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CHAPTER 1: I can kill you with just one move

One of the good traits Le Xiao Ting possessed was waking up with a working mind, as long as she was not exhausted the day before. But that was not the same for her boss.

There was this one time when she dropped by her boss's house before work to pick up an important document. Her boss could easily bring the document himself but because he refused to arrive at work before ten o'clock in the morning, she had to pick it up as the document was needed before ten o'clock.

To her surprise, she saw her boss's handsome financial advisor opening the door, shirtless with wet hair that obviously indicated he just exited the shower. The financial advisor helpfully located the urgent document instead of waking up the sleeping tiger that hated mornings.

The sight of a shirtless man should have distracted her, but Le Xiao Ting at that time was busy searching for more clues between them to fuel her Danmei [1] mind.

That day just so happened to fall on the period where her Danmei fanatic was at its peak.

The handsome financial advisor - "The financial advisor!"

Xiao Hua's eyes immediately sprang open when she finally figured out the nagging familiarity when she saw the Second Prince's face. But the beautiful sight in front of her had abruptly stepped onto the brake to her thoughts.

Oh my~

The Third Prince was sleeping soundly despite her sudden exclamation. His eyelashes were beautifully curled and tempted her to touch it. His sleeping face that was peaceful and relaxing made Xiao Hua loath to wake him up.

The curtains around the bed were down, but she could see the sun had risen from the way the curtain was brighter than before.

He had wrapped his arms around her waist loosely as if he was unsure whether to hug her or not. Xiao Hua smiled with affection in her eyes and carefully shifted herself closer to him, and her nose caught the smell of trees coming from his body. With a satisfied smile when she finally accomplished her goal, she closed her eyes and returned back to her previous thoughts.

It was no wonder she had difficulty in placing the hero's face! Her boss's handsome financial advisor was of mixed-blood heritage, half Chinese and half British. But the hero, Long Shan, was a completely Chinese-looking guy.

One had dark blonde hair and the other had pure black hair. There were hardly any similarities between their personalities, either. But Le Xiao Ting thinks that the financial advisor was the better-looking guy.

Xiao Hua jerked in surprise when she heard the door slam open and a masculine voice fiercely called out, "Long Zhu! Get your lazy ass up!"

Before Xiao Hua could do anything, the curtain that was hiding the bed from view was pushed apart by a huge man with a body shape that immediately made her think of a tiger. It was clearly seen from the huge man's expression that he did not expect to see Xiao Hua on the bed with the person he was screaming for.

"Who are you?" the man with numerous white streak hair demanded dangerously, half growling. "Scheming against Long Zhu?!"

"What?"

"Die!" the man roared.

Before the tiger guy's bare big palm could crush Xiao Hua's tiny head, the Third Prince quickly called out, "Stop, Qiang Laohu! She's mine."

The tiger guy stopped his hand. "What? Are you finally growing up?"

The Third Prince sighed tiredly before sitting up and with both his arms still around Xiao Hua, she was pulled along as well. She did not make a move to move away and plastered to his side in fear. Her training was literally useless in the face of this great intimidation that brought out her fear that easily paralyzed her limbs.

"I'm awake now," the Third Prince announced, his eyes telling Qiang Laohu to leave.

"You are the last one up. Be quick about it. No funny business," Qiang Laohu said warningly as his eyes flickered to Xiao Hua before returning to the Third Prince.

"There's no need for you to make my relationship with her sound dirty," the Third Prince said coldly. "Leave."

Qiang Laohu bared his surprisingly white and well-maintained teeth. "Then don't make us wait." With that, he marched out of the room without closing the door.

Should she ask who was that 'I can kill you with just one move' guy?

"Are you alright?" The Third Prince stared at her worriedly as he rubbed one of his palms over her back up and down as if trying to ease her fear.

"I'm fine. Who is that man?"

The Third Prince frowned in distaste. "He's the Eighteenth Prince of Bai Hu Kingdom, the White Tiger's next guardian."

Xiao Hua's eyes widened. "He's from the future as well?"

The Third Prince nodded. "Come, let's wash up and meet them."

Xiao Hua returned to the girls' temporary dormitory and An Wan went to help the Third Prince to prepare for his morning ritual. Duan Xi Ying helped Xiao Hua to fix her hair and dress up before meeting up with the Third Prince.

There was no servant around to guide them but the Third Prince seemed to know where he was going. Without knocking, the Third Prince pushed open a door and entered with Xiao Hua behind him.

Lord Mingzhi and Qiang Laohu were seated inside, along with someone Xiao Hua did not expect to see.

Feng Jiu smiled brightly when she saw her. "Xiao Hua. I should have expected Long Zhu to bring you along as well." With how protective he was towards his personal maid, it was not strange that he would bring her along on this trip.

Xiao Hua curtsied towards the beautiful woman. "Hello, Feng Jiu." She was dressed in another beautiful red dress, this time without feathers at the ends of her dress, but wearing a red fur coat instead.

"Long Zhu," Qiang Laohu growled dangerously, his short beard made him look even scary. "Why are you bringing her here? Send her back to her duties!"

"Laohu," Feng Jiu chastised with a scowl. She agreed that this conversation should not include Xiao Hua, but his words were rather degrading.

Long Zhu pulled Xiao Hua closer until her side was pressed onto his, and one of his hands rested on her other side of her hip. "This is Xiao Hua."

With a blush, she shot him a questioning gaze as she wondered where he had learned this position from. In the Chinese dramas, she had only seen lustful men in this position towards their female companion and no proper couples had ever done that publically.

"Feng Jiu is Vermillion Bird's guardian. Qiang Laohu is-"

Long Zhu reacted quickly and wrapped them inside his inner energy to protect them from Qiang Laohu's roar that shook right down to their souls. Her body trembled and was unable to control her body's subconscious reaction.

"- White Tiger's guardian. Lord Mingzhi is Black Turtle's guardian."

Lord Mingzhi just sighed and Feng Jiu stared at him as if the Third Prince had just killed her whole family. Qiang Laohu no longer restricted himself with just roaring and moved to attack the idiot brat.

"You stinky brat!" Qiang Laohu's speed was worthy of being the fifth ranked culti-vator. But the Third Prince was surprisingly able to keep up with his speed, with Xiao Hua pushed to the side far away from the fight.

Each of their blows shook the ground and she could see their spiritual energy with naked eyes. Qiang Laohu's energy was white, almost blinding to her eyes, and the Third Prince was more like Tiffany blue, soothing to her eyes.

"Just because she saved your life you treated her as if she's your bloody mother?"

Qiang Laohu roared. "Damn it, stinky brat, that isn't something you can bloody tell that servant!"

The Third Prince received a few heavy punches and finally, he showed an opening under the continuous attacks, which the tiger man immediately took advantage of. A powerful punch landed onto the Third Prince's torso, and a thin line of blood flowed out from Long Zhu's mouth.

The strong urge to protect the Third Prince was the key to break Xiao Hua from being only a spectator.

"Don't, Xiao Hua!" Feng Jiu called out when she saw movements from Xiao Hua.

But Xiao Hua ignored her and threw as many knives as she could, despite her knives just bouncing away from Qiang Laohu's skin. Even when she had coated her knives with her inner energy, they could not injure him!

"You want to bloody die?" Qiang Laohu turned his head to Xiao Hua and growled.

When facing Qiang Laohu, the Third Prince was not afraid even when their strength had a large gap. It was only when Qiang Laohu's attention shifted to Xiao Hua did his eyes show panic. The tiles on the ground cracked as thick plants grew out from the soil under the ground and formed a protective barrier between Xiao Hua and Qiang Laohu.

"You ungrateful brat!" Qiang Laohu roared murderously. "Is that servant more important than millions of lives?!"

"I may be a servant, but I'm a human first!" Xiao Hua yelled angrily, successfully getting Qiang Laohu's attention. She had rather his attention stayed on her than the injured Third Prince.

"I'm not the original Xiao Hua," she continued on. "I'm not from this world and I never saved the Third Prince's life before but he told me about your identity because I have the right to know!"

"What nonsense are you babbling about?!"

"She's a soul from another world," Mingzhi explained calmly.

"What?" Feng Jiu asked in shock. "Why aren't we informed about it?"

Xiao Huo immediately shuts her mouth when she realizes that they does not know about her real identity at all. She guilty eyed the Third Prince, who does not get angry at what she did.

"I kept silent because it's not my secret, but it seems that Long Zhu does not share

the same belief."

"I apologize," Long Zhu said towards Mingzhi as he wiped his blood from his mouth using his sleeve. That sight hurt Xiao Hua's heart.

"That does not bloody matter!" Qiang Laohu snapped. "Even if she's not from this world, she's not entitled to know about us!"

"Why not?" Xiao Hua snapped. "I have every bloody right to know!" Thank you for

teaching me how to say 'bloody', you King Kong!

"What right do you have?" Mingzhi asked hesitantly and was only able to push aside his fear due to curiosity.

"I am his future wife. That certainly gave me the right to know about my fiancée's business, isn't it?" Xiao Hua sneered in an arrogant manner, something that Le Xiao Ting had learned from her boss. "I should also be on guard against those people that want to use him as well."

Feng Jiu and Mingzhi blinked dazedly at her bold declaration, but it goaded Qiang Laohu's anger.

"You whore-" He suddenly collapsed with a loud bang as he hit the floor and no longer moved.

"Laohu!" Feng Jiu exclaimed in worry and dashed to the fainted guy's side. After checking that he was just asleep, she shot Long Zhu a glare, but he did not even notice it.

Long Zhu was too busy smiling happily at the blushing Xiao Hua, who refused to meet his eyes.

CHAPTER 2: Flexing your peacock tail at your potential mate

Feng Jiu left Qiang Laohu on the floor, knowing that it would be more peaceful if he remained that way. With a snap of her slender fingers, fire appeared out of thin air and started burning down the wall made of plants in front of Xiao Hua.

The Third Prince did not make a move to stop Feng Jiu since he did not sense any hostility from her and watched as she grasped Xiao Hua's hand gently and had her take a seat. They ignored the way Mingzhi stiffened, resembling a statue when Xiao Hua approached.

Xiao Hua might feel a bit unhappy with how Feng Jiu had not saved the Third Prince when he was in danger, but she also knew that the four of them had a bond that allowed them to act this way.

