XH 72 - But this is obviously a trap, isn't it?
Xiao Hua was once again inside the kitchen, cooking her 'specialty' fried rice that was requested by An Jing.
It was actually nerve-wracking to cook a simple dish inside a currently busy kitchen, where all the chefs that were under the Third Prince's payroll were busy cooking their best dish.
Every servant inside the manor was running around in an orderly manner to complete their task, and it was actually nice to watch how they never bump into anyone with their fast-paced movement.
To have everyone in the Third Prince's manor to be this busy was naturally because today was the Third Prince's seventeenth birthday and also the New Year Eve. The cooks had separated into two factions; one for the Third Prince's party and another for the New Year.
The Third Prince with his inner maids and blackguards had entered the palace since early morning, leaving Xiao Hua at a corner inside the kitchen that was specially prepared for her.
Nearby her spot, a chef was making longevity noodles with a stressed appearance as he had to make sure the noodle was not broken and another chef was making dumplings with boiling eggs beside him.
Xiao Hua silently stared at the fried rice she managed to cook in one try less than two hours. Is her birthday dish too simple?
The Third Prince had decided that there will be a simple celebration tonight in the manor so that Xiao Hua could celebrate his birthday. She felt a little touched he would do this for her.
"Are you done, Elder Sister Hua?" A female chef assistant with sweat covered face asked in a friendly manner. She keeps on wiping her face with a napkin but the new sweats appeared not long after.
"Yes, I've just finished."
"I will help you carry it to Pearl Courtyard. Sir Da Bei is waiting outside for you."
Xiao Hua was not clear how it started, but Da Bei kept on following her everywhere, acting like her loyal guard dog. It was actually weird to have an eight-year-old boy as her bodyguard.
"Thank you!" Xiao Hua left her fried rice to the female chef assistant and headed out of the kitchen quickly to avoid being an obstacle for those chef assistants that were hurrying back and forth to gather ingredients for the main chefs.
Spotting Xiao Hua, Da Bei jumped down from the rooftop silently. "Lady Duan had already prepared your bath. She said she needs to help out somewhere so she can't help you."
"I understand." Everyone was busy indeed.
"Da Bei!" Da An appeared in a flash and intercepted them on their way to Xiao Hua's room. "Uncle Xiao Liu wants to brief us about tomorrow's escort position."
Xiao Liu was actually Da Liu's younger brother, making him the twins' uncle.
"Elder Sister Hua?" Da Bei questioned.
"Uncle Xiao Liu did not say..." Da An stared at Xiao Hua with a frown.
Giving the twins a reassuring smile, Xiao Hua promised, "I will just stay in my room until Da Bei returns."
"That settles it then!" Da An nodded happily but Da Bei was reluctant to leave his charge.
"Don't go anywhere." Da Bei made Xiao Hua promise before leaving with Da An.
Xiao Hua immediately made a beeline into her room and did not stop until she reaches the bathing area, where a wooden tub filled with soothing warm water was waiting for her. She soaked in the water until it turned cold before she finally gets her lazy ass out of the water.
Dressed in nicer attire than the usual uniform that was already laid out for her on the bed, Xiao Hua called out to Da Bei but received no response. It seems like she will need to wait for a bit longer. The sun was going down and soon the Third Prince will be back anyway, so she can stay in her room until then.
Sitting in front of her cosmetic table, she carefully combs her long wet hair. The smell of lavender could be noticed from her hair as it was one of a few varieties of hair oil that were given to her. It helps to smooth her hair and unravel the tangles that were the enemy of combs. After some time of using it, her hair gets darker and glossier from the usage, making Xiao Hua's inner vanity delighted.
Just as she was pulling open the top drawer attached to the cosmetic table to pick a ribbon, she noticed something was out of place. The bottom drawer below the drawer she had kept her ribbons was not closed properly. Xiao Hua tends to make sure any doors or cupboards closed properly after using them.
Le XiaoTing was a paranoid person. The darkness in the closet conjures fear, and her imagination would run wild about how scary beings would jump out of her closet to kill her.
But of course, the scary things that did jump out were either cockroach, lizards or bugs.
Senses tingling with her guard high up, she slowly opens the drawer and found the royal blue pouch that she had planned to give the Third Prince was gone!
