Chapter 136

Zhu Hao looked at the young girl in the cyan dress. At this moment, her eyes were filled not only with terror, but also with a hint of helplessness. Zhu Hao knew that she had clearly been frightened, yet he said nothing to her. Unsure whether the man in black had accomplices, Zhu Hao realized this place was obviously unsafe and they could not linger any longer.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Hao hurriedly dropped the dagger he had been gripping tightly, quickly stood up, pulled the girl along, and ran toward the distance. He had no particular destination in mind. After running through several streets and feeling that they were finally safe, he came to a stop.

Once Zhu Hao stopped, the young girl in the cyan dress, flustered and out of breath, said, "Ah, gasp... young master... ah, thank you for saving me. But I killed someone! I should go turn myself in to the magistrate!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao thought to himself, *Could this girl be any more naive? To begin with, that man in black was only injured and not about to die; even if he had died, it would merely have been an act of self-defense. Besides, with him around, who could possibly lay a hand on this girl? Why, she had just saved his life a moment ago! She was his benefactor!*

Thinking along these lines, Zhu Hao offered words of comfort: "Miss, you didn't kill anyone. That man won't die; he's only injured, nothing serious. You don't need to turn yourself in. That man in black started the wrongdoing, so I daresay he wouldn't dare report it to the authorities anyway! Therefore, Miss, you are completely safe!"

Listening to Zhu Hao's words, the girl in the cyan dress seemed to calm down a little, shedding her panic. A hopeful look appeared in her eyes as she asked, "Is what the young master says true? Did I really not kill anyone?"

Zhu Hao nodded. To put her mind at ease, he fabricated a white lie: "I come from a family of physicians. You must believe me, that man will definitely not die. He only suffered some injuries!"

Whether it was because of Zhu Hao's righteous assistance earlier or simply due to her own innocence, the young girl actually believed Zhu Hao's outlandish lie. She nodded and said, "I believe you, Young Master. You are a good person. May I ask your esteemed surname?"

Zhu Hao, preoccupied with his own tangled web of troubles, had no desire for any excessive entanglements with this girl. Furthermore, revealing his true identity as a prince would be far too startling. Therefore, putting on an air of lofty elegance, he replied, "Meeting is a matter of fate; why ask each other's names? A name is merely a code!"

Unexpectedly, the cyan-dressed girl took Zhu Hao's pretentious posturing quite well. She nodded immediately and said, "What the Young Master says is very true. It was presumptuous of me. Since the Young Master is unwilling to reveal his true name, yet speaks of fate bringing us together, I shall call you Young Master Destiny!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao thought to himself, *Whose daughter is this, and why is she so fond of giving people nicknames? After exchanging just a few words, she's already bestowed upon me the name 'Destiny.' Why not just call me the Old Man Under the Moon?*

Refusing to be outdone, Zhu Hao countered, "Seeing that you are dressed entirely in cyan, I shall call you Miss Cyan."

The name "Cyan" was not chosen by Zhu Hao at random; rather, it was inspired by the character Hongniang (Red Maid) from *The Romance of the Western Chamber*. Taking the concept of "cyan, red, willow, and green," with cyan coming first, he implied that Miss Cyan was superior to Hongniang. This corresponded to his notion that the girl's designation of "Destiny" alluded to the Matchmaker of the Moon. Though one was in the heavens and the other on earth, they performed the exact same job, ensuring Zhu Hao felt he wasn't getting the short end of the stick.

To Zhu Hao's surprise, upon hearing this, the cyan-clad girl showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, her eyes lit up with pleasant surprise as she said, "Cyan, red, willow, and green—what a wonderful name! In the future, in front of the Young Master, I shall be called Cyan!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hao thought to himself, *Good grief! Since you could think of 'cyan, red, willow, and green,' how could you not think of Hongniang? Did it genuinely never cross your mind, or are you just playing dumb on purpose?*

However, since the girl herself raised no objections, Zhu Hao found it difficult to offer any further explanation. Instead, he asked, "Miss Cyan, where is your home? I'll escort you back."

The girl in the cyan dress shook her head and replied, "Cyan's home is very far away. I'm afraid I can never return."

Zhu Hao thought to himself, *Damn it, is she trying to latch onto this prince? Surely this isn't going to turn into such a cliché plot, is it? Good grief, why do I suddenly feel like I'm acting in a movie?*

Yet, the girl's next words proved that Zhu Hao had been overthinking. As soon as she finished speaking, she added, "Cyan has lived with her adoptive mother since she was little. Her adoptive mother is right here within Hangzhou city. Cyan can return by herself; the Young Master need not escort me. Your hand is still bleeding, Young Master—you should go get it bandaged first."

Zhu Hao had no wish to become deeply entangled with this girl in the first place. Hearing her say this, he readily agreed. Once she finished speaking, he adopted the tone of a martial arts wanderer and said, "The green mountains remain, the flowing waters endure; Miss Cyan, we shall meet again!"

