Vol 4 Chapter 116

XH 116

Fortunately, Xiao Hua was watching the Empress so she did not flinch from the loud bang from the slamming cup.

But...why was it rather easy to piss off the Empress? Shit! Σ(°△°|||)︴

This young lady thought I would need to trade a lot more insults before the Empress would snap when she finally unable to hold in her anger anymore!

The taller maid standing behind the Empress hurriedly took out a napkin and wiped the Empress' hand that was covered with tea from the earlier move. Fortunately, most of the warm tea had landed on the Empress' dark red sleeves instead and protected most of her skin.

If the Empress was not a cultivator, her fingers would gotten burn from the hot tea!

"Hurry and kneel before Her Highness to beg for forgiveness!" The shorter maid with a fierce scowl demanded as she glared at Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua felt her knees shake when a fierce pressure hit her, which seems to be coming from the shorter maid. She would have fallen onto her knees if Duan XiYing had not stepped in front of her, blocking the pressure.

"This sister, the Empress had yet to say anything, yet you stepped out to sentence punishment on Her Highness' behalf. Being our master's servant, you should know what your master desires after years of serving the Empress. XiYing knows that the Empress is kind and forgiving, and would not discipline Elder Sister Hua for speaking the truth in a bold manner as she is still learning etiquette and language. XiYing will properly educate Elder Sister Hua when we return to avoid offending Your Highness again."

Thank you Big Sis XiYing! ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ 

"Impudent!" The Empress growled and slammed her hand onto the table with a loud bang. Her hairpin swings violently from the movement, and it shines from the reflection of the light. As an Empress, it was only suitable for her hair to wear numerous hairpins, but the current swinging and shine made her hair look like a decorated Christmas tree.

Xiao Hua wondered if the Empress' anger had momentarily blocked the pain or that she had banged her palms on a hard surface for so many times that she no longer felt pain from it.

"Xin Dan, step back and remember your position," The Empress reprimanded after she had gotten her temper back into control.

It was laughable how a girl half her age would be able to make her this angry and even managed to break her composure that she was so proud of. This girl knew her sensitive point, which was her son's unreasonable indulgence towards a lowly maid, and used it to drive the knife into her wound repeatedly!

Xin Dan, the shorter maid that had been pulled into the mud by Duan XiYing, docilely stepped back, her anger wisely hidden. "This servant is wrong, Your Highness. Please punish this servant for being foolish!" Never once had she been scolded for acting this way before, but that maid dressed in a clinging purple robe spoke words that made the Empress put all the blame on her!

"I will look past it this time. Don't do it again or I will not be forgiving!" The Empress had no desire to punish Xin Dan, for she had not minded her actions. Punishing Xin Dan would please the lowly maid and injuring her pride!

Xin Lin, the taller inner maid that wiped the Empress' hand previously, replaced the Empress' cup with a new one as the previous one could no longer be used with a long line of crack on the surface. She had even prepared a cup for Xiao Hua, which the Empress belatedly noticed.

"How forgetful of me. I've yet to offer you a seat. Surprisingly, my neck does not hurt while talking to you, so this Empress did not notice," The Empress said in a regretful manner but her phoenix shaped eyes showed her glee.

Xiao Hua felt that the Empress and Long Lian were rather similar. Like mother like daughter! The righteous expression on their face when they get angry or the way they pouted when things do not go according to their plan was exactly the same. Even when they ridiculed a person, they would sound proper, but their eyes showed the glee they actually felt.

However, the Empress' words have more bite to it. Old ginger was still the spiciest!

"If Your Highness does not mind, this servant can massage your neck. This servant is pretty good in massage and my late mother sang praises of my talent. Only my late mother had the chance to experience it and I've not given the Third Prince a massage before!" Xiao Hua boasted without shame.

Oh, she gets the insult of her height from the Empress, but Le XiaoTing had never felt inferior about her height, hence she was not sensitive towards the topic. Plus, Xiao Hua's body was still growing and with enough stretching, she could guarantee she would grow taller!

The Empress' mouth twitched before it was back to a polite smile. This stinky brat dared to boast about her massage skill? And even dared to assume this Empress would feel honoured because her son never experienced a massage from this stinky brat before?

