Truyen3h.Co

Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

Font chữ: Palatino Linotype Bookerly Segoe UI Patrick Hand Times New Roman Verdana Tahoma Arial

Chiều cao dòng: 100 120 140 160 180 200

Kích cỡ chữ:

CHAPTER 11: Second Prince's fan club

Before the sunrises, Xiao Hua was already awake thanks to the familiar sensation of muscle pain. Moving at the speed of a turtle, she did some light stretching while sprawled on the bed to loosen up her muscles.

An Jing arrived in the middle of Xiao Hua's lazy exercise but she stood at the corner with no intention to disturb her, waiting patiently for her to finish. With An Jing's arrival, Xiao Hua does not dare to take her own sweet time and quickly loosen up most of her sore muscles before wrapping it up.

"Elder Sister Hua, have a bath before joining Princess Long Lian for breakfast," An Jing suggested as Xiao Hua sat down on a chair.

"That's pretty early for the Princess to come." Usually, Long Lian only visits the

Third Prince's residence after breakfast so that she can join them for lunch.

"Princess Long Lian is worried about your injury so she announces she will arrive earlier »

Xiao Hua's heart warmed at Long Lian's worry towards her. "Princess is kind. I will quickly bath before the princess arrives."

Si Si was not in a good mood thanks to what had happened last night. She was waiting for Xiao Hua to finish bathing when Elder Sister Jing appeared and told her to return to her other duties.

It was only this morning that she found out the Third Prince had visited Xiao Hua last night! To replace last night's missed opportunities, Si Si eagerly attended to Xiao Hua's needs while waiting for the Third Prince to arrive.

But Elder Sister Jing suddenly asked her to leave again. Was that not the same meaning as not giving Si Si the chance to meet the Third Prince?

Due to her bitter feelings, her working performance was not up to standard and the speed was not something to be tolerated. Si Si had not finished tying Xiao Hua's hair when Long Lian arrived. She had her new maid, Tang Mei, to call Xiao Hua to hurry up and meet her at the Summer Courtyard, where the Third Prince usually entertained his guests.

The Third Prince does not have many guests, so Long Lian had already treated the Summer Courtyard as hers.

When Xiao Hua finally appeared, Long Lian had started her breakfast. She quickly jumped out of her seat and jogged towards Xiao Hua with a concerned look.

"Xiao Hua, are you alright? Third brother says you injured your hand!"

"I'm fine. Tian Zi had applied for medicine and rubbed the swelling down." She lifted her right wrist to show Long Lian that it was not a serious injury. In another day or two, it should be completely healed.

Long Lian turned Xiao Hua's right hand around to examine her injury. It was only after she was satisfied did she have them eat breakfast.

"Thank you for coming but I feel bad for you to be here so early because of my carelessness."

Long Lian huffed. "Third brother sent a message before I was even awake." Tang Mei handed Long Lian a letter, and the latter handed it to Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua unfolds the letter and suddenly wants to hit something. "What is this?"

"Third brother's letter. Read it. He totally exaggerates the truth!"

"Dear princess, this commoner does not know how to read and I will have to disappoint you."

Long Lian frowned and took back the letter. "You are mocking me." Xiao Hua laughed. "You think?"

After spending months with Long Lian, Xiao Hua no longer had to walk around eggshells with her. The princess truly treated her as her best friend and hardly minded about Xiao Hua's random sarcasm.

What Xiao Hua did not know was that Long Lian usually took note of her jokes and sarcasm and used them as inspiration to provoke the noble ladies around her that only know how to be an eyesore. It was very satisfying to identify their anger that could barely be concealed behind their polite smile. After all, they must be polite to the treasured Princess Long Lian.

Was she not afraid to gain enemies?

To Long Lian, they were all her enemies after that scandal involving her with a random minister's son nearly harmed her reputation.

"Third brother wrote that you were in great pain and could not stop crying. I got worried and immediately came over here. But who would have guessed that third brother would cherish you so much, to even view a small injury as a life-threatening one."

Xiao Hua squirmed in her chair and avoided Long Lian's teasing gaze.

Ah Lian, you have misunderstood ah!

Xiao Hua knows clearly why the Third Prince would send such a weird letter to

Long Lian. He was giving her a helping hand to lure the Eighth Prince over! But did anyone tell the Eighth Prince about Long Lian being here?

Xiao Hua and Long Lian turned their heads when the sounds of footsteps stomped towards them.

A familiar voice then called out, "Sister!" Speaking of the devil, he will appear!

"Eighth brother? Why are you here?" Long Lian's voice slightly raised with unhid-den frustration.

Lately, the Eighth Prince had always popped up around her, no matter what the location. Originally, she did not mind having an adorable little brother hanging out with her, but he completely killed off her mood when he only talked about their second brother.

Long Lian did not know why her eighth brother disliked it when she visited Xiao Hua. He tried to snub their third brother once and got a terrifying tongue lashing from her. Since then, Long Ming was very careful not to insult the Third Prince. Instead, he bragged about their second brother's achievement, as if trying to rope Long Lian to do something.

To join the Second Prince's fan club?

Sadly, the young prince did not know that Long Lian was a loyal member of the Third Prince's fan club. She could even be considered as the vice-president of the club!

Today, Long Lian had not made any plans to visit Xiao Hua but to visit the Em-press. However, the letter had her discard the plan and immediately dash over.

So how did Long Ming still find out that she was here?

Long Lian disregarded the idea that Long Ming had planted a spy at her side, for her younger brother did not have the 'right' mind to do something like this.

She and Xiao Hua had talked about Long Ming's sudden maturity and agreed that it was not at all like his previous silly self. Long Lian positively believed that her little brother was recovering from his trauma but Xiao Hua countered it, suggesting that the Eighth Prince faked his idiocy.

Regardless of the reason, Long Lian did not expose her eighth brother's sudden maturity to their parents because her third brother asked her not to. It would be safer for him to be known as the silly prince or else he might be harmed.

The Sixth and Seventh Prince had died not long after their achievement nearly overshadowed the other princes. One died from a freak accident and the other died because his Mother Concubine was discovered to be involved with a corruption case.

Fear of wealth and entitlement being taken away, she killed herself, bringing her innocent prince along.

"Eunuch Heng says you are here, sister!" The Eighth Prince rushed to Long Lian's side, as excited as a little bunny, but his eyes betrayed his true intention. The painfully obvious scheming was revealed by his honest eyes.

It was truly painful to watch how transparent he is.

Like always, Long Lian's desire to gossip with Xiao Hua was forced into a postponement as Long Ming worked hard to monopolize her attention.

Xiao Hua glanced at Long Lian, wondering what she should do to get her away to create an opportunity to talk to the Eighth Prince alone. She felt that it would be better for Long Lian not to know too much.

Besides, it was a task that was given by the Third Prince. She had an inkling that the Third Prince did not want Long Lian to get involved because logically, Long Lian has more chance to sound out the Eighth Prince than Xiao Hua.

Just look at what the Eighth Prince was willing to do just to get the chance to talk to Long Lian. It would be so easy for Long Lian to pull answers out of him.

In fact, Xiao Hua and the Eighth Prince hardly talked. One was too busy pulling Long Lian's attention onto him while another could not bear to see such a bad acting skill and finally decided to act as a blind and mute.

The sun was high up and scorching when the Third Prince approached them.

"Third brother!" Long Lian exclaimed with relief expressed in her eyes. She wanted to get rid of her eighth brother but she also did not want to hurt his feelings.

"Oh? The eighth brother is here as well?" The Third Prince's face and voice perfectly expressed his surprise. If Xiao Hua did not know better, she would have truly believed him. This was the true skill of a professional actor!

"Third....third brother doesn't like me?" The Eighth Prince asked with a pitiful ex-pression. Seeing his fake expressions, Xiao Hua decided to take them as enter-tainment.

Hmm, not bad. He earns a 'B' for that expression.

"Since when did your third brother not like you? Eighth brother is always welcome here."

"Really?" The Eighth Prince beamed. "Third brother loves me the most!"

That expression... 'C' is the best she can give. The revulsion could be seen clearly from his eyes.

"Long Lian, Mother Empress had a messenger to have you return to the palace to discuss your coming birthday celebration."

Long Lian immediately hopped out of her seat, looking ready to get away as soon as possible. "Long Lian should not make Mother Empress wait too long."

The Third Prince smiled and looked at the Eighth Prince. "Third brother and fifth sister need to enter the palace. Stay with Xiao Hua until we return and have a meal together."

The Eighth Prince looked unwilling and looked as if he was going to make an excuse to refuse. But he suddenly stopped and changed his mind. "Eighth brother will wait for sister and third brother. Come back quickly!"

That eagerness on his face earns a 'B+' grade. That expression on his face was genuine but the intention shown in his eyes was not pure at all.

"Xiao Hua, you must not let the Eighth Prince feel neglected," The Third Prince solemnly ordered Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua curtsied with an earnest expression. "Yes, Your Highness. Xiao Hua will make sure the Eighth Prince has no complaints."

What a nice employer, for being supportive and eager to pave a path of success for his employee!

CHAPTER 12: So that explains why you look stupid

Even if the Third Prince had told her that Da Bei would be guarding her secretly, Xiao Hua was still scared. But it was not the Eighth Prince that she was scared of.

To be specific, it was the Eighth Prince's eunuch that she was wary of.

Every time the stalker- coughs - the Eighth Prince tagged along with Long Lian to the Third Prince's residence, Eunuch Heng was always beside the Eighth Prince, guarding him against any possible danger.

There was a time when Long Lian, who had done her best to shake off her stalker-cough- adorable little brother, and secretly brought Xiao Hua to look at horses. The Eighth Prince still managed to find them and had run towards Long Lian without looking at his surroundings, hence he did not notice a wild horse running straight to the Eighth Prince.

It would not have done so if it was not frightened by the Eighth Prince's loud call of 'sister'. Eunuch Heng, without batting an eye, killed the horse with a single palm before the horse could run over the Eighth Prince.

There was no remorse from Eunuch Heng after killing the horse.

Since then, Xiao Hua viewed Eunuch Heng in a new light. For such a young Eunuch to be the Eighth Prince's personal eunuch, he must be very capable in both knowledge and cultivation. She had estimated Eunuch Heng to be the same age as Tian Chi or Tian Zi, judging from his tender face which had her subconsciously viewed him as un-threatening.

Eunuch Heng gave off a soft temperament instead of those seasoned eunuchs that seem to radiate an intimidating aura. Even Eunuch Lau Liu, who always has a warm smile on his face, could not completely hide his intimidating aura that was gained from experience and age.

Xiao Hua had asked Long Lian about cultivation and discovered it has ten main ranks, each rank with lower, middle and higher realms. Long Lian was in the second rank of the higher realm, which was considered as impressive for a fifteen-year-old.

The author had not even mentioned much about cultivation and dedicated the entire plot to romance, face slapping [6], and the impressive bootlicking descriptions of the golden couple.

"Eighth Prince, have you eaten breakfast yet? Tian Zi and Tian Chi will have the kitchen to prepare them for you."

