XH 46

 

Even if the Third Prince had told her that Da Bei would be guarding her secretly, Xiao Hua was still scared. It was not the Eighth Prince that she was scared of.

 

To be specific, it was the Eighth Prince’s eunuch that she was wary of.

 

Every time the stalker- coughs – the Eighth Prince tags along with Long Lian to the Third Prince’s residence, Eunuch Heng was always beside the Eighth Prince, guarding him against any possible danger. There was a time when Long Lian, who had done her best to shake off her stalker- cough- adorable little brother, and secretly brought Xiao Hua to look at horses.

 

The Eighth Prince still managed to find them and had run towards Long Lian without looking at his surroundings; hence he did not notice a wild horse running straight to the Eighth Prince. It would not have done so if it was not frightened by the Eighth Prince’s loud call of ‘sister’. Eunuch Heng, without batting an eye, killed the horse with a single palm before the horse could run over the Eighth Prince.

 

There was no remorse from Eunuch Heng after killing a horse.

 

Since then, Xiao Hua started to examine Eunuch Heng in a new light. For such a young Eunuch to be the Eighth Prince’s personal eunuch, he must be very capable in both knowledge and cultivation. She had estimated Eunuch Heng to be the same age as Tian Chi or Tian Zi, judging from his tender face and had subconsciously viewed him as unthreatening previously.

 

Eunuch Heng gave off a soft temperament instead of those seasoned eunuchs that seem to radiate an intimidating aura. Even Eunuch Lau Liu, who always has a warm smile on his face, could not completely hide his intimidating aura that was gained from experience and age.

 

Xiao Hua had asked Long Lian about cultivation and discovered it has ten main ranks, each rank with ten stages. Long Lian was in the second rank and eighth stage, which was considered as impressive for a fifteen-year-old.

 

The author had not even mentioned about cultivation much in the novel and dedicated the entire plot on romance, face slapping, and the impressive bootlicking descriptions of the golden couple.

 

“Eighth Prince, have you eaten breakfast yet? Tian Zi and Tian Chi will have the kitchen to prepare them for you.”

 

“I want chicken!” The Eighth Prince immediately demanded.

 

“Sister Tian Zi, please allow me to supervise the cooking for His Highness,” Eunuch Heng requested with a sheepish smile. “His Highness had not had his morning meal yet and this one knows my master’s preference the best.”

 

Xiao Hua: Good idea! With this, Eunuch Heng will be out of the way!

 

“Eighth Prince, please have some tea before the food arrives,” Tian Zi said.

 

“It’s okay! Xiao Hua is here to play with me!”

 

Xiao Hua: Hmm? How strange. The Eighth Prince seems to have spoken the truth of wanting to play with me.

 

Xiao Hua’s guard unconsciously rose. Tian Zi and Tian Chi glanced at Elder Sister Hua worriedly but the younger maid just smiled and gave them a brief nod. “Xiao Hua will be here to accompany the Eighth Prince. Sisters do not need to worry. We must not let Eighth Prince remain hungry for long.”

 

The three servants quickly headed towards the kitchen, each group with a different purpose of hastening their pace. Eunuch Heng was anxious to leave the Eighth Prince alone with Xiao Hua but he could not help but worry that the kitchen would make dishes that his master disliked. Tian Zi and Tian Chi were worried about leaving Xiao Hua alone with the Eighth Prince and decided to quickly prepare the meal and hurried back!

 

Xiao Hua suddenly found herself to be in a dilemma. How was she going to sound out the Eighth Prince without him suspecting anything? She does not have a great idea on how to do it.

 

Le XiaoTing had never acted as a spy before, unless if she counted that one time where her friend wanted Le XiaoTing to help find out if the guy she had a crush on likes her or not. Sadly, that guy wrongly assumed that Le XiaoTing was trying to confess to him instead.

 

It took quite some time to clear off the misunderstanding and her piggy bank suffered severe weight loss after she brought snacks for her friend in order to earn forgiveness. Luckily everything went well and her friend and her crush end up together. They have gotten married after graduated from university and gave birth to a pair of twins.

 

As a good friend, Le XiaoTing was forced to be the twins’ babysitter whenever their parents were busy with work or decided to have a romantic night. They could have asked their grandparents to take care of their ‘lovely’ grandkids, but strangely the little devils loved Le XiaoTing even when their love was not equally returned.

 

How could Le XiaoTing love them when they never listened to what she said and made a great mess in her apartment? The only time she could tolerate them was when they finally fall asleep after their battery ran out.

 

So, to sum it up… she does not have the much experience of being a spy.

 

Surprisingly, it was the Eighth Prince that made the first move. “Xiao Hua, do you know how to read or write?”

