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Chapter 21: Curse of a lady cross-dressing

"An Jing, lead us to the Moonlight Lake Pavilion."

Long Lian was already bored with sightseeing. They had asked around about the fireworks, only to be told that the best fireworks were already lit up last night.

Tonight's would not be as impressive as yesterday's. It was still an hour until evening and there was already nothing exciting left to see.

They had purchased a round paper lantern with a cute rabbit drawn on it for Xiao Hua, which was paid by An Jing, their banker of the trip. It was one of the very few stores that sold white paper lanterns as it was not the lantern festival. Most lanterns that were sold were red, festive ones with blessings written on them.

Xiao Hua wanted a lantern not because she liked it but because of curiosity in comparing the work between the modern and the historical era. The edge of the fragile paper lantern was stuck together with glue and used bamboo sticks as frames. She did not dare to hold it tight for fear she ended up crumbling the paper.

There were many times during her second life that had her admired her world's technology. There were still paper lanterns being sold, but most would buy plastic lanterns with a light bulb replacing candles as a fire prevention method and it would last longer. That was what Le Xiao Ting had brought for the devil twins after seeing the bonfire they created using paper lanterns and candles. It does not help when the little devil's parents do not stop them, claiming they were still children and burning lanterns were just harmless fun!

Of course, they did not care as the bonfire was in front of Le Xiao Ting's house in-

stead of theirs. She was the one that cleaned up for them at the end of the night!

"My Lord, you would be unable to enter the Moonlight Lake Pavilion." An Jing knew that if her master found out that Xiao Hua was the one that wanted to gain entry, he might disregard the rule and bring Xiao Hua in.

Unfortunately, she also knew that her master was having a secret meeting inside

that Pavilion and it would be best not to disturb him.

Long Lian had known that the pavilion's new owner was her third brother and wanted to use that opportunity to visit it. An Jing's subtle shake of her head told her that it was not the right time to visit.

"There was a tea house beside the pavilion," An Jing suggested when Long Lian turned gloomy. "Master had frequently visited to drink his favorite tea and has yet to leave a negative review about it."

"Lead us there." Long Lian got a little interested. She trusted her third brother's taste when it came to food and drink.

Fortunately, the tea house was not packed as most nobles had stayed at home to exchange New Year greetings and the commoners hardly visited the best tea house in Guilin with its outrageous high pricing.

An Jing secured them a table with a nice view of the Moonlight Lake Pavilion, which was just opposite the tea house.

"Tieguanyin," Long Lian ordered when a waiter came over to serve them.

"Coming right up," the waiter said pleasantly and moved to prepare their order when someone intercepted the waiter.

"One pot of Oolong tea for this table," a rough, manly voice ordered.

Frowning, Long Lian turned to the table where the voice came from, which was just right beside theirs. Her frown eased as she stared at one of the men in recognition.

"Duke Heng?"

Duke Heng recognized the princess with a terrible attempt of a disguise. He greeted the princess politely as if it was not out of ordinary to see a princess sneaking out of the palace at all. "Greetings, my Lord." He could identify An Jing, the Third Prince's head of the inner maid, with them so it was most likely that the Third Prince knew about the princess' adventure.

Xiao Hua's eyes widened in interest. It was the second male lead!

Dressed in a simple dark green robe, he appeared as a handsome gentleman that did not care about the luxury goods in life. He was also the heroine's oldest supporting male lead, right in his mid-thirties.

He aged rather well indeed! (*/V \*)

An Jing discreetly coughed beside Xiao Hua, interrupting her passionate stare at Duke Heng. It was impolite to stare at a person, much less of different gender with that kind of scrutiny. Fortunately, the Third Prince was not around or Xiao Hua would certainly be punished.

The ruffian looking man beside Duke Heng leered at Long Lian. "Oh? Who is this? Your new lover, Heng Zhen Gan?"

"Don't be foolish," Duke Heng said coldly and slid his folding fan close with an angry snap.

"Then who are these crossdressers?" Hearing Long Lian's surprised gasp, the hooligan sneered. "That thing you called 'disguise' is terrible. Your maid is much better at

The hooligan nodded at Tang Mei, who blushed at the compliment but she quickly stood up to defend her mistress. "Today our young master does not bother to disguise himself so of course an amateur like you could easily see right through it!"

Long Lian's mouth twitched at the blatant lie but since her maid was fighting for her, she just smiled arrogantly at the wild man.

"I suppose." Tian Liang guzzled wine from the bottle he managed to sneak away from Moonlight Lake pavilion. "Or else you won't risk choosing the girly tea."

Long Lian gasped in outrage at the hooligan for insulting her favorite tea.

"Tieguanyin is the best tea!"

"That's the best tea for a girl," Tian Liang drawled as he stared at Long Lian mock-ingly. "Little girls like you should go back home and play, or else real men will teach you a lesson."

"Tian Liang, don't provoke her," Duke Heng said warningly but it came rather too late.

Long Lian's anger had already reached the red meter and she slammed her palm onto the table, scaring away the waiter that arrived just in time with both their teapots.

"You lowly man! Who allowed this man to enter this noble tea house? One look at you is enough to know you are just a servant! What does a servant know about tea?" Inside her mind, Xiao Hua was groaning loudly while outside, she just facepalmed.

Looks like the curse of a lady cross-dressing as a guy works just fine. There was already a guy that messed with Long Lian and she responded! With her palms still covering her face, she moved her fingers until one of her eyes could look at the hooligan.

Does that mean this is Long Lian's future husband? (*/V \*)

That thug did not look bad. He was more to the wild, bad boy kind of guy that was experienced with adult activities. He looks like the typical bad boy with a dash of cowboy traits in Harlequin romance books.

Just look at that body! His clothes could not hide his broad shoulders, muscular arms, and thick thighs! Oh yum~

An Jing coughed again, this time louder as she stared at Xiao Hua with disapproval.

Xiao Hua quickly gathered her fingers together to hide her view before she hud-ded down and pouted behind her palms. A good-looking man with a fine body like that thug should be admired! If Le Xiao Ting was with her girlfriend, they would waste no time in going gaga over that piece of fine man!

"A servant?" The hooligan growled and slammed the wine bottle onto the table. "Do

I look like a servant to you?"

"Duke Heng, this servant of yours is rather impertinent! Are you going to ignore it?" Long Lian snapped.

"My Lord, this barbaric man is not my servant," Duke Heng explained, ignoring

Tian Liang's venomous glare. "He's an important guest that was assigned to me for sightseeing. Please excuse his ignorance of Guilin's culture. His rough, unsophisticated words are his country's norm."

"Insulting Tieguanyin and this Lord are no longer just about the ignorance of cul-ture!" Long Lian stared at Duke Heng frostily. "Unless Duke Heng also thinks of Tieguanyin the same way as well?"

"I do not share the same view as him, my Lord." Women are such illogical creatures. (눈_눈)

"Then what do you think of Oolong tea?" Tian Liang asked.

Duke Heng started to regret volunteering as Tian Liang's tour guide. He replied neutrally. "It's a good tea."

However, someone was not pleased with his answer. "Which is better, Duke Heng?" Long Lian asked in a rather demanding tone.

"My Lord, both tea have their own good points. Choosing one would be asking if chicken or pork tastes nicer."

"Then let's have a contest. Heng can be the judge," Tian Liang suggested with a wicked grin.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Duke Heng asked coldly.

"I did, but I'm a man that hates to lose. And this little princess would not accept her loss just like that. So why not compete?"

"How rude! The victor is yet to be decided!"

"See? That little princess agrees to compete, so don't back out, Heng."

"And how are you going to compete? Both tea have different tastes, so are you going to compete in the tea brewing method and presentation?" Duke Heng's voice was thick with sarcasm and his eyes grew colder every second. "Then you will lose Tian Liang. The young Lord is much more pleasing to look at than your ugly mug face."

Long Lian gawked at Duke Heng. She had never seen this side of him, as he was always politely indifferent whenever she met him, albeit they only exchanged words less than five times.

"Compete on the taste, of course." Tian Liang rolled his eyes as if Duke Heng was being stupid.

"We will be the one that brews the tea. The little princess will brew Tieguanyin and I will brew Oolong tea. I will not ask and assume you have tasted them before, judging from your old age..." Tian Liang dodged the incoming swing of the folded fan and continued in an uncaring manner, "So you will base on your memory to judge its taste with our brew."

"I can just announce the young lord to be the winner just because you had offended me."

"And break the little princess' heart?"

Long Lian shot Tian Liang a deathly glare despite agreeing with his words. "Duke Heng, please be the judge of our tea. However, this Lord does not know how to brew tea, so I will have to ask my little brother to compete in my stead."

Xiao Hua was watching the drama unfold with rapture when she was suddenly pulled into the fray. "Eh? Me? But won't it be better to choose Sister An Jing or Tang Mei?"

"How how can I do that? Asking a servant to compete for me would be cheating, isn't it? After all, this barbaric man is Duke Heng's guest and not a servant. We need to keep things fair, little brother."

I'm actually a servant too. Isn't that cheating? ( ~ ;)

"Oh, your little sister? You are so tiny. Are you sure you want to compete with me?

You will end up running away halfway through, crying back to your mother's em-brace, little brat."

Xiao Hua froze, before lifting her tiny head to look at Tian Liang, giving him a smile that formed on her tiny lips, before delicately speaking from her tiny mouth. "My mom taught me to do one thing when a big bad guy bullies me, that is, to kick between his legs. I've heard it's very painful for them and they would no longer bully me after that."

Duke Heng: Huh, so the Third Prince's little maid is a tiny chili.

Tian Liang: ... What a vicious brat.

An Jing and Tang Mei: "..."

Long Lian: Go Xiao Hua go!

Chapter 22: Roast the tea leaves

Tian Liang, the King of Munzhu, had led his soldiers into battle more than eight times.

He had experienced fear and nervousness, but this was the first time for him to feel uncomfortable under a tiny girl's unnerving stare.

The stare was filled with curiosity but what disturbed him the most was the probing and dissecting way of her gaze towards him, the subject of her interest and completely ignoring the said subject's discomfort.

"The...the items you requested are here." The waiter finally mustered up his courage to approach them with a tray filled with what they requested. Another waiter was behind him, holding onto another tray with similar items.

"One tray per table please," Xiao Hua said. "The Tieguanyin tea is for my table and the Oolong tea is for the gentlemen over there."

Hearing himself being referred to as a gentleman, Tian Liang snorted in amuse-ment. The waiters quickly placed the trays onto each table and made themselves invisible at a hidden corner so as to keep an eye on them.

The manager had told them to keep an eye on the group and to stop them if their argument turned physical, but the thug man looked dangerous. They could only pray that the hooligan guy did not cause trouble and break anything.

Seeing that both parties were ready, Duke Heng announced, "Start."

Tian Liang confidently started brewing, using his own special method. He sneaked a glance at the tiny kid and noticed she was brewing in a basic way. Cleaning the tea herbs with hot water first was indeed a good method that most commoners and lower-ranked nobles did not have the luxury to do, but did the tiny kid think that she could defeat him with just doing that?

Confirming that the little kid had no other special method in brewing, he concentrated on his own brewing. The brewing did not take long. Xiao Hua finished first and after a minute, Tian Liang completed as well.

"Duke Heng, you may start the tasting," Long Lian invited pleasantly but her eyes were anything but pleasant. She wanted to invite a few more testers to keep things fair but their identities were too sensitive to get more outsiders to involve with their little bet.

Long Lian was still skeptical about the hooligan's identity, but if he could get Duke Heng as his tour guide, his background was not simple. But since that hooligan dared to insult her and her favourite tea, regardless of his identity, she wanted him to be taught a lesson!

The only time Long Lian was given the chance to taste Xiao Hua's tea was during her visit to the Third Prince's manor. But Xiao Hua had only brewed the Third Prince's favourite tea and never Tieguanyin. Long Lian was not worried, for Xiao Hua to be able to brew the 'Lu' An Melon seed' tea into a delicious tea, she should be fine in brewing Tieguanyin.

Duke Heng tasted Tian Liang's tea first since it was closer to him.

"Oi, Heng. If you taste mine first, that would be unfair for that little kid."

"What are you trying to say?" Long Lian snapped, riled at his words.

Tian Liang smirked arrogantly. "Don't want the little kid to say I'm cheating and all, when she loses."

"The victor has yet to be decided!"

"The little Lord wins," Duke Heng announced. While the two of them were busy arguing, he went ahead to the next table and tried Xiao Hua's tea.

"What?" Tian Liang whirled and stared at Duke Heng in disbelief as Long Lian did a pumping fist.

Duke Heng ignored him and continued drinking the delicious Tieguanyin, even going as far as refilling his cup once it was emptied.

"Oi, Heng! Even if you are being biased to that little kid, you should not go so far as to insult the taste of my tea!"

"Ha! Unwilling to admit defeat?" Long Lian taunted gleefully.

"That does not even need to be said. My tea brewing is excellent!"