"I want fried chicken!" The Eighth Prince immediately demanded.

"Sister Zi, please allow me to supervise the cooking for His Highness," Eunuch Heng requested with a sheepish smile. "His Highness had not had his morning meal yet and this one knows my master's preference the best." Good idea! With this, Eunuch Heng will be out of the way!

"Eighth Prince, please have some tea before the food arrives," Tian Zi said.

"It's okay! Xiao Hua is here to play with me!"

Xiao Hua's guard unconsciously rose when the Eighth Prince seemed sincere in wanting to play with her. Tian Zi and Tian Chi glanced at Xiao Hua worriedly but the younger maid just smiled and gave them a brief nod. "Xiao Hua will be here to accompany the Eighth Prince. Sisters do not need to worry. We must not let the Eighth Prince remain hungry for long."

The three servants quickly headed towards the kitchen, each person with a different purpose of hastening their pace. Eunuch Heng was anxious to leave the Eighth Prince alone with Xiao Hua but he could not help but worry that the kitchen would make dishes that his master disliked. Tian Zi and Tian Chi were worried about leaving Xiao Hua alone with the Eighth Prince and decided to quickly prepare the meal and hurry back.

Xiao Hua suddenly found herself to be in a dilemma now that she got them alone.

How was she going to sound out the Eighth Prince without him suspecting anything?

She did not have a great idea on how to do it.

Le Xiao Ting had never acted as a spy before, unless she counted that one time where her friend wanted her to help find out if her crush likes her or not. Sadly, that guy wrongly assumed that Le Xiao Ting was trying to confess to him instead.

It took quite some time to clear off the misunderstanding and her piggy bank suffered severe weight loss after she brought snacks for her friend in order to earn for-giveness. Luckily everything went well and her friend and her crush ended up to-gether. After graduating from university, they got married and gave birth to a pair of twins.

As a good friend, Le Xiao Ting was forced to be the twins' babysitter whenever their parents were busy with work or decided to have a romantic night. They could have asked their grandparents to take care of their lovely' grandkids, but strangely the little devils loved Le Xiao Ting even when their love was not equally returned.

How could Le Xiao Ting love them when they never listened to what she said and made a great mess in her apartment? The only time she could tolerate them was when they fell asleep after their batteries ran out.

To sum it up, she did not have much experience of being a spy.

Surprisingly, it was the Eighth Prince that made the first move. "Xiao Hua, do you know how to read or write?"

"Apologies, Your Highness, but this servant does not have the opportunity to learn them."

"Eh.... so that explains why you look stupid."

... The nerve of this brat!

Xiao Hua forced herself to smile sweetly. "This servant was born with this face and is grateful to my parents. That's why Xiao Hua will do her best to protect her face, unlike someone that has such an adorable face yet will throw it away recklessly."

The Eighth Prince did not know why, but he felt that the person this silly maid had mentioned was him. Yes, he has an adorable face, but when did he throw it away?

What Xiao Hua meant by 'face' was the Eighth Prince's dignity. He had thrown his 'face' away when he started to shamelessly stalk Long Lian and keep on promoting his propaganda campaign for the Second Prince. He had thrown his dignity as a prince as he clung onto people and forced them to accept his views.

It had been three months since he started his propaganda and she wondered how many had been successfully 'brainwashed' by him.

Could it be that she was his new brainwashing target? Why else would he be willing to 'play' with her? Before he started to launch his attack, she should attack first!

"Eighth Prince, this servant had always wondered why you adored the Second Prince so much? Please pardon my curiosity, for the Third Prince never speaks about the other princes to this servant."

The Eighth Prince grinned, showing his small rows of teeth. His eyes sparkled with worship and his hands were grasped onto each other in front of his chest.

"The second brother is the best among other brothers! He's cool, handsome and strong! He even has a beautiful consort that matches his status! One day, the second brother will become the emperor, leading our Kingdom to success!"

...That's all? How disappointing.

She hesitated, wondering how to word it. "If Your Highness likes the Second Prince that much...why doesn't Your Highness visit him?"

Should it not be a fan's first priority to hug, touch, and lick- cough- talk to their idol?

The Eighth Prince visibly flinched and his eyes darted around as if looking for an escape route to avoid answering the question.

"Eighth Prince, do you not want to spend more time with the Second Prince? That way, would you not be loved by him? Is that not what you want, to always remain by Xiao Hua felt her words were heading in a very weird way, but if she did not continue pushing him, the Eighth Prince would retreat far away, cutting off her chance to question him.

"Who said I want to be loved by my second brother? I don't need it!"

This...could it be... Tsundere?!

"But..." Xiao Hua faked a concerned expression on her face. "The Second Prince might misunderstand your actions."

"Misunderstand? How so?" Woah, his ears just twitched.

"Many had witnessed Your Highness' hard work in gathering supporters for the Second Prince, but the Second Prince might think the Eighth Prince had an ill intention towards him."

"W-What are you trying to say?"

Oh-ho! That worried and scared look on his face, this young lady loves it!

Xiao Hua purposely looked worried. "The Second Prince might think the Eighth Prince is planning something that would harm him."

"I would not harm my male lead!"

Male lead? His worshipping was rather weird. Should it not be the hero?

"Of course Your Highness would not harm the Second Prince," Xiao Hua said soothingly, before aiming for the final kill. "But with such a method being used to help the Second Prince to gain supporters, many would think he's using Your Highness to force talented people to be his supporters and he would be known for bullying his brother. If the Second Prince thinks that way, this servant fears that the Eighth Prince would earn the Second Prince's hate instead."

The Eighth Prince's face drastically went pale, further stroking Xiao Hua's excitement. Oh yes, she must be sick to take pleasure in crushing people.

Is this how the female leads feel when they crush their enemies? It's addicting.

"The second brother would not think that way once I explain everything to him!"

"Of course. The Second Prince is an understanding person and would be able to see the Eighth Prince's goodwill," Xiao Hua said humoringly, happy that she had managed to mess with the Eighth Prince's mind.

Suddenly, the Eighth Prince glared at Xiao Hua. "But why are you not supporting the Second Prince?"

"Huh?"

"You should know that the Second Prince is the male lead! So why are you siding with the Third Prince that's going to die anyway? Are you stupid?"

....W-What's going on?

Xiao Hua stared at the Eighth Prince with something akin to fear and hope. She remembered the Eighth Prince calling the Second Prince as 'male lead', which was a term normally used in novels for modern readers. The Eighth Prince also said that the Third Prince will die in the future.

Could it be... "Y-You are a transmigrated person?"

CHAPTER 13: The Eighth Prince wants to run away with Elder Sister Hua

The Eighth Prince snorted, his eyes showed his contempt towards her. "I have not planned to reveal myself, but I can't endure watching how stupid you are anymore!" Xiao Hua's mouth twitched as annoyance steadily increased. How many times had this brat called her stupid? Did he think she was a super elastic mochi [8], foolishly absorbing his insult for free?

"Stupid?" Xiao Hua sneered. Her backbone that she had been forced to keep hidden since the day she first transmigrated into this world finally revealed itself. "The stupid one is clearly you!"

Hah, fellow transmigrator, you want to fight? Then this young lady will fight and stomp on you until you turn into a pancake!

She quickly continued on, refusing to give that stupid brat a chance to counter-attack. "Always clinging onto Ah Lian and stalking her everywhere, what are you trying to do? You are her brother, not a potential boyfriend!"

"W-What... don't talk nonsense!" However, the bright blush on his face betrayed his real thoughts.

Oh ho! We got Ah Lian's fan here!

"Hah! You like her yet you keep trying to brainwash her to like the Second Prince?

You should not get her involved in the fight in the first place, you crazy brat!" The Eighth Prince finally snapped. "I just want her to be with the Second Prince! It would be safer!"

"Safer? Fuck safer! Don't you know that the Second Prince of yours will use Ah Lian to do something dangerous because she's useful?"

"That's untrue! Stop slandering my male lead! He's a hero!"

"Hero your bloody head! Heroes will not save people and then manipulate them to do dangerous things for him! That's a con man!"

"He did not manipulate them! They are returning their gratitude to him willingly!

They were the ones that chose to follow him, pledging their life to him!"

"Those maidservants sacrificed their lives for the heroine just because of the sick gratitude for the hero and heroine! They die when they don't need to!"

"Pang Pang and Tang Tang?" The Eighth Prince frowned.

"I don't remember their name!" Xiao Hua snapped and waved it away. "But he could have ordered more guards to protect the heroine but he simply thinks that two maidservants would be enough to keep her safe, even knowing that they would die because their strength is not enough! He's not even bothered by it and just bloody happy the heroine is alive!"

"They died because they wanted to! To them, they are happy that their mistress survives! Do you think the male lead does not want to send more guards to his wife?

It's because he knows that his wife doesn't like guards hanging around her!"

"So he would sacrifice the life of his loyal and capable servants just to keep her happy? Both of them are stupid!"

"He's that type of person! To him, no one is as important to him as the female lead! What's the use of servants if they could not sacrifice their lives for their master?"

"That's just sick!"

"That's how Xiao Hua died too!" The Eighth Prince countered.

Xiao Hua gave him a look filled with utter disgust. "That's sick too!"

"What do you expect? Everyone survives and lives happily ever after?!"

"I don't care if they die or not but no way am I letting Ah Lian die just because she decided to help the hero and heroine! That idiot author is an idiot for doing an idiot thing like killing people as if they are worth nothing! Idiot!"

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!"

"I'm calling the author an idiot but you are an idiot too!"

"I'm that author you called an idiot!" The Eighth Prince stood up and slammed his small-sized palms on the table, the teapot and cups shaking from the force.

"Then you are a big idiot..." Xiao Hua paused and slowly stood up as her face dark-ened. "You are the author?"

"Haha! Surprised? You are one of the lucky readers that know I wrote that famous novel!" The Eighth Prince grinned smugly.

"Author?" Xiao Hua spat out the word as if it was a curse.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" The Eighth Prince screamed in fear when Xiao Hua suddenly climbed onto the table and leaped at him like a cheetah hunting its prey, her hands stretched out towards his neck.

"I will kill you!"

A black figure leaped from the top of a tree, landed between them, and grabbed onto Xiao Hua's hand before they could touch the Eighth Prince.

"Let go of me! I need to strangle him for killing Xiao Hua-" She abruptly stopped when her mind finally recognized the visual input sent to her brain through her eyes.

"Da Bei!" Xiao Hua squealed in shock. She had totally forgotten about her watch-dog!

The Eighth Prince stared at Da Bei in fear as well. He knows that if someone ever suspected him of being the fake Eighth Prince, he would be killed! Like Xiao Hua, he had also forgotten during the heat of the argument that there would be some guards hidden at every corner of the Third Prince's residence as protection.

"We need to silence him," the Eighth Prince's voice trembled as he stared at Da Bei with an unnatural bright gaze.

"What? No!" Xiao Hua quickly pulled Da Bei, who was still holding onto her arm, to hide behind her. A thin girl trying to protect a boy that looked to be twice stronger than her was a funny sight to look at.

"He will tell everyone and they will kill us!" the Eighth Prince exclaimed.

