Hi! This is chapter 27!Chapter 30 is coming soon! Woohoo!
Enjoy! :)
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She has been screaming at her, continuously for days, demanding her to return the life of her daughter, although she is not the one who killed her precious treasure. The doors to Jade's room is tightly-closed, under the strict order from Lord Leanne.
"She has come again. She never stops finding troubles with you. Why does she hate you so much?" Rowena lowers her body onto the cushion right opposite Jade's, her hands stretched out to pick up the brown teapot, carefully pouring warm tea into Jade's cup, then hers.
"She despises me. I am born a slave, yet I am now made a Mistress. She is not a slave, yet she is only a Madam of a government official." Jade lowers her gaze to her fingers on her lap, but her mind wanders off somewhere, somewhere she herself does not know.
"You are a witch! You will die in the palace! I curse you to die of five horses! I curse you to lose favour!" Her crazed shoutings can be heard clearly even from inside the room Jade and Rowena is in. Hearing those words, Jade could only sigh, but never her heart thinks of retaliation.
"You should go and complete your duties. I am fine alone."
"But she wi-"
"I will be okay. Believe me." It takes all Jade has to fake an assuring looks on her eyes. But it turns out to be a fruitful move, as Rowena finally gives in and pushes herself up from the cushion, preparing herself to go out of the room.
Just when she opens the room, in the flick of an eye, Madam Leanne is already in the room, heading straight towards Jade like a hungry tiger. She fists her palms, throwing punch after punch at Jade, who is trying her best to block with both her hands and escape.
"Return me my daughter! Return me my daughter!"
"Let Jade go! Madam! Let her go!" Rowena's hands are tightly gripped on Madam Leanne's shoulders as she exerts as much energy as possible to pull her away from her friend.
"You go away!" With just a push, Madam Leanne is able to send Rowena lying on the floors, with a loud thud sound but no one seems to notice it in such a chaotic condition.
Seeing how Madam Leanne may never stop, there is only one way to force her to stop. It is the way she always likes to abuse, power, status and position.
"Insolent! You dare to hurt Mistress Leanne! Are you not afraid of death?!" Rowena screams as loud as possible, successfully catching Madam Leanne's attention, making her stop. She opens her eyes widely, seeing Jade-Mistress Leanne, right in front of her. A chuckle leaves her lips, followed by an evil laugh, that resembles the voice of a witch, seemingly leaving an imaginary echo in the room.
"Mistress? Mistress?! Then I would be the mother of the Mistress!" She proudly exclaims. Rowena seems to no longer recognise her, she has probably lost her sanity when she laughs uncontrollably.
"Did Mistress Leanne ever call you mother? You are just someone who has always tortured her. Jade is now a Mistress, she can persuade Crown Prince to destroy the Leanne family!"
"You...! You two devils! You have now dared to go against me?!"
"I learnt all of these from you. If anyone were to be blamed, it would be you." Rowena further continues, while she tries her best to suppress her fear and to not break a sweat. She could no longer bear the sight of her friend getting abused, back then physically, now emotionally. Now, her friend has risen in status, Rowena could finally protect her, with all her might.
"Insolence, hitting Crown Prince's Mistress, insulting and badmouthing her, all equals to death punishment! Stop before Mistress Leanne could no longer tolerate your actions."
"Ro-Rowena..." Jade whispers as she squints her eyes at Rowena, begging her to stop through those eyes that shines of guilt. But Rowena pretends to pay no attention towards those pitiful expressions Jade make.
"Let us go, Mistress Leanne." Rowena rushes towards her best friend, stretching her hands and carefully pulling Jade up, before they both leave the room without giving a second glance to the dumbfounded Madam Leanne. She laughs hysterically as she screams, like a crazed woman, who no longer has control over her own body.
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"I still think that you were being too harsh to Madam a few days ago." Jade comments in the middle of her sewing, still able to ensure that the needle in her hands will not prick her fingers. Her eyes never leave her work, the only thing she could do because she practically has nothing to do, now that she is a Mistress.
"I have tolerated her ridiculousness for too long. You were not even the one who killed Missy Lily-"
"Concubine Leanne." Jade corrects her friend while her fingers pull the needle out from behind the white cloths, then prick it into the cloth again, pulling it out from the front, with a yellow string connected to it. When she sneakily takes a peek at Rowena, she finds her faking a glare at her and they both burst into laughter.
"Madam is still pitiful no matter what. Concubine Leanne has just passed away, we must be understanding."
"There is still a limit to her being so ridiculous."
"We can just be forgiving." A faint smile is spread across Jade's face, which earns a silent scowl from Rowena. Her friend has always been too kind, to the point where she finds that her kindness may cause her own misfortune one day.
"You should think for yourself too. I will leave in a few days, what will happen to you? Madam will not leave you be for being so rude to her. She will torture you." Jade carefully places the needle aside, putting the white cloth on the low wooden table as she seriously stares at her friend in the eyes, worried.
