The Little Princess's Secret Guard - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Then Use a Knife
The two listeners’ hearts both skipped a beat.
Lin Xiao’s brow furrowed suddenly, and Qiushuang’s words were more urgent, “How could this be? Didn’t the princess’s health only get a little better a few days ago? Why has it worsened so much today?”
Imperial Physician Lin took out his brush and ink and began to write a prescription, using stronger medicines this time.
“The princess appears to have suffered a fright, which caused a relapse of her palpitations.”
As he spoke, Imperial Physician Lin hesitated. He was not familiar with Lin Xiao, nor did he know his identity, but since he was close to the princess, he must be one of her people. After some thought, he addressed the two of them, “The princess’s health is very frail. In the future, the two of you must be mindful of your words and actions in front of the princess, and be careful not to say anything that might agitate her again.”
Qiushuang’s heart thumped heavily, and she instantly lowered her eyes.
The things she had said earlier were words that stabbed right into the princess’s heart.
The princess’s palpitations, weren’t they caused by her agitation?
“This servant will serve the princess well.”
Regardless of what was in her heart, Qiushuang maintained a façade of distress, appearing deeply worried for the princess.
If Lin Xiao hadn’t seen her arrogant and self-righteous demeanor before, he might have believed her.
He twirled his fingers, and a cold dagger appeared in his long, slender hand.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao reached out and sharply pinched Qiushuang’s chin, forcing her lips apart. In her terrified and trembling eyes, the sharp dagger entered her mouth and pressed heavily onto her tongue.
Qiushuang was so scared she didn’t dare to move. Imperial Physician Lin, seeing this scene, his hand trembled, and a black blob of ink dripped onto the paper, spreading out.
Oh dear heavens!
Lin Xiao warned in a cold voice, “If you dare to speak nonsense in front of the princess again next time, I will cut out your tongue.”
Qiushuang was so frightened that tears welled up. The icy blade was right inside her mouth. Forget nodding, she didn’t even dare to move, only able to signal frantically with her eyes.
Seeing her terrified, tearful, and collapsing expression, Lin Xiao sneered, withdrew the dagger, and his gaze fell on Imperial Physician Lin, “Continue writing.”
Abruptly called out, Imperial Physician Lin trembled, and the paper below was once again smudged with ink. He hurriedly took a fresh sheet of paper from the side.
Watched by Lin Xiao’s indifferent eyes, Imperial Physician Lin felt immense pressure.
He couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Where did this god of death come from? He’s so terrifying!
With Lin Xiao watching, Qiushuang indeed did not dare to be as presumptuous as before.
If she dared to utter one more word, a cold dagger would appear in Lin Xiao’s hand. His gaze would lightly fall on the dagger, spinning it casually.
Watching the sharp blade dancing at his fingertips, though he said nothing and his gaze wasn’t even on her, Qiushuang felt a chill crawl up her spine. The words in her mouth turned over and over, but were finally swallowed back down, and she remained silent.
Shen Panyan looked at the strange atmosphere between the two with confusion.
She didn’t know why, but she felt that Qiushuang seemed a little afraid of Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao’s personality was a bit cold, but there was nothing to be afraid of.
Shen Panyan’s gaze fell back on Lin Xiao. She saw him leaning against the door frame, head bowed, playing with the dagger in his hand.
It was a sharp and lethal object, yet in his hand, it was like a small toy, wielded with great ease.
The sun was good today, and it slanted down onto him. His long hair, tied up with a strip of cloth, was gently draped over his shoulder. Along with the sunlight, it melted away the sharp edge he usually carried, making him look somewhat lazy.
However, seeing the dagger in his hand occasionally flash with a cold glint, Shen Panyan was still worried that he might hurt himself.
“Lin Xiao.”
She called out softly.
Lin Xiao paused, put away the dagger, tucked it into his waist, and turned to look, “Does the princess have a command?”
“No…” Seeing how easily he handled it, Shen Panyan felt her advice was perhaps redundant.
But she had already called him. Looking at Lin Xiao’s clear, detached gaze, Shen Panyan felt a little embarrassed and lowered her head, speaking softly, “The medicine just now was a little bitter. Can you get me some candied fruit?”
“Yes.” Lin Xiao withdrew.
Seeing his receding back, Qiushuang finally felt the heavy stone in her heart being removed.
“Princess, he is only a guard, you are far too lenient with him.”
“He wears a mask all day and is unwilling to show his real face. Who knows what intentions he harbors, wanting to do you harm, Princess.”
Qiushuang was extremely dissatisfied with Shen Panyan’s tolerance of Lin Xiao.
She not only allowed him to be by her side at all times, but also allowed him to enter her inner chambers freely. Not only that, she even specially had the room next to the West Courtyard, the one closest to her, cleaned up for him to use. What kind of guard is treated like this?
But Qiushuang did not dare to speak in front of Lin Xiao; she could only speak ill of him when he was absent.
“Qiushuang, Lin Xiao is very good.” Shen Panyan frowned, turning her head away, unhappy that Qiushuang was speaking ill of Lin Xiao.
“Princess!” Seeing her refusal to listen, Qiushuang grew anxious, “You are a princess, a noble daughter of the imperial family. How can you let an outside man stay by your side?”
Ever since Lin Xiao arrived, Qiushuang had been trying to make her send him away.
She didn’t want Lin Xiao to leave. If Lin Xiao left, no one would care about her anymore.
Shen Panyan bit her lip, feeling choked up inside, and for the first time, she refuted her, “But Lin Xiao is my guard. Where else can he go if he doesn’t stay by my side?”
Completely unexpected that the princess would refute her, Qiushuang was stunned, and a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in her heart.