Long Lian snorted in disgust. "You dare to speak in such an arrogant manner even after losing. Even if you are not feeling embarrassed, I feel ashamed for you!" Tian Liang gritted his teeth in anger and snapped at the cause of it. "Oi, Heng! Explain yourself!"

Duke Heng poured the Tieguanyin tea into an empty cup and pushed it to Tian Liang's direction. "Taste it yourself and you will understand."

Tian Liang's eye twitched when Duke Heng returned to his tea, sipping it in such a relaxing manner that doubt started to bloom in his mind.

The young king was not an arrogant man, but he would never believe a tiny girl would be better than him at tea brewing. He had used his spiritual energy to roast the tea leaves, and such a delicate process could only be done by a fire elementalist above third rank. The tiny girl was only a cultivator of the first rank and he did not sense any signs of elements around her.

"If you are not drinking it, I will." Long Lian reached out for the cup but Tian Liang quickly took it before she could.

"I never said I was not going to taste it." He chugged the tea as he did with his wine.

But once his taste buds started working, he regretted drinking the tea like water. The tea was already down the throat before he could stop his reflex.

Xiao Hua gaped when Duke Heng and Tian Liang started fighting for the teapot out of the blue. Duke Heng was sitting, but he could still block and protect the teapot from Tian Liang's heavy groping. His wide sleeve did not hinder his movement and even aided in beautifying the movement!

Seeing such intense glaring and close contact between two good-looking hunks, Xiao Hua's danmei [10] side slowly reared its head and squealed for more!

Tian Liang was very much suited to be the 'Gong', with the larger and muscular body. The 'Shou' would be suitable for Duke Heng, who has a slender body with gentlemanly air around him.

Would Heise agree to write danmei for her to read if she asked?

For now, she would help him gather information on the two potential main char- acters. Sadly, once exposed to danmei, she could never return.

Suddenly An Jing stepped in between the two grappling men with a speed that was as fast as the wind itself. Her sword was drawn and Tian Liang would have chopped off his head if he was to continue charging onwards. Duke Heng was facing An Jing's pointy fingernails, with his eyeballs at risk. If he had not stopped in time, the fingernails would stab right into his eyeballs.

Xiao Hua's heartbeat sped up at such an imposing and masculine appearance of An Jing.

S-So cool! E>-(11°W°//)O→

"Pardon my rudeness, but please cease the fight. The shopkeeper and other guests are terrified."

Duke Heng coughed, a little embarrassed at his manners. He was too caught up and forgot where they were.

But Tian Liang did not share the same embarrassment as he demanded righteously. "Heng, give me the teapot."

"Whatever for?" Duke Heng asked casually as he straightened his clothing, with the teapot still in his hand's protective cradle.

"I want to drink it, obviously," Tian Liang said in a way to make Duke Heng look stupid.

"Who was it that said his own tea was obviously the best? Your teapot is on the other table," Duke Heng retorted.

Both men looked as if they were going to jump on each other again, which excited the 'fallen into the dark path' Xiao Hua, but An Jing snipped the bud by taking the teapot away at a speed that not even Duke Heng could guard against.

Duke Heng's stare on An Jing was contemplative as she handed the teapot to the smug-looking Long Lian.

"Only I, the older brother, can drink my little brother's tea as much as I like. The two of you are only entitled to one cup, but this Lord felt generous and allowed Duke Heng more than one... which you had already drunk."

Tang Mei handed Long Lian her cup and the princess personally poured her own tea, in case her maid could not protect the teapot from the two men.

"Hey Tiny," Tian Liang called Xiao Hua, but his manner was not as rude as before.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Xiao Hua asked innocently, despite knowing what he meant. She had clearly seen their reaction towards the tea she had brewed.

They looked as if they tasted heaven! It was exaggerated but it was still better than saying they looked like drug addicts, not that she had seen one before, which meant something must be wrong with her tea.

The Eighth Prince, Long Lian, and Old Madame Mong Lu had tasted her tea before, but they did not look as crazy as they did. No need to mention the Third Prince, he was the most addicted to her tea.

"That's the best I've ever tasted," Tian Liang honestly admitted. "I did not see any special method you had used, other than rinsing the tea leaves beforehand. What else did you do?"

Xiao Hua's mouth slowly formed into a smile filled with ridicule. "This gentleman, earlier you had insulted me and my elder brother, even going as far as insulting females in general. What makes you think I will tell you my secret instead of ordering my servant to beat you up?"

Snapping open his folding fan, Duke Heng used it to cover his snicker. He wanted to know how the Third Prince's little maid had brewed the tea as well, but he doubted she would tell him either.

Hmm, he could make use of 'visiting his little nephew' excuse to hang out at the Third Prince's residence.

Chapter 23: 'Carrot and stick' approach

"The victor is decided !" Long Lian declared but she looked serious instead of the expected glee for being the victor. "The day is getting late and my elder brother will worry. It's time for us to leave, little brother."

Long Lian took Xiao Hua's hand and pulled them away from the crowd that had formed around their table when the words of a tea brewing competition were spread around. Xiao Hua did not resist, because staying longer would not be good for her.

Who knew what they would do to make her cough up her so-called 'secret' brewing method?

"An Jing, buy that teapot we had used, along with the teacups." Long Lian turned to

Tian Liang and smirked. "This tea set will be a token of our victory."

"Why are you being arrogant when it's your little brother that won the contest?"

Tian Liang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Don't you understand that a family member's success is a joy for the whole family?" Long Lian mocked and left the shop with a raised chin.

An Jing passed the packed tea set to Da Bei as soon as they left the tea house. The tea set must arrive at the Third Prince's residence without any accident happening to it. As an observant person that always kept an eye on their surroundings, she had noticed the princess' face had shown her confusion as she stared down at the cup of tea she just tasted.

An Jing continued to watch as realization slowly dawned on the princess before she quickly announced their leave. Xiao Hua's tea must have something unusual for it to elicit that response from Long Lian. An Jing remembered that day when she and An Wan had tasted the tea under the Third Prince's order. That was the best tea she ever had tasted and it was brewed by Xiao Hua.

Until they discover the reason why Xiao Hua's tea was different from others, it would be best to keep it under wraps, just as their master had told them to. Unfortu-nately, the other party that knew of this was Duke Heng and King of Munzhu, or else she would permanently silence them.

The only thing she could do was inform her master of their knowledge and keep an eye on them.

As soon as they were outside of the tea house, Long Lian whined, "This place is not fun at all, so let's go back home okay, little brother?"

"Um." Xiao Hua nodded in agreement.

Using the back door to enter the manor, they silently made their way to the Pearl Courtyard, but the Third Prince was already waiting for them, sitting in the pavilion.

Da Bei, who was standing behind him, had already filled him in on what happened.

Seeing that Xiao Hua had safely returned, Da Bei silently made himself scarce to accept his punishment for allowing Eunuch Heng to enter Xiao Hua's room.

The packaged teapot was on the table and they had not emptied the contents when they brought it home. The teacup was filled with tea, which meant that the Third Prince had tasted it.

Long Lian flinched when she saw her third brother's icy expression.

Forcing herself to look cheerful, Long Lian stepped closer to the Third Prince.

"Third brother! I brought Xiao Hua out to play for a bit to celebrate the Lunar New Year! The streets are as festive as rumoured, truly a marvelous sight!"

"Did you have fun?" The Third Prince asked Long Lian, but his eyes were on Xiao Hua, who refused to meet his eyes, preferring to stare at the ground which she suddenly found fascinating.

"Unfortunately, the festival's mood did not last long so we returned early. The food was not up to my taste but Xiao Hua said not to waste food so I ate it all," Long Lian reported and felt a bit relieved when her brother's eyes softened.

"We had also met Duke Heng and the King of Munzhu," Long Lian pronounced them as clearly as she could, her eyes trained unblinkingly on her brother to avoid missing any reaction from him. It was when Duke Heng and Tian Liang fought for the teapot did Long Lian finally recognize the bloodthirsty King of Munzhu. She blamed it on their different attire for not recognizing him earlier.

With all her attention on her brother, she missed the horror on Xiao Hua's face when she said, 'The King of Munzhu'.

"We got into a tea brewing competition with the King of Munzhu and Xiao Hua won. Third brother, you know something about Xiao Hua's tea, don't you?"

"I will praise you for knowing to leave immediately before they suspected any-thing," the Third Prince began. "But I will take back my assumption of you knowing better than to make Xiao Hua enter a tea brewing contest."

"That's mean of you, third brother! I never knew anything about Xiao Hua's tea. If I had known, I would not have accepted that bet in the first place!"

"Does that mean you never noticed your body's improvement?"

"Improvement?" Realization dawned on Long Lian. "Does the tea improve our health?"

That got Xiao Hua to raise her head from the ground to look at the Third Prince and it gave him a small sense of satisfaction.

"This is something you must never tell anyone, understand?" the Third Prince said sternly, and the shaken Long Lian nodded seriously.

"This would bring danger to Xiao Hua if it was known," Long Lian said worriedly.

"I swear upon my cultivation that I would not reveal Xiao Hua's secret to anyone!"

The Third Prince nodded and turned to An Jing. "You and Da Bei are her guards, and that's why you are allowed to know."

"We will protect Elder Sister Hua with our life!" An Jing kneeled and gave her vow.

Xiao Hua wanted to protest against that oath but her logical mind knew that if someone found out about her new cheat, they would kidnap her and force her to keep brewing tea for them.

Darn it! She would need to work even harder to raise her cultivation! (; Д )

"Tang Mei, you have followed me for more than half a year." Long Lian turned her attention to her maidservant. "It's time for you to answer me. Who are you loyal to, me or the Empress?"

Suddenly having everyone's attention on her, Tang Mei stammered, "I - I..."

"I know Mother Empress had sent you to protect me, but that does not mean you recognize me as your new master. She wants you to keep an eye on me as well, isn't it?"

"Princess, I"

"I will not kill or punish you if you choose to be loyal to Mother Empress but I will return you to her side."

"Please don't, Princess!" Tang Mei knelt down with a loud bang, earning a wince from Xiao Hua. "This servant is loyal to you! The Empress might have assigned this servant to you and wants me to inform her about any strange movements but this servant never reveals anything important! My loyalty is always towards you!"

"Then prove it." Long Lian uncurled her palm, revealing a small round pill in dark purple colour. "Eat it "

Tang Mei's face immediately went pale and that reaction made Xiao Hua wonder if it was poison. She had known of that method from some Chinese novels she had read.

It was used by the female lead or evil people on those servants that they did not trust, with the purpose of keeping them under their control.

It was a cruel yet safeguarding method, giving the feeder a peace of mind. But there was one thing that bugged Le Xiao Ting's mind when she read about this method. Surely there would be a risk of the feeder being unable to deliver the antidote that suppressed the effect of the poison on time, or that not everyone's body would be able to handle the poison as the feeder expected?

Yet Xiao Hua found it hard to get angry at Long Lian for using that method. She loved Long Lian a lot, including her constant badgering. If she died, it would be very painful for Xiao Hua's heart.

Tang Mei fought the urge to cry as she took the pill with shaky hands and swallowed it clumsily.

Her face showed no change of emotion but Long Lian was relieved when Tang Mei ingested the special poison pill. Originally, she had not minded much that her new maidservant was arranged to her side by her mother. But one day she caught Tang Mei secretly conversing with her mother's inner maid in a hidden corner. She tried to reassure herself that they were just gossiping, but her guard was already raised around Tang Mei.

Since then, she made sure Tang Mei only knew unimportant stuff but Long Lian had never thought that today's outing would expose the importance of Xiao Hua's tea.

"I will not make things difficult for you," Long Lian offered a carrot. Xiao Hua had told her about the 'Carrot and stick' approach and she decided to use it. "I will discuss the matter with Mother Empress to transfer your slave contract to me."

"I can join in on the discussion, if you wish," the Third Prince offered.

Long Lian shook her head. "If you are there, there might be some things that she would not say to me. It's also the time to clear the air between us."

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Thank you." Long Lian smiled softly. "Xiao Hua... are you an earth elementalist or with a high affinity with plants?"

"Elementalist?" Xiao Hua tilted her head in confusion. She does not even know that the tea she brewed would have such miracle effects!

"She isn't," the Third Prince answered for Xiao Hua. "Long Lian, you can stay here overnight."

Long Lian frowned. "Third brother."

"This will continue tomorrow. I need to discuss something with Xiao Hua." Xiao Hua's heartbeat quickened when the Third Prince stood up and approached her. He stopped a few steps before her and raised an open palm.

"Come."

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Hua took the Third Prince's hand and allowed him to lead them out of the Pearl Courtyard.

Chapter 24: Be brave to show your love

An Jing and Da Bei did not follow them, leaving them alone to have a private talk. But instead of going to the Spring Courtyard using the usual path, the Third Prince led her to the other path with more plants around. Xiao Hua thought this was the time for more heart to heart talk with more tears flowing.

