"To think you have the guts to touch my servant with your filthy hands, do you have a death wish?"
A light baritone growled out. It sounded young yet it held power in it, even Bai Shuyin whose teeth was reaching for the lump fat of meat paused at the domineering tone.
"I will ask you once again, do you or do you not have a death wish?" A young boy with long and wavy red hair that was tied in a high ponytail stated. His violet eyes blazed like a burning inferno.
This was unmistakably the Crown Prince of South Wu Kingdom, Wu Jiangfeng!
His iconic ruby red hair, it was nearly impossible for Bai Shuyin not to recognize him. The only good value from the author of "The Crown Prince and The Devious Tyrant King" was the author's description of the characters.
Each of the leads were based on their spirit beasts, making it much easier to identify each character. As a novel maniac like Bai Shuyin, getting multiple characters from different novels mixed up was a normal occurrence.
The South Wu Kingdom represented the Vermillion Bird, a chinese phoenix that born out of conflagration and breathed flames with five serrated tail feathers.
Wu Jiangfeng was known for his scholarly appearance and was incredibly smart for his age. Wang Shenqiu was the only one around his age that could match his quirky and witty brain. It was no wonder the two could hit it off right away and became friends.
If he was that smart, what did he mean by addressing her as 'his servant'?
Did he just try to save her? Without knowing who she was or even acknowledging the situation? What a marvelous gentleman!
Was this how Cinderella felt when she was noticed by the prince?!
Bai Shuyin let out a small 'oof' when she was dropped onto the ground. Even with her tailbone hurting, Bai Shuyin swiftly adjusted her posture, gave a salute and state hurriedly, trying to play along. "M--My Lord."
Bai Shuyin almost patted herself in the back for being quick-witted. Addressing him as 'Prince' would make her suspicious as no one from the Li Kingdom knew of Wu Jiangfeng, however, from the way he dressed, especially with that fierce-looking bodyguard on his side, everything about him just screamed nobility.
"Xiao Bai. Explain."
The way Wu Jiangfeng addressed her was simple, yet the endearment used made it seemed like she was someone close to him. Bai Shuyin's knees almost gave out on her when she thought the prince knew of her, however, that wasn't the reason for the extended suspension of time happening in her brain. It took her a few seconds for her lagging brain to register that her hair was indeed white (and not black!) for the Crown Prince of South Wu kingdom to address her.
It couldn't be helped that her name also had 'Bai' in it! Her fragile heart almost jumped out of her chest!
*Xiao = normally used to address someone younger or a junior. Added to a person's given name to show familiarity and affection.*
Bai Shuyin hurriedly thought of what a normal servant would do in a situation like this and before she could react, her body had already moved on its own. "This servant apologizes for failing her duties, please punish me!"
'Fuck! Why would you ask for punishment?!' Bai Shuyin felt like strangling herself the moment she finished speaking.
The fat butcher noticed the interaction between them and deemed the teen across from him was apparently a big shot. One might be a nobility but this noble was still a teenager, not ripe enough to think maturely.
The desire to manipulate shone in his fat-layered eyes and Bai Shuyin, who looked at him through her peripheral vision, could only shake her head at his absolute dumb ass.
"This lowlife bitch dared to steal! Allow this humble one to punish--"
'Oh, he's done it.' Bai Shuyin rolled her eyes.
"Silence!" Wu Jiangfeng's indigo eyes burned with a tint of fire. He looked as if he was close to spitting fire before the bodyguard beside him lightly gestured with his hand, signaling Wu Jiangfeng to calm down.
The Crown Prince of the South Wu Kingdom glanced around to see how the crowd had grown larger and larger, trying to watch the spectacle. Realizing that he wasn't in his hometown to command as he wished, Wu Jiangfeng cleared his throat. "Thank you for your concern. I will punish her as I see fit. Now go."
As if on cue, the guard beside the Crown Prince shouted. "What are you looking at? Disperse!" He shooed the nosy pedestrians. "There's nothing interesting to see here!"
Bai Shuyin kept her kneeling position, wondering what she should do. While keeping her head down, occasionally, she would take a peek at the Crown Prince, only to have her making direct eye contact with him.
The white-haired transmigrator hurriedly pulled her gaze back before she could see a smile dancing on the Crown Prince's lips. 'Damn! Why is he so handsome?'
She felt her heart beating faster. He was even more handsome than how the author described him! Those phoenix-shaped eyes, the high cheekbones, and that long straight nose that's a little too big on his face.
In addition, his tomato-colored hair was just so mesmerizing!
Bai Shuyin fangirled in her mind. She didn't even care if he was here a day earlier than she had expected. What mattered more was how kind-hearted he was and how handsome he was!
Bai Shuyin couldn't help but develop a small crush on him. It was too bad that he was the Crown Prince. Bai Shuyin wasn't keen on having to share the person she loved with other people.
***
Note:
The Chinese phoenix is also known as FengHuang. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The Fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang.
Additional Information:
Fenghuang has no connection with the phoenix of the Western world, which derives from Egyptian mythology. Peculiarly, the Egyptian phoenix may also in part reference a prehistoric bird, the Bennu Heron. Unlike the Fenghuang, which is a chimera not very much like any one extant bird, the Egyptian phoenix is most often considered similar to a heron or eagle.