In the past, the princess would obediently listen to her. Now, because of just a guard, she had begun to defy her. If Lin Xiao were allowed to stay, wouldn’t the princess become even more disobedient to her?
Moreover, she had promised someone… Qiushuang suppressed the unease in her heart and patiently tried to persuade her, “Princess, listen to my advice. The most important thing for you now is to choose a good consort.”
“I think that Young Master Chu is quite good. He is also deeply devoted to you, Princess. I still have the poem he wrote for you last time.”
“Princess, Young Master Chu doesn’t like having outside men around you. If you want to marry Young Master Chu, Lin Xiao absolutely cannot stay by your side. Princess, you must not incur Young Master Chu’s displeasure.”
Shen Panyan’s reputation in the capital was already poor. Now that she was almost a year past her coming-of-age, her marriage seemed to be forgotten by everyone. If she kept delaying like this, when would she be able to marry?
She did not want to be trapped and die by her side.
“I don’t like that Young Master Chu!” Shen Panyan pursed her lips, her hands unconsciously twisting the bedding, “I will not let Lin Xiao leave.”
The Young Master Chu that Qiushuang spoke of was the second young master of the Ministry of Rites. She had met him on the road when she left the palace for the Royal Summer Retreat last time. He had a frivolous expression and immediately spoke some inappropriate words upon seeing her. She didn’t like him.
Remembering the poems he wrote, Shen Panyan’s cheeks instantly turned pale.
She didn’t want those letters, but Qiushuang had taken them on her own accord.
She pleaded softly, “Qiushuang, can you burn those letters? I don’t like them.”
“Princess!” Qiushuang frowned, suppressing her displeasure and continuing to coax patiently, “Young Master Chu has a good appearance and a good temperament. He is the best consort you can choose, Princess. Don’t be stubborn.”
“Your birth mother passed away early, and Her Majesty the Empress and His Majesty are both busy. You must arrange your own marriage.”
“I am doing this for your own good, too.”
Shen Panyan didn’t like hearing this, but she didn’t know how to refute, so she could only turn her head away and stick to her words, “I don’t like him, and I won’t marry him.”
“But Princess, you must marry someone eventually!” Qiushuang became more anxious.
If she kept refusing to marry, when would she be able to leave her side and receive the Empress’s favor to marry a Royal Guard?
Shen Panyan buried her head in the bedding, ignoring her words, “I won’t marry.”
“Princess!!” Seeing her hide under the bedding again like before, Qiushuang’s annoyance deepened. She reached out, intending to grab the bedding.
“What are you doing!”
A cold male voice suddenly appeared behind her, startling Qiushuang.
Lin Xiao walked over, looking at her with cold eyes, “What were you trying to do to the princess?”
As he spoke, a sharp dagger rested against her neck, “Have you forgotten my warning?”
“I…” The icy dagger pressed against her skin, as if it would cut her neck in the next instant. Qiushuang swallowed, her whole body breaking out in goosebumps uncontrollably, “I was just covering the princess… covering the princess with the bedding… Yes, I was covering the princess with the bedding…”
As she spoke, she moved a step to the side, secretly observing Lin Xiao’s reaction. Seeing him withdraw the dagger, she hurriedly moved away from him, stepped forward to tuck the bedding around Shen Panyan, casually appeased her a couple of times, then quickly retreated, bowed, “Princess, this servant will take her leave.”
She left in a hurry, as if a ghost were chasing her from behind.
Lin Xiao watched her retreating figure and sneered.
A bullying and cowardly servant.
Shen Panyan had quietly put down the bedding covering her head at some point. Her eyes were bright as she looked at him,
“Lin Xiao, you are so amazing!”
This sudden compliment made Lin Xiao pause for a moment in silence.
“It is not this subordinate who is amazing, it is just that the princess’s temperament is too timid…” As he said this, he remembered Imperial Physician Lin’s warning, so he changed his words, “too easy to bully.”
Being pointed out so directly by Lin Xiao, Shen Panyan blinked, and her bright eyes gradually dimmed.
She knew her temperament was not good, but she couldn’t change it.
As soon as she heard others criticize her, a sense of helplessness would rise in her, as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her heart, making her unable to breathe or speak.
“I’m sorry, Lin Xiao, I disappointed you…” She covered her head with the bedding again.
This act of burying her head in the sand seemed incomprehensible and quite unbelievable to Lin Xiao.
The reputation of Princess Mingyue being timid is indeed well-deserved.
Lin Xiao’s voice was cold, “This is the princess’s own business. There is no need to apologize to your subordinate.”
With that, he placed the candied fruit on the tray beside her.
“Princess, this is the candied fruit you asked for.”
Hearing him mention the candied fruit, Shen Panyan released the bedding and looked at Lin Xiao, thanking him softly, “Thank you, Lin Xiao.”
Seeing the princess’s slightly red eyes, Lin Xiao, who was about to leave, paused.
She was the princess after all… his current master.
After some thought, Lin Xiao took off the dagger from his waist and placed it beside her.
“Princess, if you don’t know how to speak next time, then use a knife.”
“Lin Xiao…” Shen Panyan looked blankly at the dagger he had placed down.
The sheath of this dagger was worn, with some chipped black paint and a few scratches on it. Apart from these minor imperfections, the entire dagger was intact.
Lin Xiao must have liked it very much, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been playing with it in his hand earlier.
But now, he had given this dagger to her…
Shen Panyan reached out and gently grasped the dagger.
The dagger was cold to the touch, and a feeling of courage seemed to enter her heart. She looked up at Lin Xiao, her eyes curved with a smile, “Thank you, Lin Xiao.”