41: Chapter 41 The Little Prince

After burying the gold, Chen Fan returned to his living quarters in the Prince's estate.

He pushed open the door, and suddenly, a faint scent of medicine drifted out.

On the simple wooden table, a white porcelain bottle sat quietly.

It was not the crude wound medicine typically distributed by the estate.

The porcelain was of fine quality; one look, and it was clear it was worth a fortune.

Who sent it?

He had been in the estate for less than half a year; he certainly had no friends to speak of.

While he was wondering, the door next door creaked open, and a guard who had also received a beating poked his head out.

"Lin Shou, you're back?"

"Yeah," Chen Fan replied.

The guard winked and pointed at the porcelain bottle in his room, lowering his voice.

"Not bad, you kid. You're hiding your true talents. That was sent personally by the head matron from Princess Li Ronger's pavilion; they said it was a reward from Her Highness."

After saying this, the guard retracted his head with an envious look and closed the door.

The Princess? Princess Li Ronger?

Chen Fan stood there, only feeling as though the wound on his back hurt even more.

This was not a good thing.

It represented trouble.

For a fallen Princess to start showing concern for a low-level guard was, in itself, an extremely dangerous matter.

He picked up the bottle and pulled out the stopper; it was high-quality white jade ointment, cool and refreshing.

He remained silent, silently applying the ointment to the places on his back he could reach.

Oh well, it would be a waste not to use it.

Just consider it the Princess repaying his words of comfort from a few days ago.

...

Over the next few days, life passed with unusual calm.

Guarding the west wall was an utterly idle job. Every day, aside from standing guard, he just stared blankly.

Chen Fan was happy for the leisure; it was the perfect time to slowly digest the memories of this body and consolidate that negligible bit of Internal Energy as a Ninth-grade Martial Artist.

On this day, he was leaning against the base of the wall, bored, watching the clouds in the sky.

A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

A head eunuch, accompanied by two young maidservants, walked towards him in a hurry.

"Lin Shou! Is the guard Lin Shou here?"

Chen Fan straightened his body.

"I am here."

The head eunuch looked him up and down and gave an order directly.

"Don't just stand there, hurry, come with me! The Young Prince has returned and wants to see the Princess; the Princess specifically requested you to escort him!"

The Young Prince?

The only son of Prince of Xiushan?

Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly got up.

He dared not delay, immediately following the head eunuch through layers of courtyards to a side hall used for receiving guests.

Inside the hall, a youth of about ten years old, dressed in fine silk robes, was pacing anxiously back and forth.

The youth's brows bore a slight resemblance to Prince of Xiushan, but he had mostly inherited the delicate features of his mother, Princess Li Ronger. His small face was filled with a sorrow and determination that did not match his age.

This was the heir to the Prince of Xiushan, Zheng Xun.

Seeing Chen Fan enter, Zheng Xun stopped pacing, his bright eyes looking straight at him.

"You are Lin Shou?"

"I am."

"My mother... were you the one taking care of her a few days ago?" The youth's voice carried a hint of scrutiny.

"I was merely following orders." Chen Fan's reply was watertight.

Zheng Xun was silent for a moment, his small fists clenching tight.

"Let's go, take me to see her. I've heard those rumors outside, and I don't believe a single word of them!"

Chen Fan did not speak, simply leading the way silently.

This little guy was quite filial.

In front of the pavilion, it was still desolate.

When the tightly closed door was pushed open, and Princess Li Ronger saw the figure she had been longing for, all her strength instantly collapsed.

"Xun'er!"

"Mother!"

Like a little leopard, Zheng Xun rushed over, burying himself in Princess Li Ronger's arms and weeping aloud.

Discarded by her husband, alienated by the servants, and abandoned by the whole world, Princess Li Ronger finally found her only support at this moment.

Mother and son wept in each other's arms, venting all the grievances and fears of these past few days.

Chen Fan stood at the doorway, watching quietly.

He did not know how much time had passed, but the crying gradually ceased.

