At this crucial moment, Lin Sanjiu opened her eyes from the thick and prickly haystack.
The first ray of light shone into her eyes. Before she could react, she took a deep breath and jumped out of the haystack. The haystack fell to the ground, scaring Cinderella, who was digging the ashes from the stove.
"What's wrong?" Cinderella's face and hands were dark. Her voice was gentle, "Did you have a nightmare?"
"I … Ah, yes. That's right." Lin Sanjiu blinked her eyes. She felt as if her mind was still stuck in the small house with the deafening barks. She took a few seconds to recover and looked out of the window.
It was still a dark night outside. Half of the moon was still hanging in the clouds, and there was no sign of rain at all.
"What time is it now?" Lin Sanjiu calmed her breath and looked at Cinderella with a puzzled expression. "Why are you working at this time?"
Cinderella sighed. "I always wake up at this time to work … It will be dawn soon, and the kitchen will be busy preparing breakfast by then."
After she said that, she seemed to have thought of something. She paused and stared blankly at the stove in front of her. She was in a daze.
Lin Sanjiu could guess what was on her mind.
From the bits and pieces she heard, the ball happened last month. Logically speaking, Cinderella should have lost one of her shoes long ago. However, it had been almost a month and no prince had come to look for her …
To Cinderella, the jeweled dress, the bright lights, the prince, and the ball had all become a distant and unrealistic dream. Even after the dream ended, she still had to squat in the dirty kitchen and work with her hands covered in mud.
"Cinderella's story is about to reach a critical moment, just like Red Riding Hood, right?"
As Lin Sanjiu thought about it, she excused herself to wash up and went outside to organize her cards.
She handed the items to Cinderella's stepmother. They were just some scented candles and a flashlight. Although her stepmother accepted them without a second thought, she was a little disappointed that they weren't jewelry. Hence, she only arranged a haystack for Lin Sanjiu.
After organizing the cards, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help thinking about the other two people in the small house that rainy night.
Whether it was Little Red Riding Hood or Emma. None of them looked like a werewolf, and there was nothing suspicious about their behavior. Thinking about it, what were werewolves like?
While Lin Sanjiu was immersed in her own thoughts, the sky gradually brightened. Cinderella rushed in and out to prepare the meal. She sent it to her stepmother and sisters while she cooked two bowls of potato and bean mixture. He gave it to Lin Sanjiu.
Even though it didn't taste good, Lin Sanjiu was already very happy to be able to eat a hot meal.
Seeing her wolfing down the food, Cinderella could not help but chuckle, "You must have suffered a lot along the way, right?"
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback by his words.
If the apocalyptic world was her journey, she really didn't know where the end was.
Usually, Lin Sanjiu would try her best to restrain herself from thinking about the endless apocalyptic worlds. She would also try her best not to think about her dead friends and companions. However, these emotions were like the sand under the surface of the water. Cinderella's words stirred them up.
"Ah, yes. It's rare that I can eat," Lin Sanjiu replied with a smile. Cinderella scrutinized Lin Sanjiu's expression.
Cyndrea scrutinized Lin Sanjiu's expression and hesitated for a moment. Just when he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a commotion not far away. A male servant's voice sounded especially loud among the commotion, "Madam! Madam! Where are you? Hurry up and come out to welcome the majordomo of the palace! "
"He's here!"
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. She put down the bowl of rice and pulled Cinderella, who was still in a daze, into the house through the back door.
Cinderella's manor house. At this moment, she no longer had her usual reserved manner.
Her stepmother rushed out with her dress in hand. Her hair had just been combed and was still glistening with oil. Behind her were Cinderella's two sisters. The three of them had obviously dressed up. There were strings of sparkling gemstones on their hands and bodies. "Why is the majordomo here?" the stepmother asked after she caught her breath.
The chief steward of the palace was a middle-aged man with silver-grey hair. His face was cold and stern, so serious that people couldn't help but put on the same expression.
"Under the prince's orders, I am looking for a girl who can wear this shoe," he explained in a business-like tone. He explained in a business-like tone, then waved his hand, and someone behind him took out a crystal shoe in a box. "The person who can wear this shoe will receive the highest honor. That person will be able to stay by the prince's side forever. "
The moment the crystal shoe appeared, Lin Sanjiu heard Cinderella gasp in surprise. Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the majordomo and the shoe, so no one noticed her.
