3rd Prince and his personal maid

chapter 7

"How can I help you?" Della replied with a questioning look.

"Oh, I am just curious to know you because you are the first maid to serve Cheng," Xian Bao said.
"First maid? Isn't he the prince? Then why are there no servants? Usually, royal families are always surrounded by servants, but here, there is no one." Della thought in her mind but her thoughts can be read by her face .

"I am just a criminal who is here to serve punishment. There is nothing inquisitive about me lord." Della said, knowing she had to please people as much as she could, avoid attention, and lay low. She just had to wait to go back to her place or find a solution to get out of this situation.

"Xian Bao, what are you doing here?" a sudden voice shook both the man and the woman. When they turned to face the man,  Xian Bao casually exclaimed, "Hey! Long time no see Cheng." This casual facade surprised Della even more.

The 3rd prince was not a common person; no one could talk to him like that. How could this man speak to him so casually, even if they were comrades? But no one could deny that he was the prince of the country, and in a monarchy, everyone had to respect him, even if he didn't deserve it.

"What are you doing here?" the prince repeated his question. Looking at both of them, Della confirmed that they must have known each other for a long time because he didn't use any formal titles.

"I just wanted to meet your maid." Both men turned their faces towards Della, who was busy digging a hole in the ground with her foot.

"What?" The prince gave a confused look at Xian Bao's statement.

"Don't you know your maid is famous? Everyone is talking about her, and it made me more curious to see her," Xian Bao explained.

"What are you doing here?" Cheng asked Della, his voice full of venom.

"I was just about to enter. Mr. Xian called me..." Della replied, her voice trailing off.

"I thought you were pondering whether this place is the right one or not," Xian interrupted, cutting her off.

"That man... I think I was wrong about him. People say you should never trust appearances," Della muttered, cursing herself for thinking Xian might be a good guy. Her initial impression was shattered. The dimpled smile that had seemed so charming a moment ago now appeared irritating.

"It's not your fault. Given the state of this palace, anyone could be confused," xian said, trying to console her

Della gave him a tentative smile, hoping that maybe her judgment about him wasn't completely wrong.

...

"I think this place is such a mess. There's no one around. How can this be the prince's palace? Is this kingdom on the verge of bankruptcy, or are they really poor?" Della muttered under her breath.

"I think she must be the new maid who's going to serve that war machine," Della overheard the maids' conversation as she made her way to the main chamber.

<Crown Prince's Palace>

"You must be the new maid?" An elderly woman in her 80s asked. Her face was a map of wrinkles, each line telling a story of a long life. She was the head maid of the Crown Prince's palace. Standing in front of Anni, her back bent with age, she inquired with a scrutinizing gaze. Anni was confused at first but quickly understood what the old woman was asking.

"Yes, I am," Anni replied with a polite smile. "What work do I have to do?"

"You have to clean the rooms in the prince's chamber," the head maid instructed..\

"Hey! I heard someone is going to the Languaon Palace to serve as a maid," the first maid said.

"What? The 3rd prince's palace? That's like going to hell," the second maid responded in disbelief.

Anni, overhearing their discussion, felt uneasy about her friend. "Why is that?" she asked, drawing both women's attention.

"Don't you know?" the first maid asked in surprise.

"I'm new here, I didn't know," Anni replied, scratching her head and giving an awkward smile.

"It's a disgrace for a servant to serve him. Being his maid is so shameful... he's no better than an animal," the second maid explained, shocking Anni.

"Why is it so shameful?" Anni wanted to dig deeper to understand the truth because it was related to Della.

"What are you all doing here? This is not the time to slack off. Go do your work!" the head maid yelled. Both women quickly went to their designated places to work. Anni wanted to stop them and ask further questions, but they had already hurried away. Anni remained standing in her place.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have work to do?" the head maid asked.

"Where should I start cleaning?" Anni asked with a confused look.

"Go start with the last corner chamber," the head maid replied annoyingly.

"She must be hard to handle," someone said from behind the head maid. 

"Your Highness, how long have you been waiting behind the wall?" the head maid asked, turning to see the Crown Prince.

"Since before you arrived," the Crown Prince replied with a slight smile.

"Your Highness, it's rude for the crown prince and the future king to listen to others' opinions," the old lady complained to the prince.

"You don't need to use harsh words with me. You are a mother figure to me, the one who raised me," the crown prince replied politely.

Head Maid Yao is the maid of the crown prince's mother, the empress. She raised and took care of the prince, who always looked up to her as a mother figure. The empress is often occupied fulfilling her duties, which is why Mrs. Yao is the one always by the crown prince's side.

"But now you are the crown prince and should not be disrespected," the head maid smiled at the crown prince.

"It's also sad for the third prince that people disrespect him and he has suffered greatly since childhood," Mrs. Yao commented on the previous discussion.

"Cheng is the one who has suffered the most and sacrificed the most. He fought for the kingdom, but the people call him a monster," the crown prince said in a subdued voice.

"Children always suffer due to their parents' mistakes," the head maid replied in a gasping and unconvincing tone.

 "It's not a mistake. I will ensure that Cheng never suffers. He will receive his well-deserved respect and place in this kingdom and family.

What happened with Concubine Yuan is intolerable," his tone hardened, revealing the anger he had hidden in his heart for the past decade but now showed in his voice. The crown prince was about to leave.

He look back " and about the new maid assign her to be my chamber maid." Old lady yao look confuse to look at the crown prince vanishing figure.

thanking you......