With that, he executed what he considered to be a very dashing turn on his heel and strode away proudly.

Under normal circumstances, Zhu Hao's gesture might indeed have been dashing. However, because his face was currently smeared with his own blood, his appearance was truly beyond redemption, completely ruining what could have been a dashing exit.

The girl in the cyan dress stood in place, watching Zhu Hao's receding figure, and murmured softly, "Young Master Destiny, you are clearly a distinguished and refined young noble—why must you imitate those wanderers of the martial world? Prince Xin! You are truly no simple character! We will definitely meet again!"

No sooner had the girl finished speaking than a man dressed in night-walker attire, his face veiled in black cloth, stepped out from the shadows. Although his face was covered, had Zhu Hao been present, he undoubtedly would have recognized this man as the very same assassin who had nearly killed him moments ago.

Stepping forward, the man in black asked, "Miss, did you fail?"

The young girl in cyan shook her part-way head and said, "Everything has just begun. Uncle Wang, are your injuries alright?"

The man in black shook his head slightly and replied, "I am fine. I simply cannot fathom what my lord is thinking, actually having you lower yourself to submit to that brat. It truly is a pity for you, Miss!"

The young girl in cyan gently shook her head. "Everything is for my adoptive father. Without him, I would not be who I am today. Whatever my father asks me to do, I will not feel wronged! Very well, Uncle Wang, say no more. Let us return."

The man in black nodded upon hearing the girl's words and said nothing more, following her as she slowly vanished into the pitch-black night.

Zhu Hao had no inkling that his encounter with the cyan-dressed girl had been a setup from the very beginning—a massive conspiracy revolving around him was quietly unfolding.

After parting ways with the cyan-dressed girl, Zhu Hao had no mood left for strolling, especially since his hand was still injured. He hurried back to the official lodgings, intending to have the accompanying imperial physician tend to his wound. When Zhu Hao returned to the quarters with his face smeared in blood, it thoroughly terrified everyone in the entourage. The fact that Zhu Hao had gone out alone had already kept the guards on tenterhooks; seeing him return looking like this made them feel even more culpable, and they immediately dropped to their knees to beg for forgiveness.

Zhu Hao waved a hand at them and said, "It was this Prince who insisted on going out for a walk by himself; it has nothing to do with you. Quickly, get up! Someone, fetch the imperial physician to bandage my wound!"

Upon hearing this, the guards scrambled to find the physician. Because of Zhu Hao's injury, the entire imperial envoy's quarters instantly plunged into a flurry of noise and chaos. To this, Zhu Hao could only offer a helpless smile, knowing that their panic stemmed purely from concern for his safety.

Though the wound on Zhu Hao's hand was deep enough to reveal the bone, fortunately it had not damaged his tendons or muscles—it was merely a superficial flesh wound. Once the physician finished bandaging it, Zhu Hao had someone wipe the bloodstains from his face and then announced, "Very well, the hour is late. All of you may retire; this Prince is going to rest as well."

After dismissing everyone, Zhu Hao lay down on his bed and fell into a deep sleep. The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Wei Xiaobao learned that Zhu Hao had ventured out alone the previous night and returned injured. He repeatedly begged for forgiveness, wailing, "This slave deserves death! It's all because this slave slept too soundly—it's entirely my fault. If this slave had accompanied Your Highness, absolutely none of this would have happened!" As he spoke, he dropped to his knees and wept bitterly, acting as though Zhu Hao had already met with some terrible misfortune.

Knowing that Wei Xiaobao was simply worried about him, Zhu Hao didn't mind the weeping and wailing. Instead, he comforted him, saying, "Xiaobao, this matter has nothing to do with you. I didn't want anyone to tag along; I just wanted to go out and clear my head. I never expected to run into bad guys. I'll be more careful next time! Come on, stop crying. Aren't I right here, safe and sound? Get up quickly! If outsiders heard you, they'd think I'd already kicked the bucket!"

Hearing Zhu Hao say he would be more careful next time, Wei Xiaobao defied his master's wishes for the very first time. Kneeling on the ground with his neck stiff, he declared, "Your Highness, you must promise this slave—not that you'll be 'more careful next time,' but that you will never again do anything so reckless! You are a person of supreme importance; if anything were to happen to you, what face would this slave have left to live in this world? If Your Highness doesn't promise me today, this slave will kneel and die right here before you. At least that's better than watching Your Highness meet with disaster with my own eyes later on!"

Knowing that Wei Xiaobao meant well, Zhu Hao didn't take offense at the slight presumption in his words. Finally, he reached out to help Wei Xiaobao up, saying, "Alright, alright, alright! This Prince promises you, then. From now on, I will definitely take guards whenever I go out. Will that suffice? Get up now! The injury on your legs has just healed; you shouldn't be kneeling for long."