"Your highness, be careful with your words, the princess is not a soft person."
The next morning, they were walking among the bamboo trees to reach where the princess and her guards were looking for clues. This path had the most attacks in its history and there could be signs to lead them to another road. They had left marks to find their ways for sure.
"Stop being concerned about me, did you forget that I'm not a girl." He sighed, but inwardly, he was nervous too. Showing a tough face was his task as a master but little he could feel comfortable.
"We have now 89 days till I entirely convert into a girl. Make sure you send constant letters to my father regarding my mission. I will offer him the head of brigands."
Hearing the hooves that were smashing the ground and the hooting noises made them speed up and a moment later the troop came to view. He saw the princess who was wearing a gray Hanfu. She looked alluring as if a bird flying over the sky.
A herd of birds chirped and fluttered in distress as soon as a white horse neighed intensely and pranced up on its back feet.
A chill skittered down the princess's back and wiggled down her spine. Her eyes widened and her mouth drew dry, screaming, "Watch out!"
Fu Liu flew down his horse, taking the girl between his arms, he dragged her away, before she was squashed under hooves.
"My lovely Xuebai, calm down. You shouldn't hurt peasants."
Caressing her horse's mane, she strived to calm it, then dismounted.
Fu Liu parted from the girl with a strong push and for a moment peered at her in disbelief, this girl had just come out of heaven's gates!
Li Shu pushed him away once more, ridiculous, what was wrong with this stupid man? The heat on her cheeks was saying that she grasped why the man was staring like that. This female figure was incredibly stunning and could attract the attention of every passenger of this border village.
"Fu Liu, what is going on there?"
Fu Liu coughed, wrapping himself back together, helping the girl he attempted to lead her up but she frowned and snapped his hand away. The startled man drew back two steps, gazing at the princess, "A villager girl jumped on the road."
"What? You attacked me!"
"...!"
Giving the reins of her horse to one of the guards, she blankly looked at her, striding to them who were now at the margin of the road. The girl was rubbing dust and leaves off her white-pink Hanfu. For no reason, she smiled when her eyes met the girl's stern face!
Fu was already in a daze and when his princess smiled, he was left speechless! Such a humble smile that brought twinkling stars in her eyes hardly could be caught.
"What is your name?" Before she could see her face, her horse had climbed on feet so she had thought of this person being a peasant but things were beyond her supposition.
Opening her mouth to reply, a loud cry made the heads avert to the bamboo trees' side.
"Li Shu?"
"Where are you?"
It was Chaoxiang who was approaching due to what they had planned.
"Brother, come to the road, some strangers were about to hit me." Her face reddened.
Princess Xing Huan let out a peal of loud laughter. It was odd, wholly odd that made her guards exchange glances.
"Your highness, this is rude!"
Fu Liu nagged but his princess shook her head in denial.
"No, she is right! We were about to hit her."
A few seconds later a tall man bounced in the middle of the road with a hatchet, shielding his sister. His expression was fierce as he believed that the guards of Mei Kingdome were a danger to his highness.
Fu Liu unsheathed his sword and almost shouted, "Before you move that stupid hatchet, ask for the true circumstance! She jumped on the road."
Chaoxiang gazed back over his shoulder and Li Shu nodded.
"Who are you?" asked Chaoxiang, bringing his hatchet down, he put it inside the basket where he had kept bamboo branches.
"We have the same question, who are you?" Fu asked.
Princess Xing Huan was tired of the argument. Walking to the girl, Chao stepped back as it came across that she was attracted by Li Shu, thanks to magic otherwise, Li Shu was pure trouble.
Grabbing her hand, the princess carefully checked her, there was a red spot because of her crash but these hands, they carried swords! Sharpening her eyes carefully, she paused for a moment.
"I am princess Xing Huan, and your brother called you Li Shu! Is this your name?"
The girl nodded and the princess let go of her hand.
Chaoxiang knelt before the princess, but his sister was bravely standing there, not bothering to peek at her brother's signs of kneeling.
Li Shu was cursing inwardly, why should she kneel for another dynast? Lowering herself wasn't a part of the plan. The princess looked to be attracted already and she wouldn't change the terms of her ethics until achieving her goal.
"Rise, I forgive this rudeness as you didn't know me."
"I see that princess Xing Huan has no attention on passing by people!" Li Shu uttered.
"Watch your mouth!" Fu Liu warned; he couldn't believe his eyes, this girl was beyond reality, under her angelic face was a devil!
The princess smirked, so daring! Even though realizing that who she was, she got some urge to speak ruthlessly. At least, she was honest in showing her true side. Very impressive, to her surprise!
"Didn't you educate your sister about how a lady must act?"
The princess turned to Chaoxiang.
"I think we should have asked our parents to teach her manners but unfortunately they were slain by the road robbers." He shot on the main point; the princess's attention being driven away.
"What are you doing here?"
Li Shu was now glad, the princess asked the right question, but this girl's side was playful and it wasn't the end yet. She itched to tease the future empress of Mei Kingdom a bit more.
"Your highness, should we ask the same question from you?"
"Dare to ask!" she replied.
Chao snatched his sister's arm, she was going too far, it didn't matter if she could kill all these men in a blink, it did matter to break the curse and leave this reign. Was she supposed to be this maniac?
Intrepidly, the girl opened her mouth despite the squeeze on her arm that was attempting to avoid her.
"Where are you going with this rush, your highness?"
Her tune was so nutty, enough to make the princess burst out into laughter and she didn't even know why this cheeky girl made her cheerful today. Should she hire her as a clown?
'I should give you a lesson, silly maid!' Princess Xing Huan thought to herself.
'Give me what I want princess, you need some fun in your boring life.' Prince Wu Xiuying was aware of a girl's desire, while living as a girl he had learned the girl's emotions in different situations, and he had tasted their pains. She wanted someone to cheer her up instead of being agreed to her, and curry her. He needed her trust to gain his yearning.