It didn't take long for the Imperial Edict to arrive.

Prince Lin Zi Xuan took the Imperial Edict that he had gotten and kept it in a safe place before ordering the soldiers to prepare his horse. His father didn't want to see him any longer and kicked him out that very night after giving harsh punishment.

Smells of blood permeated from behind Prince Lin Zi Xuan's body.

Yet, the prince's posture revealed none of the pain he currently felt.

"Your Highness." A man in black cloth knelt before Prince Lin Zi Xuan. He looked at the Imperial Edict in Prince Lin Zi Xuan's hand and frowned. "Her Highness Princess Ning is still too young. It'll take a long time for the plan to commence."

"It doesn't matter." Prince Lin Zi Xuan looked at the Imperial Edict in his hand. "This just meant there are an additional 5 years for us."

He originally planned to find a way to get the first princess, Princess Quan. But looking at how that young girl was always looking at him with such disdainful expression and didn't even want to acknowledge his presence, he was not that bored to bother with that young girl. Disregard and disdain had always been something people gave to him ever since he was young.

"But..."

"Proceed with the plan." Prince Lin Zi Xuan's eyes gleamed within the darkness. "I'm going back."

"Yes, Your Highness."

There were still nine more years before Princess Feng Ning reached marriageable age. During this time, he could stabilize his power at the frontline more. Longer time was actually worked better for him since he was still very weak.

Within the dark night, the group disappeared.

...

Princess Lin Xie Ya's Residence, Feng Ning's Quarter

Feng Ning played with the Imperial Edict in her hand, looking at it a few times. She had to admit that the material was pretty good and with this, she had at least secured her future marriage partner.

Princesses were more often than not sent away to be married in some kind of political marriage. And it would be very common for their partner to be much older... oh well, it was not like Prince Lin Zi Xuan was not so much older than her.

'At least, not a middle aged man.'

When Feng Ning reached 15 years old, he would be 27 years old. Welp, it still felt like a crime, but Feng Ning decided to disregard that thoughts since her mental age was already much older. She should be... uh wait, it was not good to talk about age of a young lady, so there was no need for her to mention it.

In any case, she's older than him mentally.

"Your Highness..." Xiao Yu looked at her mistress with heartache. Now that Feng Ning had turned mute, wouldn't it mean that live would be harder for her? Thinking about how Feng Ning had long been forgotten in this courtyard, how could she bear the thought that Feng Ning would even be in a more miserable situation?

"Don't worry, Your Highness. We'll always stay with you." Xiao Lu pumped her fist as if she was stressing what she said.

Beside them, Xiao Mu also nodded her head.

The three of them were determined to make sure that Feng Ning would never be sad at all and served their Miss well. There was no way they would allow her to feel even more grievances more than this.

Feng Ning was dumbfounded.

She was fine, really.

In fact, she was glad that she didn't have to speak at all. As an introvert girl in her previous life, she didn't like to talk because she often said the wrong thing. Because of her words, she had caused countless troubles in the past.

if not because she had to speak in order to be able to live well in this world, she would have long pretended that she was mute...

Why didn't she think about it in the past?

Feng Ning sighed.

In any case, not being able to talk and not having anyone who would force her to talk was pretty good. Stretched her hand, Feng Ning patted her maidservants and showed them a sweet smile.

"Miss!"

But instead of making them feel comforted, they just cried.

Feng Ning was baffled.

It took a long time for the maidservants to calm down and Feng Ning went to rest on the bed. She might have slept for a long time, but the residue of poison within her body caused her to be quite tired.

"Her Highness had slept." Xiao Yu looked at Feng Ning then at the other servants. "Even though Her Highness had turned mute, we'll have to serve her well."

"I know." Xiao Lu felt heartache when she thought about how miserable Princess Feng Ning's life had been. She was neglected since birth with her parents didn't even bother to pay a visit, her own older sister tried to scheme against her, and now she had turned mute.

What kind of messed up life did she have?

Even though they were only servants, they already felt the heartache just from thinking what Feng Ning had to endure. Their lives seemed to be much better compared to their Princess.

The three servants quietly vowed that they would serve their miss well.

...

Feng Ning had a good night sleep, but when she woke up the next morning, she noticed the food that was served seemed to be somewhat different compared to before. Even though they could still be categorized as delicacy, they looked a bit different compared to the usual food she ate.

They were greasier and incompatible.

Feng Ning's eyes turned cold.

It seemed that once she turned mute, there would be more and more people looking for trouble with her. She had never tried to reason with them because she didn't think that it was necessary.

After all, her goal was to live peacefully.

But since they dared to mistreat a princess like this, they had to be ready to pay for the consequences.

Feng Ning gestured for Xiao Yu to come closer and write in her hand. It was the method of communication that she could think of since she couldn't speak and writing might be a hassle. Of course, this might need some time to get used to because Xiao Yu would have to voice out her words after she wrote it.

"Call the kitchen servants." Xiao Yu's expression turned cold when she noticed the word Feng Ning wrote. Looking at the food before them, it was easy to guess that the real reason for her action was because of these.

Even she felt angry at the thought that a princess could be bullied by the servants.

"Yes."

Xiao Lu and Xiao Mu quickly moved in order to call the kitchen servants. They didn't need a long time to call those people over and quietly retreated to the side in order to allow their Miss to talk with them.

"Your Highness, what order do you have for us?" the kitchen steward asked with a smile on his face.

Feng Ning was looking at the group of people in front of her impassively. Her small fingers continued to write in Xiao Yu's palm.

"Beat them up."

Being a young girl, Feng Ning's vocabulary was naturally limited. She would just give the simple and direct order to the servants through Xiao Yu's mouth.

The kitchen steward's face changed. Even the other kitchen staffs behind him were stunned. "Your Highness! What did we do wrong, we..."

Feng Ning pointed at the food in front of her, her gaze was cold and unfeeling. Those who looked at it would never think that this was the gaze that belonged to a mere 6 year old kid. She repeated the same words to Xiao Yu.

"Beat them up."

Xiao Yu would naturally not care that much about the fate of these servants. Once they dared to offend the princess, their fate would naturally not be good.

The other servants around quickly dragged the kitchen staffs and beat them up. There was no more nonsense uttered as they all pleaded for mercy. Even the kitchen steward didn't expect that he would fall so low today.

He only tried to test out Princess Feng Ning's reaction.

Who would have thought that it would end this badly?

The sound of beating rang out while Xiao Yu continued to speak the words that Feng Ning wrote in her pam. "These foods are not suitable for me. Do you want me to get sick? If you do, go back to household department."