed a little with the movement. There was something really different about her.

Even after ten years, he still remembered the first time he saw her, her youthful self sitting below his father Emperor, clad in a magnificent dress. Her expression when she gazed at the Emperor clearly expressed her deep love for a man whom she had only met. He had despised her then, certain that she was one more fool in the ocean of women in the Emperor's harem. He only learned the truth behind her smile years later by accident.

The one in his arms didn't have the coy smile and the softness of a naive, young girl. Her beautiful face was dirty, stained with dried blood, and track of tears. The youth of before was gone, long forgotten in the mist of time and sorrows. She wasn't trying to hide her feelings behind a mask and he could feel her dislike for him.

For the first time in a very long time, Ji Mo Yuan felt hope. Perhaps... Perhaps he wasn't alone.

"Your," Bai Yue bit her tongue and continued calmly, "my lord, can you stop smothering me with your clothes now?"

His smirk widened.

"Why? Is there something more romantic than to die in one's embrace?" Again.

"Yes," she deadpanned and didn't take more than a blink to step away when his arms stopped caging her. She straightened her clothes. "Thank you for your help."

"Shouldn't you say something along the lines of owing me? How are you going to pay me back?" he teased her even though his eyes were carefully observing her, making sure she wasn't hurt.

"My lord, although I am grateful, I never asked for your help. Let's just treat this as a stranger's act of kindness. I am sure it will do some good to your karma."

"Do I need to understand you are worried about my karma?"

Bai Yue's stare expressed clearly what exactly she was thinking about his karma. There was no need for unnecessary words.

After a long while of silence, Ji Mo Yuan cleared his voice and pulled out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve.

"Here, wipe your face. You have 'murder' written on it."

She hesitated a little before her fingers closed around the smooth and warm fabric, the prince's heat lingering on it. She couldn't help but question his motives again.

As she lifted her hand up to her face, Ji Mo Yuan's eyes landed on her thin wrist. Unknown to Bai Yue, a hand-shaped bruise was already forming, the color a stark contrast again her fair skin.

He squinted. What exactly happened to her?

After he left the pawnshop, he couldn't bring himself to leave and instead went to a restaurant not far from there. 'Coincidently', his seat allowed him to see the entrance of the shop. When she didn't appear after a long while, he sent someone. Yet, the shop was closed.

Understanding something was amiss, he went in search of her and soon, the screams of people reached him. Now seeing Bai Yue covered in blood, it was difficult not to guess exactly who committed a murder. The only thing unknown was the reason behind it.