14 Three Little White Lies?
It was past three in the afternoon when the cool breeze and beautiful petals entered through the windows of her room. While she was enjoying the view from the window, three identical-looking girls with long black hair and very pale skin greeted her.
"I am the youngest. I am called Hua Ling". " I am her older sister. Please call me Jun Ling". "And I am Ming Ling, the eldest. We were tasked by the crown prince to serve as your maids, my lady". "Yes. Thank you for introducing yourselves but do you think that I will easily trust you?", Zhen Mei questioned. Suddenly a burst of laughter came from Qi Lei who was hiding behind the doors. "Ever cautious aren't we? But they are not lying, my lady. They are maids from the imperial palace of Shi, assigned by the prince to cater to you". Zhen Mei was surprised that she didn't notice his presence. "I didn't know prisoners can have maids dressed in expensive garments, Qi Lei. Please forgive my rudeness, Ling Sisters. Thank you for your service". "Please help the young lady get ready", Qi Lei instructed and then he left the room.
"May I ask? How do you want me to address you, girls?". "Any name that you would like to use will be fine to us", Ming Ling answered. "Then may I call you by your name?". The three girls bowed in approval. "Allow us to help you get fully prepared for your date", Hua Ling said as she excitedly brought out a set of robes and they started to dress her up. As Zhen Mei heard the word date, she blushed and remembered how the crown prince kissed her. Flustered, she tried to clarify the statement. "Date? What do you mean? Aren't we preparing to return to the imperial palace, immediately?". "Return? No. I am afraid not. We are preparing you for your dinner date tonight with the crown prince", Jun Ling exclaimed. "Dinner?", Zhen Mei still confused asked. "Yes, my lady! We were told that the two of you will be having dinner tonight", Jun ling added.
"Just the two of us? Your crown prince is unpredictable. Is this how he usually treats his prisoners? What is he like?". "We are happy that you're interested, in him, my lady. He is kind to his people but cold-blooded to our enemies. He will be the next Father of our nation therefore, he will always be just and right. The Crown Prince will soon be our Sun and we hope that you will be our Moon". "Me as your moon? Do you mean as your empress, Ming Ling? That can't be! I am just a prisoner". Zhen Mei chuckled as she disregarded the idea. "You will be entering the harem, once we arrived in the imperial palace. Since you are the first person whom the prince personally chose. We assume that you will have the highest chance to become the Crown Princess.", Ming Ling answered.
"I see. I'm sorry but I think that is not the case. Maybe he'll have me enter the harem so that he can keep his eyes on me. After all, I am a dangerous person.", Zhen Mei replied. " But the Crown Prince personally asked the Empress to send "US" to help you prepare before entering the harem". Zhen Mei noticed how Ming Ling emphasized the word "us". "Ming Ling, are the three of you really just ordinary palace maids or perhaps more?". "Whatever we are, we serve our Emperor and our Crown Prince. Forgive me. That is all I am allowed to say", Ming Ling replied as she bowed.
Zhen Mei still a bit flustered tried to compose herself and let out a deep sigh. "I see. I gave him my word and now my life is in his hands. I have to do the part if he will require me. It's just that I'm not mentally prepared to play the part if it all includes a concubine's duty". "Maybe you really don't need to worry about that part, my lady. After all, there were rumors that the prince never visited any concubine yet. Because of that, some people are whispering that maybe... you know his taste might be a bit different ...", Hua Ling said. Zhen Mei felt a little bit relieved after hearing her statement, though she still remembered how the prince teased her in the camp and how he kissed her. "Hua Ling! How could you say such things about our Crown Prince!", Ming ling angrily scolded her. "I'm sorry. Please don't mind my empty words my lady", Hua Ling apologized and kneeled on the floor.
"Please rise, Hua Ling. I appreciate your honesty.". "Thank you and please forgive my rudeness, my lady". Hua Ling stood up and retreated behind Ming Ling. "All set! You're so beautiful milady", Jun Ling exclaimed. Upon seeing herself in the mirror, Zhen Mei realized that she was wearing a commoners robe and only had ribbons as ornaments on her hair. "Hmm. A Crown Princes in commoner's clothes? No way. Right?", she thought to herself."Well then, shall I escort the beautiful lady to her destination?". Qi Lei suddenly arrived and offered his hand to the lady. Zhen Mei accepted his hand and followed his lead.
"Hua Ling, why did you have to tell such a lie? What are your motives?", Ming Ling questioned. "We all know that the prince loves women", Jun Ling added. "I did not totally lie. The prince never slept with anyone from the Iris Pavilion which resulted to some rumors. Besides, the two of you also said something misleading. Big sister Ming Ling, you told her she was the first one personally chosen by the prince but you didn't tell her "who agreed to enter the harem". Little sister Jun Ling, we know that Qi Lei will be with them, and yet you only mentioned the prince. If you considered my statement as a lie then doesn't that make you into liars too?".
Ming Ling suddenly grinned after hearing her sister's statement. "Oh My! No need to be so angry, my dearest sister. There is no need for us to point our fingers at each other. Your acting is very good Hua". Yup! yup! There is nothing wrong with us wanting to see our little nephews or nieces soon.", Hua Ling exclaimed. "Of course! It's not like we said three little white lies to help them get together.", Jun ling added. And so the three girls hugged after complimenting each other.
