Chapter 45 Let me do your hair.
"Lin Xiao, do you know what a woman destined for nobility is?"
From Lin Xiao, Shen Panyan learned many things she had never known before.
It turns out that there was another matter that Consort Shu had when she entered the palace, which is still unknown to others.
Back then, when Emperor Gan Ning traveled south, he met Consort Shu, an orphan with a straightforward personality. He fell in love with her and insisted on bringing her back to the capital. The court officials who accompanied him did not agree, but they could not go against the emperor's wishes and had no choice but to agree.
For a commoner woman to enter the palace, the first thing to do was for her family to investigate her family history for three generations. However, Emperor Gan Ning had to return to the capital urgently, and it was uncertain when his family would be able to investigate. Therefore, he sent his own secret guards to investigate.
The leader of the secret guards led his men to investigate in secret, and after a long time, they finally found out about Consort Shu's past.
It turns out that Consort Shu was not an orphan, but was abandoned. She did not recognize her parents, and her parents did not recognize her either.
When Consort Shu was born, a passing Taoist priest predicted her fate: she was destined to be a noblewoman with an extremely auspicious destiny. However, because she was born into an ordinary family, the common people could not afford to raise such a daughter with such a noble destiny. It was said that if they raised her, she would bring misfortune to her father and mother. At first, her family did not believe it, but on the third day after Consort Shu's birth, her father broke his leg. At this point, they had no choice but to believe it. So, Consort Shu's family abandoned her. Later, she was picked up by an old scholar who had no children and took her home, raising her as his own daughter.
The old scholar was in poor health. Years of taking the imperial examinations had taken their toll, and he passed away when Consort Shu was ten years old, leaving her to live alone.
The old scholar was an extremely kind person during his lifetime, and he treated Consort Shu very well, raising her to be a lively and lovely person, which made her very popular with the neighbors.
Therefore, after the old book was dead, no one coveted his room. On the contrary, the neighbors helped him a lot. In this way, one family after another helped him. In addition, Consort Shu herself was also ambitious. Like her adoptive father, she wrote letters to the neighbors and helped copy books in the shop. She raised herself.
No one knew that the prophecy of a passing Taoist priest would come true more than a decade later. Consort Shu followed the emperor back to the capital and entered the palace. In just one year, she rose from a lowly concubine to the position of Consort Shu, one of the four imperial concubines.
What else could she be but a woman destined for greatness?
However, no one expected that such a beautiful woman would die young, as Consort Shu died in childbirth in the second year after entering the palace.
That year, Emperor Gan Ning was furious and ordered a thorough investigation of the harem. Blood flowed in front of Consort Shu's palace. However, no matter how they investigated, the cause of Consort Shu's death was always the same: she died in childbirth.
Emperor Gan Ning was deeply grieved and suspended court for three days. He posthumously conferred upon Consort Shu the title of Empress Yide and placed her in the imperial mausoleum, where she will be worshipped by her descendants for generations to come.
However, what Shen Panyan couldn't understand was why her father, who loved her mother so much, was so cold to her.
When he was young, he would never have gone to see her unless the Empress said she was sick.
But Lin Xiao couldn't give her an answer to this question either.
All he knew was information he had acquired through years of service to the emperor. After Consort Shu's death, the name of Consort Shu was strictly forbidden in the palace, and the Xiangyue Palace, where Consort Shu had lived, had long been sealed off; no one except the emperor was allowed to enter.
Shen Panyan frowned.
The letter left by Qiu Shuang said that the Empress hated her because she was the daughter of a woman destined for nobility. Now, Shen Panyan felt that the Empress was not targeting her because of her mother's destiny as a woman destined for nobility, but because of jealousy.
She had been raised by the Empress since childhood, and no one knew better than her how jealous the Empress was.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have repeatedly used her to vie for her father's stay at Kunning Palace.
As the Empress, she couldn't lower herself like the other concubines to compete for the Emperor's favor, so she had to find other ways.
