Chapter 18 You're Very Well
Chapter Eighteen
Only after getting into the carriage did Shen Panyan finally let out a long breath.
She lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Lin Xiao outside the window, and asked in a low voice, "Lin Xiao, why did you fight with him just now?"
When this was mentioned, Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then turned his head slightly to avoid Shen Panyan's gaze. "Princess, he just insisted that his fall was caused by my underhanded trick, and he kept pestering me. I had no choice but to fight with him."
"Have I... caused the princess any trouble?"
"No, no!" Shen Panyan shook her head repeatedly. "It's good that you're not hurt. Next time you meet him, you don't need to hold back."
Shen Panyan didn't have a good impression of Zhao Yun, and her tone was somewhat unpleasant when she talked about him.
Thinking about what Zhao Wenyao had told her before, she started to get a headache.
She sighed, "Let's go back to the manor first!"
Shen Panyan was still unmarried and lived in the princess's residence, but did not have her own princess's mansion.
But now, Shen Panyan didn't want to go back to the palace. Besides, it was already this late, and the palace must have been locked up by now, so she chose to return to her small house in the capital.
In the past, when she got too bored at the royal villa, she would return to the capital and stay in this small house for two or three days.
The house was located on West Street of the Imperial City. It was neither too big nor too small. The neighbors were all court officials who preferred to keep to themselves and would not pry into other people's business. Therefore, no one knew that this was Princess Mingyue's house.
There was only one gatekeeper and one cleaning woman in the house. They were a married couple who had met Shen Panyan outside the royal villa.
At that time, the two fainted from hunger on the road, and it was snowing heavily. Shen Panyan rescued them. After they woke up, she saw that they had nowhere to go, so she arranged for them to guard her house.
Even when she wasn't there, the house remained clean and tidy.
Upon entering the house, it was already quite late. The bright moonlight shone down, illuminating the path beneath their feet.
Having just been to the teahouse, she hadn't had a chance to eat at the restaurant. Now that she was back at her residence, Shen Panyan didn't want to go out anymore, so she asked Uncle Wang, the gatekeeper, to go out and buy food.
Mu Ying began tidying up the room where she would be staying that night. Having spent so many days with her, she had come to know her preferences quite well.
Shen Panyan sat in the courtyard, looking at Lin Xiao standing behind her, and pointed to the stone bench opposite her, "Lin Xiao, sit down!"
Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment before refusing, "Princess, this is against the rules."
“It’s alright, it’s just the two of us here now, no need for so many formalities, sit down!” Shen Panyan looked at him with a smile in her eyes, “You can’t keep making me look up at you, it’s tiring…” Her voice trailed off at the end.
"It was my fault." This time, Lin Xiao obediently sat down opposite her.
Shen Panyan told him about what Zhao Wenyao had said to her at the teahouse earlier.
"Lin Xiao, do you think what Miss Zhao said is feasible?"
The only person she trusted was Lin Xiao, so she told him about it and wanted to hear his opinion.
Lin Xiao pondered for a moment, looked at Shen Panyan, and suddenly asked, "Princess, what are your thoughts? Do you want to get married?"
Shen Panyan blinked, looking somewhat frustrated and bewildered. She shook her head. "I don't know."
"I don't know what to do."
Indeed, Zhao Wenyao is right. For her, she really couldn't find a better husband than Zhao Yun.
Now, Shen Panyan has almost realized that the person who secretly bribed Qiu Shuang to attack her is probably Consort Hui.
The General's Mansion has its eye on her. Whether she agrees or not, Consort Hui already sees her as a thorn in her side, and she will never let her go.
Thinking about it this way, it was actually the best thing for her to agree to the general's request.
Because Lin Xiao will leave, he can't protect himself forever.
Once Lin Xiao leaves, she will be left to face Consort Hui's various conspiracies alone. At that time, without anyone to protect her, how will she survive?
Shen Panyan dared not think about it.
Lin Xiao remained silent.
What she could think of, Lin Xiao could naturally think of as well.
However, there is no solution to this problem.
The moonlight was like water, and the courtyard was quiet. Shen Panyan couldn't help but cover her hot water bottle tightly, exhaling white breath.
She made things difficult for Lin Xiao.
Shen Panyan lowered her eyelashes in disappointment. Just as she was about to speak, Lin Xiao's voice suddenly rang out, "Does the princess like him?"
Shen Panyan was stunned for a moment before she reacted, her voice muffled, "I don't like it."
"Since the princess doesn't like it, then don't force yourself."
"But..." What about Consort Hui...?
“Princess, perhaps you underestimate your place in His Majesty’s heart.”
Shen Panyan paused for a moment, "What do you mean by that?"
Lin Xiao pointed to himself, "Your subordinate is the best proof."
Shen Panyan was even more puzzled. "Why?"
"Princess, do you know how secret guards are trained?"
Shen Panyan shook her head.
She didn't know.
Lin Xiao said calmly, "I was selected to join the Dark Guard Camp when I was three years old and began my training there."
