Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

The maidservant cleaned the table for them and left for the kitchen after taking the dishes.

“You must have many questions for me,” Lóng Wei said while gazing at Li Hua with inquisitiveness.

“Forgive me for not telling you the truth entirely. But I myself realized it was Qiu Zedong who forced my mother to ask me to kill her. It was he who asked her to reveal the truth to me,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“I knew Prince Lóng Wei could never—”

Lóng Wei interceded Li Hua in the middle.

“I was the reason she lost her life, Li Hua. So, I always told everyone around me that I killed her. It is the truth, Li Hua,” he said.

Li Hua kept staring into his eyes. “But I will never consider this a truth,” she stated, “let’s not argue over this.”

Lóng Wei hummed and smiled at her. “Are you happy, Li Hua? Your revenge is complete. I fulfilled my promise to you.” He was curious to know her view on that.

.....

“I am more than happy. Finally, my parents, my second brother, and many other innocent servants got peace,” Li Hua said.

“I have decided something, Li Hua. I hope you will like it,” Lóng Wei said.

“What is it, Your Highness?” Li Hua asked.

“I want to go away from the palace for a while with you,” Lóng Wei stated. “However, I want to know your decision as well,” he opined.

“Let’s go away,” Li Hua answered. “We will explore new places,” she stated.

Lóng Wei brightly smiled and thanked her. “Yes. We will explore many places. However, we will begin with the place where Yuze lived once and spent most of the years of his life,” Lóng Wei pronounced with excitement.

“It will be fun, Your Highness,” Li Hua stated.

“The Crown Prince will be the King. We will leave after his coronation as the King,” Lóng Wei said.

“Your Highness, will you visit your maternal house before that?” Li Hua suggested to him.

“I am not welcome there. I should not go there. I have found my answers and I am finally at peace,” Lóng Wei stated. He knew his uncles would only annoy him which he didn’t want to happen.

“I respect His Highness’ decision.” She didn’t force him to go to his maternal house. Though she wanted his uncles to forgive him once.

“Li Hua, I found the last message from my mother. I was overwhelmed to read it,” Lóng Wei said with misty eyes.

“His Highness must have found out how much his mother adored him,” Li Hua said.

Lóng Wei hummed and extended his hand out. He wanted Li Hua to hold it which she did and they rose to their feet.

He slowly pulled her in his direction and hugged her. “It would have been difficult with you, Li Hua,” Lóng Wei said. His one hand rested on the back of her head.

“Do you feel lively?” Li Hua asked him.

“I do. Yuze was right. My destiny will take me to the way where I am fated to be. I found love, friendship, warmth, good hearts, and the support of so many people. But that all happened after I met you,” Lóng Wei stated and kissed the top of her head.

~~~~~~~

Jin Yu read the royal decree on the scroll and then looked at Xiaoming.

“Warm wishes from Jin Yu to the Crown Prince. He will be a great king,” Jin Yu pronounced.

“Uncle Qizhen and Brother Lóng Wei refused to be the King. I cannot believe it. I hated Brother Lóng Wei for some years,” Xiaoming said.

“It is normal in humans, Your Royal Highness,” Jin Yu asserted. “Do not feel embarrassed about it. The Crown Prince has ended his differences with Prince Lóng Wei, so there is no use in feeling guilty about this. You need to fulfill your duties as the King after your coronation,” she encouraged him and handed the scroll back to him.

“Before that Father’s punishment will be decided. Brother Lóng Wei has not spoken about it, but he wants to give a slow death to Father,” Xiaoming asserted.

“What does the Crown Prince think then?” Jin Yu asked.

“I feel every punishment will be easy for Father,” Xiaoming asserted. “I saw Lóng Wei’s eyes fill with tears for the first time. His eyes were red and swollen. He cried a lot. All these years, I have seen his stoic personality. It broke my heart.”

“Prince Lóng Wei let out his emotions,” Jin Yu said and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Tomorrow will be a difficult day for the Crown Prince as he has to agree to the punishment of his father which Prince Lóng Wei will decide.”

Xiaoming hummed and his brows furrowed. “I don’t think it will be difficult. It is what he brought upon himself. Jin Yu, Brother Lóng Wei will leave the palace with his wife for some time. I need to choose a temporary governor as well. Uncle Qizhen refused to take any position,” he stated.

“What about Prince Mingquan?” Jin Yu suggested to him.

“Ahh, the Fourth Brother will be the most suitable person for that position.” Xiaoming liked Jin Yu’s suggestion. “I will recruit capable people for the ministerial positions,” he told Jin Yu some of his plans after acquiring the throne.

“You should pass a resolution to let women train,” Jin Yu asserted.

“You are right. I need to meet those victims of the families which suffered because of my father. One such person is Xiwan,” Xiaoming said.

“The assistant chef?” Jin Yu arched his eyebrow.

“Yes. My late uncle, Ye Yujin, killed his family. Xiwan got trained as a spy by Monk Yuze. He was the one who killed uncle Yujin. I think he deserved to die. Xiwan was a young boy at that time and he somehow survived that night,” Xiaoming said and sighed.

“Monk Yuze used to give training? This is something new I found,” Jin Yu said.

“Brother Lóng Wei was also trained by Monk Yuze. He was great at martial arts,” Xiaoming told her.

“I wish he had trained me too,” Jin Yu said.

Xiaoming smiled. “You are already a good warrior,” he praised her.

“I don’t think so,” Jin Yu stated. “Feng Lao is the best swordsman. I fought with him once and I lost. I think I would lose against Prince Lóng Wei too. The Crown Prince never had a duel with me, so I think I still need improvement,” she murmured.

“You will win against me,” Xiaoming said and smiled at her.

“Why? Isn’t the Crown Prince supposed to be stronger?” She complained.

“Umm… because I don’t want to have a sword fight with you. I accept my defeat already,” Xiaoming said.

Jin Yu twitched her lips. “The Crown Prince should not accept his defeat easily,” she said and asked him what he would do about Li Jianjun.

“I don’t want to see his face in the palace. Ban his entry into the palace. He will surely come tomorrow to irritate me,” Jin Yu said while squinting her eyes.

“Fine. I will give the order not to let Li Jianjun enter the palace,” Xiaoming promised her. “I also do not want to see him. I will remove all those corrupt officials, who got their positions because of my father’s favor on them.”

“There is a lot of work to do,” Jin Yu said. “The Crown Prince can give me the work too. I will eagerly help him. I feel joyous in all such work,” she said with enthusiasm.

“I will see what work is suitable for you. But after tomorrow, everything will change in the palace. The wives and the concubines of my father will definitely rebel against the decisions that would be taken tomorrow,” Xiaoming said with a worried look on his face.

“Can’t they understand what wrong he did?” Jin Yu questioned him.

“I don’t think so. It is tough for them. Mother came to me in the evening and her reasoning was wrong. Since the father is her husband, I cannot blame her either. I hope all of them understand what happened to Mother Yu and her son. I truly want it to happen, but then I also know that they will blame Brother Lóng Wei only,” he explained to Jin Yu.

“Since Prince Lóng Wei has not taken the throne and didn’t harm any of us, then they will understand,” Jin Yu asserted.

“They should understand. But I cannot have high hopes,” Xiaoming stated.

“They will understand. I will do that work,” Jin Yu said with a confident tone.

Xiaoming was amused by her response.

“Don’t be stressed about it,” Jin Yu said and stood up from the broad chair. “I am good at such work. Your mother and others will realize what your husband did was always wrong and the wrong must be punished,” she stated.

Xiaoming showed his faith in her.