With a smile, Feng Jiu said, "I suppose that explains your innocence of a pampered lady in a noble household despite being a commoner. Are you a noble lady in your world?"

Xiao Hua had few choices of words to categorize those pampered ladies in the novels she had read, as they were hardly known as innocence. Not even those original heroines that swoon men's hearts easily with their ignorance and kindness could be labelled as innocent.

Or maybe she's gotten prejudiced over how those heroines had captured so many good men to her side with just a smile and act of kindness. So jelly (2]!!! (°™°₩)

"I'm far from innocent and trusting.." Xiao Hua protested. "That label is only for young children."

"You are still a child," Feng Jiu pointed out.

"I'm twenty-seven years old. Um, twenty-eight now, I suppose."

Although Feng Jiu did not say anything, her stunned expression spoke of her distrust.

"Will he be fine?" Xiao Hua pointed at Qiang Laohu. She guessed that he should be fine when no one seemed to be concerned much about him, but she was rather curious about what had happened to him.

"He's just sleeping," Feng Jiu reassured the younger girl.

"My plant had injected some drugs into his body." Long Zhu seated beside Xiao Hua, which was way too close to be proper.

Qiang Laohu might have the strongest body among them but that does not mean he does not have a weakness.

"Long Zhu," Mingzhi called out softly. When the said person turned his head to his direction, he continued, "Is there a purpose for telling her the truth?"

'Other than flexing your peacock tail at your potential mate', was left unsaid by the two time-travellers.

"There is another transmigrator. He wrote about the events of our world... quite accurately." Successfully capturing the other time travellers' attention, Long Zhu continued on. "But the story focused on Long Shan and Liu Chu Chu being the main char-acters."

"The cowards and traitors to their home?" Feng Jiu scowled in disgust. She may have been sympathetic with the Second Prince of Guilin's past, but that did not excuse his spinelessness. That fool had run away with his wife when it was clear that he could not defend his kingdom from demon hoards.

All he did was send out an evacuation order to the public before fleeing elsewhere.

"The book ended when they got Guilin under their control. There are none about demons and the celestial beasts."

"Then my question stands. Why did you tell her?" Mingzhi asked solemnly.

"An ideal husband and wife must not hide secrets with each other?" Feng Jiu guessed jokingly.

"Yes."

Mingzhi and Feng Jiu suddenly wondered if Long Zhu was possessed by a sappy spirit.

"She can help spot things if we missed something. Xiao Hua, tell them what you think about Long Shan and Liu Chu Chu."

"Ah? Er... please know that it's all just my random guess!" Xiao Hua hurriedly gave a warning.

"Then we will listen with an open mind," Feng Jiu smiled, ignoring Mingzhi's betrayed gaze towards her.

"Alright...... the story did portray Long Shan and Liu Chu Chu as the hero and hero-ine, the undefeatable couple. Perhaps they would return after a while with a way to defeat and stop the demons?"

"I did not see them in the future. The ending still remains the same where humans died and demons ruled the world. There were a few brave warriors that managed to prevent most of the demons' attacks, but they still could not stop the demons from taking control of the world."

Xiao Hua was scared at how Mingzhi's eyes currently looked like. It was unfocused and light grey, with no sight of the pupil.

"Prince Mingzhi can see the future," the Third Prince explained.

"Cool," Xiao Hua gushed in admiration after knowing the eyes were the indicator of Mingzhu using his power.

"Mingzhi, is there a way to send Xiao Hua back to her own world?" Feng Jiu asked when Mingzhi's eyes finally went back to normal.

"None other than permanent death," Mingzhi answered, giving the same answer as last night's. "Her soul is already settled properly inside her current body."

To try separating her soul from its current vessel would harm her soul.

"It's okay, Feng Jiu." Xiao Hua mustered a smile at the distress apparent on the lady in red's face. "I had already accepted it long ago."

Wanting to change the subject, Xiao Hua said, "I don't know if it's related, but Liu Chu Chu has a cheat... ah, I mean she has a spatial jade bracelet with endless spring water from a pool that could heal any illness she encountered."

"Heal any illness?"

"That's how the story is written. Heise, the author, had written that every person Liu Chu Chu gave the spring water to drink would recover completely! Even my eyesight was restored by it."

Feng Jiu pondered. "I've heard about a miraculous healing fountain that belongs to the Fire temple in the Zhu Que Kingdom, but one day it disappeared without a trace a few hundred years ago. An expert had analysed that it was transferred to another space and I fear that it was the same spring fountain in Liu Chu Chu's hands."

"Oh, I remember there's a guardian of the spring fountain. 'A dark beauty' is what Heise described her."

"There's no guardian of the healing fountain. She might be the thief or an unfortunate soul that was sealed in the spatial dimensional ring."

Mingzhi shakes his head at Feng Jiu's words. "We must not assume things without knowing the truth."

"Assumption is what keeps us from being taken in by surprise," Feng Jiu countered.

"That lady might be the guardian of the space instead of the fountain," Xiao Hua added, trying to diffuse their argument.

"That is possible as well," Feng Jiu relented and Mingzhi did not counter what Xiao Hua said just because he did not wish to talk to her if possible.

"How did the demon invasion start? Surely there must be something that triggers

it?" Xiao Hua asked curiously.

"To know that, you will have to learn about the history of the Four Kingdom," the Third Prince said.

"So the Four Kingdom is related to the demons? Perhaps the Four Kingdoms were constructed just to hide something? Like the demon's portal?"

The time travellers: '...'

Xiao Hua's enthusiasm shrivelled from their abrupt silence. She timidly asked, "So I'm wrong?"

Surprisingly it was Mingzhi that answered her. "You are surprisingly pretty close to the truth. The Four Kingdoms were built a thousand years ago for the celestial beasts to recover their vitality after battling with the demons. They had sealed the path linked to the demon realm, which was purposely created by the demons after sacrificing cultivators that cultivated the demonic arts. Choosing four humans that had fought with them as their guardian, they were tasked with the honourable duty to keep their resting place safe. In return, the celestial beasts had lent their power to the guardians."

"We are grateful to the celestial beast for protecting us from the demons," Feng Jiu said. "They nearly died from exhaustion to seal the gate."

Xiao Hua nodded. "How did the Gate unseal? Or was it destroyed?"

"That seal is slowly weakening, but it's able to withstand for a few more centuries." Xiao Hua stiffened when Qiang Laohu stood up slowly, but his eyes were bright and clear. "It was unsealed by someone."

Since the tiger aguy did not make any move to attack the Third Prince or her, Xiao Hua relaxed. "Who?"

"We don't know." The Third Prince rubbed her head. "That's what we want to know the most. No one knows how to unseal the lock, yet that person did."

"Which means that person isn't simple."

The Third Prince nodded with a smile. "Correct."

"Did you manage to find any other clue on that person's identity?"

"That person should be a surviving demon from the war or a demonic cultivator.

They are the only ones that could withstand the miasma surrounding the gate that leaked out from the demon realm long enough to unlock the seal."

Qiang Laohu grunted as he sat on one of the chairs, body still stiff with lethargy.

"Brat, the cure."

"You need to wait for the drug to dilute by itself in your system."

"Isk." Qiang Laohu glared at Xiao Hua and, unknown where she got the bravery from, she glared back.

"When's the wedding?" Qiang Laohu asked gruffly and picked up a cup of tea to moist his throat.

Xiao Hua blinked at the sudden change of conversation. "Huh?"

"I'm searching for Teacher to ask for an adoption," the Third Prince replied.

Feng Jiu gasped delicately. "You wish for Master Bai to adopt Xiao Hua?"

The Third Prince nodded. "My Imperial Grandfather is helping me to search for his whereabouts."

Qiang Laohu laughed. "You want that man to adopt a servant? I will be there to watch him beat you up."

"Who is that?" Xiao Hua asked softly, unsure if she was allowed to ask.

"The Legendary Doctor Bai," Feng Jiu answered. "He's the best doctor we ever had in this world."

"Isn't that person Liu Chu Chu had claimed to be apprenticed under?" Xiao Hua asked, stunned.

The Third Prince slowly smirked, his eyes brightened with mischief. "Yes."

"Are you confident that he will adopt her?" Mingzhi stared at Long Zhu suspi-ciously.

"You can't see that future?" Qiang Laohu teased. "Go and see it! Tell us if that stinky brat is going to be beaten up or cut into pieces!"

Mingzhi sniffed delicately. "I do not abuse my gift unlike you."

Xiao Hua stared worriedly at the Third Prince. "Perhaps you should pick someone else to adopt me? Doctor Bai sounds scary."

The Third Prince laughed and held onto her hand. "Do you believe me?"

Xiao Hua slowly smiled and tightened the grip. "I do."

Scarily, she trusted him, even with her life. This man had never outright lied or disappointed her. Well, she was proud of her good taste when it came to picking a boyfriend!

CHAPTER 3: She wished she was a male

Xiao Hua had fun at the Xuanwu Kingdom, until one day, her auntie [3] visited for the first time. Fortunately, Xiao Hua's body was healthy and constantly supplied with Nutrient Pill; hence the visit was very much lighter than Le Xiao Ting's tormenting aunty.

However, Xiao Hua found it unhygienic in this time period. It was during times like this she wished she was a male.

On their seventh day in Xuanwu Kingdom, the Third Prince received a letter from Eunuch Lau Liu, which prompted them to return to the Guilin Kingdom.

As for the training session with the Third Prince, both of them decided to call it quits and let Duan Xi Ying continue teaching her. The Third Prince knew that he had used too much strength so he decreased it, but he ended up dropping it too much. On the other hand, Xiao Hua was afraid to put more strength into her punches even if she knew her punch did nothing to him.

It's his face! It's that beautiful, delicate face that gave her the impression he's weak!

During their journey back, there were no breaks in between as they travelled at a neck breaking speed. They managed to arrive back at the Guilin Kingdom in just two days. It was only mid-afternoon when they returned to the Third Prince's residence.

The Third Prince disappeared to his study with Eunuch Lau Liu once they entered the manor and not long after, Long Lian's fast speed carriage stopped in front of the Third Prince's entrance.

No one stopped the princess from entering and once she got her answer from one of the servants, she ran straight to where Xiao Hua was currently at.

