The lily of the valley by the window swayed gently in the spring breeze, its delicate fragrance still enough to stir the heart.
Shen Zhixi sat by the bed, holding a white porcelain medicine bottle in one hand while dipping her index finger into a milky ointment with the other. Leaning forward, her eyes curved with a smile as she unabashedly admired the man before her.
On the bamboo bed lay a man.
His robe was wide open, revealing most of his chest.
Several terrifying wounds marred his chest, deep enough that the blood had yet to fully dry. Though the scars somewhat marred his beauty, they carried a heartbreaking, fragile allure.
“Enchanting creature,” Shen Zhixi murmured, leaning even closer.
Her gaze traveled upward from his chest to his face. That face was more than just stunning—no flattering words could truly capture his appearance, for he was so handsome he seemed otherworldly.
“A child born with someone like this would surely be beautiful too, wouldn’t they?”
She slowly reached out, wanting to touch his lips, which, though pale, still held a faint hint of red.
Just as her finger, smeared with white ointment, was about to brush his lips, he suddenly stirred. His eyes, tightly shut in unconsciousness, snapped open, startling Shen Zhixi. Her hand trembled, and she instinctively tried to pull back, but he seized her wrist with a powerful grip.
“Who are you?”
The man struggled to sit up, the freshly treated wounds on his chest reopening, blood visibly seeping out once more.
“Don’t be alarmed, sir. I mean no harm.”
Shen Zhixi’s face flushed slightly, her wrist gripped so tightly it felt as though it might shatter, the pain bringing color to her cheeks.
The man stared intently at her, but his gaze seemed unfocused.
“Light the lamp!” he demanded.
“Light the lamp…”
Shen Zhixi glanced back, puzzled. Why light a lamp in broad daylight?
When she turned to look at him again, she finally noticed something amiss.
Though his eyes were bright, there was a vacant, lifeless quality to them. Though he seemed to stare in her direction, his gaze held no clear focus, as if he were trying to see someone in the dark—hearing but not seeing.
“You… can’t see?” she ventured cautiously.
The man remained silent but tightened his grip, the pain making her gasp. The medicine bottle in her other hand fell to the floor. She tried to free herself with both hands, but the more she struggled, the tighter his hold became, leaving her unable to break free.
“Who sent you? What are you scheming?”
“You’ve misunderstood, I…”
Shen Zhixi’s mind raced, and a lie slipped effortlessly from her lips. “My name is Lily. I’m an orphan, living with my sister Herb. We make a living by selling cosmetics at a stall in the city. Last night, on our way back from closing up, we found you unconscious by the river and brought you here. The physician said your injuries are severe, especially the blow to your head, which may be the reason for your temporary blindness.”
As she spoke, a flicker of cunning flashed in her eyes.
Hearing this, the man’s tense expression softened slightly.
“Think about it, sir. If I were some enemy or villain, I would have killed you outright, or imprisoned and tortured you. Why would I bring you home, call a physician, and even tend to your wounds myself? Your chest wounds are deep—I just finished applying the medicine. With such sudden movements, you’ve… you’ve started bleeding again.”
He lowered his head, instinctively wanting to glance at his wounds, but forgot he was blind. Seeing nothing, he couldn’t help but feel disheartened, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand.
“Ouch.”
Hearing her gasp of pain, he snapped back to reality and immediately let go.
Shen Zhixi quickly stood up and moved away from him, lifting her sleeve to find her wrist already flushed an alarming red.
Even injured, his strength was still so great—what would he be like once he recovered…
“You… what is your name?”
Shen Zhixi seized the moment while he was still dazed to ask. She couldn’t keep calling him “you” forever.
He lifted his eyelids slightly, opening his mouth but unable to speak.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. “Thank you, Miss Lily, for saving my life. I was rude just now and hope you can forgive me. My surname is Tang, and my given name is Zhou—the Zhou meaning ‘to sail a boat.'”
“So it’s Young Master Tang.”
Shen Zhixi’s tone carried a hint of laughter, but her eyes held scrutiny.
She didn’t believe “Tang Zhou” was his real name.
However, she didn’t need to know his real name, just as the name she had given him wasn’t her own. Names, for them, weren’t particularly important.
“It’s good that Young Master Tang is awake. There’s medicine simmering on the stove—I’ll go check if it’s ready and bring you something to eat. In the days to come, Young Master Tang should rest here peacefully and recover.”
With that, she turned and left.
Once outside, she closed the door. Inside, the man sitting on the bed leaned forward and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then, as if choked by the blood in his throat, he began coughing violently, his eyes turning red from the strain.
Fine strands of hair hung before his cheeks, a small section stained with blood—dark strands shimmering with a bright, glossy red. His lips looked as if they had been painted with the most vibrant rouge, a startling crimson. The blanket beneath him and the bamboo floorboards below were spattered with droplets of blood.
When the coughing finally subsided, the knife wound on his chest burst open again, fresh blood flowing down like a stream.
He furrowed his brow, gritting his teeth against the pain coursing through his body.
Tang Zhou was naturally not his real name.
He hadn’t told the truth, both for his own sake and for the sake of Lily, who had saved his life.
He was the current Imperial Uncle, the Empress’s younger brother—Song Lianzhou.
The Emperor was gravely ill, and the struggle for the crown prince’s position was intensifying. In their madness for the throne, those deranged individuals sought to kill the ten-year-old Crown Prince, his own nephew. To save the Crown Prince and his sister, he had lured the assassins away alone, suffering severe injuries that had reduced him to his current state.
Others might not have seen his face, but the name “Imperial Uncle Song Lianzhou” was not necessarily unheard of.
If word got out, not only would he face assassination again, but Miss Lily would also be implicated.
For now, he could only hope that his sister and the Crown Prince remained safe.
As for his eyes…
He raised a hand and waved it before his face—still pitch black, without a glimmer of light. To say he wasn’t disheartened would be a lie, but at the moment, he had no other choice.
“Miss, are you really going to have a child with that man?”
In front of the medicine stove in the kitchen, the maid Yuanyang sat on a small bamboo stool, fanning herself with a cattail leaf fan as she asked Shen Zhixi.
Shen Zhixi lifted the lid of the medicine pot and glanced at her. “I was hesitant before, but after discovering he’s blind just now, I’m even more certain—he’s the one.”
“Ah? He’s blind?”
“Shh, keep your voice down.”
Shen Zhixi took the cattail leaf fan from her hand and, gazing toward Song Lianzhou’s room, added, “Be careful not to slip up. I told him you and I are sisters—my name is Lily, yours is Herb. We make a living by selling rouge at a street stall, and this bamboo house is our home. Got it?”
Yuanyang pursed her lips, looking utterly perplexed.
“Miss, you’re the wealthiest person in Yanzhou, yet you pretend to be a street vendor. If you really like him, why not just take him as a live-in son-in-law? All this sneaking around…”
“Men are no good. No matter how handsome they are, their nature never changes. Staying single is so carefree—why would I want a man meddling in my life?”
Note: Both leads are chaste, but the male lead suffers. He’s a devoted, love-struck golden retriever type. This is not a strong-female-lead career-focused power fantasy. The female lead’s extreme views stem from personal family issues—this is neither endorsed nor meant to encourage misandry. Overcoming inner demons and finding redemption are necessary for a happy ending. May all sincere lovers in the world find their way to each other and live happily ever after.