The Little Princess's Secret Guard - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: You Are Very Good

It wasn’t until they were safely in the carriage that Shen Panyan finally let out a long sigh of relief.

She lifted the curtain, looked at Lin Xiao outside the window, and asked softly, “Lin Xiao, why did you get into a fight with him just now?”

At the mention of this, Lin Xiao paused. He turned his head slightly, avoiding Shen Panyan’s gaze. “Princess, he insisted that my subordinate secretly tripped him, and he kept pestering me. I had no choice but to wrestle with him.”

“Did this subordinate… cause the Princess trouble?”

“No, no!” Shen Panyan shook her head repeatedly. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt. Next time you encounter him, there’s no need to hold back.”

Shen Panyan’s impression of Zhao Yun was not good, and her tone when mentioning him was quite unpleasant. Thinking of the matter Zhao Wenyao had discussed with her earlier, she felt a headache beginning.

She sighed, “Let’s head back to the residence first!”

Shen Panyan was unmarried and had always lived in the palace, so she didn’t have her own Princess Manor.

But now, Shen Panyan didn’t want to return to the Imperial Palace. Moreover, it was already late, and the palace gates were surely locked, so she chose to return to a small house she owned in the capital city.

In the past, when she got bored staying too long in the Royal Estate, she would come back to the capital and stay in this small house for two or three days.

The house was located on West Street of the Imperial City. It was neither big nor small, and the neighbors around were mostly court officials who always preferred to keep to themselves and not pry into other people’s business. Thus, no one knew this was Princess Mingyue’s private residence.

The house only had one gatekeeper and one cleaning woman. They were a married couple whom Shen Panyan had met outside the Royal Estate.

At the time, the two had fainted from hunger on the road, and it was snowing heavily. Shen Panyan rescued them. When they woke up, seeing they had nowhere to go, she arranged for them to look after her house.

Even when she was away, the house was kept clean and tidy.

Entering the house, it was already very late. The bright moonlight sprinkled down, illuminating the path beneath their feet.

After the trip to the teahouse, they hadn’t had time to go to a restaurant for a meal. Now that they were back at the house, Shen Panyan didn’t want to go out again, so she asked Uncle Wang, the gatekeeper, to go buy food.

Mu Ying began tidying the room where the Princess would stay tonight. After being by her side for so long, she had a good understanding of her preferences.

Shen Panyan sat in the courtyard, looking at Lin Xiao standing behind her. She pointed to the stone bench opposite her. “Lin Xiao, sit!”

Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment and declined, “Princess, that is against the rules.”

“It’s fine. It’s just the two of us here now. There aren’t so many rules. Sit down!” Shen Panyan looked at him with a smile in her eyes. “You can’t expect me to keep craning my neck to look at you, can you? It’s tiring…” By the end, her voice held a slight whine.

“My fault, Princess.” This time, Lin Xiao obediently sat opposite her.

Shen Panyan told him about the things Zhao Wenyao had said to her at the teahouse.

“Lin Xiao, do you think this matter Zhao-guniang spoke of is feasible?”

Lin Xiao was the only person she fully trusted, so she told him about the matter, wanting to hear his opinion.

Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, looked at Shen Panyan, and suddenly countered with a question, “Princess, what are your thoughts? Do you want to marry him?”

Shen Panyan blinked, her expression a mix of frustration and confusion. She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“I also don’t know what I should do.”

It was true that Zhao Wenyao was right. For her, she truly couldn’t find a better match than Zhao Yun in terms of conditions for a consort.

And by now, Shen Panyan had figured out that the person who secretly bribed Qiu Shuang to harm her was most likely Consort Hui.

The General’s Manor was interested in her. Whether she agreed or not, Consort Hui already regarded her as a thorn in her side and would never let her go.

Thinking this way, agreeing to the General’s Manor was probably the best option.

Because Lin Xiao would leave. He couldn’t possibly protect her forever.

Once Lin Xiao left, she would be alone to face Consort Hui’s various schemes. At that time, how could she survive without anyone to protect her?

Shen Panyan did not dare to imagine it.

Lin Xiao didn’t speak.

The things she could think of, Lin Xiao naturally could as well.

It was just that this matter had no simple solution.

The moonlight shone like water, and the small courtyard was silent. Shen Panyan couldn’t help but clutch her hot water bottle tightly, white mist escaping from her breath.

She had put Lin Xiao in a difficult position.

Shen Panyan lowered her eyes in disappointment. Just as she was about to speak, Lin Xiao’s voice suddenly rang out, “Does the Princess like him?”

Shen Panyan froze, taking a moment to react. Her voice was muffled, “No, I don’t.”

“Since the Princess does not like him, then do not force yourself.”

“But…” What about Consort Hui?

“Princess, perhaps you underestimate your position in the Emperor’s heart.”

Shen Panyan was stunned. “What do you mean by that?”

Lin Xiao pointed to himself. “This subordinate is the best proof.”

Shen Panyan was even more confused. “Why?”

“Princess, do you know how Secret Guards are trained?”

Shen Panyan shook her head.

She didn’t know.

