Chapter 102 Two potions, two choices
"Uh... this..." Prince Henry lowered his head and explained embarrassedly, "The light at night is too dim. Besides, the makeup is not the same when removing it and when putting it on."
"Ah." The king was used to Henry's unreliable ideas.
He then asked Prince Henry if he needed Rhine to help him with divination, but Prince Henry refused, saying that "finding the girl in person would be the most fulfilling."
Finally, the king accepted the prince's absurd idea. But under everyone's advice, he also made some restrictions:
Prince Henry couldn't go door to door and force every girl to cooperate with him, so he could only go to different places in the kingdom in turn, stay in each place for a few days, put the shoes there, and let the girls who wanted to try on the shoes came out, but he couldn't force them.
…
So Prince Henry began to implement his plan.
The prince's luxurious carriage and guards traveled to one region after another across the country.
Wherever they arrived, the soldiers posted notices and shouted everywhere to explain their intentions and asked the girls in the area to come out and try to put on the crystal shoes.
They said that the girl who could fit the glass slipper perfectly would become Prince Henry's wife.
Many girls want to be the prince's wife, but after trying, they find that their feet are either too big or too small, too long or too short, and none of them are a perfect match.
After hearing this absurd story, Cinderella's noble image of the prince was completely shattered:
“Oh my god, Momo’s magician friend was right. Prince Henry is so weird!
“He actually went all over the country to look for someone, causing unrest in every household.
"And the criterion for whether one can become his bride is also very strange: whether one can wear a shoe.
"Is His Royal Highness Prince Henry looking for someone specific? He wouldn't use this method to find someone. He probably just wants to find a girl with a certain type of feet, right?
"I can only say that it's a good thing that the crown prince of the West Asian Kingdom is not him, but the eldest prince Eric! I can't imagine what would happen if such a prince became king? "Alas, the princes in the world are not as perfect as those in the books."
Cinderella sighed silently.
At this moment, a strange idea suddenly occurred to her:
"I also left a glass slipper. Could Prince Henry be looking for me?"
But immediately, Cinderella ruled out this possibility.
"You must be kidding. If you want to find me, can't you recognize my face? Why do you have to use this method?"
"The most important thing is, I don't have any crystal shoes at all! There were many girls wearing crystal shoes at that ball. But the pair I wore at the ball was just a temporary change caused by magic, and they must have been changed back long ago!"
The shoe on Cinderella's foot had returned to its original state long after midnight, and she believed that the lost shoe must have returned to its original state as well.
Cinderella subconsciously believed that the magic had ended long ago, and she had no idea that there was actually something wrong with the fairy Leila's magic, causing the crystal slipper to last longer than before.
However, no matter what, Cinderella no longer has any thoughts about Prince Henry.
After the ball, Cinderella sold the pearls Momo gave her and got a lot of money.
She changed into clothes that were convenient for movement, followed the bird to the beach, and met her "pen pal" Momo for the first time.
Over the years, they had relied on birds to communicate with each other and had become close friends who could talk about anything, with similar hobbies and interests.
Now, the two friends finally saw each other's appearance -
What Cinderella wore was neither dirty, dusty, and sweaty clothes nor a stunningly gorgeous dark blue dress. Instead, she wore the most common clothes that made it easy for her to move around.
Momo floats in the deep blue, almost black sea water. The stars and the moon are reflected in the sea water, illuminating and outlining the figure of the mermaid boy.
The handsome mermaid boy lowered his head shyly, not daring to look directly at Cinderella, for fear that Cinderella would discriminate against him because he was a mermaid.
But Cinderella said it was nothing.
"Momo, you are a mermaid. No wonder you know so much about the sea! Thank you for the pearls and the friends you invited. You have changed my destiny!"
"There's no need to hide this. Now the whole kingdom knows that mermaids are not evil creatures. Prince Eric's new wife Ariel is a mermaid!"
"I heard that your people have long cooperated with the merchant ships of the West Asian Kingdom. They can command the ships on the sea to avoid storms and reefs. They can also drive the schools of fish in the sea, allowing fishermen to get as much catch in a day as they did in the past month."
Late that night, the two chatted a lot, from things on land to things on the sea.
Afterwards, Cinderella rented a house by the sea and came to the beach every day to chat with the mermaid boy Momo.
This reminded Cinderella of the days when they used to communicate via birds.
——It’s just that in the past, they relied on singing birds to convey their ideas, but now, they communicate face to face.
In the past, Cinderella had to take on heavy housework and endure the contempt of her stepmother and two sisters.
But now, with Momo's help, everything has changed.
That day, Cinderella came to the beach again.
"Momo, I heard that in your sea palace, there is a wise and knowledgeable sea witch who is good at mixing magical potions that can make mermaids grow human feet, or make humans grow mermaid tails.
