Wudu Palace

They entered the side hall where they were greeted by the prince who was looking happy, "Master, Fēi JîeJîe, welcome back!" he greeted brightly before turning to his teacher, "You left early this morning when I went to practice at the Xia River so I asked Miss Souxin she said you were out for some work so I practised what you taught me yesterday and I can finally change into scales without having to worry about my skin bleeding much isn't that great Master?" he asked star-eyed.

ShuîYuê gave the young boy a gentle smile, "You have done well Jīnyú, you can go back for a small holiday to the Central Palace tomorrow." she said, ruffling his hair.

"Really? I'll go back and start packing right away, thankyou Master," he replied before running off happily, like an excited little puppy.

Jade wondered if someone was born in Heaven other than Wind Master or Prince Jīnyú who could make Water Master smile, this woman dressed in black in front of her was a walking talking contradiction and trying to decipher her behaviour would make Jade mental, and she wished to not go entirely screwed in the brain especially not because of this incredibly rude! Snappish! Pathetic! Cold-hearted! Cold-blooded! Cowardly! Jade averted her gaze from Water Master's face when the latter noticed the maid looking at her with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

Yìfēi asked, "Souxin returned? When? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You didn't let me speak," ShuîYuê said as she drank some water.

"Call her in. I have been dying to drink her special tea. No one in this place can make something even similar to that." Yìfēi sat as Jade removed her outer robe.

Souxin entered the hall a few minutes later while ShuîYuê and Yìfēi went over some scrolls, correcting them. Souxin greeted them, "Good afternoon, my ladies." she greeted, bowing her head. Jade looked up from her spot at the edge of the hall to see who this Souxin was and what was so special about her, Souxin was a young girl a few years older than Jade probably, who was serving Yìfēi tea who was chatting with the aforementioned maid, she had a bright smile and a beautiful face and the way she talked anyone would like to be around her no wonder she was liked by all, this was the same person Jade had bumped into this morning.

Jade looked down at herself she was just a silly girl who needed a job because her father had passed away from sickness, and her mother had succumbed to her deteriorating health shortly after the birth of her youngest brother, and with her little siblings she had to do something to earn money, she ran into Rong Pei in the market knocking down the things the old maid held, Jade apologised to her helping her pick up her things, Rong Pei noticed how thin she was and asked her if she was alright Jade of course smiled brightly and said she was struggling a bit with earning money but she was all good other than that, so Rong Pei asked if she knew household work and when Jade nodded she took the girl back to the Wudu Palace.

She was surprised the palace wasn't luxurious but it was humongous, she got lost often but she quickly rose to the ranks with her bright personality and the ability to handle difficult situations, she became Rong Pei's right-hand in a short amount of time, there weren't many who could work under Aunt Rong Pei who was strict and fair but since Souxin was away she needed someone to help her and Jade was just like Souxin, their behaviours were similar and so she was sent to serve as a maid to Water Master's Main Hall.

That was the first time Jade saw the infamous Water Master. She had entered to serve tea for a guest called Wind Master who was supposedly Water Master's best friend. When she entered the main hall for the first time, she noticed it was dark covered in shades of blue, the curtains were light blue as well. A female sat at the right side, she was very beautiful, and her long black hair and cyan orbs, which were so bright and welcoming, looked around with excitement.

Jade felt as if she was back at her home, the woman was dressed in beautiful robes of turquoise blue and white with red accents, wore beautiful yet light jewellery and had a fan which read, "Feng" on it, she twirled it around gracefully, skin as fair and glowing as a jade, she had a beautiful body as well Jade had never seen such a beautiful woman before, her plump red lips had a smile which never seemed to leave, she noticed Jade staring at her and called her, "Hurry up dear," even her voice was sweet like sugar, her doe eyes observed the maid as she prepared the tea, she had a curious look in her orbs as her red earring jingled lightly with the breeze.

Jade gingerly served her tea. She thanked Jade before focusing her attention back on the other person in the room who was busy reading through some papers. They sat at the centre of the hall in the centre seat which had a single moonstone embedded at the top, Jade approached the person carefully, she placed the tea set on the other table and while the tea was steeping she stole glances at the dark robbed person they were wearing navy blue robes with a white inner robe and golden accents on it, the robes were rather simple.

The person wasn't adorned in any jewellery either they had dark brown hair, and a few locks covered their face naturally, Jade couldn't see the face properly because of the hair locks so when the person tucked away their locks which were troubling their eyes as they tried to read the scrolls, Jade saw a pale face, the person's lips were peachy and plump they had a mole on their chin as well on the left side, when they locked eyes with Jade she froze, the person had almond-shaped, dark brown eyes which dug deep into Jade's soul, even the doe eyes were soft yet the person looking through them had a stoic look, they had a small nose but the cute features failed to hide the cold expression on their face, it seemed they were irritated by Jade's presence she quickly served them tea and stood back with her head bowed down.

The female in the room sensed her friend's irritation, which was directed at the maid, so she tried to change her friend's attention from the poor maid, "The tea you prepared is wonderful." the welcoming female complimented,

Jade didn't say anything but kept looking down. "Who adds so much sugar?" asked a low, calm, slightly deep yet authoritative voice.

Jade looked at the person seated in the main seat they were staring back at Jade more like glaring at her, and she felt herself shrink under the person's scrutinising glare. She clutched her skirt tightly as her heartbeats picked up, Was she going to be fired? Would she have to fend for herself in the streets again? Her thoughts were making her head dizzy with worry,

The beautiful female got up and sat by the scary-looking person's side; Her movements were graceful as well. She poured fresh tea into a different cup for the intimidating person while scolding them, "YueYue, look, you scared the little girl, Don't be so angry now, okay?" she asked softly. The scary-looking person calmed down as they took a sip of the tea, "When you make tea for Water Master make sure to only add half a teaspoon of sugar. She doesn't like sweet things." the beautiful female told softly.

Jade looked up when she was being spoken to. When she heard the last line, she unconsciously stared at the scary person's chest, wondering if they were a female as well. The pretty female noticed the maid staring at her friend's chest she chuckled at the girl's confusion and proceeded to poke a finger in the person's chest caught it swiftly, they raised a brow at their friend in question who eyed the maid, "She's wondering if you are a male or a female." she spoke, stifling her laughter.

By no means Water Master was flat, but due to her deep voice and lack of jewellery Jade couldn't tell if she was a male or a female, since they were both sitting she couldn't see a belt hook either which would indicate a male so Jade's curiosity was justified however her eyes went wide she was going to be thrown out of this Wudu Palace soon if this pretty lady didn't shut up. She locked eyes with Water Master once again, who glared at her, "Mind your own business." Water Master snapped coldly.

She left the Main Hall hurriedly, clutching the tea set. She sighed a breath of relief as she was out of the line of danger. Rong Pei stared at her. "What's the matter?" she asked curiously.

"I am never going in there," she said as she breathed deeply.

"Oh, you met the elemental masters finally did you?" Rong Pei asked

"The beautiful female in there who was she?" Jade asked

"She is the Wind Master,"

"And the other person, the one dressed in the navy robes?"

"That is the Master of Wudu Palace, Water Master," Rong Pei responded with a slight hint of proudness in her voice.

"A second, isn't the elemental master male?" Jade asked, confused

"Only one of them is male. The other three are female." Rong Pei explained.
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Word count: 1640. I hope you liked it.