Aluna couldn't help but wonder when she saw a bunch of stray lights rushing pass by her. She didn't even care to open her eyes, but she has the sudden urgency to cry. Cry as loud as she can. She wasn't feeling comfortable. Maybe it had to do with her harsh life. This is the end. It has to be the end. Her suffering will end here, and she had left her loved ones a happy ending. Looks like the afterlife isn't too bad. Just a bunch of stray lights. A nice warm feeling wraps around her. A humming sound was soothing her. She didn't feel like crying any more. All her worries have been swept away by this singing voice of an angel. The singing calmed her down. Aluna opened her eyes and she met a pair beautiful dark brown eyes staring back at her. Jin Yue-er looked at her daughter who had stop crying. She sees the little baby in her arms looking around the room and observing everything. She laughs at the response of her little daughter.
"Momo-er, are you looking for your father?"
"Father? Why would I be looking for a father?" Aluna replies but the only sound that she was making was just a bunch of "Wahhh ahhh wahh."
"Don't cry, don't cry. Mommy is here." Jin Yue-er snuggle the baby in her arms as she tries to calm the baby.
What?! I'm a baby?! And that's my mom?! What is going on here? I must have been reborn. But why am I so conscious with my thoughts? Are all babies like this? Will I always be like this or do all babies lose this ability after they grow up? What the hell is going on?!
"Darling! You're back! Our little Momo has awaken. Come and see her. She's crying for you. "
Aluna's new father approaches her. Seeing the strangers face she cried even harder.
"Ah honey, I think she's afraid of her father. Ahahaha." The beautiful Jin Yue-er teases her husband.
"Of course, seeing such a beautiful mom every day, she would only want to see you." Ying Mingli pulls his beautiful wife in and planted a kiss on her forehead."
"You are my little Momo. You are a precious jewel in the family." Jin Yue-er caresses her daughter's tiny little hands as she praises her.
"Momo? Ying Momo, is that what you name her? Darling?"
"Yes, I name her after my mother. In hopes of her to become as strong as my mother."
"But I wanted to name her after the moon. The celestial fairy did say that we were bless by the goddess of the moon?"
Aluna heard the conversation. She refutes harshly as they were wrong on some many things. They weren't blessed by the moon goddess. She didn't like the name Momo. What a weird name. Her name Aluna means she is the goddess of the moon. What part of that do they not understand? No matter how hard Aluna tries to argue with them, all they saw was just her crying and tightly squeezing her palms.
"My mother's royal name also meant fairy of the moon." Jin Yue-er gleefully replies.
"I see. To me the name doesn't matter. As long as I have you and Momo-er, there is nothing else that I need."
Six years passed by and Aluna has already adapted into this new world. She seen many amazing things, and things that needed more improvements.
On a snowy cold morning she stole her grandpa set of teapots. She used the antique cups to play in the mud. She made some muddy chocolate tea and mud pies as she tries to feed them to her maids. Every single one of them refuses to drink it and they ran away one after another. Ying Momo caught a slower maid and forces her to drink her tea.
"Sister LiHua, why are you trembling?" Momo-er cluelessly ask.
"Ah, older sister Lihua isn't trembling because of you. It's been really cold recently."
The cute little Momo lead the maid to a table. Momo gestures for the maid to sit in a tiny little chair.
"All of the guests have now arrived." Momo saluted.
LiHua observe the young girl who was in front of her. The cute little doll was in some servants clothing. She was all covered in some dust, but the dirty looking kid looked cuter than ever. She had just started working at the Ying's residence not too long ago. Out of twenty-five girls, she was picked. The rest were rejected. The competitions to work for the Ying's is countless. Many people would like to hug a big thigh and the Ying clan was the top elite clan next to the imperial family. They have been an aristocratic family for many generations. Their family have survived three dynasties and Prime Minister Ying BuChu was a very influential man. Both the aristocratic and commoners admires him. They also have many booming businesses. The Ying clan has both status and wealth. It's unfortunate that their descendants are dying off. There are only Prime Minister Ying BuChu and the Great General Ying BuHai left. They weren't getting any younger. The younger generation only consist of Ying BuHai's daughters and this naughty great granddaughter of his. The two daughters had recently entered the harem of the emperor's.
LiHua was an only child so she understood the little miss's loneliness. She can be aggressive at times but LiHua knows that the little girl was just killing her boredom. Most of the maidservants here were very conservative. They didn't know how to cope with their little mistress's very open mind ideas. Being the new employed maid, the rest of the servants will throw their little miss at her. LiHua didn't mind it. Her grandmother and uncle were fishers. Having a bite to eat was hard to come by. When she heard that the Ying's manor was hiring for a new maid she applied. She didn't want to lose the good paying job, so she endured all the hardships that the older maidservants have given her. Because of this she spent a lot of time with Ying Momo. After following the little girl around, she found out that the girl was really bright. It's just that sometimes her ideas scare the rest of the world. The little girls knowledge was just too scary.
LiHua smiles at the adorable Ying Momo and saluted with her, "Thank you for her ladyship to invite this lowly one for some tea."
"Good, good, good. We should enjoy this tea while it's still hot. Hurry and drink up!" Momo chugs the dirty water down in two gulps.
"Little miss! You can't really drink that!"
Momo sets the teacup down but she was puzzle about LiHua's statement. About a minute later Momo finally caught on to what LiHua was saying. She sighed.
"Hmm....My little servant should just do what I say and not question my authority."
