Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Lóng Wei lowered his hand and saw the line of soldiers in front of them. Bai Juchen was the next appointed General in the province after the martyrdom of the former general. Bai Juchen lifted his arms to his shoulder and lowered his head. “Greeting to the Crown Prince, Prince Tianjie, and Prince Lóng Wei. This is Bai Juchen,” he introduced himself after greeting them. He lowered his hands, “Please follow me this way.”

The three princes went with him to the tent house, where three chairs were already put. Xiaoming and Tianjie settled on the chairs while Lóng Wei started to walk around the tent house. He picked a sword and realized that it was heavier than the regular ones that he had used till now. He put it back when Bai Juchen asked him to take a seat.

One soldier had come with water glasses. He forwarded the tray to Xiaoming and Tianjie.

“You should start speaking,” Lóng Wei told Bai Juchen as he picked the water glass from the tray.

“The Eastern Highlands have hidden enemies,” Bai Juchen said. “Late General Wu Zihao had gone last week to the borders as some people from a local tribe at the border had seen people of unknown identity there. He had even killed them when they attacked him. Then, five days ago, his body was found hanging at Qijiang’s market center,” Bai Juchen answered.

“Did Wu Zihao not tell about this you and the other soldiers after he returned from there?” Xiaoming questioned him.

Bai Juchen shook his head. “He has decided to stay there and sent us a message that he would return a few days later,” he stated.

“Foolish people always die,” Lóng Wei asserted. “He must have gone alone across the border,” he added.

.....

“Lóng Wei, you should empathize with the dead,” Tianjie told him.

“Stop lecturing me, Third Prince,” Lóng Wei gritted his teeth. “I am merely stating the facts. Wu Zihao should not have acted foolishly,” he affirmed.

“Both of you should stay quiet. Let Bai Zuchen speak,” Xiaoming scolded them.

Bai Juzhen continued and told the Crown Prince that they found a message from the recovered body of the Late General, Wu Zihao. He took out the piece of paper and handed it to Xiaoming.

“General Hei told that no such message was recovered,” Xiaoming stated as he started to read the message.

“Your Highness, I thought it would be better to share the message after help comes from the capital,” Bai Juchen stated.

“What is in the message, Your Royal Highness?” Tianjie asked with desperation.

“It says that this was the revenge for taking the lives of their people,” Xiaoming said and handed that to Tianjie. Lóng Wei came to them and took it from Tianjie then. He read the message again and again.

“It is too hard to believe that they killed Wu Zihao merely because he performed his duty of preventing infiltrators to cross the border,” Lóng Wei stated.

“I think the same. The reason must be bigger,” Tianjie opined.

“What if they want us to fight with them?” Lóng Wei muttered and handed the paper back to Bai Juchen. “The Eastern Highlands is mostly a tribal area. It has been a long time since they last attacked us,” he murmured and then sat on the chair. He leaned back while his forearms rested on the armrest of the chair.

“The last time they attacked was before the former King’s reign that is the time when our great-grandfather was on the throne,” Xiaoming affirmed.

“Who noticed Wu Zihao’s body first?” Lóng Wei interrogated Juchen.

“A milkman,” Bai Juchen.

“Summon him. We will have some interrogation from him,” Lóng Wei asserted. “I want to take a good rest for some time, so take me to the tent which is prepared for me,” Lóng Wei ordered Juchen.

Xiaoming gestured to Bai Juchen to do what Lóng Wei was saying and he asked a soldier to come inside. Lóng Wei left with him while Xiaoming and Tianjie stayed behind.

“Is there any further information? Did the soldiers see any more infiltrates after that day?” Xiaoming asked him.

“No, Your Royal Highness. They did not witness any such people there. We searched the area near the border and found some explosives too,” Bai Juchen informed them. They both furrowed their brows to find that. It was a serious issue. Explosives were found near the borders.

“Crown Prince, are they planning to attack us? Are they supplying explosives to someone in Qijiang market?” Tianjie said some of the probabilities.

“We have to run an investigation,” Xiaoming said and asked Bai Juchen to summon those tribal people, who first noticed these unknown people near the border,” Xiaoming ordered him. Juchen bowed and told them resting places were ready for them. He showed the resting tent to Xiaoming while Tianjie left with a soldier.

“Do not go alone in that area. Go in disguise,” Xiaoming suggested to Juchen. “Before that send a message to the King about our safe arrival. Send the messenger here as I want to send a personal message for the Crown Princess as well.” Bai Juchen obeyed the Crown Prince’s command and left the tent house.

Xiaoming took off the overcoat and sat on the chair around the table. A messenger came inside, bowed before him, and then handed a brush-ink set to him. The sheet was already placed on the table and Xiaoming wrote a message for Jin Yu. He let it dry for a while and then after folding it, he enclosed it with a special stamp. “Give it personally to the Crown Princess while the second one, you need to give to the King,” he instructed the messenger.

After the messenger left, Xiaoming went to the bed to take some sleep.