"My son not asking you for a massage is a wise decision. You are an untrained servant and with your coarse hand and wild strength, you will hurt him instead."

"This..." Xiao Hua acted shyly, even going as far as imitating the shy maidens from olden Chinese drama where they would make half-assed attempts to hide their embarrassed face.  "This servant's hands are no longer coarse is all thanks to the Third Prince's kindness! He had given this servant a cream to rub on my skin. It's truly a miracle!"

Xiao Hua even 'shyly' raised her hands to show her smooth, fair-skinned hands, and just like she predicted, the Empress' eyes burned in anger!

The Empress: This unfilial son! So he lied about having no more cream to his own mother?!

When her son gifted a box of cream to her as her birthday present last year, she was overflowing with joy when her wrinkles lessen after applying the cream over her face.

The amount of cream in the box was only enough for a month's usage, and the Empress asked Long Zhu for more after it was finished. But her unfilial son gave her a sad look, saying that the cream was rare and it would be a while before he could give her another.

And now she clearly saw the proof of her unfilial son's lie on the hands of a stinky maid!

She knew it was the same cream as her sharp nose caught the familiar fragrant coming from the stinky maid's hands, an enhanced sense of a third rank cultivator. Ordinary cream would not be able to erase a commoner's coarse skin that quickly and beautifully!

"Xin Dan! Prepare for a massage session. Since my son's personal maid admitted her skill in massage, this Empress wants to experience it herself!"

Xiao Hua: The Third Prince is indeed the Empress' kryptonite!

The Empress: I want those pairs of hands to return back to its original state! With one mistake from the massage, I will throw her to prison and live a rough life!

The Empress' sanity was long gone since the moment Xiao Hua started to show off the Third Prince's affection towards her right in front of his loving mother. To the Empress, Long Zhu was her biological child that she adored even more than her daughter as he never failed to please her.

Except for the incident of attempted murder towards the Second Prince when he was eight years old, he had never disappointed her. But after he took in an unknown girl as his personal maid, he disappointed her far too many times and those actions were an act of betrayal to her eyes.

In the deep recess of the Empress' heart, she felt as if her son's love towards her was stolen by a lowly maid.

Xin Dan hurriedly prepare things that one usually need for a massage, her bruised ego slowly heals at the thought of the Empress giving Xiao Hua a bad time when the slut gave the Empress a massage. After Xin Dan was done preparing, Xin Lin guided the Empress to a wide couch.

But Xiao Hua quickly speaks up. "Your Highness, this servant suggests lying face down on the bed would be more suitable for the massage. This servant is embarrassed to admit that I work better that way."

"How could a servant enter the Empress' bedchamber? That's improper!" Xin Dan bellowed just like an aunt in the morning market to Xiao Hua's ears.

Xiao Hua honestly wondered if Xin Dan was hired as an inner maid because of her pretty looks and the minion personality. The servant would act as the bad cop and the master would act as the good cop.

"But... this servant had never said to use the Empress' bedchamber. Just a bed for the Empress to lie down is enough." Xiao Hua only needed to cover her lower face as she forced herself to yawn to gather water to moisture her eyes. With a soft-spoken manner and teary eyes, people would think she was wronged.

Le XiaoTing had watched plenty of dramas during her younger days and always wondered how the actor and actress could produce a realistic reaction, such as crying. Although it was exposed that most of them used eye drops in the past, most of the actors and actresses had levelled themselves up and managed to cry without using props.

But for Le XiaoTing, when she yawned, there were always tears forming in her eyes and there were few times when her friends often mistaken her yawning tears as crying.

"Xin Dan, go and prepare a room," the Empress ordered, annoyed at the delay. Her heart that was full of anger wanted to have an outlet but her servant keeps on complaining without solving the matter and thus delaying her explosion! She could also clearly look past the lowly maid's acting like a wronged party!

"Yes, Your Highness!" Xin Dan bit her lips and quickly went to prepare an empty room, releasing her frustration onto a few lower ranked servants by ordering them around to help her clean the room.