"I will only tell Master," Da Bei answered with a pair of calm eyes. He does not look disturbed that the Eighth Prince wanted to kill him.

The Eighth Prince calmed down slightly, as the Third Prince was not someone cruel to kill people. He was too passive and too timid to kill a person.

But... "The Third Prince might kill us! This body of mine is his brother's!"

"If that happens, we will run away then!" Xiao Hua declared.

"It's not easy to run away," Da Bei 'kindly' informed them.

Xiao Hua turned to Da Bei and gave him a glare, snapping fiercely. "You stay quiet for me!"

Da Bei unconsciously loosened his hold on Xiao Hua's arm in surprise, giving her the opportunity to pull her arm away.

"Let's run away now!" The Eighth Prince suddenly said with fire in his eyes.

Xiao Hua wanted to cry. She might have suggested running away, but she did not know where to run to! She did not know anyone outside and she had no idea how to get herself a job when there was no reason for people to trust a little girl and a little boy. Moreover, they would likely need to run away whenever they saw guards hanging around their hiding place.

The outside world is too dangerous for this young lady! (тг_7)

The Eighth Prince grabbed her hand to pull her towards the exit. Suddenly, she saw the Eighth Prince get tied up with ropes around his torso along with his arms.

Next, Xiao Hua was similarly tied up in the same way.

The one responsible for it said solemnly, "I apologize but without Master's permission, you cannot leave the manor."

The Eighth Prince let out a frustrated growl as he tried to free himself from the ropes. His efforts had gotten him intimate with the floor, squirming around like a worm. His originally clean clothes were now smeared with dirt.

"Da Bei, you heard everything, right?" Xiao Hua asked. She knew that they were in trouble, but strangely she did not feel panic, as if knowing it was inevitable. Whatever the Third Prince decided to do with them... she would accept it.

Could she be in shock?

Da Bei nodded, his eyes expressed the grave situation they were in. "This must be known to Master."

"And have us killed?" The Eighth Prince roared and struggled against the ropes even harder.

"That will be the Master's decision."

"Your Highness?!" Eunuch Heng that just returned from the kitchen was shocked at what he had seen.

Without caring, he dropped the food container and immediately dashed towards Da Bei. He was the only one standing there without being tied up, so naturally, Da Bei was the enemy.

Tian Chi was shocked to see the tied up Xiao Hua and Eighth Prince as well, and failed to save the fallen container from Eunuch Heng's hands.

Da Bei easily avoided Eunuch Heng's energy-coated palm and dropped a sentence that stopped the young eunuch's tracks. "I stopped them from running away."

"Run. away?" Eunuch Heng was rendered speechless. His eyes stared at the Eighth Prince with undisguised disappointment, causing the prince unable to continue looking at that pair of eyes.

"Why did you tie up Elder Sister Hua as well?" Tian Chi asked Da Bei as she put down the food containers on the table.

"The Eighth Prince wants to run away with Elder Sister Hua."

Suddenly, Eunuch Heng and Tian Chi's eyes on the tied-up duo turned strange.

"Elope?!" Eunuch Heng shrieked in such an unmanly voice. "Your Highness, please think wisely! The Emperor could confer the title of concubine to her for you! There's no need to choose such a drastic move!"

"That's right! The Third Prince would not be so cruel to separate both of you!" Tian Chi added a few cents in.

Team Transmigrated VS Team Servants.

Round 1 goes to Team Servants!

Team Transmigrated suffered a huge blow and vomited blood!

CHAPTER 14: Friends with this shrew? As if!

'Team Transmigrator' worked as a great team to change 'Team Servant's mind, convincing them that they were not eloping but only wanting to go to town to play.

Da Bei allowed Eunuch Heng to feed the Eighth Prince his lunch, without removing his ropes. The Eighth Prince was sensible enough not to cause a ruckus and let himself be fed, all the while glaring at Da Bei. Eunuch Heng felt his heart hurt from seeing his master being tied up, but Da Bei's cultivation strength was more or less the same as his own. Not to mention, Tian Chi would help Da Bei to fight against him.

After the Eighth Prince was done eating, Da Bei put the Eighth Prince and Xiao Hua inside the Third Prince's study to wait for the Third Prince's return from the palace.

Eunuch Heng wanted to stay inside the room with the Eighth Prince but was stopped by Tian Chi. "This is the Third Prince's study. No one is allowed inside without permission."

"Then, please allow this one to wait outside the room," Eunuch Heng requested. He would rather have the Third Prince oversee the matter than letting the Emperor do so.

Eunuch Heng knew that for all these years, the Third Prince had kept an eye on the Eighth Prince's safety. The Eighth Prince did not know about it, but Eunuch Heng had spotted a few of the Third Prince's men guarding the Eighth Prince at a distance.

Da Bei stood guard outside the room, making sure that Team Transmigrated did not escape, as well as keeping an eye to make sure Eunuch Heng did not step into the study room.

The Eighth Prince relentlessly tried to find a way to escape, but creepily, every window that he managed to push open with his shoulder would have Da Bei standing right outside with eyes that demanded him to stay put, or else.

Xiao Hua did not join in to search for escape and sat on a chair. Growing bored of seeing a person pushing open the window and another person closing the window, Xiao Hua decided to start a conversation.

"Hey, idiot author, how do you know I'm not Xiao Hua?"

"I'm not an idiot! You are the idiot for continuing to speak in English!"

"Eh? You know English? I thought you only knew Chinese." After all, the novel was originally written in Chinese and it was only thanks to a Google translate that English readers such as Le Xiao Ting can enjoy reading the novel when the translator's speed was too slow to bear.

"How rude! I did learn some basic English!"

"Oh, sorry for being rude." Xiao Hua vaguely remembered she had inserted some English words when she scolded him earlier, yet he could understand her.

The Eighth Prince huffed. "When did you arrive here?"

"Nearly six months ago. I could hardly keep track of the days here."

"That's because you are stupid."

With a vicious snarl, she sent a kick at the Eighth Prince's hip, helping him to kiss the floor.

"You violent woman!"

"I can be more violent if you continue calling me stupid, you tofu head!"

"What kind of insult is that? Does tofu head sound stupid?"

"An original and creative insult! Want to use it, pay me the royalty!"

"You crazy chicken!"

"You mad duck!"

The Eighth Prince finally gave in and started to have a peace talk. "Okay, enough!

Let's talk like civilized adults! This big brother won't degrade himself to fight with a Little girl."

"What big brother? Your novel where the hero and heroine rule the Kingdom after killing people here and there seems like a plot that an angsty teenager would come up with! No wonder your pen-name is 'Heise'. It's referring to your black mood, right?"

"This brother's pen-name is Heise because this brother likes the black, okay!"

"I'm actually surprised you are a guy. I thought you might be a girl. I had to praise you for understanding a female's mind so well." Xiao Hua's eyes glimmered as if she had been enlightened. The novel was written from the heroine's point of view that everyone naturally assumed that the author would be female.

"You think I want to write this kind of story?" The Eighth Prince roared in injustice.

"I was threatened by my girlfriend, okay? She will break up with me if I do not write a novel she loves!"

"Then just break up with her," Xiao Hua said flatly, her eyes showing her contempt for this idiocy.

"Fuck! What's wrong with you! Why are you so different than usual?" The Eighth Prince stared at Xiao Hua as if she had been possessed by an evil spirit. He truly liked the adorably silly yet honest maidservant. But when had the adorable maid been replaced by this scary girl that kept on insulting him?!

"That's called 'in character', Mr.Out of Character. The Third Prince already knows you are weird and planning something. I've been sent to find out about your plans." Xiao Hua did not bother hiding it because even if Heise supported the hero and heroine, he was still from her original world. Naturally, she does not want Heise to die if possible.

"Another thing! Why are you not helping the female and male lead?" The Eighth Prince asked. "Did you not read my book till the end? Or had you come to this world earlier than me? Even if you haven't, you should still know they are the main characters!"

The main characters would not die so easily, with their promised future to be full of happiness and grandiose. Unless the author loves a bad ending and enjoys torturing their main characters, the main characters will not face hardship in the end.

"I did read until the end. I even read the comments scolding you for being an idiot for killing Ah Lian and the Third Prince before I came over."

"I wrote the reasons in there!" The Eighth Prince protested.

"You did, but that does not mean the readers would accept it. Haish, forget it. You already wrote it anyway, no point in arguing about it. I did not help the hero and heroine because I might die if I did so. You, as the author, should be the one that's clearest on their habits and personality. You know that they would never feel that it's wrong to sacrifice their servants just to achieve their aim."

"Even so, that's better than siding with the Third Prince that's going to die." The Eighth Prince snorted. "I can see that the Third Prince is smarter and no longer a car-pet-like person thanks to your hard work. But that still won't change anything."

"Wait, you think I'm the one that changed him?" Xiao Hua shakes her head wildly.

"Of course not! He was already like that when I appeared here!"

The Eighth Prince frowned. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you?"

"I will earnestly believe you are clever if you believe me." Xiao Hua matched her sentence with an exaggerated earnest expression. She would have given him a thumbs up too if she was not tied up.

"You die for me!" The Eighth Prince roared. Xiao Hua did not take offense at what he said because she can see it was said without malice.

"Now tell me the truth. What the heck are you doing, becoming the male lead's enemy?" The Eighth Prince demanded.

"I did not become anyone's enemy," Xiao Hua said, purposely taking his question in another way.

"You...stop making me angry!"

Xiao Hua sighed and stopped bullying the author. She guiltily admitted that she had taken out her frustration on him. "I'm telling the truth. The Third Prince is OOC [9] to the max, yet everyone seems to remain the same."

"You know why he's like that?" The Eighth Prince looked a bit disturbed. "There must be something or someone that changed the story."

Feeling annoyed, Xiao Hua snapped, "After you find out who's the one that changed things, what are you going to do? Stop that person?"

"Naturally! It would be bad if things change from my novel!"

Xiao Hua's eyes turned cold. "Even if Xiao Hua, Long Lian, and the Third Prince would die? As well as everyone with royal blood?"

The Eighth Prince hesitated. "The male and female lead will spare them if they support them."

"You don't even believe that!" Xiao Hua snapped. "You know the Second Prince will kill them even if they decide to help him!"

"I don't!" The Eighth Prince denied strongly yet his eyes showed his inner conflict.

"He will not do that if they did not block his path!"

"Then don't regret it when you face his blade one day, 'Eighth Prince'!" The door opened with a loud creak, effectively stopping their quarrel.

"This prince had high hopes for the two of you becoming friends." The Third Prince entered the room with eyes filled with disappointment as he gazed at them.

"Friends with this shrew? As if!" The Eighth Prince let out a loud 'hmph' and the ropes stopped him from doing a crossed arms gesture.

Not hearing the expected retaliation that would echo his statement, he glanced at Xiao Hua and was shocked to see a submissive and adorable girl.

Xiao Hua's head was lowered with her bangs casting a shadow over her face. Her eyes were staring at the ground, avoiding any eye contact. But her trembling form and tightly pressed lips made one feel pity for her.

