Thank you everyone, for reading 'The Dragon's Flower' till this far despite my poor attempt in writing a good plot with my questionable english! I've never thought my story will be quite well liked!
XH 176
The palace was especially noisy lately, with everyone busy preparing the Second Prince's wedding that will happen in one weeks time!
The Second Prince had his own manor outside the palace, but the Emperor wants to hold a ceremony to offer goods to God before Liu Chu Chu's sedan entered the Second Prince's gate. The Emperor decided to hold a grand ceremony and the palace servants were the ones to suffer in making sure the preparations must go well.
In contrast to the noisy atmosphere, there was a guest courtyard unaffected by the quick paced atmosphere and remaining calm and peaceful.
That courtyard was given to a very important guest to stay as long as they wish. That important guest was currently sipping tea after partaking his simple lunch, accompanied by his apprentice and adopted daughter.
Duan XiYing was the only servant around as the other maidservants of the Third Prince had disappeared to complete their assigned tasks. Doctor Bai does not have any servants accompanying him, preferring to do everything by himself.
As for Tian Zi, once the Third Prince had passed on a word that Tian Chi should be returning these days, she immediately requested to stay at the Third Prince manor with the excuse of overseeing the management. Like a cheetah, she sprinted back to the Third Prince's manor as soon as she gotten permission.
The two girls might have two years of age gap between them, but they acted more like twins, where they would feel uncomfortable if they were separated for more than a day. The girls had gotten close during their enslavement camp period and both were lucky to be chosen to enter the Third Prince's service.
Normally, Xiao Hua would try to ask where they were from, before they were forced to be slaves. But after being told off by Doctor Bai about respecting people's privacy, she admitted that there were things she does not need to know just to satisfy her curiosity.
“Did Tian Zi not know that Tian Chi would come here when she returns?” Xiao Hua had asked Duan XiYing once she heard the news of Tian Zi leaving. The ‘here’ she had spoken was the courtyard given for Doctor Bai to stay inside the palace.
Duan XiYing smiles in a gleeful manner. “Tian Zi will remember soon.”
The Third Prince had treated this courtyard as his second home since the day he returned, with the excuse of spending more time with his Teacher until the day he need to return to his land. He also had the hidden motive, which was to spend more time with Xiao Hua.
After that night of debauchery, he no longer touched her inappropriately, acting like a perfect gentlemen. Not even a kiss was given to her and the amount of hugs noticeably decreased. But his eyes could not hide his yearning and Xiao Hua often had to check if she had accidentally flashed her skin when she saw that pair of hungry eyes.
Doctor Bai had agreed to stay until after the Second Prince's wedding and it was the first time Long Zhu wishes Long Shan to stay safe until his wedding day.
The closer the Second Prince's date of marriage, the more rumors of young misses trying their last chance to grab the attention of the Second Prince spread around the capital. Most ladies aimed for the first wife title but they also do not mind being his concubine, much to some of their noble, high ranked fathers' horror. That rumor must be the truth if the Second Prince had barred guests from coming over to his manor until the wedding date.
Among the rumors, there was one that caught Xiao Hua's interest. Seeing his little flower head tilted nearer to the gossip provider Duan XiYing, Long Zhu asked, "You've met Minister Wan's daughter?"
She shook her head in denial. "Not at all. I'm just a little surprised at how bold she is."
Unlike the other ladies that expressed their interest subtly, this Minister Wan's daughter had bluntly expressed her love to him, with Liu Chu Chu standing right beside him.
"What happened after that?" Xiao Hua asked and in her distraction, her hands paused in peeling the skin of mandarin oranges.
Earlier, An Jing had dropped a basket filled with freshly plucked mandarin oranges from Third Prince's manor before disappeared somewhere. Coincidentally, The Third Prince wanted to eat some mandarin oranges today.
By now, Xiao Hua already gotten used to how magnificient An Jing as a maid was. She must be the most dedicated maid of the Third Prince to be able to anticipate when her master wanted to eat mandarin oranges. But it might also be due to the mandarin orange being her master's favourite fruit.