 

“Apologies, Your Highness, but this servant had not had the opportunity to learn them.”

 

“Eh...so that explains why you look stupid.”

 

Xiao Hua: ‘…’ This lady was insulted. The nerve of this brat!!!

 

Xiao Hua forced herself to smile sweetly. “This servant is born with this face and is grateful to my parents. That’s why Xiao Hua will do her best to protect her face, unlike someone that has such an adorable face yet throwing it away recklessly.”

 

The Eighth Prince does not know why, but he feels that the person this silly maid had mentioned was him. Yes, he has an adorable face, but when had he throw it away?!

 

Actually, what Xiao Hua meant by ‘face’ was the Eighth Prince’s appearance. He had thrown his ‘face’ away when he shamelessly stalked Long Lian and keeps on promoting his propaganda campaign for the Second Prince. He had thrown his dignity as a prince as he clings onto people and forcing them to accept his views.

 

It had been three months since he started his propaganda and she wondered how many had been successfully ‘brainwashed’ by him.

 

Could it be… this young lady is his new brainwashing target?! Why else would he be willing to ‘play’ with her?! Before he started to launch his attack, she should attack first!

 

“Eighth Prince, this servant had always wondered why you adore the Second Prince so much? Please pardon my curiosity, for the Third Prince never speaks about the other princes.”

 

The Eighth Prince’s grinned widely, showing his small rows of teeth. His eyes sparkled with worship and his hands were grasped onto each other in front of his chest.

 

“The second brother is the best among other brothers! He’s cool, handsome and strong! He even has a beautiful consort that matches his status! One day, the second brother will become the emperor, leading our country to success!”

 

Xiao Hua: ‘....’ That’s all? How disappointing! This young lady wants to hear personal adoration, not the adoration which only the commoners would express, for they have never met the behind-the-scenes’ Second prince!

 

She hesitated, wondering how to word it. “If Your Highness likes the Second Prince that much...why doesn’t Your Highness visit him?”

 

Yes, should it not be a fan’s first priority to hug, touch and lick- cough- talk to their idol?

 

The Eighth Prince visibly flinched and his eyes darted around as if looking for an escape route to avoid answering the question.

 

“Eighth prince, do you not want to spend more time with the Second Prince? That way, would you not be loved by him? Is that not what you want, to always remain by his side?”

 

Xiao Hua feels her words were heading in a very weird way, but if she did not continue pushing him, the Eighth Prince would retreat far away, cutting off her chance to question him.

 

“Who said I want to be loved by the second brother? I don’t need it!”

 

Xiao Hua: This...could it be… Tsundere?!

 

“But…” Xiao Hua faked a concerned expression on her face. “The Second Prince might misunderstand your actions.”

 

“Misunderstand? How so?” Woah, his ears just twitched!

 

“Many had witness Your Highness’ hard work in gathering supporters for the Second Prince, but the Second Prince might think the Eighth Prince have an ill intention towards him.”

 

“W-What are you trying to say?”

 

Xiao Hua: Oh-ho! That worried and scared look on his face, this young lady loves it! You earn yourself an A grade!

 

Xiao Hua purposely looked worried. “The Second Prince might think the Eighth Prince is planning something that would harm him.”

 

“I would not harm my male lead!”

 

Male lead? His worshiping was rather weird. Should it not be the hero?

 

“Of course Your Highness would not harm the Second Prince,” Xiao Hua said soothingly, before aiming for the final kill. “But with such method being used to help the Second Prince to gain supporters, many would think he’s using Your Highness to force talented people to be his supporter, and he would be known as a bully prince. If the Second Prince thinks that way, this servant fears that the Eighth Prince would earn the Second Prince’s hate instead.”

 

The Eighth Prince’s face drastically went pale, further stroking Xiao Hua’s excitement. Oh yes, she must be sick to take pleasure in crushing people.

 

Is this how the female leads feel when they crush their enemies? It’s addicting.

 

“The second brother would not think that way once I explain everything to him!”

 

“Of course. The Second Prince is an understanding person and would be able to see the Eighth prince’s goodwill,” Xiao Hua said humoring, happy that she had managed to mess with the Eight Prince’s mind.

Suddenly, the Eighth Prince glared at Xiao Hua. “But why are you not supporting the second prince?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You should know that the Second Prince is the male lead! So why are you siding with the Third Prince that’s going to die anyway? Are you stupid?”

 

W-What’s going on?

 

Xiao Hua stared at the Eighth Prince with something akin to fear and hope. She remembered the Eighth Prince calling the Second Prince as ‘male lead’, which was a term normally used in novels for modern readers. The Eighth Prince also said that the Third Prince will die in the future.

 

Could it be… “Y-You are a transmigrated person?”