Eighth Prince: Shit! Where did that wild girl disappear to?!

CHAPTER 15: Are you trying to force an appointment with Lord Death for

"Untie Xiao Hua," the Third Prince ordered.

"Hey, what about me?" The Eighth Prince felt wronged when Da Bei only freed Xiao Hua. Afraid that any move would incur hate, she did not dare to rub the stinging pain from the tightness of the rope.

The Third Prince gave the Eighth Prince a vague smile with eyes that emitted a dangerous contemplation. "You have not displayed good behaviour to earn your free-dom."

The Eighth Prince very much wished to protest about it but the Third Prince's piercing eyes discouraged him. He was very aware the Third Prince was the one calling the shots now.

"Da Bei, leave us."

After Da Bei closed the door, the Third Prince sat on a chair beside Xiao Hua with his inner energy released from his usual restraint, and directed the pressure onto the two transmigrated people. "Da Bei has told me everything."

Xiao Hua closed her eyes in despair, losing her last hope that the Third Prince might not know the truth. After a while, she opened her eyes, and immediately slid down from the chair, shifted until she faced the Third Prince, and kowtowed. "This servant would never betray the Third Prince! This lowly person's life belongs to the Third Prince!"

"Hey, you! Stop looking for death!" The Eighth Prince tried to stop Xiao Hua but she ignored him.

"What's your name?" The Third Prince suddenly asked.

Xiao Hua lifted her head to look at the Third Prince in confusion. Who was he talking to?

"Your real name, 'Xiao Hua'."

With a nervous gulp, she answered, "Le Xiao Ting."

"Le Xiao Ting. Where is the real Xiao Hua?" Xiao Hua trembled in fear at how cold the Third Prince sounded. Even his usual smile was absent, and his eyes were not warm at all.

"I... I don't know. When I arrived in this world, I was already inside this body, in-

side a cage heading to Mong Lu manor in the Munzhu Country."

The Third Prince turned to the Eighth Prince, who looked unnerved at the sudden attention. "You?"

Heise jeered. "Huh, what makes you think I will answer you?"

Xiao Hua whispered, "Heise, if you continue to be uncooperative, the likelihood of you dying will be higher. Even your hero and heroine will not save you. To them, you are just one of the Emperor's offspring, not at all related to them. You have no use-"

"Okay, enough! I get it, all right!" The Eighth Prince snapped in frenzy. "I know about my characters very well. I know they would kill me in the end just to tie up the loose ends!"

The Eighth Prince glared at the Third Prince fiercely. "And he might kill us too because we know he's not the real Third Prince!"

Xiao Hua's heart missed a beat. Oh gosh, this stupid author! She had already suspected that the Third Prince was a fake but for Heise to say it straight to his face... Are you trying to force an appointment with Lord Death for us?!

The Third Prince stared at the Eighth Prince coldly but it was more indifference than anger. "If I guess correctly, you believe this world is your creation, Heise?"

"I know this world is my creation because I wrote it! I created all the characters in my book and planned out their futures. I know my characters' future and their se-crets!"

"You say I'm a fake because I'm not acting like how you had written about me, am I right?" The Third Prince asked.

"Yeah. So who are you and what happened to the real Third Prince?" Suddenly the Eighth Prince gasped. "Are you a transmigrator too?"

"Transmigrator is a soul from another world that possesses a dead person's body.

According to that explanation, I'm not a transmigrator. But I can assure you, I am the real Long Zhu."

Xiao Hua wondered why the Third Prince did not seem to react as badly as she had imagined after knowing their real identity. He also seemed to know quite a bit about transmigration.

"Did someone tell you things that you are not supposed to know? Who was it?" The Eighth Prince demanded to know.

"You are not in a position to ask." Suddenly, the Third Prince's pressure increased and focused right at the Eighth Prince. "When did you possess Long Ming's body?"

"T-The day before the event. You know... the family event about the Second Prince's engagement!"

The intimidating aura that oozed from the Third Prince stopped and the person himself looked depressed. Xiao Hua turned her head to the door when a sound of agonized cries could be heard from outside.

"Come in, Eunuch Heng," The Third Prince invited. The door only opened after a moment, and the sight of the crying Eunuch Heng still broke Xiao Hua's heart even if she feared him.

The Eighth Prince's face paled. "You heard everything?"

Eunuch Heng shakily stepped into the room, and Da Bei closed the door, guarding the room again. He stopped in the middle of the room and faced the Third Prince before kowtowing. "This servant will not forget this gratitude!"

Eunuch Heng was allowed to know the truth from Da Bei and the Third Prince let him listen in to their conversation. The Third Prince could have disposed Eunuch Heng to keep the transmigrators' secret and planted his own man at the Eighth Prince's side. For the Third Prince to allow Eunuch Heng to remain by the Eighth Prince's side, it showed that he was not as cruel as Eunuch Heng had originally thought.

"Remain beside the Eighth Prince. Stop him if he seeks trouble."

"Yes, Your Highness! This servant will make sure the Eighth Prince does not meet the Second Prince or Fifth Miss Liu!"

"What?" The Eighth Prince's mouth hung wide open. "You can't do that!"

The Third Prince stood up from his chair and approached the Eighth Prince. Each step he took shook the team transmigrator's heart. He stopped in front of the Eighth Prince, silently examining the younger boy.

The Third Prince opened his mouth and revealed something shocking. "You two are not the first outsiders that have travelled to this world. Eunuch Heng, explain to them."

"Eighth...Eighth Prince and Sister Xiao Hua, in the records of history, there were records of people claiming to be from a different world. However, there were never cases of having a transmigrator possessing our people's bodies. But there is a life journal of a transmigrator belonging to a distant relative of the royalty."

That transmigrator was also the one that advised the late Emperor to amend the inheritance rule of letting the firstborn prince be the next Emperor.

These records were kept and guarded by the royalty to ensure that the information was not known to people that would not hesitate to use it for their selfish purposes.

Xiao Hua unconsciously gulped. Those that had transmigrated into other people's bodies would most likely keep their mouths shut in fear of getting killed. To think that she and the author were the first soul transmigrators that exposed themselves to dan-ger!

"Are there any records on how they return to their own world?" The Eighth Prince asked hopefully.

Eunuch Heng shook his head in negative. "We have no knowledge of how they appeared here, but once they arrived here, they were not able to leave."

Xiao Hua's legs went soft and she fell to the ground. She knew that she might not be able to return to her original world but to hear it said out loud was the same as being forced to accept the reality. Silent tears started to leak from her mournful eyes, shaking the Third Prince's stone heart.

Her tears had the Third Prince move to pick her up from the ground and wrap his arms around her tiny body. He tried to console her by gently patting her back. When he was younger, he would console Long Lian with hugs and pats, but his body was much smaller then and he was unable to lift her up like how he did to Xiao Hua now.

Both ignored the Eighth Prince grilling Eunuch Heng for more information, unable to accept that they could not return.

When Long Zhu had assigned the 'punishment' to his little maid, he had already expected his eighth brother was no longer the original soul and was unsure what was his intention in taking over his brother's body. What he never expected was for Xiao Hua to be a transmigrator as well.

Long Zhu had felt deceived that the Xiao Hua he had treated well all this time was not the Xiao Hua that had sacrificed her life to save him. It was only after that little maid's death did Long Lian reveal to him about that maid's feelings for him. It was because she loved him that she would sacrifice her life for him.

Once he opened his eyes in his second life, he started to examine things deeper and found that in his past life, Xiao Hua had often delivered gifts or snacks to him under the guise of doing an errand for the princess. But Long Zhu was oblivious to the bait that was purposely dangled in front of him and treated her like other ordinary maids.

After knowing the truth, Long Zhu's heart cooled and he decided to keep his distance from this fake. But the sight of her little figure oozing with anguish crumbled his resolve in less time than it would take to finish drinking a pot of tea. His body had already moved without his permission to comfort her before he could stop it, his heart unable to bear seeing the fake in pain.

Somehow, this 'Xiao Hua' became more important than the Xiao Hua he was indebted to.

CHAPTER 16: You are the Xiao Hua that I know

On the other hand, the Eighth Prince was more concerned with Eunuch Heng's reaction to the shocking news.

"You...why are you not..demanding me to return the Eighth Prince's body and kill me?" The Eighth Prince asked warily. When he first saw the little eunuch crying, he had believed that the owner of the body he was currently possessing was truly loved by the eunuch.

Yet, why did the young eunuch look grateful even when his eyes expressed his deep pain?

"Kill? This servant would not dare to do so!" Eunuch Heng cried in fear.

"But I'm not your Eighth Prince!"

Eunuch Heng looked over to the Third Prince, seeking permission. But the Third Prince did not even notice the young eunuch's stare, being busy comforting the crying girl in his arms to care about anything else.

That sight was spicy to his eyes, so the Eighth Prince purposely said loudly, "Oh, is that why you side with the Third Prince, Xiao Hua? Love certainly explains every-thing!"

It took a moment for Xiao Hua to understand what the Eighth Prince had said. Once she finally comprehended the words, the pain in her heart immediately took a back seat as she quickly pushed herself away from the Third Prince's arms. Her face quickly turned red in embarrassment. "T-That's not it! Don't speak nonsense!"

The Third Prince gave the Eighth Prince a disapproving look. "There are things you should not speak out loud even if they are the truth, eighth brother."

"Yeah, yeah- wait, what are you saying, Your Highness!" Xiao Hua squealed in embarrassment. "Please do not make fun of this servant!"

Xiao Hua avoided looking into the Third Prince's eyes for he suddenly scrutinized her anew now that he knew she was not the original Xiao Hua. He could see that this girl was not pretending to be shy and acting coquettishly to steal innocent males' hearts.

Eunuch Heng revealed an awkward smile when the Third Prince no longer paid attention to the two light bulbs, his examining eyes glued onto Xiao Hua's every gesture that betrayed her thoughts. Since the Third Prince had heard what he said but did not stop him, Eunuch Heng assumed the Third Prince permitted him to explain.

"Eighth Prince, you know that the...real Eighth Prince had turned...silly. That is the reason why the Third Prince isn't that upset enough to remove you."

"Eunuch Heng," the Third Prince suddenly called out, getting a surprised jerk from the eunuch, who suddenly looked guilty as if he had said something he should not have. "You are making this prince sound cruel."

"This servant does not dare!" Eunuch Heng quickly went down to his knees, his forehead kissing the ground.

"Stand up. This prince is indeed cruel... for being relieved that my eighth brother no longer needs to suffer."

"Hey, what exactly did you mean by that?" The Eighth Prince frowned in disap-proval. "Being 'silly' isn't suffering. He could have gotten well as he grew older."

"That might happen, but this prince does not know my eighth brother's future. Now that you have taken over his body, this prince will just take it that my eighth brother has departed to the afterlife, finally reunited with his mother."

Although it might sound wrong, Heise could not deny that the Eighth Prince might be happier to leave this life and reunite with his mother, the cause of his insanity.

Meeting his mother and basking in her love would be a good choice to relieve the Eighth Prince's trauma of witnessing his mother taking her last breath. That crushing helplessness when he could not do anything to save his dying mother must have also tormented him every day.

