Lory pushed herself away from his chest as she woke up. The carriage had stopped and there was no one inside besides them. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes once she alighted from the carriage and stretched her limbs in an unladylike manner. She wasn't too bothered about the image she portrayed as it was only Zhao Li Xin and his subordinates present.
Bei Li Yan was amused by her behavior. He watched Lory twist her waist to the left and right before she moved her body back and forth to get rid of the stiffness. Zhao Li Xin would always stop the carriage every three hours while they traveled to Liangzu. However, they had traveled nonstop for five hours this time around because of her request. It was a good thing she slept halfway.
?
"Miss Luo, are you okay?" Bei Li Yan chuckled when she started massaging her neck.
Lory stifled at the question. She knew stretching wasn't done in public but what could she do. Her body was too stiff, "I'll be fine. However, you should just call me Ri Yi since Miss Luo sounds too distant to me."
Bei Li Yan glanced at Zhao Li Xin for permission and smiled widely at his lord's nodded, "Sure! But you should also call me brother Bei."
"Why have you become her brother? Her calling you Li Yan would be enough," Jin Hao cut in. He thought Bei Li Yan's friendly behavior could make a woman think he was a flirtatious or a sleazy man. However, Bei Li Yan was the complete opposite of that as he was quite serious about his friendships and their boundaries. Although Bei Li Yan's palace was filled with beautiful women, he never had any ambiguous relationships with any of them. Everyone in Hei Shen Sect knew this but Luo Ri Yi was unaware of this. Jin Hao was afraid she may misunderstand Bei Li Yan.
"It's okay. Master Bei is older than me and I also call Mong Ki and Mong Yi brother so it is all good," Lory laughed. She didn't really care about what people called others. She even used to call Jay 'sweetie' at times especially when she tried to coax him into doing something bad. Jay started giving her suspicious looks whenever she called him 'sweetie' after been beaten too many times.
A new entourage arrived while they were in the middle of their conversation. A group of young noblemen walked arrogantly with their subordinates following them. The subordinates looked stronger and less arrogant than their masters. There was a young woman with a haughty look walking in the middle of all of them. She wore a soft pink dress with delicate white flower embroidery. Her wide sleeves were adorned by beautiful frills and lace. She also wore many small hairpins that made her look like a Christmas tree.
"Is she going to the forbidden forest?" Lory whispered to Zhao Li Xin. The man was rummaging through a box in the carriage and only spared a second to look at the ridiculous entourage.
"I guess so…" Zhao Li Xin said with indifference and continued to rummage through the wooden box.
Lory was stunned, "She's going inside the forest looking like that? I thought she's going to a banquet."
Bei Li Yan chuckled as he had the same thought. He sneered as he ridiculed, "Maybe she thinks the beasts won't harm her if she looks cute."
"Why didn't anyone knock some sense into her? The forest is also filled with thick bushes and the ground should be slippery because of the rain. Wearing that kinda dress is suicidal," Lory shook her head. She pitied the woman and also admired her stupidity.
Lory wore simple dark green robes with pants as she knew she will entering the forest. She chose to wear green since it was the best camouflage. Zhao Li Xin found what he was looking for and pulled a small pair of boots.
"Wear this!" Zhao Li Xin handed the boots to Lory and she took them without a fuss. She even changed them in front of Jin Hao and Bei Li Yan, shocking them. The two turned around out of reflex and covered her body while she changed her shoes.
"Don't show your feet to other men next time. It's inappropriate," Zhao Li Xin reminded her gently as he helped her out. He knew Lory was not used to their customs after he confirmed she was from a different world. He understood her weird behavior.
"Oh dear! I'm sorry. I didn't realize it. Is that why…" Lory's eyes bulged. She remembered one of the maids once mentioned the same thing but she didn't pay attention much attention. She looked at Bei Li Yan and Jin Hao's backs. She felt guilty as her father always reminded her to honor and respect other people's customs and culture. "I'm sorry guys!"
"It's fine, Miss Luo. Be careful next time," Jin Hao didn't turn around as he continued to cover her.
"I will!" Lory's reply was firm.
Jin Hao smiled faintly. His assessment of Lory improved a little. Someone who could admit her mistakes and ask for forgiveness immediately couldn't be so bad. It was still too early for him to judge her character but they were at a good start.
The fancy group had reached Zhao Li Xin's group. Lory was amazed by the difference between the two groups. The other group's outward appearance screamed, 'we are rich and noble. Praised us!', while Zhao Li Xin's group appeared to say, 'F**k you, Go away!' It was inevitable for the two groups would clash. One of the men from the fancy encourage dressed in luxurious robes approached them with a cocky look.