"Wh-who says that I will stay in this house?" At first, Jade seems to not take Rowena's words seriously. But just a few moments afterwards, she eyes Rowena in surprise, further enquiring the meaning behind her words.
"What do you mean?" Those words are what Rowena just exactly expected from Jade. She pulls her lips into a sweet smile, and eagerly stands up from her seat, rushing towards Jade's side, holding her hands.
"I have thought about this for very long. I plan to enter the palace with you, as your servant." Jade pulls her hands away from Rowena, gasping as her friend ends her sentence with a serious looks. She nervously looks away, afraid to meet her gaze, for she knows very well she will lose to Rowena's willpower.
"No. I could not bring you with me. You are my friend. I cannot possible treat you as my servant."
"Who says that you must treat me as your servant? In front of others, I will act like your servant. But when we are alone, we can be ourselves!" Those words of reassurance has Jade discreetly peek at her friend from the corner of her eyes. The things she said do make sense, and surely she will be extremely delighted to have her friend in the palace. But....
"It is very dangerous in the palace." Especially when you meet Empress, Jade repeats to herself in her mind.
"I have you, why should I be scared anymore?"
"Rowena...."
"Jade.... You do know that I will be suffering here once you leave. How could you bear for that to happen to me? Furthermore, we will never be apart again, if you agree to me entering the palace with you." Rowena stretches her arm outwards, grabbing Jade's hands tightly, while she gazes into her eyes, as though she can work magic to make Jade agree. Maybe she really has such a magical power.
"Fine." And a grin spontaneously forms on Rowena's face, then Jade's.
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"Today has finally come. Are you nervous?" Her best friend's hand moves up and down her back, gently rubbing calmness into her body. Jade raises her eyes to meet Rowena's, giving her a faint smile, one that seems unnoticeable but Rowena could notice. It is one that speaks I am fine.
"Today should not be the day I am most nervous. It takes two days from here to the Capital City. Then, the actual wedding day is two days after." Rowena proceeds to brush the dirt off the wooden bed, then straightens her simple pale blue dress before sitting on the spot she cleaned.
"How does the Capital City look like?" Her question only earns a chuckle from Jade, which makes her wonder why.
"I have only seen the Capital City twice. The first time, was when I was first sent to the palace about four years ago. The second time was when I returned here. I did not see much too, but all I can say is that it is a very crowded place, much more crowded than here."
"You have been in the palace for nearly four years, which is so near to the Capital City. Yet you do not know much about it."
"This time, once I enter, I will never be able to leave, anymore." Jade grabs the woman she loves like a sister's hand tightly, looking for comfort from her hand that seems to always radiate warmth and love.
They stay in silence, their eyes rooted on the grounds but most definitely their minds are somewhere no one can ever guess. They seem content with just each other's presence and no talking, all until they both can hear noises of a big crowd just right outside their small room, which is normally befitting of only a servant.
"They have come." Rowena whispers, but it sounds like a loud voice that leaves echoes throughout the room for Jade.
"Mistress Leanne." The sweet and girly voice of a servant from outside the doors travel to their ears, and they soon understand the next processions. Jade pushes herself up from the bed gently, with Rowena helping her to straighten her bright red dress and similarly red shawl with little white embroideries at the side, before lastly readjusting the pins on Jade's especially elaborate hairdo today. After all is done, Rowena sends Jade a slight nod, before heading towards the wooden doors, pulling it open as it creaks.
Jade could see the crowd of palace servants and eunuchs all lining up in front of the doors to her temporary room. Her eyes catch a eunuch dressed in robes with longest sleeves and highest hat, taking three steps forward from his previous position.
"Fetching Mistress Leanne!" His sharp voice travels around the considerably small yard. Then, the group of palace servants splits into two, advancing in the same pace into Jade's room, then all curtsy in two lines, forming a wide path for her to walk down.
Her feet are trembling in anxiety, for she has never received such a grand respect before. Her eyes travel around the yard, finding Lord Leanne who seems to be looking away from her out of embarrassment for having had bad intentions to her years ago and Madam Leanne, whose stare seems to be emitting deadly auras and jealousy.
She looks away from both of them, then lifts her hand slightly to Rowena, who catches her arm and they both walk out of the room, following the Head Eunuch out of the manor.
When they have exited the manor, they find a grand horse-carriage painted in bright red and parked readily before them. A group of soldiers guards around it, and a eunuch is kowtowing right in front of the door of the carriage. Though she feels bad, she has to do it. She steps on the pitiful eunuch, repeating sorry after sorry in her heart, and climbs into carriage, followed by Rowena.
Inside, they both flips open the small red cloths acting as curtains, giving one last look to the small town they have lived in for so many years, before they hear the very same eunuch screaming depart and the carriage runs.
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Just a reminder again, that the procession in this story is made up by me! But just one interesting fact, the eunuch that has to kowtow in front of the door of the horse carriage, to let the master climbs up the carriage is a real life scenario!
Ok, that is all for this chapter. Feel free to pm me if you have anything to ask/say personally. See you in the next one! :D