Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Jingfei raised her head and stopped moving the brush. “Xu Zifan?” Her brows drew close as she thought about why he visited her. She placed the brush down and stood up.

“Where is Xu Zifan?” Jingfei asked the attendant.

“He is in the Lotus Pavilion,” she answered. Jingfei told her to bring the tea for Xu Zifan and headed to the pavilion.

Xu Zifan stood up from the chair upon seeing Jingfei coming from the front. He lowered his eyes and then bowed slightly.

“Have a seat, Xu Zifan,” Jingfei said with a smile.

He lifted his head and sat on the chair after the Princess took her seat.

“First Princess, the tea is here.” Her personal attendant had come with a tea server. Upon Jingfei’s instructions, the server poured the tea for them.

”Xu Zifan thanked the First Princess for her warm hospitality. He held the cup and took a sip.

.....

“I think Xu Zifan has completely forgiven me, that is why he came to see me,” Jingfei said and smiled at him.

“As I have said, if my sister forgives the First Princess, I will also forgive her,” Xu Zifan said and kept a tiny smile on his lips.

Once they finished the tea, Xu Zifan requested Jingfei if he could privately talk with the princess.

Jingfei was startled to hear her request, but then she agreed to it. She looked at her personal attendant and gestured to her. She bowed and left along with the other servants present in the pavilion.

“Everyone has left. So what does Xu Zifan talk privately with me?” Jingfei asked.

“Your Highness, I want to tell you something related to…” Xu Zifan paused as he heard Li Jianjun’s voice.

“You are here, Princess Jingfei? I was searching for you in your chamber,” Li Jianjun said with a wide smile.

Jingfei was delighted to see Jianjun and stood up. Xu Zifan also rose to her feet and grimaced.

“Searching for me?” Jingfei was puzzled and with inquisitiveness waited for his reply.

“I have brought a present for Princess Jingfei,” Li Jianjun said and then looked at Xu Zifan. “I did not know that the First Princess will be here with Xu Zifan,” he said.

“Does Li Jianjun know Xu Zifan? He has come here to tell me something,” Jingfei asserted and glanced back at him. “What was it that you wanted to tell me?” She curiously asked.

“Who does not know about Xu Zifan? He was once known as the undefeatable swordsman in the Qiu kingdom. Princess Jingfei, Xu Zifan can talk to you later too. Can you come with me and check the present?” Li Jianjun urged her.

“Ahh, can Xu Zifan wait for me a bit?” Jingfei requested him.

“Sure, Your Highness,” Xu Zifan readily agreed to her. Accept agreeing, he had no other way.

Jingfei stepped ahead to walk away with Li Jianjun when he told her that he had something to give to Xu Zifan. She looked at him in confusion.

Li Jianjun took out the identification token and walked up to Xu Zifan. “Here is your token. You ended up falling it in the restaurant,” Jianjun said. Xu Zifan furrowed his brows together and took the token.

However, Jianjun did not let it go. He kept hold of the token and took a step toward Xu Zifan.

“Try telling my truth to the Princess and I will make sure to kill you and your sister. I know your dear sister is at your house. If the word about me goes out, I will make sure to burn you alive along with your sister,” Jianjun threatened Xu Zifan. They scowled at each other. Jianjun left his grip on the token.

Xu Zifan lowered his hand and watched them leave. Xu Zifan clenched his fist and left for his house. He could not risk Li Hua’s life. But he was puzzled thinking about how Li Jianjun found out about it.

Now, he had no way left but to send Li Hua to a safer place. Jianjun might try to kill them when he could find out that Li Hua was with him. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not see Huang Xi coming from the front.

“Xu Zifan!” Huang Xi widely smiled at him, but when Xu Zifan walked past him without greeting him, he got confused.

“What happened to him?” Huang Xi wondered.

~~~~~~~~

Lóng Wei had left with Shuyao for the mountain before sunrise. According to Shuyao, if they would walk at their normal speed while taking frequent stops, they would reach there by the early evening. However, Shuyao forgot to mention the sudden changes in the weather uphills.

While walking Shuyao asked Lóng Wei about his personal life, but he only gave him vague answers.

“Prince Lóng Wei, why are you so desperate to go there?” Shuyao asked. “I want His Highness to be honest with me with that,” he asserted.

“Curiosity to find a certain answer,” Lóng Wei replied.

“What kind of curiosity a prince can have that he decided to climb the mountain?” Shuayo was skeptical of Lóng Wei’s answer.

After covering over three miles of distance, Lóng Wei asked Shuyao if they should rest. Shuyao nodded his head and after finding a safe ground, he asked Lóng Wei to sit down under a tree. He gave the water gourd to Lóng Wei and he drank the water. They ate some light snacks.

“You cook good, Shuyao,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“This is the first time the Prince praised me,” Shuayo stated and chewed the steamed bun.

“People usually hate me. It is strange that you like my company,” Lóng Wei remarked and ate the steamed bun on his head.

“I can serve His Highness if he wants me to,” Shuyao asserted.

Lóng Wei tilted his head to look at him and chuckled. “I bully people. You will not be able to stand before me if I started making you work,” He tried to intimidate Shuyao.

“My life has no use. It has been over thirty years and I am selling those dumplings and steamed buns. The day Prince Lóng Wei came to me, I, for some reason got enthusiastic. I have troubled him, so he can surely bully me,” Shuyao stated.

“Father will get angry if I take you to the palace,” Lóng Wei affirmed.

“I thought Prince Lóng Wei will punish His Majesty for the wrongs he did to people like me,” Shuyao said and sighed.

“I am not capable enough to raise my voice against my own father,” Lóng Wei asserted and asked for one more steamed bun from Shuyao.

“A Dragon is a fearless creature. It is far more powerful than any creature on this earth. They show great strength, good fortune, and peace in the lives of people like me,” Shuyao asserted.

“There are many people who were born in the year of the dragon. Why do you not ask them to help you?” Lóng Wei inquired him.

“Not everyone can be a dragon, Prince Lóng Wei. I truly hope that the moment we reach at the next hilltop where the ninety-nine lakes and dawn redwood forests are situated, Prince Lóng Wei changes his mind,” Shuyao asserted and stood up, wearing the backpack made of leather.

“It is tough to make my heart change,” Lóng Wei said and dusted off his hands. He stood up and told Shuyao that he would never stand against his own father.