Chapter 45

The night was cool.

Zhao Baoshang closed her eyes peacefully, waiting for her body to recover so she could leave this godforsaken place. However, before she could lie in solitude for long, that harasser came back again.

This time, the person picked her up directly.

Zhao Baoshang was momentarily surprised, wondering what the person was doing. After a while, a soft voice rose; it seemed the person was humming a folk song. Listening to it, Zhao Baoshang began to feel drowsy.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, the person whispered in her ear: “Eldest Princess, you haven’t relieved yourself all day. This is a nursery rhyme I learned from the commoners. I wonder if you’ll feel anything after hearing it?”

Zhao Baoshang’s sleepiness vanished instantly. She struggled to lift her still stiff hand and pinched the person’s flesh with all her might.

The person cried out in pain.

Zhao Baoshang gave an angry huff.

The person had the gall to comment: “Eldest Princess, I haven’t heard you hum like that in over ten years. It sounds truly wonderful.”

…What do you mean “humming”?

Go to hell.

Zhao Baoshang pinched even harder. It was a restless night. Eventually, she fell asleep ​bailiantales.com​listening to that nursery rhyme.

Over the next few days, Zhao Baoshang felt the person’s meticulous care, even though she was still incredibly noisy. And what was that white thing that kept swaying in front of her eyes?

One day, Zhao Baoshang couldn’t help herself. She reached out and grabbed it, trying to yank it off.

The person cried out: “My neck! Princess, my neck—!”

“What is this?” Zhao Baoshang demanded.

“What’s what?” the person asked with a sob in her voice.

“The thing in my hand,” Zhao Baoshang said, pulling down hard.

The person whimpered: “It’s my jade pendant. Stop pulling! You gave this to me originally anyway. If you want it, I’ll just give it back to you.”

As she spoke, she somehow snapped the cord, took off the jade pendant, and tucked it into Zhao Baoshang’s pocket. Touching the jade, Zhao Baoshang found it felt warm at times and ice-cold at others; it was truly fascinating.

A few days later, Zhao Baoshang’s injuries had improved significantly. Her throat had recovered, and she could speak longer sentences.

She asked the person: “Who is this Princess you keep talking about?”

“You, of course,” the person replied with a smile in her voice.

Zhao Baoshang said with a sour face: “I am not.”

“Nonsense, you clearly are.” The person raised her voice, then suddenly lowered it again. “I observed the stars yesterday. It turns out this is a thousand years later. After such a long time, it’s inevitable that you would forget the past, Princess.”

Zhao Baoshang didn’t answer.

The person added: “But forgetting is indeed a blessing. Eldest Princess, you’ve likely been here for decades. I wonder if you can tell me some interesting things that happened here?”

Zhao Baoshang snorted: “Nothing to say.”

The person said: “How can that be? I’ve calculated quite a bit just on my own. For example, there are four siblings in your family, but they were born to two fathers and two mothers. This is truly incredible. Can women nowadays divorce their husbands and take new ones at will?”

Zhao Baoshang reached out and felt the person’s face.

The person was confused: “Princess, what are you doing?”

Zhao Baoshang moved her hand further up, found the person’s ear, and gave it a sharp twist.

The person wailed.

Zhao Baoshang asked coldly: “What kind of cosplay are you playing? If you have the energy, hurry up and help heal my eyes.”

“But… your eyes can only be treated slowly. They won’t get better that fast.”

“Then find me medicine that works quickly,” Zhao Baoshang commanded.

“I-I’ll go right now.”

The person stumbled her way out. Zhao Baoshang heard the footsteps vanish, then heard them return. The person sat down in front of her, and liquid dripped onto Zhao Baoshang’s hand.

Zhao Baoshang reached out and touched the person’s leg, then moved higher. The person was wet and sticky; the cave was filled with a heavy scent of blood.

Zhao Baoshang’s palm slowly tightened. She asked: “What happened?”

The person handed her a pear. “Nothing.”

“What happened to your body?!”

The person paused: “Princess, there were many people outside wearing strange clothes saying they wanted to catch something… I didn’t hear clearly. I saw they had no good intentions, so I asked them to leave.”

Hearing these full-of-holes words, Zhao Baoshang’s heart tightened.

