Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

~~~~~

Lóng Wei dropped Li Hua at Xu Zifan’s and then came to the garden where Mingquan was waiting for him accompanied by Huang Xi.

He found that Mingquan was ready to have a sword fight with him. Huang Xi greeted Lóng Wei and asked him where his wife was.

“I cannot do it today,” Lóng Wei stated. “Let’s postpone it to some other day. I need to take Li Hua out. Also, it’s the day of the festival. We must enjoy the day,” Lóng Wei proclaimed and looked at Mingquan.

“How much can I trust the Fourth Prince?” His question puzzled Mingquan.

“Umm...he knows this answer already,” Mingquan replied, after thinking for a few minutes. Huang Xi looked at both of them.

Lóng Wei brought his hand forward which had a braid made of thick silk threads in it. “Forward your hand, Fourth Prince,” Lóng Wei urged him. Mingquan complied with his request and forwarded his left hand. Lóng Wei pushed his sleeve up and tied the 5-colored silk threaded braid around his wrist.

“Isn’t this for children?” Huang Xi interrupted in the middle. “On the Dragon Boat Festival, children wear these to ward off the evil of diseases,” he stated and glanced at Lóng Wei. Mingquan also looked at his youngest brother in bewilderment.

.....

“It is to show that I have put my faith in the Fourth Brother,” Lóng Wei affirmed. Mingquan widened his eyes when he heard ‘Fourth Brother’ from Lóng Wei’s mouth. He never addressed any of the Princes as ‘Brother’. It was the most unexpected that he could ever imagine happening. Lóng Wei pulled his hand back while Mingquan looked at the braid.

Huang Xi was glad to see that Lóng Wei had acknowledged the Fourth Prince as his brother. Last night, Mingquan told him that Lóng Wei never considered that he had any elder brothers or sisters. This was indeed a surprise.

Mingquan thanked Lóng Wei for it. “I am overwhelmed with this surprise of Brother Lóng Wei. I am glad that he sees me not only as his well-wisher but also as an elder brother,” he asserted and smiled brightly

“I want to share something important with you both,” Lóng Wei stated.

Huang Xi and Mingquan glanced at Lóng Wei, who went towards the pavilion made at the center of the garden. They followed him and then took their seats around a table.

“What is it about?” Mingquan asked and put the sword on the table.

“About Li Hua,” Lóng Wei answered.

“What about the Princess Consort?” Mingquan queried.

“Li Hua is the daughter of Xu Guang Li,” Lóng Wei pronounced. Immediately, Mingquan recalled Xu Guang Li.

“You mean, the daughter of Xu Guang Li, whose family died in a deadly assassination?” Mingquan asked. He remembered well that Qiu Zedong had talked about it with them. “Xu Guang Li’s eldest son was one of the finest, known swordsmen in the Kingdom,” he added.

“I had this feeling that I had seen the Princess Consort somewhere. Now, I recalled that two years ago, I visited Xinshui with my father for some work. We visited the Xu Residence at that time. That’s where I saw Princess Consort,” Huang Xi answered and looked at Lóng Wei.

“How did my Sister-in-law become a servant? Everyone thinks that everyone is dead in the Xu Family,” Mingquan got confused and waited for Lóng Wei’s answer.

“Xu Zifan and Li Hua are the lone survivors of the Xu Family,” Lóng Wei stated. Mingquan was shocked to learn that Xu Zifan was alive. But where was he? Before he could, Lóng Wei answered on his own. He revealed many mysteries to them.

“Why did Brother Lóng Wei reveal it to us?” Mingquan asked. “I think it was all a part of his plan to bring the Sister-in-law here. What is he up to?” He squinted his eyes in suspicion.

“Did our father try to investigate this matter?” Lóng Wei asked Mingquan, who shook his head.

“Thousands of officials are present in the kingdom. Xu Guang Li came to notice because the massacre was unexpected despite having such a strong law and justice system in the Kingdom. That’s why Father talked with us about it. After that, officials were provided with more security in terms of trained military soldiers,” Mingquan narrated to Lóng Wei.

“Did the Royal Father not ask to investigate?” Lóng Wei asked. Being far from the palace, at that time, he had missed this information.

“Investigation was done, but nothing serious was found. Brother Lóng Wei, the kingdom has thousands of matters to solve. When the court begins, the most important matters are discussed. So many people die daily, so this matter was not discussed much. A mourning event was surely organized because everyone considered Xu Guang Li as an honest official,” Mingquan revealed the rest of the information to Lóng Wei.

“My Father tried to look into this matter,” Huang Xi answered. “Late Xu Guang Li was close to my father. However, Father didn’t find anything,” Huang Xi stated.

“The Shui Family is behind that massacre,” Lóng Wei told them.

“Isn’t Shui Xiaoqing the current Governor of this county?” Mingquan asked.

“Yes. I want the Fourth Brother to go to the Governor’s residence,” Lóng Wei said.

“What is in Brother Lóng Wei’s mind?” Mingquan asked. “Shui Xiaoqing will be surprised to see a Royal Prince. Then, they will ask me questions,” he opined.

“Tell them that I am here with my wife,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Pardon me, Your Highness. But isn’t it supposed to be a secret?” Huang Xi again intervened.

“I will do it,” Mingquan said. Lóng Wei smiled and thanked him.

“I want to meet Xu Zifan,” Mingquan said.

“Li Hua is with him at the moment. The Fourth Brother can see him later,” Lóng Wei said. Mingquan nodded his head. He asked Lóng Wei to explain to them the plan that he had been working on. If there were any more secrets, he must reveal them.

“There’s nothing more. Everyone will gather near the river in the evening for the festival. I will see you there, Fourth Brother. Shui Xiaoqing will surely invite you with his son,” Lóng Wei stated. Mingquan hummed and decided to comply with Lóng Wei’s plan.