"Do you want a whip?"
Zhang Li froze in her tracks before slowly turning to find the owner of the voice. A woman who looked like she was in her forties marched towards her furiously. Zhang Li wondered who she was and why a woman like her would be so frightening. The woman stared at her before laughing out,"What? Are you running away?"
Zhang Li spoke,"And who are you? I just arrived the Palace". The woman scoffed,"Who am I? Don't you know where the Servants' Quarters is? And to answer your question, I am the Head Maid, Cai Wei."
Zhang Li nodded throughout the conversation as Cai Wei ran through the rules. At the end, the Head Maid spoke,"Come with me now. There's no time to waste." They walked away with Zhang Li trailing behind.
.....
They got to the Servants' Quarters which surprisingly looked better than she would have imagined. Clothes lined on the ropes outside, some royal silk materials spread out in the open, girls going about here and there with their various duties. Cai Wei clapped her hands and soon, all the maids gathered around with low murmurs.
"Hush it!" She spoke harshly and continued while admiring her fingers," We have someone new here with us today." Zhang Li swallowed as she looked at the girls. Why were they all frowning deeply at her? What's with them?
She shook her thoughts out of her head. That doesn't matter at all. She spoke,"My name is Zhang Li. I hope we all get along together."
They all said nothing but just stared. Cai Wei spoke,"Enough. Your place is shared with those three over there, Feng Yang, Chen Xiaoyu and Chen Xin."
The three girls stared at Zhang Li with a blank expression. They looked tired from all the work they'd been doing that morning. Zhang Li stared back at them, wondering what kind of jobs they had to do everyday to become this dispirited. Of course, working in the Palace was no small job at all and she knew that atleast.
Just as Cai Wei kept talking admist the eyerolls she got, bowed in respect towards an approaching figure with a fan which had a painting on it.
"Prince Wang Jian"
"Prince Wang Jian"
They greeted, all except Zhang Li who just kept looking at him. She thought," He looks as proud as whatever."
Wang Jian closed the fan sharply which caused a shiver within the girls. He just stared at them without a word and disgust was clearly seen in his eyes. He glanced at Zhang Li who glanced back at him before looking at the ground.
Cai Wei laughed nervously and asked," Prince Wang Jian, it's rare to see you in this vicinity. Do you have any orders for us?"
"I can be wherever I wish. Are you saying I have no rights to move about freely within the Royal Walls?" Wang Jian asked as he turned slowly to look at her. Cai Wei spoke with her head low, "I didn't mean it that way, Prince Wang Jian. I just thought maybe you had special orders for them. Forgive my ignorance, my Lord."
"You must have heard the news of Wang Lei within the Palace walls today." He ignored her words and spoke in a chilling voice.
As expected, quiet murmurs swept through the small crowd. The crown Prince who left the Palace and the Capital finally showed his face after a decade.
Wang Jian let the murmur pass before adding,"My brother, the crown Prince is back in the Capital. You all know what that means, isn't that right?"
They all lower their heads before chorusing," We understand."
Turning to Cai Wei, he ordered," Clean out the East Wing. Make sure the halls and courtyard are well cleaned."
"But Prince Jian, the East Wing-" Cai Wei was saying but the look on Wang Jian's face shut her up completely.
"That's my brother's." He spoke as he made a fist by this side.
Zhang Li looked at his folded fist and then at his face which appeared calm even though he wasn't before sighing quietly.
'The Crown Prince,huh?' She thought quietly as she watched him walk back with the guards he brought with him. 'Who is he, anyway?'
Everyone assumed their posts and duties when Wang Jian left. Zhang Li just stood at the center of it all.
She sighed deeply and thought,' Am I supposed to work with them? This is so not what I expected.' Turning over her shoulder to take a look again, she sighed loudly before walking away.
.......
The students filed out of the hall after the lessons with some rubbing their necks or faces, looking tired and hungry. Mu Ziyi was the last to leave the hall and just as she closed her books to leave, Zhu Xin entered the hall and shut it with a loud bang.
"Are you crazy?! What was that for?" Mu Ziyi asked, still reeling from the earlier shock.
Zhu Xin just scoffed and folded her arms under her breasts,"I don't know, Older Sister Ziyi so you tell me. What was that stunt you pulled that landed Sister Li outside this sect? She stole the sword? Couldn't you come up with something more convincing?"
Mu Ziyi just stared at her for a while before laughing out loud, making cracks in the other girl's facade.
"What are you laughing about? You think this is comical?" Zhu Xin asked even as she lost a little confidence.
"It is indeed funny." Mu Ziyi spoke as she stood up and continued,"What? What exactly does it change? Zhang Li is not here anymore. Are you trying to accuse me of lying to throw her out?"
Zhu Xin walked two steps forward with a frown,"What? Are you trying to say you didn't? Everyone knows how much you hate Sister Li just because she's better than you in all aspects including swordsmanship." She fake sighed and continued,"Jealousy is indeed a disease. "
"What did you just say? How dare you spit nonsense to my face? Jealous? As if!" Mu Ziyi said as her face reddened in anger. It was Zhu Xin's turn to laugh.
"Is that also a lie? You've always been second to her." Zhu Xin ragebaited again successfully.
Before she knew what was happening, Mu Ziyi wrapped her fingers around her slender neck, pressing hard. She struggled to breathe, scratching at the fingers around her neck.
"What...do....stop..." She tried to speak but Mu Ziyi pressed even harder with a sinister smile," You think you're so smart, eh? You think you know it all? What if I planted the sword in her bag? What if I didn't? Do you have any evidence?"
She watched as the younger girl struggled for a while before releasing her roughly. Zhu Xin immediately sucked in air and burst into a coughing fit.
Mu Ziyi looked at her like she was dirt under her feet. She picked up her books as sha said,"Get lost."
"Mu Ziyi!!! I challenge you to a duel."