Prince Eric and his bride, Ariel, stepped out of the carriage.
The distinguished Prince and his newlywed wife greeted the astonished passersby nearby with great warmth, showing no airs at all.
Then, the two walked towards Cinderella's house.
At this time, Cinderella had already gone back inside to do other chores, while her two sisters' were still chatting under the shade of a tree.
Upon seeing the handsome Prince and the beautiful bride, the two sisters' were first dumbfounded, then became flustered.
"Oh my goodness, isn't that Prince Eric, the eldest Prince of the Kingdom of Summer, and his newlywed wife? They just had a grand wedding a few days ago; the whole kingdom knows about it!"
"They are the future King and Queen of the Kingdom of Summer! How could such important figures suddenly come to our house?"
They quickly ran back home to inform their mother.
"Mom, Mom, the Prince is here at our house."
Cinderella's stepmother thought her two daughters' joking.
"What are you talking about? The ball isn't until tonight. Why would Prince Henry specifically come looking for us?"
As a wealthy family in the town, they had received an invitation to Prince Henry's ball, but it was just a mass-distributed one.
"It's not Prince Henry, it's his elder brother, Prince Eric!" The two sisters' gestured frantically, pointing out the window.
"Crown Prince Eric?" The stepmother looked out the window and indeed saw a luxurious carriage and Prince Eric and Ariel walking towards their house.
She was startled and quickly put on her prettiest clothes, not daring to show any neglect. Because her movements were too flustered, she even put on both shoes backward.
The stepmother rushed out the door to greet the Prince:
"Oh, Prince, how did you and your beautiful bride come here?"
The stepmother knew that this eldest Prince was the future King of the Kingdom of Summer, and his status was much higher than his younger brother, Prince Henry, who was about to host the ball! Everyone in the kingdom wanted to build a good relationship with this future King.
What could such an important figure have personally come for?
Prince Eric said with a smile:
"I am here to find a beautiful and kind girl; I want to invite her to my brother Prince Henry's ball."
Cinderella's stepmother was stunned and nodded frantically:
"Oh, I do have two beautiful daughters'; I don't know who you are looking for, but I'll have them come out right away!"
Soon, the two sisters' also put on their prettiest clothes, ready to go out and greet the Prince.
Before coming out of the house, they were still arguing about which of them the Prince wanted to invite.
"Although I am indeed a beauty, it's not enough for Prince Eric to personally come and invite me, is it?" The elder sister said.
"Sister, why are you so vain? Of course, the Prince wants to invite me!" The second sister said.
"Oh my goodness, my daughters', what are you thinking? Stop dreaming!"
Their mother couldn't stand it anymore and revealed her own guess:
"I think Prince Eric must have come to the wrong house. How could such an important figure personally come to invite you? When the Prince sees you two, he'll understand that neither of you is the person he's looking for."
Cinderella was sweeping the floor and, seeing her two sisters' and stepmother in a flustered state, knew the Prince had arrived. Just as she was about to say something, she heard her stepmother shout at her:
"Cinderella, you stay in the house and don't you dare go out! You absolutely cannot let the Prince see you in that dirty state!"
After saying that, the stepmother took her two sisters' and left.
Cinderella stayed in the house, feeling quite wronged and even more sad.
As soon as Prince Eric saw the two sisters', he said:
"No, I'm not inviting them."
Prince Eric pulled out an incredibly exquisite invitation card—that invitation was completely different from the mass-distributed ones; the lettering on it was gilded.
"The girl I want to invite is named Cinderella, and she must live here."
The stepmother and the sisters' all thought they had misheard.
While the three women stood frozen in place, Prince Eric and Ariel walked directly into the house, whose front door was wide open.
As soon as they entered, they saw Cinderella, dressed in black and dirty clothes.
"You are Miss Cinderella, aren't you?" Prince Eric greeted her warmly, as if he hadn't seen the dirt and dust on her.
"Yes, that's me." Cinderella nodded nervously.
"That's wonderful." The Prince looked extremely happy.
"Miss Cinderella, I came all the way from the capital just to find you! I would like to invite you to my brother Prince Henry's ball; will you accept?"
Cinderella trembled as she nodded, feeling that everything happening before her eyes was unreal.
Am I not dreaming?
The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Summer, came all the way here, just to invite... me?
Because she was so shocked, she stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, not answering in time.
Upon realizing that Cinderella hadn't immediately agreed, Ariel, the Prince's wife, suddenly looked anxious.
"Oh no, Eric, Miss Cinderella doesn't seem very willing." Ariel said with a gloomy expression.
"That's terrible; if Miss Cinderella doesn't come to the ball, His Majesty will be furious!" Prince Eric also looked anxious.
Prince Eric grasped the arm of the Cinderella before him—seemingly completely oblivious to the dirt and stains on her, as if the girl were wearing luxurious silk clothes.
The Kingdom's Prince said with utmost sincerity:
"Please, Miss Cinderella. You absolutely must attend my brother Henry's ball. Don't worry, it will only take up one evening of your time at most!"
Ariel also pleaded:
"Yes, if Miss Cinderella doesn't attend Prince Henry's ball, then there's no need to hold the ball at all."
Cinderella was completely bewildered and didn't know what to say.
No, no, what's going on?
No, I didn't mean to refuse!
"No, no, that's not what I meant..." Cinderella waved her hands repeatedly.
At the same time, not only Cinderella was bewildered, but also her two sisters' and stepmother, who had been listening to the entire conversation from the side.
"I must be dreaming." The elder sister, with a blank stare, said, "I must have eaten too much supper before bed."
"Idiot, if you're dreaming alone, how could you make me dream with you?" The second sister, with an even more blank stare, retorted, "So you were the one who stole my cookies; I'll settle accounts with you later."
"You're the idiot; it must be both of us dreaming at the same time!" The elder sister retorted.
"You two foolish daughters'!" The stepmother lowered her voice, pulled the two who were listening behind the Prince out of the house into the yard, and poured a bottle of water over each of their heads.
The stepmother lectured her two wet-headed daughters':
"This is not a dream. Listen carefully, your sister Cinderella must be of extraordinary status!"