The Little Princess's Secret Guard - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lin Xiao

The sudden appearance of the handkerchief momentarily stunned Shen Panyan, stopping her crying. After a long pause, she turned her head, her eyes hazy with tears, her voice still soft and slightly slurred from crying.

“An Jiu?”

“Mmm.”

Shen Panyan was usually sensitive to the emotions of others, but she couldn’t detect any impatience or dislike from him. However, An Jiu was a man…

After considering this, she gently took the handkerchief from his hand, wiped away her tears, and smiled at him.

“Thank you, An Jiu.”

“The Princess is too kind.”

Seeing that she had stopped crying, An Jiu wanted to leave. Just as he was about to bow out, Shen Panyan saw through his intention. In a panic, she reached out and grabbed his arm. “An Jiu, wait! Don’t go yet!”

Her sudden action triggered An Jiu’s body to instinctively counter-attack. He grabbed her wrist and was about to twist it, but his mind reacted in time: This is the Princess, his current master, not an enemy. He quickly released her.

“This subordinate is wrong. Please punish me, Your Highness,” he immediately knelt down to apologize.

Shen Panyan only felt a great force that hurt her badly. Tears that had just subsided welled up in her almond eyes again, but the force disappeared just as quickly. Before she could react, she saw An Jiu kneeling.

She immediately became anxious. “I know you didn’t mean it. Please, get up quickly.”

Shen Panyan never stood on ceremony with people close to her. Moreover, An Jiu had just given her a handkerchief, so there was no way she would blame him.

She urgently tried to help him up, but the movement aggravated the spot where he had grabbed her.

She let out a soft hiss, her long lashes trembling, and the tears swirling in her eyes instantly rolled down in large drops.

An Jiu: “…”

Just as I said, taking care of a Princess is extremely troublesome.

An Jiu’s lips were pressed into a straight line. He stood up from the floor, thoroughly resigned, and approached the Princess’s bed. He took a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, his voice not as icy as before. “Please extend your hand, Your Highness.”

Shen Panyan looked at him, then at the small blue porcelain bottle in his hand.

“What is this?”

“Medicine for injuries.”

Shadow Guards are frequently injured, so they always carry wound medicine.

Shen Panyan hesitantly extended her hand, biting her lip. “Then, please… be gentle.”

Hearing this, An Jiu’s movements paused. Every subsequent action was extremely careful, as if he were touching fragile porcelain.

Tormented by nightmares and having no appetite, Shen Panyan found every day tasteless. She had become terrifyingly thin. Her formerly slightly round chin was now sharp, her soft black hair draped over her thin back and arm. The wrist she extended was frighteningly skinny, showing the outline of bone.

An Jiu’s gaze fell on her wrist. His fingerprints were red and almost bleeding on her pale skin, a rather shocking sight.

Accidentally injuring the Princess—this was his first mistake since taking on the mission.

This mission shouldn’t have fallen to me… An Jiu’s dissatisfaction with An Ying (the head of the Shadow Guards) immediately deepened.

He had never done anything like this before.

Shadow Guards always aim for speed, aggression, and accuracy. Now, he needed his movements to be not only light but also gentle. The precise amount of pressure was difficult to gauge. If he wasn’t careful, he would see the Princess’s fingertips tremble slightly.

Shen Panyan could tell his actions were unskilled, so she endured the pain and obediently let him apply the medicine.

An Jiu’s brows were nearly knotted together. His movements became lighter and lighter, slower and slower.

The cooling ointment was applied to the wound. In a moment, the dull throbbing pain slowly subsided.

Finally finished applying the ointment, An Jiu’s tightly locked brow gradually relaxed as he watched the Princess withdraw her hand.

“This ointment is highly effective. The swelling should significantly reduce in about three hours,” he said, then cautioned her again. “Your Highness, please do not suddenly touch this subordinate again. It is highly likely to cause self-injury.”

She already knew this without him saying it.

“I understand,” she lowered her head, her voice muffled.

“Does Your Highness have any other matter to command?” An Jiu remembered she had urgently stopped him earlier.

“I…” Shen Panyan hesitated, lifting her almond eyes to look at him. “Um, An Jiu, do you know why Imperial Father sent you here?”

“I do.”

An Jiu’s answers were concise. In a moment, Shen Panyan grasped the reason.

So, it was because her illness had reached her Imperial Father. An illness of the heart requires a remedy for the heart. Knowing she was fearful, he sent someone to guard her.

