Valiant Princess

Fourteen: Her people

(Picture available on w*****d)

Prime Minister Bing Xi

(Ken Chang)

Suddenly, the guests heard soft steps coming from the inner chamber towards the waiting hall. Crown Princess Long Fenghuang is accompanied by her 4 maids walking behind her in pairs whereas on her right side is an enchanting looking man and on her left is a beautiful mature woman. They must be the infamous "Six of Xuehua Palace" they thought to themselves.

The older woman is known as Nanny Lei, she is said to be a dowry maid of the Empress but once the Crown Princess has been borne, she has been assigned to take care of her. She is known for her beauty and there is a rumour that has been circulated around that she has a fiancée, but she refused to marry him, so she had been staying in the palace ever since. In other words, she has been running away from her betrothed. Some said that the man that she supposed to be married to is a powerful one. Her beauty is not as ravishing as the Empress nor the Imperial Noble Consort but her calm demeanour is something that is highly appreciated by all. She is always the one whom managed to control the Crown Princess whenever she lost control of herself. She also treated the Crown Princess as if she is her own daughter.

(Picture available on w*****d)

Nanny Lei’s outfit.

Xiao Yu is a eunuch that has been brought into the palace by the Crown Princess. She demanded that he is to be allowed at her side to be exact. He is very loyal towards his mistress and always silently stands up next to her to serve to her every command. He is quite a beauty even for a man. Fair skin. Enchanting looking face. Men and women are fascinated by this cold beauty. He rarely smiles but when he did, it was for his mistress. After all, the Crown Princess is the one who saved him from the verge of death years ago. Only the ones working in Xuehua Palace knew that he is a real man, not a eunuch, but the Crown Princess is someone that he adored as a friend and highly respected as his fated mistress. So, he is willing to be by her side even as a fake eunuch. Hence, he is always bullied by her and her cousin in the past because of his willingness to withstand their bullyings.

(Picture available on w*****d)

Xiao Yu’s outfit.

The beautiful 4 maids of Xuehua Palace are quite famous too. They have their own group of admirers. The “4 Flowers” according to the public but little did they know that the girls are two-faced, unlike their mistress who acted without any care for her own reputation. The Crown Princess does not mind for her reputation to sink deeply into the muddy pit, but she encouraged them to be a two-faced individual. Once she has even said, "Men cannot resist beautiful women. They will do anything to own women like a trophy." They nodded in agreement with what the Crown Princess had said to them then.

The first maid to serve under the Crown Princess is Huli. They have met when Xiao Yu was grievously injured years ago, her talent in medicine is quite well known so the Crown Princess offered her to be her personal maid and she has the freedom to use the royal hospital and its herbs without any restriction. An offer that a dedicated healer like herself will not refuse. She is considered as a novice healer, but she is much more capable and talented than those imperial doctors. She prefers to lay low of course and her service is exclusively for the use of Xuehua Palace only.

A year after the Crown Princess brought Xiao Yu and Huli into the imperial palace, she went outside (again) without any prior notice whatsoever. When her older brother found her, she was laughing and talking with her new friends, Chengshi, Congming and Lianhua, in a famous brothel. They are orphans and they are sold by their remaining family members. When the brothel is organizing an auction for the new (virgin) girls, the Crown Princess seems to be very attracted to all 3 of them. Their eyes showed determination, and that is how a great individual is born. She bought them from the brothel under a fake alias, nevertheless. “Gentleman Long” is famously known as a lustful young man for purchasing those 3 virgins. As if she ever had any bad intention towards them. They needed her and she needed loyal servants. Upon seeing her older brother, she forced him to pay the auction monies for the 3 girls which made him regretted his decision to search for his younger sister that day. He should have just let that damnable General look for her on his own he thought. If he did just that, his precious money won't be wasted. Seeing her acting like a spoiled little girl weakens him so he did what she wanted him to do. No question asked.

When they got back to the imperial palace later that day, the Crown Princess instructed Nanny Lei to give martial art lessons for the girls. Xiao Yu is already an expert, so he continued to cultivate to improve his strength. Huli during her free times continues to study medicine and, as a bonus, poison as well. Chengshi is a clever girl, she learns fast and automatically she has been made as the head maid in Xuehua Palace. She is handling all the official and private matters of Xuehua Palace. Lianhua is a fast learner as well and as she is very beautiful, she has been ordered to learn about various arts including music, dance, calligraphy and painting. Congming is found to be with a natural gift of reading others' mind, and ever since discovering her gift, she has been sharpening her "claws" for future use whenever the Crown Princess wanted too and with that she can also control and influence others with her inner ‘qi’ (the circulating life force).

(Picture available on w*****d)

Crown Princess Fenghuang ‘s outfit whenever she is out and about.

Yes, she is her mother's daughter alright.