The Dragon's Flower

XH 56

Just when Xiao Hua wanted to see if she can crack Si Si’s poker face, someone interrupted.

“Elder Sister Hua.” An Jing and Tian Zi approached them, carrying a pile of folded clothes that they had just collected from the laundry department. Unlike lowly ranked servants, An Jing and Tian Zi were allowed to have the laundry servants to wash their clothing, leaving them more time and effort in serving the Third Prince.

“Sister An Jing, Sister Tian Zi,” Xiao Hua greeted cheerfully.

“Is there anything wrong?” An Jing’s eyes were originally approachable when she was looking at Xiao Hua, but when it slowly trailed over to Si Si, her eyes were like sharp blades, piercing her with a sharp look.

“I will return to my task. Please excuse me.” Si Si bowed and quickly escaped.

“Elder Sister Hua, what do you think about your new room?” Tian Zi asked in excitement as soon as Si Si could no longer be seen. “Elder Sister An Jing is the one that helped master to decorate the room when Master is a little stumped when it comes to a young girl’s taste!”

“Really? Sister An Jing’s choice is to my liking. The room is very beautiful!” Xiao Hua gazed at An Jing with admiration.

An Jing smiled and secretly wondered if Xiao Hua had thanked the Third Prince this way, but she doubted it. This younger girl turned shy whenever she was around the Third Prince. She certainly hoped that Xiao Hua had at least thanked the Third Prince, for the room was mostly done by him.

To take credit for the Third Prince’s hard work would be the same as asking for punishment!

“Elder Sister Hua, please don’t misunderstand, for the room was mostly decorated by the Third Prince. An Jing only helped in purchasing the materials.” An Jing explained.

Finally aware that she had not thanked the Third Prince for that lovely room, Xiao Hua looked embarrassed. “I…I will properly thank him later.”

“Do you love it?” Tian Zi asked and immediately received a guarded stare from the younger maid. “What is it?”

 

Xiao Hua was alarmed at the question. That’s a trap! Is she the one the Third Prince sends to trick the secret word out of her?

“I like it.” Xiao Hua dodged the trap with a vague reply.

“Only like?” Tian Zi voice could not conceal her disappointment and glanced at An Jing from the corner of her eyes with visible worry.

 

Xiao Hua: ‘…’ Sister Tian Zi, why are you giving An Jing that looks as if my word would break An Jing’s heart or something?

It was not that Xiao Hua does not fear she would hurt An Jing’s feelings but the look that Tian Zi gave to An Jing made Xiao Hua felt as if she and An Jing were a couple!

“Elder Sister Hua, is there anything in the room that is not to your liking?” An Jing asked calmly but inwardly she was concerned. Their master had spent days to draw the bedroom plan and even pushed the renovation period shorter so that Xiao Hua gets to move into the new room sooner.

“How can there be anything not to my liking! I lo- I like it very much! I’m very happy to have such a beautiful room!”

Crap, she nearly uttered the secret code! That’s right; the secret code is ‘love’!

When the Third Prince whispered that word into her ears, she nearly melted into a pile of goo! The first thought she had from his word was ‘This young lady wants to be confessed by this beautiful man! I’m ready to be confessed!’

“If you are satisfied with your new room, why don’t you love it?” Tian Zi pressed and Xiao Hua’s suspicion about her being the tester was confirmed! Even if Tian Zi was truly concerned about whether or not she loves her new bedroom, surely as servants they should not dislike whatever their master gave them. Their dislike should not be mentioned out loud.

“That...that...that! I will only say it to the Third Prince! I will go find him now!” Xiao Hua quickly spat out something ridiculous as long as she can escape from them!

She hurried back to where she came from and managed to found her way back to her new bedroom. The door was closed and she gently pushed the door to peek in. Just as she hoped, the room was empty of people.

With a relieved sigh, she entered her room and plopped down on a chair, supported her head with her hands. Her eyes trailed around the room and found nothing to complain about. She has an ideal dream bedroom for years but it was too modern. But if she has an ideal bedroom set in ancient times, this one managed to be it.

Xiao Hua stood up and walked to her bed that was hidden behind a white colored transparent curtain. She could not contain her giggles as she touched the feminine decorated bed. The bed was not as hard as her previous one, and the blanket was so much softer and nicer to touch as it was made from high-quality material. The blanket had purple flowers embroidered all over it, with gold linings over the flower’s outline.

Satisfied with her new bed, she turned to examine her cosmetics table. With a happy cry, her eyes darted around the row of long ribbons for her hair, each with different patterns and colors.

“Hmm? What is this?” Xiao Hua picked up one of the round, thin boxes and opened it. Inside contained a fine white powder that smelled like flowers. “Rouge?”

