9 Chapter 9

Liu Jilian felt odd having this familiar feeling of stage fright, standing in front of all these people, her hands fidgeted and she was given the prompt, betrayal. She froze racking her head for a song about betrayal and she couldn't help but remember that song and she exhaled and started to sing somebody you loved. She was a female so it would be ok if she sang about love, it shouldn't matter too much that she was an unmarried lady right? She really couldn't think too much about it and could only sing.

Her vocal range wasn't amazing but she successfully sang what she could, since this voice was naturally pleasant to hear it wasn't hard to make it sound hurtful. The one thing she hadn't thought about was the fact that she was most likely giving the wrong impression to the audience, but she could see some people's solemn expression as some girls tried not to cry, the long lost a lot of effect without instrumental accompaniment but she didn't mind, she just had to not lose face.

Her turn came and went uneventfully, she didn't mind, but she didn't expect to come first place. It hadn't occurred to her that normally when asked to compose a song on the spot no one would be able to pull out a fully formed single as she did with verses and chorus, she felt a bit embarrassed about it but this was good news to her as she would get to see the monk.

After receiving her award she headed straight back home, it wasn't difficult to see the ugly expression of some of the ladies in the area, she wasn't confident in her ability to have a verbal war with these veterans, she'd rather just avoid the trouble and go home, she just wanted to keep reading through the books the butler provided.

This world was really unique, magical beasts were mythical creatures with strange abilities that normal humans are unable to utilize, martial artists train their bodies to reach a limit but ultimately they can never overcome the limits of the human body. But there's a class of humans that have a vague ability to control magical beasts, monks.

There were currently 3 known monks and they were each stationed in magic beast habitats to contain the beasts and have been granted special privileges and are treated very highly, the secret to their power has been disclosed to the public and she felt extreme curiosity towards these mysterious figures.

The monk she was going to meet was the youngest, his name was... Solomon? .... Solomon?

Jilian suddenly felt her blood run cold, an English name, in this world, how is that possible?

She paused, did they look western as well? Looking at her name engraved in the token she was given as a reward for first place she felt strange, her name was Liu Ji Lian, but in her past life, her name was English, Jilian, was this a sign? Were the monks also transmigrators?

Various thoughts swirled in her head and she wasn't able to have a good night sleep so she opted to spend her time writing through more memories of her past life.

The next day was rather quiet, there weren't many servants with them in the first place and this eerie silence was a calming for her, taking mei li she moved to the gazebo with a few pieces of paper so she could practice her writing. The morning was peaceful until an invitation arrived for her.

"Miss it seems like the first princess has invited you for a meal?" Mei Li was naturally conflicted with this invite, Feng Zhou Lan was the first princess of the Xiang Kingdom, "she's currently engaged to the Emperor of the Han kingdom, she is a rather controversial character, for one she isn't clean..." Jilian paused unsure of what she meant by not clean. "She already has a child, the precious young prince."

Ah, she was sexually active, Jilian felt like this was a bit comical, she hadn't thought about the fact that having sexual relations in this age was a big taboo, she sighed to herself, even someone from the royal family couldn't escape societal pressures and norms. Would associating with this princess tarnish her reputation? But she couldn't just say no to the offer, she couldn't even pretend to be sick considering she was healthy enough to sing and win yesterday's competition.

"Let's go and get ready then" She was dressed up neatly in what she could only call gorgeous silk robes, meeting a princess from another country wasn't a small deal, she couldn't make her country lose face, this was a good excuse to try out those shiny new clothes that her stepmother had created for her before they set off for the competition. She had been too afraid to wear it in case it was secretly inappropriate, but for this situation... it should be alright, probably.

"Liu Jilian of the Zhou Empire!" Her name was announced as she was accompanied to where the princess was, she was sitting in the middle of a beautiful orchard with a few small round tables dotted around the area with snacks, drinks and painting materials. Jilian felt cheated; she didn't come dressed for painting, her clothes would get really messy.

"Are you unhappy with my estate?" A mature voice came from a taller girl with beautiful brown hair tied up, she looked like she was in her mid-20s, she was beautiful and her makeup was flawless. Staring was considered rude but she really couldn't help it, "No! I was just thinking how terribly awful I am with a brush and how I should've dressed more appropriately to spill paint.." she wanted to give herself a mental slap, that was too honest, she hoped this princess wouldn't take offence.

Contrary to what she expected the princess began to laugh, " don't be nervous I just wanted to call you here for a small chat; come, have a seat." Jilian couldn't stop her blush as she sat down bashfully, how embarrassing, she kept sneaking glances at the princess, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She took the cup of lukewarm tea and swallowed it in one gulp.

Mei Li looked at her miss with a puzzled expression, the carriage back was around an hour and she couldn't help but notice her miss tapping her feet rather aggressively, she and the servants were shooed away when the misses started talking so she had no idea what transpired between the two and she didn't know how to ask.

Jilian stared out of the window with a red face, her heart beating furiously against her chest, she had drunk too much tea earlier and right now she desperately wanted to pee.

"Mei li.."

"Yes, miss?"

"The princess is really beautiful, isn't she?"