In place of it was a piece of folded paper. She did not waste any time to unfold and read the content. The Eighth Prince found it fun to teach Xiao Hua some Chinese words because it also means that he can insult her whenever she made a mistake.
'If you want your pouch back, go to the Autumn Courtyard's storage room.'
She only recognizes 'pouch', 'go', 'autumn' and 'storage room', but she managed to get the meaning. The thief wants her to go somewhere.
Xiao Hua: '...' But this is obviously a trap, isn't it?
But who had sent this? Whoever was it must have wanted to use her to get to the Third Prince!
If this young lady follows what you say, I must be stupid!
However, this situation was something Le XiaoTing had never experienced before. There was a feeling of excitement bubbling in her heart and only a small quarter of common sense managed to rein in her adventurous spirit.
With her hair loose, as till now, she could not master the skill in tying her new hairstyle without making it crooked, she patiently waited for Da Bei or Duan XiYing to arrive. It was only logical to leave the letter and her hair to the expert.
But someone obviously disagreed with her and shoots a short arrow into the room.
Luckily, Xiao Hua's eyes saw it coming and quickly jumped out of the way, but the arrow managed to graze her left cheek before hitting the pillar of her bed.
Hissing sharply from the pain, she touched the wound gingerly and her fingers came back with blood. At this time, she missed Da Bei and Duan XiYing the most!
Spotting a tied letter on the arrow that had offended her, she ripped it off and unfolds it none too gently.
'Go to Autumn Courtyard or you die.'
This time she was able to understand every word.
Xiao Hua: Bold and straightforward, this young lady will repay this 'generosity'!
After more or less stopping the blood on her cheek, she peeked out of her window, not from the new hole that the arrow made, despite it was rather tempting to do so, and saw an empty courtyard.
Rolling up her sleeves, her fingers searched inside the sleeves for a moment before realizing the clothes she was currently wearing was a new one, which had not undergone modification. On her usual uniforms, she had modified them with roll-tab sleeves. All she did was sew a long string of cloth inside her upper sleeves and cutting a small hole at the edge of the cloth that was big enough for a button to enter. A round button was sewed outside her sleeves so that the long cloth can attach to the button.
She made them after finding her sleeves was restricting her movement during her throwing practice. Tasuki would be better, which was a cord used to tuck up kimono or Yutaka for Japanese, but Xiao Hua had no idea how to tie it. If only she has her mobile phone with roaming data. She would have asked Google-sensei how to tie a Tasuki.
She debated whether she should change into her uniform before heading out to an unknown adventure, but the chance of getting shot by an arrow in a half-dressed state... it would be embarrassing if it happened.
Xiao Hua decided she could use this chance to get used to fighting with long sleeves, but it would be better to remove the beautiful outer robe made of thin, see-through fabric. It would be a waste to destroy this beautiful outer robe.
Leaving the second letter on the table in case she went missing, she headed towards the kitchen where Xiao Hua knew would have a lot of people.
Yet again, she managed to move her feet away just in time before an arrow could pierce through it.
Xiao Hua whirled around, trying to spot the attacker but she saw no one. Even her sharp eyesight could not spot any irregularity. The heck is this?! Isn't she a precious hostage?!
The arrow has another letter. 'Go to Autumn Courtyard now.'
The handwriting conveyed the writer's anger as the letters were a bit crooked. Xiao Hua noticed a feminine perfume clinging onto the letter, betraying the gender of the attacker. She placed the letter back to the arrow that was still embedded on the floor, pushing the arrow deeper to make it harder for the attacker to pull it out if her attacker chooses to hide the evidence and slowly headed to the Autumn Courtyard.
She had never gone to Autumn Courtyard before as that was a restricted area for everyone. Not even Long Lian had stepped a foot into it before. Either it was a memorial place where the Third Prince wanted to preserve them, or it was a courtyard with dangerous things.
Planning to buy more time, she dragged her legs and nearly had a hole drilled into her right leg.
The fudge!!!
Xiao Hua was going to throw her knives at the possible places where her attacker could have hidden, but suddenly the arrows keep on coming and she had no choice but dodge them as best as she could.
Luckily Duan XiYing had trained her stamina or else she would have died looking like a porcupine.
When the arrow finally slowed down, Xiao Hua realized she had stepped into an unknown courtyard with a letter 'autumn' written on a signboard hanging above.