The guards returned after a full circle and were shocked to find their prince could speak.
"Your Highness, you're well!"
Bai Li Zhong Yan suppressed his joy and still gestured to them, but he could now call Zhu Yan by name.
The guards: "..."
Zhu Yan said, "His throat hasn't fully recovered yet. He can't speak much for now, but it will get better gradually."
"I see."
Despite that, the guards who had taken care of him for so long felt a bit sad that he called Zhu Yan's name but showed no intention of speaking to them.
"Was it Miss Song who treated Your Highness's injuries? Thank you, Miss Song."
The others immediately thanked her in unison: "Thank you, Miss Song."
Zhu Yan said sincerely, "He is my fiancé. This is all I should do. I also want to thank you all for your care over the years."
The captain of the guards immediately felt a sense of crisis.
His position seemed to be in jeopardy.
But she was the future princess consort, and they were merely guards. There was no room for competition.
"Your Highness, shall we go back?"
Just as Bai Li Zhong Yan was about to "speak," an annoying voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"Is that sixth brother on the painted boat? Why aren't you coming out to see your imperial brother?"
Zhu Yan frowned.
The guards immediately said, "It's the Second Prince. We were seen by him earlier."
They were Bai Li Zhong Yan's personal guards. Their presence here meant Bai Li Zhong Yan was also here, and the Second Prince had likely followed them deliberately.
Second Prince?
Zhu Yan recalled what Song Fang Hua had said before, and the original body's past memories. The Second Prince was the one she had liked before... a scumbag.
What a coincidence. She had been wondering what this so-called scumbag was like, and here he was, showing up at her doorstep.
"Your Highness, do you want to go out and see him?"
Bai Li Zhong Yan's earlier joyful mood had vanished upon hearing the voice outside. Now, his entire being was enveloped in an aura of dejection and anger, feeling very down.
Zhu Yan patted his shoulder, "It's alright, I'm here."
She helped Bai Li Zhong Yan into the wheelchair and then pushed him out.
Opposite them, on a small skiff, stood a handsome man with a dignified bearing. However, his smug smile was truly detestable.
All signs of arrogance froze when he saw Zhu Yan. Bai Li Xing Yu almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. After staring at her for a long time, he incredulously asked, "Yan'er, why are you here?"
Zhu Yan was instantly disgusted.
Zhu Yan tilted her chin slightly and asked, "I'm out for a stroll on the lake with my fiancé. Is there a problem?"
A problem? Of course, there was a problem!
Bai Li Xing Yu was furious.
This woman was someone he had set his sights on. Lord Song held a high position, and marrying his legitimate daughter would be greatly beneficial to him, which was why he had schemed to approach her and promised to marry her as a prince's consort.
But later, Princess Chong Ming also showed affection for him. He didn't want to give up either the high official's daughter or the princess. So, he kept both on hold, hoping to have both.
He didn't expect Song Yan to be granted a marriage by the Emperor, and to none other than Bai Li Zhong Yan, whom he despised the most!
He put on a show of being heartbroken and said, "Yan'er, are you really willing to marry him? Have you forgotten what we...?"
"No, I'm not," Zhu Yan said with a smile. "But this is a decree from the Emperor. I don't know what to do. Why don't you go and talk to the Emperor? Didn't you promise to marry me?"
The guards beside him changed their expressions, and the area around Bai Li Zhong Yan became even colder, as if influenced by his chill.
Zhu Yan stroked his hair, offering silent comfort.
Bai Li Xing Yu heard Zhu Yan's words, feeling pleased at first but then troubled.
While he didn't want to lose Zhu Yan as a pawn, especially to Bai Li Zhong Yan, he was even more unwilling to offend his father, the Emperor, for it.
He could only feign a troubled look and said, "Yan'er, I will speak to Father. You are my woman. I will definitely save you."
Zhu Yan continued to smile and said, "Thank you."
You promised, nobody forced you. Don't regret it later.
Bai Li Xing Yu then looked at Bai Li Zhong Yan and said, "Sixth Brother, Yan'er is my woman. A gentleman does not take what others desire. I hope you can return Yan'er to me."
He knew perfectly well that Bai Li Zhong Yan could not speak and therefore could not get a reply. He thought his words were enough to provoke him. He then signaled the boatman to turn back and leave.
However, the boatman, for some reason, accidentally poked Bai Li Xing Yu with the bamboo pole as he turned. Bai Li Xing Yu was thus poked off the skiff.
"You scoundrel!"
The guard, disguised as the boatman, heard his angry roar. He turned around in shock and tried to rescue him. But as he stepped out, the skiff lost its balance and capsized after a few struggles.
He flailed in the lake like a drowning man.
The guard, unsure whether to use the bamboo pole or to right the skiff, was struggling to save himself, let alone rescue Bai Li Xing Yu.
"Hahahaha..."
Zhu Yan burst into unrestrained laughter. The sound was like a piercing needle to Bai Li Xing Yu's ears.
However, to avoid being seen bullying Bai Li Zhong Yan, he had only brought one person with him and had ordered the guards to send the others away. Now, besides Zhu Yan and Bai Li Zhong Yan, no one else could save him.
