Chapter 10, Chapter 10: Bitterness

Shen Panyan was taken aback by his words and paused for a moment, wanting to say something but unable to get the words out.

Finally, she turned away and sulked, "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Lin Xiao didn't mind her little temper and led her down the mountain.

Xishan is very large, but the slope is not high. The cliff where Shen Panyan fell is not strictly speaking a cliff, but more like a long steep slope. In addition, the heavy snow provided a buffer, so apart from the knife wound, Shen Panyan only had some simple abrasions.

Lin Xiao carried her, but before they had gone far, the sky began to darken.

The snow in the mountains had not yet melted, making the journey difficult. If he waited until dark, he would have no chance of leading the princess out of the forest.

Lin Xiao made a quick decision and began looking for a place to hide, planning to leave at dawn the next day.

The mountains and forests were quiet; apart from the rustling sound underfoot, there were no sounds of insects, fish, or birds. It felt as if you were the only person left in the entire world.

Shen Panyan was already afraid of the dark, and now, in this unfamiliar forest, the darkness and loneliness pressed down on her, making her even more fearful.

Her uninjured hand couldn't help but climb up his neck, and Shen Panyan hugged him tightly. "Lin Xiao, how much longer until we can go back?"

Lin Xiao's voice was calm and composed, "Princess, it's getting dark, and we won't be able to get out of this forest."

Can't get out of this forest?

Does that mean they're going to spend the night here?

Shen Panyan's face paled; she didn't want to spend the night there.

She tightened her grip on Lin Xiao's neck, "Lin Xiao, I don't want to spend the night here..."

Lin Xiao's voice was indifferent, "Princess, we can only spend one night here."

"It's already dark. If we continue walking, we won't be able to find our way and we'll just get lost."

Shen Panyan bit her lip, her eyes slightly red, "I understand..."

After saying this, she said in a very soft voice, "Don't be mean to me..."

She felt that Lin Xiao wasn't like a person, but rather like a piece of wood.

Otherwise, she really couldn't understand why he always spoke and acted in such a cold and indifferent manner.

Lin Xiao: "......"

He didn't.

But arguing with the princess any further would only lead to the same result as before, so Lin Xiao chose to shut his mouth and stop talking.

A dull ache throbbed from the wound on her left shoulder. Cold and hungry, Shen Panyan watched the sky grow darker, the trees in the forest appearing like ghostly shadows to her. She dared not look any further and buried her face in his chest.

Lin Xiao paused slightly, then continued walking forward, but at a slightly faster pace.

The only sound was Lin Xiao's footsteps.

Shen Panyan felt a little dizzy. She couldn't stand the loneliness and reached out to tug at his shirt. "Lin Xiao, talk to me."

This time, Lin Xiao broke his silence. "What does the princess wish to say to this subordinate?"

"You can say whatever you want..."

However, Lin Xiao didn't know what to say to the princess, so he fell silent again.

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Panyan felt a tightness in her chest. "Lin Xiao, do you really hate me?"

Lin Xiao: "No."

Shen Panyan: "Then why don't you say anything?"

Lin Xiao: "This subordinate simply doesn't know what to say to the princess."

Shen Panyan fell silent, and after a while, her dejected voice rang out again, "Then let's talk about Qiu Shuang. Why did you insist on killing her?"

Lin Xiao answered quite quickly this time, "I had already noticed that she was acting suspiciously before, and I secretly observed her for a period of time. Later, I found that she seemed to have been in contact with people outside."

"It's just that I can't leave Your Highness's side for too long, so I've never known who she was in contact with. I can only tell that she seems to be plotting against Your Highness."

“Yesterday, I discovered that she brought two snakes back from outside. As for what happened after that, Your Highness, you already know.”

"After you left, did you go to catch snakes or kill people? Did you kill that little palace maid too?" Shen Panyan continued to ask.

"You said Qiu Shuang betrayed her master, so what exactly did she do that made you insist on killing them?" Shen Panyan was puzzled and determined to know the answer to this question.

Lin Xiao said calmly, "I learned from that little palace maid that your maid had been colluding with the bandits outside. She had been trying to lure me away so that she could lead you, Princess, to the bandits."

"I killed the bandits who were lying in ambush around you. As for that little palace maid, one of them was the ringleader and the other was an accomplice. Neither of them can escape."

Therefore, that palace maid is already dead.

After hearing his words, Shen Panyan remained silent for a long time, her mind a jumble of thoughts. As a frail woman, she knew without a doubt what would happen if she fell into the hands of bandits.

She knew she was too foolish to have ended up in this situation, but, but, he could have told her all of this, why didn't he?

It wasn't until Lin Xiao found a slightly dry cave in the forest and settled down, barely able to get through the night, that Chen Panyan asked, "Lin Xiao, why didn't you tell me about these things? If you had told me, even if I didn't believe you, I might not have trusted Qiu Shuang anymore. I wouldn't have gone with her, and I wouldn't be in this mess now."

Lin Xiao found some dry branches, lit them to start a fire, and the flickering flames reflected on their faces.

Lin Xiao looked at the princess, who was curled up in a ball by the fire, and smirked, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "Princess, you risked your life to protect her. What difference would it make whether I speak or not?"