Although Qiu Shuang had served in the Empress's Kunning Palace for many years, she was not the Empress's confidante after all, and probably did not know much. Even if she did know something, she did not know everything.
The Empress comes from the Jiang family, a prestigious family with a history of over a hundred years. The Crown Prince is her son, and her father is the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat, holding a high position and great power. If she wants to overthrow the Empress and seek justice for her mother and herself, it will probably not be so easy.
But since we've decided to do it, we must see it through to the end!
Chen Panyan slowly tightened her knuckles.
After all, even if she backed down, the Empress would not let her go.
The rumors circulating in the town, and the poison that had accumulated in her body for years... she and she were enemies from the very beginning.
Her mother had been dead for many years. Back then, her father had beaten countless people to death in front of her palace but still couldn't find the truth. Shen Panyan didn't think she could find evidence that the Empress had poisoned her mother more than ten years later. Besides, she didn't have any manpower to use right now. What she could do now was to clean up the West Garden as soon as possible and root out those spies hiding in the shadows.
Then, we'll start with the Crown Prince.
"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish." She didn't believe that the Crown Prince was truly clean. Besides, her father had already begun to suspect the Crown Prince. She just needed to add fuel to the fire when the time was right.
However, this would inevitably lead her to take advantage of Lin Xiao, putting him in a predicament.
If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have known the political landscape and the course of events in the capital. The better Lin Xiao treated her, the more guilty she felt.
After this is all over, she will fulfill her promise, get him out of his father's clutches, and give him his freedom.
Shen Panyan lowered her head, not daring to look at him. She could only comfort herself again and again until she believed it herself. Then she raised her head to look at him and smiled slightly, "Thank you, Lin Xiao. Today's meal was delicious."
Since there's no one available in the small kitchen, he's now in charge of all her meals.
"Your Highness need not thank me. It is my honor to have Your Highness's favor."
His gaze was focused and earnest, and Shen Panyan quickly lowered her head.
It wasn't because I was shy, but because I was afraid.
*
For half a month, the entire Xiyuan area was filled with anxiety.
For some unknown reason, the Linxiao guards suddenly arrested and imprisoned seven or eight people, including eunuchs and palace maids, all of whom seemed very well-behaved. No one knew what they had done wrong to be locked up so inexplicably, but no one dared to question the Linxiao guards.
He was always a cold and aloof man. Except when he was with the princess, he was very gentle. Anyone who came within three feet of him would be met with cold stares. They were all terrified, let alone go to him to ask questions.
You should ask the princess, not him.
Although she didn't know why the princess had suddenly lost her temper a few days ago, she was always kind-hearted and wouldn't make things difficult for the palace maids and servants. So, while the princess was getting ready in the morning, the young maid who was serving her mustered up her courage and asked, "Princess, why have the Linxiao Guards arrested and imprisoned so many people recently? What did they do wrong?"
Shen Panyan paused, her brows furrowing. "Who sent you to inquire about this matter?"
Seeing her displeasure, the little palace maid hurriedly knelt down, "Princess, please calm down. It was, it was Sister Chunxi."
"Sister Chunxi and Sister Guiyuan are good friends. Sister Guiyuan was imprisoned by Guard Linxiao a few days ago and has not been released until today. We servants do not dare to ask Guard Linxiao, so we can only muster our courage to ask the princess."
Shen Panyan frowned. "Who is Chunxi?"
"Sister Chunxi is a second-class palace maid in Your Highness's quarters..."
"Call her over here."
".....yes."
The palace maid, Vino, got up and returned shortly afterward, with another person behind her.
"This servant, Chunxue, greets the princess."
Shen Panyan glanced at her; she was a pretty girl.
She called out, "Lin Xiao."
The door creaked open and the boy in black walked in.
"Your Highness."
"Take Chunxue away and lock her up."
Shen Panyan said calmly, "Next time, anyone who dares to plead for them will be punished the same as them."
Lin Xiao: "Yes."
