The Little Princess's Secret Guard - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Clue

“Get in there!”

Qiu Shuang reached out and directly pushed Shen Panyan inside, throwing a set of coarse cloth clothes to her, and mocked: “You’re no longer a high-status princess now. No one will wait on you. If you don’t want to die, change yourself.”

Shen Panyan stumbled, and before she could steady herself, the coarse cloth clothes covered her face. Immediately following was a “bang”, the door was shut, the sound of the lock clicking was heard, and the entire room fell into darkness.

Shen Panyan could no longer hold back her tears, slowly squatted down, and sobbed softly. Slowly, her crying grew louder until she had vented all the fear, pain, and panic in her heart, and then she stopped.

Shen Panyan wiped her tears herself, sniffled, and picked up the coarse cloth dress on the floor, changing out of her soaking wet dress.

Winter clothes are thick. Her whole body was soaked in the lake water, clinging heavily to her, like blocks of ice, making her shiver uncontrollably. But since she had no extra clothes to change into, she could only endure it forcibly.

The coarse cloth clothes were neither warm nor soft when worn. They were scratchy and uncomfortable on her skin. Shen Panyan was very uncomfortable and soon scratched her skin, leaving streaks of bl00d. Fortunately, there was a bed in the room. She curled up in the bed, wrapped herself in the quilt, and finally warmed up a little.

But there was no way to get rid of the scratchiness of the coarse cloth clothes; she could only bear it.

Shen Panyan knew without looking in the mirror how miserable she looked now. The tears she could not hold back welled up again.

“Lin Xiao… where are you…”

She had cried for so long just now, and no one paid any attention to her. Now, there was even less chance. Shen Panyan was cold and hungry, her body shivering uncontrollably. She curled up in a ball and slowly drifted off to sleep.

“Wake up! Wake up!”

After an unknown period, Shen Panyan suddenly felt her body being forcefully pushed.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes to see that it was Qiu Shuang.

“Drink this.”

Qiu Shuang thrust a bowl of cold medicine in front of her.

“Wh-What is this?” As soon as Shen Panyan spoke, she realized her throat was extremely hoarse.

“Medicine for a cold,” Qiu Shuang said impatiently, “Hurry up and drink it!”

Shen Panyan cautiously reached out, took the medicine bowl from her hand, and drank it in small sips.

The medicine was extremely bitter, but she didn’t dare not drink it.

A teardrop plopped down, sliding down her cheek into the medicine bowl, mixing with the soup and entering her throat, making it even more bitter.

Seeing her compliance, Qiu Shuang’s expression softened slightly. “Stay here properly. After a few days, you’ll be able to leave.”

“R-Really?” Shen Panyan couldn’t believe it at all. The master behind Qiu Shuang went to such great lengths to capture her, just to lock her up for a while?

What was the point?

“Believe it or not.” Qiu Shuang rolled her eyes at her and turned to leave.

Qiu Shuang indeed didn’t lie to her.

In the days that followed, besides being locked in this dark room with all four windows sealed, unable to leave, nothing else happened to Shen Panyan. It was as if she had been forgotten by everyone.

Qiu Shuang still looked after her as before, but besides her, she never saw anyone else. Shen Panyan felt increasingly uneasy, always sensing that something she didn’t know about was secretly taking root and sprouting.

She wasn’t stupid and had already realized that the lantern festival chaos that day was aimed at her, with the purpose of kidnapping her.

Was the person behind this Consort Hui?

No, that’s not right!

Shen Xu’s marriage had already been decided, only now the General’s Mansion was delaying it under some pretext, which is why the marriage contract hadn’t been bestowed. Once the Emperor gave his word, their marriage was a certainty. The General’s Mansion would not dare to defy the Emperor’s decree. Consort Hui had no reason to target her anymore.

Then who could it be?

Daring to strike in a busy market, and on a New Year’s Eve like this, the audacity of the person behind this was extraordinary. Unless, their ability was sufficient to settle this matter.

Shen Panyan suddenly recalled the day she woke up. Qiu Shuang had frantically strangled her neck, saying she had ruined her. At the time, she was a little confused about how she had ruined her, but now, a faint understanding dawned in her heart.

After Qiu Shuang disappeared, Lin Xiao had once interrogated the palace maid who was close to her. From her, he learned that the Empress had once promised Qiu Shuang something: to marry her to a guard of the Imperial City after she got married.

Given the Empress’s involvement, the guard’s rank would certainly not be low, likely an Imperial Guard. No wonder Qiu Shuang had always been so eager for her to marry. Now, the person behind her had emerged…

Lin Xiao had actually warned her, but at that time, she was unwilling to believe or face it. Now, having been kidnapped in the middle of a busy street, she could no longer deny it.

Shen Panyan had known since childhood that the Empress didn’t like her, but she thought it was because she herself was bad and often disobedient, which was why the Empress didn’t like her.

But later, she secretly observed other concubines and realized that they were not like that towards their children. Even adopted children were not treated the way she was.