"Xiao Hua!" Long Lian burst into the room with a loud squeal and jumped onto the surprised Xiao Hua, who does not even have the time yet to change out of her winter attire. "Oh, is this your winter attire? You look adorable!" Long Lian pulled away and gushed at Xiao Hua's light shade of green coat with white furs at the end of the sleeves and collar.

It was actually Feng Jiu that gifted her this attire but Xiao Hua realized she should not say it to Long Lian, for she did not know if the princess knew about Feng Jiu or not.

"It's a gift from the Third Prince's friend. It's comfortable and warm."

Long Lian caressed the soft furs before releasing it. "I will wait for you to change your clothes at the pavilion."

Each courtyard in the Third Prince's residence has a pavilion, but in the Spring Courtyard, it was much bigger than the others.

It did not take long for Xiao Hua to change with the help of Duan Xi Ying. When she arrived at the pavilion, Long Lian was eating a bowl of warm tofu pudding, and judging from the amount of empty bowls on the table, this was her third bowl of tofu pud-ding.

Long Lian beamed when she saw Xiao Hua. Once the other girl was seated beside her, Long Lian gestured at the other bowl of tofu pudding. "This was made by the Imperial Chef this morning. Mother Empress is in the mood to enjoy sweet desserts and I get to enjoy it as well."

Duan Xi Ying poured melted sugar onto the tofu pudding for Xiao Hua before taking her post at a distance where the two ladies could talk privately.

"Hmm." Long Lian stared at Xiao Hua with a slight frown. "This hairstyle is rather mature for you."

Xiao Hua had not allowed Duan Xi Ying to tie her hair back to the usual infinity shaped buns. She honestly thought that side buns hairstyle was rather childish, even if she currently possessed a child's body.

"I like this hairstyle more." Xiao Hua self-consciously touched her hair, which was tied at the back of her neck with a wide ribbon filled with flower buds. It took a lot of ribbons to make enough flower buds and stitch them all together on a single wide rib-bon.

"You are not going to use the hairpin I gifted you?"

The disappointed expression on Long Lian's face made Xiao Hua feel guilty. "I... I will, one day. Ah Lian, right now it would not be good for me to wear such an expensive hairpin and bring trouble."

Long Lian sighed. "I understand, but one day, you will wear it for me to see!" Xiao Hua laughed with a nod. "I promise." If she did get adopted, she would be able to wear the hairpin!

"Quick, eat the tofu before it gets cold, or else it won't taste as delicious anymore. Tell me how's the Xuanwu Kingdom looks like!"

With a happy giggle, Xiao Hua complied, telling Long Lian about the snow and scenery. The tofu pudding tasted even more delicious than Le Xiao Ting had before but perhaps it was because of her currently happy mood that the tofu tasted sweeter.

"I have bought you a pearl from the Xuanwu Kingdom. It can glow in the dark!" Xiao Hua passed Long Lian a square black box that was only slightly bigger than her palm.

"A gift for me?" Long Lian beamed before carefully opening the box to reveal the content. She let out a joyful gasp and lifted the hand-sized pearl onto her palms care-fully.

"It's beautiful," Long Lian gushed. "Oh, thank you, Xiao Hua! I will treasure it as long as I live!"

"I'm glad you like it." But what's with the 'as long as I live?"

The penniless individual that goes by the name of Xiao Hua had to ask the Third Prince to loan her some money to buy the pearl. She had no concept of the monetary value of this world, but she wanted to buy something nice for Long Lian and Heise.

Feng Jiu approved of her choice so it should be fine.

She had debated whether to ask for her salary, not that she had done much work, to begin with, but then the Third Prince said he would not accept money from her to pay off the loan.

"I will be expecting you to repay me. Not in coin, but in some other form...you don't get to choose, of course."

The Third Prince seemed to be looking forward to it and Xiao Hua wondered if she had just agreed to an unfair agreement, but there was no one else she could trust not to cheat her.

"Hey! Miss Xiao Hua!"

It was the loud shout that got Xiao Hua and Long Lian to turn to the direction where it came from. Yang Ling, with his swaying ponytail behind him that would be right at home in a shampoo commercial, was waving his arms madly at Xiao Hua. He would have run towards Xiao Hua and possibly knocked her over if Duan Xi Ying and Da Bei had not blocked him.

"Lord Yang Ling?" Xiao Hua stood up, eyes filled with confusion.

"I need to talk to you!" Yang Ling said loudly. "Call them off and let me pass!"

"Lord Yang Ling, do you have the permission from the Third Prince to speak to me?" Xiao Hua asked politely, but her body language was not welcoming.

She had known about Da Bei being punished for letting Eunuch Heng enter her room. Despite trying to explain to the Third Prince that it was not Da Bei's fault, the punishment was already handed out. Xiao Hua does not know what the punishment entails as the Third Prince does not want her to know. Da Bei remained mute on the matter and she decided to let it go.

After that incident, she knew better than to get Da Bei into trouble because of her again. Whether she gets to talk to Yang Ling will depend on her boyfriend or her body-guards.

"No," Da Bei answered for Yang Ling coldly, staring at the intruder as if he were a bug that should be far away from Xiao Hua.

"Hey kid, is this how you should act to your elder?" Yang Ling stared at Da Bei in disbelief. "Give me some respect that I deserve! I have been your master's friend for four years! Do you know how damaging it is to my mind and heart"

"Lord Yang Ling," Duan Xi Ying interrupted with an amused giggle. "Master will beat you up, again, if he heard what you say."

That shut Yang Ling up fast.

"Lord Yang Ling," Long Lian called out.

"Princess!" Yang Ling greeted brightly, treating the princess as his saviour. "Please let me talk to Miss Xiao Hua. It won't take long! I promise!"

Xiao Hua's polite smile was strained. "Lord Yang Ling, Xiao Hua is just a servant.

'Miss' isn't an appropriate title for this servant to use."

"Hah! You won't be a servant much longer anyway if Long Zhu has his way!"

"What did you just say?" Long Lian's voice was calm but her stare at Yang Ling was cold, silently demanding an answer from him. Her third brother wants to remove Xiao Hua from his personal maid position? Did he finally feel pressured by Mother Em-press?

"Ho? Princess Long Lian does not know something about her favourite brother? Yang Ling feels honoured-"

"Silence!" Long Lian snapped as she slammed a palm at the table, which trembled wildly from the force. Xiao Hua's eyes widened in fear upon seeing the shaking bowls but fortunately, they did not fall from the table. "You will tell me why the third brother wants to remove Xiao Hua as his maid!"

"I will happily tell everything to you, Princess, but Yang Ling wishes to talk to Miss Xiao Hua. But the Third Prince's bodyguards are blocking me-"

Long Lian rolled her eyes at his shameless attempt to bargain with her. "I will give you my word that I will explain to my third brother on your behalf! Now, tell me everything!"

Yang Ling grinned cheekily. "Then I will count on you, Princess." He snuck a glance at Xiao Hua, wondering how she would react, but instead of the full-blown panic he had expected, Xiao Hua indeed looked a little worried, but nothing dramatic as one would hear about her possible loss of a job.

Eh... That isn't what he expected.

CHAPTER 4: Do I have to seal your tongue

With the most beautiful woman as her mother, Long Lian was naturally beautiful. But with her currently rosy cheeks and dreamy eyes, that sight easily shake any man's heart. Not even Yang Ling, the bow fanatic, could protect his heart from the beautiful sight.

Long Lian was so lost in her mind that she was no longer aware of Xiao Hua's frantic calling or the gentle shake on her shoulders.

She was reduced to this state of utopia when Yang Ling told her that the Third Prince will have Xiao Hua adopted so that he could marry her. All this time, she had assumed that her third brother would wait until Xiao Hua grew older before making his move to court her, not caring about their status.

Her third brother was never one that was interested in little girls and despite what he believed, Long Lian actually knew about the hidden guest in the Autumn Court-yard. That older woman had nothing 'little' about her at all. Long Lian felt inferior when compared to that older woman and she had to admit that her third brother had a good taste.

However, after her third brother chose Xiao Hua as his personal maid, Long Lian no longer approved of her brother keeping a secret woman, especially when she saw how he treated Xiao Hua. Not even Father Emperor had treated Mother Empress or Concubine He that way.

She had gone to confront him, and to her surprise, her third brother denied any illicit relationship with the beautiful woman in red.

"She is my senior martial sister. It's my teacher's wish to keep his identity a secret, even Father Emperor and Mother Empress do not know about my teacher."

"That does not explain why you keep her a secret. You could introduce her as your senior martial sister without revealing who's your teacher," Long Lian argued.

"Her identity is not simple. If anyone found out about our relationship, it would bring

trouble. I trust that you will keep silent on this or do I have to seal your tongue?" At that time, Long Lian admitted she was a bit scared of her third brother. That was one of the rare moments where he was not as gentle and kind as he portrayed himself to be

She gave her word to keep it a secret and she was honestly relieved that he accepted her promise. That meant he trusted her. It was a great honour to her from her full-blooded brother.

"Hey~ Miss Xiao Hua, come closer so that I don't have to talk loudly," Yang Ling beckoned with his hand. He could not approach them with the bodyguards still blocking his way. Seeing that the Princess was back to her senses, he called out, "Hey, Princess. Are you turning back against your promise?"

"Of course not." Long Lian stared at him, feeling insulted. "The two of you, let him pass. I will explain to the third brother about this. But you have my permission to restrain him if he makes any threatening move towards Xiao Hua."

"I won't hurt her! I just want to talk to Miss Xiao Hua! Talking is not dangerous at all!"

"Words are not worth much without action," Long Lian pointed out.

"I promise I won't do anything to harm Miss Xiao Hua! If I ever harm her, the thunder will strike me a hundred times!"

Long Lian hid her smile as she waved Duan Xi Ying and Da Bei to let Yang Ling pass, who quickly stepped closer to them.

"Miss Xiao Hua, I will promise you anything if you manage to get my bow back!

Long Zhu is a bastard! He took away my darling bow just because I didn't get first place! At least I got second place! Did he think that just because he's a prince, he can just take people's belongings? He's a tyrant!"

"I thought that bow was originally the Third Prince's?" Xiao Hua blinked when everyone stared at her silently, their eyes judging her. "..Did I say something wrong?"

"Heaven, they are the same!" Yang Ling hissed. "No wonder Long Zhu likes you!"

Xiao Hua blushed shyly. "T-Thank you."