"Yan'er, quickly save me!"
Zhu Yan remained unmoved, laughing even more wildly.
The guards finally realized that Zhu Yan had been toying with the Second Prince all along. Asking him to plead with the Emperor was just to get him reprimanded and punished. And now, seeing him fall into the water, she not only didn't save him but was also mocking him.
As the two of them lost their strength and began to sink, the guard anxiously said, "Miss Song, please save them. If others see this, we won't benefit either."
Zhu Yan chuckled disdainfully, "We didn't push him in, so why should we save him? Which law states that one must save a drowning person?"
The guards: "..."
Although that was the case, they couldn't just watch the Second Prince drown before their eyes. At the critical moment, they jumped in and rescued him.
Bai Li Xing Yu was unceremoniously dumped onto the painted boat, wet and shivering. He finally recovered his breath, spat out a mouthful of lake water, and lay on the side, coughing continuously.
When he looked up, Bai Li Zhong Yan was sitting beside him, looking down at him.
He wore a mask, revealing only his calm, bottomless eyes that seemed to absorb all worldly things, including him, who had once hurt him.
He jumped in fright and sat up abruptly, only to cough again.
Zhu Yan sneered, "Second Prince, does the lake water taste good?"
"...No, cough cough, it doesn't taste good."
The guards were dumbfounded.
Zhu Yan said in a chilling voice, "Second Prince, don't forget your vows. When Yan'er comes to you, don't turn her away."
She liked him so much.
She was willing to threaten to die for him.
Bai Li Xing Yu, thinking she was confessing her love, was about to agree. But then he realized Zhu Yan was holding someone and flying across Wang Yue Lake to a pavilion in the distance.
He didn't know who was carrying whom.
Bai Li Zhong Yan used to be highly skilled in martial arts and possessed extraordinary lightness skills. Now he was an invalid who couldn't move freely. As for Song Yan, in his mind, she was a sheltered young lady who never stepped out of her boudoir and was utterly incapable of self-defense, let alone possessing such excellent lightness skills.
He pondered for a moment, his suspicion falling on Bai Li Zhong Yan.
Had his martial arts recovered?
He had always stayed in the prince's manor before and even skipped imperial banquets. Now he was out boating. Could it be that his martial arts had recovered?
"Second Prince, this painted boat is for you. Farewell."
After the guards spoke, they all leaped across the lake to the other side.
Thus, the painted boat was left with only the boatman, whose fate was uncertain, and him.
Bai Li Xing Yu: "..."
He had personally ordered them to leave. The guards had not seen his skiff or Bai Li Zhong Yan's painted boat and had assumed they were still on the lake, not daring to approach.
It wasn't until dusk that they realized something was wrong and came to look for them.
By then, Bai Li Xing Yu's voice was hoarse, and he had frozen into a numb state.
This was a story for later.
They stayed in the pavilion for a while and found the people on the opposite side too much of an eyesore, so they left.
Zhu Yan, holding him, boarded the carriage. The guards transformed into coachmen and drove through the noisy streets. Someone outside asked, "Your Highness, shall we take Miss Song back to her residence first?"
"No, I'll take him back first."
Bai Li Zhong Yan wanted to object, but Zhu Yan held his hand and said, "I'm fine. No one in this world can harm me."
Bai Li Zhong Yan lowered his eyes, seemingly saddened.
"What I said earlier was just to tease him. You know, I am not Song Yan."
Although he had guessed it long ago, Bai Li Zhong Yan was still surprised when he heard it.
[Host, you cannot expose your identity.]
Zhu Yan remained unmoved, her voice soft as she said, "But my name also has the character Yan. You can still call me A Yan. I like hearing you call my name."
Bai Li Zhong Yan's face under the mask turned slightly red.
"I love you. Just remember that. Don't pay attention to others. I am not his Song Yan, and the one he promised is not me."
But rather that lingering, persistent Song Yan.
For a man, she was willing to die or live and had even harmed her own parents. Since she liked him so much, let her go be with him.
These two were selfish and detestable people, quite a pair.
"...A, Yan, Thank... Thank you."
His voice was hoarse and indistinct, but he persisted in saying what he wanted to say.
Zhu Yan chuckled, "Gratitude cannot be expressed with words alone."
Bai Li Zhong Yan looked confused.
Zhu Yan sighed in her heart.
This person, at a young age, joined the army, then fought on the battlefield. Upon his return, instead of receiving the expected accolades, he was suspected by the Emperor and framed to this state. Now, barely past his twenties, he looked like an old man on his deathbed, extremely weak.
Hmm... he wouldn't be able to withstand her recklessness.
She leaned over and kissed his forehead. All she felt was the cold mask.
"When will you take this off? I want to touch you properly."
Bai Li Zhong Yan's face turned red again.
But after the shyness, his heart felt desolate.
If he took off the mask, his face, scarred by a knife and burned by an iron, how could he let her see it?
He himself found it ugly and unsightly. She...
Zhu Yan stroked his long hair and said softly, "I told you I would heal you. Don't be afraid."