After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"Is it because of that? Or..." Xiaoling paused, her hands clenching into fists in resentment, "Or is it because Xiaoru's leg injury is almost healed, and the princess wants to transfer me away and bring Xiaoru back to her side? If the princess wants to protect Xiaoru, then so be it. Although I envy her, I understand. After all, Xiaoru has spent more time with the princess than I have."

“I understand, but Princess, how am I supposed to live in the Princess’s residence after you slander me like this? If you want me dead, just say so. You don’t need to lift a finger, I’ll do it myself.”

Xiang An looked down in astonishment. Tears streamed down Xiao Ling's face. Her smile from just moments before was gone, replaced by a pleading look and the shame of having her secret exposed.

Beg her to let her go?

She only said a few words, and you can't stand it anymore? When you decided to betray her, why didn't you think this day would come?

They dare to do things but not to admit them, and in order to protect their self-esteem, they have to ask others to cover for them at every turn. It's a pity that their pitiful self-esteem is not trampled on by others, but rather abandoned by themselves.

Since that's the case, why should she give her face?

Xiang An looked directly at Xiao Ling: "Because you talk too much. You're curious about where the medicine came from; you're curious about what I'm going to do; you're curious about following me around all the time."

Xiaoling: "Isn't it normal for people to be curious? If the princess judges me as a traitor based on something I unintentionally said or did, then the servants in the princess's residence have made far more mistakes than I have. Wouldn't they also be considered traitors to the princess?"

"Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't, I don't know. But I do know you," Xiang An bowed slightly, "As I just said, I have investigated the entire Princess's residence."

"Xiao Ling, female, fifteen years old, lives on Yongxiang Road, Daping Street. She is gentle and taciturn. She has told others many times that she envies Xiao Ru and that she will work under Xiao Ru sooner or later to repay the kindness I showed her when I saved her. Do you remember what you said to me when you brought water into the house?"

Xiao Ling certainly wouldn't forget that day; it was the first time she had been ordered by Lord Wei to approach Xiang An on her own initiative. She didn't say much that day, but only one sentence was truly useful—

"...Aunt Ru said that her leg is broken and she is still unconscious, so she cannot come to serve the princess."

"Something's not right—" Xiaoling's words trailed off. How could she talk when she wasn't awake?

"It seems I've remembered. I was injured at the time, and I had just woken up. When I heard you say that Xiao Ru's leg was broken, I was so grief-stricken that I didn't think deeply about what you said. Later, I was also worried about Xiao Ru's leg, so I had no mind to think about it."

"Although I realized something was wrong after calming down, I had already placed you by my side at the time, so I subconsciously attributed everything to the fact that you were frightened by me and panicked, which is why you said the wrong thing."

"The saying goes, 'If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them.' Anyone I decide to keep by my side, I will not be wary of. Whether it's you or Xiao Ru, I never doubted you at first. It was you who gradually convinced me that you were the one."

Xiaoling: "Just based on one sentence? What kind of evidence is that? The princess is insisting..."

Xiang An: "I indeed have no evidence."

Xiao Ling was overjoyed, thinking: Lord Wei is indeed amazing, he is incredibly insightful.

Fortunately, she completed the task without any mistakes. This was her first time doing something for Lord Wei. She only passed two notes in total, one to He Tao and one to He Tao's husband.

Although she didn't know what Lord Wei had written on the paper that made the couple obedient, she destroyed the two notes herself after reading them, leaving no evidence behind.

Xiang An: "But what evidence is needed to expel a maid from the princess's residence?"

Xiao Ling was racking her brains trying to argue her way out of trouble when she heard what Xiang An said. Suddenly, her mouth froze, and she could no longer make a sound.

The Princess's residence belongs to Xiang An, not to the Dali Temple.

"Princess! I'm innocent! I've always been loyal and have never betrayed you!" Xiao Ling kowtowed repeatedly.

Sunlight streamed through the windowpanes, casting a pale golden glow across the floor, so bright it hurt the eyes. Xiang An squinted, and in a daze, he seemed to see that day at the mass grave.

That day, the sunset was just like that, shining like Buddha's light.

"Sun Yi." Xiang An stared intently at the golden light on the floor tiles. "Drag her away and deal with her."

"The slave obeys."

Sun Yi, who was loading wood nearby, waved his hand lightly, and two guards who were also loading wood rushed forward. Before they got close, something unexpected happened. Xiao Ling, who was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, suddenly stood up, pulled out the hairpin from her hair, and pounced straight at Xiang An. She grabbed Xiang An's neck with one hand and held the hairpin against Xiang An's head with the other.

The pitiful little face from moments before was now contorted and grotesque. Xiao Ling said viciously, "Get out! Or I'll kill her!"

The two guards' faces changed drastically, and they dared not move. Sun Yi stepped forward and said grimly, "You lowly servant! How dare you! If the princess is harmed in the slightest, I will surely cut you into a thousand pieces! You—"

The guard on the right quietly approached Sun Yi and said, "Steward Sun, this is not the time to talk about this. The important thing is to save the princess."

Xiao Ling laughed loudly, "Steward Sun, the guards are more pragmatic than you."

"I know, do you need to tell me?!" Sun Yi glared, then pressed his fist to his lips and cleared his throat in a mocking manner. "Tell me, how can we release the princess?"

"You all step back first." Xiao Ling was satisfied only after seeing Sun Yi and the other two retreat to the door. "Prepare a carriage for me, three chests of gold, and... uh—"

There was a bloody hole in his neck.

Xiao Ling turned her head blankly, while Xiang An, whom she had pinned down in front of her, slowly wiped the blood off the dagger. "You talk too much."

Xiao Ling's lips moved, but the words that came out were just gurgling sounds. Blood was blocking her throat, and she hadn't uttered another word until she collapsed to the ground with her eyes wide open.

But Xiang An understood, and she said—

"How...how did you get a dagger?"

Every morning, Xiaoling personally dressed and washed Xiang An. She knew exactly what Xiang An wore and what he had. There was no dagger, nor was it possible for her to have one.

So where did the dagger come from?

Xiang An wiped the dagger clean and silently answered her question in his heart: I have space.

She was a kind girl, and she always answered any questions about the dead.

Sun Yi, who witnessed the whole thing, looked rather grim. The left guard's legs were already weak, and the right guard's hand was trembling uncontrollably, his fingers gripping his sleeve so tightly that the tips of his fingers turned white. He barely managed to keep his composure.

He tossed aside the wiping cloth and slightly raised his chin towards An: "What's your name?"

The guard on the right, knowing better, bowed and said, "Your subordinate, Yan Qing, greets the princess."

Xiang An nodded slightly: "Starting tomorrow, you will be transferred to my side as my personal bodyguard. Sun Yi, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Sun Yi snapped out of his daze.