BERW - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Shen Yuyao modestly yielded the Heaven No. 1 Room to Qin Shujun. Qin Shujun did not decline. For one, it was deep in the night, and it was better to sleep quickly; for another, the two rooms were almost identical, differing only in their numbering.

But this night was destined not to be peaceful.

Not long after Shen Yuyao lay down, she vaguely heard a rustling sound, like rats gnawing at the roof beam, or like the friction of coarse cloth as someone walked.

In the silent night, it was especially distinct.

Then came the sound of paper being pierced. Between breaths, Shen Yuyao suddenly smelled a trace of smoke.

Instinctively, she thought of those thieves in TV dramas blowing sleep-incense into rooms. She even had the leisure to wonder: if she shouted, would the other party be so startled that they immediately gasped and inhaled all the sleep-incense back.

Of course, this was only the somewhat immature fantasy of someone just waking from sleep.

Shen Yuyao held her breath. After waiting a short while, she heard the friction of clothing again, but this time it was farther away.

She quietly got up. Before she could suffocate, she quietly pushed open the window and, through the gap, desperately took two breaths. The tip of her nose still caught the strange smoky smell.

She felt a little muddled.

Shen Yuyao pinched herself hard, and only then became clear-headed. Just then she looked up and saw an Imperial Guard crouching in a tree not far away.

When a princess traveled, how could there not be people guarding her? If not openly, then secretly.

It was bitter work: standing night watch in the dead of night, staying in a tree. In winter, it might freeze a person to death.

But in winter, presumably no wealthy person would be foolish enough to hide their name and run off outside.

Shen Yuyao let her thoughts run wild, trying to keep her brain as active as possible so that the unreasonable drowsiness would not overcome her.

The Imperial Guard also saw that Shen Yuyao was not well. In a few leaps, she reached the roof below Shen Yuyao's window. Her movements were beautiful, her figure like a swallow in the air.

"Princess." The Imperial Guard cupped her hands in salute.

Her voice was somewhat hoarse and fairly androgynous, not like a man's.

But she was very tall, close to six feet, and extremely thin, as if she had hardly any flesh on her.

Only by being so light could she leap up and down with ease.

"Notify the others. Surround this inn. Focus on the safety of the Crown Prince's Senior Consort, and that young lady of the Shi family."

Shen Yuyao gave the order in a low voice. The Imperial Guard quickly left and returned in less than a few blinks.

She even vaulted back through the window to protect Shen Yuyao closely.

Only then did Shen Yuyao realize that this Imperial Guard with the somewhat hoarse, low voice was actually a woman!

"There are women in the Imperial Guard? What is your name?"

The Imperial Guard lowered her head. If not for the special circumstances, she would even have wanted to crouch down to speak with Shen Yuyao, because she was too tall; when Shen Yuyao spoke, she had to look up at her.

How could she let the princess speak to her like that!

"This humble one is surnamed Yu, given name San."

She had no proper name, only a surname and a number.

Shen Yuyao thought of a kind of person, not Imperial Guards, but Shadow Guards.

Those who forever guarded nobles in the shadows were mostly orphans. Their names were their codenames and also a symbol of their strength.

"Are you a Shadow Guard sent by Father to protect me?"

"Yes."

Shen Yuyao knew the original owner had been very favored, but she had not expected Shen Chong to specifically send a Shadow Guard to protect her!

She had only left the palace to visit the Empress Dowager. A crowd of Imperial Guards was one thing, but assigning even a precious Shadow Guard to her meant Shen Chong took her safety far too seriously.

Shen Yuyao almost felt embarrassed to call Shen Chong a scumbag father.

But this still could not change the fact that Shen Chong really was scum; it was only that, relatively speaking, he did not intend to mistreat her.

Shadow Guards were very hard to train. They were all top-tier talents; every one was a treasure. Looking at Yu San, Shen Yuyao felt greedy. She decided that once she returned to the palace, she absolutely must get Yu San for herself.

"Next time you can come into my room to protect me. There is no need to stay outside." It was so cold outside, and it was too much suffering. "You are a girl. You should be careful of your health."

Such words were only simple concern. In truth, the possibility of them being realized was very low; for the profession of Shadow Guard, protecting oneself was impossible.

But to Yu San's ears, they felt especially warm.

The look in Yu San's eyes when she regarded Shen Yuyao changed. Before, it had been a dead, lifeless pool; she looked at Shen Yuyao no differently from other nobles.

But from this moment on, in Yu San's eyes, Shen Yuyao became "Princess Yuyang."

She was different from everyone else.

Yu San was clumsy with words and did not know how to respond to this small warmth she had never encountered. A little stiffly, she replied, "Thank you for your concern, Princess."

Instinctively, Shen Yuyao wanted to reply, "You're welcome," but she forced it back down before it reached her lips. This was not the modern world; princesses did not make a habit of saying "you're welcome" to servants.

Shen Yuyao walked two steps into the room, sat down at the table, and poured a cup of cold tea. "Sit down. We just need to wait for them to arrive. There is still sleep-incense in my room. Will it make you uncomfortable?"

"It is only ordinary sleep smoke, and the dose is not large. It does not matter." Yu San did not say that even a much larger dose of sleep-incense would not make her faint.

Every Shadow Guard had endured countless tortures and adapted to many drugs.

Their bodies were riddled with wounds, yet also hard as steel.

Shen Yuyao was still a little dizzy. She poured the cold tea into her palm and patted it onto her face and forehead to shock herself awake.

Hearing Yu San's words, she silently cast her an admiring look. "Once I have practiced martial arts, I wonder if I can be like you, flying over eaves and walking on walls, immune to a hundred poisons."

How would Yu San dare accept such praise? She hurriedly said, "Princess overpraises me. This humble one does not have such great ability."

It was only that, as a woman, she was naturally light of frame, so her lightness skill was somewhat better than others'.

Immunity to a hundred poisons was even more of an exaggeration. If she were given a poison that killed on contact with blood, she would only last a few breaths longer than an ordinary person.

As they spoke, some sounds came from the corridor.

Shen Yuyao and Yu San both softened their breathing and listened intently.

"You idiot! I told you to make everyone unconscious. What are you blowing sleep-incense for? Now we cannot get in either!"

"Calm your anger, Innkeeper. This humble one has no good drugs on hand. I had to rummage through boxes and cabinets to find this sleep-incense... How long has it been since we last pulled a job?"

"You still dare talk back! If those people were not knocked out and a few escaped, and then reported to the authorities, never mind succeeding; whether you can keep your little life would be another matter!"

Shen Yuyao could tell who the speakers were. They were exactly the innkeeper and the waiter she had seen in the main hall.

She had not expected it. This place really was a criminal inn!

What kind of protagonist luck was this? She went out for amusement and ran into people fighting, and at night she took lodging and happened to stay at a criminal inn.

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