Chapter 72: Did the Pure and Innocent Shadow Guard Get Domineeringly Doted on by Your Majesty Today? p1
The snow kept falling.
The palace attendants had just finished sweeping, but a thin layer had already accumulated on the stone path. The sky was gray and cold, the palace walls blood-red. Under the square sky, a human life was worth less than a fresh radish from the imperial kitchen.
Yuan You was curled up by the side of the palace corridor, her messy clothes torn in several places, seeping blood. Snowflakes fell on her wounds and, along with the gradually cooling blood, slowly trickled down, spreading a small, turbid pink patch around her.
The cold that pierced her bones was her only sensation. She no longer remembered how many wounds she had. To cover for her comrades’ escape, she had failed in her mission last night.
So she was punished.
No one would care about the life of a lowly shadow guard. The imperial physician would certainly not treat her. On the way back to the barracks, Yuan You could no longer hold on and collapsed in the snow.
Her consciousness drifted in and out of a cold vortex. She was so tired, so tired…
Suddenly, the sound of neat footsteps came from a distance.
Yuan You’s muddled brain slowly turned.
It was a procession.
A slight vibration came from the stone path. She recognized it as the procession of an extremely noble person.
Either the current emperor, or her pearl in the palm, the favored daughter of heaven who was born to be the crown prince.
A lowly body like hers could not block the way.
She could not even be an eyesore to this noble person. She tried to move, but her battered body was already too heavy to obey.
She trembled slightly, a helpless whimper escaping from her throat.
Perhaps I will be beaten to death…
Yuan You closed her eyes in despair, ready to end this terrible and hasty life.
Kneeling and looking at the imperial city is different from sitting in a sedan chair and looking at the imperial city.
Huaguang could see the scenery outside the palace walls. Being carried, she did not need to pay attention to her feet and could leisurely admire the snow.
In the vast imperial city, or rather, the entire world, there was no one she could not afford to offend.
“A timely snow promises a good harvest,” Huaguang said. “I hope this year’s drought will not happen again.”
The palace maid beside her immediately said auspicious words to flatter her.
Huaguang inadvertently caught sight of the figure curled up on the ground.
After a moment, she gently tapped the armrest of the sedan chair with her fingertip.
Tap.
Her confidante immediately understood and announced, “Lower the sedan chair—”
The procession stopped steadily. All the attendants lowered their heads and held their breath, not daring to make any extra movements or sounds.
Huaguang stepped out of the sedan chair. Her bright yellow robe was particularly eye-catching in the gray and white. Her spotless long boots were cleaner than the newly fallen snow.
Yuan You heard someone stop in front of her. She was stunned for a moment, then struggled to raise her face. A touch of bright yellow broke into her blurry vision.
The emperor liked black. Only the crown prince liked bright yellow.
It was the little master.
Yuan You recognized Huaguang. She struggled, wanting to get up and kneel to greet her.
This was the rule.
But she had no strength.
“Your Highness, please forgive me… your subordinate… can’t… move…” Yuan You pleaded guilty.
Hearing her broken, tearful voice, Huaguang’s heart softened. Her gaze moved from the wounds on her body to her face—
So pale there wasn’t a trace of blood, exceptionally pitiable, especially those long and thick eyelashes, now wet and drooping, trembling slightly with her weak breathing.
Huaguang thought: When she’s washed clean, she should be a very good little puppy.
So, she untied her brand new fox fur and personally draped it over Yuan You.
She would take her back and play with her slowly.
A fox fur was worthless to Huaguang, but to Yuan You, it was a priceless treasure.
Now someone was using this treasure to wrap her up, to shield her from the vast snow.
The fox fur still had Huaguang’s warmth… and her scent.
Yuan You couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
The high and mighty crown prince, would she also stop for a lowly shadow guard?
She almost thought she was having a final flash of lucidity, a hallucination.
However, Huaguang’s voice then sounded.