What happened next was similar to a fairytale. Although the stepmother's two daughters did not cut their feet to fit their shoes like in the fairy tales, they still put in a lot of effort. They used cloth strips to wrap their feet round and round. Even their toes were rolled under the soles of their feet. It was like the European version of foot binding.
However, even though their faces turned green from the pain, they still couldn't squeeze their feet into the shoe.
The crystal shoe didn't have any room for expansion and contraction. It could only fit the shape of its owner's foot. The majordomo even wanted Lin Sanjiu to try it, but when he saw Lin Sanjiu stretching out her foot, which was wrapped in a skywood orchid, he immediately dismissed the idea.
In the end, when Cinderella slid her small and thin bare foot into the crystal shoe, Lin Sanjiu was almost deafened by the exclamations of the people around her.
"That's great," the majordomo said with a stern face. He didn't seem to be happy at all. "We finally found you. I think the prince will be very happy."
Cinderella blushed as she allowed a few palace maids to pull her over. After they cleaned her up and dressed her up, she finally revealed some of the beauty she had shown during the ball.
It was a wonderful feeling to be able to experience everything with the characters in the fairy tale. As the hall on the first floor was already full of people, Lin Sanjiu stood by the window on the second floor and watched as the majordomo led Cinderella out of the house. The majordomo respectfully escorted her to a majestic horse carriage.
In Lin Sanjiu's memory, the prince was there. He was also the one who ordered the punishment of the stepmother and the two daughters. The prince was probably sitting in the horse carriage.
The scene before her seemed to confirm her guess.
The majordomo said something to the people in the horse carriage. Then, he let Cinderella walk over.
Cinderella glanced at the horse carriage. She turned around and said something to the majordomo. Then, she waved her hand anxiously...
"Huh?" Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes.
There seemed to be something wrong with Cinderella's expression.
Her face was a little pale. She kept shaking her head. As she was too far away, Lin Sanjiu couldn't hear what she was saying. However, before she could say a few words and turn to leave, two tall soldiers suddenly walked over. They grabbed Cinderella and forced her into the horse carriage.
Cinderella's feet were still kicking outside the horse carriage. It was as if she was being held down by someone inside the horse carriage. However, the wheels of the horse carriage started to move impatiently. Soon, it turned around and left the front of the house.
In the room, everyone who saw this scene was silent.
"Here comes the change!"
Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and jumped out of the window when no one was paying attention. When she landed on the ground, the weight of her body made her legs numb. However, before the dust settled, Lin Sanjiu had already run far away. She chased after the horse carriage and refused to let go.
As she wasn't sure what was going on, she didn't chase after the horse carriage at full speed. Instead, she stayed at a moderate distance to observe the situation.
Fortunately, a country that could attract all the young girls in the country to try on shoes wasn't very large. After running for about ten minutes, Lin Sanjiu arrived at the palace.
To Lin Sanjiu, this small palace was like a deserted place. She only spent 20 minutes before she found Cinderella in a room that was decorated in a simple yet elegant manner.
Her face was pale and full of tears. She didn't even find it strange when she saw Lin Sanjiu.
"The prince who danced with me isn't the one just now," she whimpered. (To be continued.)
PS:
[I can't take it anymore. There are too many things to do recently. I have to rush to update. I don't even know if there are any mistakes … Fortunately, I already have a rough idea of the story. All I need to do is to add some color (s) to the story and express my thoughts. That will be the next chapter.]
[When I didn't have any recommendations, I was itching to get them recommended. Now that I'm on the recommendation page, I realized that I had too many things to do every day. Updating has become a heavy task …]
[The number of subscriptions for the past two days is really heart-wrenching. It's fine if it doesn't increase, but it actually dropped …] [Daowen website, if you have the ability to steal, why don't you have the ability to write?]
[Fortunately, there are still some readers who gave me consolation: [Thank you [Life as a Jade] for your A + sachet, Bai Xiaowang for your 2 protective amulets, and Ming Yuebi for your pink chapter!]
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