Splash! Prang!
"Can't you even hold on your teapot properly?"
The berating sound filled the small garden. There were four people in the middle of the garden, two boys and two girls. Based on their ages, they were only teenagers, but their beautiful intricate clothes gave out their identities as part of the noble families in the Han Shi Kingdom.
"My apologies," a young girl around the age of 13 bowed her head down. She had long silky black hair that was tied into two small buns. Her small and pale hands were trembling as if she was waiting for punishment. Even though her brocade clothes looked exquisite, it was the worst among the four.
Her face was a bit round, which was the result of the baby fat that was still very visible. She had black eyes and rosy red lips. Her body itself was petite, giving off the sense that she was a fragile lady.
"Do you think you can simply apologize after offending His Highness, Liuying?" The young boy, who looked even younger than the girl, snorted with annoyance. He had a similar face with the girl, yet his tone was the harshest among them.
The girl who bowed her head down, Wei Liuying only lowered her head even more. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"It's nothing."
The cold voice of the young man contrasted his age. There were only two boys in the garden, and he was the oldest among the four of them. He had an exquisite feature that would make it easy for anyone to differentiate him. His purple robe was stitched with golden thread, which was the mark of the Imperial Family. Even though the design was still fairly simple compared to the Emperor, it was already far etched from other nobles.
The young man was around 18 years old with long black hair that was tied up. He had an exquisite face that could easily rival even the most beautiful woman, but with traces of masculine. However, his brown eyes were clearly giving off a sense of threat when he looked at the other three in front of him.
The first boy, who looked similar to Wei Liuying bowed his head down. No one could see his face, but he was actually smiling. "Your Highness Prince Ji Shu is very generous."
The young man, Ji Shu, merely glanced coldly at the young girl in front of him. The girl was around 14 years of age and had an exquisite face. However, she looked even thinner compared to Wei Liuying, and there were traces of panic and worry inside her eyes. And yet, it didn't look like she even had the courage to speak.
The girl was Wei Xiao Hua, the legal daughter from the main wife. She had a timid personality and looked like she couldn't even harm a fly. Tears have started to form on the corner of her brown eyes as she thought for a way to salvage the situation. Yet, there was nothing that came to her mind.
"I…I'll call servant to clean up your clothes," Wei Xiao Hua finally said as she waved her hand to call her servants.
Ji Shu's expression was already frigid. He was still tolerating them because Wei Xiao Hua is his fiancée, but he truly felt that the Emperor made a huge mistake. Even though Wei Xiao Hua had the backing of the Prime Minister behind her, what could this timid lady possibly do?
She would get killed when she entered his residence later on.
This time, the boy, Wei Hong Zheng, didn't add anything else. He was carefully watching over Ji Shu's expression while his smile was already wiped up. The 13 years old boy was trying to act as solemn as possible as he watched over the prince before him. However, his childish face clearly didn't match the act he was trying to portray.
The servants didn't take a long time to bring the towel, and Ji Shu used it to wipe his hand. When the teapot shook, it only spilled some of the tea to his hand, so it was not a big deal. However, it was rare to see a prince get slighted, so many people wanted to know what the prince would do to Wei Liuying who made a mistake.
"You should educate your sister better, Hong Zheng."
"Yes, Your Highness," Wei Hong Zheng replied with vigor.
Wei Liuying kept her head lowered as if the content of the conversation was not related to her in the slightest bit. She looked more like a servant compared to the daughter of the Prime Minister, whom her identity was supposed to be.
Ji Shu didn't even bother to glance in Wei Liuying's direction as he stood up. "I'll be going now."
"So soon?" Wei Xiao Hua was startled. There were traces of disappointment within her words as she looked at her fiancé with doe's eyes.
"I have some matters to attend to," Ji Shu explained curtly. His tone clearly expressed his displeasure, yet at the same time, he was trying to make himself calmer. Clearly, he didn't have a good impression of this young lady who's his fiancée.
Wei Xiao Hua bit the bottom of her lips as she stood up and curtsied. "In that case, I'll be seeing you off, Your Highness."
Ji Shu didn't decline. He stood up and turned around with Wei Xiao Hua hurriedly trying to catch up. However, the young lady was unfortunate as there was a rock in the garden. Her long legs stumbled upon the rock.
"Aaaa!"
Bruk!
The one closest to her was Ji Shu, but he reacted late, and Wei Xiao Hua fell on the ground. The servants were all stunned when they saw that there was a trace of blood on the ground.
"Miss!"
"Call for a doctor," Wei Liuying instructed the servant behind her. The surrounding servants in this place were divided into three parties. Most of them were Wei Xiao Hua's servants, while some of them were Wei Hong Zheng and hers.
"Yes, Third Miss," the servant curtsied before she hurried out.
Ji Shu's face was dark. He wanted to step forward, but at the same time, he was only the fiancé and naturally, there was some etiquette that he had to follow when he was facing the unmarried lady. Luckily, Wei Xiao Hua's closest servant quickly stepped forward to help her miss.
Wei Xiao Hua's forehead hit a rock in front of her. Only the Heaven knew why there were so many rocks in the garden today. The servants were already drenched in a cold sweat when they saw Wei Xiao Hua's forehead.
If the wound were to be untreatable, it was clear that their punishment would be worse than death. Even now, many of them already realized that they would surely die just because of this incident.
"This…" Wei Hong Zheng was trying to salvage the situation, but he was clueless. As a young brat who was only 13 years old, it was clear that he was not that much knowledgeable.
Ji Shu sighed, his eyes turned colder as the temperature in the garden dropped several degrees. "I hope Wei Family will be able to give a satisfying answer for this incident."
The servants wanted to cry, but they had no tears. They all see that it was clearly the rock's fault for being there. However, they knew that those who were in charge of cleaning up the garden would be the one to blame.
Wei Liuying curtsied and bowed even lower to the point that her face couldn't be seen. "We'll send a messenger later to inform Your Highness about First Lady Wei's situation and condition."
"En."
Ji Shu waved his hand and turned around. He couldn't be bothered with the farce here any longer. There were other ministers that he needed to meet because his brother would return to the capital city soon. Wasting time in this place was only a hassle.
The servants already carried Wei Xiao Hua to return back while Ji Shu walked in another direction. Wei Liuying raised her head and looked in Wei Xiao Hua's direction. At this time, the latter's eyes suddenly opened. There was a sharp glint inside as her expression turned solemn. It was completely different from the timid and soft Wei Xiao Hua.
Wei Liuying could feel her heart thumped faster as trepidation filled her face. Somehow, she had the feeling that the matter wouldn't end so peacefully today.