Lin Xiao’s voice was flat: “This subordinate was selected into the Secret Guard camp and began training since the age of three.”

“The training in the Secret Guard camp is not something ordinary people can endure. Children who failed at that stage would be eliminated from the camp, but they still had a chance to live. However, once they reached the age of six, they only had two paths: death or life.”

“To cultivate a battle-hardened Secret Guard from a child, the time and cost invested by the Secret Guard camp is not small. Every successful Secret Guard is a sharp blade the Emperor can use effectively.”

“And such a good blade is not easily lent out.”

Even if it was only to protect her temporarily for a period of time. Yet, even the Crown Prince did not receive such treatment.

There weren’t many Secret Guards who had been trained since childhood in the camp. Every Secret Guard had their own crucial tasks and was not idle.

In a sense, coming to protect the Princess was a very easy, leisurely post, almost like a vacation.

Shen Panyan listened, dumbfounded. “Is that true?”

Lin Xiao nodded slightly. “Princess, you can try to rely on the Emperor. With the Emperor’s intervention, Consort Hui would naturally not dare to make a move against you again.”

“But… but Imperial Father doesn’t like me…” Shen Panyan drooped her head in dejection.

Lin Xiao seemed to struggle with how to phrase it, speaking slowly, “This subordinate believes that the Emperor just doesn’t understand you well, which is why he seems not to favor you. If the Emperor truly understood you, he would definitely like you…”

As he spoke, Lin Xiao seemed to recall something, and his gaze towards Shen Panyan was highly complex.

“This subordinate feels that the Princess is not as timid as the rumors suggest. On the contrary, the Princess is actually very brave and has her own opinions…”

“Really?” Shen Panyan looked up, her apricot eyes filled with delight, panic, disbelief, and a hint of caution.

“When facing this subordinate’s blade that time, the Princess was able to rush without hesitation to shield your maidservant. How is that not a form of bravery?”

“Even when this subordinate told you she was untrustworthy, you still adhered to your own opinion and were not easily swayed by others’ words. The Princess, being like this, is actually very good.” His words carried no hint of mockery; instead, they were delivered with thoughtful sincerity.

He genuinely thought she was very good.

Hearing him say all this, Shen Panyan was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, she found her voice again.

“But Lin Xiao, don’t you think I’m very foolish?”

“If I had believed you earlier, I wouldn’t have been pushed off the cliff by Qiu Shuang.”

Lin Xiao shook his head. “Perhaps this subordinate couldn’t understand the Princess then, but this subordinate understands the Princess now.”

“Your heart is gentle, so you treat everyone around you kindly, using all your ability to protect them.”

“Princess, you are not foolish. You simply did not know the truth of the matter. That incident was this subordinate’s fault.”

“It was this subordinate being reckless and not telling the Princess the truth.”

Speaking of this, Lin Xiao suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee before her.

“This subordinate was disrespectful to the Princess at the time. I beg the Princess to punish me…”

“What are you doing? Get up quickly.” Shen Panyan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, anxiously saying, “Those things are in the past. I don’t blame you. You are not allowed to speak of this matter again.”

Lin Xiao rose following her movement, his gaze subtly lingering on her.

He knew that his current gaze was very disrespectful.

But despite all the mistakes he had made, the Princess had never punished him and had only treated him better.

He was confused, doubtful, but just now, he finally understood.

It was because the Princess herself was a very good person.

She was good to everyone around her.

Just as she had protected her personal maidservant that time, she would also protect him… even though he did not need that protection.

It was the first time Shen Panyan had heard anyone praise her. There was unconcealed joy in her heart, yet it was also mixed with a hint of insecurity and self-doubt.

Unconsciously twisting her handkerchief with both hands, she bit her lip. “But, Lin Xiao, I’m not that good…”

“Princess, no one in the world is perfect.”

Even Secret Guards like them have their own hidden thoughts.

“The Princess is already very good.”

Hearing this, Shen Panyan could no longer suppress the joy in her heart. She looked up at him, her apricot eyes curved into crescents, as if filled with brilliant stars and the moon.

“Thank you, Lin Xiao. No one has ever said these things to me before.”

“You are the first person to praise me.”

She was so happy now that she also found the courage to follow her own heart.

She didn’t like Zhao Yun. No matter how good the Marquis of Zhenguo’s Manor was, it was only the Manor, not Zhao Yun.

She didn’t want to spend her life with a person like him.

If possible, she wanted to spend her life with someone she liked.

“Lin Xiao, I’ve decided. I will not agree to the Marquis of Zhenguo’s Manor.”

She clenched her fists. “If Consort Hui dares to try to harm me again, I will go to Imperial Father. I am his daughter; he can’t possibly watch idly as I am framed and killed by Consort Hui.”

“Not only that, I will also seek out evidence that Consort Hui harmed me. I will let Imperial Father see. She has harmed me so much; I can’t just sit back and await death.”

Lin Xiao nodded. “This subordinate will always assist the Princess.”

Shen Panyan smiled at him, her eyes curved. “Thank you, Lin Xiao.”

At this moment, she looked brighter and more radiant than the bright moon in the sky… For the first time, Lin Xiao did not dare to look at her as he had before.