...but at this critical moment, Lin Sanjiu opened her eyes from the thick, somewhat stinging haystack.
The light first caught her eyes. Before she could react to the situation, she took a sharp breath and jumped up from the haystack. The hay suddenly scattered on the ground, startling Cinderella who was digging out the ashes from the stove.
Jump.
"What's wrong?" Cinderella's face and hands were all black, and her tone was very gentle: "Have you had a nightmare?"
"I...ah, yes, that's right." Lin Sanjiu blinked hard, feeling as if her mind was still left in that rainy night hut where the barking of dogs was deafening - she paused for a few seconds and looked at
Outside the window.
It was still a dark night outside, half of the white moon hung faintly in the clouds, and there was no sign of rain——
"What time is it now?" Lin Sanjiu calmed her breathing and looked at Cinderella with some confusion. "Why are you working at this time?"
Cinderella sighed. "I always get up and work at this time...it will be dawn in a while, and the kitchen will be busy making breakfast."
After that, she didn't know what she thought of, and slowly stopped her hands, staring blankly at the stove in front of her, lost in thought.
Lin Sanjiu could guess what she was thinking.
Judging from the few words heard here, the dance was already last month. Logically speaking, Cinderella should have lost a shoe long ago, but almost a month has passed, and there is still no sign of it.
Why did the prince come to find her...
For Cinderella, all the jeweled dresses, bright lights, princes and balls have all become a distant and unreal dream. The dream is over. She still has to squat in the dirty kitchen with her hands full of plaster.
Work on the ground.
The story of Cinderella must be about to reach a critical moment like Little Red Riding Hood, right?
Lin Sanjiu thought as she excused herself to wash up and went outside to sort out her cards.
The things she gave to Cinderella's stepmother were just some scented candles and flashlights - although the other party accepted them without thinking, she was still a little disappointed because it was not gem jewelry, so she only arranged one for her.
haystack.
After sorting out the cards, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but hold her chin and think back to the other two people in the hut on a rainy night.
No matter it is Little Red Riding Hood or Emma, no one looks like a werewolf...and there is nothing suspicious about their behavior. If you think about it carefully, what does a werewolf look like?
While Lin Sanjiu was immersed in her thoughts, the sky gradually brightened - Cinderella hurriedly prepared meals and sent them to her stepmother and sisters. She only cooked two bowls of potatoes and
The bean mixture was given to Lin Sanjiu.
Although the taste is not good, as long as he can have a bite of hot rice, Lin Sanjiu is extremely happy——
Seeing her devouring the food, Cinderella couldn't help but chuckle: "You must have suffered a lot on the road, right?"
This sentence made Lin Sanjiu startled.
If the doomsday world is her journey, she really doesn't know where the end is.
Normally, Lin Sanjiu would try to restrain herself and not let herself think about the vast and endless apocalyptic world, and also try not to think about her own death and lost friends and partners - but this emotion is like the sand under the water.
At this time, he was stirred up by Cinderella's gentle words.
"Ah, yes. It's rare to have food." She came back to her senses and responded with a smile.
Cinderella looked at Lin Sanjiu's expression carefully and hesitated for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by a sudden noise not far away - the voice of a male servant seemed particularly loud in the noise.
: "Madam, madam! Where are you? Come out quickly to meet the steward of the palace!"
coming--!
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat and she put down her job. She picked up Cinderella, who was still confused, and walked into the house through the back door.
The Cinderella family's large, manor-like house has lost all of its former reserved demeanor.
The stepmother rushed out carrying a skirt. Her hair had obviously been smoothed just now. It was still shiny. Behind her were Cinderella's two sisters. The three of them were obviously dressed up with care, and there were a bunch of strings hanging on their hands.
A string of sparkling gems - "Why is the palace steward here?" the stepmother asked after taking a breath.
The palace steward is a middle-aged man with silver-grey hair, his face is cold and serious, and people can't help but put on the same expression as him.
"I was ordered by the prince to search the country for a girl who can wear this shoe." He explained in a businesslike tone, and then waved his hand, and someone behind him showed a glass slipper in a box.
"Those who can wear this shoe will receive the supreme honor and be by the prince's side from now on."
As soon as the crystal shoe was revealed, she heard Cinderella next to her exclaim in low voice. Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the manager and the shoe, but no one paid attention to her.
.
What happened next was almost like in a fairy tale. Although the stepmother's two daughters did not cut their feet to fit shoes like in the fairy tale, they still spent a lot of effort - wrapping their feet with strips of cloth in circles, and wrapping their toes
They were all rolled up under the soles of the feet, almost like a European version of bound feet.
But their faces were blue from the pain, and they still couldn't squeeze their feet into the shoes.
The glass slipper didn't have any room to expand and contract, so it could only adapt to the shape of its owner's foot. The manager even wanted Lin Sanjiu to try it, but he gave up immediately after seeing her stretch out a foot that was covered with Tian Mulan.
Got this idea.
Finally, when Cinderella slid her small and thin bare feet into the glass slippers with a little trepidation, Lin Sanjiu was almost half deafened by the exclamations and shouts of the people around her.
"That's great," the steward's stern face showed no hint of happiness at all. "We finally found you. I'm sure the prince will be very comforted."
Cinderella's face was bright red, and several maids from the palace pulled her over. After cleaning and dressing her up, she finally revealed some of the beauty she showed at the ball.
It is also a wonderful feeling to be in a fairy tale and experience everything with the characters in it - because the hall on the first floor is already full of people, and Lin Sanjiu is standing on the second floor
By the window, he watched Cinderella being welcomed out of the house by the steward and respectfully sent to a particularly impressive carriage.
In Lin Sanjiu's impression, this part of the prince appeared - he was the one who ordered the punishment of his stepmother and two daughters. It was probably the prince who was sitting in this carriage, right?
The scene in front of her seemed to confirm her guess.
The steward said something to the people in the carriage, and then asked Cinderella to walk over.
Cinderella glanced into the carriage, turned around and said something to the steward, and waved her hand hurriedly...
...Huh? Lin Sanjiu narrowed her eyes.
Cinderella's expression didn't seem right.
Her face was a little pale, and she kept shaking her head desperately - because she was too far away, she couldn't hear what she said clearly - but before she could say a few words, and just about to turn around and leave, two tall soldiers suddenly came over.
He picked up Cinderella and forced her into the carriage.
Cinderella's feet were still kicking outside, as if she was being held down by someone in the carriage and couldn't get out. However, the wheels of the carriage were already turning as if they couldn't wait, and they quickly turned around and left in front of the big house.
.
Everyone in the room who saw this scene fell silent.
Something unexpected has happened!
Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and rolled out of the window without anyone noticing. When she landed on the ground, the weight of her body made her feet numb. However, before the dust stirred up could settle, her figure had already run away.
After going a long way, he clung to the carriage and refused to let go.
Because she was not sure what was going on, she did not completely let go of her speed and catch up. She just fell behind to observe the situation.
Fortunately, for a country that can bring out all the girls in the country to try on shoes, its territory is not very large - after running like this for about dozens of minutes, the palace arrived.
For Lin Sanjiu, such a small palace was like a no-man's land. It only took her twenty minutes for Lin Sanjiu to find Cinderella in a very elegantly decorated room.
Her face was pale and full of tears. She didn't even feel strange when she saw Lin Sanjiu——
"...The prince who danced with me is not the same person just now." She whimpered. (To be continued)