Chapter 60 The Road to Marriage is Uncertain; How Can One Laugh? ...
The spacious purple dining room was filled with delicious food: beef and egg bread, red bean pancakes, sweet potato puree, yogurt, milk, watermelon juice, and a fruit and vegetable salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, cherries, and apples.
It was completely different from what I used to eat in the harsh, cold places, but I couldn't eat it.
"You should have some too," Princess Yani said with a smile.
Having just witnessed a bloody scene, I couldn't eat. But out of politeness, I still picked up the sweet potato mash.
"I never expected to see you again." Princess Yanni took a small sip of red wine.
Drinking alcohol in the morning doesn't seem like a good habit.
"Mm." I nodded.
"Where did you go after that?" Princess Yani was naturally referring to what happened after she left the Land of Death.
"Wandering around." I made it up.
"I should have told you I was the princess of the South, so you would have known where to find me."
“I thought you and Princess Manboya were sisters,” I said cautiously.
Princess Yanni laughed. "How could that be?" She lowered her voice mysteriously. "Do you know why I took extra care of her back then?"
I shook my head and suddenly realized that this princess and the innocent little girl in the iron cage had nothing in common except for their faces.
She took another sip of wine. "It was premeditated. I had just turned thirteen and had been in the cage for two years, all alone. I thought I would stay there forever, so I decided to find a companion. She wasn't afraid of long-haired women or her supervisor. I needed someone like that to protect me, so I decided to follow her."
Are you still in contact with her?
"Why are you suddenly concerned about her?" Princess Yanni took another sip of wine. "She's not someone you can concern yourself with."
This made me curious. Why would you say that? I asked more questions because of Dailin. I really wanted to know what happened to the people related to Dailin. Did Dailin really get reborn?
After finishing breakfast, Princess Yanni only drank one glass of wine, stretched, and said, "This nineteen-year-old widow is about to begin her training."
Training? What kind of training?
I, the maid who accompanied her throughout the entire process, quickly understood.
A type of bridal training.
Princess Yanni was forced to lose weight and could only eat a little fruit, a slice of bread, and a glass of water or wine at each meal, but the table would still be full, because this was the royal protocol.
If it were me, I couldn't stand it; facing a table full of delicious food and not being able to eat.
In addition, I exercise for more than four hours every day, swimming, running, practicing swordplay, and dancing in rotation.
They go to great lengths to maintain their optimal weight and figure.
She also had to spend two hours every day learning the royal etiquette of the Westerlands.
In addition, one must sit in a dark room and observe how a famous courtesan pleases a man, satisfying his every need as much as possible through his eyes, his reaction when touched, and the trembling of his lips when kissed.
“Every royal man has a mistress,” the head lady-in-waiting said as Princess Yanni watched indifferently. “If you can’t hold onto your husband’s heart, you’ll have to give up your jewels and mansions to someone else.”
Princess Yanni retorted sarcastically, "I can't help it, I'm not interested in matters of men and women."
The head maid was helpless.
The next day, when the Queen learned of this, she immediately selected ten sexy and beautiful maids to accompany her in her wedding, and declared, "If you won't choose more, then let me do it; otherwise, you won't be able to hold onto your husband's heart."
Princess Yanni laughed heartily and relayed the message to the Queen, "Mother, if one comes, one dies; if ten come, ten die. I'm saving you resources."
It is said that the Queen was furious, and her stepdaughter publicly refuted her, making her lose face.
"It is said that the Queen and Princess Yanni were at odds even when the late King was alive."
"Of course, one is a stepmother and the other is a stepdaughter."
Such gossip keeps circulating.
I, however, think that's not necessarily true. Once, Princess Yanni met the Queen in the garden, and I followed behind Princess Yanni.
The two exchanged brief pleasantries before turning away indifferently.
I felt a strange emotional fluctuation, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.
Although the two didn't talk much, a subtle atmosphere flowed between them.
I couldn't help but look up at the Queen. The sun was blazing, and she was backlit, so I couldn't see her features clearly, but I could see her curvaceous figure and smell her refreshing perfume. Coupled with her soft and alluring voice, she must be a stunning beauty.
Suddenly I remembered the queen's mother, that glamorous old lady, who was still incredibly charming despite her age. Like mother, like daughter.
On the day of her wedding, the Queen did not come to see her off. Princess Yanni wore a long dress adorned with diamonds and jewels, with a semi-transparent long shawl draped over it, and rode in an eight-wheeled golden carriage.
I and a group of girls in sheer veils boarded a large black carriage behind us.
After the carriage had traveled a long way, a vast expanse of towering mountains appeared. The road looked difficult to traverse, winding and twisting, but then a railway track stretched into the distance. It turned out there were trains here, albeit primitive steam trains. I was genuinely surprised for a moment.
The train rumbled and sped along the rugged mountain road.
