Chapter 6. The second prince

He began to wonder to himself whether he was hallucinating or not, he rubbed his eyes to make sure that what he saw was reality.

He walked along the edge of the river and hid among the trees looking at them which was an entertainment for his eyes.

He had seen many beautiful girls but what they had was a rare beauty. Unconsciously he held his breath which was trapped and did not dare to make a sound.

Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu who had finished bathing then they went ashore and dressed again, previously they only wore white underwear after drying it with magic they put their outer clothes back on. Without realizing there was a peeping tom hiding not far from where they were now.

The people who had been waiting for the young man to return felt anxious and wanted to check the whereabouts of the young man who not long after they found the young man standing behind a tree and peeking at something not far from where he was. They approached him and said respectfully.

"Second Prince!" This voice that came from behind surprised the second prince, this second prince was named Rei shu. Rei Shu turned his gaze and looked at the guards who called him with annoyance.

"What?" He answered curtly, he moved his neck again to peek at the beautiful girls again but they were already gone from his sight.

"Huh, where are they?" He said in surprise. "Second Prince? Are you okay?" Asked one of the guards who was worried about his master.

"Ah, this is all because you called me that's why I lost the girls!" he grumbled and walked here and there looking for the whereabouts of the girls who were gone from his sight.When he saw a silhouette appearing from behind the trees that continued to step forward he ordered his guards to go and prepare a horse carriage because he planned to bring the two girls into his palace and make them his concubines.

He ran after them and pretended to fall in front of Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu.

"Ouch, my leg!" Rei Shu groaned and tried to gain the sympathy of the two girls who were surprised by his sudden appearance in front of them.

Hong Mei stepped back while Hua Baiyu had already prepared to attack if what suddenly appeared in front of them was a wild animal. Hong Mei saw the handsome young man trying to stand with his sprained leg. She approached the red-haired young man and helped him stand.

"Slow down, don't rush," Hong Mei said worriedly as the young man tried to walk.

"Thank you for helping me, miss..."

"It's okay, what are you doing in the forest alone?" Hong Mei asked the young man.

The young man who had been helped to sit by Hong Mei on a dead tree that had fallen to the ground tried to find a good excuse so that the two girls he was targeting would not be wary of him.

"I and some people with me were on our way, we wanted to go home, but I got separated from them and when I was looking for them I met you guys. What about you guys, what are you doing in this forest?" He asked back after lying. Hua Baiyu looked at him suspiciously, she found it hard to believe what this young man said.

"Where are you going? Why did you get separated?" Hua Baiyu asked suspiciously, she wondered in her heart whether this was a good person or a bad person.

"We are going to You Wu city. Earlier when I entered the forest I took the wrong path and ended up being left alone" Rei Shu tried to gain the sympathy of the girls.

Hong Mei was easily moved and wanted to help the young man to find his travel companion again but. Hinata felt it was unnecessary because he was a man he must know his own way there was no way he wanted to bother the girls to help him.

Hua Baiyu was just about to speak when the sound of horses galloping and horse-drawn carriages was heard from afar.

The sturdy men ran towards their master and looked panicked.

"Second Prince! Are you okay?" Rei Shu glared at them unhappily. He tried to rack his brains to complete his lie.

"I'm fine just a sprain, luckily these two girls helped me. I've been looking for you guys where did you go?"

The guard frowned in surprise, didn't the prince himself tell them to go and look for the carriage?

"Yo-" the man wanted to defend himself but Rei Shu signaled them to stop by raising his palm.

"Never mind, forget it. Guide me into the carriage" The guard stopped his words. And helped Rei Shu.

"Ah yes, before that I want to thank these two girls. Ladies, thank you very much for helping me. I want to repay you if this time you want something from me just say it don't hesitate"

"You said before that you want to go to You wu city right?"

Hong Mei asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, indeed, my house is there so I want to go home"

"Well, it's perfect, uhmm you said you wanted to repay our favor right?"

"Yes? Just say it"

Hong Mei looked at Hua Baiyu but Hua Baiyu shook her head hard, but Hong Mei was not enthusiastic and tried to convince Hua Baiyu with her pleading gaze which finally forced Hua Baiyu to give in and sigh before nodding. Hong Mei looked at Rei Shu with sparkling eyes.

"Then can we ride your carriage? We also want to go to You Wu city"

Rei Shu screamed happily in his heart. But he pretended to put on a hesitant face and considered.

"Hmm okay, let's go"

Then, the three of them got into the horse-drawn carriage, and the group slowly walked through the forest. A horse pulled a cart carrying prey behind the group.

Inside the moving horse-drawn carriage, Hong Mei, Hua Baiyu, and Rei Shu sat in separate seats.