"That day, this servant found the Eighth Prince unconscious on the floor, with a head injury and blood spilled over the table," Eunuch Heng said, his eyes shaking with sadness.

"We suspect that my eighth brother's soul left and it allowed you to enter his body."

The Third Prince looked at Xiao Hua. "How did you feel when you first woke up?"

Xiao Hua grimaced at the traumatic memory. "I felt very weak and hungry." Fortu-nately, the kidnappers gave her a cold, dry bun not long after that.

"That must be how Xiao Hua died!" The Eighth Prince exclaimed.

"But Xiao Hua did not die that way in your book!" Xiao Hua protested.

The Third Prince rubbed his aching temple. "That may be my fault." Three sets of eyes stared questioningly at the Third Prince. "I had focused my attack on Munzhu's food supplies for the armies."

Heise and Xiao Hua: ".." What a tyrant!

Xiao Hua: Wait, the author is free from the death appointment, but she's still on the list, with pending status!

"W-What about me?" Xiao Hua asked in fear. "P-Please don't kill me!"

It was understandable that the author would be spared because of the body he was currently possessing, but Xiao Hua was just a maid with no special background, the perfect small cannon fodder.

Just have her killed and there was no need to worry about anyone popping out to seek revenge for her!

The Third Prince blinked. "Why would I kill you?"

"I-I'm not Xiao Hua."

The Third Prince cupped her lowered chin and tilted it upward so they could make eye contact. "I don't kill innocent people. Even if you are not Xiao Hua, you are the Xiao Hua that I know."

He had never interacted with the original Xiao Hua, other than asking about Long Lian through her. He did not even know the real Xiao Hua's behaviour and person-ality. Long Zhu only felt gratitude for the girl's noble actions of protecting him with her own life.

Mummy, your daughter thinks she's in love. 

Even if the Third Prince shared the same face as her boss, the way he treated her was different. Her boss may have cared about her but he never touched her or pampered her in the way the Third Prince did to her.

Which lady would not have her heart stolen by a guy that treats her as if she was his precious person?

The Eighth Prince, who was ignorant of the pink atmosphere between the Third Prince and Xiao Hua, decided to announce something. "You will become the Emperor of the Guilin Kingdom. His eyes flashed with determination and wanted no refusal from the Third Prince.

Now that Heise had calmed down and had the time to process everything, his reasoning and analytical thoughts swiftly corrected his mindset. Deep down in his heart, he did not really like the way his male lead did things, but because that was the type of male lead his girlfriend liked to read, he decided to follow their personality.

They might be cool and all, but honestly speaking, these types of men would not be a good choice to be a sensible and merciful ruler.

Who would want an Emperor that decided everything as long as his Empress agreed to it? The Emperor that will kill or ruin whoever offended his Empress would not be accepted by his subjects. Sadly, people in this era had no choice but to submit to whoever held the most power.

Did those in power think that they were the greatest being under Heaven and everyone else weaker than them were ants to be trampled anytime they wanted?

Regrettably, Heise totally dodged the fact that he had done exactly the same thing those male leads did for their wife. He had willingly broken his mind and morals to write a novel that his girlfriend loved to read.

He also did not see that the Third Prince seemed to be heading down that path for Xiao Hua as well...

The Third Prince chuckled. "I will not be the Emperor of the Guilin Kingdom. The Crown Prince will be the next Emperor."

"What? Why not? You are seriously better than that Crown Prince! He's a womanizer and someone with a short temper that clouded his mind most of the time! Did you not notice he keeps on fighting with the Second Prince because he's a resentful and narrow-minded person?"

"But I like my eldest brother that way. Just like Father Emperor, a beauty lover and courageous to fight for their rights."

The Eighth Prince and Xiao Hua sweatdropped. Wasn't that the same way Heise had described the Crown Prince? The Third Prince just made it sound nicer, that's all!

"Well shit, the Emperor and the Crown Prince are the same," the Eighth Prince said out loud.

"So my eighth brother agreed that our eldest brother is the right one to be the next Emperor." The Third Prince beamed, his smile forcing the Eighth Prince to agree with him but did not hide the plain dissatisfaction from showing on his face.

"Eunuch Heng, please delay Princess Long Lian until we finish our discussion." With his high cultivation, Long Zhu could sense every individual inside his residence, including his younger sister that quickly made her way towards them.

Eunuch Heng nodded and quickly went out to do as he bid.

"This prince wants to know how the story that you wrote ends."

The Eighth Prince was cautious, unsure if he should tell the Third Prince about it.

He could see there were extra characters not inside his novel that could change important events, just like the body he currently possessed.

"The story ends with the Second Prince becoming the Emperor and Liu Chu Chu as his Empress," Xiao Hua helpfully answered.

"Hey!" The Eighth Prince snapped at Xiao Hua. "Why are you telling him?"

Xiao Hua looked down at her lap, her tiny fingers playing with her sleeves and avoided the Eighth Prince's angry eyes. "I just want to help the Third Prince."

"You lovesick fool!" The Eighth Prince pointed at her accusingly.

"You wrote this novel for your girlfriend," Xiao Hua said in return. Even if this young lady is a lovesick fool, at least she got great taste, okay! Just look at the Third Prince!

The Eighth Prince practically growled and his eyes seemed to be spitting flames. "I had written that for her, yet she still chased after that Bai Gongzi!" Xiao Hua squealed unconsciously at the familiar pen name. 

"Bai Gongzi [101! Oh my gosh! I read all the novels written by Bai Gongzi! They are so good.." She trailed off when the Eighth Prince glared at her murderously. 

"Erm, sorry. But I can see why your girlfriend likes Bai Gongzi, ahahaha." Xiao Hua laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheeks in discomfort.

"Do you want to be his wife [11] too?" The Eighth Prince suddenly asked, stomping his smaller feet towards her. "Do you want to kiss him, worship him, and have babies with him?"

Xiao Hua's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"Argh!" The Eighth Prince clutched his head as if in pain. "Do you know how many times my girlfriend says that?! What's so good about Bai Gongzi? That person is just a writer, what's so good about writing those terrible novels?! This Bai Gongzi might be fat and ugly in real life!"

Xiao Hua's eyes unconsciously searched for the Third Prince to help, but who would have thought he was treating them as his entertainment while peeling a mandarin orange to eat.

Suddenly, Xiao Hua's eyes lit up in enlightenment. "Bai" is white. 'Hei" is black. Is that why you chose that name?"

"That's not important!" The Eighth Prince roared but his ears were red in embar-rassment.

"Okay..but do you know that Bai Gongzi is actually a girl?"

"I know! That's why I'm so angry!"

Xiao Hua was confused. "But... Why would you be jealous - cough - angry at another female? Your girlfriend doesn't like girls that way, right?"

"My girlfriend is a guy!"

This young lady seemed to have heard something outrageous! (0_0)

"Argh! This lord had worked so hard to bend my girlfriend but that flirty author so easily straightened him back!" The Eighth Prince flung his arms around to vent out his anger.

The Third Prince, who was sitting beside Xiao Hua, turned to her to ask a question.

"Who is 'girlfriend'? And why did he bend this 'girlfriend?"

... Is this how young lady supposed to answer?

CHAPTER 17: I will not put Xiao Hua in danger

With the Third Prince staring at her with eyes that were waiting for an answer, Xiao Hua was unable to find a way to escape from answering him. But her answer might shock him! People from olden times have no such things as homosexuals. Le Xiao Ting had learned the term 'cut sleeves' from historical boy love novels, but she was not sure if it was a true fact or not.

So she just settled for a simple explanation. "Girlfriend is a term for a man calling the girl he's courting but has not promised to marry each other yet. Heise bends his girlfriend because he's just being cruel."

"Hey!"

"Everyone died," Xiao Hua changed the subject, not wanting the Third Prince to find out more. "Ah Lian, the Crown Prince, the Emperor and the Empress were dead because of the Second Prince."

Sorry Second Prince, but this young lady decided to pour oil on you to distract the Third Prince.

She was unwilling to corrupt the lovable Third Prince! Xiao Hua was also afraid that she might accidentally bend the Third Prince, drowning herself in her tears of re-gret!

Goodbye, Fujoshi [12] life! This young lady will return to the straight path and promote boy and girl love!

"You will die too because of the Second Prince and Liu Chu Chu." Xiao Hua was such a hardworking employee, continuously pouring oil onto the golden couple. The Third Prince needs more material to ignite his flames of vengeance.

She had never admitted that she was a nice person.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop bad-mouthing my male lead!"

"I'm just saying what I've read from your novel, so the one that actually bad mouths your darling male lead is you. You are the one that makes us, the readers, hate your characters."

The Eighth Prince could not refute that. When his girlfriend read his novel just for the sake of appeasing Heise despite having zero interest in it, he turned black and killed off many of his characters just to get his girlfriend's attention. His fans blew their tops but his girlfriend did not even react, too busy sending love emails to Bai Gongzi.

"The male lead had a reason for doing that," The Eighth Prince reasoned, but it sounded weak to their ears. He just argued for the sake of arguing!

"He did that for revenge!" The Eighth Prince snapped when he noticed the two of them were staring at him with scepticism. He pointed at the Third Prince accusingly.

"It's your father's fault! He saw a beauty and kidnapped her even though she was already engaged to someone else!"

"As an Emperor, he can do so," The Third Prince answered indifferently and continued peeling the skin of the mandarin oranges. "And that lady is just engaged, not married."

"That's still the wrong thing to do! It's like a flower thief stealing a bride!"

"Father Emperor had publicly offered a proposal to her family, even given them ten chests filled with gold and treasures. The He Patriarch agreed and let his daughter enter the palace." The Third Prince raised an eyebrow at the Eighth Prince as if asking,

'So where did the act of stealing come from?'

"A low-ranked minister would never defy the Emperor!" The Eighth Prince argued, refusing to 'die' so easily. "The Emperor knowingly breaks up the loving couple just for his lust! Using money to pressure them, it's disgusting!"

Surprisingly, the Third Prince nodded in agreement. "Father Emperor is famous for that. Many ministers feared that their wives or daughters would be picked up by the Emperor. It is only now that the Father Emperor's attention is focused on Concubine He, did they dare to ease their guard."

He waited until the Eighth Prince's face revealed satisfaction before counter-attacking. "What do you think? Which is the worst offender, a lustful man that picks up beautiful women regardless of their true wishes or a man that murdered a whole family just for a man's sin?"

That question rendered the Eighth Prince into silence. He had written his male lead according to how other famous novels were, and his justification for his character's actions was morally broken. But writing was different from reality and Heise could not justify the male lead's actions from his own mouth.

"You...you knew why the Second Prince killed...' Xiao Hua asked hesitantly.

The Third Prince's eyes darkened with wrath. "Yes."

"Argh! Fine, you win!" The Eighth Prince sulked, his cheeks bulging. Xiao Hua wished to pull his adorable dough-like cheeks to test if it was as elastic as she imag-ined.