"Princess, Princess, spare me! I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again, please spare me!!" Chunxue never expected that she would be locked up just for instigating others to ask about this matter. She quickly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness. The little palace maid next to her was terrified and stood there stunned, not daring to move.
Shen Panyan was always soft-hearted, but this time, she would rather turn around, cover her ears and pretend she didn't hear it than let herself be soft-hearted again.
Lin Xiao directly reached out and pressed Chunxue's acupoint to silence her, then took her out.
The room where the people were imprisoned was in the backyard. Lin Xiao did nothing in fact. The cook would bring them meals every day, but he didn't care about anything else. But it was precisely because he didn't care that people were more terrified.
Even the most well-hidden spies couldn't help but be restless in this eerily quiet West Garden.
Before long, Lin Xiao exposed the spies in the West Garden one by one.
There were a total of twenty-five people in Xiyuan, and nearly half of them were spies, a total of twelve. Upon learning of this, Shen Panyan was furious but then laughed.
"She really thinks highly of me."
Lin Xiao had already interrogated these spies. They knew very little and were of no use to him. Apart from a few, most of them were just short-sighted lackeys who were easily bribed by the Empress to pass on information from her.
"Your Highness, what do you intend to do with them?"
If His Highness were to soften his heart and be reluctant to let her go, he would secretly eliminate her for him—however, Shen Panyan's answer was beyond his expectations.
"Kill them."
Shen Panyan clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning bluish-white, and even her breathing became unsteady. Clearly, this decision was extremely difficult for her, but she had no intention of changing her mind.
“Disloyal people are useless to keep alive. Lin Xiao, kill them for me, so that the people below can see what happens to those who betray me.”
In the past, she was too soft-hearted and had no way to control her subordinates, so others could easily buy them off with a little bit of money.
If they were discovered, they could simply cry and beg in front of her, and the matter would be over. At most, they would be expelled from the palace, without any consequences. It was precisely because there were no consequences that so many people dared to do such things.
Now, she would never let this go on.
Shen Panyan forced herself to harden her heart.
Only death could make them restrain themselves and dare not cross the line again.
Purge the palace servants around her; this was merely the first step she took.
Lin Xiao looked at her, a hint of surprise and disbelief flashing in his eyes, but more than anything, there was another emotion.
“Your Highness…” he said in a low voice, seemingly with concern.
Shen Panyan forced a smile. "I'm fine, Lin Xiao. People always have to grow up."
"You may leave now. I'll leave this matter to you."
Although it was her order, she still didn't dare to look at that scene.
"I'll trouble you to warn them properly and tell them that this is the consequence of betraying me."
Lin Xiao: "Yes."
He will do all of this for His Highness.
When dealing with his subordinates, he became even more ruthless. Everyone in the West Garden was now afraid of him, and from then on, no one dared to disrespect the princess.
*
As the spring rain drizzled and the poison in her body was cured, Shen Panyan's health gradually improved. Now, it was time for her to return to the capital.
As for Lin Xiao, it was time for him to return to the Dark Guard Camp.
Shen Panyan sat in front of the bronze mirror, looking at her reflection. She tugged at the corners of her lips, as if she wanted to laugh, but she couldn't manage to.
When a person has too many things on their mind, they can't laugh.
Shen Panyan remained silent, her mind seemingly lost in thought. Suddenly, a sharp pain on her scalp pulled her back to reality.
"hiss--"
She cried out in pain.
The palace maid who was combing her hair was horrified and quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness, "It was all my clumsiness that hurt the princess, please punish me!"
Because of what happened before, everyone in the West Garden is now extremely cautious, afraid of offending the princess and being killed by Lord Linxiao with a single stroke. Just thinking about the bloodshed in the West Garden's backyard that day made the little palace maid tremble with fear, tears and snot streaming down her face. Seeing this, Shen Panyan paused for a moment, then said, "Go."
"You don't look well, so you don't need to work today. Take a good rest."