Her eyes will suffer again.

After a while, he stopped walking. "Come, stand closer to the plants."

"Why?" Looks like her eyes will be safe today.

"From the response of the plants to your presence, we can then determine how your brewing talent exactly came to be."

"Which reason?" Xiao Hua looked uncertain, but she was not an expert in cultivation or having a weird cheat that was installed in most main characters before when their second chance in life began.

"It will not hurt you."

Xiao Hua laughed shakily. She knew it would be silly to think the plants would suddenly grow a large mouth with a row of sharp teeth as soon as she grew closer to them, but with the way the Third Prince had said about the plants having different reactions depending on her, it was sensible of her to be at least a little wary of the

Under the Third Prince's anticipative gaze, she slowly approached one of the plants, which appeared to be a white orchid. She stopped right before it and glanced at the Third Prince with her eyes asking 'Now what?'

"Touch it."

Xiao Hua raised an eyebrow but she complied, tracing a shaking finger on a petal.

Luckily she had braced herself with possible strangeness and jumped when the flower suddenly rubbed itself over her finger, as a cat does from a pat.

"Ask it to grow."

"Huh?"

"If you have a high affinity with plants, you will be able to ask them to grow for you. Pour out some of your spiritual energy into it."

Xiao Hua nodded despite having doubts about it and turned back to the white orchid that was still rubbing her finger and injected some of her spiritual energy into it.

"Err...grow... grow for me!"

She had totally expected it would suddenly grow taller but it showed no changes, still rubbing itself over her finger, except with more enthusiasm. The smell of orchid suddenly grew so thick that she could not stop herself from sneezing.

The Third Prince came over and stood beside her. "You can stop touching it."

Xiao Hua pulled her finger away and the orchid made a weird movement as if complaining from the loss of touch. But it did not follow her finger and obediently stayed away.

The Third Prince tapped a finger on the orchid and injected his spiritual energy.

"Grow, please." The white orchid suddenly grew taller and bigger until the flower pot cracked, unable to contain its size.

Xiao Hua was quick to dodge the small pieces of pot that flew apart.

"Did you spot any differences between what you and I had done?"

"Congrats for making it grow?" Xiao Hua said with slight sarcasm.

It was unknown whether it was fortunate or not that the Third Prince missed or ignored her sarcasm. "A plant user like me can coax a plant to grow and fight for them.

But you are unable to make it grow even an inch."

"Doesn't that depend on a person's cultivation? The higher the cultivation, the stronger the command over the plants will be?" That was what common sense told her anyway.

"You are right. But even a rank one plant cultivator could make a plant grow even for a tiny inch. However, instead of making it grow, you seem to have brought out its latency."

"Then... am I a plant user?"

"No, you aren't."

"Then why do I have this ability?"

Long Zhu remembered what Lord Mingzhi had told him, about a certain new star that had appeared right beside his star, shining brighter as his star slowly, but surely, getting closer to the new star. They were still unsure who that new star belonged to, but judging at the time it suddenly appeared, the most likely choice was likely the transmigrated fiancée of the Second Prince or Le Xiao Ting. It was unlikely to be Heise as he had transmigrated later than the both of them.

But he was confident that the new star was Xiao Hua because it made his star shine brighter, bringing joy and luck to him.

"It's because of me," Long Zhu admitted. "A cultivator could never hide their true feelings from their spiritual energy and they influence the element that they have command over. It is the same for me."

"So you mean I have this cheat - coughs - ability because of you? What feeling do you have?" Xiao Hua asked and tried hard not to blush, but failed. She tried not to think about it, but the way the plant had just reacted to her made her imagine the Third Prince doing that to her.

No, Le Xiao Ting! Get a bloody grip on your imagination! V$V K/)

She had made up her mind and was determined to remain as the Third Prince's maid until they managed to find a way for her to return back to her original world. No matter how well the Third Prince treated her, she must pretend that he was just an affectionate fly!

"When you brewed for me the first time, I noticed how the tea that you've brewed is well suited to my taste compared to others. But as time went by, the taste improved and became addictive." The Third Prince faced her with clear eyes. "That's the same as how I feel about you."

"What-"

Long Zhu cut in before Xiao Hua could protest or push him away. He did not want to let her go, no matter how his parents tried to separate them. Duke Heng had told him a way to have Xiao Hua as his wife and he was not going to waste that chance.

"My feelings grew towards you and I can't stop it." Nor did he have the willpower to stop it. "I love you."

Xiao Hua swore she would have a heart attack if it continued to beat so quickly.

Her face was already as red as a tomato and her mind kept on replaying his last sen-tence. This was the second time he said he loved her, and she was honestly shocked that he would say it without hesitation.

Men, especially prideful ones, hardly spoke about or confessed their feelings in the form of words.

She could not control her body to move when he invaded her personal space. The smell of trees that was always on him spread and wrapped around her like a safety blanket. She did not push him away when he gathered her into his arms and pressed his face on the side of her neck, his warm breath tickling her.

"I want you to be my wife."

"Stop it!" Xiao Hua suddenly hissed like a cat that was provoked. "You know it's impossible! Are you going to defy your parents just to marry me?"

His silence answered her question.

"You need to stop before you get hurt," Xiao Hua pleaded.

Le Xiao Ting could remember how her ex-boyfriend had pleaded with her not to break up with him. He swore that he did not mind being his replacement, being her crutch to get over him. If she was a weaker person, she would have given in to his plea. She could have learned to get over her boss and learn to love him, but they could also end up hurting each other when he finally realized he deserved better than being a substitute.

Xiao Hua moved her hands in preparation to push the Third Prince away when he finally spoke.

"I have a way to keep everyone's mouth shut when I marry you as my wife. You say you don't like to share me with other women, and I don't like to share you with anyone either. I will be your only husband and you will be my only wife. I will not take any concubines or bed warmers. I swear upon my soul."

Xiao Hua's heart soared with happiness but she quickly pinched her thigh to bring her back down to earth. "Even so, I wish to return back to my original world."

When he did not answer, except for the tightening grip around her, she chuckled sadly. "So you will stop me from going back to my own world?"

Long Zhu released a shaky breath before removing his arms around her, only to have his hands cup her small, lovable face that he had grown especially fond of. His heart twisted as he recognized the fear and guarded look in her eyes. His little flower did not trust him to keep his word.

"I've promised you that I will help you. I won't stop you."

"Then why do you still insist when you know it won't last?" Xiao Hua bit out the words angrily.

"I wish to treasure you while you are still with me."

"But... but you will get hurt!" Xiao Hua exclaimed as her eyes stung fiercely.

"At least, I won't regret it." Long Zhu caressed her soft cheeks. "It will be the happiest memory of my life."

"You... you don't know t-that!" Xiao Hua's voice cracked from her intense emotion.

Long Zhu tolerantly wiped the tears away with his thumbs from her cheeks. "I don't know, but if I don't try, it will remain unknown forever."

His words reminded Le Xiao Ting of a distant memory she had with her mother when she was still an innocent little girl.

'Being careful is good, but sometimes, you need to be brave'

"What does that mean, mummy?' A six-year-old Le Xiao Ting asked her mummy, who

she believed was a person filled with wisdom.

'If you love a person, be brave enough to show your love!

'Brave?'

Mama Le laughed and hugged her little daughter. "Mummy is brave to show love to my sweet little girl. Mummy is also brave because she always tells her darling daughter how much she loves her."

Le Xiao Ting giggled, not at all repulsed by her mummy's affection like those boys from her class. "Then Xiao Ting is brave too! I love mummy!"

"Xiao Ting is such a brave girl! Mummy loves you lots too!"

"I'm sorry for being a coward." Xiao Hua touched Long Zhu's hands that were still on her cheeks. "I'm a coward that's afraid of pain."

"You are not a coward." Long Zhu pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead. "You are very brave."

Xiao Hua's laugh sounded rather strangled. "Stop spoiling me."

"But I like to spoil you."

She smiled softly with a soft blush on her face. "Then it's my turn to spoil you." Raising herself on tiptoe, she pressed her mouth onto his, taking her first step in scarding her cowardice to love, even if this would be a fleeting love.

Chapter 25: Feed her heart until it was fat and mushy

"I once liked a man that was too good for me."

The Third Prince looked at her, who was staring at the ceiling of the bed. They decided to continue their talk privately so they ended up inside his room. But Xiao Hua pulled them to lay down on the bed, side by side, with a small amount of space between them.

I will talk better without looking at you', was what she had told him.

"Was he a prince? Or a king?"

It took a while for Xiao Hua to connect the dots and laughed. "There is hardly any royalty in my world now. Even if they have a title, they are mostly without any power.

Prime Ministers are actually more powerful than them. As for the man I liked, he's not from the royalty line."

The Third Prince was interested in the power structure in her world, but it was not the right time to ask. "Then why is he too good for you?"

Xiao Hua laughed at herself, a little too bitter than she should. "He's a very successful man. He started his business from scratch and raised it high up, on par with other business giants."

And he even shocked everyone with how fast his company grows.

The Third Prince nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. He's a successful merchant.

Your family is not from high standing?"

Xiao Hua giggled in amusement. "In my world, we don't really care much about family background, except if they are criminals. But no, I'm not from a high standing family but from a commoner family."

But her mom did inherit considerable wealth from her grandparents after they had passed away, as her mom was the only child.

"Then what stopped you from asking your father to propose marriage to his family

if your world does not care about family standing?"

"That...err, I don't need a father to propose marriage. This... how do I explain this..." Xiao Hua tried to find a way to explain but found that they have a serious culture barrier and in her part, language barrier!

Her Mandarin was much better now, but there was an unending vocabulary that she still had yet to grasp even one-third of it!

"Hmm, let me say it this way. He is a handsome and rich man that could marry any woman he wants. My looks are average and I'm not rich, just enough to live my life comfortably. There's no way he would look at me in a romantic way."

The first time Le Xiao Ting met He Zhu was during their high school and she became his part-time lackey in a sense after she joined the student council team. After he graduated, they hardly kept any contact, which came into a halt when she entered col-lege. But when she graduated with a bachelor of degree, he suddenly barrelled into her life like a wrecking ball and strongly persuaded her to work for him.

Never once had he acted as if he liked her romantically and had only treated her as a friend. The belief that He Zhu did not like her in that way strengthened when she saw what type of women hung around him. Not to mention his ex-girlfriends that could be models or actresses with their looks alone. Just seeing one of them was enough to crack her damaged self-confidence!

"You did not climb into his bed without any clothes on to seduce him?"

Xiao Hua choked on air and whirled her head to look at the Third Prince in disbelief. "What did you just say?" She hoped she had just misheard what he said.

The Third Prince blinked, seemingly unaware the words he had uttered were outrageous. "Climbing into his bed naked. That's what An Wan did when she tried to seduce me."

She would never look at An Wan the same way again!

Xiao Hua knew how An Wan felt towards the Third Prince, as often enough, her eyes were always filled with longing and adoration when she gazed at him whenever she thought no one was looking.

"Third Prince, I'm not..." Loose? Cheap? Easy? Bold? Whichever label she chooses would be an insult to An Wan and the ladies that did their best to have their crush notice them! In the end, she could only say, "I'm a shy person, with not enough courage to chase after my desires in such a brave manner."

The Third Prince stared at her, contemplating. "You loved a handsome and rich man?"

Xiao Hua nodded. She shared the same dream with most women in both worlds!

The Third Prince leaned closer to Xiao Hua and asked, "Is this prince handsome?"

This young lady wants to know if you are narcissistic.

Xiao Hua nodded accommodatingly in agreement. "Your Highness is the most beau- handsome man this servant had ever seen."

"Is this prince better looking than that man you once liked?"

What's with the competition? Could he be jealous?

Xiao Hua nodded, trying not to control her giggles as she answered in a rather fawning manner. "Of course. He could not be compared to the Third Prince." How can one compare two people with the same face? The only things she could compare were their personalities and so far, the Third Prince won by a landslide. The pampering the Third Prince had given to her had fed her heart until it was fat and mushy.

Besides, she had fallen in love with Long Zhu, even more than how she felt towards

He Zhu, the guy that played with her heart as if it was a yo-yo.

"Then don't look at anyone else with those eyes."

Inner Xiao Hua squealed like a rabid fangirl but the outer Xiao Hua maintained an innocent appearance. "Your Highness, if I don't look at anyone, I would most likely bump into people..."

Long Zhu: "..." This girl, what should he do to her?

Xiao Hua giggled and stole a kiss from the pouting mouth, as a way of telling him that she was just fooling around. She was going to retreat but he leaned closer until he was on top of her, continuing the kiss.

She felt as if the temperature of the room was rising quickly as their kiss grew fiercer and deeper. Xiao Hua was originally taking the lead, showing him how to tease, kiss, and suck, but it was not long when the talented student overtook the teacher in both skill and enthusiasm.

It was the first time Le Xiao Ting had kissed this long. It was addicting and her head was dizzy with lack of oxygen but it felt so good that she did not want to stop.

