No, she has selfish motives.
Her selfish motive was to help Xiao Zhun get to the bottom of the old story. The murder of the entire Xiao family was the first major case Xu Zhi oversaw during his tenure as a court judge. When the case finally reached the Bai family, they rebelled almost instantly, making it impossible to confront many of the facts involved.
What caught her attention most was an incident that happened a month before the family massacre.
This incident was recorded by the Censorate, which provided documentary evidence for the case. Xiao Nanhui took great pains to see the document, which clearly mentioned that Prince Shuo Xiao Qing had received a letter from Heimu County in the north of Huozhou. Although the exact content was unknown, the letter still attracted the attention of the Censorate, because the Xiao family and Huozhou had never had any intersection, let alone any correspondence.
Since the founding of the Tiancheng Dynasty, anything involving Huozhou has been treated with extreme caution. This wasn't just due to the Shen family, but also because Huozhou was where the imperial seal of the previous dynasty was lost. This prompted the then-Central Censor Bai Heliu to secretly investigate the Xiao family. A month later, a tragedy struck the Xiao family.
Although everything was just speculation, she had always felt that the Xiao family was killed because they knew the secret of the secret seal. But what role did the Bai family play in this?
Xiao Zhun looked at the woman's face in front of him, which was changeable and unpredictable, and felt helpless.
She loved to think while talking to people, and her emotions were written all over her face. That was why he was always worried about her. If a situation like this was seen by someone with ulterior motives, even if she had great skills, she would still be exploited in the end.
If he didn't interrupt, would this girl have just stared in front of him until dark?
"Don't let your imagination run wild. Let me ask you, who was it that accompanied you all the way back from Huozhou?"
Xiao Nanhui finally came to his senses and answered truthfully: "I met him when Murhe was looking for the imperial seal. He said he was from the Prime Minister's Mansion."
"The Prime Minister's Mansion?" Xiao Zhun's brows knitted slightly. "When will the Prime Minister's Mansion be able to call upon the Imperial Guard?"
"What?" Xiao Nanhui looked confused.
Xiao Zhun had already calmed down. "Nothing. Just remember, when you're out there, don't make close friends. The situation is different these days. Don't let someone take advantage of you and suffer losses."
Xiao Nanhui felt a warm feeling in his heart and nodded in response, "Don't worry, foster father, Nanhui will definitely pay attention and will never bring trouble to the family."
Xiao Zhun finally smiled and reached out to pat Xiao Nanhui's head gently: "What do you mean by implicate or not implicate? We are a family. No matter what happens, I will find a way to protect you."
Xiao Nanhui felt the generous strength and warmth coming from above his head, and couldn't help but feel a soreness in his eyes.
Although she was born without family, she never felt resentful or self-pity because she had Shrike, Dujuan, Chen Si, and Yao Yi. She also had Xiao Zhun, who were not related to her in any way but were like family to her.
In the past, they protected her, but now that she has grown up, it is her turn to protect them.
Xiao Nanhui's heart was beating rapidly because of this urgency. She had never been so grateful to Xiao Zhun for teaching her martial arts as she was at this moment. It was these martial arts that gave her the strength to repay this kindness.
"Foster father, this incident in Lingxi..."
Before Xiao Nan could finish his reply, Xiao Zhun interrupted him: "You don't have to come with us on this expedition. I will arrange for you to stay in Guangyao Camp as a garrison."
Xiao Nanhui was stunned, then asked anxiously, "Why is this? Did my adoptive father blame Nanhui for taking the initiative this time? I swear, I will absolutely obey military orders and will not embarrass my adoptive father."
"This has nothing to do with what you did."
"Then why won't you let me go with you?"
Xiao Zhun looked at the woman in front of him, terrified and apprehensive, and finally said, "If we're supposed to quell the rebellion of the vassal kings, we'll inevitably be involved in the affairs of Bijiang. The situation in Bijiang is complex, far from being resolved by one or two battles. I'm already involved, so why bother following you?"
Because you are there, I want to go there.
Xiao Nanhui lowered his head: "I... I'm idle in Quecheng..."
"Nonsense. If you really were admitted to the Imperial Guard, I wouldn't leave you idle, if nothing else."
Xiao Nanhui bit his lip, unable to stop the words that were suppressed in his heart: "I went to Yukun Street this morning."
Xiao Zhun's expression changed almost instantly. He didn't say anything. The light coming through the tent split him into yin and yang, with half of his face hidden in the shadows.
"I didn't go in, I just saw that the flowers along the wall had all withered." Xiao Nanhui took a breath, paused, and continued, "I don't have any other thoughts. I just thought that my adoptive father could tell me about the past."
There was anticipation in Xiao Nanhui's tone.
She always hoped to be close to him, even if he was standing in the abyss, she was willing to accompany him.
Xiao Zhun looked at the young, sincere face before him, and his heart wavered for a moment. But that moment of vulnerability couldn't dissolve the cocoon that had long enveloped him. For a person, happy memories are far less memorable than painful ones. The most terrifying thing isn't the pain itself, but that it doesn't fade with time. It simply becomes fragments and blends into your bloodstream, triggering your instinct to escape in every subsequent moment.
"You shouldn't be dragged into this. It's not fair to you."
There was a familiar sense of fatigue in Xiao Zhun's voice. Xiao Nanhui could almost see the invisible wall gradually growing taller around him, eventually surrounding and drowning him.
Xiao Zhun pushed her away again.
This had happened countless times. There was always a line between her and Xiao Zhun that she couldn't cross. On weekdays, they seemed to be the closest people, but as soon as they talked about the past, about the time before she entered the Xiao family, that invisible line would emerge, deeply engraved there, unable to be erased or wiped away.
From the day they first met fourteen years ago, the distance between them had been frozen there.
Is there really a difference between a thousand miles away and a fraction of an inch?
At this moment, Xiao Nanhui felt that there was no difference between them.
No matter how long or short the distance was, she had never truly reached Xiao Jun's heart.
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