Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“At this hour?” Lóng Wei’s left eyebrow arched. He left for the garden. It was the time when she had to get ready to leave for the Shui Residence.

He halted as he found her in the pavilion. The sun was still above the horizon, so they still had plenty of time. Lóng Wei wanted to make the Shui family’s night horrible.

Li Hua turned her head upon hearing the footsteps. She was seated on the floor while her arms rested on the broad wooden handrail before her. She sat straight and pulled her legs close.

“What are you doing here? You should have been ready by now,” Lóng Wei stated. Li Hua looked at her clothes and then told him that she didn’t need to change.

“Your Highness, please sit down,” Li Hua requested. “I want to converse about an important matter with him,” she asserted.

Lóng Wei sat down next to her and found the floor was cold. Luckily, it was the summertime, so the cold floor was bearable. “You look stressed and nervous. Is it because you will finally see Feng Lao?” He asked her.

Li Hua shook her head. “It is because of us,” she stated.

“What do you mean?” Lóng Wei inquired while being amused by her reply.

.....

“Your Highness, earlier I had a conversation with the Fourth Prince. While conversing, I realized that the truth about me and my brother should not be revealed to the Shui family,” Li Hua affirmed.

“Why? Are you scared of them? I will kill them if they try to over-smart us,” Lóng Wei assured her.

“No, Your Highness. You told me that we could not kill them. Your Highness, we must reveal the truth to His Majesty first,” Li Hua suggested to him.

“I am unable to understand you,” Lóng Wei said, “what is in your head, I cannot comprehend it.”

“I will explain to His Highness,” Li Hua stated, and he moved closer to him. “Your Highness, the Shui Family wanted all of us dead. If today, they find out that two members of the Xu family are alive, then they may try to kill us. They will bury the truth even before it reaches the ears of the King. Moreover, it is not about my or my brother’s life. It is also about you, Fourth Prince and Commander Huang Xi. We must not make any decisions in a rush. I cannot lose any more people because of those evil people.”

Lóng Wei had not thought about this. How could such an important thing slip off his mind? The chief reason was his hatred for Feng Lao. All he wanted to do was kill him with his hands.

“Your Highness, if today we take an action and harm them, the entire Kingdom will blame us, especially you. I do not want my savior, my husband, to be blamed for no reason. I don’t want him to get punished either. That’s why today we will not go to the Shui Residence,” Li Hua opined. Lóng Wei was moved by her words. Whenever she called him ‘her husband’, it gave him blissful pleasure and satisfaction.

“Li Hua, I didn’t even think that way. You are right. We must not do anything here. Inside the palace, we are safer than outside the palace,” Lóng Wei stated. “Father will punish me if I take the law in my hand and more than me, Father will punish you,” Lóng Wei stated. He admired Li Hua for thinking the other way.

“My wife is so brilliant. She has grown up,” Lóng Wei asserted and smiled at her.

“Your Highness, shall we leave tonight?” Li Hua asked him. “I don’t want anything to go wrong for any of us. If someone finds out that I am alive and safe, we will get into trouble. We shall return to Qinping as soon as possible,” Li Hua advised him. Lóng Wei contemplated her words before agreeing with her.

“After our dinner, we will head back to Qinping,” Lóng Wei said. “We didn’t even spend a good time with each other,” he sighed.

“What is His Highness saying? We had some special moments here: Near the lake, then in the chamber, and even here,” Li Hua reminded him.

Lóng Wei grasped the ankle of her left foot and drew her close. “Here, we didn’t have any special romantic moment. However, we can have it now,” he stated.

“How?” She asked.

“We can initiate with a kiss.” His thumb brushed her lower lip.

“That will be counted as an intimate moment,” Li Hua corrected him. “Since His Highness loves me, then his every moment with me shall be romantic,” she proclaimed.

“Then, I shall make this romantic moment special,” Lóng Wei said and leaned forward to kiss her.

“Your Highness, what are you both doing here?” Suddenly they heard a voice and Li Hua immediately pushed Lóng Wei away and she turned her face away. Huang Xi realized that he entered at the wrong time, so he apologized to them while hiding his smile. Li Hua covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

“Weren’t we supposed to go to the Shui Residence?” Huang Xi asked them.

“There’s a change in plan, Huang Xi. We are returning to the capital after dinner,” Lóng Wei said.

“But, why?” Huang Xi asked for an explanation.

“Call everyone in the general chamber. I am coming and will explain the reason behind the change of plan,” Lóng Wei ordered him. Huang Xi bowed and left the pavilion.

“He has gone. You don’t need to be shy anymore,” Lóng Wei told Li Hua, who put her hands down.

“But Commander Huang Xi saw us. I cannot even meet his eyes,” Li Hua said in embarrassment.

“He didn’t see us. Also, if he saw us then shouldn’t he be the one to get shy away?” He questioned her. “We didn’t even kiss each other. We were about to kiss but he interfered.”

“Shall we leave?” Li Hua asked and stood up when Lóng Wei pulled her down on his lap.

“Your Highness.” She gaped at him.

“It will take time for everyone to gather. Let’s continue where we both have left,” Lóng Wei told her.