"Then you can bring that little palace maid to me and tell me the truth. With evidence, I will definitely believe you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao suddenly seemed to have heard something amusing. "Princess, have you forgotten that I am a secret guard, not a royal guard? I need evidence for everything I do."

"Moreover, my mission is simply to protect Your Highness's safety."

"If anything is detrimental to you, I only need to eliminate it; I don't need to consult you."

He only needs to complete the task; he doesn't need to think about anything else.

Mission, mission, all he could think about was the mission. Didn't he have a heart? If it weren't for the mission, would he have even given me a second glance if I had fallen off the cliff?

Shen Panyan was both angry and sad. She raised her head and looked at him stubbornly, "But you won't say anything, and I don't know anything. Do you do things the same way when you're with Father?"

Lin Xiao stirred the fire, making the flames burn brighter.

His voice was calm: "His Majesty will not protect a maid who has repeatedly offended him like you do, nor will he risk his life to protect her like you do."

“In His Majesty’s eyes, even if that maid did not betray her master, my appearance is enough for His Majesty to give up her life.”

"The secret guards are the master's most loyal blades and will never harm the master."

The secret guards are the most loyal blades, not people.

Don't expect them to have much affection.

These words instantly extinguished all of Shen Panyan's anger.

She was really stupid to expect a knife to have pity on her. In Lin Xiao's eyes, her behavior was probably both foolish and ridiculous.

No wonder he didn't want to talk to her. To him, she was just a mission target who needed protection, and a stupid and troublesome one at that. That's why he became increasingly indifferent to her.

He might even be mocking himself in his heart.

After all, there was no one in the entire Zhaoyan Kingdom as foolish as her who would use her own body to shield a treacherous maid from a knife.

Shen Panyan buried her head in her knees, her body trembling slightly, and soon, soft sobs could be heard.

Lin Xiao looked at her, at her disheveled appearance, her clothes and hairpins in disarray, completely different from her usual self. He remained silent for a moment, but ultimately did not continue to remain silent.

"Princess."

Shen Panyan ignored him, and Lin Xiao didn't care either.

"As a princess, you should not be so disrespectful to your life for the sake of a mere maid."

"Your life is more important than all of ours."

"Your Highness, I hope you will not do such a rash thing again. If I hadn't stopped you in time, you would be dead by now."

Shen Panyan felt a pang of sadness in her heart, her voice muffled, "But you won't listen to me, so this is the only way I can make you stop."

She wasn't thinking of dying; she just wanted him to stop and not kill Qiu Shuang.

Lin Xiao: "......"

He fell silent, just when Shen Panyan thought he wouldn't say anything more.

"I know I was wrong. I will accept the punishment when I return."

Chen Panyan said sullenly, "I didn't say I was going to punish you."

She had trusted the wrong person, and this injury was her own doing; she had no intention of blaming Lin Xiao.

She just hoped that Lin Xiao would care more about her; she had never actually seen him as a weapon.

"Lin Xiao, next time, can you please listen to me?"

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then said, "Your subordinate will obey your master's orders."

But she wasn't his master.

Doesn't what he said mean that he doesn't want to listen to her?

Shen Panyan felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her heart, sinking her to the depths, and her eyes welled up with tears. "I understand."

After that, Shen Panyan stopped talking and silently squatted by the fire, lost in thought.

Her nose was red, and her eyes were red too.

Shen Panyan felt that she was a complete failure, but why, why did she become like this?

She had read many books and learned a lot of female precepts, and was not much different from other princesses, so why did she become like this?

The eldest princess wasn't like this, the second princess wasn't like this, and the fourth princess wasn't like this either, so why did she become like this?

Shen Panyan couldn't understand it.

She was not favored by her father and mother, and her relationship with the other princes and princesses was also quite ordinary.

Lin Xiao will leave, and the palace servants who serve her will also leave.

Perhaps, this is her fate.

She is destined to live her life alone.

Thinking of this, Shen Panyan couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

In just one day, her emotions went through such a dramatic ups and downs. For some reason, the wound on her shoulder started to hurt intensely again, and her vision began to blur.

cold.

It's so cold.

She suddenly felt very cold, her whole body was cold.

Just then, she heard the sound of clothes tearing.

She turned her head and saw Lin Xiao tearing the hem of his clothes as he walked towards her.

"What... what are you going to do?" Shen Panyan couldn't help but take a step back and swallow hard.

"Princess, I apologize for my rudeness." With that, Lin Xiao reached out and began to untie the sash around her waist.

Seeing his actions, Shen Panyan suddenly remembered that Lin Xiao was a man and she was a woman. Now, she, a princess in distress, was with a guard who did not obey her.

A lone man and woman in the desolate wilderness.

If... if he harbors any ill intentions towards me...

Shen Panyan's eyes immediately reddened, and she couldn't help but shrink back.

"I...I'm a princess, you can't treat me like this..."

Seeing that Lin Xiao had not stopped, Shen Panyan finally couldn't hold back anymore, her face full of shame and indignation, "If you continue, even if I die, I will never let you succeed."

Lin Xiao's movements suddenly stopped.

A note from the author:

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