The Little Princess's Secret Guard - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Coma

The winter wind howled, and the upturned eaves were heavy with snow, resembling a pure white ink painting.

Shen Panyan remained unconscious for three days and three nights.

She seemed to have many dreams, yet also to be trapped in a realm of pure darkness, unable to find an exit. It wasn’t until a ray of sunshine streamed through the window and fell on the floor, dispelling the lingering cold, that she slowly woke up.

“Qiushuang…”

Shen Panyan’s eyelashes trembled. Her eyes slowly opened. Her mind was foggy, and she subconsciously called out for Qiushuang.

The maid guarding outside heard the movement inside, quickly pushed the door open, and hurried in, her face alight with unconcealed joy. “Your Highness, you’re awake!”

Shen Panyan turned her head and saw an unfamiliar young maid. She was momentarily stunned.

Her throat was dry, and her voice was extremely hoarse. “Who are you?”

“This servant is Muying, a cleaning maid in Your Highness’s courtyard.” Muying curtsied, then got up and poured her a cup of warm water.

With Muying helping her up, Shen Panyan’s blurry mind gradually cleared. All the events before she lost consciousness slowly surfaced. Muying continued to speak softly by her side. “Your Highness, ever since Sister Qiushuang went missing with you that day, she hasn’t reappeared.”

Shen Panyan rubbed her head. “I know.”

She distinctly remembered falling asleep in the cave, feeling intensely unwell in a daze. After that, she seemed to fall into a deep sleep and had no idea how she got back. It must have been Lin Xiao… Thinking of this, Shen Panyan suddenly reacted. “Lin Xiao? Where is he?”

She was awake, so why hadn’t she seen him?

Muying pointed outside. “He’s kneeling there!”

Shen Panyan froze, unable to immediately understand. “Why is he kneeling?”

“As Your Highness’s personal guard, he failed to protect you, so naturally, he should kneel and admit his mistake…”

No, this has nothing to do with Lin Xiao!

Shen Panyan threw off the quilt and hurriedly got out of bed. Muying quickly stopped her. “Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“I must go see him!”

It was winter, and the wind and snow outside were so cold. Lin Xiao kneeling out there must be suffering terribly. He would surely get sick.

Shen Panyan was anxious. Without even stopping to put on her clothes or shoes, she rushed out… As soon as she opened the door, she saw the swaying black figure amidst the frost-covered ground.

Thick snow had already piled up around him. Shen Panyan didn’t dare imagine how long he had been kneeling there.

Muying stood beside her, anxiously trying to persuade her. “Your Highness, you just woke up. Your health has not recovered…”

At this point, Shen Panyan couldn’t listen to anything. She hurried toward him…

Three days and three nights. Even with Lin Xiao’s strong will, his body couldn’t help but tremble. The bone-deep cold was enough to grind down a person’s resolve. His consciousness had gone from clear at the start to blurred…

Frost and snow covered him, soaking his clothes long ago. The black iron mask was colder than ice, and beneath the mask was a face as pale as paper.

The Princess hadn’t woken up yet and hadn’t handed down punishment. He couldn’t faint.

Lin Xiao circulated his internal energy, forcibly trying to remain conscious.

But his internal energy was long exhausted. After supporting himself for just a moment, his body uncontrollably pitched forward. He reached out, ready to brace himself, but a pair of soft, pale hands quickly reached him and caught him.

“Lin Xiao, get up quickly!!” The voice in her ear carried a familiar panic and a sob.

“Your… Your Highness.” Lin Xiao tremulously raised his head, but his vision was a blur. He couldn’t see anything clearly.

The last thread of strength that held him up completely snapped. Just as he was about to plead for punishment, darkness overwhelmed him, and his body slumped powerlessly onto her.

He couldn’t see anything, yet in that moment, he noticed the Princess was stepping barefoot on the snow. Her delicate, soft feet were stained with dirt…

“Lin Xiao!!”

Seeing him faint, Shen Panyan’s heart pounded violently. She quickly reached out to support him, letting him lean against her shoulder.

Lin Xiao’s body was tall. Shen Panyan couldn’t support him and quickly called Muying. Her mind was in a panic, but she forced back her tears. “Quick!! Go find some men and help Lin Xiao back to his room! And Imperial Physician Lin, call Imperial Physician Lin too!!!”

Her words were urgent. Muying was worried about the Princess’s health but dared not disobey her words. She quickly summoned a few strong eunuchs from the Retreat. In a flurry of activity, they carried Lin Xiao back to his own room. Muying persuaded Shen Panyan to return to her room for a quick change of clothes before rushing to Lin Xiao’s room.

Imperial Physician Lin wanted to examine her first but was refused by Shen Panyan. Now, he checked Lin Xiao’s pulse, his brows tightly furrowed.

Shen Panyan anxiously asked him, “Imperial Physician Lin, how is Lin Xiao’s health?”

“This…” Imperial Physician Lin was seeing such a chaotic pulse for the first time. He checked again and again, feeling that something was amiss.

After careful consideration, he decided to report truthfully.

Shen Panyan panicked. “Then what should we do?”

“Your Highness, please step outside and allow this humble official to examine him.”

Imperial Physician Lin called a young eunuch to help remove Lin Xiao’s clothes. However, when his gaze fell on the mask, he was stumped.

He turned to Shen Panyan. “Your Highness, regarding his mask…”

Shen Panyan recalled what Lin Xiao had said before. After much hesitation, she bit her lip. “I will do it!”

With that, she stepped forward and gently removed his mask.

The moment the mask was taken off, a pale, very ordinary face was instantly revealed.

