After a while, the servant girl came back with dazzlingly colorful petals. The mixed floral fragrance was neither very pleasant nor very bad.
"Well, thank you. Get back to work." Chu Qiao said with a smile.
"Your Highness, it’s my pleasure. I just did what I should do." Then she saluted again and slowly stepped back.
Chu Qiao thought to herself, "This maid behaves well and can be trusted if I carefully train her. Qing Luo is too busy without extra help."
While the servant girl outside was wondering why recently the Princess changed from a weak girl to an aggressive woman, and now into a gentle lady. Never mind. Don't be obsessed with what you shouldn't ask. Just mind your own business.
Leaving half of the rose petals aside, Chu Qiao mashed all the remaining petals, squeezed out the sap and filtered it with a tulle, then she added several kinds of spices, and immediately a pleasant fragrance came out which even attracted the maids outside. Chu Qiao mashed up the rest of rose petals afterwards and squeezed out the sap into a bottle, which would be kept for other uses.
When it was about time for dinner, Qing Luo walked in and saluted to Chu Qiao, "Your Highness, the Prince invited you to dinner tonight."
Chu Qiao looked at Qing Luo in surprise. "What? The Prince wanted me to have dinner with him tonight?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The Prince used to have dinner with you only at festivals or when he was in a good mood, and those occasions were rather rare. It seems you have drawn the attention of the Prince." Qing Luo smiled.
"Ah, I see. Well, help me get dressed. Oh, and hand me the colorful flower sap I just made." Chu Qiao knew the reason why Dantai Yunhan invited her to dinner. Maybe he felt guilty about last night. So she managed to focus and comforted herself that a simple meal with him would be no big deal.
"Yes, Your Highness. But how are you going to apply this flower sap onto your body?" Qing Luo looked at the bottle and asked.
Chu Qiao thought to herself: “Yeah, how could I forget this? Since there's no nozzle here, do I have to apply the sap directly on my body?” Her mind boggled at the situation.
"Oh, I see. You are going to pour it into the bath. You mash these petals so that they can give off more fragrance, right?" Qing Luo said as if she was suddenly enlightened.
"Ah, yes, you’re right. Go get some water. I'm taking a bath right now since there’s still some time before dinner." Chu Qiao immediately replied.
Qing Luo hurriedly prepared the bath, poured the “perfume” that Chu Qiao had taken pains to make into the water. Soon the floral aroma came out and filled the whole room. Soaking in the bath, Chu Qiao suddenly felt as if all her worries were gone. How perfectly the water temperature and the fragrance matched! Although her attempt to make "perfume" failed, the result turned out to be exactly the same. Gradually, she fell asleep.
"Wake up, Your Highness. It's time for dinner." Qing Luo said anxiously and Chu Qiao rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "What time is it now?"
"There’s less than an hour left before the dinner. We have to prepare quickly, otherwise we'll be late, and His Highness will be mad at us."
“What, less than an hour?” Although Chu Qiao hadn't been here for long, she knew clearly that Dantai Yunhan valued punctuality and she would be lectured and even scolded for being late. “A little help here? I got pins and needles in my legs.” After standing up with the help of Qing Luo, she began dressing herself up right away.
Dinner was almost ready and Dantai Yunhan had arrived. Seeing this, a maid suggested, "Your Highness, the Princess is not here yet. Why don’t you have dinner first, otherwise they’ll turn cold."
"That’s alright. I’ll wait for the Princess and we’ll have dinner together", said Dantai Yunhan.
Soon Chu Qiao arrived with Qing Luo. Looking at the dinner that had been served and Dantai Yunhan who was sitting in the main seat, Chu Qiao immediately saluted, "Your Highness. Please forgive me for coming late."
"Never mind. Take your seat. Or the dishes will get cold and won't taste as good as before."
Chu Qiao looked at Dantai Yunhan in surprise, as if what she had heard was nonsense. Pigs really might fly! How come he wasn't mad at her? Although amazed, she answered hurriedly, "Thank you, Your Highness", and then sat down.
"Well, let's start. Place all the dishes that the Princess likes in front of her."
Looking at her favorite dishes in front of her, with Dantai Yunhan staring at her with a smile, Chu Qiao felt scared because she felt like a prisoner who was given one last dinner right before the execution. Is it the calm before the storm...?
Dantai Yunhan served some food with his chopsticks into Chu Qiao's bowl and said, "Come on. Have some before it turns cold, these are all your favorites."
"Ah... Yes, thank you very much, Your Highness." Chu Qiao looked at Dantai Yunhan timidly, and put the food into her mouth rapidly for fear that he might burst out at any moment. The maids and guards standing next to them were all stunned for seeing the Prince being so nice to someone for the first time and couldn’t even believe their eyes.
"How do you like them? Do they taste good? If not, I’ll ask the chef to make something else right now. Do you have any particular requirements?" asked Dantai Yunhan.
"Oh, they're all delicious and I like them all. You don’t need to ask them to prepare anything particular for me. Your Highness, please have some, or I can't finish them all by myself", Chu Qiao answered in a hurry.
"Okay, play chess with me in the pavilion later."
"It is rare that Your Highness is interested in playing chess with me. And I promise you will enjoy it."
Sensing Chu Qiao’s reaction, Dantai Yunhan wondered why she looked so afraid although he was very nice to her. Did he do anything wrong?
After dinner, Chu Qiao walked to the pavilion with Dantai Yunhan. On the way, he sniffed the air and asked, "What flowers are giving off such wonderful fragrance?"
Then Chu Qiao answered: "Your Highness, it’s the flower fragrance on me."
"Huh? Why are you full of floral fragrance?" asked Dantai Yunhan curiously.
"Your Highness, I picked several kinds of flowers, squeezed out their sap and added some spices. Then I put some of the mixture in my bath, which is where the rich aroma on me comes from."
Dantai Yunhan finally understood, "I see. That’s a brilliant idea, but where did you learn it from?"
"Your Highness, a rouge dealer told me. Let's go. It’s turning dark outside." Obviously, Chu Qiao didn't want to talk much in case it brought up more difficult questions.
"OK, let's go."