I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 209 Meeting the Secret Guard

Sun Ni and Su Lekang deserved their miserable lives afterward, but it was their one-year-old child who suffered the most.

I don't know how I'm going to live in the future.

Now that the year is over and the matter at Aunt Xiao's house has been resolved, Xiao Qinian and Lin Qin don't plan to delay any longer and must hurry back to Qianyuan County.

As for Xiao Siyue, it was agreed beforehand that she would stay in Xiaojia Village.

Xiao Siyu doesn't plan to go to Qianyuan County this time. He plans to wait here for Xiao Sizhe to finish the imperial examination so he can study with him. Xiao Qinian will definitely be very busy when he goes back this time and won't have time to teach him.

Although Xiao Siyu wasn't going, he still wanted to go and see what it was like to gain some experience. He figured it would be the same if he went to the capital with the Xiao family later.

At the entrance of the Xiao family's residence, everyone had gathered.

"Father, Mother, I'll write to you once I've finalized things on my end. You can then decide on the departure date," Xiao Qinian said to the elderly couple before leaving.

"Yes, we understand. Please be careful on your journey," Grandpa Xiao said with concern.

"Yes, Father, you can rest assured."

After Xiao Qinian finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Xiao Siyu: "Even while I'm away, you must study hard. I will take the exams carefully when you come to the capital."

Xiao Siyu had always been personally taught by him, and he was still a little worried about leaving this time, fearing that Xiao Siyu would let himself go after he left.

Xiao Siyu solemnly promised, "Dad, I know, I will definitely study hard." Although he was usually a bit eccentric, he never slacked off when it came to studying, and he would never cheat even if no one was watching him.

Xiao Qinian nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Xiao Sizhe.

"Sizhe, don't be nervous about this provincial examination. Just be yourself. With your knowledge, you'll be fine." Xiao Qinian was very confident in his nephew, Xiao Sizhe. This nephew was calm and steady, studied diligently, and had been traveling for two years. As long as nothing unexpected happened, he could serve as an official in the same court as him next year.

"Thank you, Uncle. I understand." Xiao Sizhe was very confident; he was determined to pass this year's provincial examination.

After explaining things to the others, Xiao Qinian looked at his daughter, Xiao Siyue.

Xiao Siyue was his biggest worry. This daughter was very capable, but she was also in a lot of danger and always had many misfortunes. Moreover, after what had happened before, he was afraid that those people would come to Xiao Family Village again.

"Yue'er, I've left some people for you to protect your safety. But you must remember, nothing is more important than you. If anything happens, you must protect yourself first. Forget about all that stuff, understand?" Xiao Qinian had no choice but to give these instructions.

No matter how important papermaking technology is, it can't compare to Xiao Siyue herself.

"Father, I know." Xiao Siyue wouldn't be that foolish. If it really came to that, she would abandon the papermaking technique and then offer the papermaking formula to Emperor Zhou. At most, she would just earn a little less.

She had many ways to make money; even if she lost the papermaking technique, there were others.

"Alright, Father and Mother, we're off then." Xiao Qinian was relieved to see that Xiao Siyue had agreed. It was getting late and quite cold outside, so Xiao Qinian said goodbye to everyone and got into the carriage.

"Yes, let's go quickly," Old Mrs. Xiao urged.

After seeing the person off, the Xiao family all went home.

After saying goodbye to Grandpa Xiao and the others, Xiao Siyue returned to her room.

She wanted to see the person Xiao Qinian had left for her.

"Come out now," Xiao Siyue said softly to the air.

In an instant, four people entered the room, two men and two women, all of whom were not very old, probably in their early twenties.

They were all dressed in black, looking clean and sharp; this outfit was definitely that of a secret guard.

Xiao Siyue never expected that her father had secretly trained such a group of people.

"What are your names?" From now on, these guards are her people, and Xiao Siyue needs to get to know them.

"Dark One" is a concise and to-the-point name. His face is expressionless, like a block of ice.

"Master, I am An Er." An Er was a woman. Compared to An Yi's coldness, An Er's appearance did not resemble that of a bodyguard. Instead, she had the air of a gentle and beautiful woman.

Xiao Siyue knew the remaining two without them even having to say anything: An San and An Si.

An San is a man, and his personality is hard to discern; he speaks very politely.

An Si is quite lively.

"Are you among the best of the secret guards?" Judging from the names, Xiao Qinian probably reserved the most outstanding ones for her.

“Yes, Master.” An nodded.

"Okay, but can you change your names?" These people are on her side now, and there will probably be new "Second Secret Agents" in the future.

“Of course, we are now the master’s people.” An Yi’s meaning was very clear: they were now Xiao Siyue’s people, and Xiao Siyue could change whatever she wanted.

Xiao Siyue thought about it carefully for a while and decided to just quote a poem, since she was terrible at naming things.

"Then you will be called Shi Hai, Shi Yan, Shi He, and Shi Qing."

Xiao Siyue's name is taken from the phrase "May the rivers be clear and the seas be calm, and may the times be peaceful and the years bountiful," reflecting her hope that the people of this country can live and work in peace and contentment.

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon us, Master," the guards said in unison.

“Alright, since you’ve followed me, I won’t keep you in the shadows forever, and I won’t mistreat you.” Xiao Siyue was always generous to those who were loyal to her.

"From now on, you'll just stay by my side. But since there's nothing much going on right now, you can split into pairs. Two of you stay with me, and the other two stay in your own houses, taking turns." She was in the village, and having too many people with her was too conspicuous.

Even in the future, there's no need to follow so many people; just let them disguise themselves as your maids and guards.

Xiao Siyue thought she probably wasn't that hated, that people would try to assassinate her every day.

The guards were all very happy; no one would like to stay in the shadows forever, never seeing the light of day.

They also want to stand out from the crowd whenever they have the chance.

They were all orphans with no ties to them. Although Xiao Qinian was training them to become bodyguards, he never mistreated them. Apart from the arduous daily training, their food, clothing, and daily necessities were much better than before.

They were very grateful. They had been sent to protect their new master, but they hadn't expected him to treat them even better. They secretly resolved to protect Xiao Siyue well.

"Alright, you can go now." Xiao Siyue was very satisfied with the group and grateful for Xiao Qinian's concern.

"Yes, Master." The men rose and took their leave.