However, the Palace Guards couldn’t be easily mobilized, and given her overly soft temperament, even the loyal ones might become complacent over time. Therefore, after much consideration, only a Shadow Guard was most suitable.

Shadow Guards reported directly to Emperor Qianning and were instilled with the principle of absolute loyalty to their master from childhood, and would never waver just because the master was weak.

Of course, An Jiu did not say these words; Shen Panyan inferred them herself.

It turns out Imperial Father doesn’t completely disregard me.

Knowing the truth, Shen Panyan felt a measure of happiness. The gloom hidden in her heart gradually dispersed. Not being in the Imperial Palace, her demeanor became slightly lighter, no longer as repressed as before.

“An Jiu, have you always been called An Jiu?”

She shifted the conversation to other topics. She knew her Imperial Father had Shadow Guards, but she had only ever seen their backs. Now, having a living Shadow Guard right in front of her, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“An Jiu, why do you always wear a mask? Is that a requirement from Imperial Father?”

“Can I see what you look like?”

An Jiu: “…”

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Shen Panyan thought she had asked something inappropriate.

“Is it something you can’t talk about?”

She looked at him, her eyelashes slowly drooping in disappointment.

An Jiu: “…”

He felt a headache coming on.

“This subordinate is called An Jiu because I rank ninth in the Shadow Guard Corps. Wearing a mask is not required by His Majesty. All Shadow Guards must cover their faces, and they cannot remove them, even in death.”

When he reached the last question, An Jiu paused. “No.”

“Why?” Shen Panyan immediately looked up.

“A Shadow Guard’s face can only be seen by his true Master.”

“This subordinate is only following orders to protect and look after Her Royal Highness for a time.”

Since the words had been said, Shen Panyan naturally understood An Jiu’s meaning.

An inexplicable feeling of loss suddenly welled up in her heart.

An Jiu did not belong to her. He was only obeying her Imperial Father’s command.

She actually liked him quite a bit. He gave her a handkerchief and applied ointment to her wound. Although his actions were clumsy, the care and caution were something she had never felt from anyone else.

Not even Qiushuang, her personal maid who had been with her for a long time, cared about her feelings.

Shen Panyan felt bitter inside. Her teeth bit her soft lip, and tears misted the corners of her eyes. Her wet, dark almond eyes looked at him, as if she were about to cry again.

An Jiu’s brow furrowed in confusion. He completely failed to understand why the Princess was on the verge of tears again.

He reviewed everything he had just said.

He found nothing wrong.

He had told the truth. What exactly had he said that made the Princess want to cry again?

Looking at the Princess’s sharp, pale face, the tears swirling in her dark, round almond eyes, and her weak fingers clutching the quilt, An Jiu felt deep annoyance and trouble.

What should I do now?

The thought that he still had this assignment for four months made him want to go back to the Shadow Guard camp and give An Ying a severe beating.

Just as An Jiu was debating whether to sneak another handkerchief for the Princess to wipe her tears, Shen Panyan sniffled, strongly held back her tears, and softly said to him, “An Jiu, I don’t think that name sounds nice. Can I give you a new one?”

Even if An Jiu were to leave later, he was here now, and that meant he was her person.

Shen Panyan didn’t want to let go of anyone who treated her kindly, even if it was temporary.

It was as if by doing this, she could tightly grasp every bit of warmth.

It was only a name change, and An Jiu didn’t care.

He felt a slight relief in his heart, as long as the Princess didn’t cry at him anymore.

“Please bestow a name, Your Highness!”

He knelt halfway, his posture respectful yet distant.

“I think your aura is sharp, like a thousand peaks towering into the clouds. How about Lin Xiao?” Shen Panyan looked at him with soft eyes, afraid he might refuse.

Lin Xiao had no objection. “Thank you for the name, Your Highness.”

Seeing him agree, a smile blossomed on Shen Panyan’s face. Her almond eyes looked at him eagerly. “Lin Xiao, I’m a little hungry. Can you help me fetch some food?”

Qiushuang didn’t care about her at all, and she didn’t want to call Qiushuang.

“Yes.”

Lin Xiao stood up and left the room. Shen Panyan sat on the bed, watching his retreating back. A long-lost sense of security emerged in her heart, and the frightening images that had tormented her mind no longer surfaced.

The Imperial Retreat was very large, traditionally a place for the royal family to ride and play, especially in the spring during the hunting season when it was very lively.

Shen Panyan was staying in an auxiliary palace in the West Courtyard, which had a small kitchen nearby, so the walk was not long. However, the guards who originally escorted the Princess had already returned to the capital. Thus, only a few people remained in the large West Courtyard.

