Chapter 15

 

When they could finally see large gates of Guilin country, Xiao Hua wanted to cheer! Her butt might be saved from abuse thanks to An Jing’s comfortable and steady lap but it was still tiring to endure a long journey.

 

There were a lot of people gathering around to watch their carriage entering the city, especially after they recognized the symbol on the carriage that told them the identity of the rider.

 

“That is the royal carriage!”

 

“Which prince is it? The Third prince?”

 

“The Second Prince is back?!”

 

“Huh? Third Prince is not in the capital?” A male commoner asked and instantly got dozens of female glaring at him.

 

“How could you not know our Third Prince had set off on a journey? Are you a foreigner?”

 

“What journey?” Another woman scoffed. “He went to get back our Princess from Munzhu country. Tsk, Munzhu Country is filled with barbarians or else they would not even think of kidnapping our precious princess!”

 

“It was fortunate that our Third Prince managed to get the princess back!”

 

“I heard from a Munzhu merchant that the Third Prince had offered something to the Munzhu’s King in exchange for Princess Long Lian’s freedom!”

 

“How bold! Those barbarians dared to make our honorable prince give them something? What did the Third Prince give?”

 

“A pearl that could only be found in the Xuanwu Kingdom!”

 

The crowd sucked in a harsh breath. They all know the Xuanwu Kingdom was famous for its luminous pearl but its production was not much, hence they were very stingy in giving out their pearls to other countries. For the Third Prince to offer something so valuable to King of Munzhu just to save Princess Long Lian had touched their heart.

 

From that moment on, the flames of hatred in the citizen’s heart towards the King of Munzhu increased.

 

At the same time, the oblivious King of Munzhu sneezed continuously and was forced to drink plenty of bitter medicine from a concerned Imperial doctor.

 

Their conversation was loud enough to be heard by Xiao Hua in the carriage. She did not know the importance of the pearl and just assumed that Long Lian and the Third Prince were loved by everyone. Even the Second Prince was only mentioned one or two times.

 

“Everyone loves you, Ah Lian!” Xiao Hua said to the princess that was sitting opposite her.

 

Xiao Hua did not know how the princess had managed to change the Third Prince’s mind, but she successfully got the permission to ride with Xiao Hua and the other inner maids. With Long Lian inside the carriage, the two younger inner maids, Tian Zi, and Tian Chi, did not dare to show their playfulness and squeezed beside An Wan despite the carriage had enough space to fill in ten people.

 

The whole ride was filled with silence and vigilance but Long Lian ignored the atmosphere and keep on getting Xiao Hua to talk to her. That action earned her a few glances of respect from Tian Zi and Tian Chi.

 

“Princess Long Lian is loved by everyone for her kindness and cheerfulness. She is generous in spreading her joy.” An Jing did not conceal much of her adoration from her voice.

 

“You overpraised,” Long Lian said demurely, hiding her lower face with her sleeve. “This Princess is just acting according to what is expected of me.”

 

It took quite a long time before the carriage stopped outside the palace gate, which showed just how large the country was. The carriage’s door opened to reveal Da Liu with his usual grim aura.

 

“Princess Long Lian, this servant is here to pass on the Third Prince’s message to have Princess to ride at his carriage to enter the palace to greet the Emperor and Empress.”

 

“This princess understands.” Long Lian turned to Xiao Hua. “I will visit you later.” Xiao Hua nodded and watched the princess gracefully stepped down the carriage.

 

“Tian Zi, Tian Chi, both of you will guard Princess Long Lian,” An Jing ordered as the princess currently has no maids to serve her and the Third Prince was generous in lending two of his maids to his sister.

 

“Yes, Elder Sister An Jing!”

 

With just An Jing, An Wan and Xiao Hua, they continue riding the carriage until it reached their destination. Embarrassingly, An Jing carried Xiao Hua down the carriage and into the grand and large manor.

 

“I can walk, Sister An Jing!” Xiao Hua hurriedly said.

 

“His Highness had ordered not let you walk for today.”

 

Eh? The Third Prince did? Perhaps he did not know the burn was no longer severe?

 

Xiao Hua keeps quiet and avoided any eye contact. Since everyone had already seen her in An Jing’s arms, might as well just continue all the way. But she was very conscious of the stares she gathered as they made their way in.

 

“Welcome back, Elder Sister An Jing, Elder Sister An Wan.” Everyone greeted them whenever they passed by.

