Chapter 232

232 Monk Yuze’s Return

“Why did Mingquan agree to accompany Lóng Wei? I had clearly instructed that no one would leave the palace. Do my orders have any value left?” Qiu Zedong’s anger burst at Mingquan. He kept his head down while feeling guilty.

Xiaoming stepped up and bowed his head. “Royal Father, I was the one who agreed to Brother Lóng Wei’s request. If someone should get punished, then that’s me. I should not have violated the command of His Majesty.” He apologized to Qiu Zedong.

Zhu Liling was stunned to find that her son went against the command of the King.

Qiu Zedong shouted at them, “Lóng Wei is the youngest child and he loves to pick trouble. You both should have informed me when Lóng Wei took such a step.” He put his hand on his chest and took deep breaths.

“Your Majesty, please calm down,” Zhu Liling intervened this time. “Everyone knows how headstrong Lóng Wei is. He must have been adamant about going out of the palace since the matter was related to Li Hua,” she asserted.

“Indeed, if someone should be blamed, then it is Li Hua. Because of her, Lóng Wei turned mad. “Noble Consort Xiuying supported the statements of the Queen, “Pardon me. I mean, Prince Lóng Wei never got hurt this way, but because of his wife he is on his deathbed.”

“Noble Consort Xiuying, stay quiet. I won’t tolerate any impudence today,” Qiu Zedong affirmed, and asked why Li Hua hadn’t come till now.

Eunuch Gao Bing stepped up to look for Li Hua when she entered the chamber with Court Lady Hong and a maidservant.

She bowed before the King and the Queen. Her hands were trembling in fear, and her eyes were fluttering in nervousness.

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“Did the Princess Consort ask Prince Lóng Wei to go out in the early morning? Was she aware of all this?” Qiu Zedong asked her.

Li Hua was unable to understand if she should tell the truth or a lie. What if the King punished Lóng Wei for going out of the palace against his order?

“Sister-in-law’s silence clearly shows that Brother Lóng Wei discussed this with her. For her own selfish reasons, she agreed with Brother Lóng Wei and let him go out. We all thought that after the marriage, Li Hua would keep Brother Lóng Wei in control, but the opposite is happening,” Jingfei stated, and internally felt relieved.

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“Your Majesty, my sister knew nothing. His Highness didn’t tell anything to Li Hua,” Xu Zifan affirmed. He could not let his sister get punished when she had no fault.

“That’s ridiculous. A wife knows everything about her husband,” Noble Consort Xiuying denied the claim of Xu Zifan.

“Li Hua’s brother is merely trying to protect his sister and is hiding the truth. This unknown enemy of the Xu family didn’t even hesitate to kill the royal prince. I am afraid, His Highness must punish Li Hua and her brother to involve Prince Lóng Wei. We all have already heard from Physician Peng that 90% of Prince Lóng Wei’s body is affected because of the poison. If anything happens to him, then who will take the responsibility,” Zhu Liling proclaimed. She made Qiu Zedong decide on the punishment of Li Hua and Xu Zifan.

“Royal Mother, Sister-in-law knew nothing about it,” Mingquan proclaimed. “Brother Lóng Wei never let her find out about all this.”

“Royal Father, it is not the time to punish anyone. Princess Consort shall be around Brother Lóng Wei at this moment. Moreover, Royal Father himself had told Lóng Wei to investigate the deadly murder of the Xu family. If someone made a mistake, then it was me. I should not have allowed Brother Lóng Wei to go out and aid him in that,” Xiaoming calmly handled the matter.

“I also think that we must focus on Prince Lóng Wei’s recovery rather than punishing people whom he cherishes more than his life.” They all looked towards the door upon hearing a familiar voice.

“Monk Yuze,” Qiu Zedong murmured and stepped up.

Yuze, using the thick stick, walked inside and stood beside Li Hua. He greeted the King and the Queen first.

“Monk Yuze, you have returned earlier than expected,” Zhu Liling stated.

“I had to return because the message from heaven was clear this time. Prince Lóng Wei’s life is in danger. Gladly, I arrived at the right time,” Yuze asserted and looked at Qiu Zedong.

“Your Majesty, I would like to check Prince Lóng Wei once,” Yuze requested. The King immediately agreed to the monk’s request and asked him to follow him.

“Princess Consort Li Hua, follow me,” Yuze said and passed a tiny smile to her. Xu Zifan recalled that face. He was the same monk who had visited the Xu Residence when Li Hua had been born. He was the one who had read Li Hua’s stars.

Li Hua bowed and walked after Monk Yuze. Xiaoming also left the chamber and gestured to Xu Zifan to come with him.

“Monk Yuze came again at the vulnerable time,” Xiuying said in a low voice and glanced at Zhu Liling. “What if he saved Lóng Wei?”

“Monk Yuze is not a physician,” Zhu Liling replied in a low voice. She walked out of the chamber and after her, the two consorts left the chamber.

“I think this is the end for Brother Lóng,” Tianjie said with a smirk.

Zhang Xi smiled and hummed. “The poison is deadly. Such a poison is retrieved from a deadly poisonous snake which is rare to find. He won’t make it this time. Finally, Lóng Wei will leave this place,” he stated.

“Is it really possible?” Jingfei asked with excitement. She could not forget her insult in Lóng Wei’s hands.

“Of course, Sister Jingfei. Peng Yuxian said that Brother Lóng Wei isn’t responding to any medicine,” Zhang Xi affirmed. Jingfei was delighted to hear him.

“That’s great then,” Jingfei said.

Mingquan could not believe his ears. “How could you all think ill of our youngest brother? Instead of praying for him, you all are waiting for him to die,” Mingquan remarked. He agreed to the fact that Lóng Wei never respected his siblings but that was not his fault. Even they were at fault for treating him differently.

“I agree with the Fourth Brother’s words. We should not think ill of Brother Lóng Wei,” Ai Fen said.

“Brother Mingquan, since when did you start to preach about Brother Lóng Wei? Also, Brother Lóng Wei must pay for his sins,” Tianjie asserted.

“Brother Tianjie doesn’t need to have any right to say such a thing. What kind of sins is he talking about? He himself had committed so many sinful crimes,” Mingquan lost his temper at Tianjie. Being a human, being a brother, he should not have such thoughts for Lóng Wei.