The Princess And The Lord

Lory woke up with her face pressed against the pillow, her purple eyes blinking several times until she heard Girsha's voice 

[Morning, girl]

Lory got up from the bed, then stretched her limbs in the air, then yawning widely, she swept her eyes across the room and realize Zhao Li Xin wasn't there. Most likely he was cultivating in the ring, he must be eager to increase his cultivation faster.

Thankfully she's not a clingy woman so she doesn't mind the lack of time they've spent together lately. Lory scratched her head as she walked over to the round table and poured herself a bowl of water, she sat down then took a quiet sip of water. 

[What are you thinking?] Girsha tilted his head.

[Nothing….I just dream about father] Lory takes a deep breath, Lory closed her eyes then leaned her head on her fist. 

[It's been a while since you dreamed about Marcus] said Girsha. 

[Hm ... Maybe because I miss him] she muttered softly. 

[Maybe you are thinking about him because of your upcoming marriage] he said again, he thought never in million years Lory would ever guess her family would not be present on her big day.

[Maybe…] Lory sighed, then suddenly she lifted her head, [Oh, I promised Xi Ying to check on Xi Lin today!] She immediately got up from her chair. [I need a quick shower, that woman doesn't like waiting!] Lory put the bowl down abruptly then ran to the door but suddenly she turned around. [Are you coming with us?] She asked Girsha. 

[Just go, I'll be around, as usual..] Girsha replied perfunctorily.

Lory shrugged [Okay…]

Lory then rushed out of the room, she ran to the bathroom not far from her bedroom then took a quick bath and changed her clothes then cast a shape-changing spell on herself because she was going out.

as usual, there weren't maids in her yard to help her to prepare her necessity unlike other noble ladies she used to take care of herself, having maids taking care of her every day make her feel like a cripple so when it's not necessary she likes to be left alone, so when she heard light footsteps and the sweet scent she knew who was coming, the door opened and Yang Xi Ying's beautiful face appeared. "Are you ready?" she grinned. 

"Yes, where are we going after Xi Lin?" Lory just finish give herself side braids 

Yang Xi Ying adds few pins of little blue jasmine hairclip to Lory's hair as she speaks "First, we have breakfast at Xi Lin's tea house, I also need to check the account book and our employee, after that we can go shopping!" Yang Xi Ying squeal excitedly at the same time she gently patted Lory's lips with rouge and then darkened her brows to make her look more refined, Yang Xi Ying smiled with satisfaction like she was playing with a doll "Beautiful, not as beautiful as your original look… but, it will do for now "

  Lory stifles a giggle "Thanks…" she never bothers to applied makeup for herself, never interested, not back then – not right now. But because Yang Xi Ying likes to play with her face she didn't stop her, Yang Xi Ying is the type of friend you can never say 'no' to her.

After he finished treating Lory like a human-sized doll, they left the manor followed by several shadow guards from the Jiu Yun sect and  Hei Shen sect, hiding in a shadow, there were also two servants following them which Lory didn't mind since it would affect Yang Xi Ying's reputation if she wanders around without maid accompany her in her own hometown where many people recognize her.

Because it was still early in the morning and the streets were not yet busy, Lory decided to take a walk to enjoy the scenery after all the rivers that crossed several bridges in the city looked so beautiful when the sunshine touched the river and everything seemed to be shining in gold and orange, Lory then saw the fishermen paddling their boats slowly on the river, on the street she saw some people opening their shop, they cleaned the tables and chairs then opened the windows for fresh air, they nodded at Lory to invite her to their shop, it was a relaxing sight to see how everyone starts their day. 

"It's a bit chilly, don't you think?" Yang Xi Ying rubbed her arms then tightened her robe.

Lory nodded "En, it's still early though, at a time like this eating red bean soup and mantou will be great!" her eyes sparkled at the thought of warm soup and soft mantou. 

"Fufufu..you are such a foodie but you are not wrong, ginseng soup would warm us up!" Yang Xi Ying agreed, he had become a foodie after meeting Ming Yue Yin and Lory. 

"Come on, hurry up, you make me hungry!" Lory pulled Yang Xi Ying's arm to walk faster, Yang Xi Ying responded with a gentle laugh. Unfortunately, Ming Yue Ying is not here otherwise their breakfast will be more enjoyable.

