Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

448 To choose only one [Bonus chapter]

Lóng Wei reached the palace in the evening. The soldiers at the main palace gates were astonished to see him in that state. He was all drenched from top to bottom. One of the soldiers came forward to whom Lóng Wei asked to take away the horse.

Lóng Wei soon reached his manor and ensured that Li Hua would not see him. He peeked inside the door first before stepping in. When he did not see his wife around, he silently walked into the manor and turned to go to his chamber.

He closed the door from inside and headed to the changing dress room. He halted in his steps as his eyes fell on Li Hua, who was sleeping on the floor mattress around the floor table. He realized that she had waited for him for a long time.

Without making any noise, he went to the changing room. After changing into a clean outfit, he came to the main room. He first carried Li Hua in his arms while ensuring he would not break her sleep.

Lóng Wei settled her gently on the mattress and then pulled a blanket to cover her with it. He caressed her hair and then planted a gentle kiss on the top of her forehead. He sat on the floor while his back rested against the footboard. He had his arms over his knees which were in the air and his hands joined.

He let out a sigh which was a mix of regret and anguish. Everything related to his past was a mystery to him. The more he tried to join the clues, the more complex it would get. Now, the thing or the message that his mother had left for him was not even present at the place where it should be.

‘I have to find Qizhen soon else all this will keep troubling me. Father might have also begun the search to find him. The way my grandmother told me about the past depicts only one thing that Father had some evil intentions.’ He thought to himself and lowered his head. He was stuck between two people.

In the end, he had to choose only one person. He could never choose his real parents over the person, who protected him all those years. He had made up his mind earlier too. But after having a conversation with Yu Shin, his mind had other thoughts as well.

‘Should I go to Yuze and consult about it with him?’ Lóng Wei thought.

.....

He shook his head after he recalled what Yuze told him. ‘Yuze would never tell me the truth. If he had to, then he would have in all these years,’ Lóng Wei thought.

He deeply sighed again and looked up at the ceiling as he rested his head on the mattress. Lóng Wei closed his eyes and fell asleep in that position.

~~~~~~~~

Tianjie wore the overcoat after the servant informed him that Song Jia was staying in a residence that a minister had made for her three years ago. He had gifted her that residence when she had come to Qinping to perform.

Tianjie did not feel good when he found out that Song Jia accepted a residence as a gift from a random minister in the kingdom. What if the minister tried to go close to her? He left to meet Song Jia after asking the servant about the directions.

Because of the rain, the road was filled with mud. It was difficult for Tianjie to ride the horse more, so he got down it after covering a certain distance. Huang Xi, who was heading to his residence ended up seeing Huang Xi from the horse carriage and he asked the chauffeur not to turn it to his residence.

Instead, he asked him to stop the carriage. Huang Xi quickly stepped out of the horse carriage and called for Prince Tianjie in an enough loud voice.

Tianjie stopped walking and turned to look.

“Your Highness, where are you heading to at this hour?” Huang Xi asked as he approached him and looked at the horse, whose hoofs were covered in mud.

Tianjie did not want to tell Huang Xi about it, but if he would lie to him that not be appropriate.

“Song Jia is in the capital,” Tianjie could not hide from Huang Xi and truthfully told him the reason why he wanted to see her. Since Huang Xi was the person with whom he had shared a lot of his inner desires, so telling him was no harm at all in his eyes.

“Then, I will drop His Highness in the horse carriage,” Huang Xi offered help to Tianjie. “It is already evening and the sky is covered in clouds. I will send this horse with another soldier back to the palace,” he stated and turned to look. The soldier, who had accompanied Huang Xi came forward and left for the palace with the horse.

Tianjie got into the carriage and after him, Huang Xi stepped in. The carriage started to move and they headed toward the destination where Song Jia was staying.

“Your Highness, Song Jia will get suspicious to see at her place,” Huang Xi opined, “what I mean is that the Third Prince had lied to her about him when he met her in Qijiang Province,” and completed his words.

Tianjie blinked a few times before replying. “I will not go in front of her. I have to ensure that she is safe there,” he asserted.

“If His Highness has such strong feelings for her, then he should not refrain from pursuing her. Song Jia affects His Highness in a way which is indescribable to him too,” Huang Xi’s words made Tianjie contemplate. He himself was astonished to see this side in him. He was restless to see her and was worried for her. This never happened with him.

How could his mere infatuation toward Song Jia be so strong that he came out of the palace at that hour? Or was it love which he did not want to accept fully?