"I'm not praising you!"

Xiao Hua knew that but she just wanted to tease him. "I'm sure the Third Prince will return the bow to you, but since Lord Yang Ling had asked, I will inquire about your bow on your behalf."

"I will count on you, Miss Xiao Hua! I promise to do whatever you ask me!" Xiao Hua laughed awkwardly. "There's no need for that."

"Taking your bow away is actually a good punishment," Long Lian mumbled in disagreement, her fingers busy cracking a peanut's shell. "You had let that girl won."

"I accidentally missed the final target! It's not as if I purposely let that girl win!

Surely letting her win is not that bad? Did she do anything to offend the Third Prince other than being the Second Prince's fiancée?"

"Lord Yang Ling had fallen for Miss Liu?" Xiao Hua was unable to hold back in asking that question. Even if the Third Prince reassured her that this guy preferred a cold, non-living object, his admiration towards the heroine's archery skills was very well known in the novel.

Yang Ling stared at Xiao Hua in horror. "No way! Why would I like that arrogant girl!"

"Arrogant?"

Long Lian snorted, the pile of cracked peanut shells on the table grew bigger. "She might look innocent, but she's far from it. So what if her father is a merchant that helps Guilin's economy? She's just a concubine born that only knows how to seduce men."

Xiao Hua: (o_0)?!

Why does Ah Lian seem to hate the heroine even more than usual? Did something happen when she was gone?

"Did she think she pleased Father Emperor with just that unworthy skill? My third brother is way better than her!"

"Yeah!" Yang Ling cheered. "Although the Third Prince is a nasty person, I can't deny that he is talented in archery. But that idiot refused to show off his skills and now his own father believes that girl is the best archer in Guilin! He even gifted that 'Purple Haze' bow to her when she asked for it!"

"That shameless hussy!" Long Lian slammed a palm on the table and the peanut shells flew everywhere. "The more I think of it, the angrier I get!"

"Calm down, Ah Lian. Look, your hand will turn red from it." Xiao Hua lifted Long Lian's palm that she had used to smack the table.

"Something like this is not painful at all!" Long Lian boasted, but her heart soared in happiness from Xiao Hua's worry towards her.

"Still, don't randomly hit hard objects." Xiao Hua let go of Long Lian's hand when she saw there was no injury from it.

Long Lian smiled. "I won't." But her smile soon disappeared. "Father Emperor easily agreed to give her that bow... isn't it just because he favours the second brother?"

"Long Lian is not happy for your second brother's good fortune?"

Yang Ling snorted and without them knowing, had taken a seat with them and his mouth enthusiastically munched on peanuts. "That prince is as greedy as the Crown Prince when it comes to treasure and throne. Both of them had their eyes on the 'Pur-ple Haze' bow for a long time. It's pretty funny how red the Crown Prince's face became when he saw the bow went to Liu Chu Chu's hand."

"Lord Yang Ling, I will overlook your rudeness to the royal family this once," Long Lian said warningly.

"I apologize." Yang Ling quickly said. "But Princess, you don't seem to be angry

when I badmouth the Third Prince?"

"Third brother is not angry and that means I do not have the right to be angry for him."

Xiao Hua: '' Really? I got angry for my mom when the neighborhood shrew scolded her for stealing her dog!

That crazy shrew treated her dog badly and then blamed Le Xiao Ting's mom when the dog disliked her? Fortunately, the shrew neighbour moved away not long after that. Le Xiao Ting swore that the dog and her mom cried when the dog was forced to leave with its owner. She had half expected to see the dog had run away to find her mother the next day but it did not happen.

"I have to applaud the Third Prince for daringly missing the Emperor's birthday celebration. The Empress must be angry but her face showed none of it and from the start to the end of the celebration, she just smiled! The Emperor sulked quite a bit, but cheered up when he received his presents and entertained himself with the compe-tition."

"The.The Emperor's birthday?" Xiao Hua gasped in shock. "When was that?"

"When you and my third brother went to the Xuanwu Kingdom," Long Lian an-swered. "Father Emperor likes seeing new talents and competition, so he combined his birthday celebration and the annual competition on the same day."

And the Third Prince just went on a trip and missed his father's birthday celebration?!

Xiao Hua suddenly wondered if the purpose of traveling in incognito mode was to actually escape from the guards that would drag him back to attend the Emperor's birthday party.

CHAPTER 5: They were a malicious couple that suited each other

"Fifth Miss Liu had gifted the Emperor a small bottle filled with healing water."

In the barely lit study room, Long Zhu's face was unusually solemn, with an equally solemn Eunuch Lau Liu standing at the other side of the table.

"Father Emperor must be overjoyed upon receiving that gift."

The movement of Long Zhu's hands as he sorted out the piled-up documents on his table was a mesmerizing sight. It was gentle, seemingly putting on a show for the viewer, but none of his actions were a waste.

Such a contradiction was hard to achieve.

"The Emperor tested it on his old injury and it healed quickly."

"That's to be expected." After all, Xiao Hua had told him about the miraculous spring pool inside Liu Chu Chu's spatial dimensional ring. "How is General Tang?"

"The general recovered quickly, but Madam Ping will need more time to recover.

Tian Chi is tending to her injuries personally."

Long Zhu nodded. "They are getting bold, but we have to thank them for delivering General Tang to us."

Eunuch Lau Liu smiled slyly. "Indeed."

The reason why Liu Chu Chu would interrogate Ping Shui was because General Tang had lost their spy they had planted in South Guilin Village and even allowed the Third Prince's carriage to escape. Even if Long Shan trusted his long-time friend, he could not stop himself from doubting General Tang Jiang, but he did not foolishly reveal his suspicion and let their friendship be harmed.

But Long Shan's fiancée, Liu Chu Chu, did what he wanted to avoid the most. She was one that did not trust people easily and preferred dangerous people with unknown loyalty to be discarded from her side. That was why she decided to capture the general's wife, who was known to be a member of the Third Prince's camp, without discussing with her fiancé in advance.

"I'm greatly indebted to Madam Ping for this incident," Long Zhu mused

Long Zhu chuckled darkly, feeling a little self-disgust. Liu Chu Chu was someone he had thought to be full of talent, beauty, and intelligence in his first life. She was able to get out of trouble every time and even managed to put those that wished her harm into trouble instead.

He found her to be the perfect woman inside and out, but she helped Long Shan to kill him and his family.

In his second life, he saw the truth and the false clearly. He saw how cruel and narrow minded Liu Chu Chu was under her innocent appearance, and how easily Long Shan agreed to his fiancée's scheme.

They were a malicious couple that suited each other.

There might be a time where Long Zhu pitied Long Shan and Concubine He and did not make trouble for them. But his kindness was not needed, for they decided to aim their swords at his innocent siblings just for their Father Emperor's mistakes.

They taught him the lesson of 'only the strong one could risk being kind'.

"How are the Tang family members?"

"They knew what happened and decided to hide in their house for now. The current head of Tang sent a letter to you, my prince, if you manage to find them among the documents."

Long Zhu shot a dark look at his Imperial Grandfather's previous eunuch. "Lau Liu, letter and official documents should be separated, as you had said previously."

Eunuch Lau Liu laughed softly. "Did I? This old man is getting old, unable toremember what I've said in the past."

As one that was used to Eunuch Lau Liu's antics, Long Zhu sighed in defeat and quickly sorted out the pile of documents that was rather too much for just a little more than a week of absence.

This resembled the workload of half a year absence!

Finally spotting a scroll with a green string around it underneath the pile of docu-ments, he did not waste time to untie it and let it unfold on the table.

'I, Tang Qing Pao, the patriarch of the Tang household, will stand behind General Tang Jiang and his choice'

Eunuch Lau Liu smiled pleasantly at the good news, which he discovered after boldly reading the content of the scroll. "General Tang Jiang seems to be really angry with the Second Prince and his princess consort."

Long Zhu flicked a finger to roll up the scroll and smoothly tied it before passing it to Eunuch Lau Liu's waiting hands. "Treat General Tang and Madam Ping with great care. Assign a few guards to discreetly look out for the Tang household, with the general's permission, of course."

Eunuch Lau Liu smiled like a fox. "This old servant understands."

"Did you inform Grand Tutor Ping about his granddaughter's condition?"

"I've sent a missive to the tutor but he has yet to reply. There is news of him hunting for rare herbs and the letter would only reach him when he returns from the trip." Long Zhu stared at the carved dragon on the surface of the table, wondering if he should send another letter or wait for Grand Tutor Ping to come out himself.

"We will wait," Long Zhu finally decided after a minute. "Grand Tutor Ping has a filial and reliable grandson-in-law after all. Allow Madam Ping to visit her daughter as often as she wishes. The Ping members are allowed to stay in my residence as long as they wish to."

"Yes, my prince. Then this old man will retreat and leave you youngsters to bond." Long Zhu raised an eyebrow, wondering if Eunuch Lau Liu was finally out of his mind when his senses thrummed in joy upon detecting a certain someone approaching his study.

"You may leave," Long Zhu promptly ordered and the smug eunuch bowed before leaving.

Standing before the door to the study room, Xiao Hua wondered if the Third Prince was inside handling important matters.

Yang Ling was waiting for her at the Pearl Courtyard and had announced he would not go back to his house until he got his bow back. He did not intend to let her delay the matter of the bow, which killed her idea of waiting for a few days. Without much choice, Xiao Hua dragged her heavy legs to seek out the Third Prince, fully prepared to look as pitiful as she could while throwing all the blame on Yang Ling.

After all, he was the one that asked her to help in the first place. She was just an agent, representing her client, Yang Ling, to negotiate with the Third Prince. Any loss or damages would be borne solely by Yang Ling!

It was a bit different than how she should do in her original world, but then Xiao Hua has a relationship with the Third Prince, so she should not even be Yang Ling's agent due to conflict of interest.

But of course, no one needs to know the real reason why Xiao Hua agreed to talk to the Third Prince for Yang Ling. It was because she was scared that the distance between him and his bow would make him cheat - cough- no, the appropriate term would be 'seduced' by the heroine's charm.

Xiao Hua has no confidence in her client's wife- cough- bow to have enough charm for Yang Ling to remain loyal to it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Eunuch Lau Liu opened the door from inside without warning and stepped out, giving Xiao Hua an inviting smile.

