The Untamed Princess

Chapter Five: The Sudden Journey

It was only a matter of seconds, but it felt like minutes, no, hours.  Zhao Weisheng's eyes roved over the face now just inches from his own.  His jaw visibly tightened when he noticed a light flush creep across the woman's cheeks as she stood there under his scrutinising gaze.  Going back to her eyes, he expected to see fear, panic, perhaps even a touch of confusion, but there was none of that.  Instead, he saw defiance, challenge, and a fraction of something else he couldn't even dare to guess at.

Swiftly, he stepped back and raised the report book, creating a physical barrier between them.

"Here you go," he said, handing it to her, then moving away.  "If Luo Jian comes looking for me, tell him I will be in my private chamber."  With that, he left the room.

Li Ming Yue let out the breath she had been holding all this time without realising.  Seeing the prince up close, she had noticed that while he had strong, masculine looks, there were little, almost feminine features that meant there was none of the sharpness that so often came with such an appearance.  For example, his eyelashes were long for a man, and his mouth curved ever so slightly upwards.

Ming Yue was, in many ways, naïve when it came to matters of the heart, but she was not stupid.  She knew that she was attracted to the prince.  It was difficult not to be, and it was one of the reasons she has distanced herself from him for so long.  However, she also knew that she could not afford any unnecessary complications.  The mission was simply too important.  Also, she was only a maidservant.  Why would the prince even think of her in that way?

Meanwhile, Weisheng had reached the privacy of his bedchamber and collapsed into a chair.  He, too, was no idiot. He knew full well that his need to know this woman had evolved beyond merely being suspicious of her origins and her reason for being in the palace.  But he had also chosen to be cautious.  He knew that nobles often had dalliances with servant girls and maids, but he was not that type of man, unlike his older brother, or so the rumours went.

In truth, the only reason he had let his guard down as much as he had just then was that he didn't think of Ming Yue as a palace maid.  He didn't know if it was her bearing, her intelligence, or simply the amount of time they had spent together working on the flood relief project, but he thought of her more as his equal.  And she had just looked at him properly for the first time.

Zhao Weisheng shored up his mental defences and left the chamber, heading towards the martial arts practice ground.  He needed to work off some frustration.

***

One might have expected there to have been some awkwardness after that morning's incident, but the afternoon spent working together passed relatively smoothly, until the sun started to go down.

"Ming Yue, can I see the latest delivery records for the relief packages in the flooded areas?"

"They are here, Your Highness, but..." she bit down on her lower lip.

Zhao Weisheng pushed back the thought that this was a particularly charming habit.

"But what?" he asked.

"It's nothing."

"Ming Yue, if you have something to say, then say it.  Now. That's an order."

At that, the young woman's gaze shot up, her eyes once again meeting the prince's, all thoughts of etiquette forgotten, emphasizing the seriousness of what she had to impart.

"Your Highness, these records do not match with the stories we are hearing come out of the villages.  A few of the palace maids have family in the affected areas, and they have said that hardly any aid has been distributed there, and certainly not enough to help them recover from their losses in the floods.  Of course, these are just stories, but if they are true, then there is either a logistical problem getting the aid through that has not been reported to the palace, or..."