XH 41
After Tian Zi finished wrapping a clean bandage over her swollen wrist, Xiao Hua actually planned to continue training, albeit a lighter one to avoid making her injury become worse. But her plan was destroyed when she feels a raindrop landed on her cheek.
"It's raining!"
Luckily, the spot they were resting was under a pavilion, with thick, secure rooftop protecting them from the sun and the rain. The rain was not light yet it was not overly heavy, causing a headache for Xiao Hua.
What should she do? Train or not to train under this weather?
The pain on her right wrist had eased up a lot after the medicine was applied. She could do some light throws, but the padded bag should not be used on her right hand.
"Sister Tian Zi, can you help me tie the bags on my left wrist instead?"
Tian Zi frowned. "You are not allowed to train while raining."
Xiao Hua's choice automatically falls on 'Yes, let's train' when Tian Zi forbid her to train. When someone told you not to do something, you will want to do it, regardless of what common sense was telling you.
"It's just rain. You never trained when it's raining before?"
Tian Zi looked awkward as every servant under the Third Prince's command would treat rain as nothing but different scenery when it comes to training. But she stopped Xiao Hua because of her special identity.
Master had told them to make sure Elder Sister Xiao Hua eat and sleep on time. Actually, they had already predicted that Elder sister Hua would fail the task unless she was a prodigy or a talented cultivator, which she was not.
Tian Zi: Could it be...Was their master looking for an opportunity to punish Elder Sister Hua?
Xiao Hua feels uncomfortable when Tian Zi's eyes on her suddenly changed to something that raised her guard on. It was as if her eyes were conveying her pity and condolences.
Xiao Hua: I'm not going to die under the rain for a few hours!
"Da Bei, can you help me tie?" Xiao Hua lifted her left wrist to the younger boy when Tian Zi did not make any move to help.
A voice suddenly cut in. "It's unwise to train under the rain." Eunuch Lau Liu stepped into the pavilion after closing the umbrella and leaves it at a side.
"Sir Lau Liu is right. Elder Sister Hua, please stop the training for now," Tian Zi quickly coaxed Xiao Hua when she has gotten someone to back her up.
Xiao Hua was unwilling to but she knows that there would be a high possibility that she would get sick if she stayed under the rain for too long. The wind has gotten stronger as well and the wooden boards were swinging around, making it hard to land a knife on it. Her throws would be skewed thanks to the wind as well.
After telling herself all these, her unwillingness slowly diminished. "Sir Lau Liu and Sister Tian Zi are right."
"The rain would not stop until tomorrow. Today's training will have to end here. This old man had Tian Chi to prepare a hot soup for Xiao Hua to keep your body warm."
Would the rain not stop until tomorrow? The sun was still high and Xiao Hua guessed it was still quite sometime before the evening. The sky was not gloomy looking so it should not be an all-day rain.
Tian Zi personally escorted Xiao Hua back to her room before heading to the kitchen to bring her a bowl of hot soup. Xiao Hua refused to bath despite how much Si Si tried to get her to. Why would she bath when she would train later?
The warm soup was delicious, and her tongue could taste chicken and ginseng. Tian Zi had said that it was personally made by Tian Chi, that food lover. After delivering the soup, Si Si and Tian Zi left to do their own duties, leaving Xiao Hua alone in the room with Da Bei standing outside as a guard. Da An had gone somewhere with Eunuch Lau Liu.
It was strange that a maid would need a guard but maybe it was because the Third Prince had told Da Bei to oversee her training. With nothing to do, he might have decided to just hang around her.
"Da Bei, come in. There's no need to stand outside," Xiao Hua called him in. She had to keep coaxing him until he finally accepted her invite.
But he literally had his whole body plastered over the window, his eyes glued to the door vigilantly. Xiao Hua, who had originally planned to chat with Da Bei, felt that her hope was thrown to the ground when he did not even spare her a glance. Still, she decided to give it a try.
"Why are you wearing a mask even when you are around your allies?" She wanted to see how he looks like!
"There are traitors everywhere."
Xiao Hua: '...'
What does he mean by that?! How can he have such a dark view of his own allies! Σ(°ロ°)
She really wanted to ask him to reveal his face but she had a strong feeling that Da Bei would say Xiao Hua could be a traitor.
In the end, Xiao Hua failed to get Da Bei to talk more to her because she could not bring herself to ask questions without scared of getting burned by his unexpected answers. Without realizing, she had fallen asleep due to fatigue.
When the room was filled with sounds of soft snoring, Da Bei's eyes went to the girl sitting on a stool with her head supported by her left hand, sleeping soundly.
With no one around, his guard finally lowered and his adorable round eyes full of curiosity stared at Xiao Hua. In his mind, this Elder Sister Hua was strange. When she talked to him, she acted just like those older maids, treating him like a cute little kid.
Da Bei eyes went back to watching the door and windows, keeping an eye on possible dangers. Da An had told him that Elder Sister Hua was important to their master and they need to protect her. Da Bei always believed what Da An said because he was never wrong in identifying these things.
Xiao Hua jolted awake at the loud sound of an object falling onto the ground. She stared blankly at the broken pieces of a grey teapot on the ground with the hot water escaped from its confinement.
"I'm sorry!" Si Si quickly bent down and picked up the broken pieces, her movement becomes clumsy due to her panic.
"Don't use your hand-" Tian Chi sighed when Si Si let out a sharp cry. "Go and apply medicine to stop the bleeding. Have someone come and sweep the mess away."
"Yes, Elder Sister Tian Chi." With her head bend downward and her injured hand clutched to her chest, Si Si walked out of the room quickly.
"Elder Sister Hua, it's time for dinner. I will have someone prepare the bath after."
"Ah!" The sky was already dark, and the lanterns were lit to brighten the place. She tested her right wrist and found that she could move it without much pain now. That medicine and Tian Zi's massage were truly wonderful!
"It's still drizzling," Tian Chi said, able to guess that Xiao Hua wanted to go out to practice from the desire in her eyes. With an air of experience, Tian Chi smoothly transferred the dishes from the containers to the table. "There's warm water for you to clean your face."
"This...thank you," Xiao Hua said sheepishly. All her daily necessity was prepared and served to her. They were all servants, so why do they treat her so well? She could not even see any hint of dissatisfaction from them, except for Si Si, who had thought Xiao Hua would not notice it.
Xiao Hua wiped her face with a wet towel and saw from the corner of her eye that a young male servant had entered the room and swiftly gather the broken teapot using a broom. Feeling a bit like an outsider, she decided to help with the cleaning and grabbed the rag cloth that Tian Chi had used earlier to wipe the table.
She was about to wipe the wet floor when her upper arm was grabbed. She looked up and found two panicked faces staring at her.
"W-What?" Xiao Hua blurted out and tried to shrink backward but the grip on her arm prevented her from doing so.
"Please let me do this task!" The male servant's voice was soft, giving him the impression of a delicate person but when he grabbed the rag cloth away from Xiao Hua's grip, she found that he was pretty strong despite his appearance. He clutched the rag cloth tightly as if Xiao Hua would steal it from him.
"But I'm a servant too!" Xiao Hua protested.
"These things, let Lau Ming do it," Eunuch Lau Liu said from the doorway with a warm smile. "Xiao Hua's whole body belongs to the Third Prince and should not be casually used."
Xiao Hua: '...' What are you saying, old man?! (°ロ°)!