"Greetings to Eunuch Lau Liu," Xiao Hua greeted politely and curtsied.

"No need to be polite. Xiao Hua, the prince is waiting for you inside."

"W-Waiting for me?" No way, why would the Third Prince be waiting for her? Unless he found out that Yang Ling asked her to help him?

Eunuch Lau Liu stepped to the side, allowing her to enter. "Please."

"T-Thank you," Xiao Hua thanked him hastily. Gathering her scattered nerves, she stepped into the study, and right after she did, the door quickly shut behind her, earning a startled gasp from her.

"Come here, Xiao Hua."

Xiao Hua spotted the Third Prince seated behind his wide desk, his eyes warm and gentle as he waited for her to approach him. Obediently doing as he wanted, she was pulled down on his lap, with her back to his front. Biting back her protest, she let her boyfriend hug her as if she was his human sized teddy bear.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but you usually find me with a worried face when you need me for something," the Third Prince murmured with half of his face buried at the back of her head.

Xiao Hua tried to turn so that she could look at him, but his arms refused to let her move. "That's not true." Mostly. "You are not only my master but also an important person to me. Would you please allow me to look at you?"

Hearing Xiao Hua's exasperated tone, the Third Prince was confused. "Won't you talk better if you are not looking at me?"

Xiao Hua vaguely remembered she had admitted that to him in the past. "I only prefer doing that when I'm confessing something! I'm actually here to talk about Lord

Yang Ling's request."

"Yang Ling?"

After hanging around with the Third Prince for more than seven months, Xiao Hua was able to recognize the signs of his mood from his tone, and currently, she knew that he was not pleased that Yang Ling had talked to her.

Hurriedly saving Da Bei and Duan Xi Ying's ass, she offered another's instead. "Da Bei and Xi Ying had stopped him from talking to me without your permission, but Long Lian allowed Yang Ling to talk to me in exchange for knowing I would be adopted soon."

"I see."

That sounded indifferent and calm, but it spoke volumes to Xiao Hua.

He's not pleased at all!

CHAPTER 6: Treats his bow like his wife

Xiao Hua hurriedly explained, "Lord Yang Ling wants me to help in asking the bow from you. Third Prince, will you return the bow back to him?"

"Maybe."

"Third Prince, Lord Yang Ling truly loves that bow."

"I know."

Xiao Hua: '...' What else am I supposed to say?

"You pity Yang Ling?"

"No." Realizing that her answer seemed cruel, she hastily explained, "It's not as if you had taken his wife away!"

When silence was the only reply she got, she tried to turn her head to look over her shoulder, and found she could do it without her boyfriend stopping her. The Third Prince looked serious as he pondered over something.

Xiao Hua's heart was numb as she forced herself to say what she really thought.

"I suppose it's good that Lord Yang Ling treats his bow like his wife..."

The Third Prince smiled, giving her a cute nod in agreement.

My boyfriend is being mean to his friend, but I find it cute.

Finally allowing her to shift around so that she can look at him without spraining her neck, Xiao Hua stared at her boyfriend, slightly pleading. "Can you return the bow to Lord Yang Ling? He refuses to leave if he doesn't get it back."

"He will leave when I kick him out."

How fierce, but I can't deny the reasoning.

"If I return his bow, what will you give me?"

"..Huh?" Xiao Hua swears her boyfriend just asked for something outrageous.

"I won't hand over the bow if I get nothing in return. Xiao Hua understands that,

right?"

"I will inform Lord Yang Ling to find something valuable in exchange for the bow." The Third Prince smiled roguishly as he leaned closer so that his lips could touch her soft cheek. "I will only accept it if it's Xiao Hua that gives it to me."

.....Why me?! I'm broke!

"But... but that bow is Lord Yang Ling's!" Xiao Hua protested fearfully.

"Naturally, if Yang Ling personally asks me, I will demand something in return from him. But right now, it's Xiao Hua that asks for it from me, so you will be the one to offer something to me." (ÒÓ) Unfair!

"This servant is penniless and able to live with shelter and food, which are all thanks to the Third Prince's generosity," Xiao Hua said flatly but her eyes expressed her belief of being wronged.

Long Zhu frowned and leaned closer to lightly bite her earlobe, which was tempting him.

"Kyaa!" Xiao Hua squealed, immediately pulling herself away while holding onto her abused ear that still tingled from the bite.

Ignoring Xiao Hua's accusing gaze, Long Zhu said seriously, "You will not refer to yourself as a servant when we are alone."

Xiao Hua bit her bottom lips worriedly yet her eyes showed delight. Unknowingly, her action had a pair of dark eyes stare at her lips. "I... I understand."

Long Zhu frowned as he was able to spot her agreeing without understanding, again. It was the same look when he explained to her about inner energy during their short period of training while heading to the Xuanwu Kingdom.

"Xiao Hua, you are not my servant."

"Yes, I know."

He felt a bit frustrated, unsure if she understood his meaning. "You are my fiancée, my future bride to be, my princess consort."

"I... I know." Xiao Hua blushed prettily and he fought the urge to rub his fingers over the blush. "I just... I'm not sure since there isn't any promise about it..."

"I promise to have you as my princess consort. No matter what happens in the future or how difficult it would be, I will make it happen."

Xiao Hua's eyes shined brightly like a star in the vast night sky, and he acknowledged it was that vision that made him want to pamper her even more. "Then....if you fail to fulfill it, I will go and stay with Heise!"

Long Zhu's mood dropped and he said threateningly, "You will not go to him." But his little flower was not afraid and even boldly demanded, "Then you know what to do so that I won't run away, right?"

He could not control his lips from curling upward, or his eyes from softening in a sappy way that would be similar to how General Tang gazed at his dominant wife.

"I will give you no reason to run away from me," Long Zhu promised before sealing the promise with a kiss.

Xiao Hua happily threw herself into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his shoulders boldly. Her body felt light without doubts, allowing her to act normally around him without fearing that he would punish her.

She let out a soft whine when he stopped the kiss, but what he did next forced a shocked gasp out of her mouth. The Third Prince boldly trailed kisses down her neck, and the soft touches had her body trembling from the pleasure as she automatically arched her neck to give him more access.

The question on how he would know these things were pushed far into her mind as lust dominantly took over her thoughts.

Xiao Hua totally blamed the steamy novels she read when she parted her legs to straddle his waist, pushing herself closer to his addictive mouth that did all the right things to make her body sing in pleasure.

A shocked moan was forced out of her throat when she felt a palm on a place that should be covered with her robe. Her head snapped down and saw that her front robe was loosened, revealing a large gap big enough for a hand to sneak inside to grope her left breast.

Le Xiao Ting's ex-boyfriend had played with her little girls for few times but she made sure to stop before her lower part was unclothed. Even if she wanted to avoid the groping from starting, she could not resist her lust once in a while.

The movement of the warm hand on her left breast was not skilled; his touches were filled with curiosity with inconsistent strength.

But that did not stop Xiao Hua from moaning sweetly when his hand groped and teased her stiff nipple with clumsy touches that made her head thrown back uncon-sciously. Her hands were gripping his head, instinctively pushing his head lower so that his mouth could touch her breast.

She let out a sharp hiss when his mouth finally touched her naked chest and she lowered her head, wanting to watch. Her lust filled mind slowly cleared when the sight of her boobs was not the same as the one she saw every day when she was still Le Xiao Ting. This one was much smaller!

She quickly grabbed the naughty hand from continuing its adventure as she moved back so that his mouth left her skin with a soft pop. "Please stop!"

Surprisingly, the Third Prince immediately stopped, but she could see it took a huge effort for him to stop with how tense his body was and the way he clenched his Jaw.

Shakily, she uncoiled her other hand on his hair which she had messed up and quickly covered her chest and fixed her clothing.

"You..don't like it?" His voice was calm, but the tension in his body under her was very noticeable to her.

"It does not matter if I like it or not," Xiao Hua hurriedly explained. "I'm too young for this. My body is a fourteen-year-old girl and we are not yet married."

Hearing her words, reason slowly calmed Long Zhu down and his body cooled down. "I apologize."

"Y-You don't have to! I understand!" She totally understands about hormones, lust and teenager's libido! Besides, she was also at fault for encouraging him!

When the Third Prince suddenly pulled her into a hug, she let out a sharp shriek.

"Don't be afraid, we will just hug." The Third Prince gave his word and only then did she relax in his arms.

Xiao Hua bit down her lips to stop herself from asking about his actions earlier. His movement seemed awkward, but it was with purpose. He knew what to do and how to touch to get her purring under his palm. However, she should not be too surprised if she was not his first woman. Males in historical era have different thinking about letting little boys experience about sex, or at least that was what she thought.

Xiao Hua sighed and removed herself from his lap, away from temptation. The arms around her reluctantly let her go and her eyes could not stop herself from looking for any evidence of his arousal.

A fierce burst of glee hit her when she saw the tent between his legs. She quickly looked away, embarrassed when he did not seem to be aware of it, for he did not make any move to hide it.

"Lord..Lord Yang Ling! Will you return the bow to him? Would it not be better if he has a strong weapon with him? He is your ally after all. It should also stop his mind from wandering to Liu Chu Chu."

"I will return it to him tomorrow."

Xiao Hua sighed in relief. That will stop that boy from cheating- Ah Pei! Even if she does not believe that the bow could stop Yang Ling from searching out the heroine, it could at least stop his wandering mind for a while.

"Yang Ling will not side with Liu Chu Chu," the Third Prince said, accurately guessing her worry.

"But the heroine's archery skill is stronger than him and he would want her to teach him!"

The Third Prince shook his head and stood up to place his hands on her shoulder.

"My archery skill is better than Liu Chu Chu's. I know her level from my previous life, and I'm confident that she will never be able to defeat me in archery. Yang Ling would never believe her skill is better than mine. I've made sure of that."

This young lady seems to have a jar of vinegar I4] poured into her mouth!

CHAPTER 7: The perfect white lotus line

When Yang Ling saw Xiao Hua making her way towards the Pearl Courtyard's pavil-ion, where he and the princess could be found debating about what kind of peanuts tasted best, he wanted to jump out from his seat and demand answers from her.

But his idea was quick to toss away when he saw the Third Prince walking beside Xiao Hua.

Yang Ling: She should be bringing his bow, not the evil Third Prince! E(°A°|| D!

