Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Qiu Zedong asked the tea server if the tea was ready.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Qiu Zedong asked her to serve the tea to Ye Yujin first. Ye Yujin thanked the King and lifted the porcelain tea cup. The tea server then poured the tea for the King and the Queen.

“Ye Yujin, I am so proud of you,” Qiu Zedong said as he put the cup on the table before him. “You have served me more than forty years and you never once gave me the chance to complain. I hope your son will serve the future king with the spirit,” he stated.

“Of course, Your Majesty. My son will be proud to serve the Crown Prince in the future,” Ye Yujin stated. “I did not see the Crown Prince. I could not even attend the Crown Prince’s marriage. I have brought some gifts for the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess as well,” Ye Yujin informed the King.

“The Crown Prince has gone to Qjiang to solve a matter,” Qiu Zedong replied. Ye Yujin turned inquisitive to know about that. The King briefed him on the matter and told him that his two other sons had also accompanied Xiaoming.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty, but there was no need to send Prince Lóng Wei away,” Ye Yujin opined. “He has always created trouble while staying in the palace. He does not obey his elders and might do the same there,” Ye Yujin asserted.

Qiu Zedong started to laugh, which bewildered Ye Yujin.

.....

“Lóng Wei is no longer a rebellious child. He is no longer a troublemaker. He is stubborn, but after his marriage, he has diverted his attention from all those things. I am surprised that you do not know what position is he currently holding in the Kingdom,” Qiu Zedong could not hide his happiness while saying all those things.

Ye Yujin was curious to know what Lóng Wei’s position was in the kingdom and waited for the King’s answer.

“Brother, Prince Lóng Wei is now the Governor of Qinping,” Zhu Liling stated.

Ye Yujin was shocked to hear that. The kid, who always got punished, was now the Governor of a province. This was truly remarkable and astonishing in Ye Yujin’s eyes.

“I wonder who is the woman who agreed to marry Prince Lóng Wei,” Ye Yujin murmured and sipped the tea.

“The daughter of the Xu Family, Li Hua, is the wife of Lóng Wei,” Zhu Liling answered. Ye Yujin nodded his head to hear that. They had a long conversation when the King left the two siblings. He had some important matters to look into. Both Zhu Liling and Ye Yujin rose to their feet to bow. Once the King had left, they both again sat down.

“How is my sister doing? I can sense the trouble on her face,” Ye Yujin concluded.

“I am doing well, but Lóng Wei has started to trouble me,” Zhu Liling asserted.

“What? Lóng Wei even isn’t present in the palace,” Ye Yujin affirmed. Zhu Liling narrated the entire events in the palace to her brother.

“How could the Crown Prince marry a woman whose family history is unknown?” Ye Yujin did not like the judgment of the Crown Prince towards his marriage.

“That is why I wanted to kill Jin Yu, but Lóng Wei found out about it. He started to threaten me. At the right time, the King sent him away. This is the time when I must make him quiet for his entire life,” Zhu Liling stated.

“How will Her Majesty do that?” Ye Yujin asked her. “I suppose she may need my help in this task,” he asserted.

“Brother has read my mind. Indeed, I need his support. I do not want to be the puppet of Lóng Wei for my remaining life,” Zhu Liling said with annoyance. “I will kill his wife. She is the one, who made him what he is today.” She then revealed her evil plan to Ye Yujin.

“Does my sister really think that Lóng Wei after losing his wife will stop haunting you? I am well aware of his nature. He will become mad to search for the person,” Ye Yujin asserted.

“Brother is wrong. Li Hua is his lifeline. He has told this to the King himself. Because of her, he did not take his life. Months ago when he was punished for beating Kang Xi’s son and sent to the cold palace, he met Li Hua there. He wanted to die the day he encountered Li Hua. However, she saved him and he fell for her. If we remove Li Hua from his life, then everything will be fine,” Zhu Liling stated and smiled. Ye Yujin was astonished to hear that.

“How will you kill Li Hua?” Ye Yujin asked. Zhu Liling shared the plan with her brother.

“It is a good plan. I will do the rest of the work,” Ye Yujin assured his sister, “but make sure that Li Hua goes to the city center before Lóng Wei returns.”

“You need not worry about it, Brother,” Zhu Liling told Ye Yujin and smirked evilly. She was confident that her next move would lead Li Hua to the city center.

“If I am not wrong Feng Lao is known for his sword skills. Have you thought anything about him?” Ye Yujin asked her.

“My order will be enough to separate him from Li Hua,” Zhu Liling affirmed.

Ye Yujin hummed. “However, if you fail to do that, then make sure to mix sleeping pills in his meals,” he suggested to her.

“I understood, Brother,” Zhu Liling, and their conversation diverted to Xiaoming.

~~~~~~~

Hei Chengxi told Li Hua that she did well by coming to him. He told her not to believe the message.

“I did not believe the message, General Hei,” Li Hua said. “Everyone in the palace knows that Prince Lóng Wei is not here to protect me. So, it is the best opportunity for our enemies to harm me,” she added.

“I agree with the Princess Consort,” Hei Chengxi said.

“However, I want to know who did this,” Li Hua stated. Feng Lao shifted his gaze at her immediately, wondering what was brewing in her head.

“Will the Princess Consort elaborate?” Hei Chengxi requested her.

“We must find out, who is behind all this,” Li Hua said with enthusiasm.

“That is not a good idea,” Feng Lao refused to go ahead with it and looked at Hei Chengxi.

“Let’s see who is the real enemy of Prince Lóng Wei in the palace. We must set a trap for this enemy,” Li Hua asserted.

“That is not needed.” They all heard a familiar voice and looked in the person’s direction.

“Here is your tea, Princess Consort,” Xiwan said as he put the tray on the table. He stood straight, his hands behind his back, and told them who made the evil plan to harm Li Hua.

Xiwan had told the maidservant to let him in and walked in when he heard Li Hua’s conversation with Hei Chengxi. The maidservant did not stop Xiwan as she had given an order in the kitchen to send the tea.

“The Queen did this!?” Li Hua chuckled.

“Yes. Her brother, Ye Yujin has returned. I just overheard their conversation. She asked her brother to send an assassin behind her. She has planned a second move as well,” Xiwan told them. He narrated the rest of the things that the two siblings had discussed with each other.

“Such an evil plan the Queen has made. But the Queen underestimated Prince Lóng Wei again,” Xiwan said and chuckled.

“Senior Brother Xiwan appears to be trained in activities such as spying,” Li Hua said curiously.

“I am a spy. My father worked for the former King, Qiu Qizhen,” Xiwan said and looked at Hei Chengxi, who was stunned to find that. Li Hua and Feng Lao were also shocked to find out about it.

Li Hua wondered why Lóng Wei never told her about the true identity of Xiwan.

“I am trained in everything. I can even bear every sort of torture,” Xiwan stated.

Li Hua was still shocked. “Forgive me, Princess Consort, for keeping my identity hidden,” he stated and slightly bowed his head.

Hei Chengxi glanced at Feng Lao and wondered if he should talk about Qiu Qizhen or not. He never knew that there was another loyalist of Qiu Qizhen. It brought immense happiness to him and he decided to stay quiet about it.

“Princess Consort, you need to be extremely cautious of everything around you. The Queen has made her move,” Xiwan said with a frown on his forehead.

“And I will make mine,” Li Hua stated.