"Wait," the man said as he caught her hand and pulled her to his chest.
He gently leaned in to kiss her plump lips, making her heart race rapidly while her whole face flushed a bright red.
"What is your name?" he asked with a soft gaze.
The woman smiled shyly at the man as if they hadn't done anything more intimate than hugging each other.
"Lucianne."
"You have a beautiful name, just like you," the man said, and she blushed.
Then, she broke free from his hold and ran away.
"Will I see you again?" the man yelled desperately to the woman who was disappearing into the night.
The woman stopped and turned around. She gazed at the man consciously.
Her lips raised, and she finally shouted back, "When the moon shines brightest at the poppies."
The scene turned black, and the woman curled like a wounded kitten on a red poppy field. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose slowly like the waning moon up above. A stream of blood flowed out between her legs. The white poppies were dyed a dark scarlet.
Scarlet.
Lucianna Ai Scarlette.
Yanyue's eyes unfolded little by little after feeling warm vanilla and wine-laden breaths entering her system. Soon, her eyes adjusted to the lights on the ship.
She touched her stomach. She exhaled in relief.
It was just a dream.
"Yanyue!" said Yanfeng, crouching beside her.
Even though he was speaking to her, she found herself staring at the slicked hair and dripping wet-clothed man standing in front of the crowd.
"I'm not dead..." she said unbelievingly.
Yanfeng shook his head. "President Lu saved you in time!"
A throb kicked her heart and left ripples wavering inside. She looked up unbelievingly, but the wet hair and clothes were evident.
It was him, she thought. A sense of warmth enveloped her heart.
"But, what happened? How did you fall into the water?" asked Yanfeng.
Instead of responding, Yanyue just shook her head from side to side. She knew how she fell into the water, but would people believe that someone, especially Wanyue, deliberately pushed her? Until Beichen himself said so, no one would consider her. He had that kind of influence over people.
She tried to speak, "I-"
Just then, a small frame squeezed through the crowd.
"I saw the pretty sister pushed over by that auntie!" declared the little boy, his finger pointing to Wanyue, who was standing beside Beichen.
The crowd gasped at the revelation. Wanyue's heart palpitated in fear. She looked at the fearless boy with a death glare and wondered where this boy had appeared from.
Upon the boy's accusation, Yanfeng stared at Wanyue suspiciously.
"Did you push her?" he asked.
Wanyue denied pitifully. "Cousin, I didn't push her."
Then, she held onto Beichen's arms, looked at his solemn expression, and repeated, "I didn't push her, Beichen. Please believe me."
Yanfeng would ignore his cousin whenever he had the chance to, but this was regarding a person's life, especially someone of status like Yanyue. Not to mention that the woman was also carrying the royal family's offspring.
He turned to the little boy.
"Who did you see pushing the pretty sister?" Yanfeng asked.
The little boy pointed to Wanyue again and said, "I saw her."
"That's not true. I didn't push her," defended Wanyue.
The crowd began whispering: "He is just a kid. What does he know? How can we trust him?"
Wanyue wanted to sway the crowd with more questions, so she went over to the little boy and said, "Little master, did you really see me? How can I push my own sister? I love her very much."
At this point, the crowd began questioning whether the little boy was credible or not. After all, this small kid was not even big enough to understand things like adults do.
Yanyue saw the crowd's restlessness and felt a little heavy, but what made her sadder was the indifferent appearance of the man she always wished would believe her.
If there was one person whom he thought was an angel, then that person would be Wanyue. Meanwhile, he saw her as a vile witch who only knew how to scheme. So, how could he let others blame his angel?
"Enough. Wanyue didn't do it," the quiet man who had been observing the whole time finally spoke.
Wanyue thought that Beichen's silence meant that he acquiesced to what the little boy said. But he surprisingly declared that she was innocent.
And this was to be expected because she was his most beloved woman.
She grinned victoriously from inside as she watched her sister's sunken expression. She thought that her sister was too naive to believe that he would even sympathize with her.
"So, does his highness think that my nephew is a liar?"
The voice belonged to the man from earlier at the deck.
The little boy ran to hug his uncle's leg after feeling like he had been bullied by the people who didn't believe him.
Beichen didn't hesitate to defend Wanyue again. "I believe the people I'm close with."
Yanyue's heart ached to witness his stubborn words of defense for his lover rather than her, who was his wife.
"By that logic, I also believe my nephew," echoed the uncle.
Then, he looked at the little boy on his leg. "Xiaobao, don't you have something to show everyone?"
Without ado, the little boy reached into his pocket and took out a limited edition pearl bracelet.
The little boy explained, "I wanted to ask the pretty sister's name, so I ran back to find her. But..."
He paused.
He was just a three-year-old kid, so everyone's eyes on him made him a little nervous. He looked at his uncle for assurance and felt encouraged when his uncle confirmed that he was doing well with a smile.
The boy continued fearlessly, using all the vocabulary that he learned from reading books with his aunt.