"Third brother." Long Lian stood up and warmly greeted. "Welcome home."

The Third Prince nodded with a gentle smile. "I've bought gifts for you. An Jing will put them in your carriage."

Long Lian radiated joy upon hearing the word 'gifts. "Thank you, third brother." The pair of gentle eyes immediately turned into indifference when it landed on Yang Ling. The archery fanatic boy felt as if he was a defenceless prey that a great devil had picked as his next victim.

"Oh? You are here as well?" The Third Prince looked genuinely shocked at Yang Ling's presence.

Had Yang Ling not know that the Third Prince knew about his arrival earlier thanks to a large number of servants that had seen him entering the residence earlier, he would have believed his act! The Third Prince also knew when anyone entered or left his residence thanks to his large amount of inner energy.

"I'm not leaving until I get back the Flaming bow!" Yang Ling declared. "I will stick next to you! Wherever you go, I go! Whatever you eat, I eat! When you go to bathe and sleep, I will be there too!"

What to do, this young lady looks forward to the two last scenarios!

Luckily for the new couple, one of them was sane and unruffled from Yang Ling's crude threats. this prince?"

The Third Prince's smile was gentle as he innocently asked, "You wish to stay with

Despite it was a harmless question, Yang Ling felt nothing but a threat underneath it!

Yang Ling: '..' This Lord forgot he's a devil!

"...If...If you do not return my bow, I will stick to Miss Xiao Hua instead!" Xiao Hua: '..' Why did you pull this innocent bystander in?

A heavy swing of a polished sword had Yang Ling get out of his seat with a low roll.

"Princess, don't swing your sword at me!" Yang Ling cried out as soon as he got back to his feet. "What happens if my beautiful face got harmed and then your third brother discarded me? He only keeps good-looking people around him!"

Xiao Hua trembled in excitement. That line... the perfect white lotus [5] line when the cannon fodder defended his own wrongdoings from the female lead by shamelessly announcing the male lead's affection towards him!

She broke out from her delusional fantasies when she sensed bloodlust coming from beside her. Glancing at the Third Prince beside her, Xiao Hua confirmed that line not only pissed off the 'female lead' but also the 'male lead' that was conveniently used as a crutch to help the white lotus to proclaim his innocence.

Classmate Yang Ling, this young lady does not know whether to praise you for your bravery or shake my head for your death seeking talent!

"Throw him out," the Third Prince mercilessly ordered.

"You stole my beloved, you villain!" Yang Ling cried out in anguish that would have earned him an Oscar acting award. Duan Xi Ying and Da Bei each grabbed one of Yang Ling's arms and dragged him out of the courtyard, with their victim trying to drag his feet to stop them.

"How can you do this to me? Do you know what I'm feeling now will be the same as how you will feel if someone steals your Xiao Hua? Or you don't really like Xiao Hua at all? You are such a heartless man but then with that face of yours, you can easily replace her with another pretty lady."

A slender hand grabbed Yang Ling's face and ruthlessly smashed his head to the ground to stop him from prattling. The loud bang from the impact shook Xiao Hua's heart violently as fear crept into her heart at how brutal Duan Xi Ying was.

"Xi Ying's master is the Third Prince. When Yang Ling insulted master and Xiao Hua, Yang Ling should expect Xi Ying to beat him-"

Duan Xi Ying had seen how pale Xiao Hua's face had become and so, despite her words sounded as if it was spoken for Yang Ling's benefit, it was actually intended for Xiao Hua, with the intention to explain her actions.

Naturally, Long Zhu was aware of Xiao Hua's horrified gaze as well and spoke to Yang Ling. "I can return your bow but that does not mean you are free from punish-ment."

Yang Ling, who was supposed to suffer a serious head injury, immediately sat up and kneeled before the Third Prince with an earnest expression. "I understand, Third Prince! Please grant me my deserved punishment!"

Such a drastic change of attitude! And why did he look fine even after that?! There's not even a drop of blood on him!

The confusion on Xiao Hua's face prompted the Third Prince to explain. "Culti-vators have a stronger body defence compared to those that aren't cultivators. That head attack is nothing but a light punch to Yang Ling, a third rank cultivator."

"Yes! As a third rank cultivator, normal attacks could not injure me anymore!"

Yang Ling gloated happily.

Le Xiao Ting's sadist part reared its head and wondered if he would feel pain if she kicked his third leg.

"The bow will be returned to you tomorrow. Go back," the Third Prince told Yang

Ling, who had stood up and patted his clothes from the dirt.

"Ah~ At least feed me dinner before kicking me out! I'm hungry!"

Indeed, without Xiao Hua noticing, the sun was setting. She had eaten dessert earlier so her stomach had not complained to feed it. Inwardly sighing, Xiao Hua was glad she trained because the amount of food she had eaten would be burned from the exercise. That must be how most martial artists or cultivators kept their body shape.

"An Jing, prepare a meal for our guest."

"Yes, Your Highness." An Jing silently appeared and silently disappeared like her ninja-like husband and children.

The meal was served at Pearl Courtyard in one of the dining rooms instead of having it under the pavilion like they used to. Just as they sat down, Tian Chi and Tian Zi arrived with their evening meals, along with the delicious aroma.

"Oh! Food is here!" Yang Ling's eyes were glued to the dishes as the dinner maids placed them on the table. "Wooooah, Long Zhu, you treat your guests well!"

Tonight's first dish was sweet and sour pork. The meat was sliced thickly with a layer of fat on them. The second dish was the thin-sliced roasted duck where the skin was fried and crispy, and one could imagine the oil leaking into their mouth once biting on it. The third dish was steamed dumplings with cube-sized tofu scattered around it.

Seeing the dishes, Xiao Hua's stomach growled, informing its owner that it wanted to eat them despite not being hungry earlier.

I'm living the life of a pig~ (^(oo)*)

If Xiao Hua had to increase her training to burn her fats after eating so much food, she did not mind it. She was a foodie after all.

"Eh? Tian Zi, where's my rice?" Yang Ling asked when there was no rice bowl in front of him when the princess and Xiao Hua had one each. It was not surprising that there was no bowl of rice for the Third Prince.

"Lord Yang Ling, please wait." Tian Zi smiled as a brief amusement flash past in her eyes. "This is a specially prepared meal for you."

Tian Chi placed a large bowl of noodles in front of Yang Ling with a pair of silver chopsticks. Yang Ling was shocked when he saw the noodles and was rendered to mute at the large amount of vegetables on the bowl.

"W-Why?!" Yang Ling broke from his statue imitation and roared at the Third Prince. "Why noodles for me?!"

"That is your dinner." The Third Prince picked a dumpling for himself.

"You know I hate noodles and vegetables!"

Le Xiao Ting disliked eating noodles and vegetables too. She had found a comrade!

However, during the times she was too lazy to secure dinners during working days, she would just cook instant noodles to eat.

Instant noodles were different from other noodles.

"You can choose not to eat it and go home."

Yang Ling stiffened in realization. So this was his punishment for losing? To him, eating the soggy, tasteless noodles was a heavy punishment! Adding in the bitter veg-etables, it became a hellish punishment.

"I... I will eat them!" Yang Ling roared like a sportsman does before doing their best to win the competition for the gold medal.

Seeing Yang Ling shoving the noodles and vegetables into his mouth like a starving beast, Xiao Hua silently shed imaginary tears for him.

Comrade, do your best! Shove them into your mouth and hold them in! You can vomit all you want behind the scenes!

CHAPTER 8: As if she were a drug dealer

Long Lian, Xiao Hua, and the Third Prince stared at Yang Ling, their food forgotten.

The sight of a desperate man eating the bowl of noodles and vegetables...was strangely intriguing.

Xiao Hua forced herself not to clap when Yang Ling finally finished his dinner. His face had lost most of its colour, with a shade of light green over his face.

Will he puke? She would need to shove a large bowl beneath him to avoid dirtying the floor.

The Third Prince stared at Yang Ling until he was sure the younger boy managed to hold his dinner and did not vomit. Only then did the Third Prince continue with his meal without risking killing his appetite if Yang Ling did puke.

Placing a piece of roasted duck on Xiao Hua's bowl and using that as a subtle sign in telling her to start eating, the Third Prince informed Long Lian, "You should quickly eat and return to the palace. It's not safe to travel late at night."

Staring at her third brother in confusion, Long Lian wondered what her brother was talking about. She was used to returning to the palace late at night after hanging out with Xiao Hua and never once did she get attacked.

Long Lian narrowed her eyes. Or something is changing?

Despite there were tons of questions she wanted to ask, Long Lian gave a sound of agreement and ate her meal, but her attention was not on the food but on what her brother had revealed.

Xiao Hua wondered about it too, but she kept her mouth shut by stuffing food into her mouth.

The dishes were cleared mostly by Long Lian, and Xiao Hua decided to brew tea for them. If her tea making could improve their health, then they should drink more.

But could she drink it too?

Although she was allowed to dine together with the Third Prince and Long Lian, she was not the one that brewed the tea during mealtime. Only when the Third Prince retired to his study did he ask for her tea.

Normally after she had brewed the tea for the Third Prince, she would follow Duan Xi Ying to train a little before practicing her embroidery or hanging out with Long Lian.

Without instructing, Duan Xi Ying already knew what Xiao Hua wanted and already prepared the necessary items for the tea brewing. The previous tea set was discreetly removed to be replaced with hers. The Third Prince naturally caught their actions but he made no move to stop Xiao Hua from brewing since he missed her tea as she had not brewed any tea during their trip to the Xuanwu Kingdom.

Xiao Hua refilled their cups with the new tea and watched their reaction in antici-pation. Long Lian was the first to drink it, and after taking a sip, she immediately realized it was brewed by Xiao Hua. Giving Xiao Hua a happy smile, she drank it all and allowed her cup to be refilled.

The Third Prince's intoxicated expression was the same but Yang Ling's reaction was completely new and shocking.

"Woah, what tea is it?" Yang Ling demanded with fire in his eyes. "It tastes so good and energizing! I feel as if I just woke up from a long nap!" Even the nausea feeling and the lingering taste of the food in his mouth disappeared without a trace!

He motioned wildly with his hands to have someone refill his cup and Xiao Hua took the task since the teapot was closer to her.