“Ever since the West Asian Kingdom and your kingdom in the sea became friends, the latter potion has also been sold on land.
“Any human on earth who wants to go to the sea can apply at a special place, spend some money, and get a bottle.
"After a while, I'll consider drinking that potion and going to the sea to be with you. Anyway, my parents are dead, and I don't have much attachment to this land.
"You've told me so much about the sea, and I can finally see it with my own eyes!"
As she spoke, Cinderella looked towards the deep blue sea. Her gaze seemed to be able to see through the waves and directly into the palace in the deep sea. Her eyes, bright as gems, were full of longing.
In the sea, the shy and handsome mermaid boy was so surprised that he could hardly believe his ears!
Cinderella wanted to become a mermaid and be with him? Momo looked at the girl with a gentle smile on the shore, and finally said what had been pent up in his heart for a long time: "To be honest, when I knew you were going to the prince's ball, I thought the prince would like you.
"You are different from those spoiled aristocratic girls and daughters of wealthy merchants. You have a unique and extraordinary temperament. I even think that you may become the prince's sweetheart and eventually his wife.
"I never dared to hope to be truly with you!"
Cinderella smiled and said, "I only met the prince once. It was in a very dim light and at a noisy dance party.
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"We didn't communicate, we didn't say anything, we didn't know each other's interests and hobbies, we just danced mechanically.
“But you’re different, Momo, we’ve been friends for five years.
“Long before Prince Eric and his beloved wife Ariel met, we were sharing stories with each other using our flock of talking birds.
“Every morning, after sweeping the floor and making breakfast, what I look forward to most is waiting for the birds to fly over and tell you stories—mostly those about the sea.
"It won't be long before I can see the beautiful fish in the sea with my own eyes, and see the stars and the moon from the sea..."
Cinderella was sitting on the beach, dreaming about the future with the mermaid boy Momo, and this scene was reflected in the crystal ball.
Both Rhine and Ariel saw it.
"Thank you, Magician Rhine!" Ariel said excitedly, "Now Momo can also find love."
"Speaking of which, the controversy surrounding Prince Henry's nationwide shoe testing isn't over yet. I wonder what will happen to Cinderella's two sisters and stepmother?" Rhine thought.
…
at the same time.
Cinderella's two sisters and stepmother were very excited when they heard that Prince Henry was looking for a girl who could wear the crystal shoes to be his wife.
"Listen carefully, my two silly daughters. As long as you can wear that crystal shoe, you can become the prince's wife and enjoy an extremely noble status!" The stepmother was very excited. "No matter which one of you is fine, you must become the prince's wife, so that I can also enjoy the glory and wealth."
Both sisters nodded repeatedly.
"Come to think of it, Cinderella didn't come back after the dance." The eldest sister said, "Maybe she got lost."
"Fool!" the stepmother scolded her daughter, and sighed, "Cinderella's background is so powerful. She must be enjoying wealth and glory now!"
The stepmother found it hard to accept the thought that Cinderella, who had been oppressed by her in the past and used as a free nanny, must have lived in a palace and lived a life of luxury; the stepmother found it hard to accept the thought that Cinderella might be wearing a priceless jewel necklace, expensive silk clothes, crystal-carved shoes, and enjoying the service of servants every day.
"Cinderella must be enjoying endless wealth and splendor now, why can't I live such a life?"
Thinking of this, Cinderella's stepmother ordered her two biological daughters:
"Go and try to see if you can put on that crystal slipper."
The two daughters then went out and tried to wear the prince's crystal shoes, but their feet did not match the crystal shoes at all. One big toe was too big, and the other heel was too big.
"What should we do? Our feet can't even fit into the shoes." The two sisters were panicked.
The stepmother seemed to have thought of something and walked out the door.
After a while, she came back with a bottle of potion in her hand, which looked like clear water.
“This is the magic potion I went to so much trouble to buy.
“It is said that it comes from the mermaid kingdom in the sea and is made by witches in the sea. You should have heard that the kingdom of the sea is now an ally of the West Asian Kingdom. That is why such a magic potion has fallen to the earth.
"This magic potion is amazing. If a mermaid in the sea drinks it, she will grow human legs!"
The eldest daughter looked confused: "Mother, what does this have to do with us? We are not mermaids."
The second daughter was equally puzzled: "Yes, my sister and I already have feet."
"My stupid daughter!" the stepmother scolded harshly.
"There are different types of this potion, each of which can grow different foot shapes. I deliberately found the type that is most similar to the shape of the crystal slipper. Whoever drinks this potion will be able to grow feet that can perfectly fit into the crystal slipper!"
(End of this chapter)