It's just a small matter; there's no way she would want to take her life over it.
This wasn't a palace maid responsible for combing hair, so it's normal that her skills weren't very good.
The young palace maid was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and hurriedly kowtowed, "This servant thanks the princess, thanks the princess!!"
The young palace maid quickly got up and left.
Looking at her disheveled hair and unadorned face in the bronze mirror, Shen Panyan smiled bitterly, seemingly lost in thought, and picked up a wooden comb to fix her hair herself.
However, she had never done this before. No matter how she tried to style her hair, it remained loose and disheveled. After all that effort, her hair was still crooked and extremely unsightly. Shen Panyan was initially discouraged, but then a surge of anger suddenly welled up inside her. Without her personal maidservant, was she really incapable of even styling her hair properly?
If she can't even handle such a simple task, how will she face the formidable Empress when she returns to the capital?
She would rather slit her own throat now and follow her mother, rather than fall into the hands of the Empress and be tortured to death.
With a forceful pull, she ripped out strands of her jet-black hair, which haphazardly tangled around her fingertips and the comb.
Shen Panyan was stunned. Looking at the strand of hair she had pulled out and the pain coming from it, her almond-shaped eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
With a "thud," she threw the wooden comb away, and it lay motionless on the bluestone slab.
Looking at her disheveled hair reflected in the bronze mirror, her reddened eyes could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face, like the spring rain outside the window, pattering softly on the newly blooming flowers, causing her head to bend low.
Suddenly, the wooden comb that had been lying on the ground was picked up by a long, strong hand.
"Your Highness."
The person walked slowly up behind her, and a gentle voice reached her ears.
"Let me fix your hair!"
Shen Panyan was surprised that he would appear on his own. She quickly lowered her head to wipe away her tears and exclaimed in surprise, "You, you can still do your hair?"
Lin Xiao: "I know a little."
Shen Panyan: "Then, I'll trouble you."
Lin Xiao: "Your Highness, there's no need for you to be so polite with me."
Lin Xiao reached out and gently picked up her hair, straightening it bit by bit as he did so, his expression focused and serious.
Shen Panyan looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Behind her was Lin Xiao's figure. He was very tall, and his martial arts robe made his figure look particularly slender. The hand that was originally holding the knife was now running through his soft hair, and black hair slipped through his fingers.
Shen Panyan quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any longer.
She placed her hands on her knees, unconsciously clenching them. "Lin Xiao, tell me, don't I look a lot different now?"
She's started to become cunning, and she never used to throw tantrums or break things.
"Also, don't I look ridiculous and funny right now? I can't even comb my hair properly..."
“Your Highness is a princess, you don’t need to do such a small thing yourself.” Lin Xiao’s voice was calm, his gaze falling on her face. “Your Highness hasn’t changed, Your Highness is just a little unhappy right now.”
She was just a little unhappy... Shen Panyan lowered her eyes and looked at her pale hands.
Her hands, too, were used to kill.
Too many things were weighing on her heart, so heavy that they almost crushed her frail back.
Even she felt that she had changed, but in Lin Xiao's eyes, she was just a little unhappy.
The thought of what Lin Xiao would have to do after returning to the capital... made her feel so guilty that she could hardly breathe.
If Lin Xiao knew the truth, would he still treat him like this?
Will he still gently tie up her hair when she's unhappy, just like he did today?
Unbeknownst to Shen Panyan, she was suddenly gripped by immense fear. She was afraid that he would find out the truth, afraid that he would distance himself from her... and even more afraid that, once he knew the truth, he would betray her like everyone else.
It was clearly her fault, yet she accused Lin Xiao of betraying her... Shen Panyan suddenly felt utterly ridiculous; she was truly a despicable and vile person.
She won't let him know the truth, at least not until things are over.
Lin Xiao gently tied her hair into a simple bun, the style she usually wore. Looking at herself in the mirror, Shen Panyan forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Lin Xiao."
