Zhang Li folded her clothes into the big, thin bag. Her fingers once smooth, carried a bit of roughness. Lian Hua threw down one of the clothes she was holding and turned to face Zhang Li who paid no attention to her, trying to focus on leaving nothing behind.
"Sometimes, I wonder what's going on in that head of yours. Do you badly want to die?" Lian Hua asked with her hands resting on her waist and a frown on her face. Zhang Li paid no attention to her. The clothes seemed more important to her.
There was a beat of silence....or two. The other girls just folded theirs in silence because of course, there were more important things to think about. Lian Hua called out, "Hey, I'm talking to you."
Zhang Li finally turned to her, "Is there something you want me to say?"
Lian Hua nearly stormed towards her but was held back by Zhi Lan and Fei Yan.
"Lian Hua, calm down. This is not necessary at all."
"Let me go. I'm going to beat her until she realizes the situation we're in."
"We still need to get to the main palace. There's no time for this."
Zhang finally spoke with a neutral face, "Yes, we still have to get to the Palace or Cai Wei will just hit us again."
Lian Hua nearly laughed in disbelief. Was Zhang Li seriously talking about Cai Wei and her chaos? She spoke as she broke free from the girls' hands, "Look who suddenly cares about her life. We should all follow instructions no matter what they are. These people do not care about people like us and you should understand that."
"All right, I've heard you. I'll try my best to stay alive." Zhang Li reassured absentmindedly. She raised her bag to check the weight. Zhi Lan took a look at the big bag and shook her head slightly, "You should get rid of the sword. You don't need it here."
Zhang Li looked at her for some seconds before looking down at the bag. She thought, 'Get rid of the sword? My sword?!'
"You don't understand." She said as she slowly sat down with what could be described as a sad expression on her face. Lian Hua chipped in, "It shouldn't be that hard."
"You can't even get it into the Palace. What would you need it for? If you get caught with it or wielding it, what would happen?" Fei Yan also spoke as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. They were all in lilac-coloured uniforms for a dress and hair tied up appropriately.
...
Just as the carriages entered through the big gates, one of the Royal guards stationed at the top announced with a very loud voice, "His Highness, the Crown Prince has returned! The Crown Prince has returned! The Crown Prince has returned!"
Everybody knelt down and bowed their heads in reverence and in unison. Servants, guards, eunuchs all witnessing the arrival of the awaited Crown Prince of the Country, His Highness, Wang Lei.
"Welcome back to the Capital, Your Highness." Their voices resounded loud and clear. There was an unusual silence as the convoy matched forward and past the crowd. Wang Lei stuck his head outside just to take a look. He didn't speak a word or make a comment as his cold eyes swept through the environment. There was a slight bit of irritation clearly written on his face. Who the hell were these people? Since when did the palace and the Capital become this populated?
His Silver hair swayed with the wind and the ends of his band danced with the wind. His eyes landed on another pair of eyes staring back at him even while everyone else had their heads down. Inside the Carriage, Zhao Peng tapped him as he asked, "What are you staring at outside?"
Wang Lei said nothing and just kept his eyes on the girl staring back at him with an unreadable expression.
Zhang Li thought as her knees began to ache, "He's the Crown Prince? Why is he staring at me like that?" She looked at the ground like it personally offended her.
"And why is this ground all hard and Stony?" She mumbled to herself as she tried to change her position. Fei Yan, kneeling beside her with her head bowed, raised her head to meet Zhang Li's eyes. She whispered as she tried to avoid attention, "What do you think you're doing? What are you even muttering about?"
Zhang Li scratched her head as she stood up. Fei Yan and Zhi Lan widened their eyes at her. Just what was she planning again?
Zhang Li spoke with a small frown, "What are these floors made of? Very hard against the skin." Lian Hua just closed her eyes and shook her head. Just who was this girl?
One of the guards spotted her and asked in a loud voice, "Who's that? Get back on your knees till His Highness fully rides away."
The Carriage carrying Wang Lei was still riding away despite the commotion. Zhang Li struggled with two guards who held her and tried to restrain her. Lian Hua and Fei Yan finally dragged her back to her knees. Fei Yan exploded, "Are you crazy? What has gotten into you? Do you want to be hanged?"
Zhang Li arranged the clothes on her shoulder with a big frown, "What is it? Is this how they roughen people here? It was never like this in the mountains."
"What mountains?" Zhi Lan asked with a tired expression. Zhang Li just kept quiet. How could they treat a lady like this?
"If you think slave women like us are treated properly, you're mistaken. This kind of act would have had your head for it. Such disrespect!" Lian Hua scolded sternly.
While it happened, Wang Lei stared as long as he could before drawing the curtains back. Zhao Peng asked as he settled in, "What happened? I heard some noise outside."
"You should have stuck your head outside too if you were that nosy." He answered indifferently.
The Carriage came to a sudden halt with a gallop. What was it, this time around? Zhao Peng looked out and his pupils dilated a bit.
Wang Lei asked as his hand rested on his sword beside him, not exactly grabbing, "What happened? Who stopped the Carriage?"
"It's Prince Wang Jin."