"But when I got to the deck, I saw that auntie," he pointed to Wanyue again as if on purpose, "pushing the pretty sister over the railing. She quickly went away after that. I picked up the bracelet that she dropped and went to find my uncle to help the pretty sister."
Wanyue's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that a darn kid saw her. What a smart kid he was!
But she couldn't let this kid ruin her reputation!
She began crying pitifully again. "I really didn't push her! That's my sister and my nephew in her belly, so how could I push her? I really don't know how this kid got my bracelet!"
After hearing the little boy's testament, Yanfeng could figure out what happened. He would be a fool to believe his cousin.
"There is nothing to explain. The bracelet was clearly something left at the crime scene," he said decisively. The crowd also nodded their head in agreement.
The little boy's uncle added, "My nephew will never steal either. He has no use for such a thing."
Feeling lost, Wanyue tugged Beichen's arms tighter. She wanted him to protect her, but other than earlier, he was completely silent while listening to other people spewing lies against her.
But right now, it didn't matter what everyone else think because Beichen's thoughts were the most important to her. She could not let him see that she was never the kind girl he thought she was.
"Beichen, I would never do that. I know that my sister killed my baby, but I would never do anything that would harm her," said Wanyue, emphasizing the word killed.
As soon as she said that, the crowd began mumbling again: "I remember now! About a month ago, didn't the princess consort push her husband's mistress down the stairs? Is that the mistress? Oh my gosh, this is so crazy! Would you say that this is retribution?!"
Wanyue regained composure after changing the crowd's mind once again.
"Sister, I know that you hate me because Beichen doesn't love you, but you can't slander me at all! I never wanted to hurt you, though, you," Wanyue covered her mouth and sobbed in anguish, "killed my baby, I still don't hate you because you are my sister! I just beg you, please don't slander me because I can't take it anymore after that loss!"
Listening to Wanyue's long and emotional plea, the crowd began looking at Yanyue in a different light. They thought that Yanyue was innocent, but now they couldn't say so because, in their minds, no innocent person could kill an unborn baby.
So, even if Wanyue really pushed her, they couldn't blame her because she had the right to take revenge.
Furthermore, the prince was clearly in love with Wanyue, so they couldn't bash her any longer for fear that they would get in trouble with the prince.
In the end, it all came down to power.
Yanyue, who knew the outcome, got up from the cold, hard floor. This evening was the first time she truly saw her sister for who she was—an unbeatable actress.
And with her status, she was just an unfavorable wife, so how could she surpass Wanyue, the kept lover?
Now, she could only dream for justice.
As she got up from the floor, she said downheartedly, "Everyone had mistaken. I just tripped and fell. I'm sorry for causing such a big commotion. I'm tired, and I need to rest, so please excuse me."
Yanfeng watched the woman's lonely back as she pushed through the crowd. He gritted his teeth as he looked at his pretentious cousin. But, he couldn't do anything now since Yanyue had said herself that it was all a mistake. Pushing further would only embarrass her.
So, even though he was angry for Yanyue, he could only follow behind her to protect her, to let her know that he was by her side no matter if the world abandoned her.
Beichen also left because he couldn't bear the noisy crowd. Wanyue followed behind him religiously. She needed to go and make sure that he didn't doubt her.
Now that the main parties were gone, the people entertaining themselves also left to tend to their businesses.
*
"Are you sure that you don't need to go to the hospital?"
Seeing Yanfeng's concerns written on his face, Yanyue was suddenly thankful to the man for always siding with her.
They didn't know each other for long, but he had never done anything wrong to her. In retrospect, he was always there for her at some of her harshest moments. Even though he might have had a reason to approach her in the first place, she was grateful for his presence and help.
"Thank you, but I'm fine now," Yanyue said with a weak smile, and then she went inside the mansion.
As soon as she opened the door to her room, a similar silhouette was leaning on the wall.
She didn't need to turn the lights on to know who it was. She knew by the shallow and firm rises of that chest against the darkness.
"Your highness..."
The man came out of the shadow. Without any words, he picked her up and took her to the bed.
She could count all the times that he was gentle with her with one of her hands. Right now was one of them, and she knew what he wanted by the heat exhibiting from his hot and sturdy body.
"I'm...a little tired," she muttered underneath his broad body.
She had gone through that whole life and death ordeal that she didn't feel like doing it.
But as always, he would ignore her needs.
"I underestimated you," he caressed her face with his palm, "going as far as getting that little boy to help you. If you want to die, then just die alone. You shouldn't have slandered her."
Yanyue's breathing slowed down. She felt suffocated by his seemingly gentle caress. He could hate her all he wanted, blame her all he wanted, but there was one thing that she was curious about.
"Why...why did you save me?" she asked, her voice tinged with hope.
Beichen held his breath for a quick second as he was caught off guard by the question. His deep, scarlet panther eyes dilated a little under the darkness.
A moment of silence ensued.