Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

159 I must meet Shui Feng Lao

Lóng Wei and Li Hua reached the cold palace. Lóng Wei sent Li Hua to the chamber with Eunuch Qian He while he went to see Mingquan.

Lóng Wei saw the servants taking away the dishes in the trays. He walked in and found Mingquan had his dinner with Huang Xi and Xu Zifan.

Huang Xi and Xu Zifan rose to their feet upon seeing Lóng Wei. They bowed and asked him about his time with Li Hua.

“It was good. A person recognized Li Hua,” Lóng Wei answered and took a seat around the floor table.

“Who!?” Xu Zifan asked.

“I don’t know,” Lóng Wei replied and asked a servant to bring wine for him.

“Did Brother Lóng Wei reveal his identity to the person?” Mingquan asked. Lóng Wei hummed and told him that it was necessary.

“Everyone will be shocked to find that the daughter and the son of the Xu Family are alive,” Huang Xi stated. “The Shui Family head might come to see them,” he asserted with a smile.

Lóng Wei nodded at him. “This is what I want,” he said and shifted his gaze to Mingquan. “What happened in the Governor’s Residence?” He asked.

.....

“They are surprised to see me in the town. I told them I came with my Sixth Brother and Sister-in-law to Xinshui. Shui Xiaoqing has invited us as Brother Lóng Wei wanted,” Mingquan informed Lóng Wei.

The maidservant walked in and bowed before them. She put the wine jar on the table and then the wine cups. She rose and bowed before leaving the chamber as Lóng Wei dismissed her.

Lóng Wei stayed silent. He picked up the wine jar and filled the glasses with the wine. He handed the wine glasses to each of them and then picked the last glass. Sipping the wine, Lóng Wei furrowed his brows together.

Mingquan glanced at Xu Zifan.

“Did you know Shui Feng Lao is going to be a father soon?” Mingquan’s question came out of the blue. Lóng Wei stopped sipping the wine and tilted his head to look at Xu Zifan.

“Is it true?” Lóng Wei asked him.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Xu Zifan answered.

“Why did you hide it from me?” Lóng Wei frowned at him. “When did you find out?” He then asked Xu Zifan. He apologized to the Sixth Prince first.

“Two weeks ago, I went out. I wanted to check if Feng Lao was living a happy life,” Xu Zifan said. “Then I found out that he will be a father soon,” he asserted.

Lóng Wei plonked the wine cup on the table in frustration. Huang Xi and Mingquan were confused to see Lóng Wei act this way.

“Li Hua wants to know about Feng Lao. I had planned to make her see him. However, my heart stopped me from doing so. I am glad that I did that,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“Isn’t this what my Sister-in-law wanted? She wants to see the culprits who killed the Xu Family. Why is Brother Lóng Wei hesitating now?” Mingquan realized that Lóng Wei had hidden another deep secret. He wanted Lóng Wei to be honest with them.

Lóng Wei again picked up the glass of wine and took a few sips. “Li Hua liked Feng Lao. She was supposed to marry him that night,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Li Hua loves Feng Lao. I saw her a few months ago and fell for her at first sight. I decided to marry her as soon as my punishment would get over. However, everything was ruined that night. Somehow, Li Hua escaped and the person who helped her escape the residence was Shui Feng Lao. She came to the palace to search for the culprit.” Lóng Wei told him in a brief how it all started.

“That’s why Brother Lóng Wei was too desperate to marry her. Did he plan all the things that happened in the palace within two days of his return?” Mingquan would not be surprised that Lóng Wei made a thoughtful plan to marry Li Hua.

“Yes.” Lóng Wei didn’t hide the truth from the Fourth Prince. “It was necessary to marry her. I love her, so I must have her,” he said possessively.

“It is complicated,” Huang Xi spoke out. “If Princess Consort Li Hua loves Shui Feng Lao, then how will we kill him? She will stop us. Now, I realized why my mother used to say that sometimes love becomes a weakness,” Huang Xi concluded and bit his tongue as he found the sharp glare of Lóng Wei at him.

“What if Shui Feng Lao saved the Sister-in-law from getting killed?” Mingquan stated.

“That’s not possible,” Xu Zifan said.

“Why do you think so? The Shui Family knew the Xu Family for a long time. Feng Lao might have pitied your sister at that time or probably he also liked her.” Mingquan stated two possibilities.

“Both are false,” Lóng Wei declined both possibilities that Mingquan presented. “He tricked Li Hua,” he asserted.

“Feng Lao never confessed his feelings to Li Hua except for that night. He took her to the pavilion, which was isolated, just to confess his feelings. Li Hua was the only person from the Xu Family who was outside the guest chamber. They wanted to kill all of them in the residence so that no one would be suspicious of them. Most of the evidence was lost when the residence caught fire. Because Li Hua was out, things went out of the plan.” Lóng Wei made them understand.

“Why would Feng Lao leave Li Hua in the forest? In short, he helped her,” Xu Zifan pronounced.

“No. He tricked her in the wrong direction. Probably, it was her destiny to meet me in the palace. It is the time when I must meet Shui Feng Lao. That man is amusing,” Lóng Wei affirmed. He curled his lips into a grin and continued, “Xu Zifan, you need to take care of your sister tomorrow. Don’t tell her too many things.”

“Brother Lóng Wei, do I need to accompany you?” Mingquan asked.

“Of course. We need to find out many things tomorrow,” Lóng Wei stated and smiled.