Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

163 Capital City of Qinping

Lóng Wei woke up early in the morning and left the bedchamber. He went to the private room, where he had left the diary which Mingquan had given him yesterday. The few pages were charred while on the front few pages the ink had disappeared. The diary was quite thick, depicting that Xu Guang Li was using it for a long time, probably for many years.

He flipped the pages until he found the page where the ink was clearer than before. He read whatever was written on the page. Xu Guang Li used to keep a log of his personal details and getting this diary was helpful to Lóng Wei to some extent. Only if he found something useful.

He flipped pages after pages in the search of something useful for him until he stopped at one page.

“I am concerned for my dear daughter, Li Hua. She has turned eighteen today. Whenever I see her, my heart becomes calm. However, it gets restless too. The prediction that the old Monk made comes to my head,” Lóng Wei read the words. His eyes were glued to the last sentence and recalled his conversation with Yuze when he returned to the imperial palace after five months.

‘Li Hua is the answer to your problems.’

Lóng Wei clearly remembers his words and when he asked him how he knew about Li Hua, Yuze told him that he could see some future events.

“Did Yuze visit Xinshui? Why didn’t he tell me?” Lóng Wei pondered and started to read further.

“I don’t want Li Hua to marry the Prince. She isn’t made for palace life. And as the time passed, I found the Prince isn’t someone my daughter should be with. The old monk’s words always come true. That’s why I decided to marry my Li Hua to the eldest son of the Shui Family. Feng Lao is a gentleman. I will do it soon so that she will be safe from the wrath of the prediction.”

Lóng Wei snickered upon reading those words. “Father-in-law, I am a good person to Li Hua. Your daughter is safer with me than with Feng Lao, who married as soon as you all died,” Lóng Wei complained and tossed the diary over the table. Those words of Xu Guang Li annoyed Lóng Wei.”

.....

He leaned back on the chaise lounge and looked at the wooden ceiling. “Father-in-law didn’t know about my nature, that’s why he said such words. I must read more.” He decided and sat straight. He picked the diary again and continued reading.

One thing that he noticed through Xu Guang Li’s writing was that he was only concerned for Li Hua. He had written some of his work in the diary, but those didn’t seem important to him.

“I got a mysterious message from someone in the capital. This high-quality paper is only used in the Capital city of Qiping. Is it about my-” Lóng Wei quickly flipped the page but to his surprise, the ink had spread on the entire page? The water had dampened the pages and even it was burned from the lower end. Lóng Wei tried hard to read those characters, but it was in vain.

He flipped more pages, but every page after that was in a similar condition.

“Who sent him the message from Qiping?” Lóng Wei murmured. “I must find out about that message. Xu Zifan doesn’t know anything about it. It means Xu Guang Li didn’t share it with anyone.” He rubbed his fingers together and again leaned back on the chaise lounge. He put his hands under his head and stared at the ceiling.

“I thought its origin is Xinshui town. To my knowledge, hardly any minister paid heed to a third-rank official. Who can do this from Qiping? And why did this person do this?” Lóng Wei mumbled. He contemplated for more than an hour. The private chamber had started to fill with light. He had to return to the chamber before Li Hua would start to search for him. He hid the diary well and before leaving, he wrote a message for Xiwan.

‘It is in Qiping.’

Lóng Wei wrote those words on a tiny piece of paper. He prepared a thin paste that could make the ink disappear. Applying it over the dried ink, he found the ink had disappeared. He folded it into a small piece of paper and left the private chamber.

~~~~~~

Xiaoming woke up late and it stunned him. He never woke up late, then why today. He asked Eunuch Lishi why he didn’t wake him up.

“Your Royal Highness, I tried, but you asked me to go out and not to disturb you,” Eunuch Lishi replied.

“I did?” Xiaoming was confused to hear it. He was unable to remember anything like this. He must be in a deep slumber. He asked Eunuch Lishi about Liu Jin Yu.

“Your Royal Highness, Jin Yu is cleaning the bathroom. She said that she had to pay His Royal Highness,” Eunuch Lishi answered and it brought a smile to Xiaoming. He didn’t know she would do the work so enthusiastically.

“Your Royal Highness, Her Majesty sent a message in the early morning,” Eunuch Lishi informed Xiaoming, who got down from the bed. He tied the knot of his upper garment and asked him to speak.

“Her Majesty wants to have breakfast with the Crown Prince,” Eunuch Lishi said. Xiaoming hummed and left the chamber. After freshening up and taking a bath, he got ready to go to the greeting hall.

“Liu Jin Yu,” Xiaoming pronounced her name.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness!” Liu Jin Yu loudly said and came forward, keeping her head low. Eunuch Lishi narrowly gazed at her as he didn’t like her interaction with the Crown Prince.

Xiaoming looked at her clothes from the night and glanced at Eunuch Lishi. Her clothes were wet from the bottom and sleeves. “Give some clothes to Liu Jin Yu. Servants’ clothes will do better,” Xiaoming instructed Eunuch Lishi.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

“Pick that bun knot holder and put it on my head,” Xiaoming asked her.

Liu Jin Yu lifted her head and pointed her finger toward her. “Me?” Her left eyebrow arched in inquisitiveness.

“Yes.” Xiaoming turned to face the mirror and looked at his collars.

“Eunuch Lishi, you should bring a few sets of servant dresses for Liu Jin Yu,” Xiaoming told him, who bowed and left the dressing chamber.

Liu Jin Yu carefully picked the holder and found it was made of pure gold. There were precious stones embedded in a few places and her eyes shone to see them.

She went to Xiaoming, who stood tall in front of her. Liu Jin Yu lifted her hands and found that Xiaoming appeared to be taller than usual. She then looked at his feet and found that he was on his toes.

Liu Jin Yu went away, and it confused Xiaoming. “I didn’t tell you to leave,” he said when she brought a stool. She climbed it and now smiled.

“His Royal Highness should not play childish games with his manor’s servants,” Liu Jin Yu asserted.

“You are too smart. I didn’t expect it,” Xiaoming said when she put the holder with heavy force on his head. Xiaoming felt as if she was hitting him intentionally.

“Do it carefully. You are not supposed to hurt me,” Xiaoming complained to her and scolded her, at the same time.

“Forgive me, Your Royal Highness. It is my first time doing such work,” Liu Jin Yu said and twisted her lips into a smirk.