Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

500 An illegitimate child

Jingfei withdrew back and looked at Xu Zifan. He blankly stared at her when Jingfei tapped her fingers on the table. “Could you please tell me about your work?” She asked.

Xu Zifan was so flustered that he was unable to even blink. He did not hear what she said and kept his gaze fixated on her. Jingfei flicked her fingers in front of his eyes, and he came out of that trance.

“I asked you a question,” Jingfei said.

“A question? Forgive me. I did not hear,” Xu Zifan replied.

“What is your work? Could you please me about it?” She inquired.

“I am in the treasury department, and I usually look into finance-related work. The policies for the kingdom’s people, we put them into the documents and other related stuff,” Xu Zifan answered.

“Oh. You have interesting work to do. You are such a talented man. You learned using your left hand well,” Jingfei said and brought her hands near her chest by clasping them together.

He smiled a little.

“I knew it. My husband will be the best in the kingdom,” Jingfei stated.

.....

“You are praising me too much,” Xu Zifan said.

“No. I have not even started,” Jingfei asserted.

“I have noticed a change in you. You were not like this before. From where did this sudden change come? Also, I believe that you could have married Huang Xi if you have told your father.” Xu Zifan wanted to know her response.

“The day you and Li Hua forgave me. I was ashamed of my act. Li Hua tried helping me and I misunderstood her intention. My mother has called General Hei for a conversation regarding my marriage with Huang Xi. However, I did not want to marry him. He ridiculed my feelings for him. I made mistakes, but he crossed the limits. If he could not give me respect among his friends, he could not have ever respected me as a wife too.” Jingfei explained everything that made her decide not to marry Huang Xi.

“Xu Zifan, the night Brother Xiaoming told me that you found out how Jianjun made a fool of me, I cried a lot. I blamed my fate too and also my previous actions for all the bad things that happened to me in the shortest time. That was the moment, the biggest change came in me,” Jingfei asserted.

“But then, I also saw a silver lining in that darkness,” Jingfei said with a bright smile.

“A silver lining?” Xu Zifan arched his eyebrow.

“Yes,” Jingfei took a pause, “I saw you. Xu Zifan, you saved me from the darkness where I was almost fallen. Maybe I would not have been alive today if you had not agreed to marry me,” she completed her words.

“Forgive me if I have ever hurt you,” Xu Zifan said.

“You never hurt me. I found myself at peace after having a conversation with you. Thank you for being so good to me. Not all men are like you,” Jingfei proclaimed.

“Jingfei, I want to tell you something,” Xu Zifan said.

“Hmm?”

Xu Zifan could not speak after seeing those glistening eyes full of enthusiasm. He wanted to tell her that he loved a woman. But he could not.

“What is it?” Jingfei asked.

“Ahh, it is…” he paused for a few seconds and then spoke, “you are beautiful.”

Jingfei’s cheeks flushed to hear that and she shyly lowered her eyelids.

Xu Zifan could only think of that statement. Jingfei might get upset to hear that his heart was possessed by someone else. Also, after she kissed him, he realized that she liked him and was devoted to him. He did not want to hurt her by telling her that she had to wait for a little for him to open up to her.

“Thank you,” Jingfei replied to Xu Zifan’s compliment.

~~~~~~~~

Xiaoming glanced at Li Zixuan, who came out of the residence after he heard from the servant that the Crown Prince had come.

“Greetings to the Crown Prince,” Li Zixuan bowed to him and asked Xiaoming to come inside the house. Xiaoming put his hands behind his back and walked ahead. Li Zixuan quickly followed him and took Xiaoming to the guest room. He asked the servants to bring tea and snacks for the Crown Prince.

Li Zixuan smiled at Xiaoming and sat across from him. He rubbed his hands on his knees and said, “Forgive my son, Your Royal Highness. He made a naive mistake.”

“A naive mistake? Li Jianjun is twenty-one years old, and he is well aware of his actions, I believe,” Xiaoming remarked.

“Your Royal Highness, Li Jianjun has been regretting his actions. These days he does not even take his meals properly. He truly is regretful,” Li Zixuan said.

“Minister Li, Eunuch Sun Fuguo, yesterday saw him in the brothel house again. I do not think that Li Jianjun is regretful of his actions,” Xiaoming asserted. Li Zixuan was shocked to learn that. He curled his fingers in anger, but he did not let it appear on his face.

“Jingfei is married to Xu Zifan, so there is no use in speaking about your son, Minister Li,” Xiaoming stated.

Li Zixuan did not speak further and waited for the female servant to bring the tea for the Crown Prince. In a minute, two female servants entered the guest room and they served the tea along with some snacks. They both stepped back with their heads low and went out of the room after serving the tea.

Xiaoming picked up the teacup and sipped the tea. He put it down and asked Li Zixuan if he could have a private conversation with him.

Li Zixuan looked at the servant, who left the room and closed the doors after him. He sent away the female servants away from there.

Xiaoming placed the teacup on the table before him and gazed at Li Zixuan.

“I will not entertain lies, Minister Li,” Xiaoming said with a stern tone.

Li Zixuan was confused to hear that statement. He wondered if Li Jianjun did something unusual again that made Xiaoming say that.

“Did Minister Li have a wife before his current one?” Xiaoming questioned.

“Pardon me, Your Royal Highness?” Li Zixuan was stunned to hear the Crown Prince’s question.

“I made my question clear,” Xiaoming said and then took out the old document from his pocket. After opening it, he placed it on the table. Li Zixuan looked at it and picked it up. His eyes widened to see and he gazed at Xiaoming, who took the document from him.

“What happened to this lady?” Xiaoming asked another question.

“She left me,” Li Zixuan lied.

“I told Minister Li not to lie to me,” Xiaoming reminded him.

“I am telling the truth,” Li Zixuan asserted.

“Minister Li, you are disappointing me. You threw this woman out and married a woman from a higher-class family so that it could benefit you. If I am not wrong, Minister Li was the adopted son and he did not possess enough powers to rise in rank because of that,” Xiaoming said.

“Why is the Crown Prince asking me about a woman who is not even in my life?” Li Zixuan asked.

“Why did you throw this woman out? She was pregnant with your child at that time,” Xiaoming said and squinted his eyes at him. “You destroyed every evidence where it was mentioned that you were involved with a woman. You could have let her stay in this residence, but you chose to throw her out. Why?” Xiaoming asked.

“I want Minister Li to be truthful to me,” he added.

“I was never married to this woman. It was a mistake, so I asked her to leave,” Li Zixuan replied.

“How could Minister Li do this? He did not even flinch saying all this,” Xiaoming affirmed. He had this displeased expression on his face.

He chuckled and stood up from his seat. Xiaoming did not want to hear anything from Li Zixuan. He did not want to tell Li Zixuan that Jin Yu was his daughter because he might try to use her for his benefit.

He had decided to keep it a secret from Li Zixuan, and he left the Li residence in anger. Li Zixuan went after him to apologize to him, but Xiaoming did not answer him. The horse carriage moved forward and Xiaoming left for the palace.

“Jin Yu is an illegitimate child. It will only stress her if I tell her how Li Zixuan ask her mother to leave merely because she could not help him in a good government position,” Xiaoming muttered.

He decided to punish Li Zixuan by snatching the ministerial rights from him. He was not worthy enough to be the finance minister of the kingdom.

“I will make a motion in the imperial court to remove Li Zixuan. He made my Jin Yu suffer and his bastard son tried to ruin my sister’s life,” Xiaoming said in anger and clenched his fists.