The Third Prince chuckled as the rage in his eyes died. Reaching out to rub the Eighth Prince's head, he praised, "Good boy."

"Hey, I'm older than you!" The Eighth Prince said that but he did not avoid the touch.

"What do you plan to do, Third Prince?" Xiao Hua asked worriedly.

The Third Prince reached out his other hand to rub Xiao Hua's head. "No need to worry. I have plans to stop him from succeeding."

"I'm older than you too..." Xiao Hua said weakly but did not avoid his touch, even if she knew that his hands were stained from the mandarin orange juices. "Third Prince, you need to know that Liu Chu Chu is also a transmigrated soul."

"That does explain why she suddenly became a talented person with a different personality." The Third Prince had his people investigate Liu Chu Chu's background and was confused when the report was not consistent with what he had seen.

Liu Chu Chu was born weak and average at best, often bullied by her own family which led to their own servants copying their master to treat her poorly. One day, her personality changed just like the night to day, skilfully defending herself from the abuse and displaying her own intelligence and talent. It was only because there was no problem in her memories and without any signs of her being an imposter that everyone around her had to accept her extraordinary changes.

"Wait, there's something I need to know!" The Eighth Prince exclaimed. "Third

Prince, shouldn't you fall for Liu Chu Chu at first sight?" since ne said he was the real third Prince, then ne should nave Tallen for blu chu

Chu just like how he had written in his novel.

The Third Prince's smile suddenly looked scary. "This prince is not interested in someone that has a terrible judgment with shady principles."

"Eh?" Team Transmigrated echoed.

The Third Prince eyed the door for a moment before he said, "Just know this, Heise, that if you choose to help your 'hero' and 'heroine', you have a hand in destroying the Four Kingdoms and the world."

Four Kingdoms? That was the second time Xiao Hua heard of it.

"What are the 'Four Kingdoms'?" the Eighth Prince stared at the Third Prince in confusion.

The Third Prince looked stunned. "You don't know the Four Kingdoms?"

"No. Are they important places?"

"..The Four Kingdoms were created with respect for the four great Celestial Beasts.

Our Guilin Kingdom represents the Azure Dragon."

"I have heard about the four Celestial Beasts, but I never include them in my novel."

"What about demon invasion?"

"No. What's that?"

The Third Prince chuckled as if the Eighth Prince's answer amused him. "I see.

Your novel is all about the Second Prince and Liu Chu Chu, isn't it?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" The Eighth Prince grew frustrated from the lack of answers.

"Nothing will go wrong if you stay away from them." The Third Prince stood up and passed Xiao Hua the mandarin oranges that he had peeled. "I do not want to harm you when this prince crushes them."

Xiao Hua stared down at the mandarin oranges in her hand, wondering what she should do with them. She stared at the Third Prince, who had not said anything, so she slowly stuffed one of the oranges into her mouth, and the Third Prince did nothing to stop her.

Could it be that he wanted her to eat these?

"Don't be so confident. It's best not to underestimate them!" The Eighth Prince warned. The Third Prince just smiled and walked towards the door.

"Wait, you did not say what changed you!" the Eighth Prince suddenly remem- bered to ask the very important question.

The Third Prince let out a sinister laugh. "After experiencing your life once, surely

you will change too."

He opened the door just as Long Lian arrived, huffing in dissatisfaction at Eunuch Heng trying to block her way. Because Eunuch Heng was not allowed to touch the princess, he could not stop her when she used her body to make way for herself.

"Third brother, what are all of you discussing?" Long Lian immediately demanded, irked that she was not involved. She knew they must be interrogating the eighth broth-er. She wants to know too!

"What had Mother Empress decided on your fifteenth birthday celebration?"

Seeing that her third brother did not answer her, she knew she would not get any answers she wanted from him.

"It's the same as every year. You know that." Long Lian tried to slip past the Third Prince to get into the study room where Xiao Hua and the Eighth Prince were in. The Third Prince grabbed Long Lian's arm, pulling her along as he started walking in the opposite direction.

Xiao Hua could hear Long Lian making a ruckus about something but her mind was busy matching all the clues in her head.

"He's a reincarnator!" The Eighth Prince exclaimed confidently.

Xiao Hua contradicted. "More specifically, he travelled back to his past, judging from the way he seems to know things that have not happened yet."

"He might have read my novel too before he 'died', the Eighth Prince denied.

"That also explains why he knows things."

"No. Did you forget what he said earlier? 'After experiencing your life once' is the keyword! And he does not even know what 'girlfriend' means. How can he reincarnate from the future if he does not know that?"

"He can. Not everyone knows what 'girlfriend' means."

Xiao Hua smacked the Eighth Prince's back. "Stop arguing, would you! Do you love to win that much? Did you bend a straight guy just for the sake of winning? You are so weird!"

The Eighth Prince was shocked at the sudden physical smack, followed by the verbal smack. This two-faced girl! Just wait until this big brother unravels your disguise to your beloved Third Prince!

"Third brother! Why can't I know about it?" Long Lian asked in frustration. The Third Prince had brought them to the Summer Courtyard that Long Lian had half claimed as her property.

"If you ask Xiao Hua about it, you are no longer welcome here," the Third Prince said

Long Lian gaped in disbelief. No matter what she did to annoy her third brother, there was never once did he threaten her like this. He usually just punished her by having her copy etiquette books or learn new things such as cooking.

"It's very dangerous?" Long Lian asked cautiously.

"I will not put Xiao Hua in danger." The Third Prince said that with the purpose of calming his sister's fear for her friend's safety.

However, the Princess took his explanation as a confession of his feelings for Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua as a sister, get!

CHAPTER 18: Stop killing the game, Long Lian

Xiao Hua headed to the Summer Courtyard with the Eighth Prince and Eunuch Heng.

She knew Long Lian would be there because it was her favourite place and every time she came here, she would drag Xiao Hua to the Summer Courtyard.

Although the courtyards were named in seasons, their interior designs were the same, with no decorations that represented their name and so she found it difficult to navigate the paths. The only courtyard with a more personal touch in the manor was actually the Silence Courtyard where the servants stayed.

Sure enough, in the Summer Courtyard, Long Lian and the Third Prince were sitting inside a room, playing Chinese chess. With a glance, Xiao Hua could see the black side was dominating the game.

"Wait, I don't want to put it here." Long Lian removed a white stone from the board and placed it elsewhere. Unfortunately, her new move still allowed the Third Prince to eat one of her white stones.

"This spot can still be eaten?" Long Lian exclaimed. "I take back my move!"

"Stop killing the game, Long Lian," the Third Prince reprimanded but he did not make a move to stop Long Lian shifting the stones around.

This was not the first time Xiao Hua had seen how Long Lian destroyed the chess game but surprisingly the Third Prince never refused to play with her even if she boldly cheated. If only they could replace the Third Prince with another handsome gentleman that had no blood relation with Long Lian, Xiao Hua will do her best to match them up as a couple.

Le Xiao Ting had never seen a guy with that much patience to let a girl massacre a game while playing with him.

Long Lian finally stopped playing when her every move was blocked by the Third Prince. The Third Prince could only helplessly sigh when his sister finally gave up.

"Eighth brother, Mother Empress says to return to the palace before night-time. I took the opportunity to ask the kitchen to cook the meat I've caught from the hunting game. Eighth brother will love the taste."

Actually, the Eighth Prince wanted to leave after bidding farewell, but now that the Third Prince had offered food, he could not be rude. "Thank you, third brother! Third Brother always has delicious food," the Eighth Prince gave his thanks.

Tian Zi approached and gave a curtsy. "The meals will be served in a moment, Your Highness."

"Have the meal served here."

"Understood, Your Highness."

Long Lian could only give up on the game, allowing Tian Zi and Tian Chi to swiftly and efficiently pack the chessboard away and wipe the table clean with a wet cloth.

"Xiao Hua, come over here!" Long Lian pulled Xiao Hua to sit beside her. "When's your birthday?"

"I don't know." Le Xiao Ting does not know Xiao Hua's birthday and unconsciously answered honestly. Shit! I need to train to hold my tongue more!

"You don't know?" Long Lian, as expected, was surprised at that.

"This... Xiao Hua does not remember, because Xiao Hua did not know what day it was. My family is also too poor to celebrate birthdays"

Yes, please think of this young lady as stupid! I'm sorry, myself!

Xiao Hua could hear the Eighth Prince smothering a laugh, and she silently cursed him.

"How about this then? Xiao Hua, can I decide the date of your birthday?"

"I suppose?"

Long Lian beamed with a bright smile, making her even more beautiful. "Then it's decided! Your birthday will be on the same day as mine!"

"Eh?" Xiao Hua stared at the princess blankly.

"I will tell Mother Empress about this so she won't be surprised!"

Why would she need to tell the Empress about a maid sharing the same birthday with her?

"I will ask the Royal Chef to prepare your favourite food! I also need to tell the guests so they will prepare their share of gifts for you too."

.. Chotto Matte[13]!!! Stop!!! (°D°)!

"Ah Lian, there's no need to tell everyone!" Xiao Hua interrupted Long Lian's excited ramblings.

"But we need to celebrate your birthday," Long Lian said, confused. She had already viewed Xiao Hua as her sister and conveniently ignored the fact that Xiao Hua was not even married to the Third Prince yet.

As a princess' sister, it's not weird to have a big birthday celebration.

"Long Lian, to celebrate a maid's birthday with a princess is not suitable," the Third Prince reasoned.

You tell her, Third Prince! Xiao Hua cheered inwardly.

"You only need to inform our Father Emperor, Mother Empress, and our brothers to prepare gifts."

.. What's the difference between your suggestion and Ah Lian's?!

Long Lian's eyes lit up in excitement. "Third brother is right! Hehe, my gifts from them will be more valuable this year."

So the key point of doing this was to force the royal family to upgrade their presents?

"They could give me a small present," Xiao Hua pointed out. "And your present will remain the same."

Long Lian must have been thinking they had to prepare a more valuable gift for her so that her gifts would outshine Xiao Hua's. But they could also prepare the same value of gifts as previous celebrations and just give Xiao Hua a cheap present.

After all, Xiao Hua was only a maid, who would be easily satisfied with something the high-ranked nobles would not deem as valuable. In fact, who was to say that she would even get gifts from them in the first place?

Long Lian's smile slowly turned devilish. "Not after I have my say. Wait and see, Xiao Hua! I will make sure they will not slight our presents!"

The princess laughed evilly, like a villainess' evil laugh from Japanese anime. The villainess' evil laugh usually made Le Xiao Ting silently criticize it to be fake and overly dramatic, making them look stupid.

Fortunately, Long Lian's evil laugh leaned more towards mischief than cruelty and does not look stupid at all.

"Don't go overboard," the Third Prince warned. "Forcing is not persuasion."

Long Lian sulked. "Don't you trust me, third brother? I know what I should not do."

"A reminder never hurts," the Third Prince said gently.

Long Lian rolled her eyes. "You are just like our mother!"

"Thank you for your compliment. Little sister knows this brother the best." Long Lian pouted and looked away from the Third Prince's insincere fawning

"The food is ready and right on time."

