Chapter 205

205 Take his eyes off

As the morning tea session was over, the King and his two wives were the first to leave the hall. Then, Xiaoming walked up to Lóng Wei and hugged him, shocking the rest of the people present in the hall.

Lóng Wei asked him what he was doing. “I never knew that our ill-treatment would affect Brother Lóng Wei. Forgive me for being cold towards you sometimes,” he asserted, keeping a tiny smile on his lips.

Lóng Wei pushed Xiaoming away and asked him not to do that. “We aren’t close enough to hug each other,” he stated.

“We can negotiate those differences soon,” Xiaoming confidently said.

“It was unbelievable to me as well that he was hurt by our behavior,” Mingquan said, looking at Li Hua, who looked upset with him.

Qiu Mu asked Lóng Wei if he would like to converse with him in private.

“In private? Why?” Tianjie asked curiously.

“That is related to the investigation,” Qiu Mu said. Lóng Wei squinted his eyes in suspicion and nodded.

“Sure!” Lóng Wei stated. He decided to check if Qiu Mu could prove useful to him or not. If so, then he would not reveal the truth about his evil actions now, or else he would tell their father.

.....

“Let me escort my wife first,” Lóng Wei said, “and then I will come to meet you.”

“I will go, Your Highness. You can go with the Second Prince,” Li Hua said, and took her to leave. Ai Fen told Lóng Wei that he would accompany Li Hua and leave her behind. Xiaolian thought to find what they would talk about, so she silently walked behind them while Jingfei left to see her mother.

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“Li Hua!” Ai Fen called her name, and she stopped. Ai Fen lifted her skirt a little and ran to her. Li Hua turned to look at her and asked her if she wanted something.

“No. I decided to accompany you to your manor,” Ai Fen said. “I can, right?” She still asked for Li Hua’s permission.

“Of course, Princess Ai Fen,” Li Hua said. They both heard Xiaolian, who greeted Li Hua.

“This is my first time talking to you, Li Hua. Since Sister Ai Fen called you by your name, then I will also pronounce her name,” Xiaolian said.

“Yes, Princess Xiaolian.”

“It was surprising to find that you were from a noble class. Now, I realized why Li Hua excelled so quickly in every work. I heard your eldest brother survived. Is he also in the palace?” Xiaolian inquired.

“Yes,” Li Hua answered.

“I wonder why the Shui family killed the Xu family. I think it was because of the enmity between the two families,” Xiaolian remarked. Li Hua halted, and so did Ai Fen.

“I would like to request Princess Xiaolian not to say anything when she doesn’t know the truth,” Li Hua suddenly turned furious. “Our families were close, but the Shui family betrayed us,” she affirmed.

“Li Hua, how would I know when you didn’t tell the whole truth? Also, in such cases, usually enmity is the main reason. I can see that after you married Brother Lóng Wei, you have become bolder,” Xiaolian said. “I will not accompany you anymore,” she added, and walked away in anger.

Li Hua realized that she had done wrong by losing her temper. “I didn’t want to hurt Princess Xiaolian,” she said, and sighed for getting angry all of a sudden.

“I will talk with Sister Xiaolian later,” Ai Fen assured her and asked her if they should go to the manor first.

As they reached the manor, Court Lady Hong welcomed Ai Fen and asked Li Hua about the Sixth Prince.

“His Highness is with the Second Prince,” Li Hua replied. She asked Ai Fen to take a seat, and the two sat around the floor table.

“Li Hua, Brother Lóng Wei is so in love with you. Did you two enjoy your time together?” She asked. “Since Xinshui is your hometown, you must have felt good. Also, after meeting your eldest brother you might be happy,” Ai Fen initiated the conversation with her.

“Yes. I was happy. But those painful memories from that night had also revived. Seeing my First Brother, I was happy. I miss my second brother, my father, my mother, and my personal attendant. I couldn’t do anything that night,” Li Hua said and the edges of her eyes turned watery because of the tears.

“Forgive me, for making you recall all those hurtful memories,” Ai Fen said while empathizing with Li Hua. Li Hua wiped the tears from the pad of her fingers.

“It’s fine, Princess Ai Fen.”

“Your Highness, Commander Huang Xi is here.” A maidservant came inside to inform Li Hua. Both she and Ai Fen stood up from their respective seats.

“Let him in,” Li Hua said.

After a minute, Huang Xi walked in and greeted both of them.

“Your Highness, my father wants to meet Xu Zifan. I thought to ask the Sixth Prince about it, but he wasn’t in his chamber. That’s why I came here to ask Her Highness,” Huang Xi stated.

“Commander Huang Xi can surely take my brother to his residence. He doesn’t need to ask me. However, I do not know where he is staying in the palace. His Highness had told me earlier that he would take me to see my elder brother,” Li Hua asserted.

“Li Hua, come, I will take you to the chamber where your elder brother must be staying. The guest chambers are in the Western Palace,” Ai Fen told her, and asked Commander Huang Xi if he could come with them.

Court Lady Hong also followed them to the Western Palace.

~~~~~~

Jingfei thanked Eunuch Lianying for the set of perfume that he had asked the maidservants to prepare.

“It is my pleasure to serve the First Princess,” Eunuch Lianying answered, and asked her to do what the Queen had told her.

“Yes, Eunuch Lianying.”

“The palanquin is ready for the First Princess near the Imperial Gates. I will escort the First Princess,” Eunuch Lianying said, and they left. Jingfei was ready to win the heart of the General’s wife. As per her mother, Huang Xi would become happy if Jingfei treated Huang Xi’s mother well.

Last time, Huang Xi behaved oddly with her. It appeared to her that he was not interested in conversing with her.

“Eunuch Lianying, do I look good enough? Since we are going to the Hei residence, Commander Huang Xi will also be present in the residence. I do not want him to be disappointed. So, I thought to ask you once,” Jingfei said. She had been a little nervous since the last night of her appearance.

“Princess Jingfei has inherited the beautiful skin of her mother. She is definitely looking like a jade beauty today. If Commander Huang Xi sees her, then he will not be able to take his eyes off the Princess,” Eunuch Lianying complimented Jingfei. She felt better to hear him and took a deep breath.

“Everything will be alright,” she told herself, and they soon reached the imperial gates. Getting into the palanquin, she left for the Hei residence.