Free Web NovelChapter 709: Chapter 709: Hair Salon
Regardless of whether Qin Yao agreed or not, he strode over to her, grabbed her hand, and pushed her onto the soft couch prepared by the palace attendants.
Qin Yao resisted the urge to dodge, and went along with the force on her shoulder, lying down on the fragrant, soft couch.
The palace attendants, well-trained, quickly lit the incense burner and placed tea and fruit nearby.
From behind the terrace, beside the folding screen, the sound of chimes began, the piano master and singers soon joined in, and the beautiful music surrounded the entire terrace, making Qin Yao feel as if she had returned to a ’certain beauty salon hairdressing event’.
It was unclear whether the incense in the burner had a calming effect, or if it was the familiar atmosphere of this ’beauty salon’, but as she lay there, she started feeling a bit reluctant to get up.
Princess lay next to Qin Yao, with a low table between them, making it easy to reach the food on it.
Princess took some small cherries, handed half to Qin Yao, and casually said, as if chatting with a close friend from a boudoir:
"Mu Ling says you’re a person of true temperament, with a bit of a temper. She expected you’d be even angrier when you saw her, so she didn’t dare to come and pick you up today, and instead, volunteered to go to the estate outside the city to take care of something for me."
Qin Yao, chewing on the sweet and sour cherries, acknowledged, "She has great foresight."
"However, with Your Highness treating me so well, I feel a bit anxious."
Saying this, Qin Yao grabbed another handful of cherries, stuffing her mouth full. As she chewed, the juice flooded her mouth—bliss!
It was hard to see any sign of anxiety.
Princess laughed out loud, and once finished, said seriously, "I said I felt a kindred spirit with you at first sight, do you believe it?"
Qin Yao shook her head: I don’t believe a word!
Princess looked at her with amusement, "What does the shaking mean? You don’t believe it?"
Qin Yao wanted to spit out the cherry pits in her mouth, and a hand immediately appeared beside her couch.
Raising an eyebrow, Qin Yao saw Yun Nuo had somehow appeared, kneeling in front of her couch, smiling and indicating she could spit the pits into his hand.
Qin Yao frowned, pointed to a plate, and indicated he should bring an empty plate. She couldn’t bring herself to spit something from her mouth into someone’s hand.
Except for that annoying Liu Ji waste.
Yun Nuo seemed not to understand her, just froze.
Princess looked over too, puzzled, "What’s the matter? You can spit it into this servant’s hand. Although this is the Princess Mansion, you are my honored guest; there’s no need to be so formal about such small matters."
Even if she were to demand his life, she wouldn’t blame her. Princess added secretly in her heart.
Yun Nuo bowed his head lower, from kneeling to prostrating himself on the floor, raising his hands high, palms open in front of Qin Yao.
Qin Yao looked at the hands in front of her, then back at Princess’s puzzled face. Neither of them felt uncomfortable, as if it was second nature.
Instead, they found her unwillingness to spit something into a servant’s hand quite odd.
The atmosphere among the three suddenly turned a bit strange, with Princess sitting up, secretly observing what Qin Yao really meant.
Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on her, and she glanced at Yun Nuo, tentatively asking Qin Yao:
"Don’t you like him?"
At the moment her voice fell, Qin Yao distinctly felt the person below tremble slightly.
It was the kind of innate fear beyond physical control.
Because he was facing a national princess with the power of life and death; any casual remark could end the life of an insignificant little eunuch!
As Princess was about to say, "Then I’ll get you another person," Qin Yao got off the soft couch, picked up the teacup on the low table, and with a "splash," emptied the tea inside to spit the cherry pits into the empty cup.
Princess was shocked, "You!"
"I’m just not used to fine dining, being a hillbilly used to the countryside, not accustomed to such pampering, somewhat vulgar; I beg Your Highness’s pardon."
Qin Yao cut in with a mocking self-deprecation and gave a formal little bow.
Someone chuckled softly, and the entire terrace erupted with stifled laughter.
Qin Yao pretended not to hear, pulling Yun Nuo up from the ground and handing him the empty teacup.
Then she lay back down, instructing the palace attendants who were about to undo her bun, "Be careful not to lose my golden hairpin; it was given to me by someone very important."
Suddenly, the laughter grew louder.
It seemed her every rustic move made them feel more refined, giving a sense of superiority of ’at least I’m better than someone else’.
Qin Yao even caught someone whispering, "It’s just a needle-thin hairpin, and she’s treating it like a treasure."
Another added, "Even the ones gifted by Her Highness are much thicker than that..."
As they were about to speak further, two guards from the Guard suddenly covered their mouths and dragged them away.
The palace attendants were instantly terrified, all falling to their knees.
Qin Yao had an ambiguous smile. Princess squinted slightly, making it hard to tell if she was angry or indifferent.
But her own stern face was hard to maintain.
She suddenly got up, glanced around at the kneeling maids behind her, and commanded them to raise their heads, finding not a single familiar face; her gaze turned deadly serious.
"Jin Yuan Niang, you get in here now!"
The chubby female steward who had previously welcomed Qin Yao ran in sweating, seeing the chaos. Unsure of what happened, she immediately knelt down to plead guilty, just in case.
Princess pointed at the kneeling palace attendants, angrily questioning, "Where did all these people come from?"
Jin Yuan Niang looked up at the group; none were from the main hall’s usual group, which shocked her as well, "Your Highness, subordinate, subordinate..."
She had clearly instructed her trusted aides that with the visiting honored guests at the princess’s residence, no mistakes were to be made.
Especially the servants sent in from various mansions during the princess’s recent birthday celebration, they must not step into the main hall.
Yet, these servants not only entered the main hall, but they also danced right up to Her Highness, offending the esteemed guest!
Jin Yuan Niang banged her forehead on the ground, the situation already occurred, explanations were futile; she needed to remedy the situation quickly.
"Please calm down, Your Highness. Subordinate will replace them immediately."
She also bowed apologetically towards Qin Yao, "With such an esteemed guest here, I wouldn’t dare disturb you; I’ll go to the back to receive punishment instantly."
Princess took a few deep breaths, suppressing the fierceness in her eyes, and waved her hand.
Jin Yuan Niang quickly took all the people away, bringing in a replacement group.
Qin Yao couldn’t tell the difference, but the temperament between the two batches of palace attendants was indeed noticeable.
The previous batch appeared rash, while this batch seemed much more composed and pleasant, both in action and expression.
Before receiving her punishment, Jin Yuan Niang whispered in Princess’s ear, "The previous group was just sent from the National Master Mansion."
Finishing, she summoned Princess’s close male guard into the room and left to receive her punishment.
"Sikong Jian, you really are a vile person!"
Princess crushed the cherry in her hand, its juice bursting all over her fingers.
The guard, accustomed to such behavior, took out a handkerchief, wiped her fingers clean, and retreated behind the couch to wash her hair.
On Qin Yao’s side, Yun Nuo replaced the previous attendant.
The man’s hands were broader, his fingers stronger, as he repeatedly massaged Qin Yao’s scalp, greatly relieving her tense head.
She couldn’t help but close her eyes in enjoyment, letting out a contented hum.
