XH 24
Xiao Hua does not dare to move even a tiny bit. Her breathing was controlled and quiet, struggling to reduce her presence. But it was difficult when the other occupant that was sitting opposite her has his eyes glued on her!
It does not help when her mind currently has questions such as 'who are you' circling around!
"Who am I?"
Xiao Hua's mind blanked as she stared at the Third prince stupidly. Did he just read her mind?!
The Third prince chuckled well humoredly. "Your face is easy to read."
Xiao Hua quickly looked down, hoping that her face was not blushing. She did not dare to say anything, but when the Third prince did not continue the topic, she feels a little disappointed.
Will Xiao Hua just let the topic pass by and forgotten? No way! (・'ω'・)
"Your Highness-"
The carriage suddenly coming to a halt in an abrupt manner and poor Xiao Hua falls off the seat. Luckily the carriage has a huge space or else she would have fallen onto the Third prince's lap and greet his unmentionables with her face! As for the Third Prince, that fierce brake had not even budged him even an inch!
Xiao Hua hurriedly stood up from the floor and her short height allowed her to stand upright inside the carriage.
The door of the carriage opened, revealing An Wan's anxious face. "Master, are you alright?"
"What happened?"
"The Eighth prince's carriage nearly collided with our carriage. Our horse rider managed to stop before any accident happen."
The Third prince left the carriage without a word. Xiao Hua placed her hands on each side of the door and had just stretched a foot outside the carriage when one of her upper arms was grabbed. Before she could scream, both her feet had already landed on the ground safely.
A boy as tall as her with his lower face covered by a black cloth stared at her with piercing eyes that make her scalp crawl. Xiao Hua felt as if she had seen this guy before. With a flash of black, another boy dressed in an identical uniform and similar covered face appeared on the left side of the first boy.
Eh? Aren't they the mini-terror that's similar to Da Liu? They were the one that dragged the two maidservants that had betrayed the princess!
"T-Thank you," Xiao Hua said softly, but her eyes were alert as she stared at them. She knows that they would not harm her if their master did not order them to, but they looked pretty intimidating.
The one on the right pointed a finger at a direction and Xiao Hua automatically looked at where he pointed. She could barely make out the Third prince's figure but his hot pink robes make it easier.
Suddenly it reminded her of the 'Skip Beat' Japanese manga where the main character was forced to wear a uniform with that same color too. Xiao Hua's mind suddenly imagined the Third Prince flashing a winning smile and say 'Love Me'.
"Pffft!" She would have laughed harder if the twins were not staring at her. Xiao Hua coughed and restrained herself, quickly thinking about other non-amusing stuff.
After making sure she had controlled her laughter, she turned back to look and saw a kid talking to the Third Prince. Xiao Hua could not see clearly, but she guessed that the kid was the Eight Prince that An Wan had mentioned earlier.
Filled with curiosity, Xiao Hua turned to the twins and asked, "The person that's speaking to the Third Prince is the Eighth Prince of another country?"
"The Eighth Prince of the Guilin Country."
"Huh?" Xiao Hua stared at one of the twins that answered her. The boy stared back at her.
Seeing the two similar height children staring at each other, the boy on the left found that it was funny. "Elder Sister Hua, that person is the Eighth Prince of Guilin Country, just like Da Bei had said."
"Huh?"
Xiao Hua's expression remained the same even after the boy from the left had clarified. Xiao Liu was standing quite a distance away from them, making sure that no suspicious people manage to approach the Third Prince, could hear the children's conversation due to being a cultivator. He had originally doubted the rumor that was swimming around the manor that Elder Sister Hua was silly, but it seems that the rumor was true.
Your Highness, the Third Prince, you can choose any maid you like, but why did you choose a silly one?! This is so dangerous ah!!! (ಥ﹏ಥ)
The 'silly' Xiao Hua wanted to scream, 'who is this Eighth Prince?!' Le XiaoTing had not heard of this person in the novel!
Le XiaoTing remembered very well that the author only mentioned about the three princes of Guilin Country; the First, Second and Third! Xiao Hua vaguely remembered that Long Lian had mentioned about a fourth brother that married a maid, but at that time she did not think about it seriously.
