“Why do you need a carriage prepared?” Hearing her mother’s question, Azula naturally could not tell the truth.
Her eyes turned, and she immediately answered, “It’s just that I haven’t seen Zuzu in so long.
I kind of miss him.” Ursa tossed the remaining feed to the turtle-ducks, casting a sideways glance at Azula.
“If you could say that to your brother’s face, he would probably be very happy.” Seeing that the relationship between brother and sister had eased somewhat, Ursa felt a little comforted.
Azula replied perfunctorily, “Right, right.
Well, Mother, I’m going to go take my bath now.” Ursa released her grip on Azula, watching her daughter dash off and vanish from sight in a heartbeat.
She couldn’t help but shake her head.
When would this girl ever act like a proper young lady?
After bathing, Azula returned to her bedroom and hugged Ty Lee and Mai, who were eating from a fruit plate inside.
In very high spirits, she picked a dress from the wardrobe and said, “Mai, Ty Lee, what do you think of me wearing this?” Mai had always been quiet.
She glanced at the light pink dress Azula had chosen and imagined the always forceful Azula wearing such a girlish outfit.
For some reason, it was a little funny.
Ty Lee, on the other hand, was a good girl.
No matter who she faced, she could always greet them with the greatest enthusiasm.
She immediately moved beside Azula and began chatting with her about girls’ clothing and styling.
Azula listened intently.
Though she usually found such trivial topics entirely uninteresting, she was in an incredibly good mood today.
Well, aside from being slightly annoyed that her mother hadn’t praised her morning training session, her day had been entirely pleasant so far.
After rummaging through the entire wardrobe, Azula, with Ty Lee’s help, tried to put together an outfit that would give the most comfortable impression.
Her makeup also needed to be done properly.
However, neither Azula nor Ty Lee was the type who was good at makeup.
After a frantic round of tinkering, they ended up either applying the lip gloss far too heavily or blending the blush so deeply that they looked like a pair of baboons.
Watching the two of them struggle, Mai couldn’t control the corners of her mouth from twitching upward, letting out a low, muffled laugh.
The moment Azula glared in her direction, Mai quickly restrained her smile, stood up, and asked with her usual coldness, “Didn’t the etiquette teacher teach us how to do makeup?” Azula crossed her arms, adopting a completely indifferent look.
“I’ve never wasted my energy on small matters like that.” Ty Lee, however, looked rather embarrassed.
“When the etiquette teacher was teaching, I was chatting with my sisters.
You know, I have a lot of sisters!” Mai sighed, then stood and took an eyebrow pencil from the cabinet beside the dressing mirror.
Leaning lightly against the wall with her arms folded, she said with complete confidence, “Let me do it for you both.” “That’s wonderful!
Mai, you’re amazing!” Ty Lee was very happy and wrapped an arm around Mai’s shoulders, affectionately rubbing her cheek against hers.
Azula rolled her eyes, thinking that Mai only had the energy to study such useless skills because she had no talent for bending.
Of course, Azula would never admit that she was a little envious.
After fussing for quite some time, Mai applied light makeup to both of them, mainly focusing on carefully refining their eyebrows and eyeliner.
With Mai’s help, the sharpness at the corners of Azula’s eyes softened somewhat.
As long as she was not narrowing her eyes, she actually looked rather well-behaved.
Azula nodded in satisfaction at the mirror, then waved her hand.
“We set off!” The moment the three girls stepped out of the living quarters, they crossed paths with Ozai, who had just returned home from his duties.
Ozai narrowed his eyes slightly, subjecting the three girls to a heavy, critical scrutiny that carried an intense, suffocating pressure.
Mai tugged Ty Lee slightly, and the two of them bowed to Ozai.
However, in Ozai’s eyes, the two of them were nobodies.
He paid them no attention at all and looked at Azula.
“Azula, I heard from your mother that you intend to visit Zuko?” Azula showed no sign of fear whatsoever.
Instead, she offered a bright, welcoming smile.
“Father, I’m simply curious to see just how much skill this non-bender Piandao actually possesses!” Hearing this, Ozai didn’t show the slightest hint of anger.
Instead, a deeply satisfied smirk spread across his face.
“Very good.
Your brother is a disgrace and a waste.
I was worried you might become weak like him, but now it seems you are worthy of being the child I take the most pride in!” After saying that, Ozai walked straight past the three of them and left.
From beginning to end, he never once glanced at Mai and Ty Lee, who were still maintaining their bowed posture.
Only after Ozai left did Ty Lee and Mai straighten.
Ty Lee glanced behind her before carefully saying, “Azula, aren’t we going to Shu Jing to see Ren?” Azula glanced at Ty Lee and frowned slightly.
“Are you that eager to see Ren?” Ty Lee was about to answer when Mai firmly pinched her palm.
Only then did she notice that, at some point, Azula’s eyes had narrowed slightly, and her whole person seemed extremely sharp and cold.
“N-Not particularly!
I was just thinking that since Ren has been staying in Shu Jing for so long, he must know all the best places to have fun,” Ty Lee stammered, scrambling for an excuse.
Hearing Ty Lee’s reply, Azula broke into a smile and teased, “Oh my, if you want to see Ren, just say so.
We’re good friends, there’s no need to hide secrets from me…” At that point, Azula pretended to ask casually, “Seriously though, you don’t actually like Ren, do you?” “The capital is not exactly close to Shu Jing.
If we don’t leave soon, we won’t arrive by nightfall.” Mai stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over.
Azula said indifferently, “We can change ostrich horses directly at the relay stations along the way.
It won’t affect the schedule.” However, thanks to Mai’s interruption, Azula did not continue pressing the question.
The three of them shared a carriage and soon set off for Shu Jing.
Most of the journey by carriage was boring.
As a royal carriage, it was also smooth and comfortable.
Azula’s excitement gradually faded, replaced by the sleepiness that came from waking early.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
After yawning, Azula rubbed her face to make herself more alert.
However, when she looked at Ty Lee sitting across from her, head tilted against Mai’s shoulder as she slept soundly, Azula felt her own eyelids begin fighting again.
… As evening approached, the training courtyard of the Shu Jing estate was alive with movement.
Ren and Zuko were locked in a fierce sparring session.
The solid foundation Master Piandao had forced them to build over the past two weeks had certainly not been a waste of time.
Without either boy realizing it, Piandao had subtly woven the advanced sword techniques he intended to teach them directly into their basic physical conditioning.
Consequently, when they officially began learning the sword techniques, both boys picked them up with incredible speed.
Even Zuko was stunned to discover he possessed such a natural aptitude for the blade.
Of course, at the same time, their physical conditioning had grown heavier.
Previously, they had run carrying twenty pounds of weight.
Now, that had been doubled.
Even Ren, whose physical condition far surpassed others his age, felt somewhat unable to endure it.
But sometimes, that was how things were.
When you were alone, you might feel that you could not keep going.
Yet if there was someone beside you persevering along the same path, the stubborn refusal to lose in your heart would make you realize, to your own surprise, that you could endure far more than you had imagined.