The Vampire Empress: Blood Queen & Her Kings

Jiang Ying Yue groaned as she felt her back muscles aching when she tried to stand up after spending almost half an hour cleaning the decorative items that the other maids had piled up for her to clean.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and help the others to get these items back in their original places." The Head servant came running towards her as soon as he saw her not working anymore.

It took every bit of her self-control to not groan out again. She gave a small bow to the nosy Head servant before hurriedly picking up a vase and slipping away to set it on the shiny wooden table sitting on the other side of the room.

With the help of the other maids, they were able to set up the entire courtyard within an hour. 

"Eh... tell me, why did they not get the courtyard cleaned since the morning and only had to make us work so hard at the last moment?" A maid working with her to change the drapes hanging around the massive bed asked in a whispered tone.

Jiang Ying Yue had no idea how to respond. It was not like she knew the answer in the first place. Just when she was pondering on what to say, another maid working with them decided to speak.

"The entire palace is busy preparing for the banquet. We have been working non-stop since the morning without any break. All the three courtyards of the Royal Princes are cleaned regularly but no one expected to receive the order of getting this courtyard thoroughly cleaned and prepared before dusk. His Highness the Third Prince would be stopping by here to get ready for the banquet. That's why all the hurry and panic. It's almost the time." 

Jiang Ying Yue listened quietly as she finished fixing the new light blue silk drapes while secretly cursing the so-called third prince in her heart. Because of him, she had wasted an entire hour working her ass off to clean and decorate his bedroom.

Her gaze fell on the Head Servant who was examining the area and looking at the satisfactory smile on his wrinkled face, it was clear that he was happy with the results. How could he not? Almost three dozen people had spent over an hour in making the courtyard shine like a star.

"Good... good...! Since the work here is done, let's head back to the kitchen and help them. There's no rest for you guys today." The old man ordered as he signaled them to follow him.

Jiang Ying Yue could see the unhappiness on everyone's face but no one dared to speak a single word. She too kept quiet but inside her mind, she was already planning to escape the first chance she would get. She was not about to spend another hour working like a slave.

Just when they all were about to step out from the courtyard, a guard came running inside the place, announcing the arrival of the Third Prince.

She watched as everyone around her started to kneel even before the man appeared in front of them. Not having another choice, she too kneeled down on the hard floor to greet the Prince.

Her eyes were trained on the shiny floor as she kept her head bowed. Barely after a few seconds, her ears registered the light footsteps as they neared the courtyard.

The Head Servant was the first one who broke out into sobs as soon as he saw the Prince. Bowing his head on the ground, he greeted the youngest heir to the throne. "This lowly servant greets His Highness, the Third Prince."

The others too greeted the Prince and Jiang Ying Yue was surprised to hear the happiness and sadness mixed in their voices. They were reliving the pain of spending half a decade in the absence of all their Princes while they were also happy at the same time to see at least one of them finally returning to the Capital.

"You all can rise. There's no need to stand on ceremony." A voice filled with warmth and sunshine entered her ears, making her hurriedly look up at the man who had such a beautiful voice.

To say that she was amazed after finally getting the chance to see the famous Third Prince would be an understatement. Her eyes refused to move away from the handsome man standing in front of her.

Unlike she imagined, his skin had a beautiful tan instead of milky color that was so synonymous about the noble males of this world. His raven-like eyes were sharp just like his jawline. He had straight eyebrows and long eyelashes while his long black hair was tied in a high ponytail.

What surprised her the most was that his appearance looked just as cold and intimidating as she found his voice calm and soothing. It made her question if he was the one who just spoke.

She felt someone shaking her arm and when she finally succeeded in tearing her eyes away from the handsome man to look at the maid beside her, she found that the area around her had become too silent.

She arched her eyebrows in question as she looked at the maid who was trying to tell her something with her eyes.

"What?" Jiang Ying Yue finally whispered the question when she failed to understand whatever the woman was trying to say.

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. I failed in teaching her properly. I'll make sure that she won't repeat this mistake." 

Her attention was pulled back at the Prince and the Head Servant as the latter asked for forgiveness. Though it took some time, the realization finally dawned on her. It was because she had been boldly staring at the Prince just now without any care in the world and they all noticed her, including the Prince himself.

Great! Just when she needed to keep a low profile, she successfully ended up grabbing everyone's attention. All because she could not help but be in awe of the beauty of such a handsome man!