The embarrassing yet exciting sounds of their wet kissing were loud to their ears but those sounds drove Long Zhu to kiss her with added fervor, swallowing her sweet, tiny moans that spoke of what she felt and greedily suck her soft, supple tongue that had previously teased him.

Long Zhu suddenly broke their kiss, his breathing as haggard as hers. Both of their lips were in a familiar state of redness and puffiness, a very noticeable proof of what they just did. Unaware of when she had wrapped her arms around his neck, she let out a soft whine to complain and tugged him closer to continue her new enjoyment when she heard someone knocking on the door.

Common sense returned and she blushed in embarrassment, immediately pulling her hands back. It sounded like whoever was behind the door had knocked for quite some time and they just realized it due to their...pleasurable distraction.

"What is it?" the Third Prince asked with a tone that revealed no hint of what they just did.

Xiao Hua quickly inched away until they had a proper distance between them, and the Third Prince watched her without doing anything to stop her.

"Your Highness, Princess Long Lian requested to have a meal together with Elder Sister Hua," An Jing informed, her voice slightly distorted with the door between them.

"Inform the kitchen to prepare two separate meals. Long Lian will have to dine by herself tonight, as I have yet to finish discussing things with Xiao Hua." Xiao Hua gaped with a renewed bright red face. What discussion? They were only busy kissing! Or was he intending to continue their kissing?

"As you ordered." They could hear An Jing's almost silent footsteps moving away, leaving them alone again.

Xiao Hua slipped out of the bed before she was tempted to eat the Third Prince's delicious tofu again.

"You know...I thought that it's rather strange." Xiao Hua sat down on a stool. "It would at least be reasonable if I could only use the skill you've given me whenever you are around, but this afternoon, you were not around me yet I was still able to tamper the tea leaves."

She stared at him as calmly as she could, not asking him a question or making a statement from the limited information she had. Weaving a conclusion would be his sole right.

The Third Prince sat forward on the bed until his feet touched the ground. It seems he had wronged her, for assuming she would not think so deeply.

He had known her for more than half a year and realized her way of thinking was quite different from the norms of the people around him. His eighth brother was the same as well. They were rather naive when it came to manipulation and plotting, their reactions indicated they were not exposed to them much.

But they could be adaptive when needed, in their weird, awkward way. There was also her weird desire to take shortcuts when doing something, claiming that the usual way was wasting time and boring. She was also unable to sit still and meditate, which often resulted in her falling asleep.

"It doesn't matter where you are, you can use your ability because I'm the strongest plant cultivator in the Four Kingdoms."

She never realized her boyfriend was a Chuunibyou [7] ..... Ah Pei! They are in a Chuunibyou world!

"That is a power loaned to me in my second life until I fulfill what I need to do."

"What do you need to do?" Xiao Hua asked.

"To save the world."

So my boyfriend has a superhero complex too.

Chapter 26: Travelled back in time

"You travelled back in time on purpose? Or someone forced that onto you?" Xiao Hua asked.

Since he mentioned he was given the power, if that was what he meant, then there would naturally be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. The thought of someone with unknown intentions controlling the Third Prince was alarming. The Third Prince might be a good person, but that did not mean the mastermind would be as well.

Long Zhu sighed with a mixture of amusement and mild weariness. He did not have any intention of sharing that piece of secret, but his little flower was rather slip-pery, finding the holes in his explanation. However, it was not as if he had worked hard to hide it.

But that did not mean he minded her knowing. Feng Jiu and the rest may not be happy that an outsider knew about it, but he would bet with his soul that Xiao Hua did not have any evil intentions and would not abuse the information.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Xiao Hua whispered but knew that the Third Prince would be able to hear her.

If Xiao Hua kept on pushing for the whole truth, he might end up detesting her need to know' attitude. That did that not mean she would not get to eat his tofu... no, they would break up as a result of their argument!

She would be the one with the title 'girlfriend' for the shortest period in the world.

The Third Prince stood up from the bed and in a graceful movement, crossed the room to sit beside the tense Xiao Hua. Oh no, why did he come closer?

"Heise's story says that the Long royal family was all killed, doesn't it?"

Xiao Hua's body remained anxious, albeit her fear dropped slightly. She did not know what he wanted to talk about, but his tone and body language showed no opposition towards her. "Yes."

"Long Shan became the Emperor with Liu Chu Chu as his Empress, am I right?" Xiao Hua's eyes widened when she finally remembered something. "You love Liu Chu Chu?"

Heise had written that the Third Prince had fallen in love with Liu Chu Chu but he could not be considered as a supporting male lead. It was unknown which reader started it first, but they claimed that the female lead should only have three male lead candidates before choosing the final male lead.

The male lead candidates for the novel were Duke Heng, Yang Ling, and the Second Prince. Only the three of them have the privilege to be chosen by the heroine to marry.

The others were considered as cannon fodders or fanboys to be used as a catalyst to deepen the feelings between the hero and heroine!

The reason why the Third Prince was not chosen as the supporting male lead was that he was not as useful as the other three supporting male leads or as self-sacrificing as them. Hence, he was not able to win the supporting male lead title from the other male characters.

"Why would I love someone that killed me?" the Third Prince asked with a deep frown as if remembering something painful

Xiao Hua flinched, vaguely remembering that the Third Prince had said something similar not long ago.

"But she has not killed you now.." Xiao Hua trailed off, her heartbeat rising due to anxiety, but she still wanted to breach the topic. What if he suddenly realized the fact that he could steal the heroine now with his new strength and personality? Then what will happen to them? To her?

"Right now, you are different. You could take her away from the Second Prince," Xiao Hua said softly, trying not to allow any feelings that indicated she was sad from leaking into her voice.

"I do not love her," the Third Prince said in a forced calmness but his voice betrayed him as it revealed faint anger. "I was a fool then, and I'm not going to be a fool again."

The way he spoke could also indicate that he was forcing himself not to love the dangerous heroine. Smacking her silly and dramatic thoughts away, she decided to do something that would shock his mind away from Liu Chu Chu. Even if his heart truly hated Liu Chu Chu, she should do something to cement her position in his heart

Using her fastest speed to stand up, she easily moved closer to him and sat on his lap, straddling him. Her speed was nothing in the Third Prince's eyes, but he did not do anything to stop her because he was shocked at how bold she was and also curious about what she wanted to do.

He had never encountered such a situation before, as any female that tried to get close to him with dirty intentions were usually pushed away by his shadow guards or inner maids. Finding his heartbeat similar to a horse galloping, he stared in awe at the rather alluring smirk, revealing how Xiao Hua would look like when she hit adult-hood.

When her arms circled around his shoulders, his body tensed as he could feel his body growing warmer. Something was stirring in him when she placed her cheek beside his and her warm breath caressing his right ear.

"But it no longer matters, right?" Her whisper was like a devil's promise, making him nod without much thought. "Xiao Hua is the only one you love, right? So Liu Chu Chu is no longer important in your heart."

Long Zhu blinked, pushing the fog in his mind away. "Are you jealous?" That got her to pull her face away from his and he felt a tiny sense of loss.

"You are mine and I am yours. No hussy... I mean, another woman is allowed to step between us!"

The Third Prince laughed at how adorably possessive she was and hugged her close. Her possessiveness surprisingly did not repulse him, but only make him feel cherished. "Alright."

Xiao Hua frowned. It resulted in what she wanted but why did she feel as if her plan had backfired? "And you haven't told me why you asked about the ending Heise had written in his book."

Long Zhu settled her on his lap properly by pulling her closer but that had made a certain part of their body too close for comfort. However, it seemed that only Xiao Hua was hyper-aware of it because his face did not show any hint of discomfort.

Purify your mind Le Xiao Ting! Pack up those dirty thoughts!

He continued with his explanation. "Heise told me his book ended when they ruled Guilin, but that's actually when the trouble arose. I did not experience it as I had died before that incident, but I was shown what had transpired afterward."

"Shown?" Xiao Hua forced herself to pay attention to his words and not their body.

She could have pulled herself away to kill the distraction, but she was reluctant to end their intimacy.

"Yes. The three rightful Emperors of the Four Kingdoms, aside from Guilin, had shown me their memories of what happened. The chaos happened so suddenly with no one prepared to deal with the demon invasion."

The Four Kingdoms' name and symbol represented the four Celestial Beasts Le

Xiao Ting knew in her original world.

The Bai Hu Kingdom, the White Tiger.

The Guilin Kingdom, the Azure Dragon.

The Zhu Que Kingdom, the Vermillion Bird.

The Xuanwu Kingdom, the Black Turtle.

Each Kingdom had a different season and luckily for Xiao Hua, Guilin Kingdom was always the comfortable spring season.

"The Emperors had also travelled back in time?" Xiao Hua asked.

Long Zhu nodded. "Yes, they only had enough energy to send the four of us back."

"Wait. Something is wrong." Xiao Hua pushed herself out of his lap with a frown and tried to arrange the new information in her mind. "What about the Second Prince and Liu Chu Chu? Why would you come back instead of them?"

Xiao Hua gulped when the Third Prince was spotted with a dark expression. "I...

I'm sorry! I don't mean to make you sound unimportant but the Second Prince and Liu Chu Chu are practically the world's favourite couple... or at least they are in Heise's novel. I'm just wondering!"

An Jing arrived with their dinner just in time to save Xiao Hua. They stepped into the small reception area of the Third Prince's bedroom where there was a table that was usually used as his dining table.

A plate of sweet and sour meatballs, Ma Po tofu, and fried golden dumplings filled the roundtable. There was also a large bowl of chicken ginseng soup and one bowl of white rice for Xiao Hua placed on the table.

Once done, An Jing curtsied before leaving them alone.

The Third Prince took a seat before glancing at her, using his eyes to tell her to take a seat as well. Xiao Hua gingerly sat beside him, despite her desire to pick a seat far away from him, but she bet her action would anger the Third Prince.

"I'm not angry." The Third Prince confessed. "It would be normal for you to think that way." He held up a hand to stop Xiao Hua from saying anything.

"Long Shan indeed became Guilin's Emperor, but what he did not account for was that only those with royal bloodline are allowed to inherit the throne. But he had completely killed everyone with the royalty blood and his actions crippled Guilin Kingdom's defence when the demons attacked."

"Defence?"

"There is a Celestial Beast residing deep in the Guilin Kingdom. The Celestial Beast promised to lend its strength to a human guardian and the strength can only be wielded by the guardian's direct descendants."

Xiao Hua bet that the Celestial Beast he was talking about was the Azure Dragon that represented the spring.

"Because of the lack of defense, Guilin Kingdom is the first to fall. In the other Emperors' memories, they do not know what happened to Long Shan and Liu Chu Chu, but it was assumed they were dead."

But why did Xiao Hua feel that they were not dead but were hiding somewhere like cowards? Just as that unruly thought surfaced, she quickly smacked it away.

The hero and heroine were meant to be heroic and mighty, saving people as they passed by even if they never intended to do so. They would see the Guilin Kingdom as their property and would try to protect the Kingdom as best as they can!

So they must be six feet under and very dead!

Chapter 27: Yes, I don't trust you

With the current situation happening in Xiao Hua's room, the servants were actually glad they were not inside the room.

Inside a beautiful bedroom decorated for a female owner in mind, there were three individuals sitting around a round wooden table. The eldest of the trio was Princess Long Lian, who was dressed in a butterfly embroidered outfit, who was sulking and refused to look at Xiao Hua.

The youngest of the trio was Prince Long Ming, the Eighth Prince of the Guilin Kingdom that was dressed in a bright blue robe with cloud patterns. He was the same as Long Lian, sulking and inflated his chubby white cheeks.

The only one that was not sulking was Xiao Hua, who had dressed in a darker shade of a pink dress that was alike to the inner maid's uniform colour. But its style was more elaborate and classy compared to the inner maid's uniform, courtesy of the Third Prince.

She was just glad that it was not hot pink.

Xiao Hua sighed tiredly, wanting to be anywhere other than dealing with these two brats - ahem - sulking children. She wanted to try the sticky rice cakes that were made and fried by Tian Chi and the water chestnut cake that they had brought from the marketplace yesterday, but the tense situation was inappropriate for her to happily indulge in snacks, for she might get glared at by both of them.

Realizing that they could not remain this way, Xiao Hua opened her mouth and started coaxing them while making sure none of her irritation was revealed from her expression or voice. "Do get over this already. This is decided by the Third Prince."

"You can tell him to bring me along!" The Eighth Prince complained.

The original plan was that after the Lunar New Year celebration was over, the Third Prince would bring them to meet the mysterious person that might know a way to return them back to their original world. They did not know why the Third Prince suddenly changed his mind and brought forward the trip to tomorrow.

Xiao Hua sighed, allowing her frustration to leak into her voice. "If you want to follow so much, you go and ask him to bring you along by yourself."

