Lady Cai brought Liu Mang into a room after Pang Tong had left. She wanted to try the cosmetics Liu Mang had brought over and see if she could be like Xiao Cui. The cosmetics worked immediately.
Liu Mang also had to praise Lady Cai’s appearance. She was so beautiful that he questioned whether she was really Cai Mao’s daughter.
“Milady. Sleep can also help with your appearance.” Liu Mang explained.
“Sleep can help?” Lady Cai was confused. If sleeping can help make someone beautiful, everyone would have been beautiful.
“Yes. A good sleep is essential for skincare.” Liu Mang then gave a lengthy explanation about how the brain works and how proper sleep of at least eight hours is needed for adults. Of course, Lady Cai did not understand everything but she managed to understand the general idea.
“Your Highness. Why did you tell Xiao Cui to boil eggs and roll it on her face?”
“After peeling the shell of boiled eggs, you will find that the eggs are soft and smooth. If you use it to massage your face, it would feel very comfortable and improve blood circulation, which will reduce the swelling! Milady can also try doing this. It is not only comfortable but it can also make your skin shiny like an egg!”
In that room, Lady Cai was like a curious student and Liu Mang was like a dedicated teacher.
Meanwhile, Pang Tong’s spy Xiao Lian encountered Xiao Cui outside the room.
“Xiao Lian. Why are you here?” Xiao Cui asked suspiciously.
“I came to give the Lady and His Highness some tea.” Xiao Lian replied nervously.
“Where are the others?” Xiao Cui frowned. This is because each servant have an assigned job. Xiao Lian’s job was to prepare Lady Cai’s clothes and help her get dressed in the morning. Preparing and serving tea was someone else’s job.
“This is something I wanted to do.” Xiao Lian gave a panicked reply. She herself did not want to do this but the lives of her family was in someone else’s hands.
“Something you want to do? What? Have you fallen in love?” Xiao Cui teased. The King of Shu was young and had a high position. So it was not strange for others to take fancy of him. Xiao Lian simply nodded in reply.
“Come. I will take you in!” Xiao Lian replied knowing that the King of Shu would not even bother with Xiao Lian. Although Xiao Lian’s appearance wasn’t too bad, she could not be compared to Lady Cai. Even then, the King of Shu have been an upright gentlemen towards Lady Cai.
Xiao Lian simply nodded and followed Xiao Cui in.
Liu Mang and Lady Cai were still conversing passionately. Liu Mang was extremely knowledgeable while Lady Cai have even searched for the greatest doctors to keep herself beautiful.
“Milady, Your Highness. You must be thirsty. Please have some tea2!” Xiao Lian brought the tea over and then Xiao Cui helped pour equal amount of tea to both teacups.
Liu Mang would not have noticed that he was feeling thirsty if he had not been reminded by the two servants. This is because Lady Cai was such an eager student.
“Your Highness. Let us have a cup of tea first before we continue.” Lady Cai also said to Liu Mang.
“Thank you, Miss Xiao Cui.” Liu Mang took the cup of hot tea in his hands.
“This is brought here by Xiao Lian.” Xiao Cui explained, prompting Liu Mang to thank Xiao Lian as well.
Lady Cai took her cup of tea and observed Liu Mang. It was a natural thing for servants to serve the King of Shu. Yet the King of Shu thanked them for their efforts.
Lady Cai was curious. Liu Mang was the King of Shu and was also the South General. Everything in Jingzhou can also be considered part of Liu Mang’s territory. Even her husband Liu Biao can be considered one of Liu Mang’s subordinates. Liu Mang also controlled Yangzhou which is a high position even if it was not as prosperous as Jingzhou. On top of all that, Liu Mang was still young.
Liu Mang had such a position but he was not overbearing. Instead, Liu Mang was amiable even to servants. This was very rare. Lady Cai could also tell that this was Liu Mang’s true self. The wife and children of such a person were truly blessed.
Lady Cai then quickly shook her head. She was suddenly frightened and ashamed by her own thoughts.
“Alright. Put the tea down and leave us.” Lady Cai ordered her two servants.
“Yes.” Xiao Cui and Xiao Lian nodded and left.
After leaving the room, Xiao Cui could not help but ask, “So, how is His Highness? Does he look good?”
“N!” Xiao Lian grunted in reply while feeling flustered. Her thoughts were not there at all but Xiao Cui had thought that she was feeling shy. Xiao Cui then told Xiao Liang to go and rest.
“Understood, Sister Xiao Cui.” Xiao Lian replied and immediately ran away. She did not want to stay there anymore. As she was running, she dropped a small bottle.
“Wait! Xiao Lian! You dropped something!” Xiao Cui picked up the bottle and called out to Xiao Lian to give it back but the moment she looked back, Xiao Lian was no longer around.
“This girl is so impatient.” Xiao Cui complained. She was about to check the contents empty bottle but someone coincidentally called her to go to the kitchens to make refreshments. So she kept the bottle with the intention of returning it to Xiao Lian the next time she saw her.
“You used all of it?” A black clothed person was shocked. He had forgotten to tell the girl that she only needed to use a little of it. Just a little bit of it was enough to make a person go out of control. What happens next no longer had anything to do with him. The most he could do was give those that drank the contents a moment of silence as tribute.
“Go and tell the Military Advisor that the matter is settled and to proceed with the next step!” The man told another of his companion.
“What about my family?” Xiao Lian was cowardly but she still manage to gather enough courage to ask this question.
It was because of her cowardly nature that these black clothed people managed to find her. Servants like Xiao Cui would never betray Lady Cai and some of the others were too fickle. Cowardly yet pure individuals like Xiao Lian were the best candidates. That was why her family was kidnapped in order to force her to submit.
“You will meet your family soon! Follow me! I will take you to them.” The man gave a cold smile and licked his lips. Xiao Lian no longer had any purpose and would be discarded. The man considered himself lucky that he could have his way with her before getting rid of her. On the other hand, the innocent and foolish Xiao Lian happily followed the man. All she wanted was for her family to be safe. It was the only thing that mattered. She would do anything for their safety, even if she had to betray her master that had treated her kindly.
******
At Jingzhou’s main residence, a guard was killed by an arrow that came out of nowhere. This was clearly a provocation. Liu Biao was enraged and ordered an investigation. Even Kuai Yue and Cai Mao were dragged out to help Liu Biao.
“Lawless scum! How dare they kill a person in front of me! Do they think I am useless?” Liu Biao shouted angrily.
“Cai Mao Cai Degui! Should I be calling you a straw hat (cao mao)1?” The first person to suffer from Liu Biao’s anger was naturally Cai Mao who was in charge of the city defenses.
“Milord. We cannot blame Military Advisor Cai!” Kuai Yue spoke up for his friend. The bow used was made in Jiangdong instead of Xiangyang.
“Kuai Yidu! Are you saying that this is an assassin sent from Jiangdong?” Liu Biao did not bother giving face to anyone at that moment. At this point, a guard quickly ran in.
“Report! We found this from the arrow!” A letter was found after the arrow was dislodged from the corpse. The moment Liu Biao read the letter, his expression turned even uglier.
“Men! Bring me a horse! We ride for Jingshan!”
“Jingshan?” Kuai Yue’s expression turned pale. That was Lady Cai’s residence. Liu Mang also haven’t return from Jingshan. What was going on?
