Chapter 33: The Tiger Falls into Pingyang

  "Get out! All of you! Scram!"

  The servants didn't understand what was happening, they only knew that the princess had been getting more and more irritable lately, and it was getting harder to serve her. They covered their ears and waited outside the door, listening to the commotion inside.

  Bang!

  Another vase shattered sound, the servant at the door trembled and bowed even lower, perhaps this could bring him a sense of security.

  Three days later was the day when Viscount Rochester promised to send Princess Visa back, but there was still no news from him. Elro was anxious and had no choice but to wait. If her brother didn't return soon, she really couldn't withstand the outside rumors and speculation. She feared that if he didn't come back in time, the country would be left without a ruler, the kingdom would split into four or five parts, and the royal family would never regain its former glory.

  Thinking of this, Eluo couldn't help but smash another vase to vent his emotions.

  "Princess, get angry if you must, but don't take it out on these innocent things."

  Ai Luo heard the man speak and his anger slightly subsided

  "How come you haven't left yet? Anyway, I can't stop you now."

  "Hehe, I will naturally leave after clearing up the favor your mother owes me."

  Princess Ai Luo suddenly leaned in close to the man, lifted her head and stared straight into his eyes.

  "Do you want to pay back? Can you pay it back?"

  The man stopped talking and Ero spoke again, much calmer this time.

  "Help me find Rochester, this is my first time speaking out, you won't refuse, will you?"

  It had been a long time since there was an answer, Ai Luo turned around to look, and found that the person had disappeared.

  After the last disturbance, Uncle's family was indeed much more honest and no longer dared to cut Lydia's medicine. With Emily and Charlotte's careful care, Lydia's waking time has been getting longer and longer. Charlotte joked with her mother that she was the real Sleeping Beauty, sleeping for three-quarters of the day.

  Before her mother woke up, Charlotte always found something to say to comfort her and ease her mind. On this day, when her mother fell asleep again, Charlotte pulled Emily over to the window.

  "Emily, is there something you don't dare say in front of your mother? Say it now."

  Emily hesitated and scratched her hair, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

  "Go on, I'll help you think of a solution for this difficult matter."

  Emily then said

  "Miss, I saw Cinderella, she is just outside the door, do you want to see her?"

  Charlotte looked at Emily strangely.

  "Why can't I see her? Although she's not my biological sister, she's still a member of my family. Isn't the most important thing now that our family is reunited?"

  "Aren't you always disliked her?"

  Charlotte smiled and said with a smile,

  "Emily, don't you understand? Not liking someone doesn't mean I don't care. Come on, take me to find my sister."

  Before leaving, Emily told Charlotte about how she met Cinderella. At that time, Cinderella was being robbed by a man. Emily saw her profile and thought it looked like her, so she walked closer to take a look. She found out that the thug was snatching Cinderella's bag, so Emily shouted loudly and scared the thug away. Just as Cinderella was about to thank her, she realized that the person who saved her was actually an acquaintance.

  According to Emily, Cinderella must have been having a hard time. Charlotte was slightly anxious to see how her usually weak sister was doing. She came to the courtyard and turned into a small alley. Charlotte indeed saw a frail woman with her back to herself, staring at the patterns on the stone wall in a daze. Even when she walked very close, Cinderella still didn't come back to her senses. Helpless, Charlotte could only softly call out to her.

  Cinderella

  Cinderella turned around and saw her, a girl wearing a black veil with her eyes closed, asking in surprise.

  "Who are you?"

  Emily appeared from behind Charlotte, and Cinderella saw Emily slightly relieved.

  "Cinderella, this is Charlotte, your elder sister."

  Cinderella covered her mouth in disbelief.

  "How could this be? How could I have gone blind?!"

  Charlotte explained

  "Cinderella don't worry, it's not blind, just scared and frightened you."

  "Cinderella Charlotte has met with some misfortune, alas, she's not herself now and who knows when she'll return to her original form!"

  Emily said with some sadness, Miss's original beauty was beyond Viscountess, now it has become a state of neither human nor ghost, which good man would marry Miss, Lucas family is declining again. Emily deeply worried about Charlotte's future. Cinderella also felt sad when she heard this, Charlotte had always been living in her memory as the pride of heaven, but unexpectedly, when they met again, both sisters were so miserable.

  "Is Duke of Windsor going to abandon his sister for this reason?!"

  Charlotte wondered why Cinderella had such a question, and Emily's answer also made her dizzy.

  "Hmph! Let's not mention that scoundrel again! I went to the south to look for Miss and only then did I discover that he had already found a new love, where was Miss's shadow?! Later when I met Miss in the palace, I didn't dare mention him either, it was all because I feared causing Miss distress."

  "What's going on? I don't understand a single sentence. And when did I ever interact with Windsor? You guys are making me feel like I've lost my memory."

  Cinderella reminded

  "After the Duke of Windsor rescued you from Tataba Mountain, he wrote to your parents asking for your hand in marriage and even gave you an engagement ring. You didn't know?"

  Windsor didn't think he was making excuses for himself, he probably thought he really died and did it as a delaying tactic. He knew that things had passed too long to explain clearly, so Charlotte just defaulted on this matter. As for the engagement, she wasn't worried at all. It's hard to see Windsor again in this life, let alone get married, what a pipe dream.

  After bringing Cinderella to her own room, Emily went to take care of Lydia, and the two sisters began to pour out their experiences over the past few years.

  At that time, a momentary impulse finally made Rochester and Cinderella taste the bitter fruit. Worried about being found by the royal family, they left the capital with only a portion of gold and silver on a thin horse without any attendants. The two people had a sweet and romantic life like a divine couple at first, but money would eventually run out. Neither of them knew how to manage finances or be frugal, so they soon fell into a difficult situation where they were struggling to make ends meet.

  Cinderella thought of the sheepskin scroll, and with a try-it-out attitude, she and Rochester hired people to go to the Karkos Desert to find treasure. Along the way, the wind and sand were fierce, Cinderella's delicate white skin aged a lot, but Rochester gained a bit of maturity. Fortunately, Lydia, although not fond of Cinderella, was not venomous, and they really dug up gold under the ground as indicated on the map, far less than what outsiders said, just enough for ordinary rich people to make a small fortune. This money was enough for them to live without worrying about food and clothing for several generations. The two were overjoyed and forgot that there were still several pairs of greedy eyes staring at them.

  The road back is just as long as the way here, but it feels much lighter to walk. Perhaps they finally put down a burden and relaxed their minds, giving bad people an opportunity to take advantage of them.

  "Where is he now? I don't know if he's still alive,"

  Cinderella began to speak of the prince with a heart-wrenching cry, her words disjointed and intermittent.

  "I shouldn't have parted with him, I knew it now, it's so hard, if only we could be together back then, even if it meant death."

  "Alright, isn't the prince better off than you? You're safe and sound, he's a man, definitely fine, and didn't most of that drugged water go into your belly anyway? Just wait a bit longer, maybe in a few days he'll come looking for you."

  Charlotte's words were reasonable and Cinderella felt a little more at ease, so the next day she stayed at Martiya's house under Emily's introduction, and when she was free, she would run to the only Quercus robur tree mentioned by Rochester to wait for his return.