IDWBE -Chapter 283 A Shadow

Xie Xiaoqing forced a smile and said weakly, “As long as I can see you, I’m satisfied. Monk, don’t avoid me anymore, alright?”

Hearing this, the monk closed his eyes and kept shaking his head.

After a long while, he opened them and looked at the blind man. “Blind man, please help her treat her injuries.”

The blind man withdrew the bamboo staff from her throat and was just about to speak when Xie Xiaoqing said firmly, “No! Even if I die, I won’t let another stinking man touch a single finger of mine!”

The blind man, who was usually calm and detached from worldly matters, couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Even if he were “stinking,” he’d be a stinking Daoist—not a stinking man!

“Miss, rest assured. I won’t be treating your injuries.”

Hmph.

He had his pride too.

“Blind man,” the monk said with a bitter smile, “I’ll take her to my place to treat her injuries first, and tomorrow hand her over to the Prince for judgment. Would that work?”

The blind man nodded. “The Prince has already retired for the night. Tomorrow, then.”

After responding, the monk walked up to Xie Xiaoqing and said calmly, “Forgive me, Miss.”

With that, he reached out and lifted her into his arms.

Not only did Xie Xiaoqing not resist, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest, saying happily, “Little monk, I knew you had me in your heart.”

The monk trembled all over, glanced at the blind man, then steeled himself and carried her to his room.

The guards patrolling at night were all astonished at the sight.

With his head lowered, the monk wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

After winding left and right through the Provincial Administration Office, they finally reached his side chamber. He pushed open the door and, before even setting her down, hurriedly closed it with his foot.

But once it was shut, he felt something was off. Just as he was about to open it again, Xie Xiaoqing, lying on the couch, said, “Monk, don’t open the door. I don’t want others to see me looking so ugly.”

The monk relented. He fetched some clean water, wrung out a towel, and handed it over—but Xie Xiaoqing leaned her head forward instead, her pale, blood-streaked face turned toward him.

Helpless, the monk gently wiped her face, not daring to meet her eyes.

When he finished, he brought her a bowl of water and placed a pill he had taken from his robe onto the table. “Take it. It will help you recover your inner strength quickly.”

Xie Xiaoqing grinned. “Monk, if I die, will you cry?”

“The blind man’s martial arts are very high, but he didn’t use his full strength,” the monk replied sincerely.

“But I feel pain all over. I feel like I might die at any moment,” she pouted.

“You are Ninth Rank,” the monk said seriously. “You won’t die. After taking the medicine, hurry and circulate your energy to heal. It would be bad to leave hidden injuries.”

Xie Xiaoqing sighed. “So having high martial arts isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

She then sat cross-legged on the couch and began channeling her energy to heal.

The next day.

When she opened her eyes, she found the monk still seated opposite her, eyes closed, body motionless.

“Miss, are you hungry?” the monk suddenly opened his eyes.

“Mmm, I want soy milk and steamed buns!” she said coquettishly.

“Please wait a moment.”

He went out and soon returned with a bowl of porridge and a plate of buns.

Xie Xiaoqing happily picked up a bun and took a bite—then suddenly paused and looked at him in surprise. “Meat?”

“Eating more meat will help your recovery,” the monk replied.

“You’re a monk.”

“This humble monk does not eat it,” he said. “But you are not. I have no reason to stop you.”

He often heard their Prince muttering about “nutritional supplements.”

And apparently, supplementing nutrition meant eating more meat.

As if meat could solve all the sufferings of the world.

“Wow,” Xie Xiaoqing laughed, “you little monk have suddenly become so reasonable. I’m not used to it.”

“Miss, please eat quickly. Later we must go see the Prince. The Prince is compassionate, but when you meet him, you should restrain yourself.”

Xie Xiaoqing held porridge in one hand and a bun in the other as she ate. “Don’t worry. For your sake, I definitely won’t make things difficult for him!”

The monk said sternly, “Please understand, Prince He has shown me kindness. If you show him disrespect, I will not be polite to you.”

“Alright, alright, you silly boy, that’s no fun to say!” she waved him off.

The sun had risen.

Lin Yi sat in a chair he found extremely uncomfortable, longing for his reclining chair to be finished as soon as possible.

After taking a sip of tea, he kept patting his stomach and sighing, “Ah, how could you be so cruel? You’ve made my belly this big. How am I supposed to face people? How am I supposed to find a match? My life is utterly bleak!”

“Your Highness…”

The chubby cook Su Yin looked like he was about to cry.

What did he mean by “made my belly big”?

Couldn’t he say something more reliable?

He was just a cook!

Why should he bear such pressure?

Cautiously, he said, “Your Highness, perhaps I should cook a little less in the future?”

“How could that do!”

Lin Yi said loudly. “Did you write down the cured-meat steamed dish I told you about? Don’t be afraid of failure—experiment more. If you really don’t understand, ask the soldiers or laborers from Yuezhou. I must taste this dish.”

“Rest assured, Your Highness,” Su Yin patted his round belly. “Even if it costs me my life, I’ll make this dish.”

“You can rest assured too,” Lin Yi snorted coldly. “If you can’t make it, I’ll take your life.”

Damn it!

Daring to boast in front of him just for making a dish!

When Hong Ying entered, Su Yin didn’t dare linger and hurried out.

“Your Highness, Xie Xiaoqing from Chunshan City is waiting outside.”

“Let her in.”

Lin Yi yawned.

Just as he was about to close his eyes again, a splash of color appeared before him.

So this was Xie Xiaoqing?

Graceful in figure, the kind that made it impossible to look away.

He sighed, then cast a jealous glance at the fair-skinned monk standing behind her.

In terms of looks, he could easily crush the monk.

So why were no girls chasing him?

He had finally taken a liking to Yan Shiqi, and even now, there was no result.

Yan Shiqi, who had already been adopted as a goddaughter by Old Madam Shan, had clearly told Shan Qi that she would rather die than become someone’s concubine—even if that someone was Prince He!

Such fierce resolve!

All because of her father, Yan Kuisheng.

In his lifetime, Yan Kuisheng had taken nineteen concubines.

Eight of them had died inexplicably.

That had cast a deep shadow over Yan Shiqi.

Lin Yi was unwilling to force her.

But whenever he thought of it, he itched to skin that old bastard Yan Kuisheng alive.