Furrowing her brows, Fan Zhu Xia felt light shining behind her closed eye lids, making her groan in protest. Turning around, she pulled the sheets over her head and tried going back to sleep when she felt her stomach grumble, making her frown deepen.
Yawning, Fan Zhu Xia kicked the blanket covering her off and stretched out her limbs, feeling her joints pop back into place making her sigh in relief as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.
Getting up from the bed, she surveyed her surroundings lazily when her eyes widened slightly in surprised when she noticed that it was sunlight that was streaming through the window that woke her up. No wonder her stomach was already protesting in hunger, apparently she slept right through dinner.
Making her way to the bathing room, she went ahead and conducted her morning business as well as freshening up before she leisurely made her way back to her room and started to get herself ready for the day.
Despite knowing that she missed dinner the night before and that her stomach was already grumbling in protest, Fan Zhu Xia was in no hurry to go out and look for someone she can ask to deliver food to her.
Instead, she took her time picking the clothes she wanted to wear before settling on pale blue robes that was almost the exact shade of her eyes with silver embroideries. Fan Zhu Xia then pulled the top half of her hair back and braided in silvery blue silk ribbons made from the same material of her robes while adding white jade accessories to her look.
After that, she sat in front of the mirror at her vanity table and lightly powdered her face and added a bit of rouge to her cheeks and lips, making her look less pale and coupled with her robes, it gave her a softer, more innocent look.
Finally satisfied with her overall appearance, she took one more look at herself in the mirror and she was struck with a pang of bitter melancholy, making her eyes grow a tad colder and distant because when she looked at her reflection, the image she saw looking back at her with a wry smile reminded her so much of how she used to be like before everything came crashing down around her.
Sighing, she half-heartedly turned away from the mirror and made her way out of her room, planning to look for someone she can ask on where she'll be able to get food and just when she was nearing the front of her courtyard, she heard the tell-tale sounds of her courtyard door being slid open and the soft, muffled footsteps making it's way inside.
Tensing up slightly, she waited for the person to turn pass the corner and into the corridor and only relaxing when she saw two female servants who were each carrying warming baskets that had a bit of steam wafting out of the closed lid which made her mouth water and her stomach angrily grumble the moment she caught a whiff of the delicious aroma the steam carried.
The two maid servants had somewhat similar features. Both had long black hair and almond shaped eyes with the only difference being is their height and color of their irises. The taller one had light peach colored eyes while the other had deep green eyes and from the moment they caught a glimpse of Fan Zhu Xia, the two female servants were momentarily stunned because it was the first time that they've seen their supposedly new young miss' breathtaking countenance which reminded them of an icy immortal fairy with her icy blue eyes, snowy-white skin, pale blue robes with silver detailing coupled along with her silvery blue ribbons and white jade pins in her hair and accessories.
The two young maids were knocked out of their stupor when they heard the blue-robed, young miss suddenly ask, "Is that food?"
Blinking up at her, the two female servants managed to get ahold of themselves before respectfully nodding as they answered, "Yes miss."
"Really? That's absolutely perfect! I was just on my way out to look for someone to get me food." Fan Zhu Xia told them happily before gesturing to them to follow her.
"Let's go outside to the back garden by the koi pond with blooming purple flowers, I want to eat over there."
"Of course miss." The taller one of the two immediately acknowledged her statement while the other just nodded and smiled as they followed Fan Zhu Xia out.
Walking to a spot just beside the koi pond where a large flowering dogwood tree overlooked the water while being surrounded by the beautiful blooming stalks of purple flowers, Fan Zhu Xia waved her hand and produced a finely crafted circular table and a couple of chairs as well as a large fine rug and a couple of silk pillows beside the three of them.
Very quickly, the two maid servants made short work of arranging everything around, leaving nothing for Zhu Xia to do other than just stand back and wait for them to finish.
Their actions made her feel as if she was back in her old home at Mystic Terra Mountain where most of the servants wouldn't let her lift a finger which used to frustrate her with how they kept treating her as if she was made out of fragile glass that could break at any time which was why she insisted on travelling around the lands to help her broaden her horizons and experience new things.
This two maid servants in front of her reminded her so much of the people back at the Cong clan that used to serve their family that Zhu Xia couldn't help but feel a nostalgic feeling which brought a tinge of sadness to her but also helped lighten her mood and feelings towards them.
The moment the two finished fixing everything, they ushered Fan Zhu Xia to sit down before taking off the lids of the baskets and starting to efficiently set the food out in front of Fan Zhu Xia, making her mouth water as the delicious aroma of food permeated the air.
No one spoke and after laying out all the food and cutlery as well a pouring tea for Fan Zhu Xia, the two maid servants stepped back to one side and just watched as their young miss slowly sampled each dish they brought before piling more of the food she liked into her bowl while they took note of which ones she liked best and which ones she liked least.
A comfortable silence settled upon them when Fan Zhu Xia suddenly stopped eating and turned to the two of them and asked, "Aren't the two of you going to join me?"
Surprised, the younger and shorter of the two maids blurted out, "You want us to join you?!"
Giggling at the younger maids outburst and the disapproving look the taller one shot to her companion who only gave a sheepish smile in return, Fan Zhu Xia nodded and then smiled as she replied, "Yes, I do want you to join me, after all the food you brought is too much for me to eat all on my own and besides, why do you think I brought out extra chairs when I'm not expecting guests? Come on and sit down with me."
Looking at each other, the two maids were about to open their mouths to protest when Fan Zhu Xia beat them to it and said, "Just sit down you two, no need to feel uneasy."
Left with no other choice, the two slowly sat down, murmuring thanks before looking at their new mistress who just smiled at them gently."
"Tell me, what are your names?" Fan Zhu Xia asked.
The taller one of the two with light peach-colored eyes first spoke and respectfully replied, "This lowly one is called Chun Tao. It is an honor to serve the young miss."
"And this servant is called Chun Hua! A pleasure to finally meet the young miss!" the one with deep green eyes answered with happily with a shy smile on her face which made her look endearing.
"It's nice to meet the both of you. I hope to get to know you two better during my stay here then." Fan Zhu Xia said with a tinkling laugh to which the two responded with small smiles.
Looking at the two, Fan Zhu Xia felt at ease and after some urging, both Chun Tao and Chun Hua succumbed and joined Fan Zhu Xia in eating and soon the sound of their laughter filled the morning air, making the whole atmosphere of the courtyard seem happy and harmonious.
This was the scene that Fan Hui Zhong and Fan Li Jie stumbled upon, the moment they arrived at Fan Zhu Xia's courtyard.
Feeling a bit reluctant to disrupt the harmonious scene before them, Fan Hui Zhong had to take a minute to compose himself before he cleared his throat loudly and gruffly called out.
"Xia'er..."