This person is lying. Lying so I won’t worry. But this person was truly a fool. Did she really think that by weaving this clumsy lie, she could make Zhao Baoshang feel at peace?

Zhao Baoshang squeezed the person’s hand, feeling incredibly jealous of that “Xunmei Princess” for a moment. What kind of person was she to have such a “braindead” fan who was willing to risk her life to protect her?

Zhao Baoshang had always lived in a grand estate full of internal strife. The elders in her family had high expectations for her, wanting her to stand out while also wanting her to be healthy. The person she had met now was the first person she had ever encountered who was simply good to her.

When she was hungry, this person always managed to find fruit and fresh water. When she pinched the person, she would just laugh [Read on BaiLianTales]and tell her a bunch of nonsense about the wars of Great Feng and the grieving of the commoners.

When she wanted her eyes healed, this person went out to search, getting covered in injuries but saying nothing—just lying there weakly, applying herbs to herself. Zhao Baoshang could hear the sound of the person inhaling in pain, suppressed gasps.

Of course the wounds hurt. How could they not? Those people were using real knives and guns, and that person, wherever she came from, was just a regular human made of flesh and blood.

“Come here,” Zhao Baoshang said.

The person laughed: “I’m too lazy to move right now. I’ll come over in a bit.”

“Did you get the bullet out?” Zhao Baoshang asked after a silence.

“What bullet?”

“Those people were shooting at you with guns, weren’t they? There should be a bullet in your body. If you don’t take it out, it will always hurt.”

“Bullet?” The person murmured the word to herself as if learning what it was. Then came a series of noises.

Zhao Baoshang closed her eyes again. This person was only being so good to her because she had mistaken her for someone else. She didn’t know when she would wake up; perhaps when she did, her true nature would be revealed.

But this was truly the first time someone had cared for her like this. Since this person dared to be so gentle, she shouldn’t blame someone else for getting attached.

She needed a gentle and kind servant. Zhao Baoshang thought this person might be the most suitable. Once she made a decision, she would not let go.

Zhao Baoshang’s injuries improved day by day. Along with her recovery came more unauthorized copyand more talk from the other person. Zhao Baoshang grew used to it and didn’t find it so annoying anymore.

The person often asked her: “Princess, you’ve been here for so long. Have you encountered anything fun?”

Zhao Baoshang used to give perfunctory answers. But after being asked so many times, she thought seriously and finally replied: “I have. But I only encountered it recently.”

“What is it?”

Zhao Baoshang said: “Probably you.”

The person’s voice was clearly surprised: “Me? How could it be me?”

Zhao Baoshang didn’t answer. Instead, she asked: “When we get out of here later, do you want to live with me?”

The person was stunned. “In the palace?”

Zhao Baoshang pinched the flesh of her waist: “In my home.”

“Where is your home now, Princess?”

Zhao Baoshang said coldly: “As long as you stay by my side for every moment, you’ll eventually find out.”

This was what she wanted. She hoped this person could stay with her forever.

Zhao Baoshang’s injuries were nearly healed; she could faintly see the outlines of things, and her [stolen content]limbs were no longer limp. The person wiped her face and body with something, then leaned into her ear and whispered: “Princess, you truly are a beauty.”

Zhao Baoshang was unhappy: “Shut up.”

“You truly are a woman who could topple cities,” the person added. “I never dared to tell you before, but I really like your looks.”

Zhao Baoshang pinched her.

“You’re too ruthless with your hands,” the person gasped in pain. “We’ve been classmates for so many years and solved so many cases together. Why do you always love to pinch me?”

Zhao Baoshang said coldly: “If you didn’t talk, no one would pinch you.”

The person shut up, but before long, she started talking again: “Princess, back then the Emperor wanted you to marry the top scholar. Why didn’t you?”

Zhao Baoshang didn’t answer, so the person kept talking. “That scholar was a man of great talent. Later, he became a pillar of the nation and never married his whole life. He said his heart only had room for the Xunmei Princess.”

Zhao Baoshang had no choice but to reply: “Didn’t like the man.”

“Then who do you like?”

“I haven’t met them yet,” Zhao Baoshang said, feeling a bit dazed herself. “What is it actually like to like someone?”