"He won't because he will need to talk to Mother Empress and Father Emperor," the Eighth Prince hissed angrily. When he had heard of the news two days ago, he had immediately gone to demand the Third Prince to include him in the trip but the Third Prince rejected him without any hesitation.

The Third Prince gave him plenty of excuses such as him being too young for a long-distance journey to another Kingdom, and the Empress and Emperor would not allow their eighth son to be exposed to danger mainly due to his inability to take care of himself.

As the Eighth Prince failed to change the Third Prince's mind, he decided on trying to convince Xiao Hua to change the Third Prince's mind, instead.

Xiao Hua did not know how many people knew of it already, but the Third Prince was in a tense relationship with his parents. The Eighth Prince managed to find out that the Third Prince had a private conversation with the Empress yesterday and told her outright that he would be pleased if she did not meddle in his marriage matters.

Predictably, the Empress blew up like a firework. The Empress was going to command her private guards to retain the Third Prince in the palace until he married someone that was not his personal maid. However, no one knew what the Third Prince did to calm down the furious Empress.

"Then talk to the Empress and Emperor by yourself," Xiao Hua said sharply. She did not want to handle another sulking person that kept on whining for her to do what she could not do.

On the other hand, Long Lian was actually sulking because Xiao Hua refused to tell her more about her tea brewing skill. Xiao Hua explained that her skill must be kept a secret, which Long Lian understood, but not on why she was not allowed to know more.

To show that she was angry with Xiao Hua, Long Lian would ignore her despite visiting her every day. Today was the fifth day yet her anger did not seem to have less-ened. By now, Xiao Hua was not sure if Long Lian was really angry at her or just did not want to give in due to pride.

"Where's my third brother now?" The Eighth Prince asked angrily. Xiao Hua gave him a point for remembering to call the Third Prince as 'brother' in the heat of his anger.

"I heard he's preparing for tomorrow's journey in his study..."

"I will talk to him again!" The Eighth Prince stood up and quickly left the room and Eunuch Heng hastily followed him. There was no need to ask his master where he was going because the servants outside the room had heard almost everything as the trios were not exactly keeping their voice down.

It was truly hard to keep things secret from their servants.

Standing right outside the room, Tang Mei glanced at the open door before looking at Da Bei, who was unconcerned with the open door.

Sir Da Bei! Please don't just ignore the door that's wide open!

The silence inside the room was as awkward as Tang Mei felt. Unable to hold it any longer, she slowly inched closer to the door and quickly closed it before slinking back to her previous spot.

She released a sigh before realizing that Da Bei was staring at her. Her body jerked as if she had been caught doing something bad, and she quickly explained, "I'm just closing the door so that Princess and Elder Sister Hua can continue talking!"

Fortunately, Da Bei turned away after seeing that Tang Mei did not have any hidden motive, allowing the maid's tense shoulder to relax in relief. Since the 'Eunuch Episode', Da Bei grew even stricter, and it was only after being granted permission from the Third Prince did the Eighth Prince was even allowed to enter Xiao Hua's room.

As for Princess Long Lian and Elder Sister Hua that Tang Mei had sincerely wished they would continue talking, they were actually sitting still without looking at each other, pretending that there was something more interesting inside the room than each other.

Knowing that this would not get anywhere, Xiao Hua finally gave up and admitted defeat in the 'who's the most stubborn' contest between them.

"Ah Lian, I know you are angry that I won't tell you about my talent but the truth behind it isn't that simple..."

"I know that!" Long Lian snapped, finally breaking her self-imposed silence towards Xiao Hua. "You just don't trust me to keep it a secret!"

"It isn't a matter of trust," Xiao Hua insisted. "It's a matter of the right to reveal a secret that isn't mine to share!"

Long Lian jeered. "This is your skill; how could it not be your secret?"

"It's not my secret because of this... skill is related to someone and I'm not going to put that person in danger by telling you."

"So you don't trust me after all!"

Xiao Hua took a deep breath before releasing it. "Yes, I don't trust you."

Long Lian gasped softly, her eyes revealed the pain from Xiao Hua's words. But

Xiao Hua continued on before Long Lian could say anything.

"I don't trust that you won't be kidnapped and tortured for information. I know you are a loyal person, but I don't trust your pain tolerance. At that time, you will spill out whatever your kidnapper wants to know just to make the pain stop. So please forgive me for not willing to reveal a secret that isn't only mine to you."

"I'm not that weak!"

"How do you know? You have been kidnapped before, but have you been tor-tured?" Xiao Hua knew from Heise's novel that Long Lian had never been tortured except for being treated roughly during her stay in Mong Lu's manor. But the Long Lian inside Heise's novel was not saved by her brother earlier and was forced to undergo torture by the King of Munzhu's own hands.

"I know, I understand! I really understand it!" Long Lian snapped and wiped the tears that had escaped from her eyes some time ago. "But why is my third brother allowed to know? Why?"

Xiao Hua flinched at the raw misery in Long Lian's eyes, accusing her of doing something that she did not know about.

"The Third Prince is allowed to know because he's involved with the secret behind my skill," Xiao Hua said, decided to reveal at least this much to ease her anger. As she had hoped, Long Lian does not seem to be as angry as before.

"... I see."

It was a relief and Xiao Hua decided to change the subject. "Long Lian, please promise me to stay away from the King of Munzhu."

Long Lian blinked with blank eyes at the sudden change of topic. It took her a moment to clear her mind and focus on what Xiao Hua had said. "Why?"

Xiao Hua originally wanted to talk about this with the Third Prince, but the talk of their relationship pushed the issue to the back of her mind. As she was going on a journey tomorrow, there would be no other chance to stop Long Lian from meeting the King of Munzhu again.

Unfortunately, the King of Munzhu would stay for a bit longer in the Guilin Kingdom and would be around the palace, which Long Lian would be as well. There would be frequent chances for them to meet up.

"I heard from the Third Prince that the King of Munzhu hates royalty and loves killing. So please don't get close to him and be careful towards him," Xiao Hua plead-ed.

Long Lian's heart that was filled with bitterness due to Xiao Hua keeping a secret from her was almost replaced with sweetness at the worry Xiao Hua felt towards her.

"I will stay away from him," Long Lian promised with a sweet smile.

"That's good." Xiao Hua sighed in relief.

Let's just hope the King of Munzhu would not cause trouble towards Long Lian as revenge for his defeat in their tea brewing competition.

Chapter 28: It's milk

It was late afternoon when Long Lian excused herself and went back to the palace.

Both young maidens had helped themselves to the snacks, gleefully eating the Eighth Prince's forgotten portion as well.

With nothing to do, Xiao Hua decided to visit the Third Prince in his study, wondering whether the Eighth Prince would be there or not. She silently admitted to herself that having the Eighth Prince following her on the trip would make her feel more secure.

On her way to the study, she bumped into Tian Zi, who was holding onto a food basket, with a scrunched up nose indicating she had smelt something bad.

"Sister Tian Zi," Xiao Hua greeted.

"Elder Sister Hua!" Eyes sparkling upon the sight of Xiao Hua, Tian Zi hurried to the other girl. It was weird to see Tian Zi walking while holding the basket as far as she could from herself.

Xiao Hua laughed. "What's inside it?"

"Here!" Pushing the basket to Xiao Hua eagerly, Tian Zi gave Xiao Hua a pleading look. "I can't stand the smell!"

Seeing Tian Zi's reaction, Xiao Hua was hesitant to take it. She carefully sniffed the air and recognized the strong smell of milk coming from the basket.

"Oh! It's milk!" Xiao Hua had forgotten about the cow that the Eighth Prince had given to her. Actually, she had purposely forgotten about it to avoid milking the cow personally. "Did Sister Tian Zi milk the cow?"

Xiao Hua took the basket, relieving Tian Zi from the burden. Tian Zi moved a few steps away from Xiao Hua before responding. "The Eighth Prince taught Xiao Liu and Tian Chi how to do it. The milk is just enough to fill a bowl for Elder Sister Hua to par-take."

Xiao Hua removed the basket's lid and found a porcelain jar made for storing soup inside it. She squatted down and placed the basket on the ground before lifting the jar's cover

The steam escaped from its container and straight onto Xiao Hua's face that was just above it, warming up her face. She quickly pulled herself back from the steam as her nose was immediately filled with the smell of milk

"You warmed it!» Xiao Hua cheered. She was afraid Tian Zi had brought the milk straight from the cow.

"The Eighth Prince told us that the milk must be warmed up before consumption."

"Indeed~" Heating the milk up would kill most of the bacteria.

"Thank you for your help, Sister Tian Zi!"

"I only brought it to you. It's all Xiao Liu and Tian Chi's work."

Tian Zi vividly remembered how pale Xiao Liu's face was when he was assigned to take care of the cow and learned how to milk it. No one dared to approach the cow other than sneaking glances at it. They were higher grade servants, where would they need to milk cows before?

Xiao Liu had originally protested vehemently until Sir Da Liu struck a bargain with his younger brother.

'Ifyou do it, I will give you the responsibility of overseeing the horses.' Sir Da Liu seemed to regret it because after Xiao Liu agreed to take care of the cow, he had spent less time sleeping just to spend more time with the horses.

Tian Zi and Tian Chi secretly added more money on their previous bid of 'Xiao Liu will marry a horse that has a humanoid form'.

"Hmm... Sister Tian Zi, do we have honey?'

"Hu Ni? What is that?"

What's 'Honey' in Chinese?! "Erm... it's something sweet from a 'bee'... bee!"

"From a bee? Elder Sister Hua is talking about honey?" That should be it? "Yes! Honey!"

"Yes, we have plenty of it."

"In that case, can I have some to add into the milk?"

Xiao Hua swore Tian Zi twitched when she uttered 'milk' despite her smile not wavering. "I will get some from the kitchen." The chef did use honey once in a while when cooking dishes, as well as being used to sweeten the water when their masters decided to change their preference in drinks.

Just like their new master in her maid disguise, Elder Sister Hua would need honey water to help swallow the Nutrient Pill.

"I will go with you then." Xiao Hua offered.

"Elder Sister Hua is heading to the master's study room, isn't it? I will meet you there with honey!"

Before Xiao Hua could get a word in, Tian Zi had already dashed towards the direction of the kitchen. Xiao Hua sighed and placed the lid back onto their place before standing up with the basket in hand.

She never thought milk would smell that horrible to Tian Zi. However, the milk's smell was indeed stronger compared to the milk Le Xiao Ting had brought from the grocery store or in the powdered form.

"I hope the honey would dilute the strong taste," Xiao Hua mumbled and continued her way to the Third Prince's study room.

When the basket in her hand was suddenly taken away, she nearly tripped from the sudden missing weight. Armed with an intimidating glare, she turned to see who had dared to steal her milk.

Her glare was instantaneously replaced with a grateful smile when she saw it was Da Bei that took her basket, his wide innocent eyes staring right at her as if waiting for her to start walking. Without a single thanks, she continued on her way with Da Bei following behind her. In the beginning, she had protested and even tried to reason when people helped her to carry things, but they were persistent and forced Xiao Hua to accept their help.

Did they forget she was also a servant?

With lesser tasks given to her, Xiao Hua swore she would get even lazier now!

What will she do when she gets older and her metabolism rate becomes slower? She will have no choice but to train more. Lately, she had increased her training effort and was currently a cultivator at the higher realm of rank one. She only needed to increase a bit more before reaching the second rank.

Upon arrival, Eunuch Lau Liu was the one that greeted them. Without asking for permission from the Third Prince, he opened the door and motioned her to get in.

"Da Bei, let Xiao Hua carry the basket inside. We have something to discuss," Eunuch Lau Liu said, which Da Bei immediately complied with.

"See you later." Xiao Hua told Da Bei before stepping inside with the basket in hand.

Instead of what she had originally expected, the Eighth Prince was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was Yang Ling arguing with the Third Prince rather intensely with his hands on the table to lean closer to the Third Prince.

If he was trying to pressure the Third Prince, it was proving to be useless.

"Oi, Third Prince, you can't force me to join the competition! I told you that I won't join if you don't join! It's boring when I already know I'll be the winner!"

"I'm asking you to defeat Fifth Miss Liu."

"You could join and defeat her instead of asking me to do it! It will be super easy for you, right? You don't even need to work hard!"

"I'm busy. If you fail to defeat her, I will take back the 'Flaming Bow'." Yang Ling gaped in disbelief. "You gave it to me as my birthday present! You can't just take it back! If you continue being a stingy person that would take back the stuff that you had given to people, be careful that one day you will get beaten up for it!"

"Then you will need to do your best to win. If she wins, Father Emperor will reward her and that's not to our advantage."

Why...why did Eunuch Lau Liu let her go in when they are talking about important matters!?

She slowly stepped back before turning to the door but it was closed, refusing to open.

"Xiao Hua, you are here."

Xiao Hua jumped in shock and whirled back to look at the Third Prince. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't realize you are having a meeting! I will leave now!"