“The training in the Dark Guard Camp is something that ordinary people cannot endure. Children who fail at this stage will be eliminated by the Dark Guard Camp and still have a chance to survive. But once they reach the age of six, they can only choose two paths: either die or live.”
“From a young child to a battle-hardened secret guard, the time and cost invested by the secret guard camp are not small. Every successfully trained secret guard is an extremely useful blade in His Majesty’s hands.”
"Such a fine knife is not something to be given away easily."
Even if it's just to protect her temporarily, she hasn't received such treatment, not even from the Crown Prince.
There aren't actually that many secret guards in the secret guard camp who have been trained from childhood. Each secret guard has their own important tasks to do, so they are not idle.
In a sense, protecting the princess is a very easy and leisurely job, which can even be considered a vacation.
Shen Panyan listened in a daze, "Is that so?"
Lin Xiao nodded slightly. "Princess, you can try to rely on His Majesty. With His Majesty's intervention, Consort Hui will naturally not dare to harm you again."
“But…but Father doesn’t like me…” Shen Panyan lowered her head in despair.
Lin Xiao seemed unsure how to proceed, so he spoke slowly, "This subordinate believes that His Majesty simply doesn't understand you well, which is why he doesn't like you. If His Majesty understood you, he would definitely like you..."
At this point, Lin Xiao seemed to remember something, and looked at Shen Panyan with a very complicated expression.
"I believe that the princess is not as timid as the rumors suggest. On the contrary, she is actually very brave and has her own opinions..."
"Really?" Shen Panyan looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes filled with joy, panic, disbelief, and a hint of caution.
"Back then, when the princess faced the blades of her subordinates, she was able to stand in front of your maid without hesitation. Wasn't that a kind of courage?"
“Even though your subordinates said she was untrustworthy, you still insisted on your opinion and were not easily swayed by the words of others. Princess, this is actually very good.” His words were not sarcastic, but rather carried a thoughtful seriousness.
He genuinely thought she was wonderful.
When Shen Panyan heard him say these things, she didn't know what to say for a moment. It took her a long time to find her voice.
"But Lin Xiao, don't you think I'm stupid?"
"If I had believed you earlier, I wouldn't have been pushed off the cliff by Qiu Shuang."
Lin Xiao shook his head, "Perhaps I couldn't understand the princess back then, but I can understand her now."
"Your heart is gentle, so you will treat everyone around you with gentleness and do your best to protect them."
“Princess, you are not stupid, you just don’t know the truth. I was wrong about that matter.”
"It was my rash decision that prevented me from telling you the truth, Princess."
At this point, Lin Xiao suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee in front of her.
"Your subordinate spoke disrespectfully to the princess at the time, and I beg Your Highness to punish me..."
"What are you doing? Get up quickly." Shen Panyan hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, anxiously saying, "Those things are all in the past. I don't blame you. Don't mention this again."
Lin Xiao stood up following her movement, his gaze almost imperceptibly falling on her.
He knew that his gaze was very offensive.
Despite all the mistakes he made, the princess never punished him; instead, she treated him even better.
He was puzzled and confused, but just now, he finally understood.
That's because the princess herself is a very good person.
She is kind to everyone around her.
Just as she protected her personal maid, she would protect him... even if he didn't need that protection.
This was the first time Shen Panyan had heard someone praise her. She felt an undisguised joy, but also a hint of unease and self-doubt.
She unconsciously twisted her handkerchief, biting her lip, "But, Lin Xiao, I'm not that good either..."
"Princess, no one in the world is perfect."
Even these secret guards have their own thoughts.
"The princess is already very good."
Upon hearing this, Shen Panyan could no longer contain her joy. She looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes curving as if filled with the brilliance of stars and the moon.
"Thank you, Lin Xiao. No one has ever said these things to me before."
"You are the first person to compliment me."
She is now very happy, and has the courage to follow her heart.
She didn't like Zhao Yun. No matter how good the Zhenguo General's Mansion was, it was still just the Zhenguo General's Mansion, not Zhao Yun.
She didn't want to spend her life with someone like that.
If possible, she would prefer to spend her life with the person she loves.
"Lin Xiao, I've made up my mind. I won't agree to the Zhenguo General's Mansion's offer."
She clenched her fist. "If Consort Hui dares to lay a hand on me again, I will beg my father. I am his daughter, and he cannot just stand by and watch me be framed and killed by Consort Hui."
"Not only that, I also want to find evidence of Consort Hui's harm to me, so that Father can see that she has harmed me in this way, and I can't just sit and wait to die."
Lin Xiao nodded, "Your subordinate will continue to help the princess."
Shen Panyan smiled at him, her eyes crinkling, "Thank you, Lin Xiao."
At this moment, she looked brighter and more dazzling than the moon in the sky... For the first time, Lin Xiao dared not look at her as he had before.
A note from the author:
----------------------
There's no ranking this week, so there's only 7000 words updated. Please let it accumulate, everyone! I'm also writing some backlog chapters and aiming for 6 chapters daily after the VIP chapters are released. Please check back next month! [Please][Please][Please]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
