Chapter 384 - Image Change (2/2)
During that second where Zhu Junyang turned around, he could feel Meixiang’s thoughts very clearly. It looked like the maid Meixiang wasn’t too bad after all. ‘This prince will generously forgive all of her mistakes from earlier!’
“Look at you ah, aren’t you secretly reading Older Sister Meixiang’s thoughts again? Oh ho...I know, Older Sister Meixiang must have been complimenting you in her heart. Otherwise, why else would you look so smug?” Yu Xiaocao surreptitiously pinched Zhu Junyang’s arm. She was very curious as to what made Zhu Junyang look so pleased.
She thought that the volume of her voice was soft enough but didn’t expect Meixiang’s ears to be that sharp. When the maid heard this, she immediately jumped forward a few steps and then turned around with a scared expression on her face as she looked at the two people behind her. Tears immediately filled her eyes as she knelt in front of Royal Prince Yang as she hurriedly explained, “Miss Yu, please don’t send me to my doom! May the heavens smite me if I have any untoward thoughts to the young master. Young Master, please believe me...my mother has already found a good marriage partner for me. Once I reach the proper age, I was going to ask the princess consort if she could do me a favor and let me go. I promise that I have never had such vile thoughts in my heart!”
Yu Xiaocao was flabbergasted by the maid’s reaction. She was only joking, so why did Older Sister Meixiang react in such a frightened manner? Wasn’t maids falling in love with their masters a common plot point in a lot of novels? Was it necessary to be that scared? Zhu Junyang glared at her in disapproval and reassured Meixiang, “You can get up. Miss Yu was only joking! Don’t take it to heart!”
When he saw the confusion on Yu Xiaocao’s face, he couldn’t help but explain, “In the future, don’t make jokes like this. Two years ago, there was a maid who had climbed into my bed and I broke all four of her limbs before I threw her out of the residence. When I punished her, I called all of the maids in the estate over so they could all see the consequences of having impure thoughts. After that happened, it became peaceful around me…”
Meixiang couldn’t help but shudder when she thought of that maid who had been punished. The aftermath resembled a broken rag doll, with all four limbs going in monstrous directions. That maid used to be one of the most trusted by the princess consort and was also the most beautiful out of all of the maidservants in the residence. Furthermore, she had a glib tongue.
Perhaps the young master had been more courteous and tolerating of the princess consort’s personal maids, which caused that maid to have ambitious thoughts. Unexpectedly, she took advantage of a time when the princess consort sent her to give the young master some nourishing soup and had added an aphrodisiac to the soup. The young master had found out though…
It was rumored that the maid’s legs and arms couldn’t be set properly, so she could only lie on a bed, handicapped, for the rest of her life. That maid’s family members had taken her away and she died a few days later. She also heard that the maid’s older brother and older sister-in-law thought that it was too much trouble to care for her, so they deliberately starved her to death…
“It’s not a bad thing for other people to admire you! That young girl only longs for some romance and you also have such devastating looks. Is it necessary to be that angry ah?” Yu Xiaocao didn’t think his reaction was correct. Her eyes flickered a bit and she mysteriously said, “Young Royal Prince, you’re already at the right age. Don’t tell me that the princess consort hasn’t prepared any maids to share your bed yet?”
When Meixiang heard this, she started to walk faster as she thought, ‘Why is this road so long? First she says that the young master looks handsome and then she starts talking about bed-servants...Miss Yu, can you stop trying to tweak the tiger’s whiskers so often ah? Playing with fire can lead you to getting burned. Don’t pull me into this too.’
Zhu Junyang stopped moving and lightly grabbed onto Xiaocao’s arm. There was an unidentified emotion in his slightly slanted eyes as he gazed into the little lass’s eyes. He gently said with the hint of a smile, “Cao’er, in your heart, what do you think of my looks? I want to hear your true thoughts.”
Eh? Meixiang stopped for a bit. ‘It looks like the young master has opened his mind ah! Miss Yu had talked about his appearance yet he didn’t get angry and even wanted to confirm her thoughts. Hold on! Did the young master get his soul switched out by something and is now being possessed by a spirit?’
Yu Xiaocao was dazzled at the sight of his devilishly handsome face. She licked her lips and found herself entranced by him. She replied in a bewitched manner, “One word: beautiful. Two words: very beautiful. Three words: devastatingly extraordinarily beautiful!”
Zhu Junyang knocked her head in a displeased manner and growled, “As a true man, the word ‘beautiful’ isn’t necessarily a compliment! Choose a different adjective for this prince!”
“Who said that ‘beautiful’ isn’t a compliment for men? Young maidens love flower boys the most, okay ah?” Yu Xiaocao grumbled as she used her little hand to rub her head that had turned red from being hit. She silently cursed, ‘You have so much strength yet you don’t even hold back a little for me. My head is going to have a lump because of you!’
Zhu Junyang raised an eyebrow and replied, “Then...am I the type that you love the most?”
“Uh...who wouldn’t like people who are incredibly beautiful? However, this type of ‘love’ isn’t the romantic type of love!” Yu Xiaocao noticed that there was a trap waiting for her so she hurriedly obscured her words. She then quickened her steps as if she wanted to escape this situation. ‘Little lass, you’re even more slippery than a loach. If I’m not careful, she might just slip away. It’s not a problem, I have plenty of time on my side and lots of patience to tussle with her. There’s no need to say more at this point as there’s no way a tiny thing like you will prevail in the end!’
Meixiang, who was leading the way, had a better idea of how the young master and Miss Yu interacted now. She really couldn’t figure out just how Miss Yu caught the young master’s eye. Personality wise, Miss Yu was like a willful little kitten, always scratching at a person’s clothes. Yet the young master always held onto her little claws and acted as if he couldn’t bear to say a harsh word to her or punish her. Thus, in Meixiang’s heart, the previous image she had of the young master as a cruel and vicious youth had temporarily evaporated.