"Your Highness, there's no need to be so polite with me. This is what I should do."
Shen Panyan lowered her eyes, her eyes reddening.
She suppressed her emotions and asked casually, "Lin Xiao, when are you leaving?"
"Your Highness, the day you left."
His injuries had almost healed. A few days ago, news of the princess's poisoning reached the capital, and His Majesty ordered a lot of medicine to be sent over so that she could return to the capital after she recovered. Now that the princess was in good health and was going back to the capital, he had no reason to stay by her side any longer.
Moreover, he also needs to help His Highness obtain the information she wants; he can't get the information by staying by her side.
He has to go back.
"Oh...I see!" Shen Panyan forced a smile. "Then, Lin Xiao, will you walk with me for a bit?"
"Alright, where would the princess like to go?"
"It's raining today, Linxiao. Will you come with me to the waterside pavilion to listen to the rain?"
"good."
*
A light drizzle falls over the lotus pond, where koi can be seen swimming occasionally. In the pavilion, two people sit facing each other.
Shen Panyan picked up the wine pot, poured himself a cup of wine, and poured one for him as well.
"Lin Xiao, did you drink alcohol when you were in the Dark Guard Camp?"
Lin Xiao shook his head, "No, I don't like drinking."
Shen Panyan was taken aback. "Why?"
Lin Xiao: "The guards need to stay calm. Drinking alcohol can easily cause them to lose control. In the entire guard camp, apart from the leader and An Liu, almost no one drinks alcohol. Everyone just likes to buy some good food."
Chen Panyan: "So that's how it is..."
Because of her poor health, she rarely drinks alcohol, and even fruit wine is something she seldom touches.
But today, she wanted to drink.
Lin Xiao refused to drink, and she didn't insist. "Then I'll drink this glass of wine."
Having said that, without waiting for him to stop her, Shen Panyan picked up the glass of wine in front of her and drank it all in one gulp.
Immediately afterwards, he poured himself several more glasses of wine.
Lin Xiao frowned slightly and reached out to stop her hand.
"Your Highness, you have just recovered and should not drink too much alcohol."
Shen Panyan paused for a moment, then smiled faintly, "This is lotus wine, made from lotus petals every year when the lotus blooms. It won't make you drunk!"
After saying that, she picked up her wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
The lotus wine was sweet, but it was also quite potent. After a few cups, a blush rose on her fair cheeks.
“Your Highness…” Lin Xiao frowned even more deeply, “If you are unhappy, you can tell me, and I will help you resolve it.”
He reached out and grasped her wine jug. "You shouldn't treat yourself like this."
Shen Panyan was stunned. She lowered her eyes, her fingers slowly tightening as she gripped the wine glass.
She had something on her mind, but she dared not say it out loud, much less ask. She could see clearly that although Lin Xiao was a bit aloof, his personality was also simple and straightforward.
Did he even realize that what he was being asked to do was a betrayal of his father, and that if exposed, he might very well...?
She didn't know what would happen to the secret guards who betrayed their master, but she figured it wouldn't be good, and they might even lose their lives.
But he still agreed.
But did I regret it that day?
No.
She had no regrets. She had no one else to rely on but him.
Sometimes, there are things that people don't need to know too clearly; it's best to live in a state of blissful ignorance.
"I'm fine..." She raised her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I was just thinking about how I'm going to face the Empress after we return to the capital..."
The Empress was the Prince's adoptive mother, yet her adoptive mother had murdered her birth mother and subjected her to all sorts of torture and humiliation. Two of her maids betrayed her in succession. This heavy truth weighed heavily on the Prince's soft, frail shoulders. Although she never spoke of her pain, he could tell that the Prince was deeply distressed.
It would have been better if she had cried, but after His Highness woke up that day, apart from throwing a tantrum, he neither cried nor made a fuss.
He couldn't persuade her, nor could he convince her.
Lin Xiao pursed his lips and released his hand from the wine pot.
"If Your Highness wishes to drink, I will accompany you."
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