Rei Shu thought hard about how to get these two girls to be his concubines at the same time or if he didn't get both of them, it would be okay if one of them was not.

Hong Mei, who was bored with the silence, started a light conversation.

"Oh yeah, I don't know your name yet, they called you the second prince earlier, are you from a kingdom near here?" Hong Mei asked innocently.

Rei Shu frowned, he admitted that their beauty was very rare but did not expect that these two girls were not native to this area who had been under his leadership for 5 years.

"Just call me Rei Shu, I am the prince of a great Da Wu kingdom. And my noble father is the king who gave me this territory to rule of" Rei Shu said as if it was nothing.

"Ah... your background is very extraordinary..." Hong Mei nodded her head in understanding.

"Uhm but earlier you said you were separated from your entourage, how could your guards not realize that their master was missing?" Hua Baiyu asked suddenly making a sound.

Rei Shu who panicked smiled stiffly "Haha, I don't know why either" he tried to change the subject not wanting his secret to be revealed.

"Oh yeah, where are you guys going after you suddenly arrived in town?" Rei Shu asked trying to calm down.

"We'll probably look for a restaurant first" Hong Mei answered.

"Haven't you eaten yet?" Re Shu was surprised, but wasn't this good news? Rei Shu thought, he could use this excuse to invite them to stay at his residence.

"Not yet, how long will it take us to get to town?" Hong Mei said.

"From here, about 2 or 3 hours"

"Oh, I see."

"Do you want to eat this? My maid made it so I wouldn't get hungry during the trip" Rei Shu offered a mooncake that was in a wooden box that he took from the seat drawer.

Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu looked at each other, Hua Baiyu shook her head slightly.

"This is safe, I don't plan to poison you, look!" he took a piece of mooncake and ate it. Hong Mei looked at Hua Baiyu again inviting her to eat the cake, Hua Baiyu finally gave in and agreed in the end.

Then they ate it after taking one piece per person. "uhmmm .. This is delicious!" Hong Mei exclaimed.

"Really? I'm glad to hear you like this cake, hmm if you want us to have breakfast together at my residence, I will welcome you as my guests, do you want? Oh yeah, where are you from before?"

"Oh, we come from Q-" Hua Baiyu covered Hong Mei's mouth with her palm and answered her instead.

"Wei, we come from the Wei region" Hua Baiyu answered seriously.

"Oh oh, that's very far from here, may I ask what your purpose in coming to my city is?"

"We want to meet some people" Hu Baiyu replied and told Hong Mei to be quiet with her gaze.

"Who are they? Is it possible that I know them?"

"No, this is our business, we don't want anyone else to get involved" Hua Baiyu replied stiffly.

Rei Shu, in his heart he felt annoyed, but his smile became even sweeter okay, do as you please now. His heart roared.

"Then what about my offer? I want to entertain you and return the favor, please accept my offer I will prepare a dish that is more delicious than this" Rei Shu coaxed again.

Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu were silent for a while before Hong Me spoke up.

"Okay, we accept your good intentions" Hong Mei answered happily.

The horse carriage continued to run until soon they entered the gates of You Wu city.

The soldiers guarding the gate who recognized the prince's horse carriage opened the way and invited Prince Rei Shu to enter without any obstacles.

The previously quiet forest atmosphere was replaced by the noise and hustle and bustle of the city. Men and women selling around the main road and people passing by around made the city busy and feel alive.

 The horse-drawn carriage and the group of mounted guards that passed through this road split the crowd and walked towards the palace of the second prince which looked beautiful and magnificent.

Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu who had been looking through the carriage window were amazed and could not believe that the handsome young man who was with them right now was the owner of this bustling palace and city.

"We have arrived" shouted a guard from outside. He rushed to the carriage and invited the lord and ladies to get off.

"Welcome to my residence" Rei Shu greeted them then he walked unsteadily before being helped by his guard to get off. Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu got off then and Rei Shu ordered his servants to prepare the banquet.

"Would you like to rest first before the food is ready? Later I will tell the servant to call you in your room when everything is served." Rei Shu said politely.

"Okay"

"Servants, show them their rooms"

"Yes young master" replied the servant obediently.

"I will come back to see you in a few moments" he said to Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu which they replied with a knowing smile.

Rei Shu was then carried by his guards into his residence and headed to his room who then called a healer to treat his leg while Hong Mei and Hua Baiyu were led by a servant to go to the room that had been prepared for them.

When they arrived at the room Hong Mei sighed happily, finally she could enjoy sleeping on the bed again.

Hua Baiyu looked around warily and cast a protective spell on the room.

To be continue