Qiushuang was a head maid. In the palace, she wouldn’t deign to sit with the lesser maids, but now, being in the Imperial Retreat, aside from their small group of maids, the rest were rough servants who didn’t warrant her attention.

A few maids gathered around a charcoal brazier to warm themselves. Each had a plate of sweet cakes beside them. Given their status, they shouldn’t have had these sweet cakes, but everyone knew their master’s character. Over time, no one took the Princess seriously.

The group chatted and laughed heartily.

Suddenly, someone brought up the Princess. “Hey, Sister Qiushuang, when the Princess woke up, didn’t she call you to attend to her?”

Qiushuang elegantly took a bite of her sweet cake and rolled her eyes. “With her temperament, what can she do to me even if I left?”

“It was just a few bandits, and she’s been so scared she can’t sleep day and night. A few days of fuss would be fine, but fussing constantly, day and night—who can endure it?”

A few young maids sympathized, looking at her with pity. “Sister Qiushuang, you’ve suffered.”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve suffered.” When the master’s temperament is easy to manipulate, the servants live well.

Qiushuang put down her sweet cake, her voice flat. “The Princess has already reached her age of majority. Soon she will choose a Prince Consort. If we follow her into the Princess’s Residence, we probably won’t have any hope for our lives.”

The master is weak and only hides and cries when bullied by others. Those who follow her can only suffer in silence alongside her.

People in the palace are used to stepping on the low and flattering the high. They had suffered quite a bit, but since coming to the Imperial Retreat, there were no other masters besides Princess Mingyue, and their lives had become easier.

Qiushuang had been following the Empress since entering the palace and was later assigned to Shen Panyan by the Empress. The drop in status needs no elaboration.

The few young maids had also followed the Empress in previous years and naturally agreed with Qiushuang.

None of them were satisfied with this assignment.

“Sister Qiushuang, did the Empress mention having you return?” one young maid looked at her expectantly.

Qiushuang’s brows furrowed, and she felt a flash of irritation. “The Empress didn’t say. She only told me to continue serving her for now.”

When they were initially assigned to Princess Mingyue’s side, none of them wanted the post. She had volunteered, seeing the Empress’s worry and wanting to earn favor.

Looking back now, she deeply regretted it.

None of the Empress’s other senior maids had moved. Only she foolishly jumped forward, falling straight into this deep pit. Now, she couldn’t return to the Kunning Palace.

However, the Empress hadn’t left her without any promise.

Thinking of this, Qiushuang’s brows smoothed out. “The Empress said that when Princess Mingyue gets married, she will prepare a dowry for me and choose a suitable man from the Imperial City Guards for me to marry.”

Upon hearing the mention of marriage, the young maids blushed. They looked at Qiushuang enviously. “Sister Qiushuang, the Empress is so good to you.”

The maids in the palace essentially had two paths: either die old serving the master in the palace, or be released after a period of time to marry into a common family.

But life outside wasn’t easy. Everything cost money. They were used to comfortable lives in the palace. Who could endure suddenly falling from a gold nest into a straw den?

Yet, they were also unwilling to marry alongside the Princess. Once they entered the Princess’s Residence, they would either serve the Princess for life with no hope for the future, or be assigned to the Prince Consort, gaining the status of a concubine and barely making it as a master.

If they were married off to a houseboy, their children would be servants for generations.

For Qiushuang to receive the Empress’s promise to marry an Imperial City Guard meant her life would be good. If she was lucky and her husband gained favor and was promoted, they might even become respected noble ladies. Who wouldn’t want such good fortune?

The young maids laughed and congratulated her. Flattered by the compliments, Qiushuang smiled, though she verbally scolded the maids.

“The Empress only mentioned it in passing. Who knows what will happen? Don’t spread rumors before it’s settled, or I won’t forgive you.”

“Don’t worry, Sister Qiushuang. Our lips are sealed,” the young maids quickly covered their mouths to show they wouldn’t talk.

Qiushuang had been away for a long time. She didn’t want to go to Shen Panyan herself, so she pointed to a young maid.

“Go check on the Princess. Make sure she hasn’t died.”

If she died, none of the close attendants would have an easy life.

The young maid didn’t dare disobey Qiushuang, so she stood up and left. Not long after, she rushed back, looking terrified.

“Sister Qiushuang, Sister Qiushuang, this is terrible!!”

“There’s a strange man wearing a mask in the Princess’s room!!!”

“What?!”

Qiushuang’s pupils constricted. She quickly stood up and rushed towards Shen Panyan’s room.