"You don't need to leave. Come and have a seat," the Third Prince invited with a soft smile, with a gobsmacked Yang Ling as he stared at this version of the Third Prince he had never seen before.

Where did the demanding prince go to? The stern facade and serious manner that the Third Prince always showed around him, where was it?!

Walking over to the wide-seated wooden couch that was placed at the side of the room, she gingerly sat down on it. There was also a small table placed between the couch, convenient for her to place the basket on it.

"Where is Jing Ke?" the Third Prince asked once he saw Xiao Hua took a seat.

"Hold on! Are you seriously going to talk about important things with her around?

Are you insane? Did you drop your reasoning somewhere? You don't allow me to bring my servant with me but you bring yours! That's bloody unfair!"

Yang Ling could have also asked, 'Did you get mesmerized by beauty?' but it might offend the little maid and the big bad wolf would get protective and lash out at him.

"Da Liu."

The familiar menacing shadow guard stepped out from the corner with the thickest shadow covering that area and bowed in respect.

"Sir Jing Ke is in Moonlight Lake Pavilion, polishing his newly made weapons. Mas-ter, Duke Heng had sent a missive to inform he would pay a visit to your residence tonight and have a meal together. He also wishes to visit the Eighth Prince that often comes here to play."

"Ah? Heng Zhen Gan will be coming? I will stay for dinner too! Da Liu, ask the kitchen to make the roast duck! That's the first time I had eaten such a delicious duck!" Yang Ling requested as if this was his own residence.

"Send Yang Ling back to Yang Manor. Tell Lord Yang that his son must enter the archery competition and secure the first place. The ownership of the 'Flaming Bow' will depend on his performance," the real owner of this residence said.

Yang Ling tried to dodge Da Liu's hands, but no matter how many times he managed to dodge, in the end he was still caught thanks to his lower cultivation compared to Da Liu.

"That's blackmail! I'm going to file a complaint and my father will fight for my jus-tice!" Yang Ling screamed as Da Liu manhandled him out of the room.

"Lau Liu."

"Yes, my prince." Eunuch Lau Liu stepped aside from the door, letting Da Liu pass with the struggling Yang Ling that never stopped sprouting threats.

"Send a word to Duke Heng that my eighth brother has returned to the palace. If he wishes to meet him, he will have to go there."

Xiao Hua secretly nodded, finally enlightened. Heise must be moping from his defeat and ran back home to lick his wounds.

Chapter 29: Yang Ling was so cheap?

Tian Zi returned right in time with the honey Xiao Hua wanted after Eunuch Lau Liu left. It was after she received the small bottle of honey from Tian Zi did she realize she was being ungrateful. She was going to drink the milk that was not produced from her own hands.

"Sister Tian Zi, you say all the milk is inside this bowl?" Tian Zi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, Elder Sister Hua."

Xiao Hua stared at the small-sized cups that were used for tea drinking in dismay.

Le Xiao Ting missed her own average-sized porcelain cup with a handle for easy to grab on.

But she hardened her heart and poured milk into two empty teacups before dropping enough amount of honey into them.

Covering the jar back with the lid, Xiao Hua told Tian Zi, "Sister Tian Zi, will you pass the remaining milk to be shared by everyone? If they find the taste too heavy, they can add some honey according to their taste."

"Elder Sister Hua, that would be inappropriate! Please enjoy the milk with Master." To have servants to drink something that was prepared for their master was known as a crime. Tian Zi has no remorse in declining the offer.

Tian Chi might be interested in the milk, but most of the servants no longer wanted to try the milk after witnessing how Sir Xiao Liu had squeezed it from the cow as well as the strong smell coming from the milk. Most of the servants in the Third Prince's household were unmarried. They had not witnessed childbirth before, much less breastfeeding!

"This servant needs to handle the preparation for tomorrow's trip. Please excuse

Tian Zi!" With that, she fled so quickly as if there was an imaginary tiger chasing after her.

Xiao Hua thinks that maybe she should personally share it with others later.

Placing one of the cups filled with milk onto a tray, she lifted it to carry to the Third Prince's table. When she saw the state of the desk, she wondered where she should place the teacup. The table was filled with papers and scrolls in a disorganized man-ner.

Noticing her dilemma, the Third Prince pushed the mess on his desk to a side.

"This is milk from the cow that Heise gave me. I added some honey as the taste is pretty strong. If you still find the taste unbearable, you can add more honey... or you can just not drink it!" Xiao Hua hurriedly added the last sentence.

She had nearly forced a prince to drink milk!

Even if they were in a relationship now, Xiao Hua knew she must not treat him like how Le Xiao Ting treated her previous boyfriend. The Third Prince would not lower himself to be his girlfriend's equal. If one day they were forced to end their rela-tionship, the Third Prince has the power to make his ex-girlfriend suffer for revenge!

Xiao Hua was actually surprised he would treat her so nice already. But that might also be contributed to the fact she had yet truly angered the Third Prince.

The Third Prince picked up the cup, the red jade thumb ring was especially eye-catching and raised the teacup to his mouth.

Suddenly Xiao Hua wanted to smack herself. She should have tasted the milk first before giving it to him. Even if he would deem it rude, at least she could judge the taste first!

Much to her relief, the Third Prince did not seem to have any outrageous response after tasting it. In fact, his expression was the same and she could not judge whether he likes the milk or not.

"How... how is it? Do you like it?" Xiao Hua asked timidly, her grip tightened on the tray in her hands.

"It's something I've never tasted before, but I much prefer your tea instead of this."

"Ah! T-then I will make tea for you!"

The Third Prince chuckled. "There's no need. There's still some tea left."

He stood up with the cup of milk with one hand and used the other hand to gently pull Xiao Hua's hand to the wide couch. After they were seated, the remaining milk in the cup he had just taken a sip from was placed at her side of the table. "You will help me drink this, right?"

His refreshing smile struck an arrow right into her heart and she nodded dazedly.

In her distracted state, it took her a moment to notice a long green root with few leaves grown on it had wrapped itself around the basket with the milk in it. Xiao Hua gaped stupidly as the green root dropped the basket onto the table without spilling anything, before moving away to carry the teapot filled with tea.

"T-that..." Her eyes travelled to the other end of the green root, which was attached to a potted plant beside the window that she could not identify as what type it was.

"It moved according to my command," the Third Prince explained. "Heise's story was the same as what happened in my first life during the annual New Year compe-tition."

The quick change of topic was a bit strange, but Xiao Hua followed along. "I remember the heroine- I mean, Liu Chu Chu had won the first place in archery when a rival signed her up without her knowledge with the intention to embarrass Liu Chu Chu. Oh, and there's also the poison attempt from the Crown Prince! Third Prince, you need to stop the Crown Prince!"

"My eldest brother will not do it."

"But-"

"There is no more reason for him to attempt for Father Emperor's life."

"Then the Second Prince failed to agitate the Crown Prince..?"

In the novel, the Crown Prince had added poison into the Emperor's wine with the desire to kill him. The Crown Prince had stupidly believed the Second Prince's words about the Emperor already announced to his close aide that the Second Prince would be the new Crown Prince.

At that time, the Crown Prince was already in trouble, and the Emperor was incensed when one of the ministers handed in a report of the Crown Prince killing three witnesses after he had accidentally killed a prostitute in the red district.

Once he heard the news, the Crown Prince became panicked and his shaken mind easily believed the Second Prince's lies. That leads to the Crown Prince planning to kill the Emperor and using his title as the Crown Prince to force others to accept him as the next Emperor before his Father Emperor made an imperial decree to change the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was just a cannon fodder, so obviously, his plan was filled with loopholes that the Second Prince happily poked to make the holes big-ger. Some readers might understand the Crown Princes' action despite not agreeing with it, but there was a certain group of danmei readers that decided to twist the situation as they wished.

'Ahahaha! That is the true 'Shou'! Whatever his 'Gong' said will stir him up until his panty is in a twist!'

'+ 1'

'+ 1'

'What makes you think he's wearing panties?'

'Upstairs is right! He could go naaaaked!'

'You rotten minded people! Don't dirty our male lead!'

'A pure mind is here.'

'The pure mind above, go away~'

'I bet the author will make the Second Prince in charge of the Crown Prince's punish-

ment and the hot stuff will come!'

'Liu Chu Chu x Long Shan 4evah! Kill all Long!'

'I approve of your comment, upstairs!'

Oi, you above me, don't cut my line! Long Shan x Crown Prince 4ever!' That was a small portion of the comment section that Le Xiao Ting had remem-

bered clearly as the conversation gets out of hand.

The Third Prince nodded. "My eldest brother did not do anything that would threaten his Crown Prince position."

"That's good... but you are not afraid that Yang Ling might fall in love with Liu Chu Chu?"

"He loves his 'Flaming Bow'."

...Could a cold, unresponsive bow compete with the vibrant and very responsive heroine?

"He had vowed his loyalty to me just to get that bow from me."

Yang Ling was so cheap? (O_0)

Xiao Hua hummed. "... Okay, so Yang Ling will do his best to take the first place and defeat Liu Chu Chu but we cannot underestimate her skills. In her original world, she's basically the best mercenary and is very good in martial arts in addition to her weapon mastery. Yang Ling in the novel... in the end, was defeated by her."

"If he still lost after his intense training then he might as well give up on archery."

..Yang Ling, this young lady will light a candle for you! Consider it as our meeting gift!

"Why did Duke Heng want to meet you and the Eighth Prince?" Xiao Hua asked worriedly. "In the novel, there wasn't any meeting between you and him."

Duke Heng in the novel only appeared as a shining white knight saving the heroine when the hero was too busy flexing his muscles to handle his own problem.

"Duke Heng is helping us," the Third Prince revealed. "So he can be trusted."

"He did not fall in love with Liu Chu Chu?" Xiao Hua asked in disbelief. Duke Heng had coincidentally joined their hunting trip just like what happened in the novel. Surely he had witnessed the beautiful dance of death by Liu Chu Chu and became inter-ested!

"There's already someone in his heart and mind."

.....Why did she suddenly view things differently?

It was as if the Third Prince had upgraded and overtook the female lead's position, attracting the supporting male lead number two and number three!

Chapter 30: Welcome to the Xuanwu Kingdom

Soon, the day where they will be leaving to the Xuanwu Kingdom arrived. Xuanwu Kingdom was a place where it was basically the winter season from day to night, all year round. The Third Prince told her that the mysterious person lived in that Kingdom and it was inconvenient for him to visit Guilin so they will have to go to him.

As someone that was used to trembling in a cold air conditioned room, Xiao Hua was pretty worried about whether she could withstand the cold. Le Xiao Ting lived in a one-season country, and it was a comfortable temperature of below thirty degrees.

Other than fearing the cold, it was pretty exciting to see and touch snow for the first time in her life!

On the other hand, Xiao Hua wished that the journey to the Xuanwu Kingdom was shorter. From Guilin to Xuanwu, it required three days of traveling. Her butt felt grateful to the Third Prince who had done something to the carriage that made her unable to feel the bumpy road. But it was pretty unnerving as she assumed they were inside a box and not a moving carriage.

Their small traveling group consisted of An Wan, Xiao Liu, the twin brothers, and Da Liu. There was nothing on their attire or carriage that indicated they were from the Guilin Kingdom.

They took their time to travel, and during their breaks between the journeys, the Third Prince would use that time to train Xiao Hua. She was originally happy yet a bit apprehensive about it for he was not training her knife throwing, but martial arts.

The Third Prince had known from Duan Xi Ying that Xiao Hua had learned basic punching and kicking lessons, which was nothing to brag about, so he decided to teach Xiao Hua more. The cute couple was looking forward to the lesson, but reality once again burst their happy bubble.

Long Zhu: I never thought my little flower would be so... terrible. ( |||)

Xiao Hua: I never thought the Third Prince would be this strong! (→A<)

Needless to say, their enthusiasm dimmed but both still struggled and did their best with the training.

Two days passed just like that and it was their third-day journey. The Third Prince said they would be reaching the Xuanwu Kingdom soon and they decided not to take any more breaks to cut the journey shorter.

Xiao Hua's hand slowly moved towards the window, but the Third Prince's gaze warned her not to open it. Luckily they could still hear the carriage wheels and the horse galloping, so at least they knew they were moving.

Thanks to hearing those sounds over a long period, she was able to catch the difference between the horse's steps. It was as if the horse was now running on pavement and not long after that, the carriage stopped.

Xiao Hua's eyes brightened. "We have arrived?"

The Third Prince shook his head. His long silky black hair that was tied up into a high ponytail swayed from his gentle movement. Xiao Hua was spotted with a similar hairstyle, except that it was a low ponytail with her hair tied at the lower back of her neck, with red spider lily flowers knitted on the ribbons as her hair holder.

"We are just picking up a person before continuing on with our journey."

"Pick up who?"

Her question was answered when she heard a familiar voice calling out 'master' from outside the carriage. After asking for permission with her eyes, Xiao Hua pushed open the window and her eyes were immediately glued to the voluptuous chest that was barely covered by a thin robe.

