Chapter 30 (Spitting Blood)
The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the mountain village was still shrouded in darkness, Shen Panyan awoke.
She didn't sleep well that night, and her eyes were still bruised, but the swelling on her face had subsided, leaving only faint red handprints.
Seeing that she was awake, Lin Xiao brought in warm water for her to wash her face.
Shen Panyan asked in surprise, "Lin Xiao, where did you get this warm water?"
Lin Xiao: "This mountain stronghold has a kitchen, and the person in charge of the kitchen is a mute old man who always keeps the water warm."
"Are there still people alive?" Shen Panyan was slightly surprised. She had thought that everyone in this village was dead...
The moonlight was beautiful last night, and she walked by its light. The road was dim and dark, and the room where she was imprisoned was in a remote place, so she didn't actually see how many people had died in the mountain stronghold. She only noticed that the stronghold was quiet.
When Lin Xiao interrogated the bandit leader, no one came out to check, so Shen Panyan guessed that there were probably no survivors in the bandit stronghold.
only.....
Lin Xiao immediately saw through the princess's thoughts. "Besides that mute old man, the rest of the people in this stronghold are the hostages they captured. I released them last night."
He did not have a penchant for indiscriminate killing, and he would not do things that were not important.
"Hmm." The sound of smoke rising from the shore was barely audible.
She still didn't seem to know Lin Xiao well enough. Shen Panyan immediately felt ashamed for her wild guesses about Lin Xiao last night.
After washing her face, Lin Xiao applied the medicine again.
"Does the princess wish to see your maid?"
"You mean Qiu Shuang?" Shen Panyan's eyes widened slightly. "She's still alive?"
Last night, she did hear the argument outside. Remembering Qiu Shuang's protection of her, Shen Panyan's heart was like an overturned stove, her thoughts in turmoil and her feelings mixed.
She should have hated her, but after last night, she seemed unable to hate her anymore.
Shen Panyan nodded. "Okay."
"yes."
Lin Xiao turned and left. Not long after, the door creaked open and Qiu Shuang walked in.
Her hair was disheveled, her face was as pale as paper, she walked with a limp, and her clothes were in disarray, making her look like a refugee fleeing a war.
Upon seeing Shen Panyan, Qiu Shuang knelt down with a thud.
"This servant greets the princess."
"What does Your Highness wish to ask me? I will answer without reservation."
Last night, after Qiu Shuang was kicked unconscious by the chief, she woke up to find something was wrong. The mountain stronghold was too quiet, as if no one was alive.
She went into the house to look for the princess, but only saw bloodstains all over the floor under the flickering candlelight. She was so frightened that she retreated and ran away in all directions.
After running away, she found the mountain stronghold full of dead people. After finally escaping the stronghold, she encountered three wild wolves.
The pack of wolves were gnawing on something. Qiu Shuang was frightened and fled in a panic. She accidentally twisted her ankle and fell to the ground.
She was unlucky and fell right towards the wolves. When she opened her eyes, she saw the leader's dead face staring at her. Qiu Shuang was so frightened that her hair stood on end and she screamed instinctively.
Her scream startled the wolf, which turned its head, its green pupils staring intently at her neck, its claws poised to strike.
Just as she was about to die in the wolf's jaws, the wolf suddenly seemed to be hit by something, its position shifted, and it howled angrily. Qiu Shuang quickly scrambled back into the mountain stronghold and dared not go out again.
She hid all night until just now when Lin Xiao knocked on her door, and she finally came out.
Looking at Qiu Shuang's disheveled appearance, Shen Panyan felt a pang of sadness, recalling their years of affection.
"Qiushuang, is there some reason why you betrayed me? Is someone in the palace bullying you...?" She still refused to believe it.
After a night of fear and torment, Qiu Shuang trembled, but her expression was already numb. "Your Highness, people strive for higher positions, and water flows downhill. I am simply seeking a better future for myself. I have no grievances; everything is of my own free will."
Shen Panyan felt a pang of pain in her heart, "Why?"
She reached out and gripped the table tightly, her knuckles turning white, revealing the blue veins that stood out clearly.
"There's no reason why. Serving by Your Highness's side, I'll never get ahead in this life. I don't want to be a servant anymore. I want to be someone of high status, and I want to be surrounded by servants, instead of serving you and having everyone trample on me..."
Shen Panyan's eyelashes trembled, and tears fell. "It was my fault. I didn't protect you well. If you had told me, I would have found you a good future."
Hearing this, Qiu Shuang looked up at her as if she had heard something funny. "A good future? What good future? Princess, you probably don't know, you yourself don't have a good future, so how can you talk about finding one for me?"
After a night of panic, Qiu Shuang already knew that she was finished.
Her life is over.
Neither Lin Xiao, who was by the princess's side, nor her master behind her would let her go; she now only has one path: death.
She laughed, her eyes filled with malice.
“Princess, you probably don’t know what you would have gone through if your guards hadn’t arrived in time.”
"You will be found in a bandit's den, disheveled, and welcomed back to the capital in full view of everyone. From then on, rumors about you will fill the entire capital."