The surroundings went quiet for a moment. She heard the person’s light chuckle: “The Princess is still young. When you meet someone you like, you’ll know.”

Zhao Baoshang snorted: “So you have someone you like?”

“I do, of course,” the person said slowly.

“Is it that Xunmei Princess?”

Hearing this, the person fell silent for a long time before giving an indirect answer: “To like someone is to want to be stuck by their side, never to be separated. To want to see her smile, see her cry, to accompany her through everything so that when she talks about her past later, your name will be included.”

Zhao Baoshang didn’t quite understand. But after processing it for a while, she felt it was somewhat similar to her current feelings. However, she knew without a second thought that her feelings for this stranger couldn’t possibly be “love.”

Peaceful days passed one by one. Zhao Baoshang had almost forgotten how she had fallen to this state. As she lay in the cave with her eyes closed, a sharp gunshot suddenly rang out.

Bang! accompanied by the sound of birds in the rainforest fluttering their wings in flight.

Someone was here! Realizing this, Zhao Baoshang grabbed the hand of the person beside her and shouted hoarsely, “Run!”

Unfortunately, they were a step too late. Before they could leave, people had already entered. The sound of feet treading on the mud echoed. Zhao Baoshang couldn’t see; before she could do anything, she heard a flurry of gunshots.

The shots were aimed at her!

Zhao Baoshang tried to dodge, but she didn’t know where to go. The blurry scene before her changed from dim to dark red. The heavy scent of blood filled her nose once more. She had smelled this scent many times and knew what it meant—someone had been hit by a bullet.

But the person who was hit wasn’t her. Because a fool had thrown herself onto her, using her body to block the bullet.

Zhao Baoshang’s eyes widened in disbelief. She wanted to see the scene clearly, but miserably, no matter how hard she tried, her eyes still couldn’t see. All she could do was tightly grab the person who had lunged Read on BaiLianTalesonto her and ask forcefully, “What are you doing?!”

The person didn’t answer. A man’s low growl came from the other side: “Move, woman!”

Then came another gunshot. And another.

Cold sweat poured from Zhao Baoshang’s forehead, her lips turning purple. She felt no pain at all. This person always called her Princess; she was noisy and annoying. Besides, she was just a passerby she’d met by chance. If she died, she died—there was nothing worth being heartbroken over.

Just then, the person leaned into her ear and whispered softly: “Princess, I have to go out for a bit. You go back to the palace first. Don’t wait for me.”

As the words fell, a strong wind rose. Afterward, Zhao Baoshang felt someone place her in a flat, cool spot. The person whispered in her ear again: “Princess, it’s safe here. As long as you don’t move, they won’t find you.”

Zhao Baoshang tried to reach out and grab the person’s hand. But she found she couldn’t move.

“I was afraid you might move accidentally, so I put a talisman on you. Don’t be afraid. Someone will come to save you in half a day.”

“I really have to go. I have to make it out of the city before the curfew.” Her voice grew weaker and weaker. “Xunmei Princess, the thing I’m happiest about in this life… is meeting you.”

She left a kiss on Zhao Baoshang’s face.

Zhao Baoshang’s eyes widened. The fear in her heart grew deeper, nearly swallowing her.

No!

Don’t!

Don’t go!!

She shouted over and over in her mind, wanting this person to stay, but the warmth beside her vanished, and the footsteps gradually faded. The person had left. Perhaps she would never return.

Tears fell from Zhao Baoshang’s eyes without warning. She suddenly remembered those days in the cave—the person’s meticulous care. It turned out someone really was that foolish, willing to give up their life and not even complain when they were dying.

She wanted to stay with that person forever, never to be separated. She wanted to see her smile, see her cry, and hold her tight.

This is love. So this is love.

She had already fallen in love with this person who kept calling her Princess. But what was her name? How old was she? What did her face look like? She knew nothing.

Zhao Baoshang tried desperately to break the restraint to rush over and pull that person into her arms, but she couldn’t move at all. She could only listen to the continuous gunshots. Some shots clearly hit flesh; that person must have been hit again. Zhao Baoshang could barely breathe. Her heart pained; she couldn’t scream, couldn’t move. Eventually, her vision went black, and she fainted.