"Who are you guys? How dare you block our way!" The fancy man said with arrogance.
"Huh?" Jin Hao turned around to look at him with a disgusted expression. The expression didn't decrease his handsomeness. The young man who shouted was stunned by Jin Hao's handsome face. He felt an imaginary hand had slapped his face.
"Don't bother with him Jin. Dogs like to bark after all," Bei Li Yan also turned to look at the young man with a playful smile. His androgynous look shocked the poor young man's heart. The young man felt like he had been slapped the second time.
"Master Bei, Master Jin, should we leave now?" Mong Ki returned after he took the carriage in a safe place.
"Milord said we need to head in before it becomes dark," Mong Yi chimed in.
Although the brother's looks weren't as refined as the other two, they still looked manly and valiant with a hint of danger in their aura. The poor young man felt he was slapped two more times. Lory saw the damage was too severe for that poor young man's heart.
Judging by his luxurious his robes, his neat hair and appearance. Lory could guess he was from a prominent family and was confident with his appearance before he met the Hei Shen Sect members.
Lory felt bad for the frozen young man in front of them, 'You got it bad huh…'
The Christmas tree girl saw a bunch of handsome men in one group and became excited. She approached them with her best smile.
"Young masters, the journey inside the forbidden forest is dangerous. Why don't you join our group to be safer," The girl said in a cute childish voice. Such a woman could easily stir up a man's heart as it made one want to protect and indulged her. Sadly, the men she was talking to belonged to Hei Shen Sect.
"Don't need to!" Bei Li Yan stifled as he thought, 'what an old trick?' even the girls in his palace didn't use such tricks anymore.
"Don't want to…" Jin Hao was indifferent.
"Ri Yi, wear another cloak. Your body is still not well," A certain lord was unaware of what was happening.
"Okay…okay. But…isn't this too long…?" Lory also didn't have time to pay attention to the Christmas tree girls because of Zhao Li Xin's nagging.
While Mong Ki and Mong Yi didn't bother to talk. Their eyes were fixated on their lord who was acting like a concerned mother. They at times missed their cold and domineering lord.
The Christmas girl had never been ignored since birth. Being ignored by a bunch of handsome men had a deep impact on her heart. She turned red with shame and anger. One of the young men beside her couldn't take it lying down as he saw his beloved woman being humiliated. He wanted to be her hero.
"How IMPUDENT! Do you know who she is?" The young man berated them as the Christmas tree girl automatically recovered from the shock. She was happy someone was trying to protect her. They believed the handsome men acted the way they did as they didn't know who she was. No one would dare being rude to her once they did.
But before the young man could inform them of the lady's identity, the other group cut him off.
"I don't know!" Jin Hao said with the same monotone voice.
"I don't care!" Bei Li Yan added with sneered.
"Ri Yi put on the hood. The rain is gone but it is still drizzling," Zhao Li Xin placed a hood on Lory's head. He was still unaware of the commotion behind him and didn't care.
"It's fine. It's only a little… Okay, okay. I'll put it on... Geez!" Lory rolled her eyes with tiredness.
"I'm Ming Ru Yi, the third princess of the Liangzu Kingdom!" The Christmas tree girl couldn't maintain her pure face anymore. She even raised her voice slightly so that they could all hear her. Zhao Li Xin's group turned to look at the Christmas tree girl simultaneously embarrassing her a little. However, she was also proud they had finally noticed her. She was also sure they won't dare ignore her afterward.
Zhao Li Xin eventually noticed Ming Ru Yi. His sharp gaze made her feel like thousands of arrows had stabbed her heart. He looked perfect to her. She had never seen anyone as handsome as he was. Ming Ru Yi was flustered as she experienced the legendary 'love at first sight'. Unfortunately, the person happened to be Zhao Li Xin. Anyone close to him knew it wouldn't end well. Ming Ru Yi couldn't take her eyes off him. Sadly, the handsome man's first words scarred her heart.
"How noisy…" Zhao Li Xin said as he gave her a disdained look. He turned back to Lory and wrapped Lory's shoulders, and led her away from the noisy place.
The fancy entourage didn't know how to react. They were always surrounded by people who always wished to curry favor with them. Many bowed courteously at them and treated them politely. Those actions gave them a sense of importance, boosting their egos. This was the first time they were treated like air and the culprits left before they could protest. They could only swallow their anger and humiliation as they swore to return the same feeling to the other group.
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