White Roses Dyed Blood Red

Twenty or more racks full of dresses lined her living room walls. All these dresses were the outcome of a six-hour shopping spree that her mother and grandmothers had embarked on.

Knowing them well enough to know that they would never just buy dresses, it was safe to assume that the accessories and shoes were hidden in her bedroom.

In the center of her living room was a team of makeup artists and attendants whose jobs were to help her prepare for dinner with the Duke's family.

Her female relatives always jumped to the chance to dress her and all her siblings. Dressing up was one thing that they rarely did, though her cousins did it even less than they did.

The dresses were colour assorted and varied in the styles as well.

The first thing her attendants did was measure her to make sure that they were given the proper measurements than they proceeded to help her choose colours that would compliment her appearance.

Red provided a nice contrast between the dress and her skin, it was also a very alluring colour.

Purple gave her a softer vibe, and so did pink.

Brighter and lighter shades of blue were concluded to be colours to avoid and brown as well (obviously).

All in all, they decided to go with a layered tulle dress that stopped just below the knee.

It had a sweetheart neckline and a black tulle bodice that fades into an ivory coloured skirt. Small golden flakes were added to give the dress more pizzaz.

The string that helped support the dress on her body was beautifully tied. It went over the shoulder, then underneath her armpits and tied into a stable and tight bow just below her shoulder.

She was given bejewelled flats to wear and several golden accessories to finish off the look.

Her makeup was minimal and was only used to enhance her features.

Looking in the mirror, Yaorui was quite content with her look. Her collarbones were showing, but not enough to make it overly revealing for a 14-year-old.

She took a quick selfie using the mirror and sent it to her loving boyfriend, followed by some kissing emojis.

Samuel was quick to reply with a few heart emojis.

'Where are you going to go wearing that?'

'Dinner with the Duke's family,'

'The Hu's are going to be there too,'

'Hu Angli Hu?'

'Yes'

'Change,'

'But aren't I pretty in this dress?'

'THAT'S THE PROBLEM!'

'YOU'RE TOO PRETTY!'

'Awwwww'

'Hehe, I miss you too darling,'

Samuel sent a pouting face and reminded her to stay a meter away from other boys.

'I have to go now,'

'Love you,'

'I love you too,'

"YaoJie! We're leaving now!" Zhou Zhangmin barged into her room and tugged at her arm.

On their way out, she grabbed her purse and her coat before shutting the door behind them.

Their ride for the night was a sleek black limo with the Li Family symbol on it.

When both Zhangmin and her arrived at the limo, everybody was already there.

Her mother and father both wore light blue oriental outfits that matched very well.

Her aunt wore black jeans, a white shirt, a green blazer, and military boots, her uncle wore basically the same thing.

Next up was Shen Hui and Fanlong.

Now, I know what you're thinking, they're wearing matching outfits.

SIKE!

It seems like her sister-in-law was so mad at her brother that she banned him from wearing matching outfits.

Fanlong was wearing a beautiful floor-length lavender dress that revealed the majority of her back and some cleavage. She looked stunning, and she knew that.

Yaorui was 99% sure that her sister had gone with that dress to piss off her brother, but who was she to complain.

While her sister was busy looking stunning, her brother was very frustrated, he was forced to wear an orange suit, a colour that does not go well with purple. He wasn't even allowed to touch the colour purple! Much less wear it.

But if he wanted his snuggles tonight, he had to do it otherwise he'd be sleeping on the floor.

She wasn't sure about what Wenshi and Long Ao were wearing since they were seated in another limo.

According to her cousin, it was because Wenshi's dress was too big.

There was no doubt that she had hidden weapons underneath her dress again. Let's see how she will get past security this time.

Her grandparents on her mother's side wore silver and grey outfits, her grandmother sported a beautiful dress with an armour design on the bodice and light, flowy for the skirt.

While her grandfather looked dashing in his grey suit.

On her father's side, her grandparents wore red, white, and gold the colours of their family's symbol.

Her grandmother wore a red floor-length dress with a tail at the back that dragged as she walked. Her grandfather settled for a pristine white suit, both outfits had gold flakes that formed the picture of a dragon.

While her grandfather's dragon only coiled around his torso, her grandmother's dragon went all the way from just below her b.r.e.a.s.ts to the end of the dress's tail.

Her oldest cousin, Zhou Aonu, wore a three-piece oxford blue suit that complimented his physique.

Zhou Zhangmin went with a white knee-length fairy gauze dress with little bits of glitter that made it shine and sparkle under anything that produced light.

Li Aishi wore a high collared pink lace dress that stopped at her knees. The tail of the dress extended down to her mid-calves, on top of the dress was a matter pastel pink blazer and a little golden pin.

It was currently six-fifteen, and it'd take about thirty minutes to reach to the Duke's palace.

The sky was still cloudy, but the rain was now a slow drizzle.

Not long later, the sun began to set, and the clouds were dyed a beautiful pinkish-orange colour making them look like bundles of cotton candy.

Despite it being quite late into the day, the streets were still busy, and traffic was a bit of a nightmare.

She took pictures of the city and sent them to Samuel while her sister treated herself to the various snacks supplied on the limo.

To be honest, she treated herself to the treats offered in front of her.

Yaorui was particularly a fan of the cobblestone paths in the city, she preferred them over the plain sidewalks you would commonly see now-a-days. The cobblestone was more pleasing to the eye.

The limo turned a corner and voila! Two giant iron gates!

The gates were intricately designed and were supported by twenty-foot walls.

The driver rolled down his window and handed one of the standby guards their invitation.

Once the card was thoroughly inspected, they were let through the iron gates and onto castle grounds.

At first, they saw nothing but trees, greenary, and fancy guards wearing the ridiculously tall furry black hats on their heads with a gun in hand.

But as the trees and bushes began to fade off, and the cobblestone path cleaner and smoother, Yaorui felt herself anticipating the sight of the Duke's palace.

She heard about the royal palaces in Europe, about their intricate structures, their winding halls, and extravagant designs. The murals, the sculptures, and the paintings inside.

Yaorui had never stepped inside of a European palace before, and she was enthusiastic about what she was going to experience.

Second, by second, her patience was dwindling, and her impatient mood was leading her to press her face to the window and fidget nervously.

The limo did a semi-circle around a spouting fountain sculpted to perfection before coming to a complete stop before the doors leading up to the Grand Duke's palace.

"We have arrived at our destination." The driver announced, "Welcome to the Grand Duke's Royal Palace,"

Finally, they had arrived.