When she woke up again, she had been saved and could see clearly. Her elders were all around her.

Zhao Baoshang asked: “Where is that person?!”

Zhao’s mother asked: “What person? You were alone when we found you.”

Zhao Baoshang threw back the covers: “No! Someone saved me! Where is she?”

“There really wasn’t anyone,” her mother said. “Could you have had hallucinations?”

Zhao Baoshang didn’t believe it. She remembered something and searched everywhere: “The pendant! Where is my pendant?!”

“It’s over. Zhao Er has gone crazy,” Zhao Da said coldly from the side.

Zhao Baoshang lunged at him, grabbing him: “Did you steal my pendant?”

Zhao Da fought back: “Are you nuts? Why would I steal your stuff? I just helped you give it back to—”

He didn’t finish. Zhao Baoshang fainted again. The doctor came to check: “The wounds have reopened. It was a miracle she survived at all. She must not engage in strenuous activity.”

Afterward, when Zhao Baoshang sought the person again, her mother brought a star over and told her: “This person is called Xu Fengmei. She was the one who saved you.”

Zhao Baoshang clearly didn’t believe it. But after Xu Fengmei said a sentence, tears gushed from Zhao Baoshang’s eyes. She said coldly yet regretfully: “It’s so good to have found you again.”

She had deceived herself for a whole year. Until today, she finally learned the truth, finally recalled that person’s voice, her tone, her soft temperament. She finally saw, with her own eyes, the person who had actually saved her.

This person was Yan Zhen. Her little fan.

She had just become a bit thinner and her chest a bit smaller. The person she had loved from the beginning was only Yan Zhen.

Zhao Baoshang felt like running to the rooftop and rolling around a few times. Her eyes kept stinging; tears rolled down her lashes. She used to be cold and emotionless, but Yan Zhen was the one who taught her what love was. It was Yan Zhen’s selfless kindness that finally moved her heart. After a year, the person she fell in love with again was still Yan Zhen.

She would absolutely not let this person go. She would stick by her side forever, just [unauthorized copy]as Yan Zhen had once said.

Zhao Baoshang cried through gritted teeth for a long time, and Yan Zhen held her for a long time. Then, Kuang Ying walked in after class.

Kuang Ying looked as if she’d eaten something sour. She stared at Yan Zhen, then at Zhao Baoshang, then quickly took a trembling photo with her phone and posted to her Moments: 【My roommate made Movie Queen Zhao cry. Holy crap…】

Yan Zhen felt a bit embarrassed under the gaze. She patted Zhao Baoshang’s back: “Get up quickly.”

Zhao Baoshang refused to look up, wiping her tears on Yan Zhen’s clothes. Then she looked up and gave Kuang Ying a cold stare. Kuang Ying jumped like a frog in a hot pan and said to Yan Zhen: “I just remembered I have something to do! I’m leaving!”

Slam. The door closed.

Zhao Baoshang looked back at Yan Zhen: “Now it’s just the two of us.”

Yan Zhen paused, then smiled: “I remember what happened now. I truly didn’t expect such a thing had happened back then.”

If she hadn’t seen this pendant, she might never have remembered. After going in circles, the two had met long ago, and she had mistaken Zhao Baoshang for the Eldest Princess for over ten days.

Yan Zhen couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Zhao Baoshang looked at her smile and reached out to touch it, her heart full of emotions she was desperate to express. She wanted to tell Yan Zhen she had liked her for a long time. She also wanted to tell her not to always call her “Princess.”

Who exactly is that Xunmei Princess? To make the little fan so unforgettable?

Zhao Baoshang squeezed Yan Zhen’s hand, about to say something. At that moment, Xu Xiaoya returned.

Xu Xiaoya entered with a grand air, followed by girls asking for autographs. ​stolen content​She smiled and refused before walking in. She gave Yan Zhen a haughty look, then turned a tender gaze toward Zhao Baoshang.

Then, she saw the white jade pendant.

Her expression shifted violently. She was in disbelief—didn’t she put that pendant under Zhao Baoshang’s pillow? How did it end up in their hands? And what was with their pose?

Xu Xiaoya stared at them blankly. Then, just like Kuang Ying, she turned back to the door and ran out.