"Some people say you are not worthy of being a royal princess. The civil and military officials will petition His Majesty to allow you to preserve the royal family's reputation with a foot of white silk. However, you will certainly not die, because the Second Young Master Chu will ask His Majesty to grant you a marriage."
"You will marry the Second Young Master Chu, and everyone will say how deeply he loves you, and how despicable you are, Princess..."
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp sword landed on her neck, drawing blood. Lin Xiao's voice was as cold as ice, "Say one more word, and I'll kill you."
Qiu Shuang instantly trembled like a chicken with its neck stuck, unable to utter a single word.
Shen Panyan's eyelashes trembled, and clear tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls.
"Lin Xiao, let her speak." She closed her eyes, letting the tears slide down her cheeks. "I want to hear what comes next...."
“Princess!” Lin Xiao frowned.
"Lin Xiao, put it down. I want to know." Shen Panyan opened her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "I can't let myself be schemed against by others without knowing why."
Lin Xiao then sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed on Qiu Shuang with a cold intensity.
Qiu Shuang, under his gaze, dared not utter any more nonsense. She swallowed hard and spoke normally.
"Young Master Chu is actually a eunuch. The reason he agreed to marry the princess was because the Empress promised him benefits. He will not actually let the bandits defile you. The Empress only wants to humiliate you and does not really want to tarnish the royal family's reputation."
“But the Second Young Master Chu is inherently violent and cares a lot about a woman’s chastity. His wives, concubines and mistresses are often tortured to death by him. Princess, you have lost your reputation. If you fall into his hands, even if you have not lost your virginity, but…” Qiu Shuang paused for a moment, “Princess, you have been in a bandit’s den. Any man would mind, let alone the twisted Second Young Master Chu.”
"Her Majesty has decreed that you cannot die, so the Second Young Master Chu will not humiliate you to death, he will only, he will only..."
In the end, Qiu Shuang dared not say any more, but Shen Panyan understood what she meant.
She had not lost her reputation, yet she was misunderstood and hated by everyone, tortured and humiliated by her husband, and what's more, she was a congenital eunuch... She could neither live nor die, which would only cause her more pain than being killed.
If you want her to die, then let her die. Why torture her like this...?
Shen Panyan's hands clenched tightly, her face deathly pale, her body swaying precariously. A lump of air caught in her throat, a metallic taste rose in her mouth, and bright red blood trickled down her lips...
Lin Xiao's pupils contracted slightly, and in a swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms, speaking rapidly, "Princess, I will take you down the mountain now!!"
"No...no need..." Shen Panyan's breathing quickened. "I have...I have medicine on my waist..."
Lin Xiao quickly retrieved the medicine from her waist and fed it to her lips. Shen Panyan's rapid breathing gradually calmed down a bit, but the next moment...
puff--
"Princess!!"
Lin Xiao's martial robe was soaked with blood, dripping down his body. Without thinking, he carried the princess and sped down the mountain.
Shen Panyan didn't want to leave. Her trembling fingers gripped his clothes tightly. "I...I don't want to go, Lin...Lin Xiao..."
“Go back…go back…”
She still hadn't figured out whether the "Empress" Qiu Shuang was talking about was actually her mother, and why she wanted to harm her like this.
"I am afraid I cannot comply." Lin Xiao's voice was low and calm, but his movements were even faster.
"you--"
Another mouthful of blood gushed from her lips. She wanted to say something more, but the next moment, darkness descended, and she fainted.
Qiu Shuang slumped to the ground, watching their departing figures, and gave a silent, bitter smile.
She never imagined that the usually weak and submissive princess would develop her own thoughts.
One wrong move and the whole game is lost.
After she escaped, she stayed at a family's house because she had no travel permit. However, the family had designs on her and not only robbed her of all her treasures, but also planned to sell her to a widower.
In the moment of crisis, it was the Empress's people who found her, rescued her, and gave her a chance to atone for her sins.
But now she's even messed up this.
She won't do it again.
The princess let her go, but with the Empress's methods, she won't let her get away with it.
——
At this moment, Imperial Physician Lin had just finished celebrating the New Year and was carrying his medicine chest back to the Royal Villa in a carriage.
The princess had told him to go back to the royal villa after the New Year, but when he returned, the West Garden was empty.
"Where is the princess?"
During the routine consultation, but finding nothing, Physician Lin looked at Mu Ying.
Mu Ying shook her head, saying only that the princess was still in the capital, and refused to say anything else.
The general's mansion had already informed her that she must not reveal the princess's disappearance, lest she damage the princess's reputation.
"Alright." Physician Lin carried his medicine box back.
To his surprise, not long after, someone hurriedly knocked on his door.
"Imperial Physician Lin, hurry!! Hurry!! Something's happened to the princess!!"
Physician Lin was startled.
"Princess, what happened to the princess again?!"
"The princess vomited blood! She vomited a lot of blood!!"
Oh my god!!
Physician Lin carried his medicine box and ran as fast as he could, afraid of being a step too slow.
He sighed inwardly, for the princess had always been fine in previous years, but this year, all sorts of troubles had befallen him.
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