If not for leading the way, the little girl would probably have walked behind Jiangyi.
Lin Xiaowei watched the figures of the two gradually disappear. She stayed in place for a while before also lifting her legs to follow.
Following the little girl through twists and turns, they finally stopped in front of a house door.
"Big sister, this is it," the little girl said, pointing to the red door.
"En," Jiangyi softly grunted, her tone and expression filled with undisguised disdain.
Think about her past, when did she ever live in such a place?
Even now, it was unavoidable. If the Grand Princess had to condescend to come, then a mere girl like her was even less to be considered.
"Big sister, wait here a moment. I'll go call someone to bring the hot water."
After speaking, the little girl bowed and hurried away.
Lin Xiaowei stood to the side, treated as invisible by the two. She didn't care about this in the slightest.
In no time, the little girl returned.
Behind her, followed several matrons, each carrying a wooden bucket.
Some of the wooden buckets were still emitting steam, indicating they had been recently heated.
Lin Xiaowei watched as the women carried the wooden buckets into the house. Before long, the sound of splashing water could be heard from inside.
Listening to the sound of the water, Lin Xiaowei's eyes gleamed with excitement.
It had been a very long time since she had a comfortable hot bath.
In the post-apocalyptic world, people didn't even have drinking water, let alone water for bathing.
But beauty was every woman's nature.
If she didn't wash, she could simply ignore it and wouldn't feel much suffering.
However, once there was an opportunity to bathe, no woman could continue to endure it. Lin Xiaowei had been here for two days. Although she had encountered a major natural disaster like a snowstorm, the environment here was truly exceptional.
The fresh air, the pure snow, she didn't know how long it had been since she had seen them.
Naturally, her joy was entirely due to the fact that she could bathe.
Even in this weather, with her nose frozen stiff, she felt as if she could still smell the heavy zombie decay on her body.
However, she knew this was her psychological effect.
If she truly had such a strong stench, Sima Han and the others might not just ignore her, but might even kill her.
Therefore, at the moment, hearing the gurgling water inside, she felt a prickling sensation all over her body.
Just as she was about to lose her patience, the women inside finally came out.
"Madam Jiangyi, the water is ready."
Jiangyi nodded slightly upon hearing this, signaling the women to leave.
"You go wash, I'll wait for you here."
Lin Xiaowei desperately wanted to rush into the house to bathe, but now, she still had to appease Jiangyi.
Otherwise, if Jiangyi spoke ill of her to the Grand Princess Zande later, no matter what she said, the Grand Princess Zande would probably not believe her.
"In this icy weather, with this heavy snow, it looks like it will continue to fall. Sister, why bother waiting here for me? I'll go by myself after I finish washing."
Jiangyi hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but still refused, "I don't know the way, let alone you. You should go wash quickly, and we'll go meet the Grand Princess together."
Lin Xiaowei was only trying to act cute, so after Jiangyi declined, she obediently entered the house and closed the door.
Upon entering the house, Lin Xiaowei no longer had to maintain her composure.
She quickly ran behind the glazed screen and saw two large tubs, each filled with steaming hot water, with flower petals floating on the surface.
"Wow, this is too luxurious. A flower bath!"
Lin Xiaowei's eyes widened at the sight before her, and the next second, she began to undress.
She wasn't wearing much to begin with. After taking off her clothes, she quickly sat down in the tub.
As her entire body was enveloped by the hot water, Lin Xiaowei closed her eyes, feeling as if she had arrived in heaven.
"It seems my choice was correct. This Grand Princess is truly rich, powerful, and influential. From now on, I must cling tightly to this thigh."
Lin Xiaowei closed her eyes, leaned her head against the side of the tub, and murmured softly.
It was half an hour later when she finished washing.
After stepping out of the tub and drying herself with the towel draped over the glazed screen, Lin Xiaowei walked to a nearby table and looked at the clothes placed on a wooden tray.
The clothes were a pale pink, similar in style to what Jiangyi was wearing, except Jiangyi's were purple.
Although the clothes of this era were layered and seemed difficult to put on, Lin Xiaowei was not worried at all.
The reason was simple: before the apocalypse, she was a historical costume enthusiast.
Her home was filled with countless sets of ancient costumes, from various periods, styles, and colors.
Therefore, putting on clothes for herself was very easy.
After getting dressed and drying her hair, Lin Xiaowei walked out from behind the glazed screen.
She originally intended to open the door and leave directly, but her peripheral vision caught sight of a makeup box, and on it, a wooden box for exquisite hair ornaments.
Attracted by the wooden box, Lin Xiaowei walked to the makeup box just as she was about to open the door.
She reached out and picked up a small wooden box, inside of which were a pair of small and exquisite earrings.
The earrings sparkled, as if made of diamonds.
However, the thought had barely surfaced when she immediately dismissed it.
What did it matter if they were made of diamonds? They weren't hers anyway.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Lin Xiaowei sighed deeply.
"Cheer up. Not only will you have these, but you'll have more."
After encouraging herself, Lin Xiaowei put the wooden box back and turned to walk towards the door.
When she opened the door, Lin Xiaowei only saw the little girl standing outside, and Jiangyi had disappeared somewhere.
Lin Xiaowei looked around and asked curiously, "Where is Sister Jiangyi?"
The little girl said, "The Grand Princess called Sister Jiangyi away. If you're done, you can come with me."
Lin Xiaowei smiled and nodded. It seemed Jiangyi was quite important to the Grand Princess Zande.
She had said earlier that Jiangyi would wait for her to finish bathing and then take her to see her.
Now, she had sent someone to call Jiangyi away.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiaowei secretly made another note in her mind.
The two walked along the corridor for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping in front of a rather grand door.
As soon as they reached the door, the little girl, with a fawning smile, approached a green-clad maid.
"Big sister, this is Lin Xiaowei, whom the Grand Princess wishes to see. Please inform her."
The green-clad maid looked at Lin Xiaowei, examining her from head to toe for a while, before saying, "There's no need to inform her. You can take her in. The Grand Princess has already given her instructions."
Lin Xiaowei was lowering her head at this moment, her hair falling down to cover her face and block the maid's view.
Therefore, she did not see what kind of eye-roll Lin Xiaowei gave after she finished speaking.
Lin Xiaowei cursed silently in her heart, "This is truly ridiculous."
Since the Grand Princess had already given instructions, why didn't she let them in directly? Why did she pretend to examine her for so long? What was the point of that?
The little girl didn't care about all this. Upon hearing the green-clad maid tell her to bring Lin Xiaowei in, she immediately showed a happy expression.
If she could enter the courtyard, perhaps she could enter the house and see the Grand Princess.