Taking the dress off her smooth flawless skin, Li Shu could feel the cold sweat slipping down her back. The cover of Prince Wu Xiuying's body had changed but the desires were still like a man's. It would be a challenge to face such things.
Suppressing her mannish yearnings, she led the princess into the huge stone bathtub. The flowers perfumed the air and designed it delicately. Smoke was streaming up and brought haze to the place, making it, even more, harder to sniff for the air.
Li Shu halted for a moment, the thin lace was dancing behind the princess's back, and the robe was exposing the skin underneath but the steam made it blurry, her black long hair covered her body. Already, she didn't pay attention to how beautiful she was.
Stepping down into the water, the princess looked back at the startled girl. Her heart was still heavy after what she heard. What had occurred to this girl was savage and ruined her skin? Not just that, she must have left with terrible memories.
Her eyes rolled on her own skin, it was milky smooth with no damaged spot, purely flawless, while this girl, one of her people suffered living the life.
"Li Shu Come here."
The maiden jolted with her princess's warm voice and strode ahead, picking the sponge, she dabbed on the rose soap powder, the princess reached her hand out and she began to wash her fingers that had some ink stains.
Li Shu's brain was roaming over her moves, this girl was too soft and she didn't dare to squeeze the sponge on her skin, probably causing redness.
"Do you think that my siblings and relatives would kill me when they get a chance?"
It was a shock and pricked her heart, Li Shu swallowed and her gentle moves ceased on her arm. Should she be honest with her at this point? She was testing her by bringing up the topic otherwise, she knew the answer, and the arrow crossed a few inches away from her head.
"Your highness has an uncalm life, everything is possible," It was vague but princess Xing Huan was clever enough to learn the main theme.
"You had become wary when I asked about my life. Does my life matter to you?"
Of course, her life meant so much to Li Shu and Wu Xiuying, without her, this curse wouldn't go away and the prince of Di kingdom didn't want to continue his life in a female body.
"Why are we talking about this unpleasant topic? Your highness should relax more and stop overthinking."
The princess bitterly beamed, why was she acting humbly? Staring at her face on the water surface, that darkened expression was speaking unlike what she was uttering.
Li Shu continued washing her body, the shivers were appearing when she reached the curves. Her upper body sweated from the warm water and she squeezed the sponge on her chest and went ahead.
"What about you? Who hurt your body?"
The girl shrugged, and all of a sudden that prideful face turned into a carefree one. She was now hiding her emotions and princess Xing Huan was familiar with this skin. If it was impossible to read Li Shu's mind through her actions, at least, it was obvious this time.
"Don't tell me if you don't want to…"
Before finishing her sentence, the girl disclosed it, "My mother!"
The princess winced and clasped hold of her wrist tightly. Squeezing hardly that Li Shu cussed. Attempting to release herself, the princess let go of her wrist.
"Ah, ah, …" and losing her balance, Li Shu slipped because of the slippery edge that she caused by being messy to pick rose soap powder.
Falling into the huge bath, the princess panicked and dove, grabbing the girl between her arms, she brought her up.
Gasping for the air, Li Shu coughed, her mind was blank. What on the earth just happened? Why did the princess had gone savage after hearing the truth? The moment she was about to trust her, the princess ruined it all.
Her hand slapped the edge and held it, spatting the soapy water out of her mouth.
"Why did you just lie to me?"
Xing Huan couldn't believe that a mother could hurt her child.
The maiden was furious, her face turned red, and gazed at the princess with disgust, "Your highness, not everyone had grown up in swan feathers like you. Some people are living a life beyond and worse than brutality. If you didn't drink it, it doesn't mean that I am lying."
Xing Huan clenched her jaw, she was almost shouting. Moving her hands forward, forcedly, she drew Li Shu's dress away and her eyes grew wide.
The maiden clenched her fists. Closing her eyes, the princess just made her recall how the Queen beat the prince of Di's reign for making even a simple mistake.
"They will kill you! Your throne is filled with morbidity and it will root up to wrap your neck and strangle you if you continue living the life as a weakling."
It was what the princess deserved to be slapped with after her offensive behavior.
The princess's tears fell, frizzing in her place, she just watched the empty place of the girl that just left. It was the first tears that had fallen down after her mother's death.
'A weakling! Was it the reason they have been striving to get rid of me?'
Turning back to command the girl not to leave, she was already gone.
Water was dribbling down Li Shu's drenched body, Ke Xin was there but the eunuch and the ladyship were gone.
"Go... tend to the princess." Li Shu demanded with a tense face while storming out of the place.
Ke Xin rushed to the bathroom and saw the princess, she was sobbing. She didn't know whether she must be thrilled or not! The ladyship once said that she would pray that the princess could cry and let her heart be composure. Did Li Shu make her cry? What did occur exactly here?
Getting back to the back garden through deserted ways, Li Shu changed her wet clothes. This princess was insane, why would she mention her scars and then react like that? Foolish, it was a foolish assumption to be deceived by her body.
Wu Xiuying's mother was right the moment she lashed his back, no beauty must trick him, the marks on his back were there reminding him that love didn't exist. It was madness to drive people beyond the feral reality.
The memories popped up in his head. It was the moment he gave a flower to Chaoxiang's sister and his mother saw it, and when the night aroused, the lashes kissed his back. The sizzling traces were still alive in his mind.
'Princess, you made a wrong decision, now I don't mind your life being taken to break the curse.'
His eyes shimmered viciously.