"Duan Xi Ying!" Xiao Hua exclaimed, staring in shock as her face blushed lightly.

"What are you wearing?"

"This is Xi Ying's disguise." Duan Xi Ying tugged the bright purple robe to cover her chest, but the outfit was made two sizes smaller than her size. The girls were going to escape from the robe!

Other than her chest, her clothing had also exposed her long, lean legs up to her thighs. The robes played hide and seek with the viewers, for with every step, the robe would part and show a tantalizing amount of naked legs before hiding it back inside the robe. Her robe was only sticking together thanks to the belt tied around her waist.

Xiao Hua blinked when the marvelous - ahem- surprising sight suddenly disappeared. Why would someone close the window...ops?

"An Wan, find some suitable clothes for Xi Ying to wear," the Third Prince ordered and Xiao Hua could detect a degree of coldness from his tone. Unknown to her, the Third Prince was now right behind her, with an arm stretched out earlier to close the window.

"Master~" Duan Xi Ying whined at the other side of the window and the image of the tantalizing body surfaced in Xiao Hua's mind again. "Xi Ying wanted Xiao Hua to help cleanse Xi Ying!"

.. Am I actually bisexual? And what did she meant by cleanse?!

"Xiao Liu, drive."

"Yes, Master!"

The Third Prince's frown lessened when his little flower finally looked at him, but

the look in her eye was rather strange. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized ... you are too beautiful." No matter how sexy Duan Xi Ying was, her face was still lacking compared to the Third Prince.

Bang

Xiao Hua's eyes widened when she suddenly received a 'Kabedon' [8) from a beautiful man.

"This prince isn't a female."

Xiao Hua gulped, feeling trapped under the pining stare. She suddenly regretted not filtering her mouth as she had naively thought that since they were a couple now, it should be fine to be more honest between them. But now she knows she was moving too fast!

"I... I know." She vaguely aware that their journey resumed but the closeness of the

Third Prince demanded her attention.

The Third Prince took her hands and placed her open palms on his chest. "Do you really know now?"

Xiao Hua gaped stupidly at him as her mind was overwhelmed by her palms that were currently receiving live inputs of 'Hard abs', 'Delicious abs', and 'Solid abs'.

The Third Prince frowned when his little flower's facial expression showed her disbelief and shock. Did she really think he was a girl!

"Xiao Ting," the Third Prince said and then stopped, suddenly feeling lost. How was he supposed to prove that he was a male? Did she not agree to start their relationship because she loved him as a man?

Could it be that his little flower had misunderstood his gender even though everyone called him a prince? He had let her touch his chest, but her simple mind might believe he was just a flat-chested person like her.

Perhaps he needed to strip?

The Third Prince normally would not lead his thinking to such an illogical path, but his panic blinded his reasoning, and it could be said Xiao Hua was one of the few people that could make him this way.

It was unknown if it was unfortunate or fortunate that Xiao Hua finally broke from her daydreaming, stopping the Third Prince from stripping!

"Your Highness! I'm very aware you are a guy!" Xiao Hua exclaimed but made no move to remind the Third Prince that he was still pressing her hands onto his delicious abs that had been hiding under his clothing all this time.

If only this young lady could rub her hands over his amazing chest...

Xiao Hua smacked her lewd-self deeper inside her mind. She secretly thought that she was becoming a real pervert after meeting the beautiful Third Prince!

But much to her disappointment, he removed his hands, freeing hers, and moved back to his seat, but he was much closer to her than before.

"You always stare at Duan Xi Ying," the Third Prince stated with eyes that demanded an explanation from her.

Xiao Hua wanted to ask the Third Prince if he would stare at another man with muscular abs or a good looking face but she did not have the courage to ask that ques-tion.

"That's because her body is beautiful, an envy for most ladies," Xiao Hua an-swered. "I have told you that before...."

"You did, but the way you stare at her is as if you want to eat her." Xiao Hua unconsciously touched her mouth, checking for any trail of saliva. She

quickly pulled her hand away and forced a cough.

"It's admiration!" Xiao Hua insisted before confessing with a straight face as her

prankster personality wakes up. "I only want to eat a man."

The Third Prince, as a red-blooded man, quickly understood what she meant by

'eat'. "Who?" He immediately demanded.

Xiao Hua pouted, trying to act in a blasé manner but her red face exposed her true feelings. "The same person that had eaten my tofu many times."

"Tofu?"

Xiao Hua coughed. "I mean, taking advantage of me. Did you forget that you had

kissed me?"

The Third Prince smiled as his exasperation fluttered away. "If it's my little flower, I will always let you eat me."

Xiao Hua could not stop her face from turning into the colour of a tomato. She

cupped her heated face and looked away. "Don't say that!"

The Third Prince laughed and pulled Xiao Hua into a hug, which she tried to escape but failed. "I know. I will wait until you are sixteen and after we get married."

Xiao Hua stilled and peered up at him through her bangs. "I don't remember you ever told me how we will be able to marry."

The Third Prince smiled gently and rubbed her back comfortingly. "We can get married without my parents complaining if we have someone powerful to adopt you." Xiao Hua slowly nodded. "That's a good idea, but that would mean I will need to leave you, isn't it?" The thought of staying with strangers, calling unknown people as

'family' was scary.

"Don't worry. You will be adopted in name only. You will continue staying with me."

"That's good." Xiao Hua sighed in relief. "Who are you planning to have me adopt-ed?"

"I have a person in my mind, but I've yet to track his whereabouts. My Imperial

Grandfather is the only one that can find him quick enough."

"Your Imperial Grandfather?" Xiao Hua managed to swallow back her next words,

'is still alive?'. She did not mean to be rude, but in her biased mind, she always assumed that only Empress Dowager would get to live a long life in the royal family. The previous Emperors were normally dead rather than passing down the throne willingly.

"My paternal grandfather. He has taught me a lot of things and had even found me

the greatest teacher in the world."

"Your grandfather sounds like a great man." As well as being the previous Emperor that had willingly let go of the throne! Xiao Hua's opinion towards this elder was good.

The Third Prince grinned. "One day, I will introduce you to him."

"I will look forward to that day."

They talked about random things until she got tired and fell asleep in his arms. It

was much later when a gentle rub on her cheek woke her up.

"We've arrived," the Third Prince said softly and Xiao Hua immediately became wide awake.

Noticing that she was wearing an unfamiliar white fur coat that reached past her knees, she assumed that the Third Prince put it on her while she was still sleeping.

Taking a pair of gloves made of animal skin from the Third Prince, she wore them to protect her chilly fingers. She let out a deep breath and saw mist from her breath, which was her first experience.

"Ready?"

Xiao Hua grinned in excitement. "Ready!"

The Third Prince chuckled and opened the carriage door, allowing the cold wind to blow into the carriage, earning a small shiver from Xiao Hua. The fur coat she was wearing was surprisingly warm, blocking most of the cold wind.

She climbed out from the carriage with the help of her boyfriend and she landed on the ground filled with a layer of snow. The sky was dark as it was night time and she could see snow falling from the sky.

"Pretty."

The Third Prince smiled. "Welcome to the Xuanwu Kingdom, protected by the Black Turtle Celestial Beast."

Chapter 31: Prince Wugui Mingzhi

Their carriage stopped before a large residence that used football-sized pearls to light up the place, instead of the usual lanterns in the Guilin Kingdom. Her ears could pick up the sounds of water coming from inside the large residence.

Strangely, there was no plaque in sight to indicate whom this residence belonged to.

A man in a dark brown fur coat walked towards them with the bearing of a soldier and saluted the Third Prince respectfully. "This servant is here on Prince Mingzhi's orders to invite Prince Long Zhu and his guest to the prepared rooms. Prince Mingzhi also wishes to talk to His Highness after you freshen up."

The Third Prince nodded and they followed the man into the large manor. Along the way, Xiao Hua noticed a long river connected to wherever path they had taken and the sounds of water flowing gave off a peaceful feeling.

They arrived at a courtyard with a small pond filled with fishes and a pavilion in the middle of the pond, with only one path available to walk towards it.

"Please take your time." The male servant bowed before leaving the courtyard.

The courtyard had three rooms but one of them was larger compared to the other two. Obviously, the larger room would be given to the Third Prince even if he would be the only one using it. An Wan followed the Third Prince into his room to help him freshen up and Duan Xi Ying immediately kidnapped Xiao Hua into one of the rooms.

Da An grabbed Da Bei towards the other room for the males to stay, stopping him from standing guard outside the ladies' room. He was a bit irked that his twin had discarded his real twin and replaced him with Elder Sister Hua.

Those that do not know the truth will believe Da Bei and Xiao Hua were twins with how much Da Bei stuck beside her!

Duan Xi Ying was efficient and quick, and without much time passing, the bath was ready. Staring at the warm water with longing from her seat, Xiao Hua missed the awkwardness on Duan Xi Ying's face before it was quickly concealed.

"Xiao Hua."

"Hmm?"

"Can Xiao Hua help Xi Ying with cleaning?"

"Okay.?"

Duan Xi Ying's face immediately broke into a very bright smile as if she was granted hope. In a flash, she hugged Xiao Hua who was seated on a stool, like a panda hugging a bamboo tree. Fortunately, Duan Xi Ying did not wrap her legs around Xiao Hua like a real koala, or else Xiao Hua would fall to the ground on her back.

"Xi... Xi Ying?" Was she not asking her help scrubbing her back?

"Xi Ying wants to hug Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua can help Xi Ying feel clean again."

There was deep desperation beneath her tone which worried Xiao Hua. "Xi Ying, what happened?"

With how silent Duan Xi Ying suddenly became, Xiao Hua thought she would not tell her. It was when her body felt numb from holding herself upright as she carried both hers and most of Duan Xi Ying's weight did she finally answer.

"Before Xi Ying served the Third Prince, I did whatever it took to survive, even if I had to use my body."

Xiao Hua was very conscious of the fact that Duan Xi Ying had not used 'Xi Ying' to refer to herself but used T' as if trying to keep a part of her hidden away.

*I seduced men and sucked their essence using intercourse to grow stronger. I was pretty famous then, for killing so many men that were always found dead and naked.

I kept on running and hiding for many years... but soon it grew tiring."

Xiao Hua: (0 0)!!!

Xiao Hua belatedly realized she was just told something dangerous and no longer had the opportunity to backpedal to safety.

"It was an unlucky day that a hunter found me and even managed to injure me.

The Third Prince was the one that found and saved me. The 'me' then was shocked that a kid would show kindness to a talking snake instead of fear." Snake?

"He gave me the name 'Xi Ying', a random name without a beautiful meaning but I love it. Xi Ying willingly offered herself to be anything he wanted but since he was weak, Xi Ying chose to be his bodyguard."

"Then why..? Earlier, you were with a man, weren't you?" Xiao Hua guessed.

Wearing a dress that screams 'fuck me', if it was not to seduce a man, then what?

"Xi Ying heard some bad news and wanted to find out more. But the only way to get those lustful men to speak willingly is using the pillow talk method. Hmm... does Xiao Hua know what pillow talk is?"

"I know," Xiao Hua answered calmly. If she does not know what pillow talk was, then she must be sleeping when she read how most cannon fodder men had spilled their secrets in bed to the dangerous female wolves in novels! Although she disapproved of using this method, especially at how it clearly troubled Duan Xi Ying, she dared not ask why she would still do that.

Xiao Hua had no knowledge of how to get information, other than asking out loud.

She knew there were methods such as interrogation and torture or spying. The latter method would waste a lot of time and patience, and you are likely to get caught if you accidentally made a mistake. As for torture, it was an equal pain to both torturer and tortured. As a person that did not know anything, she did not have the right to interfere with this matter, even if a good person would do their best to stop Duan Xi Ying from continuing to use her body to get information.

"Xi Ying does not regret it but Xi Ying wants to feel clean. Just let Xi Ying hug Xiao Hua for a bit?"

"Okay." If she can make Duan Xi Ying feel better with a hug, she will do it.

"Xi Ying is not asking Xiao Hua for help."

"Oh?" Xiao Hua strangely felt as if she had been caught red-handed.

"Xi Ying only wants to hug Xiao Hua~"

When the victim had said that so clearly, Xiao Hua could only put the matter to rest.

Luckily the hugging session was not long and she still had warm water to bathe.

But instead of letting Xiao Hua wear her 'pajamas', Duan Xi Ying dressed her up. Sur-prisingly, the Third Prince wanted Xiao Hua to come along to meet Prince Mingzhi.

Xiao Hua still did not know the identity of the mysterious person that had the answer she was seeking, but perhaps that person was Prince Mingzhi, a royalty of Xu-anwu Kingdom?

The same male servant was waiting right outside the courtyard the moment they stepped out. His eyes briefly glanced at Xiao Hua but the Third Prince offered no an-swers, so he could only lead them to the room where Prince Mingzhi was waiting.

