Robe blanche

Chapitre 23

Perhaps hearing my footsteps, Mr. Qi turned around and looked at me. I quickly stepped forward to greet him, and Mr. Qi told me to wait to the side. Shen Haoyu finished a round of practice and stopped. The maid quickly handed him a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

Shen Haoyu walked up to me and said, "You'll be staying here starting today. Go back and freshen up first, and someone will take you to my study."

I nodded in agreement.

Back in my room, a maid had already laid out my toiletries. I was flattered; I'd never been treated like this before. Did I really have that much confidence in Shen Haoyu's safety? I couldn't believe it myself.

After washing up, someone brought breakfast, which was quite plentiful: a bowl of millet porridge, two small dishes of side dishes, and a plate of steamed buns. It was much better than the food in the compound. If I had known that I would have so much to enjoy here, all my gloomy thoughts yesterday would have been for nothing.

It seemed like everyone's timing was perfect; I had just finished breakfast and wiped my mouth when someone came to lead me to Shen Haoyu's study. When I went in, Shen Haoyu was sitting at the table writing.

I knelt down and greeted him respectfully: "Young Prince."

Shen Haoyu stopped writing, glanced at me, and told me to get up. Then he continued writing. He probably finished, put down his pen, walked to the low couch by the window, and sat down. He gestured for me to come over to him, and I quickly stood in front of him.

"Your name is Lin En, right?" Shen Haoyu asked, looking me up and down. He was clearly only eight or nine years old, but he had to act like a little adult. I met Mu Shaoting when he was nine years old. I haven't seen him for half a year now, and I wonder what this older brother looks like now.

Seeing Shen Haoyu like this, I couldn't help but think of Mu Shaoting.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Shen Haoyu's tone was a little displeased.

I quickly knelt down: "Your Highness, please calm your anger. I am indeed Lin En."

Shen Haoyu snorted and said, "They should have told you that from now on, you will be wherever I go in this manor. You don't need to follow me when I leave the manor for the time being."

I said, "Yes, from now on I'll be the young prince's follower." Yesterday they made it sound so nice, a personal bodyguard, but isn't that just a lowly follower? Jiang Ming guessed wrong. Mr. Qi won't teach me; they said they'll find someone else for me. Now I don't even have a master to teach me martial arts; they just let me hang around Shen Haoyu. I have no complaints. No hard work, good food and drink, I'm happy to live a carefree life. But without skills, even protecting myself is a problem, how can I protect others?

My dissatisfaction was probably written all over my face. Shen Haoyu looked at me and chuckled: "All you have to do now is serve me. There are others who can protect me."

I looked up at Shen Haoyu. His arrogance when I first met him, his haughtiness in the Prince's mansion, and that laugh just now—it added something else, making me feel he wasn't so unapproachable. Must children born into powerful families have so many faces at such a young age?

Shen Haoyu seemed to be a special case in the Prince's mansion. He didn't need to pay his respects to the Prince and Princess; instead, the Prince would visit him whenever he had free time. In reality, his social circle was quite small; he mostly stayed in Qiufeng Garden. Mr. Qi was a man of both literary and martial talents, and he single-handedly took on all of Shen Haoyu's teaching responsibilities.

I don't have a specific job. I spend every day with Shen Haoyu, so I'm almost always with Shen Haoyu and Mr. Qi. Mr. Qi doesn't hide from me when he teaches Shen Haoyu. I watch from the sidelines, occasionally learning a move or two, and Mr. Qi might even give me some pointers.

When Shen Haoyu was studying, I would massage him to loosen his muscles and joints. The intensity of his daily practice was quite high, and I was worried that his body couldn't handle it. By chance, Shen Haoyu discovered that I was literate, and he often showed me some of the books he had read. I never refused, since I had nothing better to do anyway.

Life at Qiufeng Garden was much better than I had imagined, and I was quite happy with it. Apart from not being able to be with my aunt and Zinuo, I really felt that life was pretty good. Although I couldn't leave Qiufeng Garden at will, I could occasionally ask the servants here to bring some snacks or something to Song Zhixuan and the others. They would also pass me notes to tell me how they were doing. Even though we weren't together, we could still feel each other's feelings.