Her actions were followed by a pair of angry eyes that belonged to the Third Prince. His smile was gone and the gentleness that was the label to identify him was replaced with a dark fury that could choke a weaker person. Fortunately, it was targeted on Yang Ling or else Xiao Hua and Long Lian would immediately faint from it.

Too occupied with the tea, Yang Ling, the intended recipient of the fury, was completely oblivious to the deathly aura aiming at him. He was so smitten by the tea that his guard had completely collapsed.

"Hmmm! This is too good, ah!"

Xiao Hua gasped when the teapot in her hand disappeared. The Third Prince's mouth curled to form a sneer that Long Lian just so happened to catch and shivered.

For Yang Ling to take the teapot from his little flower's hands..... seeking death!

"Long Zhu, where did you buy these tea leaves from? You've found my perfect tea!

I could easily drink this tea every day, every hour, every second! Please tell me!" Yang Ling refilled his fourth cup with his face slightly flushed with bright eyes that screamed intoxicated.

Normally, if the drinker likes the drink made by the brewer, the brewer should be happy and proud. Xiao Hua was originally happy, but Yang Ling's actions seemed as if she were a drug dealer instead!

Her hand twitched in desire to smack the teapot away from Yang Ling's grip but someone beat her to it. The owner of the light blue wide sleeves that had smacked the teapot to the wall had Xiao Hua gaping stupidly. The teapot was fortunately not made of porcelain or else it would have broken into pieces from the impact.

"Yang Ling," the Third Prince said dangerously with an equally dangerous gaze like a predator looking at his prey. "You will be staying in your room, not allowed to step out of your room as your punishment for failing to win the first place of the archery.

Da Liu, tell Advisor Yang to keep an eye on his son for this prince. He can decide how long his son's punishment will be."

"Yes, master," a deep voice from a dark corner in the room answered.

The flung away teapot and the sudden punishment brought Yang Ling back to his rational mind. "What? Why am I punished again? Aren't the noodles my punish-ment?!"

"I never said it was," the Third Prince said coolly. "You are the one that assumed it."

"That's completely unfair and cruel!"

"Bring Yang Ling back home before Advisor Yang gets worried."

In a blink of an eye, Yang Ling was tied up in a thick rope, easily being lifted up by Da Liu. Everyone ignored his screaming protest as Da Liu carried him out and personally carried him back to his home.

"Third brother..." Long Lian hesitated. She does not know what to say on behalf of Xiao Hua for she thought Xiao Hua was rather silly to let Yang Ling taste her tea and expose the secret.

"Xi Ying, escort Princess Long Lian back to the palace. The rest of you, clear the table."

Duan Xi Ying stared at Xiao Hua, her eyes asking her what she will do next. Xiao Hua gave her a shaky smile and a brief nod, telling her she can handle it.

But Long Lian did not feel right to just leave like this. "Third brother, Xiao Hua does not mean to-"

"Long Lian, return."

The Third Prince stood up and with a flick of his sleeves, he walked out of the room. "Xiao Hua, come with me."

Towards the worried Long Lian, Xiao Hua mustered up a confident smile. "I will see you tomorrow, Long Lian."

Xiao Hua followed behind the silent Third Prince back to the Spring Courtyard, all the while trying to stop her shaking. She had her own reason for letting Yang Ling taste her tea, but could her reason be accepted by the Third Prince?

Instead of going to his study as she assumed, they stepped inside his bedchamber.

She does not dare to sit down when he does. He was not looking at her, but on the table as if it was more interesting to look at compared to her.

She knew that it would be better to speak first, but Xiao Hua could not bring herself to open her mouth to start explaining. The thought of him not accepting her reason and his look of disappointment was daunting.

"I am angry," the Third Prince finally spoke. His voice, in contrast to his admittance, was as calm as still water.

"I'm sorry," Xiao Hua said softly. Somehow, hearing his calm voice instead of anger gave her a sense of helplessness that threatened to crush her. "I have a reason for giving the tea to Lord Yang Ling, but I should have asked for your permission first."

The Third Prince raised his eyes to look at her. "I would not give you the permission even if you asked for it." When he saw Xiao Hua brewing the tea, his yearning to drink her tea had him forget about Yang Ling getting a chance to taste the tea as well.

"W-Why..."

The Third Prince's fist tightened on the table. "I get angry when someone drinks your tea. The voice inside my head screams that your tea belongs only to me."

Shit, did he just admit he's crazy?

"I had to act generous and kind, willing to share my wealth and help people out.

But I'm actually possessive of my things and tired of being nice to people that wish for my ruin."

The Third Prince stood up and slowly walked towards her. He stopped a foot away from her and reached out to touch her soft cheeks. But Xiao Hua could feel the difference between his touch with the previous ones. This one was a touch of posses-siveness, rubbing his hand filled with his own warmth and scent over her to mark his claim.

Really, she was not a bone for dogs to fight over with, but this touch of his shook something primitive in her that screamed for her to rub her body against him, to be submissive and accepting of his every touch.

He leaned down until his breath warmed her lips, so close as if to tease her, to make her beg for his addicting kisses. "You are mine, every part of you... I refuse to share."

Xiao Hua trembled sweetly at the possessive confession. Oh Mummy, your daughter is madly in love with this possessive man.

CHAPTER 9: Is your orgasmic face the right way?

Thankfully, her twenty -seven years of experience to be an independent adult in life pulled her back from her sappy mode.

"I'm yours if we get married," Xiao Hua calmly stated despite her inner-self jumping around happily. "But Yang Ling is yours and you should have a stronger man fighting beside you."

She admitted she sounded just like those cold female leads from the novels she had read, but she could not stop her sensible mind to take advantage of what was available for her to use. The only consolation she had was that she would not abuse them or treat them badly. Just like how a good employer would not treat his employees badly.

"You want to share your tea with all my allies?" You want me to share you with my men? remained unspoken but it was clearly conveyed in his eyes.

"No, I do not plan to do so." Xiao Hua licked her dry lips and her breath hitched when she saw the Third Prince's eyes follow her tongue like a man starving for water in a desert.

Nooooo! Had she corrupted the innocent prince?!

Xiao Hua faked a cough to get back his attention to the proper subject. "I'm actually worried about people's reaction to my tea." Seeing her boyfriend was paying attention to what she said, she continued on with more confidence. "I could not compare much as the number of people that had tried my tea was less than the number of my fingers.

But it seems that not everyone's reaction was the same."

The Third Prince frowned. "You mean Yang Ling?"

"More specifically, it's you, Lord Yang Ling, Duke Heng, and the King of Munzhu.

The four of you seem to have a strong... desire for my tea. But Long Lian, Heise, and

Old Madame Mong Lu were not overly... desirous of the tea. So were An Jing and An Wan for that matter."

"They might not be tea lovers; that might be why they had not enjoyed the tea in an

appropriate manner."

Pray tell; is there an appropriate manner to enjoy tea? Is your orgasmic face the right way?

Despite that, she nodded to show her agreement towards his words. "That might be a factor too, as not everyone likes to drink tea. But I thought that to prove it, I needed to have more people try my tea and take note of how they reacted. I had asked Xi Ying and Da Bei to try my tea, but other than saying it's the best tea they had ever drunk, they were not... craving for it. They do not pester to drink more like Yang Ling, Duke Heng, and King of Munzhu."

And you.

"Duke Heng enjoys tea every morning and he has tasted a wide range of tea. I could not say about Tian Liang, but I always thought he prefered wine. From Da Bei's retelling, Tian Liang was confident in his tea brewing and that indicates that he enjoys tea as well." The Third Prince sighed, worry clouding his eyes. "But Yang Ling is not a tea lover. He prefers honey water and always found tea to be bitter. Whenever he was served tea, he would always complain about it, despite being at an official banquet."

"...Could it be because of that he's easier to get addicted to my tea?"

"If that's the case, Duke Heng and Tian Liang would not fight over your tea." Or him being possessive of his little flower's tea.

It was not completely possessive, but Long Zhu truly loved every food or drink made by his little flower. He did not know if he was just being a love sap fool, but her fried rice and tea were delicious and gave him a sense of peace and joy that was hard to discover in life.

Xiao Hua laughed awkwardly and lightly scratched her chin. "I'm not trying to prove anything, but I tend to think and imagine things. The only thing that's the same among you is being the supporting male lead!"

"Pardon?"

Xiao Hua felt her confidence bubble deflate. If Heise was here, he would immediately understand what she just said. But that idiot Heise did not come to visit her today, so she would have to ask him tomorrow when he came by.

"I mean, you, Duke Heng and Yang Ling... err..... adored the heroine in the novel. But the Munzhu's King isn't so that's not the case... I'm just thinking nonsense!"

Long Zhu actually disliked being reminded of his past self that had stupidly fallen for Liu Chu Chu but what Xiao Hua said in the past rang loudly in his mind and his face unconsciously relaxed with a smile.

'Xiao Hua is the one you love, right? So Liu Chu Chu is no longer important in your heart.'

That's right. Only his little flower could occupy the space in his heart and stake her claim on it. His heart had a large space to love his family and friends, but Xiao Hua would be the only one that would have the ownership of it. He only desired to pamper her and shower her with as much love he could give her.

To Long Zhu, saying the words 'I love you' was easy, but the difficult thing was showing and expressing his love, hoping that Xiao Hua would believe his cheap words. His heart's well-being would be in her hands and the idea of it originally scared him, but the strong sense of joy overweight the fear.

"T-Third Prince?" Xiao Hua stared at the Third Prince fearfully, scared that her words had angered him.

He smiled to show that he was not angry. "Tian Liang..." The Third Prince mumbled as he recalled something long ago. "There are rumours that he saw Liu Chu Chu during a battle and took a liking to her but Long Shan killed him in anger."

Huh? This is juicy news! How could Le Xiao Ting not know about this before?!

"In the novel, Heise wrote that the Munzhu's King was killed in the battle by the Second Prince during the war between Guilin and Munzhu. But there was no mention about him liking the heroine!"

Long Zhu was used to the terms 'hero' and 'heroine' when Xiao Hua was talking about Liu Chu Chu and Long Shan so he immediately knew who she was talking about.

He shrugged elegantly, and some of his smooth hair slipped to the front like a waterfall. "I was not there. That rumour was spread after the battle ended by the survived soldiers."

Xiao Hua pressed her lips worriedly. "Okay, if that rumour is true, then we can say... the tea is addictive to those people that love the heroine!"