Not long after they arrived at Xi Lin's teahouse, the maid saw Yang Xi Ying and directly led her to a private room on the third floor. The private room is bigger than any room, with a medium-sized wooden table in the middle for six chairs, above there are quite big white lanterns painted with flowers and butterflies.

Past the half-moon divider, there's a study room with a square wooden table and a little bookshelf, the room is decorated with beautiful porcelain vases and landscape paintings hanging on the walls, but that's not all when the male servant pushes the folded door on the right side of the room there appears a large balcony with a garden view below.

On the balcony there is a small round table for four and arhat chairs with comfortable cushions, they also add some ornamental plants with beautiful ceramic pots in each corner, making the atmosphere cool and calm.

"What do you think?" Yang Xi Ying curiously asked.

"Fancy .... in a good way!" Lory responded.

Yang Xi Ying's lips curved. "I knew you would like it!" she confidently said.

Yang Xi Ying then told the servants to prepare breakfast for them, it only took a few minutes before the line of servants enters with trays full of dishes then they started to place the food on the table one by one, every now and then the maids peeked at Lory, they heard that the second owner is coming so they were quite curious, although Lory doesn't look as beautiful as miss Yang, but she had kind eyes and gentle smile so they are quite satisfied.

Lory didn't pay attention to what other people thinking, her attention was already on the delicacy in front of her. Yang Xi Ying turned into a crescent moon when she saw Lory's excited face, this good friend of hers didn't care about fancy jewelry or dresses, the only thought that could catch her attention was sweet.

Look at how Lory eats voraciously, Yang Xi Ying's stomach suddenly rumbles, she feels hungry too. During their meal lory just realized something "You ate a lot today…." 

"I am a cultivator, so this is normal" Yang Xi Ying justifies himself. 

"Three bowls of rice for breakfast?" Lory's brows twitched. She knew there were two circumstances for cultivators, they ate a lot when their cultivation was below the sovereign level but when they passed that level they didn't need much more food to sustain their bodies and they eat even lesser as their cultivation increase further.

If she remembered correctly Yang Xi Ying's level should have increased quite a lot since she met Lory so the food portion should have decreased a lot but why did it increase instead?

Feeling judged under Lory's gaze, Yang Xi Ying grumbled in annoyance, "I'm hungry ..."

Lory looked down and noticed several empty plates on the table, she slowly pulled the sweet and sour chicken close to her. "It's up to you, but this is mine ..." she was seriously guarding the chicken against Yang Xi Ying.

Lory has finished eating, but Yang Xi Ying is still not full enough, Lory doesn't bother her. Lory took a teacup then walked to the balcony, she leaned against the wooden railing, she looked down while sipping her tea slowly, she inhaled the sweet scent of peach blossoms and watched the people walking near the artificial lake, the red bridge connected to the small island in the middle of the lake is still there and the dead plum tree is still there as well, in fact, many of the original ornaments in Xi Lin remain the same, perhaps that's how Yang Xi Ying respects the memories of the past owner, well Yang Xi Ying is a good girl. 

"I want to take a walk" Lory saw her plate still full of food, obviously Yang Xi Ying still not done yet. 

"Uhm, I'll catch up after I finish this." Yang Xi Ying took an elegant sip of her spoon.

Lory looked at the thick chicken feet in Yang Xi Ying's bowl and grimaced, "Take your time…."

Lory leaves the room, she walks down the stairs while all the maids bow their heads respectfully when they see her, then Lory responds with a slight nod, when she arrived at the first floor she sees more customers have come even though it's still quite early, it seems Xi Lin business is growing faster than she thought.

Lory stepped into the back garden following the stone path that led to the artificial lake behind the building, Lory saw several small pavilions scattered near the lake, inside the pavilion, there are several noblewomen who were chatting with their friends while feeding Koi fish, while the other pavilions fill with a group of men who look like scholars, they play chess together while the others enjoy the view. 

'The people of this world do wake up very early' Lory thought.

While walking Lory got quite a lot of attention because she was the only woman who walked without any servants following her, and as usual Lory didn't notice anyone looking at her with strange looks. Because she was too engrossed in the scenery around her, but then she was startled by someone called her abruptly. 

"Miss Luo?"