Today's lunch was hotpot and as usual, Xiao Hua sat with the royalties to eat. The servants in the Third Prince's residence had more or less gotten used to the special treatment Xiao Hua received.

An Jing and An Wan's hands moved with experience as she soaked the raw meat and vegetables inside the hotpot before removing them within the right amount of time needed. Eunuch Heng helped the Eighth Prince with his portion, steadily accumulating meat on top of his bowl.

The soup smelled and tasted delicious, immediately warming up her body as soon as Xiao Hua swallowed a spoonful of the soup.

Long Lian happily swept the food into her mouth, the Third Prince focused on the soup, the Eighth Prince only ate the meat and Xiao Hua hardly ate the dish, only stuffing herself with rice.

The Third Prince noticed and placed some cooked meat into her bowl. "Eat more."

"Yes." At the prince's attentive gesture, Xiao Hua dunked her head low, very aware that she was blushing as she could feel the heat accumulating on her cheeks.

After her eyes cured, she found it hard to shift her eyes away from the Third Prince, enthralled by his beauty. But now that her heart was stolen by the very same man, she found it even more difficult to look at him for very long.

Le Xiao Ting was the type of girl that would run the opposite way whenever she saw her crush.

After their lunch, the Third Prince decided to accompany the princess and Eighth Prince back to the palace. The Third Prince and Long Lian shared a carriage while the Eighth Prince rode in his own.

The Third Prince gazed at his sister thoughtfully. "I never would have believed my sister, who never liked to share things with anyone, would volunteer to share her birthday."

"I'm no longer a child," Long Lian whined. "I don't mind sharing my birthday with Xiao Hua. But if it's other people, I wouldn't like it."

"It seems that you really like Xiao Hua. What did she ever do to make you this nice to her? Did she compliment you often?" The Third Prince teased.

"Don't make fun of me." Long Lian pouted before answering honestly. "...She's nice to be with."

"Nice?"

"Whenever I'm with her I feel relaxed, free from the constraints of etiquette that is usually demanded from me as a princess. Maybe it's because I know she won't judge me no matter what I do. The one thing that impressed me the most about her is that she never makes use of my title or abuses our friendship."

"I heard that you and her being friends originated from her feeding you food," the Third Prince busted his sister's cover-up.

"I love food, but I'm not an animal that judges people based solely on food!" The Third Prince chuckled but he stopped teasing his sister. It perplexed him why Long Lian's treatment towards Xiao Hua in past life seemed to be different in this life.

Could it be because this Xiao Hua was not the real Xiao Hua, and elicited a different response from Long Lian?

That could be possible.

Although Long Lian treated Xiao Hua well in their past life, it could not be compared to this life. The past Long Lian did not share the same birthday with Xiao Hua and had never treated Xiao Hua as her own sister, but merely as a good friend.

Long Zhu had originally assumed Long Lian had not endured a harsh period in the Munzhu country this life, hence she trusted people more easily because she was not exposed to the deeper layer of cruelty in life. But it seemed that was not the only case, for this Xiao Hua could make people willingly treat her well, knowing that she would not take advantage of their kindness.

He could not even will himself to put distance between them, which was what he had originally planned when he found out that she was not the original Xiao Hua, but an unknown stranger. Long Zhu did not know how to behave around the new Xiao Hua.

But seeing Long Lian reminded him that he had not talked to Xiao Hua in his previous life other than inquiring for news about his sister.

He closed his eyes and silently apologized to the original Xiao Hua. For a foreign soul to possess a body, the body must be empty in the first place. He had attacked the Munzhu's army food supply, planning to make them surrender quicker, but it had led to the original Xiao Hua's death.

Now, Long Zhu had the record of killing Xiao Hua twice. It seemed like he would not be able to repay his gratitude to Xiao Hua in his second life as well. What he could only do was hope that his future reincarnation had the chance of meeting the original Xiao Hua's reincarnation. He would not have his memories in his future reincar-nation, but he hoped fate would be fair to the original Xiao Hua, giving him the chance to repay his gratitude.

When the carriage finally stopped before the gates to the palace, his eyelashes fluttered slowly before revealing a pair of bright eyes with a deep sense of peace towards his resolve.

CHAPTER 19: Return my heart to me, you lolicon!

One month passed calmly since the big reveal and things somewhat went back to nor-mal.

Long Lian did not visit often because she was busy planning her birthday celebration with the Empress. But that did not stop her from coming over in the mornings and having Xiao Hua become her tree hole again while Xiao Hua was practicing her throwing.

Thanks to Long Lian's chatter, Xiao Hua seemed to be able to endure training past her usual time limit, and she could feel her arms getting stronger.

Ah~ will she become muscular one day?

That thought scared her. Le Xiao Ting did not like having a flabby body, but that did not mean she liked having an overly muscular body. But the good news of having a stronger body allowed her to finally hit the wooden board!

However, there was one big change after the great reveal, and that was the increasing amount of visits from the Eighth Prince. He no longer stalked Long Lian now that he stopped forcing others to hop onto the Second Prince's ship.

He visited just to hang out with Xiao Hua and not so subtly grilled information about the Third Prince from her. Not that she knew much to begin with and they usually ended up talking about their original life.

"Shit, he knows that I'm the one that planned his demise!" the Eighth Prince suddenly shouted.

"Who?" Honestly, Heise had driven a lot of his characters to their death.

"The Third Prince! He knows that I crippled him, before forcing him to eat his last meal laced with poison." The Eighth Prince suddenly leaned closer to Xiao Hua, who was embroidering something on a white robe. 

"He hates me, right? He's totally planning for revenge, right?"

"I don't know about hating you, but I'm sure he's using you."

Ignoring the Eighth Prince's I'm right!' expression, Xiao Hua continued with her analysis. "I think he views your novel as a joke, a cheap product that imitates this world."

"I did not imitate anything!"

"Regardless of who's copying who, this world is very much real to him."

The Eighth Prince pouted adorably as he crossed his arms. "He did not even share his experience. Stingy guy!"

Xiao Hua sighed inwardly before telling the Eighth Prince about her life as Le Xiao Ting, diverting his attention away from bad-mouthing the Third Prince.

Later, she realized she had managed to divert his attention all too well.

Xiao Hua had to put down her embroidery on her lap before the shaking table accidentally caused the needle to poke her finger. After being assured that the needle was placed in a safe place, she glared at the Eighth Prince.

The ten-year-old boy dressed in dark blue robes with a small dragon embroidered on it was laughing so hard that he had collapsed on top of the table.

What had gotten the Eighth Prince to laugh this crazy is...

"You died because you want to hide your hidden stash?" The Eighth Prince laughed all over again after he finished speaking.

Xiao Hua used her open palm to smack the back of his head, which was easily done because the younger boy was sprawling over the table as he held his stomach in laughter. "I have no hidden stash!" Even if Le Xiao Ting had them, she would not admit it! "I'm reading the comments from your readers!"

Annoyed that the Eighth Prince was still laughing, Xiao Hua smacked his head again, but harder this time.

Eunuch Heng, who was standing at a side, winced every time Xiao Hua smacked, punched, or kicked the Eighth Prince.

When he first saw how Xiao Hua smacked the Eighth Prince, Eunuch Heng was livid. He would have beat up the younger maid had Da Bei, who seemed to be stuck as Xiao Hua's bodyguard, stopped him with his sword glinting dangerously as it pressed onto the young eunuch's neck.

Added with Xiao Hua's ambiguous identity, Eunuch Heng had to endure seeing his master getting abused by the violent girl, but strangely, the Eighth Prince did not get angry. Instead, he laughed harder every time Xiao Hua had been violent with him.

Could it be...the Eighth Prince loves being abused?

Eunuch Heng quickly dismissed those thoughts away, scolding himself for saying bad things about his master. The current Eighth Prince might not be his original mas-ter, but he still adored the transmigrated soul. Both of them had the same honest gaze and sunny smile that was like the warmth of the sun.

Eunuch Heng could not help but wonder if this would be how the original Eighth Prince would be if he had not gone mad.

"At least it's original, unlike your death! Gotten run over by a truck is so cliché!" Xiao Hua snapped, all her gentleness was gone. "And why are you texting while driv-ing!"

Suddenly the Eighth Prince's laughter disappeared and was replaced with gloomi-ness, surprising Xiao Hua at his abrupt change.

"Hey.. you alright?"

"My girlfriend sent a message, wanting to break up with me."

It was that day when he finally released his final chapter and anticipated a call from his girlfriend. He had even made sure his girlfriend knew about the final chap-ter. But his girlfriend sent a breakup text, and there was not even a single congratulatory line for finishing his novel.

Xiao Hua winced at the bleakness of his tone. "..Sorry. But there will be other girls better than your girlfriend."

"I don't like girls."

Xiao Hua winced again. She kept forgetting his 'girlfriend' was a guy. Honestly, calling a guy as 'girlfriend' created so much misunderstanding.

Is this his attempt to hide his sexual orientation?

Xiao Hua could be flexible and tell him there will be better guys waiting for him to notice them, but it would be awkward in this time period. She doubted that 'cut sleeves' would be accepted in this traditional society.

"Not necessary, right? I mean, you are a fan of Ah Lian."

"If I'm straight, Long Lian would be my first choice," the Eighth Prince admitted.

The Eighth Prince suddenly glared at Eunuch Heng and waved a tiny hand at him.

"Shoo shoo. Go away."

"Your Highness."

"I don't want you to listen to this. Go and stand far away."

With a neglected puppy expression, Eunuch Heng obediently walked away to give them some privacy. After making sure his eunuch was standing at a spot where he could not hear them, the Eighth Prince immediately gave Xiao Hua a grieving look.

"When I first came here, I thought my girlfriend was trying to make up for my car accident!"

"I don't understand."

"Eunuch Heng has the same face as my girlfriend!"

Xiao Hua: [W.2]!

Suddenly feeling that the topic became very interesting, Xiao Hua sat closer to the Eighth Prince with shining eyes, like a cat that was asking for more milk.

The Eighth Prince hid his face with his palm, and let out a long wail. "So embarrassing!"

"What did you do?" Xiao Hua asked eagerly.

"I woke up in a strange bed and the first person I saw was Eunuch Heng. I immediately hugged him and begged him not to leave me. He promised and I was so happy so I kissed him and he was so shocked he ran out of the room screaming. He kept calling me 'Your Highness' or 'Prince' so I thought he was cosplaying to make me happy and I'm fucking happy."

Xiao Hua had to use all of her concentration to catch his fast mumblings. But he suddenly stopped, no longer speaking. Giving the still statue a poke, Xiao Hua urged him to continue. "What happened then?"

"My body is what's fucking wrong!" The Eighth Prince suddenly roared and slammed his palms on the table, scaring Xiao Hua away. "This kids' body is not mine!

I'm muscular, tall, and handsome! Why the heck would I transmigrate into a small meat bun?!"

Heise was a healthy twenty-two-year-old man with a handsome face and deep voice. He was one of the top bachelors in the country, with a bright future of being the only heir to his parents' very successful company!