Xiao Hua quickly calmed herself down. Right now, she could no longer label this world as inside the novel. Perhaps, by some miracle, the author dreamed of this world and decided to write it down, and that was how the novel was born. There were many possibilities, and Xiao Hua can no longer refer most of what happened in the novel to this world.
So yes, the Guilin Country having eight princes is nothing to be alarmed of! But it was something to be alarmed if the main events in the novels were different from this world!
"Continue our way." The Third Prince suddenly appeared beside Xiao Hua, nearly stopped her heart. When she calmed herself down, she realized she was carried into the carriage and was sitting opposite the Third prince as before. Except for this time, instead of staring at her, he was leaning on the wall with closed eyes, leaving Xiao Hua to her own thoughts.
Now that there was no intense staring from the Third Prince, it gave Xiao Hua the opportunity to examine the carriage.
Hmm? There's something abnormal with the carriage. There was no rough swaying that was usually felt when one was riding a carriage! In fact, she did not feel any movement at all!
With a light push, one of the windows that were installed on the sides of the carriage parted open, revealing that the carriage was moving forward, with a speed that could not be considered as slow as she could hardly focus on seeing the shops that passed by.
Perhaps it was because of the horses? Curious, she poked her head out of the window but before she could see anything, she was yanked back into the carriage.
Her first instinct was to yell at whoever was it that pull her back. Luckily her instinct was pressed back by rationality, reminding her that the only one in the carriage with her was the Third Prince.
Xiao Hua unconsciously gulped when she saw the prince no longer had his eyes closed; the everlasting gentle smile was gone and replaced with an expression that could be identified as anger!
"T-Third prince," Xiao Hua stuttered fearfully.
"Are you trying to kill yourself? Do you know how dangerous it is to expose yourself?"
Kill? Dangerous? Expose?
"The Third Prince means there are assassins?"
The Third prince's anger slowly disappeared and his gentle smile returned. "What is it that caught your eye outside?"
She noted that he did not answer her question. "This servant is curious why the carriage isn't painful to sit on." Xiao Hua wanted to say 'bumpy' but she did not know how to speak of it in Chinese so she has no choice but to say it in such an embarrassing way.
"This prince uses Qi to stabilize the carriage."
Qi? Le XiaoTing had heard of them in martial arts novels! She was always curious about how they worked and always found them cool to watch. But then, she does not have the courage to ask that from the prince.
The duo fell silent again and finally, An wan announced their arrival when the carriage stopped. Xiao Hua was not sure if she should exit the carriage first or let the Third Prince out first.
Bloody etiquette!
The Third prince left first and Xiao Hua did not dare to linger behind. An Wan appeared beside her, holding onto a folded bright red cloak, giving Xiao Hua a meaningful look.
Xiao Hua took the cloak carefully and stepped close to the Third Prince. "Your Highness, the wind is strong today."
Her height was shorter compared to the other girls of the same age but she found that the Third prince's height was tall for a sixteen-year-old guy. Even if she wanted to help him wear the cloak, with her height added by her tiptoeing, she would still need to struggle to put the cloak on him! He was more than two heads taller than her!
When the tall figure suddenly bends downwards, Xiao Hua's eyes nearly dropped out from its sockets. This action, could it be he was asking her to put it on for him?
Xiao Hua unfolded the cloak and put it on the prince carefully, making sure she did not accidentally elbow his beautiful face. When she was satisfied that the cloak was properly covering the prince, only then did she tied the two long silken strings together around his neck to keep it from falling off.
Unconsciously, Xiao Hua smiled in satisfaction, showing her adorable dimples and a gap for the missing tooth that was not noticeable at first glance. The Third prince stared at her bright, round eyes slightly longer than was appropriate before looking away as he straightens his back.
The guards standing at the entrance wanted to watch but they do not dare to lift their head to watch the Third prince's behavior. For a prince to bend down for a maid, even for the convenience of wearing the cloak was unheard of!
An Wan's eyes were chilly but her heart was resigned. Her feelings could not move the Third prince's heart but now, his heart moved for Xiao Hua. In the past, she had developed feelings for her master and makes a move when the news of the Fourth prince taking his maid as his Princess Consort reached her ears.
Unfortunately, she was punished for her misconduct and since then she did not dare to harbor inappropriate thoughts a maid should not have. Even so, the sight of the man that she loved showing affection to another maid was unbearable.
An Wan's heart clenched in pain, but the perfect smile on her face never wavers.