Zheng Xun raised his red eyes, wiped the tears from his mother's face, and spoke in the tone of a little adult.

"Mother, don't worry. When I grow up, I will protect you! No one will be able to bully you!"

Princess Li Ronger smiled through her tears and nodded.

Zheng Xun turned his head to look at Chen Fan at the door, his face carrying a hint of sincere gratitude.

"Lin Shou, thank you. I heard from the matron that it was you who persuaded my mother to eat."

"You are too kind, Young Prince."

The mother and son spoke privately for a while longer before Zheng Xun left, reluctant to part.

Chen Fan also prepared to take his leave, but Princess Li Ronger called him back.

"Lin Shou, you stay."

Chen Fan paused his steps.

Princess Li Ronger pointed to the weeds in the courtyard that had grown half a person high, and spoke in a tone that allowed no refusal, yet carried a hint of a request.

"This courtyard is too overgrown. Help me clear these weeds."

What was this?

A guard of the Prince's estate being used like a menial gardener.

But there was no help for it; while it sounded nice to be a guard of the Prince's estate, in reality, he was just a domestic slave. He had to do whatever the master ordered.

He suddenly felt a bit nostalgic for the days when he was a mountain bandit king...

Chen Fan felt helpless, but he walked over, bent down, and began to unsheathe his sword to clear the weeds.

The courtyard was very quiet, with only the rustling sound of him swinging his sword.

Princess Li Ronger just sat on the steps, quietly watching his busy back.

"Thank you for the medicine, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful!"

Chen Fan suddenly thought of something, stopped his movements, turned around, and said respectfully.

Princess Li Ronger gave a self-deprecating laugh and spoke softly, as if speaking to him, yet also as if talking to herself.

"Actually, there is nothing left in this estate for me to be attached to."

"The Prince's heart died long ago; perhaps it never lived at all."

"Now everyone thinks I have lost my purity, that I am a woman without chastity."

Her voice was filled with self-deprecation.

Chen Fan remained silent, simply turning around and continuing to weed silently.

He just wanted to hurry up and finish pulling these damn weeds.

The Princess's state of mind was becoming increasingly wrong.

...

Meanwhile.

Far away in a dilapidated Mountain God Temple a hundred miles away.

Su Xin listened to the report from her subordinate in the black robe, her beautiful face covered in frost.

"Lin Shou, Ninth-grade Martial Artist, clean background, only transferred to the Prince's estate guards three months ago... there are no anomalies."

The black-robed person bowed to report, sweat visible on his forehead.

The Saintess had asked him to investigate someone, only for him to find out it was just an ordinary, insignificant character.

This made him feel ashamed.

Su Xin gripped the teacup in her hand, not speaking.

Impossible.

How could an ordinary guard possibly see through her disguise at a glance?

There must be a link in this that she did not know about.

"Is there anything else?" Her voice was cold.

The black-robed person's body trembled, and he quickly added: "There is one more thing... I heard a rumor while chatting with the servants of the Prince's estate."

"Speak."

"They say... this Lin Shou, a few days ago, seems to have accepted benefits from the Magistrate of Qinghe County, Magistrate Zhao De."

The black-robed person paused, then continued cautiously.

"It is said that the captured bandit leader, Black Wind Demon, was executed by this very Lin Shou... with his own hands in the dungeon."

"And Magistrate Zhao De's son, Zhao Long, died precisely at the hands of Black Wind Demon..."

The moment the words fell.

"Snap!"

The teacup in Su Xin's hand was crushed into powder by her.

Porcelain dust fell rustling from between her fingers.

Black Wind Demon!

That's it!

It was him!

A sudden, clear realization instantly pierced through Su Xin's mind.

She finally understood.

It was not that her disguise had any flaws.

Nor was it that this guard named Lin Shou had some kind of Heavenly Eye.

It was Black Wind Demon!

That bandit leader, before being executed, must have told this executioner the intelligence regarding her.

Her new disguise had only been exposed on Black Wind Mountain.