"Miss! You have misunderstood. This lowly maid didn't mean to disobey! I don't want you getting sick. You were drinking muddy water. "
"LiHua. Take a look at the drink again. Tell me if it's poisonous or not. Do as I say, and you can question me afterwards. "
This was the first time her mistress had address her by her name. This little six-year-old intimidated her. No little kids that she had ever came across with can speak with such an imposing tone. LiHua squeezes the teacup and then gulps down the drink. To her surprise the drink tasted really sweet. A sweet taste that she had never tasted before. The tea went down smoothly through her throat. It left a lingering fragrance after taste in her mouth. A soothing feeling filled up her mouth. LiHua felt the warmth of tea slowly spread throughout her body. Ying Momo stood up and threw a fleece blanket over LiHua. The cute little Momo waddle back to her seat. Her short and stubby legs made it a bit difficult for her to reach her seat. Surprising LiHua, Ying Momo hopped up as if she was as light as a feather.
"My lady..."
"Are you still cold?" Ying Momo smiles brightly at the teenage girl who was sitting across from her.
Feeling the warmth from the tea and the fleece blanket that was covering her, it melted her heart. She was trembling in fear because of the little devil in front of her. When asked about her trembling, she had lied that it was because of the weather. Being a poor fisherman's daughter, she can withstand the low temperatures of the rivers. She was used to the cold snowy weather. Despite that, the cute little devil really believed her that she was cold. Her little miss had used such an expensive blanket on her. Having both of these wonderful things given to her by her master she felt truly grateful. LiHua was happy that she was working here.
"Thank you my lady. This tea is very good. Where did you get it?"
"It's not a tea. It's hot cocoa. And I made it!" Ying Momo replies with a smirk.
"It's delicious! And I'm not cold anymore. I want another one!" LiHua excitedly grabbed another cup that was next to Ying Momo.
Ying Momo quickly pull the drink away, "No, not this one! You can't have it."
LiHua was puzzle about her missy's action. Her missy had forced her to drink a drink and refuses the next one. She couldn't comprehend her young miss's unpredictable actions at all. The girl was up at one time and then down at another. What she was more curious about was why she couldn't drink that drink. Maybe her mistress was protecting her. It might be spoil. Before LiHua can ask about the matter, they're peaceful enjoyment quickly came to an end.
"Ying Momo! What did you do to my beautiful tea set?!"
The prime minister's voice cry out as he searches for Ying Momo. Hearing that voice, Ying Momo jolted in her spot. She glances at the beautiful tea set that had a fiery Phoenix painted on. Ying Momo carries the tea set away in her escape. She rushes away as she forgot a few minor things. She had left the sweet LiHua and a teacup behind. Prime minister approaches the very eye-catching tea table that Ying Momo had setup. It was beautifully decorative. The table was line with a silk cloth covering the whole table. The side were sewn up to create some ruffles. Prime Minister Ying BuChu has never seen such things before. The pavilion was nicely decorated. Little minor details were thought out thoroughly to accommodate anyone's eye. Prime minister finally notices a young maidservant sitting on the tiny chair that was surrounded with some goodies. The maid looks comfortable and was enjoying herself. Prime minister took a few more steps and position himself where Ying Momo was sitting at.
"Speak! Where did that brat go?" His anger was shown fiercely on his face.
"I...I... this lowly one doesn't know. This Nubi doesn't know." LiHua lowers her head as she answered. It was best to avoid the prime minister's eyes.
Ying BuChu carefully pick up a cake slicer. He had no idea what it was, but the silver tool had a sharp end. He threw the cake slicer as if he was just flicking off some crap off his hand. LiHua had no sense of what just happened. She felt a quick swoosh by her. It made her jump. She stood up with her eyes wide open. Scaring herself half to death, she unconsciously grips the end of her dress. She felt some soft fur on her dress. Her dress shouldn't have any fur at all. In fact, she was too poor to afford any. The dress that she was wearing was some hand me downs clothes that the other maid has given to her. The prime minister's estate did offer her some new clothes but instead she had asked for some fabrics when she was hired. She wanted to save those new linens for her grandmother and uncle. When the new year comes, she can make them new outfits. So how can her dress have fur on them? LiHua quickly look at the fur that she was touching. When she pulled up the hemming of her dress, that's when it became clearer to her. The fur that she was imagining about has now become some black human hair. LiHua took another closer look at the hair in her hands.
"This...this hair, where did it come from?" LiHua touch her long hair.
Some strands of her hair were now shorter than the others. She turned to look at the silver cake slicer that was two-inch-deep in one of the four poles that was supporting the pavilion's roof top. One can tell how outstanding the prime minister's martial arts were. Such a wide blade and he was able to engrave such a wide tool into one of the giant logs of the wooden pavilion. How can one do so? This only reassure LiHua that if she wasn't truly honest with the prime minister some blood will be spilt.
"Nubi, doesn't know. She had disappeared before you got here." LiHua couldn't help but tremble.
Her trembling causes the prime minister to calm down a bit. He didn't mean to scare her. Ever since this little maid had enter his estate, she has been next to Ying Momo, never leaving her side. This maid was acting as if she was one of Ying Momo's loyal subjects. She lied to him just to protect Ying Momo. Prime Minister Ying BuChu wouldn't want this wonderful relationship to end. He adjusted his tone a bit nicer trying not to scare the timid maid.
"Speak the truth and only the truth. Any nonsense won't be taken lightly. "
"..." LiHua lowers her head down again. She was praying hopefully for her little miss to escape safely.
"You can raise your head. If you can't even face me, how will you serve Momo-er in the future?"
"Nubi doesn't dare." LiHua replies as she got on her knees and lower herself to the ground.
Prime minister Ying BuChu sat down as he sighed. Earlier he saw the little maid drinking the drink. Seems like it was very refreshing. Prime Minister Ying BuChu picked up the teacup and quickly drink the hot cocoa. LiHua watching her master's actions but she couldn't stop him in time. It was already too late. Ying BuChu spat the drink out as if it was poison.
He coughs and coughs as he choked out the words, "Ying Momo!!!"