Life was indeed good, but I knew in my heart that such days were only temporary.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye. The weather has gradually warmed up, and many tender green buds have sprouted from the withered leaves and grass, which is the breath of early spring.

In the past two months, Song Zhixuan visited my aunt twice on my behalf. Each time he returned, my aunt would ask him to bring me a little something, as well as Zinuo's increasingly beautiful handwriting. It's been so long since I've seen Zinuo's pretty and adorable face, and my heart aches.

Seeing Shen Haoyu and Mr. Qi gesturing to each other, I reached for a bench in the distant pavilion and sat down. I took out the letter Zinuo had written to me from my pocket and stroked it again and again; the edges of the letter were already frayed. I thought, Zinuo and my aunt are the most important things I care about in this world. From beginning to end, I have always bound myself to them and regarded them as my responsibility.

Lost in thought, I was suddenly pulled from my hand by the letter. I looked up and saw Shen Haoyu's enlarged smiling face.

After all, he's just a kid. After two months together, our relationship has become less businesslike than it was at the beginning.

"This isn't your handwriting, is it? Yours isn't this good," Shen Haoyu said, glancing at the letter.

"Of course, this is a letter my younger brother wrote to me," I said with considerable pride.

Shen Haoyu read the letter with suspicion and asked uncertainly, "You're only this old, how young must your younger brother be?"

"He's almost five years old." I smiled broadly. He's my own little brother, and I raised him myself, so naturally I'm very proud.

Suddenly noticing that Shen Haoyu's smile was somewhat profound, he asked with a smile, "Lin En, your family is not simple, is it? Such a young child with such profound cultivation."

I froze, feeling smug. What a miserable little family! But what did it matter where Zi Nuo grew up? He hadn't received any special treatment in the Qi Yun Marquis's mansion. The key was having me, his good teacher, I thought to myself.

I chuckled awkwardly and said, "My brother is a child prodigy, really. Haven't I already told you everything about my family?"

Shen Haoyu smiled and didn't say anything more, returning Zinuo's letter to me.

Remembering something, I quickly asked, "Your Highness, it's been over two months, and I haven't learned anything yet."

Shen Haoyu said, "I'm not in a hurry, why are you?"

I nodded in agreement.

That evening, Shen Haoyu finished reading and went to rest. I was tidying up his study when suddenly there was a commotion outside. Just as I reached the door to see what was going on, I heard someone shout, "Quickly inform the young prince!"

I rushed out to ask what was going on. Da Cheng, the gatekeeper, told me, "Quickly wake the young prince up. News just came from the palace that the Empress Dowager has passed away. The prince and princess are making preparations. Please come to the palace with the young prince."

I ran to Shen Haoyu's room. He was already up. He had just gone to bed but was obviously not asleep yet. His maid, Yu Ying, was helping him change his clothes.

"The Empress Dowager has passed away. The Prince and Princess are waiting for you to enter the palace together." I told him the news I had heard.

He nodded, seemingly unsurprised. Indeed, the Empress Dowager had been ill for a long time; this day was bound to come sooner or later.

Shen Haoyu changed into plain clothes, hurriedly went outside, then turned back and said, "I won't be here for the next few days, go find Jiang Ming." After saying that, he quickly left again.

Hearing his words, I didn't react for a moment. By the time I did, he had already left Qiufeng Garden. Overjoyed, I ran back to my room and collapsed onto my bed.

The Empress Dowager's life or death is none of my business. Shen Haoyu is not here; he gave me a holiday!

The next day, I got up very early, grabbed some snacks, and excitedly went to the compound to find Song Zhixuan and the others. When I arrived, the compound was quiet; I then remembered they should be in the training ground. It had been over two months since I'd been here.

With the Empress Dowager's passing, the Prince's residence became much quieter, but this didn't affect the area much. It was always like this anyway, with only occasional shouts from those practicing martial arts.

I crept quietly to the grove of trees where Jiang Ming usually led us to practice, wanting to surprise them, but I was suddenly startled by a sudden attack from above. I turned around and saw Jiang Ming with his arms crossed, squinting at me, asking, "What are you doing, sneaking around like that?"

I scratched my head and said with a smile, "I wanted to give you a surprise."

Song Zhixuan and Lin Zhao also came out from behind Jiang Ming.