The maiden is shy

Xiao Lan took the shortest and fastest bath of his life.

Well, not really considering he had been in war and other such specific situations which left much more to be desired for in the front. Xiao Lan just meant that despite the resources available, this bath was not that long in his book.

When he finished, more than half of the warm water was still available to him. Xiao Lan did entertain the thought of using up all the war water which would leave Fu Hua to use only cold water for his own usage but that would be petty.

In the end, he decided no to follow through with these schemes and just get on with his day. Xiao Lan was better than that.

"Go, it's your turn next" Fu Hua was still sitting on the unused bed, his hands reading the reports he had somehow managed to smuggle from the office. Why Fu Hua would want to read these dry scripts, Xiao Lan could not even begin to guess.

"I'll hurry up then. You can go down and order our breakfast?" the other's voice gave Xiao Lan the illusion that it had been a question but Xiao Lan knew the intent was to influence him to do as was asked.

Since it was nothing too tiring or bothersome, Xiao Lan decided to follow. When he arrived downwards, the other two seemed to be in a deeper discussion. Or so it seemed with how close they were sticking together.

In reality, the subtle whispers from the side made Xiao Lan realise that the other two were uncomfortable.

"The poor man. Have to deal with such demanding nobility and even in 'that' manner" and Xiao Lan decided that he did not want to know any more than this. Whatever the rumour said, XiaoLan had nothing to do with it.

Besides, the uncomfortable looks and the tense body language the other two displayed was amusing to him.

"Did you make any progress yesterday?" Xiao Lan asked once they saw him. The fun time was over and now it was time to plan.

"Excuse me, masters, are you ready to order?" The servant girl who had delivered the warm water before was once again here with a blushing face. She gave Xiao Lan shy looks but she could not meet their eyes.

"Ah, yes. We're ready to order. We'll have this and this and would you like to add anything young master? After all, you know Fu Hua the best" Xiao Lan indeed did. But he was not feeling sweet about Fu Hua right now so he was not going to order the other's favourite.

In fact, he knew just the thing to order for the other.

"Bring me this and a special mushroom dish for our other companion. That will be it and also give us some privacy" the female looked uncomfortable with his tone of voice. But in Xiao Lan's perspective, it was her own fault for trying to gain his attention.

He did not want to give her any.

"Be easy on the lady, young master. By god, how does Lady Lu deal with you if you talk with her in this tone too?" Detective Song teased, his voice gaining the tone that irritated Xiao Lan a lot.

He narrowed his eyes as a warning to the other but detective Song ignored it in favour of teasing him a little more.

"But then again, our lady Lu is special, isn't she?" Xiao Lan decided he was done with the other and nearly stood up to correct this misunderstanding with a clear display of skills.

But then the food came and so did Fu Hua.

"Have you guys started eating yet? What have you ordered for me?" Fu Hua asked as he neared. He sat beside Xiao Lan and on the opposite side of detective Song who gestured toward the mushroom dish.

"By the way, are you going to brief me about your findings from yesterday or not?" Xiao Lan asked as everyone dug into their food.

"I followed the trail but it disappeared as soon as it left the village boundary. I think we are looking at a conspiracy here" a conspiracy? That sounded likely but who would be this bold? Xiao Lan could not think of even one person who would gain anything by burning a village.

Unless-

"Revenge?" detective Song asked, having reached the same conclusion as Xiao Lan himself. The only thing that made sense was if this was done as some sort of revenge on the person's part.

"I did think it was that and I questioned the locals but there is no indication of such. I think it would be better if we ask the nobility of this area instead. They were handed this case after all" Xiao Lan agreed. He waited for Fu Hua to add his own voice but the other was rather quiet.

No one really questioned this quietness either since they were rather public and Fu Hua's slave status had somehow leaked. Even if the party did not treat Fu Hua as a slave, there were some things that the public expected from them.

Xiao Lan also looked down at his plate which was still full at this point. Xiao Lan felt bad, even if he had done this knowingly. He had known that Fu Hua did not eat mushrooms due to an experience he once had with a beast.

But he had not really cared when he had ordered that dish and now the other would likely go hungry.

So Xiao Lan exchanged a portion of his own dish (A significant portion at that too) with Fu Hua's dish. The other did not look at him but the gratitude was still somehow felt and this was not why Xiao Lan had done it.

Fu Hua was wasting good food which ought not to be wasted and Xiao Lan was just helping the other. This had nothing to do with Xiao Lan going hungry at all.

NOT ONE BIT. And it was just a left over habit to not waste any available good food.

"The inn owner says that the distribution of the talisman will likely start after the noon prayer. We can accompany them to the temple complex" Fu Hua finally spoke but he did not pick up his head.

He seemed intent to play the part of the submissive slave which sat alright with the company. They would not force him to respond if he did not want to.

"Should we go and meet the couple now? The afternoon ceremony will likely start in half an hour" the unspoken 'we have overslept' went unsaid because there was no need to highlight that fact.

"Let's go. It would not be wise to be late. Commander Yuhan sent the Xi delegate a message that we are coming" it would be good to get everything out of the way at once.

"Tell him a little later. We should have an unbiased look ourselves first" Fu Hua's words made sense and this was what they decided in the end. They would have a first look themselves before they allow any manipulation on the other party's hands.

They made their way outside where the elder couple stood with a pair of siblings. The second the girl saw Xiao Lan, she blushed.

"No, why is she coming along too?" The party tried to hold their laughter at the obvious discomfort Xiao Lan was feeling at the company. The girl clearly had a crush on the de-aged prince.

"Ah, We hope that you young masters would not mind our grandchildren tagging along. Our elder always comes with us but this is the first time our younger one volunteered to come with us. I wonder if there is a reason behind it?" the elder female teased the younger one who just seemed not to keep the red out of her face.

"I would rather she not come for such frivolous reasons. What if she angers the god by having such impure intentions?" the older of the siblings, the male spoke. His voice was clear and scholarly but also a clear devotee.

"Now, Now, let her be. I'm sure our gracious God is not that petty to deny her such feelings" the grandfather consoled the younger who still did not seem any happier than before.

"We don't mind. I'm sure our Xiao Ran would appreciate the company" the family in front of them was stiff, but then relaxed at once. This name was likely a coincidence, named after the crown prince no doubt.

These nobles were too humble to be related to the royal family after all.

"Then we'll be your caretaker for today. Hope you enjoy our Xi Village's pride - the temple" the party set off to the stone stairs that marked the start of a tedious climb toward the temple. They did not talk in between the way but communicated with their eyes instead.

And after a long walk and climb, they reached their destination - the illustrious temple of Xi which spanned almost a kilometre in area. It was a building that rivalled the royal temple even and it was decorated to the brim with festive cheer and colour.

It was the first day of the festive week here.