Doctor Bai glanced at his apprentice that suddenly became more cheerful. The reason was because Xiao Hua had automatically reached out for an orange to peel its skin before placing it on an empty plate for the Third Prince.
The whole thing was done due to the habit of serving the Third Prince as his personal maid. If she was still in the manor, she would have brought out their best taste with her cheat skill before plucking them for the Third Prince's enjoyment.
She refused to sing love songs for plucked mandarin oranges in front of anybody!
"Liu Chu Chu ignored her and the Second Prince told her off publicly for being shameless and uneducated. She won't have good marriage after this~"
With a palm to cover her parted mouth, Xiao Hua felt a tinge of sympathy for the other girl. "It must be very embarrassing for her." Those that witness it will gossip about her and spread it to everyone in no time. She will have a hard time showing her face after this.
"Ladies are taught to act proper and not to embarrass their family name. What she had done shown that her etiquette is poor," the Third Prince pointed out. In his opinion, that young lady was asking to be scolded and chastised for her unrestrained actions.
Xiao Hua quickly nodded to agree with his words as she pushed the memories of those shameless and bold fangirls of her boss away from the front of her mind. Their actions were indeed scorned by others, but when so many ladies did the same thing, the shame was shared equally!
"Bai Chuan! Let's go out!" Long Yuen stepped into room without knocking since the door was wide open for fresh air to enter. Eunuch Lau Liu was following behind him with a wide smile that revealed crow's feet near his eyes.
"Where will we be going?" Doctor Bai asked, but he had stood up with the intention to follow his friend out.
"Moonlight Lake Pavilion. Long Zhu is the owner, so we can play to our heart's content without needing to worry about money."
Long Zhu sighed but did not say a word of protest or denying the fact that he was the owner of Moonlight Lake Pavilion. He was not surprised that his Imperial grandfather would found out about this because he still have some contacts lying around.
Doctor Bai turned to the youngsters. "If that's the case then don't wait for us tonight."
Xiao Hua's originally interested expression dimmed when she realized she would not be joining them. She vaguely remember that Long Lian had mentioned about Moonlight Lake Pavilion during their outing to the market, but she had not bothered to remember it. Now she could only feel regret after knowing it was Long Zhu that build this place.
The Third Prince rubbed her head. "If you want to go, I can bring you there next time."
Xiao Hua: ...Why not today?!
She could only sadly watch the two elderly men walked out without bringing her along. Could it be they were going to have super wild fun that only eighteen and above can participate?
Xiao Hua: Moonlight lake pavilion is not a high class entertainment place, right?!
"I remember you said that arranged marriage is rare in your world and everyone decided their own marriage partner by themselves?"
Xiao Hua turned away from the door reluctantly. "Actually most would do the right thing by seeking their parents' permission first before they would marry."
But she did not speak about special cases where children and parents were in a bad relationship or they were orphans. There were also plenty of stories where parents do not agree with their child's choice, and they would secretly get married without letting anyone know. Not to mention, it seems to be a common occurrence for pregnancy first before picking up the speed to marry.
"What do people in that world do during their meetings with each other before their marriage?" The Third Prince asked curiously.
Even if he dislikes his parents arranging any marriage for him, that does not mean he did not see the benefit from it. Parents have wide connection and known plenty of respectable families. They would never choose a bad marriage partner for their children where their child would be put into disadvantage.
Previously, Long Zhu that was uninterested with females was fortunate that the crown prince was still single, easing him from being pressured to get married. In fact, he was still thankful for it because it gave him the time to meet Xiao Hua and finally have his little flower promised to him.
"We call those meetup between couples as dates. The couple would go and watch plays, having meals together, sightseeing places or just spend time together privately. They would also exchange gifts to show their...appreciation for each other."
The Third Prince nodded. "That's similar to how we get to know of arranged partner as well. Do they bring chaperones to their date as well?"
"No. They don't." Xiao Hua laughed. "To us, having a parent or relatives to tag along their date is super awkward."
"I see. Xiao Hua, why don't we go on a date?"
"Huh?"
"XiYing, help Xiao Hua change into those clothes."
"Yes, Master~"
Before Xiao Hua could inject even a word in, Duan XiYing had spirited her to the bedroom to dress her up for their date.