The servant left after closing the door behind them. There was an adorable boy around her age, waiting for them with warm tea. He stood up upon their arrival and gave them a cute smile.

"Long Zhu." The boy greeted and Xiao Hua noticed he had dimples.

"Lord MingZhi," the Third Prince politely greeted and even bowed respectfully.

Seeing it, Xiao Hua quickly copied and bowed as well, and that got the attention of the cute boy. Totally out of Xiao Hua's expectation, when Mingzhi saw her, his face quickly turned pale and took three steps back in fear.

.. Am I that scary? Is there something on my face?

"I apologize for not informing you in advance, but this is Xiao Hua and she's the

one that I've mentioned in the previous letter."

"Ah... yes, you did." Mingzhi nodded and a bit of colour returned to his face, but he seemed to be trembling.

"Xiao Hua, this is Prince Wugui Mingzhi, the nephew of the Xuanwu Emperor,"

Long Zhu introduced.

"This servant greets Prince Wugui Mingzhi," Xiao Hua politely greeted with a curtsy.

Wugui Mingzhi merely nodded at her greeting. "Have... have a seat, please."

Xiao Hua wondered if it was done on purpose but they were seated in a way so that Mingzhi did not need to face her unless necessary. He even bent his head in a way so that his straight, chin-length hair covered a side of his face, which was exactly the direction she was seated.

Come and tell this young lady, did I offend you?

Mingzhi poured tea into three cups and pushed one cup to each person. Xiao Hua stretched out a hand and took one so that he did not accidentally push too hard and tilted the cup. Coincidentally, she moved right onto Mingzhi's line of sight and he visibly flinched. Next, he bent his head so low that his straight bangs nearly touched the table and hid his hands securely under his long sleeves.

It must be you don't like seeing plain looking girls, right?

She had been so kind and praised him for being as cute as the character of Haku from 'Spirited Away' anime since they shared the same hairstyle. But to think she would be disliked!

"How are you doing, Lord Mingzhi?"

"I... I'm doing well enough. Xuanwu Emperor wishes to have a talk with you before you return home..."

That apologetic face was the same as all the times Long Zhu had seen during these eight years of friendship that he softened up. "I will spare some time to catch up with your uncle."

Mingzhi sighed in relief. "Thank you." His uncle had wanted to speak to Long Zhu but every one of his invitations was refused. Now his uncle knew better and asked Mingzhi to get Long Zhu to accept the invitation because Long Zhu would not reject Mingzhi's request if he could help it.

"T've also checked what you wanted to know but ..... I'm sorry." Mingzhi was thankful that Long Zhu gave him face and accepted his uncle's invitation, but he felt guilty for not being able to help him.

Without needing Mingzhi to explain, Long Zhu already knew it was bad news. Long Zhu grew intensely aware of the girl sitting beside him, and from the corner of his eyes, he tried to take in every single one of her reactions.

"Lord Mingzhi, isn't there at least one way?" Long Zhu asked slowly when Xiao Hua's face remained indifferent, which he guessed was due to the great shock.

Mingzhi shook his head regretfully. "For a soul to be separated from their body and travel to another world..... it's only the death of the body that allows the soul to leave their shell and travel past the boundary between two worlds. Even if I could send back the soul, it will not be able to return to its body, but straight towards the wheel of reincarnation."

Long Zhu turned to Xiao Hua and this time he directly looked at her with worry visible in his eyes. Xiao Hua's ire towards Mingzhi completely dispersed when she saw the Third Prince's worry for her was written clearly on his face.

She smiled reassuringly. "I'm alright."

Her heart was already numb from constant pain and disappointment. She had already shed so many tears at the thought of her unable to return home. To her, Mingzhi's words were just another confirmation of the reality she had to face.

On the bright side, at least she did not need to choose between the Third Prince and her original world.

Chapter 32: Being too cute has its own troubles

"Your Highness, this servant is tired and unable to stay awake to accompany both princes. Please excuse this servant's rudeness for requesting to step away."

Although Xiao Hua had said she was alright, Long Zhu was still worried. That was why he chose to excuse himself as well despite Xiao Hua's intention to leave so that the two of them could have their private talk.

Lord Mingzhi gave Long Zhu an aggrieved gaze but he disregarded it. Whatever they needed to discuss could wait until tomorrow but what could not be left alone was his little flower. She might do something dangerous while controlled by her depres-sion.

During their walk back to their temporary residence, Xiao Hua was silent as she admired the bright stars in the dark blue sky, the beautiful glowing pearls scattered around the place, and the cute fishes that swam actively along in the pool. She wondered how fishes were able to survive in this cold weather when there was no warmth to keep them alive. Perhaps Xuanwu citizens had done something to provide heat to the sea creatures?

Long Zhu silently walked beside her, with all his attention focused on her, trying to gauge her mood. But he could only sense acceptance and peace from her. She also seemed brighter and carefree, as if a burden was lifted from her.

"Third Prince," Xiao Hua broke the peaceful silence. "Have I done anything to offend Prince Mingzhi?"

Long Zhu closed his eyes momentarily to push his worries aside before opening them and answered her. "You have not done anything to offend him. He's just afraid of females in general."

"Oh. He must have suffered a great trauma to be so afraid."

Long Zhu chuckled lightly. "I suppose it could be. He's widely favoured by females in general and they tend to hug and pinch his cheek whenever they could. It does not help when he has twelve female cousins that always cling onto him."

You have my pity, for having those 'Shotacon' [9] targeted on you. Being too cute has its own troubles too!

"Lord Mingzhi is the next Emperor of Xuanwu Kingdom," Long Zhu revealed. "He is the only male in the royal family, which saddens the current Xuanwu Emperor, his uncle. He wanted a son very much, but what he got were twelve daughters."

"The Emperor has it tough." It must be driving him crazy to be surrounded by fe- males all day.

"He has considered one of the Prince Consorts to be the next Emperor but he had to hand over the reign to Lord Mingzhi in the future because the Black Turtle Celestial beast had chosen Lord Mingzhi as the next vassal."

"What about the Guilin Kingdom? Did the Azure Dragon choose who will be the next guardian? Is it the Crown Prince?"

The Third Prince looked a bit depressed at the question. They had finally reached the courtyard and Xiao Hua was going to excuse herself as the Third Prince did not look as if he was going to answer when he surprised her by pulling her into his room.

"Tonight, you will spend the night with me."

That sentence sent Xiao Hua's heart into overdrive as her face heated. "B-B-But you say you...you will wait."

The Third Prince chuckled in amusement after realizing that she had misunderstood his meaning. "We will only sleep. I promised and I will keep my word." Feeling a bit disappointed, Xiao Hua nodded. Even if she was mentally twenty-seven years old, her body was too young for any coupling even if she had gotten mar-ried. She wished to marry when she reached eighteen years old but she feared she would expire from desire before she was of age when she have a very handsome man as a boyfriend.

"Why do you want me to spend the night with you?"

Long Zhu: "" What to say? If I say I'm worried she will get suicidal, my little flower will get angry.

Long Zhu finally settled with a simple answer. "I wish to hug something when I sleep."

Xiao Hua, who could see the wariness in his eyes, knew otherwise. Fine, she will 'be-

lieve' him. She knows he thought she would either run away or kill herself!

"Azure Dragon has yet to choose its next guardian," the Third Prince answered to change the subject. "Azure Dragon had said in my first life, eldest brother is unsuited to be its next guardian, for he's too greedy. That was the main reason why among my brothers, I was chosen to be brought back to the past. The other Emperors, or guardians, believe that I'm the best choice to be the next Azure Dragon's guardian among my siblings."

"You don't agree with them?" Xiao Hua tentatively asked.

"I could not disagree." The Third Prince sighed with acceptance. "They are right in that my eldest brother is greedy. My fourth brother does not wish to be an Emperor and his straightforwardness as well as short-sightedness would not be a good trait to lead the Kingdom. My eighth brother was already insane. And so, I'm the only one left."

"But you do not want to be the Guilin's Emperor," Xiao Hua stated. Previous clues had hinted that the Third Prince has a greater ambition which was not being Guilin's Emperor. She vaguely remembered it was either An Wan or An Jing that said he wished to rule the Four Kingdoms.

"My eldest brother will do just fine. Even if he's not the chosen guardian, there are no rules that say he can't be the Emperor."

"Won't that make Azure Dragon angry?"

"Yes, but Azure Dragon would understand that I have other things I need to do."

"To unite the Four Kingdoms and fight against the demon invasion?" Xiao Hua asked jokingly.

"Yes."

The amusement quickly fled from Xiao Hua. "It's a dangerous mission."

"Yes."

"I... I will help as much as I can," Xiao Hua offered after a moment of silence. She wanted to help her boyfriend, as a good girlfriend does. Even if she might die, she refused to agree with the Third Prince going to fight against evil while she stayed somewhere safe to wait for him.

The Third Prince gathered her into his arms and placed a soft kiss on her forehead that was covered by her bangs. "I don't wish for you to fight."

Xiao Hua frowned and pulled away to glare at him. "Are you saying you will lock me up at home to stop me from following you to the battlefield?"

"I wish to."

Wish? "You won't?"

The Third Prince sighed. "I'm scared you will be in danger. But something tells me you won't obediently stay behind in the hideout."

"Of course I won't!" Xiao Hua said fiercely. "I will train myself to be stronger and fight with you. I prefer fighting than staying at home and constantly worrying about you. At least you know how I'm doing if I'm beside you, right?"

The Third Prince chuckled and rubbed her cheek. "Your reason is acceptable. It's getting late. Let's sleep."

The Third Prince freed Xiao Hua from his hug so that she could wash up before heading to bed. Both of them were actually excited about their new sleeping arrange-ment.

While Xiao Hua and Third Prince were resting, back in the Guilin Kingdom, General Tang's life was at risk.

General Tang quickly ran as fast as he could at the same time hiding his presence from his pursuers. He was very careful not to drop his precious bundle in his arms as he raced straight to the place where he could seek refuge from.

After passing by a few more alleys, they will reach safety!

His pursuers' identity was unknown to him. They were skilled with their attacks and they had high cultivation. General Tang was truly shocked that Long Shan have these high level shadow guards that he had not known of.

A brief reflection thanks to the bright moonlight was enough to warn General Tang of the incoming attack. He curled inward, pressing his precious onto his chest tightly and dodged the sword with a quick roll on the ground and continued running after getting back to his feet.

He did not have enough energy to run if he retaliated against the attacks!

He did his best to dodge, but when he could not, he took on the attack so that it would not land on his precious. It was only one alley left until he reached safety but the attacks he took on were slowly sucking his energy away. His movement had gotten slower and his speed naturally dwindled. He also received more attacks and was losing too much blood.

"General, you should have never betrayed our Lord," A voice said coldly without a hint of sympathy for General Tang's plight.

"He was the one that betrayed me first!" General Tang retorted coldly. He could no longer gather strength to run, much less walk anymore. "To torture my wife just because of mere doubts, that's madness!"

"Your wife is a spy for the Third Prince. You have betrayed our Lord for the Third Prince by protecting her. Did you really believe your marriage was real?" The pursuer mocked.

General Tang laughed, feeling insane and helpless. He had done many things, even sacrificing his life for his long-time friend, Long Shan, but he repaid him in such a way. His friend would rather believe his fiancée than his long-time friend that had stood by his side for years, fighting countless battles and won many wars together. It was because of that woman that Long Shan agreed to have Ping Shui undergo torture to get information.

"I have never betrayed him!" General Tang roared. Why won't his friend believe him!

General Tang gathered the last of his energy to create a large fire, enough to attract attention and shaped it into a fierce tiger and let it chase after his pursuers. But the fire tiger failed to even hurt one of them, as it only had enough energy to burn brightly like a beacon instead of attacking.

The pursuer snorted after realizing the tiger was just for decoration. "You should have silently accepted death instead of wasting energy to fight a useless battle!"

"There is never a useless battle," a fierce feminine voice travelled into their ears.

The purser flinched. "Who is it?" His comrades that joined the chase were all males, and the female voice was not one he was familiar with.

The same voice echoed around the alley. "This is the Third Prince's residence. For you to get this close with dangerous weapons in hand, you all pose a threat to the Third Prince's safety!" 

The ringleader of the pursuer frowned. "Kill everyone here. We cannot let any news leak out."

"Foolish bugs," An Jing scorned and her usual dark brown eyes were a bright blue that were narrowed into slits. Her movement resembled a dance as she swung her sword to exterminate the annoying bugs that had crawled into her master's territory.

At the same time, Tian Zi snuck to General Tang's side, who had collapsed onto the ground, barely conscious. She quickly dragged him and his wife in his arms to the side, away from the battle.

"Quick, Tian Chi! He's dying!" Tian Zi urged and Tian Chi quickly gathered her spiritual energy to heal General Tang

Despite his sight filled with black spots, General Tang still fought to protect his pre-

cious wife. "You-"

"Don't talk. Save your energy. You are safe now."