"What took it so long?!" Han Xin asked with irritation as soon as the maid left Meng Huo's room.
"My apologies, my prince," she bowed politely, a slight fear seizing her mind.
Han Xin pinched his nose bridge, "nevermind, just tell me how he is?"
After talking with the queen, Han Xin decided that she was right; Meng Huo would never say a word out of force, God knew why, so the best tactic was to befriend him. As the atmosphere was a bit tense a while ago, Han Xin thought the best way to approach the fake prince was to send ointment with the very same maid he protected.
Well, who knew the maid had her head in the clouds?
Zhu Lei obviously didn't understand what the prince was asking about, so she kept standing with a close mouth.
Han Xin let out an annoyed sigh, but managed not to snap at her. Opening his hands on his sides, he said "the burn. I am talking about his burn. Surely, you checked the burn to apply the ointment, right?"
She grimaced and her hand unwittingly reached to her sleeve, making Han Xin understand she forgot to do the work she was sent for.
"Give me the bottle," he said between his teeth, opening his palm.
Sensing his accumulated anger, Zhu Lei quickly put the bottle on his waiting palm and left with fast steps.
Behind her, Han Xin heaved another sigh in an attempt to calm himself and entered Meng Huo's room after a knock.
"M-My p-prince," Meng Huo stuttered, fear lacing with his words. Did Han Xin change his mind? Was he there to interrogate him? Torture him?
"I just came to check on you, can I sit?" Han Xin asked politely with a forced smile.
"S-Sure," Meng Huo pointed at the empty cushion and Han Xin took his place on it.
"So, now you believe that we don't harm our servants, right?"
The embarrassed slave nodded while contemplating whether it was a good time to ask Han Xin to keep Zhu Lei.
However, unaware of his reverie, Han Xin felt very conscious in the quiet room, so he poured some now-cold tea into two cups. Putting one cup in front of Meng Huo, he asked "in the East, is it common to punish servants?"
Absent-mindedly, Meng Huo nodded again and reached for the cup, but the friction of the fabric on the burned arm made him hiss. As he was relieved to learn that Han Xin was not after him, his all senses were back, so was the pain.
"I knew you were burnt," Han Xin said in a scolding manner, dropping the previous topic all together, and took out the small white bottle from his sleeve. Shaking the bottle right to left, he asked "shall we apply some?"
Meng Huo looked at the bottle with horror as if it was poison. Still, as he didn't want to make Han Xin angry again by rejecting his kind offer twice, he lied blatantly.
"W-We don't use ointments in the East."
Han Xin arched his eyebrows with astonishment. Living on their nerves, punishing servants severely, not using ointment... wasn't the East hell?
Being unaware that the prince's silence was because of his rapid thoughts, the poor slave thought that he didn't believe his supid lie; therefore, he grabbed the cup and guzzled down the cold tea, trying to prove that he didn't need the ointment. Indeed, it hurt, but this time he managed to school his expression.
Damn, his effort was in vain as Han Xin was still immersed in his thoughts, his eyes stuck on the wooden table as if it had something important on it.
Meng Huo fidgeted restlessly, silence wrecking his nerves. In order to break it, he cleared his throat loudly, "m-my prince?"
"Ha?"
"C-Can I ask for a favor?" he asked, mustering all his courage. As Han Xin seemed in a daze, maybe he could grant his wish.
The question brought a smile on Han Xin's lips. Who could have guessed that 'the prince of the East' would want something from him? Rubbing his chin to hide his smirk, the prince asked "what is it?"
Meng Huo took a deep breath and blurted out "c-can I keep Zhu Lei?"
As Han Xin had no idea who Zhu Lei was or what the prince meant by keeping her, he got befuddled. Looking at Meng Huo with blank eyes, he asked "who is Zhu Lei?"
"T-The maid your highness sent," the slave replied with a low voice.
"Oh," Han Xin nodded with recognition, "so you want her to be your personal maid?"
Meng Huo nodded with a shy expression.
"I can do something about it," the prince said with a playful smile, "but you have to grant something I want in exchange."
Hearing the second part, Meng Huo flinched visibly. There was nothing he could give to a prince... other than information which he would rather die to snitch as his sister's life was dependent on his silence.
At first, Han Xin really meant to ask him about his life in the East as it could give him some clues about his identity, but seeing the horrified expression he wore, he decided to let him off the hook for the moment.
"You will apply the ointment regularly and I will let that maid serve only you." This can melt your heart a bit, right?
"Yes!" Meng Huo grabbed the bottle with a small smile which disappeared as soon as it appeared.
But Han Xin saw it and the word 'cute' echoed in his mind before he could prevent it...
***
A small surprise to my impatient cuties; nishimishu, eternallywangxian, Lan_ShengYin <3<3<3
YOU ARE READING
You Are Worthy
Romance[Completed] A framed slave of the East has to act like a prince in the North so that his and his sister's lives will be preserved. But how easy can it be for a slave to pretend as a prince? What if his act discovered by the North prince whom he is...
