Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

212 Shui Feng Lao is here?

“Why does His Royal Highness want to hear his praise from me? What accomplishment will His Royal Highness achieve upon hearing the praise from me?” Liu Jin Yu inquired with amusement.

“It is tough to explain,” Xiaoming replied, and walked ahead. Liu Jin Yu followed him and asked him if he had started to search for the Crown Princess.

“No. I don’t know what I will do,” Xiaoming said. “If I fail to find a suitable woman within these two weeks, Father will make me marry the woman of his choice.” Suddenly, his worries increased. How would he find out who is better for him?

“Why doesn’t His Highness organize a contest to select his wife?” Liu Jin Yu suggested an idea to him.

“The inner palace will get involved in that. My mother will again take control,” Xiaoming said and sighed.

“Your Royal Highness, it is not wrong to listen to the choice of your mother. I feel that the Crown Prince will eventually fall in love with the woman who becomes the Crown Princess,” Liu Jin Yu asserted.

“If you are suddenly married to a man whom you don’t know, will you fall in love with him?” Xiaoming questioned her and tilted his head to glance at her.

“I am not in the same situation as the Crown Prince. I am free to marry whomever I want to, so I will never encounter that,” Liu Jin Yu said with a confident tone.

“Just assume it,” Xiaoming insisted.

.....

Liu Jin Yu took a deep breath. “What if the man is good to me? Then, I may fall in love with him. If he turns out to be evil, I will leave him and start my life afresh,” she replied. Liu Jin Yu never thought of getting married, so in her eyes, the answer might not be good enough to clear Xiaoming’s confusion.

“Unfortunately, I will not have the option to leave the woman if I fail to get along with her. I will have to do everything forcefully. Even producing the children would be against my will. These days, I am questioning my identity as the Crown Prince,” Xiaoming asserted, chuckling at his bad luck.

“If Princess Consort Li Hua was from a noble family, then the Crown Prince could have married her without any doubt. He didn’t have to stop himself that day,” she proclaimed.

“Jin Yu, Li Hua wasn’t made for me. Brother Lóng Wei loved her before she even entered the palace.He loves her dearly. Moreover, she belongs to the noble Xu Family. In the morning, we all found out about it,” Xiaoming affirmed.

“What? Princess Consort from a noble family?” Liu Jin Yu was shocked to hear the truth about Li Hua. “Did she not get punished? Why did Princess Consort Li Hua hide her identity and work as a servant?” She was curious to know.

“No. You may not know about the Xu family. The Xu family was murdered two months ago in Xinshui. The story is long. I will tell you about it someday,” Xiaoming said.

Liu Jin Yu found out that Li Hua was strong enough to enter the palace.

“Isn’t it strange that Princess Consort Li Hua comes to the palace out of all places?” Liu Jin Yu said, with a dubious expression. Xiaoming had the same question as Li Hua but he was surprised that Liu Jin Yu noticed it too. She was indeed a smart woman in his eyes.

“That’s what I also found odd,” Xiaoming said. “I will ask Brother Lóng Wei. But I know that he won’t share it with me. He keeps a lot of secrets.” Xiaoming decided to ask Lóng Wei about it later in the evening.

“Jin Yu, you should return. From here, I will go,” Xiaoming advised her. Liu Jin Yu didn’t oppose him and nodded at him. She bowed and asked Xiaoming to go ahead.

“Do consider my offer once,” Xiaoming told her before walking ahead.

Liu Jin Yu fisted her palms. ‘I should not get too close to the Crown Prince. Earlier, something strange happened to my heart.’ She turned and went back to her place. She halted when she saw a strange person walking past her. She looked around and turned to look at him.

“Why is he using this route?” She murmured and decided to follow him.

~~~~~~

Lóng Wei tried hard, but Li Hua wasn’t ready to talk with him. He decided to talk about his mother. He never talked about her with anyone, including Yuze, who had been close to him since he was a child. However, Li Hua, who was his wife, had the full right to know about him and his past.

“Li Hua, my mother didn’t want me to be born. That’s why I refrain from talking about her. For a child, a mother is a very important part of his life. Also, she did something which she-” Lóng Wei couldn’t complete his statement as he heard a knock on the door.

“Your Highness, a noble man wants to see you,” the maidservant informed them from outside the chamber.

Lóng Wei got out of bed to open the door.

“Who wants to see me?” Lóng Wei inquired, perplexed. All these years, no noble man tried to ever meet him.

“He says he is Shui Feng Lao, Your Highness,” the maidservant answered while keeping her head down.

“Shui Feng Lao is here?” Li Hua asked from behind. Promptly, Lóng Wei turned to look at her. His cheeks and nose were red, while her eyes looked a little swollen. He walked to her and stroked her cheeks with his hands.

“I will listen to His Highness’s mother later. I want to see Feng Lao first,” Li Hua said while peering into his raven orbs.

“First, tell me if you have forgiven me?” He asked.

“No. I am still upset with His Highness,” Li Hua truthfully answered.

“That hurt me like a needle,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“His Highness’s words hurt me more than a needle,” Li Hua said, and walked past him while lifting her skirt a little.

“Li Hua, will you be able to face him?” Lóng Wei inquired.

“Of course. He is nothing but a culprit in my eyes who has to answer my questions today,” Li Hua replied. Lóng Wei turned to look at her and found she had stepped out of the chamber.