"A rather cute meat bun." A mesmerizing and gentle voice floated over to their ears, immediately having the Eighth Prince zipped his mouth and Xiao Hua to blush involuntarily.

The Third Prince's footsteps were silent as he walked towards them, wearing a dark blue robe that was similar to the style that the Eighth Prince was currently wear-ing.

Xiao Hua was surprised the Third Prince would wear dark-coloured clothes instead of his favourite light-coloured ones. His hair was unlike the usual loose style, but with half of his hair combed back and pinned up with a white jaded hair crown. The hairstyle exposed his face and neck, resembling a handsome and gentle scholar.

"What are you doing here?" the Eighth Prince squinted his eyes. Eunuch Heng had told him that the Third Prince had gone somewhere and would not return until tomor-row.

The Third Prince effortlessly picked Xiao Hua up and sat down on her chair before placing Xiao Hua on the chair next to his. The red blush grew more prominent on her cheeks and she glared at the Third Prince. "What are you doing?" Sadly, her fierce tone was translated to being shy when it reached the Third Prince's ears.

After knowing that she was not the real Xiao Hua, the Third Prince suddenly wanted to deepen their skinship. Not only that, she was given new dresses with better quality but they still remained in blue colours. There was also one time when the topic of conversation about hairpins between her and Long Lian was relayed to the Third Prince, and the next day, many types of ribbons were gifted to her by the spendthrift prince just because she revealed her dislike towards the hairpins' weight.

Le Xiao Ting, the weak-willed maiden, had her heart taken by this prince way too easily. Return my heart to me, you lolicon [14]! (# Ò. Ó)

The lolicon was ignorant of his loli's inner complaints and happily caressed her soft cheeks. After continuously feeding his maid with food and healthy soups, she was finally gaining back some weight. Yet the Third Prince could still easily carry her around without breaking a sweat or his back.

Xiao Hua, unaware of her own budding beauty with the soft skin and fair com-plexion, could easily be one of the top ten cutest little girls in the Guilin Kingdom. Even a certain prince's heart was starting to be swayed by her.

"I have gotten what I want," the Third Prince answered, and surprisingly did not get angry at the way the Eighth Prince had spoken to him.

Team Transmigrator started to view the Third Prince as a super nice person and very accepting of their situation. What they did not know was that the Third Prince had used the Eighth Prince to let Xiao Hua lower her guard and to ease her shyness around him.

A certain prince found it offensive at how close the duo transmigrators were.

Xiao Hua asked curiously, "What do you want?"

The Third Prince smiled, resembling a blooming flower under the sun. "A present for you."

Xiao Hua could not stop herself from blushing at the heart-stopping smile as well as from what he had said.

The two of them seemed to be in their own world until the Eighth Prince suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I haven't bought any presents yet!"

Xiao Hua was relieved at the distraction while a certain prince felt a little annoyed at his younger brother' interrupting his small breakthrough in his little maid's de-fence.

CHAPTER 20: I want to drink milk

"You don't need to give me any presents. Just buy one for Ah Lian," Xiao Hua told the Eighth Prince. Then she spoke to the Third Prince in a fluster. "Your Highness...you don't need to as well. You have given me a lot of valuable things."

"Birthdays are celebrated once a year. Everyone deserves a present for their birthday," the Third Prince said.

Since the Third Prince had said it that way, then Xiao Hua will happily wait for it.

"Then Xiao Hua thanks Your Highness for the gift in advance!"

"Xiao Hua, what do you want as your present?" the Eighth Prince questioned.

"Long Lian had specifically told me to get you a present. She even offered to help me buy one but I rejected that."

"You, asking me what I want... won't it be easier for you to just let Ah Lian help you?" Xiao Hua asked.

"I don't know how much money I have and Long Lian looks like one that would buy stuff without looking at the price."

Heise! Just because Ah Lian is a princess does not mean you can generalize her into the category of being a spoiled money waster rich lady!

Long Lian was truly a good girl! Whenever she purchased new clothes, she would hand over the old ones to Xiao Hua to train her embroidery skills. Long Lian was also not one to waste food and even helped Xiao Hua to finish her food.

"So what do you want?" the Eighth Prince asked again, looking as if he expected her to answer. Perhaps he had always asked what people wanted as a present instead of surprising them?

What Xiao Hua earnestly wished for, was what the Eighth Prince wanted too. But unfortunately, they had yet to find a way to return back to their original world. Unless they confirm that they have no way to return to their original world without dying, they would not stop searching for it. Their beloved families were waiting for them to return.

Previously, due to his case of time traveling, the Third Prince was interested in it and read all the books in the royal library regarding that topic. During his research, he found out about transmigration and decided to research this topic too. He had told the duo transmigrators everything he had read, which did not include the method of re-turning.

That prompted the Eighth Prince to search the library himself in case the Third Prince missed any information. Regrettably, Xiao Hua did not know how to read Chinese words, so she could only count on the Eighth Prince to do everything.

"I want to drink milk," Xiao Hua finally answered. She honestly missed milk, cream, and cheese.

The Eighth Prince rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, milk it is! Eunuch Heng! Ah, where did he disappear to?"

Eunuch Heng had previously stood where he could not hear them, but could still be seen. But he was now missing and the Eighth Prince could only stand up and search for his missing eunuch.

Leaving both of them behind, Xiao Hua started to feel awkward. She snuck a glance and found the Third Prince holding onto her ugly embroidery. Her hand twitched with the urge to snatch it from his hands.

"What picture are you trying to make?"

"A dragon."

Xiao Hua knew her embroidery was terrible to look at. She was not a person that would blindly praise her own work. Le Xiao Ting had only sewed her torn clothes and did some cross-stitching when she was younger.

It was Xiao Hua's ambitious and fun-seeking self that had her start to learn embroi-dery. Often during the quiet afternoons, she would witness An Jing's steady fingers, holding onto a needle as they moved agilely, resembling dancing when she embroi-dered. Her experienced and quick movement allowed her to create beautiful flowers and dragons in a short period of time. That beautiful embroidery had stirred Xiao Hua's interest.

Seeing the Third Prince just staring at her embroidery with his slender fingers caressing the 'unique' dragon, Xiao Hua decided to change the subject. "Your Highness, when is your birthday?"

"A day before the New Year." The Third Prince finally looked up from the terrible needlework and gave Xiao Hua an anticipatory smile. "This prince wants a pouch with dragon embroidery made by you."

You want me to finish that within a half months' time?!

The Third Prince chuckled at Xiao Hua's panicked expression and stood up. Leaning down, he lifted Xiao Hua up and his arms once again became Xiao Hua's mobile chair. They slowly made their way to the Spring Courtyard, the Third Prince's bachelor cave.

"Your Highness, Xiao Hua can walk..."

"My little maid does not like this prince to carry her?"

"No, of course not, Your Highness." Xiao Hua sighed, already giving up since this was not the first time the Third Prince carried her around, treating her as his doll. Till now she could not figure out why he would do this and she slowly became unmotivated to pursue the answer.

Stopping at the small room beside the Third Prince's sleeping chamber, he pushed the door open with his free hand and stepped in. It was a small bedroom but it was still larger than the one Xiao Hua was staying in.

The bed was covered with a thin, see-through, white coloured curtain with a pink lotus flower pattern. The bed frame was made of redwood, its design specially made for females in mind. The material used to make the table and chairs were white stones, matching the flower vase at the side of the room that held a bunch of fresh lotus flowers.

After taking in the interior of the room, she turned her head to look at the Third Prince, who had been watching her expression. Her eyes were full of questions as she continued staring at him.

"From today onwards, this will be your room."

Xiao Hua's eyes would have dropped out of the socket if it was possible and her mouth was gaping open in an unattractive way. With an amused chuckle, the Third Prince teasingly swiped a thumb over her parted lips, and Xiao Hua automatically closed her mouth.

The Third Prince's thumb had not moved away in time and got caught between her lips.

At the unexpected situation, both of them turned stiff, their eyes expressing their shock. Xiao Hua honestly wanted to open her mouth to release the Third Prince's thumb, but her mouth reacted the opposite way of her thinking and tightened its hold onto the thumb instead.

She could see the Third Prince's eyes became half-lidded, but his gaze did not lack clarity but gained intensity instead. Startled upon seeing that gaze, her mouth went limp and released the thumb. There was a string of saliva connected between her mouth and his thumb.

Outright panicking, she shakily used her sleeve to wipe the saliva off his thumb.

"I-I did not mean to do it!"

The Third Prince suddenly lowered his arm that Xiao Hua was sitting on so that he could press his forehead against hers. Her breathing turned irregular as she forced herself not to breathe loudly and expose the smell of her mouth to him. He let out a sigh as if he was facing a dilemma.

"Xiao Hua."

"Y-Yes!"

"You've said you are 27 years old?"

"Yes!"

"You are not married?"

"Yes- No! I mean no! I'm not married!"

The Third Prince lightly laughed, causing his body to lightly shake. "Your parents did not arrange a marriage for you?"

"That...it's too old-fashioned. In my world, we hardly have arranged marriages anymore. People now have the freedom to find the one they love to get married to."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Xiao Hua had told the Third Prince some terms used in her world. But he appeared more interested in 'girlfriend' so she tried to explain more about it. Surprisingly, he was like a sponge, easily accepting the new knowledge.

"I used to have one, but no longer."

The Third Prince was silent for a moment before he asked in a low voice. "Did you hug him?"

Xiao Hua blushed, feeling uncomfortable with the topic. But she still answered him.

"Yes. We did things that couples do. Hug, kiss, hold hands, and other stuff." But she refused to sleep with her ex-boyfriend no matter how much he tried to coax her. To her, that would be a gift only for her future husband.

The Third Prince did not seem happy to hear it. "You are a knowledgeable woman,

I see. Are you purposely seducing this prince?"

"What?" Since when did this young lady seduce you? You are the one that seduced me!

The genuine irritation displayed on her face calmed down the Third Prince. "Do you know what would happen during the wedding night?"

Xiao Hua blushed even more. Why was he asking this stuff? "I did read about it." Oh gosh. Le Xiao Ting just realized that whoever cleaned up her apartment after she disappeared would definitely discover her hidden steamy novella collection!

"You had never done it?"

Xiao Hua denied fiercely. "Of course not! I'm not married! Third Prince, why are you asking these questions?"

The Third Prince smiled, seemingly happy all of a sudden. "This prince just wonders why you are still so innocent at this age."

"Are you calling me old?" Xiao Hua narrowed her eyes. Was he laughing at her for not being married at twenty-seven years old?

"Xiao Hua is not old," the Third Prince said in a slightly coaxing manner.

The Third Prince had died at the age of eighteen in his previous life. He continued with his second life at the age of eight. Adding the years up, his soul was at the age of twenty-seven.

Coincidentally, Le Xiao Ting and the Third Prince were the same age. Calling Xiao Hua old was the same as calling himself old.

She decided to let the matter go and asked an important question instead. "Why would you give this room to me?"

"This prince wants to be able to keep an eye on you."

Giving her a beautiful room...just to keep an eye on her? Did he treat suspicious people this way?

Xiao Hua's heart felt bitter.