“Heal your wounds.”
“From now on, you will follow me.”
Huaguang’s voice had no inflection, cold and indifferent. But these few words stirred up a storm in Yuan You’s heart.
She curled up in that fox fur and, with all her strength, said, “…Yes.”
The palace attendants who were waiting by the side immediately stepped forward and carefully pulled her up from the snow.
The blood was still flowing, but Yuan You gritted her teeth and did not make a sound, for fear of offending the noble’s ears.
The first lesson of a shadow guard is to put down one’s dignity and learn to obey.
She had learned it well, and it also became Huaguang’s biggest headache in the future…
Yuan You, supported by the palace attendants, knelt straight on the bricks. She kowtowed to Huaguang. “Thank you… Master.”
From now on, she was nobler than all the people in the Shadow Guard headquarters. If she won Huaguang’s favor, in time, in the entire imperial city, she would have her own world.
Glory and wealth were already in her grasp.
But Yuan You did not have so many thoughts. She maintained the kowtowing posture and respectfully watched the procession walk away. In the cold, the fox fur on her back exuded a scalding warmth, almost burning her skin, searing into her bones.
The blood in Yuan You’s body was boiling. This was the first time in her life that she had felt warmth.
In her heart, to this vast snow, she made a vow, word by word.
For saving my life, I will repay you in the future.
This body is for my master’s use. I will not hesitate to die ten thousand times.
*
The charcoal fire in the imperial study was burning brightly.
Huaguang was holding a vermilion brush, looking up from a mountain of memorials.
The crown prince was indeed glorious, but the future ruler of a country could not be a good-for-nothing. She was destined to learn more, and also to sacrifice more.
Huaguang was only thirteen, an age for playing. Day after day, it was either reading or learning to handle political affairs. She felt irritable, her chest tight.
The new year had passed. The snow was no longer falling, but the sky was still dark, so oppressive it was suffocating.
Huaguang forced herself to continue reading the memorials, but her chaotic thoughts could not be focused at all.
She put down the vermilion brush and suddenly thought of the person she had picked up in the snow that day.
In the past, it had always been her mother emperor’s shadow guards who had protected her. Yuan You was the first shadow guard she had personally chosen.
“Yuan You,” she called.
The next moment, Yuan You silently appeared before the desk. Her movements, faster than a phantom, showed her skill. “Your Highness.”
But Yuan You was prostrated on the ground, appearing extremely submissive.
Huaguang looked at her, her heart inexplicably brightening.
She leaned back in her chair and instructed, “Grind the ink for me.”
“Yes.”
Yuan You immediately got up. She walked to the side of the desk and picked up the ink stick.
A shadow guard had to know everything. Not to mention grinding ink, even warming the bed, if the master wanted it, they had to do it.
Huaguang looked at her hands. The knuckles were distinct, showing a toughness from years of practicing martial arts. There were several scars on the back of her hand, especially at the base of her index finger. A slightly raised scar destroyed the smooth lines of this hand.
Huaguang frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with your hand?”
Yuan You’s motion of grinding the ink abruptly stopped. She followed Huaguang’s gaze to the scar on her hand.
She quickly put down the ink stick, knelt down again, her forehead pressed tightly against the floor, and pleaded guilty with a trembling voice, “Your subordinate deserves to die! The scar on my hand has offended Your Highness’s eyes! Please, Your Highness, punish me!”
This series of reactions and words were as smooth as flowing water, so skilled it was shocking. The posture of being humble to the dust made even Huaguang, who was used to privilege, feel a little uncomfortable.
This is too… demeaning.
Huaguang probed, “Oh? How do you say you should be punished?”
Yuan You’s vision went black. She trembled uncontrollably, buried her head even lower, and said in a muffled voice, “Your subordinate… will go back to the Shadow Guard headquarters to receive punishment.”
“What punishment?” Huaguang was purely curious.