If other princesses fell ill, the servants around them would definitely be punished. But the palace maids by her side often chose inappropriate clothes for her, leading her to be either cold or hot, sometimes even getting a stomach ache that lasted all day.

And whenever she was uncomfortable or in pain, the Emperor would come to see her, stroking her head with heartbreak and a sigh, while the Empress next to him also looked anxious.

She remembered when she was little, the Emperor’s most frequent sentence to her was: “Don’t be naughty and willful anymore, causing your Mother Empress to worry so much about you.”

Yet, she had always been the most obedient and sensible. How could she have been naughty and willful?

The palace maids around her were replaced batch after batch, so quickly that she couldn’t remember their faces, only a vague impression. It only got better when she was older, and the Empress forced her to learn all kinds of female conduct and precepts, Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua (music, chess, calligraphy, painting), and demanded that she excel in every single one compared to the other princesses, only when she received the Emperor’s praise.

“Although Mingyue was a little willful when she was young, now that she’s older, she’s become obedient and sensible, and studies diligently. Your subject can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Otherwise, a hundred years from now, if I meet Consort Shu’s sister, your subject truly wouldn’t know how to face her.”

“You and Consort Shu had the best relationship. How could she blame you? For so many years, Mingyue has always been meticulously cared for by you, not allowing others to interfere… Lingyi, you have suffered!”

This sentence had always been etched in Shen Panyan’s heart. In fact, she had long understood that the Empress did not love her and had no feelings for her whatsoever. To the Empress, she was just a tool, a tool to curry favor with the Emperor.

She just had always been unwilling to believe it.

Moreover, did the Emperor truly not know the Empress’s actions?

Shen Panyan was unsure, but in the year she turned ten, she developed a high fever due to practicing the Qin, nearly died, and was sent to the Royal Resort to recover. After that, Shen Panyan clearly understood that the Emperor probably knew.

It’s just that he didn’t care.

From the very beginning, she was a child no one wanted.

Her real birth mother had died, on the day she was born. In this world, no one would truly love her.

Thinking of this, Shen Panyan could no longer stop her tears. Her body curled up in a ball, and she sobbed softly.

Sometimes, she would also think of her birth mother, that former Consort Shu. If she were still alive, would she not have to live like this?

Shen Panyan didn’t know.

But she thought her mother must have loved her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked the Emperor for the title “Mingyue” for her before she died.

To possess a title from birth, this was unique in the history of the Zhaoyan Kingdom since its founding.

Her mother must have loved her very much, right?

But she had never met her, not even seen her portrait.

Shen Panyan felt extremely miserable, so miserable that she could barely breathe.

Yet, she didn’t want to die. She wanted a truth, the truth about why the Empress was targeting her.

If the Empress wanted her dead, there were many children who died young in the harem. Why didn’t she let her die young, but instead let her live well until now?

Shen Panyan couldn’t figure it out. With trembling fingers, she took out a small porcelain bottle and shakily put the contents into her mouth.

The pill was bitter and melted instantly upon entry. The accompanying palpitations also slowly eased.

This pill was given to her by Lin Xiao back then. She had always carried it with her, as well as the dagger he gave her. She also kept it on her person.

She had never forgotten Lin Xiao’s kindness. Furthermore, during her time living in the capital, she had always felt vaguely uneasy, so she had always carried the dagger with her. Since she wore thick clothes in winter, no one knew she was hiding a dagger on her.

Shen Panyan gripped the cold dagger, but her heart felt secure.

Lin Xiao must be looking for her now. He will definitely find her.

And now, her most important task was to preserve herself until Lin Xiao arrived.

For the next few days, Shen Panyan was exceptionally quiet and obedient in everything she did. Qiu Shuang didn’t pay much attention to it.

She had been by her side for many years and was already familiar with her temperament. It would be strange if she made a fuss.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

Lin Xiao had found a clue on the day the princess went missing. People from the General’s Mansion also followed this clue, however, the clue was lost after leaving the capital.

This matter was not supposed to be publicized. Zhao Yun and Zhao Wenyao had both secretly instructed people to search. The people below didn’t even know they were looking for the princess. They truly believed they were looking for a woman who was an acquaintance of Zhao Wenyao’s. One or two days was fine, but as time went on, no one took it seriously anymore.

Zhao Yun was being pestered by Princess Chengle. To avoid her, he stayed in the General’s Mansion every day. It was currently the New Year, and Zhao Wenyao wasn’t always free either. She was going to be married after the New Year, so she was even busier.

The capital was under intense scrutiny due to the market murder. People entering and leaving the capital were being thoroughly checked, and the citizens were all in fear. Lin Xiao, as the person who was murdered, was repeatedly summoned for questioning by the authorities.

He had no intention of revealing his true identity to invite trouble, and was more anxious about the princess’s disappearance. So, he simply handed the matter over to Zhao Wenyao and Zhao Yun to solve, believing that the General’s Mansion’s power would be sufficient to resolve it.

Relieved of the troublesome interrogations by the authorities, Lin Xiao followed the clues, traveling continuously for ten days, and finally found a small trace related to the princess.