(BaiLing's pov)

Once we were almost done sorting through the herbs, I started to hear a flapping sound. Although it was far away, I could tell it was from a large bird. However, birds this big a size usually aren't near the palace. I looked up to see what was going on, and about 150 feet in the sky, I could see a ruby hawk circling around.

"What is a ruby hawk doing here?" I thought.

Ruby hawks were used in the military as messenger birds. However, they were commonly used in the desert kingdoms. So what was one doing here in the palace?

As I was lost in thought, the bird started to descend lower and lower. When I snapped back to reality, I saw it was diving right towards Qing Yuan. I quickly turned around and called out to him.

"Qing Yuan, quickly move out of the way."

He looked at me, confused and unsure of what I was talking about. I quickly ran to him and pulled him out of the way before dodging it myself. However, it seemed I had dragged him too hard and made him fall to a side. I wanted to go over and help him up, but before I could, the hawk had come back again, knocking over more shelves and tables in the process.

Although ruby hawks weren't commonly used here, I was able to work and train them before, so I was able to control them. I put my fingers up to my mouth and blew out a series of commands, and soon, the hawk landed on my arm. Just as the bird had stopped, the office door burst open, and out came all of the physicians, each looking more shocked than the other.

(Narrator's pov)

Looking back and forth, all the physicians could see were endless tables, shelves flipped over, and herbs all over the ground. Once they were able to absorb everything, a couple of them then went over to help Qing Yuan up. Although he wasn't injured in any way, the shock from the hawk and BaiLing's push was more than enough to make him paralyzed.

Physician 1: "Qing Yuan, are you alright? Nothing broken?"

Qing Yuan shook his head and said.

"No, I'm alright. Just a bit shocked."

Glad to see that he was alright, they started to look around again to see what was happening. As they walked around, BaiLing's grandfather approached her and asked.

"Are you alright?"

BaiLing: "I'm alright, grandpa. Though, I wonder where this ruby hawk came from. As far as I know, we don't have any in the palace."

Li Qiang: "I'm not sure. However..."

Before BaiLing's grandpa could finish his sentence, BaiLing noticed four sets of footsteps approaching them. She turned towards the gates to see who was coming. Among the four pairs of feet, one was strong yet light. It was also walking calmly.

Soon, three figures came into view. The four came into view after the first three had passed the gates. Out of the first three, one was a eunuch, one was a servant, and the third person, he was dressed in clothes that seemed to belong to the desert people. However, she couldn't pinpoint who he was exactly. As for the fourth person, he was the eighth prince.

(Ming Yichen is the eighth prince, and his mother is noble consort, Feng. A noble consort is ranked lower than a royal consort, which means the ninth prince's mother is ranked higher than the eighth prince's mother.)

Slowly the eighth prince approached where BaiLing was standing and told the man in the desert clothing to go and take the bird back. The man came up to BaiLing and blew a few commands, and the hawk flew back to him.

From the looks of things, BaiLing guessed that this man was a bird trainer from the desert kingdom, and she had no idea why he was here in the palace. As far as she knew, there were no envoys currently here.

Eighth prince: "My apologies. Is everyone alright?"

Li Qiang: "It is alright, your highness. Everyone is alright."

BaiLing could tell from the look on her grandpa's face and the others that the eighth prince was not very well-liked.

Eighth prince: "That's good to hear. I'll have some men send over some herbs to make up for this mess later."

Li Qiang: "Thank you, your highness."

The eighth prince nodded and then turned to BaiLing and said.

"I have never seen this young lady before. Are you new here?"

(BaiLing's pov)

I looked at the eighth prince and said.

"Greetings, your highness. I am Ming BaiLing. Physicians Ling's granddaughter."

Yichen: "Ahh... So, you are my ninth brother's fiance. I must say I'm surprised you know how to command these ruby hawks."

He looked at me with eyes of curiosity as well as suspicion. Typically anyone who tremble with that look, but I returned a dry smile to him and said.

"Not at all, your highness. I was just lucky that the hawk had landed after taking a couple of dives."

Yichen: "Is that so? I guess you must really be lucky. Have you never thought of learning how to control from your father or brother?"

Me: "No, your highness. I am only a weak girl. How can I learn such things that are meant for men."

I looked back at the eighth prince, and he seemed satisfied with his answer. His mother is lower ranked than the Royal Consort, so running into his brother's fiance may not make him feel all that great.

After a second of silence, the eighth prince spoke up and said.

"Alright then, it seems as though I have taken up too much of your time. I will be taking my leave now."

Everyone then bid the eighth prince farewell, and he was on his way.

Once he was out of sight, the physicians began to talk amongst themselves.

Physician 1: "I just can stand him. How can he come in here, cause a mess, and just apologize like it was nothing."

Physician 2: "I know, right? Uggg..."

All the physicians wanted to continue to talk, but grandpa intervened and said.

"Alright, stop talking. If you get caught, it will be off with your heads. Go and get the apprentices to clean this up."

The men nodded and went to get people to clean up the mess. Grandpa then looked at Qing Yuan and asked.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Qing Yuan: "Yes, I'm sure."

Grandpa nodded and began to head back inside, and without looking back, he said.

"Ling'er, follow me."

I followed grandpa inside and back to his desk. When I got there, he told me to sit down and went to grab a couple things. He soon returned with all the things used to treat a wound. He then sat down, took my left arm, and pulled up my sleeves. There he saw four claw marks on my forearm. Although the hawk was resting on my arm, without any protection, the claws dug deep into my arm, and it seemed as though grandpa had noticed.

He slowly started to clean out my wound before putting on the medication. To finish off, he wrapped my arm up without saying a single word.

Me: "Grandpa? Are you okay?"

Grandpa set down his stuff and looked up at me.

Li Qiang: "Can you be a little more careful next time? It may just be a few claw marks, but it's still deep."

Although he made it seem like he was angry, I knew he was just worried deep down. I smiled and leaned over, and hugged his arm.

Me: "I got it. I'll be careful from now on."

He then patted my head and went to put the stuff away.

Once his work day was over, we headed out and went home.