Princess Yanni sat alone in the luxurious private room, her face looking very unpleasant.
No one dared to disturb her. We all hid in the regular private rooms.
The train sped for three hours, "flying over" those towering mountains. Then we got off the train.
The weather has cooled down significantly, and the heat of the southern region has vanished.
The maids whispered that the weather had become so comfortable.
This is the southern border. A long row of fences partially encloses the mountains, and at intervals there is a tall tower with several guards standing on it, observing the movements near and far and relaying messages.
The escorting guard leader handed over the pass, and after verification, we boarded several carriages that had been prepared beforehand. The accompanying guards all rode white horses.
I was the last one to get into the carriage. Before I was even settled in, the carriage shook violently, almost making me fall.
He grabbed the handle and was suddenly surprised to find that the carriage was flying.
To be precise, it was the six horses pulling the carriage that took flight. White wings sprouted from their sides, which they flapped vigorously, propelling the horses into the sky.
No one was surprised by these things except me.
After settling in, I looked out the car window again. The white horses ridden by the guards all seemed to fly up, and with their tall and strong figures, they all looked like princes on white horses.
I wanted to laugh, but I didn't.
Even if he were a prince charming, he couldn't help me. Right now, my only support is Princess Yani.
Princess Yanni and I aren't exactly friends, nor are we in a confidant-master relationship; we're just acquaintances. I don't know what will happen between us next.
I don't know her at all.
She didn't seem interested in getting to know me either. We haven't spoken much since that breakfast we had together.
Aside from training, she spent most of her time in her bedroom, "sculpting time" with handsome men, with occasional suppressed cries of pain faintly audible.
She knew I was afraid of and disgusted by this kind of thing, and she never called me again except for the first time.
I couldn't help but look at the golden carriage flying ahead and wonder, what kind of person are you?
Four carriages flew through the sky, followed closely by hundreds of flying horses, forming a semi-encirclement that contained all the carriages.
Two or three hours later, the Pegasus began to descend gradually.
I gradually came to see the surrounding scenery clearly. There was a vast, dense primeval forest, several lakes and streams, as well as mountains and farmland of varying sizes.
It suddenly started raining; it was already evening.
The carriage landed and sped off, stopping at the western border before nightfall. Like the southern border, it had long fences and many tall towers. The only difference was the presence of a large post station nearby. After verifying our identities, we went inside to rest.
Everyone was exhausted and fell asleep immediately. They got up again before dawn the next day and continued their journey.
Just as I was about to board the black carriage, Princess Yani called me over.
Inside the speeding golden carriage, Princess Yani said to me, "I want to remove you from the list of bridesmaids and make you my personal maid."
"Why?" I asked.
“I have no one else I can trust,” she said bluntly.
Do you really trust me?
“I don’t know. But judging from your daily work at Castle Black, you can’t be a bad person. There have been many maids before you, but none of them ventilated the rooms every day like you did, and even secretly slipped us biscuit crumbs. All the maids treated us like animals, but you treated us like little girls, and often brought us clean water, maybe to wash our faces, but we didn’t need it.”
“No,” I said. “It’s for wiping you down, because you’ll get poop and pee on your bodies every day, and the room will smell so bad you won’t want to go in.”
She laughed loudly, "Interesting."
And so, I stayed in her golden carriage as her personal maid.
Around noon, we transferred to a small train. After the train passed through the most difficult and rugged section of the mountain road, we got back onto the horse-drawn carriage.
"Why can't the carriage fly anymore?" I asked Princess Yanni.
Princess Yanni was touching up her makeup in front of the mirror when she said, "Because flying is not allowed within the territory, it would give spies an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
Two hours later, we finally stood in front of the Western Palace.
The Western Palace is somewhat similar to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, which I saw there; it has a strong Southeast Asian feel.
It started raining heavily again, and a large group of servants came over with raincoats and umbrellas, surrounding Princess Yani as she got off the carriage like a star surrounded by the moon.
Despite this, Princess Yanni's hair and shawl were still half wet because the rain was so heavy.
We stumbled and staggered up the steps, following the servants into a side hall.
As soon as she entered, before she could even take off her raincoat and put down her umbrella, a long whip lashed out, striking one of Princess Yani's maids to her left.
The maid cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. With another swish, another whip lashed out at the maid on the right, who also collapsed to the ground in agony.
The atmosphere froze; everyone was too scared to breathe.
Even if it was a maid from the Western Frontier who fell, it was still quite chilling.
"A bunch of stupid slaves," a lazy yet cold voice rang out, "giving you only one lash is too lenient. Why did you let my bride get soaked in the rain?"
A handsome young man wearing a crown and a magnificent robe sat cross-legged on the throne, looking at us with a half-smile.
He was very young, at most sixteen, but the cruelty emanating from his thin cheeks was terrifying.
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Author's note: Thank you for your support. I will continue updating tomorrow.
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