Princess Consort Ai Li Sha

4.4 Mission in Wei Li Part 4

I love Taro Pastries almost as much as Ai Li Sha seems to. 

When Grand Master Xi entered the palace, he did so through a side entrance usually reserved for servants. He did not feel it was an insult, but it did make him more seriously wonder what the problem was.

In other places due to his status he would be received with great fanfare. Usually this was the way that great rulers bragged about their relationship with him. Yet his former disciple was trying to hide his appearance completely, truly worrying!

Even the invitation to the palace had caused him to have negative thoughts. He had only received a letter with the token he had once imbued with his own essence. The token was supposed to be a way to enter the palace under normal circumstances, but between him and the Emperor it was also a type of calling card.

As for the letter it had not detailed anything about what kind of favor the Emperor wanted. Usually unless someone commissioned him to help, or some catastrophe that would affect all humanity occurred, he did not even pay attention to the affairs of the world outside. He had no need to as his prestige was enough that people always came to him willing to barter whatever he wanted in return for his aide.

"Grand Master." A man dressed as a eunuch greeted him with as much courtesy as he could.

"Grand Master, please follow this little one and this little one shall lead your esteemed self to your destination." The eunuch kept his body hunched slightly so that the master in front of him would not feel slighted and quickly led him through the intricate palace halls. The eunuch kept watch in case there were any spies but luckily, he did not see anyone.

Grand Master Xi simply followed with grace. He showed no care to whether or not others saw him and kept his own pace.

Ai Li Sha meanwhile was still looking for a trace of her Master. She had been searching almost a quarter hour now! To most people that might seem like nothing, but she had learned to walk using a 'light step' which allowed her to walk very quietly without making any noise and at about ten times the speed compared to other people. She had already circled the entire capitol fourteen times!

Right now, she was biting her lip in front of the palace as she debated whether or not to enter the palace and see if her master was there. It was the only place she had not searched, but she did not have the entry token with her, plus her Master had told her they were supposed to keep their arrival quiet.

She could break in pretty easily but to what avail. If she was caught it would be annoying to have the palace guards hunting her down.

She did not want to waste time being hunted so she decided to circle around the palace and find a good secluded spot so she could jump the tall wall.

She landed lightly and crept around from tree to tree and building to building. No one noticed her, not even her shadow was seen.

Suddenly a very pleasant smell entered her nose.

In the past she had eaten cuisine from all over the world made by the top chefs known to man, but ever since she joined the Hana Sect everything was rather bland. Her Senior sisters didn't know who to cook and Master Lu seemed to cook only when he was angry...perhaps why his food was deadly to ingest...

If she was not wrong, right now she was detecting the delicious smell of sweets. She decided to take a small detour and followed the enticing smell.

She arrived at a small kitchen and looked through the window. Inside was a servant girl busily preparing several types of deserts.

Ai Li Sha waited impatiently for the servant girl to leave so she could borrow some of those sweets.

She entered the little kitchen at the same time as the servant girl left with a tray full of desserts for some concubine somewhere.

Taking a look around Ai Li Sha picked the biggest taro pastry on the table and chomped down. "Hmmm!" She nearly fainted from the incredibly delightful taste of the first pastry not to mention the next one and the one after that. Before long she had finished nearly half the pastries there.

When she realized her folly, her eyes widened, and she made a hasty retreat. She promised herself that if she ever saw the servant, she would certainly repay her for this tasty meal.