 

“Gather everyone at the Silence Courtyard,” An Wan informed one of the servants in passing.

 

When they entered a wide courtyard that would be ideal for a football game with the spacious and tidy grass, there were already around a crowd of people lined up and waiting for them.

 

An Jing brought them to the front of the crowd, where all eyes fall on them, secretly wondering who was the newcomer that managed to get the indifference and aloof Elder Sister An Jing to carry her.

 

An Jing was very careful when she set Xiao Hua down on her feet before turning around to face the crowd. “I have two announcements to make. First, our master had assigned his personal maid. Everyone will show their respect accordingly.”

 

This time, all eyes openly accessing and judging her, making Xiao Hua wanted to run away. “Her name is Xiao Hua and according to ranking, you will all call her as Elder Sister Hua.”

 

“Elder Sister Hua!”

 

It was scary to have more than thirty people calling her at the same time. It reminds her of a military crowd in TV shows.

 

“Please take care of me,” Xiao Hua said humbly and gave a slight bow but she earned few strange looks from it. Those words were actually what Le XiaoTing always said whenever she meets a new co-worker or other staffs in her original world.

 

“As for the second announcement, no uninvited guest or relatives will be allowed into the manor! This rule is an old rule, but our master decided to place a heavier weight on this rule from today onwards. We had caught some rat that managed to sneak into our master’s manor to steal information.”

 

The two familiar mini black guards suddenly appeared and grabbed one of the male servants in the back. When the male servant was forcefully brought to the front, he was already tied up and forced to kneel down before An Jing.

 

An Wan stepped forward to the tied up servant with chilly eyes. It was difficult to be intimidating while having a docile appearance but An Wan managed to pull it off.

 

“Er Han, our master is generous to us all, yet you dared to betray him. Not only that, you didn't even run away. Aren’t you looking down on our master way too much?”

 

Xiao Hua trembled when she feels that everyone's gaze on the tied up servant turned hostile. Every time Le XiaoTing watch a TV drama about a servant getting face slapped for doing bad stuff to the main characters, she had supported the punishment and even suggested worse alternatives.

 

But when she sees it happening right in front of her, her enthusiasm died and replaced with dread.

 

That’s because Xiao Hua is now a servant ah! She could be killed off even when she only did one small mistake!

 

Er Han knows that he would not be spared, so he did not even plead or make excuses for himself. “I am a citizen of Munzhu! I’ve always looked for a way to go back. Even if I’m grateful for Guilin’s Third Prince’s kindness, I’ll not betray my country!”

 

An Wan sneered. “How loyal you are to your root but not to your benefactor! A person like you, no outsider would dare to offer aid!”

 

“Er Han, stop being foolish!” One of the male servants suddenly speaks up frantically.

 

“Er Yen, you are an embarrassment to Munzhu!” Er Han looked at Er Yen with scorn. “Did you forget we are kidnapped from Munzhu just to harm the soldier’s morality?! We are hostages! We are taken away from our family!”

 

“Your family?” An Wan laughed, but it was filled with mockery. “You mean your cousin, Wang Wang?”

 

Hearing that name, Er Han’s face paled. “What did you do to my cousin?!”

 

“She and her friend were sent to South Guilin Village.”

 

Er Han’s pale face turned into a horrified expression. “No, no! You can’t do this!”

 

“Our prince is also kind enough to bring your brother and mother from Munzhu to stay at South Guilin Village as well.”

 

“No! You monster- AH!” Er Han screamed when one of the mini black guards snapped his left arm easily.

 

“Monster? Then did you think about what you have done by betraying our prince's trust by stealing information from him and kidnap our Guilin’s beloved princess? You are a monster as well for harming our innocent princess!”

 

“Please Elder Sister An Wan! Spare him!” Er Yen kowtowed and keeps slamming his forehead on the ground. Xiao Hua vaguely wondered if his forehead will start bleeding just like what she had seen from the dramas.

 

Some servants tried to pull Er Yen back but with a frosty look from An Wan, they did not dare to do so again.

 

“Kill him,” An Jing suddenly spoke out. Immediately one of the mini black guards pulled out his sword and very swiftly sliced Er Han’s throat.

 

The sight of blood spraying from the deep wound, revealing the dark red flesh and the white bone, which had Xiao Hua screamed in terror at the sudden violence. An Jing quickly hugged her, pressing her face onto her soft bosom and hide the sight away from her eyes.

 

Oh God, please bring her back home! She wants to go back home!