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

On the day when the cicadas were chirping most intensely, Xiang An recovered from her injuries. The first thing she did after getting out of bed was to go to Xiao Ru's room.

Inside the pink bed curtains, Xiao Ru lay on the mattress, her round little face deeply sunken, her cheekbones high and prominent, her thin appearance like a candle about to be extinguished by a gust of wind.

"Xiao Ru—"

He called out to An as tears streamed down his face. When he slowly walked to her bedside and took her skinny hand in his, his sobs replaced his voice.

Xiao Ru lay on the bed, her smile as fragile as a dried flower, beautiful but pale: "Princess, I'm alright, I'll get better soon."

"...You've lost weight."

“People lose weight when they are injured, so Your Highness need not worry about me.”

"You, you, you"

Xiang An couldn't continue speaking or asking any more questions, and the two of them ended up embracing and crying.

I don’t know how long.

"Alright, alright, stop crying." In a hoarse voice, Xiang An carefully wiped away Xiao Ru's tears. "With me here, you don't have to be afraid of anything."

"I know, I know, I'm not afraid," Xiao Ru sobbed.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Xiang An hugged Xiao Ru, speaking lightly, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

She wasn't blind; she didn't miss the joy and happiness that rekindled in Xiao Ru's dejected eyes when she saw her enter the room.

How could one not feel pain and fear when struck on the leg with a stick as thick as an adult's arm in the palace? The excruciating pain and the fear of never being able to stand up again were so intense.

Gently lifting Xiao Ru, who was slumped on his shoulder, Xiang An forced a smile: "Did Xu Youren tell you that you could stand up?"

“As I’ve said, and as I know, the money and medicine for medical treatment will all be deducted from my monthly allowance…”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xiang An glared at her, displeased. "You're the one who's going to be with me for life. This is my advance bribe to you. What? Don't you want to stay with me anymore?"

"This servant, this servant... I was thinking..." Xiao Ru had just wiped away her tears when two small tears welled up again. How could she not know that the princess was saying this on purpose, just to reassure her to take the medicine and focus on recovering?

"If you really want to repay me, get well soon. That's the best way for you to repay me." Xiang An gently patted Xiao Ru's hand to comfort her silently. "Leave everything to me."

The two tears that had welled up in her eyes fell, and Xiao Ru quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand: "Yes, this servant obeys."

After a good reassurance, Xiang An walked out of Xiao Ru's room at noon. The sun was high in the sky, cicadas were chirping, and the two sycamore trees in the courtyard were lush and green. The intense sunlight shone on the canopy and turned it into a green umbrella, creating a small patch of shade.

Diao Xi stood under the shade of a sycamore tree. Unidentified short flowers and grasses covered his shoes, but he was staring intently at his toes, oblivious even to the crickets that jumped onto his trouser legs.

He walked towards An and recited fluently as if reciting an article: "Diao Xi, a native of Taoyuan County, entered the Princess's Mansion as a servant on the third day of the fifth month of the fifteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty. Because of his good skills, he was selected to become a guard in the same year. However, because you are too straightforward, Sun Yi was worried that you would offend the palace, so he assigned you the job of guarding the courtyard."

A few days ago, Xiang An injured his buttocks, so he took the opportunity to thoroughly investigate everything inside and outside the princess's residence.

Sun Yi, the chief steward in charge of all matters in the princess's residence, was a eunuch but was quite decisive in his actions.

It is said that this person was highly valued by the emperor when he was on duty in the palace. Therefore, when Xiang An moved from the palace to the princess's residence, the emperor was worried that Xiang An was too young to control the servants, so he specially sent him to the princess's residence as the chief steward.

Diao Xi lowered his head and remained silent, not particularly surprised by Xiang An's reaction. He continued, "...You and Xiao Ru are engaged."

Upon hearing this, Diao Xi immediately looked up at her, his eyes wide open.

"I have investigated. Ever since you became a guard, you have been relentlessly trying to win over Xiao Ru, and this has continued for three years." Xiang An blinked and stated bluntly, "I admire you for this. You refused to ask Xiao Ru for help when things were at their worst and most difficult, but instead chose to reveal your feelings to her after you were in a good position. Not bad."

However, at first I thought you were a hypocrite who wouldn't let go of what he couldn't have, a man of deep scheming. But after a thorough investigation, I discovered that you two seemed to have known each other for many years, before I even found Xiao Ru.

Although the specifics are unknown and there's no evidence—after all, many years have passed, and only one person vaguely remembers what happened back then—Xiao Ru now has feelings for you. For Xiao Ru's sake, I've stopped investigating further. Otherwise, why do you think I haven't contacted you until now?

"Ha, you care so much about Xiaoru? Then why! Why, why..."

"Why didn't I protect her, and instead she got injured?" Xiang An calmly took over the words that Diao Xi wanted to say but didn't dare to.

Diao Xi remained silent.

He believed he was in the right, but faced with Xiang An's composure, he unconsciously chose to remain silent.

Xiang An stared directly into his dark eyes and said, "You hate me."

Her tone showed no surprise, no doubt, just indifference.

"Yes! I hate you."

As Xiang An finished speaking, Diao Xi's hatred instantly overcame everything, and everything seemed to find an outlet in an instant: "Just because of your inexplicable rumors, because you were wronged, because of your few tears, she went down and beat those servants in a fit of anger."

But His Majesty couldn't bear to punish you severely, nor could he bear to punish Wei Wenrun severely. So Xiao Ru, who stood up for you and protected your reputation, took the punishment for you. But why? What did she do wrong?

"If you hadn't taken He Tao back to the Princess's residence, if you hadn't made her stay to guard He Tao, how could she have suffered so much? How could she have endured such pain? How could she have broken down to the point of not wanting to see me? How could she, how could she have become a cripple? How is she, a young woman, supposed to face anyone in the future?"

As he spoke, he choked up, but his gaze softened when it fell on the closed door not far away: "But she doesn't hate. She said she's willing."

"..."

Xiang An pursed her lips and remained silent. She knew that Xiao Ru had beaten someone in the teahouse because of rumors, but she didn't know that it was because she cried that Xiao Ru went to beat someone. No wonder she couldn't understand why this round was different from the previous rounds. She never expected that the reason was here.

My thoughts churned in my mind, eventually dissipating into fragments.

The trajectory has deviated, but the most important thing is the present moment. Xiang An snapped back to reality: "Do you want revenge?"

Diao Xi was taken aback, and after a moment of stunned silence, he shook his head: "Thank you, Princess, but there's no need. It's only natural that a servant should die for his master. She's not dead now, she's just lame, which is already very good, isn't it?"

Xiang An: "..."

Indeed, the disgrace of the master and the death of the servant are characteristics of this era, but she does not agree with it. She wants to refute it, but she cannot open her mouth.

Not long ago, she casually dismissed human life as insignificant. What gives her the right to speak so righteously now? What gives her the right to refute the characteristics of this era?

Suppress the jumbled thoughts in your mind, force yourself not to get distracted, and focus on the task at hand.

Xiang An said firmly, "I'll give you three days. If you want to avenge Xiao Ru, come to me anytime. If not, I'll avenge Xiao Ru alone."