The Princess Smells So Good (GL) - Chapter 39

The journey ahead was smooth, which made Wei Zhao feel a little unreal. Thinking back on how dangerous and thrilling her journey had been, with experiences far more intense than anything in the capital, the sudden calmness made her feel like something was hidden beneath it, leaving her with an uneasy sense of foreboding.

A Zong couldn’t show her face in public, so she always wore a veil. Thankfully, she had once traveled with Song Sisi, and had learned to keep a low profile, so she appeared like a young lady from a noble family. No one suspected she was the same slave who had betrayed everyone before. It was poor Fa Yilian, though, as the person she had to serve had suddenly turned into two people.

A Zong was quite self-aware, so as soon as Fa Yilian entered the room, she quickly stepped forward to help. Wei Zhao couldn’t help but praise A Zong’s nimble hands and her gentle, caring nature. “So thoughtful and gentle, not like the clumsy oaf in my household.”

Fa Yilian’s face was expressionless as she snatched the task from A Zong’s hands. A Zong stood there awkwardly, watching as Wei Zhao laughed so hard she nearly fell over, holding her stomach. A Zong secretly sighed in relief and gave a small smile in return. Wei Zhao noticed A Zong’s expression and smiled too. “You’re free now, no need to worry about pleasing anyone.”

A Zong lowered her head. “Yes, but…”

“What’s wrong with that?” Wei Zhao said. She paused, then continued, “In life, we always have to be cautious. But at the same time, we must stand firm and know our limits. Don’t always think everything is your fault.”

A Zong’s hands fidgeted for a moment before she lowered them again, remaining silent. Fa Yilian silently moved to Wei Zhao’s side and whispered, “Open your mouth.”

Wei Zhao opened her mouth, and a sweet, fresh taste filled her mouth—strawberries, newly picked and delicious. Wei Zhao glanced at Fa Yilian, who remained silent. With the same small fork Fa Yilian had used to feed her, Fa Yilian also helped herself to a strawberry. Her face was serious, but Wei Zhao could easily see the subtle, mischievous glint in Fa Yilian’s eyes.

Wei Zhao couldn’t help but let out a soft snort. “So spoiled.”

Fa Yilian bent down, and smiled, her voice warm and light. “Thank you for your favor.”

Wei Zhao was left speechless by her boldness and turned to look at A Zong, who seemed to sense the atmosphere between them and quickly averted her gaze, staring at the ground. However, her ears were bright red.

Wei Zhao couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy. She thought of Song Sisi, who had been raised with care since childhood, surrounded by men. But she knew better than to speak of it, so she cleared her throat. “As for this, you should learn from Fa Yilian. Look at her—she never considers me, her master.”

Fa Yilian, hearing this, knelt by Wei Zhao, resting her body across Wei Zhao’s knees. She looked up at Wei Zhao and softly said, “Master is mistaken. When have I ever not considered you?”

Wei Zhao lowered her head, gazing at Fa Yilian. Fa Yilian met her eyes, and her bright green eyes glimmered. Her hair fell on Wei Zhao’s lap, and Wei Zhao noticed that it had grown slightly longer. As Fa Yilian looked up, it felt almost as if her gaze had a hook. Wei Zhao felt her heart skip a beat, pounding rapidly. She reached out to Fa Yilian, and Fa Yilian didn’t move away. Wei Zhao’s fingers gently brushed Fa Yilian’s chin, teasing it lightly.

The woman in front of her, relaxing in such a carefree manner, was like a well-coddled leopard, eyes half-closed in a way that radiated mystery, beauty, power, and a sense of lazy contentment.

Perhaps, if she lowered her head, she could easily kiss those red lips, and Fa Yilian wouldn’t resist.

Wei Zhao swallowed, unable to control her throat.

“I—I’ll leave now,” A Zong suddenly said, and the window slammed open. Wei Zhao looked up just in time to see A Zong quickly exit, still holding onto her veil, but her back looked like she was fleeing in panic.

“…That’s too much, making it seem like I’m about to do something to you,” Wei Zhao grumbled as she tilted Fa Yilian’s chin.

Fa Yilian lazily responded with a muffled sound, her voice tinged with a slight nasal tone. If she turned over now and mewed, she’d be the perfect transformation of a human-like cat slave.

“Do you want to do something to me?” Fa Yilian asked.

Wei Zhao chuckled, reached up, and flicked Fa Yilian’s forehead, drawing out her words. She sounded a little helpless but also indulgent. “It’s not that I want to do something to you. It’s that you’ve already rejected me.”

“Is that so?” Fa Yilian lowered her eyes, chuckling softly. Her laughter wasn’t high-pitched like most women’s but rather deep and resonant, like the sound of a musical instrument.

It was pleasant to hear.