But Yuan You thought she was not at ease and fluently recited the set of rules that had long been branded in her mind. “To Your Highness, to displease the master is a great disrespect. According to the rules, a hundred lashes, kneeling on porcelain shards for three days, and a fine of half a year’s salary.”
A hundred lashes?! And kneeling on porcelain shards?!
Huaguang’s heart grew even more unhappy.
As a ruler, she did not deny the role of punishment. But excessive torture, does it make people fear, or does it make people rebel?
She looked at Yuan You’s submissive appearance. She was clearly two months younger than her, yet she was so calm… and silent.
Her skills, it must not have been easy to come by.
“No need,” Huaguang said. “From now on, you don’t have to go back to the Shadow Guard headquarters to receive punishment.”
Her person, only she could touch.
Only she could.
Yuan You stiffened for a moment.
Huaguang did not notice her pale face and continued, “You don’t have to go back to live on your days off either. Just live by my side. If you make a mistake, I will personally punish you.”
Personally punish?
Yuan You clenched her hands.
Your Highness must think the punishment is too light, so she has to do it herself…
Yuan You didn’t dare to think any further.
After all, she was not old. She couldn’t hide her thoughts. She was afraid that this life she had just picked up would be lost in a more painful way. Tears burst from her eyes without warning.
“Your Highness! Your subordinate knows her mistake!” Yuan You’s long eyelashes trembled violently. Her wet eyes were filled with terror. She choked and begged, “Please spare your subordinate’s worthless life…”
Huaguang was stunned.
Did she just say something terrifying?
Why is Yuan You so scared?
Huaguang met her wet, red, and vulnerable puppy-dog eyes. Her heart grew hot. A strong desire for control, along with a desire to torment, appeared at the same time.
She wickedly wanted to bully her.
And she madly wanted to control her, to hold her firmly in her palm.
She liked these eyes very much, and she also liked the way they cried for her.
Huaguang leaned forward, pinched Yuan You’s chin with her fingertips, and pulled her in front of her. “I can let you go. What will you give me in return?”
Yuan You followed her pull and moved closer, not daring to resist. She could only, in a slight tremor, silently shed tears. Fear made her unable to think, and she could only answer by instinct.
“Your subordinate… your subordinate is willing to do anything for you…”
“Anything?” Huaguang repeated, touching her tear-stained cheek. The person who did not yet understand lust had already shown a tormenting wickedness.
What right did Yuan You have to refuse?
She nodded.
Huaguang suddenly smiled. “The jar of scar-removing ointment in my room, I’ll give it to you. I’ll punish you by making you apply the medicine every day and take good care of yourself.”
Yuan You’s eyes were red, tears hanging on her eyelashes, about to fall but not falling.
Ah?
The huge astonishment made her forget to control her head. A tear fell on Huaguang’s hand.
Yuan You abruptly came to her senses.
She had actually defiled the crown prince’s hand!
Damn it!
Almost as a conditioned reflex, she raised her hand and slapped herself hard on the face.
But her wrist was caught in mid-air.
Yuan You thought Huaguang wanted to hit her herself, so she moved her face closer.
“From now on, only I can hit you. You are not allowed to hit yourself, and others are not worthy.”
Yuan You looked at Huaguang in a daze. A warm sensation came from the place where her wrist was held.
She nodded in a daze.
Huaguang looked at her obedient appearance, her mood greatly improved. So she used her fingertips to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
“I like it when you cry.”
Yuan You knelt before her master, pinned to the ground by this sudden gentleness. The skin that had been touched by Huaguang quickly grew hot. The heat rushed to her ears, and her entire neck turned pink.
“Yes,” she instinctively wanted to lower her head to hide.
But Huaguang lifted her chin. The natural superior said assertively, “But you can only cry for me. If anyone bullies you, tell me.”
I am your biggest backer. In this imperial city, no one can bully you.
“Yes, Master.”
*