"Used to," Long Zhu immediately corrected. "Duke Heng would never fall for her and neither would Yang Ling. But I will keep an eye on Tian Liang."

If Xiao Hua had not mentioned it, Long Zhu would not have remembered about the rumour and thus not taken into account that the young king would have fallen for Liu Chu Chu's charms, risking his betrayal towards them.

"You don't have to answer me if I'm being nosy but...why are you so confident that

Duke Heng and Lord Yang Ling would not fall for the heroine?"

Long Zhu laughed and picked up Xiao Hua. For Xiao Hua not making any surprised sound, it showed just how many times he had done it that she got used to it. He carefully placed her down on a chair and took a seat beside her.

"Duke Heng already has someone in his heart, but that person would never be with him."

"...Won't that drive him towards Liu Chu Chu then?" The novel had not mentioned about Duke Heng having someone in his heart before Liu Chu Chu, but only that he was disappointed with the government and the Emperor that had caused his sister's death.

The heroine's strength and slyness seemed to lighten up something that had died in him. She would survive and lead them, was what he thought of Liu Chu Chu. Knowing that he was too late to capture her heart, he chose to support her with the Second Prince, believing that they would clean out the corrupted officials in the office, change the government and lead their Kingdom to prosperity when they ascend the throne.

A nobleman that was the ex-prime minister, Duke Heng Zhen Gan!

That might be why he was the second supporting male lead, to be the perfect man for the heroine to rebound to when the male lead was being an ass and to make the male lead chase after the heroine again!

Long Zhu shook his head, feeling pity for the previous prime minister. "As long as

she did not harm the eighth brother, he will have no reason to hate her."

J.U.I.C.Y N.E.W.S! (#w»)

"Who is she?" Xiao Hua eagerly questioned. That lady must not be simple to able to get close to the Eighth Prince and capture Duke Heng's heart!

"Mother Empress."

The perfect image of the gentle, scholarly Duke Heng in love with an elegant and graceful beauty shattered with a loud crack in her mind.

CHAPTER 10: She would have spotted that blind spot

"M other Empress was good friends with Duke Heng since childhood, but she was unaware of his feelings for her. Her eyes only have Father Emperor in it."

"Poor Duke Heng."

Xiao Hua could imagine the teenager Duke Heng wooing the beautiful and single Empress, but due to her being dense or being a lovesick girl, she ignored the best husband candidate right in front of her. In Xiao Hua's opinion, Duke Heng would be a better husband compared to the Emperor!

Duke Heng did not have any concubines - she had asked around - while the Emperor had too many of them!

"In my previous life, when Eighth Brother and Concubine Heng died, most of us assumed that it was the eldest brother, with the help of Mother Empress, that murdered them and blamed it on our enemies. That's why Duke Heng hated Mother Empress and resigned from the prime minister's position. His retirement was sad news to us, for we lost a bright, intelligent man to depression and hatred."

No wonder he would hate politics and the royal family. Duke Heng had indeed cooperated with the heroine to clean up the royal family in the novel but the reason he gave was rather vague, nothing personal, and acted as the voice that represented the scholar fraction.

"If it's not the Crown Prince and Empress that killed the Eighth Prince and his mother... then who did it?" Xiao Hua asked.

Anger could be seen in the Third Prince's eyes. "It's Concubine He. She killed

Concubine Heng due to fear of my eighth brother's maternal family... as well as sealing her mouth permanently for knowing Long Shan is not the Father Emperor's biological son."

Xiao Hua wanted to say a lot of things, but in the end, none of it could correctly represent what she felt. She knew she should not be shocked at how bloodthirsty Concubine He was, as Le Xiao Ting had seen how venomous those royal concubines could be in those Chinese dramas she had watched.

She bet that King Yama, who governed Hell, was working overtime during that era.

There would likely be chaos too, when a dead concubine meets another dead concubine that also happened to be her killer!

Catfight!

"Did you tell the truth to Duke Heng?"

"I had dropped enough evidence for him to pick up and conclude the truth by himself."

Xiao Hua sighed in pity. The family members of the royal concubines lived a rather stressful life. Their lives would depend on the concubine's behavior and conduct in the palace.

"I can see now why Duke Heng would help you instead of the heroine. But what about Lord Yang Ling?"

The Third Prince laughed. "I just have to show off my talents and since then, he worships me."

My boyfriend, I love and admire you, but there's a limit to self-confidence!

He laughed even louder when he saw the plain disbelief on his little flower's adorable face. "My archery is something Liu Chu Chu can never defeat. As long as the arrows are made of wood, I will never be defeated."

She got it now. The Third Prince controlled plants, including trees. But this young lady's common sense could not accept it.

"The arrows are made from dead trees. It's impossible to control dead trees, isn't it?"

Dead things can't obey commands! Except for ghosts!

"Do you know about spirits? Just like humans, plants have spirits as well. The best weapon crafter usually seals the material's spirit so that the weapon won't be fragile.

That goes for the arrows that I've used as well. So long as there is a spirit in the wood, I can command them to move as I wish."

So OP [61! This young lady wants cool power, too!

"Does Lord Yang Ling know about your archery skills?" Xiao Hua asked carefully.

If Yang Ling knew the truth, she could imagine him vomiting blood in anger.

"He should have guessed for I had not hidden my ability to command over plants from him. Yang Ling and everyone would not care about it as our weapon is considered a part of us. The capability to use our weapon is considered as our personal skill."

So open-minded!

In her original world, if opponent A had used a normal gun and opponent B had used a machine gun, everyone would have already thrown vegetables and screamed that opponent B was cheating.

The Third Prince had indeed used his skills to dazzle Yang Ling, but he was still a man. "Your Highness-"

"Call me by my name."

The shock loosened her jaw and she could not stop her face from blushing prettily, in Long Zhu's opinion. She let out a soft squeal when he leaned closer to capture her lips with his own, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Whenever you blush this way, I just want to touch you."

It was hard to stop her blush from deepening when he said it after hearing that! It also did not help that he did not step back after kissing her, speaking with their lips lightly touching, giving her feather-light caress that made her lips itch.

Predictably, her fierce blush earned her another kiss, but this time it was deeper.

Xiao Hua was only able to pull herself away after being ravaged for a whole minute.

"Wait, Your Highness-"

"My name," the Third Prince repeated with a voice deeper than usual.

To stop the hungry wolf, Xiao Hua covered his mouth with her palms to stop him from kissing her again. It took another moment to gather her scattered thoughts that the kiss had mercilessly blown them away.

Xiao Hua took a deep breath to soothe her frazzled nerves. All the while, in her mind and outside, she had called him the Third Prince. But it would be weird to call your boyfriend like that.

Shyly, she parted her mouth and mumbled, "L-Long Zhu- Ah!"

She had never thought the hungry wolf would suddenly attack her! He should have calmed down after she pronounced his name but why did he act in the opposite man-ner?

After ravaging her mouth until she was reduced to a drunken state, with dizziness and floating mind, he proceeded to trail kisses down her chin and rubbed himself over her like a giant cat. If he was not holding her, she would have fallen off the chair.

Right now, she felt like his own personal doll, motionless and allowing him to do whatever he wanted to her.

But what bothered her from being fully immersed in the pleasure was hearing the weird words coming from his busy mouth.

"Kiss first.... then lick... and finally suck."

Xiao Hua was ashamed at the lusty moan coming out from her mouth when he did exactly as he mumbled against her overheating skin. He kissed her neck before eagerly licking it and proceeded by sucking her skin hard enough that her body bowed.

Her body unconsciously pressed herself closer to him, unable to stop her moans from getting louder.

"...Suck... suck lightly," the Third Prince continued to mumble as he reined in most of his desire to please her, softening his sucking before he hurt her.

Her whole body felt as if it was not hers anymore, trembling from the surprising pleasure without pausing. Her ex-boyfriend had not done that to her before and it felt oh, so good!

When he finally stopped sucking, that spot was throbbing sharply and hot, as if all the blood had gathered around that area. His light breath touched the sensitive, wet area thanks to his saliva and she was unable to stop shivering in pleasure.

Her mind was a mess and her body felt achingly empty and tired at the same time.

"Are... are you alright?" the Third Prince asked worriedly when Xiao Hua looked exhausted and her body had unknowingly ended up on his lap.

"Y-You are dangerous..." To my health!

Forcing her dead weight body to stand up, she said in a shaky voice, "I... I will go now..."

If she stayed any longer, she might truly get eaten by the wolf hidden under the

sheep's skin!

The Third Prince looked reluctant, but the book had said to take it slowly and must not force her. Even if he wished to continue touching her, holding her, and kissing her, he must rein in his desires before he scared her away.

He used his inner energy to cool down the fire in him and gave his little flower a harmless, gentle smile. "I've decided what to ask from you as a payment for the loans you used to purchase the pearls."

"..What is it?" Xiao Hua asked warily, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the love bite the Third Prince had given her.

The twinkle in his phoenix-shaped eyes and the mischievous smile mesmerized her. He stood up and leaned closer to her, whispering as if sharing a secret, "Give me a kiss before you leave tonight."

"B...BBut!"

"You have the intention to break your promise?"

"I didn't say that!" Xiao Hua exclaimed as she glared at the grinning wolf.

"Then, give me a kiss."

"You had already kissed me just now!" And so many times too!

"You have to be the one that kisses me."

You always make sure to have the final word, don't you?!

The Third Prince had leaned down, so Xiao Hua did not need to tiptoe much to kiss his waiting lips. Much to Long Zhu's disappointment, she only brushed her lips against his before quickly pulling away.

"Can you hug me until I fall asleep?" The Third Prince opened his arms invitingly with his recently acquired puppy eyes skill.

"No," Xiao Hua said frostily. If she did that, he would ask for more. What's next, pat his back and sing until he falls asleep?

Without waiting for permission to be dismissed, she angrily stomped out of his room and headed straight to hers.

Long Zhu did not bother hiding his laughter so his little flower could hear it as she walked away. Since the day his little flower had accepted him, he was constantly happy. His fingers caressed his swollen lips, remembering the sweet taste of her lips that he had kissed earlier. His little flower immediately assumed to kiss his mouth when he had never said she had to kiss there.

If she was unwilling to kiss him, she would have spotted that blind spot.