Chapter 3

 

Finally experiencing carriage rides for the first time, Xiao Hua cast her vote on a car as the better mode of transportation. It was fortunate that she had not gotten motion sickness as the carriage ride was bumpy thanks to the uneven road but her butt was not as lucky.  

 

There was a cushion spread out to cover the seat areas, but it was not as thick as she preferred, leading her to constantly shifting in her seat to elevate the soreness on her butt. The two maids looked indifferent to the rough ride as they continued chit-chatting between themselves, but once in a while they would steal a glance at Xiao Hua before quickly looked away.

 

It felt like hours had passed before the carriage slowed down and finally halted. It was wise of her to have grabbed onto the window sides beforehand or else she would fall out of her seat and embarrass herself.

 

Lightly pushing open a wooden window attached to the carriage wall, she peered out with curious eyes.

 

What she could gather from her limited view was they were in the middle of the forest because all she could only see were trees. Xiao Hua did not know much about this world other than what the author had revealed. The author only focused on the events in Guilin Country and how it would grow even more powerful in the future thanks to the contribution from the hero and the heroine of the novel.

 

The door of the carriage opened and Long Lian poked her head in. "Xiao Hua, let's go clean up a bit."

 

Clean up? Did she mean cleaning up at a riverside? That idea was very appealing to her numb legs and sore butt, as well as her body that had not been washed for three days straight! As a lowly servant, she gets to bath twice a week, much to Ah Lian’s disgust when she faced the same dilemma.

 

Xiao Hua stepped out of the carriage, careful not to slip as she placed her feet onto a short wooden stand placed before the carriage door.

 

The two maids followed out of the carriage and the maid in a light orange dress spoke up. "Princess, please allow us to serve you." The other maid in a dark green dress nodded eagerly.

 

Both of them were Long Lian’s inner maids, so she let out a sound of agreement. When the princess tugged Xiao Hua’s hand to follow her, the maids' expression twisted as if they had smelt something bitter.

 

"Princess, with both of us, there's no need for an extra servant to help you."

 

Long Lian’s face revealed an expression that Xiao Hua guessed as annoyance before shifting into one of disinterest. "This Princess did not say Xiao Hua would serve me. She will clean up with me, and both of you will serve this Princess and Xiao Hua."

 

The two maids would have gaped in disbelief if they had not received strict teaching in controlling their expression well. Earlier, they had not-so-subtly eavesdropped on the conversation where Xiao Hua had been appointed as the Third Prince's maid, which was why they dared to voice out their disagreement, thinking that the princess would only treat the newcomer as a maid.

 

But…This was out of their expectation!

 

The orange dressed maid stepped forward with a scandalized expression. "But Princess, she is a servant. How could a servant clean up together with a Princess?"

 

"Xiao Hua is not my servant. She is a friend of this Princess!"

 

By now, even Xiao Hua, the ordinary girl, was shocked by the princess' declaration!

 

In Xiao Hua’s case, she was shocked because Long Lian had only known her for seven days! What had Xiao Hua done? She had only offered a plain bun to the princess on the first day because she looked hungry even after eating a bowl full of rice.

 

But Ah Lian felt deep gratitude towards her and since then, she would stick around Xiao Hua whenever she had free time. Le XiaoTing was used to eating more appealing food and adding on with depression, she faced the difficulty of finishing her food so most of it was given to Ah Lian.

 

The original Xiao Hua was a still growing, healthy sized thirteen-year-old kid, but with Le XiaoTing's lack of appetite, her size gradually shrunk, making her look thinner and fragile compared to the other kids at the same age range.

 

As for the fifteen-year-old Long Lian, she could pass off as a seventeen-year-old girl with that body of hers. She was taller than her peers and her body bloomed earlier. Xiao Hua noted that Ah Lian would be a very sexy lady in the next few years.

 

"Princess, His Highness wondered what had delayed the Princess." The same scary man suddenly appeared beside them, causing the four ladies to jolt in surprise.

 

"Da Liu, your sneaking skill is getting even better than before!" Long Lian remarked. One could say he was praised while one could also say he was insulted.

 

But the prince's blackguard would never dare to take it as anything but praise. "Princess is too kind. It was thanks to the Prince’s guidance that this servant is able to learn this much."

 

Long Lian waved the excuse away. "Third brother must have waited long enough. Come, Xiao Hua, let's go. As for both of you, since you are unwilling, this Princess does not need you to serve us."

 

Normally, when one heard that sentence, they would have assumed they do not need to serve the princess this time, but the maids knew better. As the princess’ inner maids, they have the duty to serve the princess in every way. For the princess to say those words, it means that the princess no longer wanted them to be her inner maids!

 

"No, Princess, this servant did not mean that!"

 

"Wang Wang and Jing Jing," Da Liu suddenly spoke to the maids, surprising them. Even Long Lian stopped walking to see what Da Liu was planning to do.

 

"S-Sir Da Liu, what are your orders?" Everyone from Guilin knows that Da Liu's action and words were to be treated as if they were the Third Prince's.

 

"The Third Prince is benevolent and decided to release Wang Wang and Jing Jing from serving Princess Long Lian. The both of you will be sent to the South Guilin Village to live with your families as a reward for serving the Princess dutifully."

 

When the maids heard that, their faces went deathly pale. Benevolent? It was nothing but an excuse to send them to their death! Which person in Guilin Country had not heard of South Guilin Village? The nobles of Guilin country were the one that supported and contributed their wealth to make sure that small village continues with its operation to act as guard border!

 

It was also known that many criminals were sent there to work as hard as a cow till their last breath!

 

It was only Xiao Hua that had not heard of that village as it was not written in the novel but she just assumed it was a small village in Guilin country without much future prospect judging from the maids’ horrified expression.

 

"Please, Sir Da Liu, it must be a mistake!" Wang Wang, the orange dressed maid, had thrown all her dignity away, begging Da Liu with her hands and knees on the muddy ground to change his mind.

 

As for Jing Jing, she just silently cry with haunting despair etched on her face, as she knew that no matter how much she pleads, the Third Prince would not change his mind. With this ruthless punishment, he must have found out about their involvement with the princess' kidnapping.

 

Ignoring the loud pleading, Da Liu ordered coldly, "Bring them away to stop disturbing the Prince and Princess.” Two males with a smaller build, cloaked with a mild terrifying aura that seems to be cloned from Da Liu - no one seem to top the menacing aura of Da Liu's yet – dragged both maids away after tying a long cloth over their mouth.

 

But why was the cloth red? In the Chinese dramas that she had watched previously, the cloth used would be white usually. She shakes her head and assumed it might be because they only have spare red cloth instead of white ones.

 

"Da Liu, why did Third brother suddenly remove them? They had been my maid since young," Long Lian asked in confusion. Although they had been her servants since young and recently promoted as her inner maids, she was not exactly close to them. Just now they had annoyed her, but she did not intend to dismiss them permanently.

 

"His Highness does not tolerate those that bite their owner's hand."

 

Hearing that, even the blur Xiao Hua understands! Those two maids must have betrayed the princess!

 

Long Lian’s expression turned cold. “So it’s really them.”

 

In the novel, the author did not mention much about Long Lian's servants. The only maid mentioned with a name was only Xiao Hua. It was expected since Long Lian was just a small cannon fodder character while Xiao Hua was an insignificant character waiting to be killed off just to connect a small bridge in the storyline!