It was the kind of face that would be impossible to find in a crowd.

Shen Panyan froze, surprise flashing in her eyes. Was this what Lin Xiao looked like?

It was somewhat unexpected.

However, she only registered her surprise for a moment before turning and walking out.

“I trouble you, Imperial Physician Lin.”

“Your Highness is too kind.”

Once she left, Imperial Physician Lin instructed the young eunuch to remove Lin Xiao’s clothes and carefully check his injuries. Only then did he discover that Lin Xiao’s body was covered in various large and small scars, all old wounds. The most serious one, however, was the contusion on the back of his head.

With so many injuries, chronic fatigue, and kneeling in the heavy snow for three days and three nights, even a man made of iron couldn’t endure it. It was no wonder his pulse was chaotic.

What kind of person could bear so many injuries? Imperial Physician Lin was astonished but wisely didn’t ask questions, focusing only on what he needed to do.

Knowing the root cause, he quickly wrote the prescription.

Seeing Imperial Physician Lin walk out, Shen Panyan quickly asked, “Imperial Physician Lin, how is Lin Xiao?”

Imperial Physician Lin detailed his findings to her one by one, then said, “His body needs a good rest and recuperation. Otherwise, he may not live past thirty.”

Shen Panyan’s heart pounded. She clenched her hands and nodded. “I understand.”

After examining Lin Xiao, Imperial Physician Lin examined Shen Panyan. Her high fever had subsided, and she had woken up from her coma, so she was no longer in critical danger. Imperial Physician Lin changed her prescription and instructed Muying to remember to change the Princess’s dressing daily before leaving with his medicine box.

Before, her mind was too worried and anxious, causing her to forget the pain of her own wound. Now that she had calmed down, Shen Panyan felt a sharp pain coming from her left shoulder.

However, her injury was only superficial, not having damaged the bone. She just needed to rest well.

Since Shen Panyan had just stepped barefoot into the snow in only her inner clothes, and her body was weak, she might catch a cold. Thus, Muying had already brewed the medicine for cold and fever. When it was brought over, Shen Panyan’s face was bitter. She didn’t need Muying to feed her spoon by spoon. She picked up the bowl and drank it down in one gulp.

She had drunk countless medicines since childhood and was already experienced.

Muying was serious about her work. Since Shen Panyan currently had no one she could trust, she promoted her to be her head maid. Muying was completely surprised and delighted to encounter such good fortune. She immediately knelt to express her gratitude.

“This servant thanks Your Highness for your great kindness!”

“Get up,” Shen Panyan said.

Remembering Qiushuang’s betrayal, Shen Panyan initially wanted to add a few more warnings, but she was terrible at such things, and her words lacked authority, so she gave up. She only softly warned her, “You must be diligent when working by my side. If not, you should no longer remain with me.”

“This servant understands.”

Since entering the palace, Muying had always been a simple cleaning maid. Because she wasn’t good with words, she was often marginalized by the other maids. Later, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to select people, the maids with connections all pleaded with the supervising nanny not to be chosen. Thus, she was selected and sent to Shen Panyan’s Fanghua Palace.

However, her personality destined her not to get any good tasks. Even in Fanghua Palace, she remained a simple servant.

The senior maids all looked down on her, and she couldn’t blend in with them. Over time, Muying stopped talking to them.

Whether in Fanghua Palace or the Imperial Retreat, she was the one who was marginalized and isolated.

Now, to be favored by the Princess and promoted to Head Maid, Muying was both surprised and delighted. She became incredibly diligent in her work. Even if others secretly mocked her, she didn’t care at all.

“Hmph, what’s so great about that? Just got a position from a waste…” Before she could finish, someone interrupted. “Shh! Walls have ears! Do you want someone to discover your disrespect toward the Princess?”

“And what if they do? What can she do to us?” The speaker, named Lan Ruo, scoffed and rolled her eyes. “In my opinion, with the Princess’s timid nature, even if you gave her a hundred guts, she wouldn’t dare raise her voice a…”

“What are you talking about?”

Suddenly, Muying, who had supposedly left, appeared behind them, scolding them sternly. “Have you prepared the things the Princess asked for? All you do is slack off! When I report this to the Princess, you will certainly face the consequences!”

“You—”

“Alright, Lan Ruo, stop it.” Someone gently tugged on her clothes and whispered very quietly in her ear, “Sister Qiushuang is gone now. We should behave and not cause any trouble.”

“Hmph—” The maid called Lan Ruo sneered but ultimately stopped causing trouble.

Muying glanced at her, smiled slightly, and turned to report back to Shen Panyan.

“Your Highness, those maids used to be very close to Qiushuang, but this servant has noticed that Qiushuang hasn’t been in contact with them recently.”

“I see.” Shen Panyan nodded, not expecting Muying to know much information.

“You may step down.”

“Yes.”

Muying left. Shen Panyan looked at Lin Xiao, lying unconscious in bed, her heart filled with worry.

It was already the second day. Why hadn’t Lin Xiao woken up yet?

Imperial Physician Lin said there was no need to rush, but how could she not be anxious?Author’s Note:

I’ve posted an update! My update times are pretty erratic, as I’m mostly busy during the day and only free at night. Please forgive me!

I write quite slowly. It’s actually challenging to write about a Shadow Guard and a Princess because I’m not planning to follow the typical path of powerful lords and generals. He’s just a Shadow Guard, and the female lead is a gentle soul, which means there are fewer natural conflicts. So, it’s easy for the story to collapse if I’m not careful. I re-read everything two or three times before posting, so please don’t mind the slow updates.