She quickly placed the cover back on and returned it back to its original place. Her smile was getting wider and wider and her cheeks feel hot to touch! What is this feeling? She’s so happy that she could jump onto the Third Prince and give him lots of kisses!

But that must not happen. Behave properly, Le XiaoTing!

In all her twenty-seven years of living as Le XiaoTing, only her mother had provided all her necessity without asking for anything in return. To have a non-blood related person to provide so much for her...she felt as if she was married to a rich CEO!

She looked away from the table filled with feminine products to clear her mind from the happy thoughts and noticed a door located at the other side of the wall other than the entrance. The door was wide enough for two people to cross over it together.

Stepping close to the door, she slowly pushed the door and it opened obediently without the normal creaking sound. Her mind immediately blanked out when she saw the overly familiar room.

 

That...that...that...that is the Third Prince’s bedroom!!! Why was there a door between their rooms?!

Xiao Hua anxiously searched for an answer! She quickly stretched out her hands for the double door to close it, before opening it again. It was still the same room as before and her eyes had not tricked her mind as she assumed.

It was still understandable if the door would be linked to the prince’s living room, for as his personal maid, she must be available on call for twenty-four hours! But why would it be linked to his bedroom?!

Xiao Hua was seriously planning to seal the door to avoid any temptation during the night when a soft, mesmerizing familiar voice called out from the other side of the room.

“What are you thinking about, standing there for a long time?”

“Your Highness!” Xiao Hua let out a silly squeal, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “This servant is wrong! This servant will not open the door and will seal it forever!”

 

I will cover it with a layer of cement if I had to!

The door banged loudly when she closed with huge force thanks to hysteria. It was too late to regret treating the door so harshly and doing it right in front of the Third Prince!

Her back was drenched with cold sweat as she clutched onto the door handle tightly. The door suddenly opened from the other side, and Xiao Hua failed to hold onto the door handle. She quickly darted back when the Third Prince opened the door wider.

“My little flower is that reluctant to serve me?”

Xiao Hua mind turned blank again after hearing ‘my little flower’. She was used to him calling her as ‘my little maid’ and she knew better than to be offended with that nickname. Why would he suddenly call her with such a cheesy title?

Seeing Xiao Hua looking shocked into silly, the Third Prince asked, “Xiao Hua, are you not my personal maid?”

“I- I am!”

“Then is it not your duty to serve this prince?”

“Of course! Yes!”

“Then the door will stay.”

“...Yes, Your Highness.” Whatever reason she had thought up to seal this door had already long sailed away.

“Hiding inside your room is not allowed until the test is complete.” The Third Prince pointed out.

“This...this servant is actually looking for the Third Prince!” Xiao Hua hastily said a white lie. He does not need to know that she was actually planning to hide inside the room until tomorrow morning just like he guessed!

“Me? Is there a problem?”

Feeling shy like a young maiden facing her crush, Xiao Hua found it hard to open her mouth to thank him. She gulped and maintained her gaze at his chest as she could not find the courage to meet his eyes. She absentmindedly noticed that it was a nicely formed chest even if it was hidden under his clothes.

“I...I want to thank you! That room, the ribbons, and rouge! I love them all! Thank you!” Xiao Hua bowed lower than ninety degrees.

There was only silence until the Third Prince suddenly laughed, his whole body trembled as he tried to restrain from laughing too loudly.

Xiao Hua straightens her body, her face filled with confusion. That adorable expression tickled Long Zhu’s heart, and his eyes unconsciously grew even warmer.

“Your Highness?” Xiao Hua inquired with a puzzled tone. Could it be he was truly delighted that she likes his interior design?

The Third Prince grinned boyishly as if he had just received a pleasant surprise. “Who would have thought...I have not even made a move yet but you have already throw yourself at me.”

“Eh?”

The Third Prince stepped past the divider and into her room. With a hand reached out, his fingers brazenly rubbed her soft cheeks in a good mood. Her soft skin was addicting and he found it hard not to touch and rub his hand over it whenever he saw her. “I’m the one that will pry the word out of you. However, you have told me the word, so you lost the test.”

“What...what? How could that be?” Xiao Hua exclaimed after getting over her shock. “That’s not fair!”

“How is it not fair?” The Third Prince asked in amusement.

“You can’t pick yourself as the tester! That’s not how it works!”

“There’s no rule that I can’t be the one to test you.”

 

…He’s right, but it’s unfair! What an immoral person! The one that made the test should not be the tester as well!!!

The Third Prince revealed a devilish grin that increased her heart rate. “As per our agreement, you will need to be punished for losing.”

 

Xiao Hua: ‘…’ Can I decide my own punishment?