Wei Zhao thought, maybe she should encourage Fa Yilian to laugh more often.

“Your Highness,” Fa Yilian said, “I am your slave, your possession. So, you can have me as you wish. But why ask for my opinion if you want me to be your concubine?”

Why?

Wei Zhao blinked in surprise. She looked into the clear eyes of her slave, who was silently waiting for her answer.

“…I…” Wei Zhao opened her mouth, but then closed it again, unsure. She wasn’t someone who had suddenly come into power, nor was she used to the cold indifference of the elite. Some wealthy families were suddenly benevolent, while others could be cruel and dismissive of others’ lives.

But Wei Zhao was different. Like the scions of noble families in the capital, she could be gentle even with servants, yet also cold and indifferent when necessary, willing to sacrifice face if needed. They controlled lives and destinies and didn’t waste much thought on others.

Perhaps…

Wei Zhao realized she couldn’t think about it any longer.

“I hope one day, you’ll tell me the answer,” Fa Yilian suddenly laughed.

A Zong stood silently on the deck, thinking back to the earlier scene. She felt her face turning red, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but envy them. She didn’t know where she should go, so she stood there, staring out at the unchanging lake, lost in thought. Life on the ship was dull, and A Zong could hear the sailors boasting, talking about the red-light district of the supply island and the war they had been through.

“Too bad I was drunk at the time, otherwise, I would have taken them all on! What’s the big deal with a few slaves? I can beat several women by myself, why can’t I take on a few men?”

“Yeah, keep dreaming!”

A Zong frowned, her hand gripping the railing, which creaked under her touch.

“The ship’s life is boring, so they make up all these stories,” Fa Yilian’s voice came from beside A Zong. She glanced at A Zong’s clenched hand, then continued, “You don’t need to pay attention to them.”

A Zong hesitated, then slowly withdrew her hand. Not knowing how to face Fa Yilian, she asked, “Did you… finish your business?”

A bit too quickly, A Zong thought, as she glanced at Fa Yilian’s hand. Fa Yilian noticed her gaze, and after a long pause, finally understood what A Zong meant. Then she burst into a loud, carefree laugh, which made the sailors on deck look up in surprise. One sailor, red-faced, nervously greeted, “Fai… Fai, miss, hello!”

“Hello,” Fa Yilian responded casually.

The sailor, embarrassed, quickly ran off.

Fa Yilian turned to A Zong. “See, you don’t need to care what they say.”

A Zong still looked confused, shaking her head. She lowered her voice and said, “You’re really good. Your master treats you well.”

“Ah~” Fa Yilian laughed, bending down with her hand propped against her cheek. She turned toward A Zong. “You envy me having a good master? If your master treated me like A Xian does, would you then want to be a well-behaved slave forever?”

A Zong heard the sarcasm in her words. She had just tasted the sweetness of freedom, and it was nice, but it also left a large emptiness and confusion. Fa Yilian, who had always been the object of her envy, was in some ways her mentor.

“…I…”

A Zong murmured, thinking of Song Sisi. Was she happy with her young mistress? Of course, she was. She was treated like a pampered little cat, carefully dressed up, adored, and kept close. But that wasn’t what A Zong wanted. She didn’t want to see the gentle calling of her mistress, only to be punished without mercy.

Something was wrong with that.

A Zong had a vague sense of it.

“No, I won’t.”

“Oh?” Fa Yilian smiled again. A Zong noticed that Fa Yilian was always smiling. “I thought you liked your young mistress.”

A Zong shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s love.” Then, suddenly remembering Fa Yilian’s ambiguous relationship with her mistress, she asked urgently, “What is love? What is liking?”

Fa Yilian paused, her gaze softening, then she looked at the lake outside the ship. “Maybe it’s when you can draw a line and claim ownership.”

A Zong was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Does that mean I’m not…”

“Why listen to those pirates?” Fa Yilian suddenly asked. “You left them easily, agreeing to come aboard my ship. Why?”

A Zong lowered her head. “I… thought they could tell me what freedom was. They said we were the same, and I thought we were. I wanted to leave my mistress, but I found out they only wanted more women, more money, more pleasure…”

If she had stayed a slave, she could have had all of that, perhaps even better than most ordinary people.

A Zong slowly said, “I never thought about these things before, but now I have so many things I can’t figure out. But I know, these things are really important to me.”

Fa Yilian laughed. “Look at you, you haven’t even found yourself, and now you’re asking about love and all that?” She pointed to A Zong’s chest. “Your heart knows all the answers. Instead of asking others, why not ask yourself?”

Then Fa Yilian stopped answering any more of A Zong’s questions, lightly humming a foreign tune while gazing at the distant sky.

Not far away, the window in Wei Zhao’s room, which had been open, was quietly closed without a sound.