Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Li Hua wasn’t surprised to hear that Lóng Wei already found out who was behind those attacks.

“If His Highness doesn’t want to follow the law, then he can,” Li Hua answered.

Lóng Wei was astonished by her answer. “I didn’t expect this answer,” he stated, and looked at the bowl. “But then you are my wife. You understand me better. Your answer should be different from the other people,” he opined and smiled at her. His mood lightened and he picked up the chopsticks to finish his meals.

Li Hua was delighted to see him smile. After they finished their meals, Li Hua asked Lóng Wei if he found out the real culprit, then why he didn’t tell the King.

“Because I wanted something bigger,” Lóng Wei replied. Li Hua was bewildered to hear him.

“The Noble Consort is accused of something she never did. Isn’t that wrong, Your Highness?” Li Hua wanted to know what was going on in his mind.

“Xiuying thinks that the King will never punish her because of her incredible beauty and charms. She loves to taunt others, make others feel low, so I wanted her to feel this once,” Lóng Wei answered.

“Your Highness, so did you frame her?” She asked.

.....

“Yes, I did,” Lóng Wei admitted.

“I admire the way His Highness works. He isn’t scared of anyone,” she said and smiled. “I am not as strong as him. I wish I would be like him, then his worries will be limited,” she opined.

“No two persons can be the same,” Lóng Wei stated. “I believe that you are stronger than your earlier self. You weren’t like this before. You weren’t vocal in your thoughts. Now, you are. You told Feng Lao not to cross his limits and even supported me. That’s your strength,” he explained to her the instances, where she showed him her strength.

“His Highness is saying this to make me happy,” Li Hua said.

“No. I say what I feel,” Lóng Wei said.

“I have some work left. You should go to bed early,” Lóng Wei informed her. Li Hua queried him where he was heading to.

“I will be in the palace. I will return in an hour,” Lóng Wei told her.

“I will wait for His Highness to return,” Li Hua stated.

“You should sleep,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“I want to hug you while sleeping. His Highness can finish his work. I will converse with my attendant until His Highness returns. Is that okay?” Li Hua requested him.

“Fine. You can do that. Don’t go out. I will try to return soon,” Lóng Wei said and they both stood up. He stood in front of her and rested his hand on the left side of her cheek. He leaned down and kissed the middle of her forehead.

He looked into her eyes and then pulled his hand back. He left the chamber while Li Hua wondered what kind of work he had.

~~~~~~

Xu Zifan halted outside the room where Feng Lao was staying. He looked inside and then walked in. Feng Lao was on the floor mattress, staring at the red jade ring. When he heard the footsteps, he lifted his head and found Xu Zifan in front of him.

Feng Lao immediately stood up and lowered his hand with which he had held the jade ring. An awkward silence prevailed between the two for a few seconds when Xu Zifan decided to break the ice.

“Why did you not take your dinner?”

“I do not have an appetite.”

Xu Zifan sat down opposite to him around the floor table. Feng Lao also settled on the floor mattress. He kept his eyes and head low as he was unable to understand what he should say.

“It must be tough for you,” Xu Zifan said. Feng Lao lifted his head and gazed at him. He hummed at him.

“Forgive me, Zifan,” Feng Lao said.

“An apology will not work anymore,” Xu Zifan asserted. “You should not have hidden the truth. Today, you would have been with your wife at least,” he proclaimed.

“I didn’t want to marry her, but she requested me to help her. I believed that Li Hua was no more and decided to marry,” Feng Lao stated. He knew Xu Zifan was infuriated at him because he married the woman whom Xu Zifan loved.

“I do not have anything to say about it. Her death was tragic,” Xu Zifan answered and looked at the red jade ring that Feng Lao placed on the table earlier.

“You should throw it away,” Xu Zifan said and Feng Lao briefly looked at the ring. They glanced at each other. To end the inquisitiveness of Feng Lao, Xu Zifan said, “Li Hua is now someone else’s wife. You should not keep any memories related to her with you.”

“Do you think she’s safe in the palace?” Feng Lao asked him.

“Yes. As long as she is with Prince Lóng Wei, she is safe,” Xu Zifan replied.

“Is Li Hua with the Prince because he helped you and her?” He asked.

“No. She loves Prince Lóng Wei,” Xu Zifan affirmed. “Li Hua is happy in her current life. There was a time when I found you as the most suitable man for her, but fate wanted something else. I am grateful that you saved my sister’s life twice. However, you cannot be the man in her life anymore. She is already the wife of Prince Lóng Wei, whom she loves a lot,” he explained to Feng Lao.

“I understand. Even I want Li Hua to be happy. If she’s happy with Prince Lóng Wei, I have nothing more to say. However, it will be tough for me to end these feelings,” he truthfully told Xu Zifan.

“It is always difficult to end the one-sided feelings,” Xu Zifan stated as he agreed with Feng Lao’s statement.