Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“His Majesty was the reason for my miseries,” Shuyao answered. “How am I supposed to ask for justice from the person, who ordered to behead my family,” he stated and brought his hand near his chest.

“Only I know how I have been alive till this date,” Shuyao’s voice choked and tears came out from his eyes.

“So, if I had never come here, then you would have never tried to get justice,” Lóng Wei questioned him.

“Perhaps no,” Shuyao replied.

“You want me to stand against my father for you. I will be foolish to do that, Shuyao,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“My daughter was merely five years old. You are born to end the miseries of people like me. His Majesty could have let her live,” Shuyao stated and brought his hands up before joining them.

“I will decide after reaching the place of ninety-nine lakes. Do you accept this?” Lóng Wei asked about his decision on that.

“I accept it. I have faith in Prince Lóng Wei that he will give me the justice that I always longed for,” Shuyao affirmed.

.....

Lóng Wei looked up at the sky and saw the scattered clouds. “Shall we go today? What do you say?” He looked at Shuyao.

“We may get stuck in the middle because of the darkness. In my opinion, we should leave early in the morning,” Shuyao suggested to him. Lóng Wei hummed and told him that they should head back.

Lóng Wei wondered what crime Shuyao committed that he was forced to live this way. Qiu Zedong ordered the beheading of everyone in his family except Shuyao. It was indeed a brutal punishment for Shuyao.

“Why did His Majesty order such a punishment for you?” Lóng Wei asked Shuyao.

“After the previous king was dethroned, all the officials he appointed were either killed or forced to serve the jail term. I am one of those numerous victims,” Shuyao stated as he recalled his dark past.

“Shuyao, I am the youngest son of the king. Why do you think that I will help you and bring your matter into the limelight?” Lóng Wei was a little bewildered to know that Shuyao expected him to go against the king of the kingdom. According to him, it could not be merely because of the prophecy. He had doubts if Shuyao also knew the truth about his birth.

“I already gave my answer on it, Prince Lóng Wei,” Shuyao replied.

They both reached the house. “Prepare the things for tomorrow. Also, buy a nice pair of clothes for me. I will not wear these rugged clothes anymore,” Lóng Wei told Shuyao as he took out the pouch from his inner pocket. He handed him a good amount of coins.

“Prince Lóng Wei is forgetting that he is my servant till the five days. It is the second day. He must be happy that I am ready to take him tomorrow,” Shuyao asserted and handed the coins back to Lóng Wei’s hands.

The Prince twitched his lips in annoyance and left his sight. “This oldie really knows how to irk me!” Lóng Wei murmured and went to the market.

~~~~~~~

Xu Zifan was ready to go home in the evening after work when his fellows asked him to join them for drinks.

“Forgive me, but I cannot join today,” Xu Zifan said. He could not tell them that his sister was at home.

“Xu Zifan, do you not consider us your friends? You hardly come for drinks with us,” Liang Ma complained to him. The other two also insisted Xu Zifan join them. He could not refuse them but told them that he would stay with them for only an hour.

“Fine. Let’s go before we get late,” Hong Zhi said. Xu Zifan left with them for the local night restaurant where mostly men would gather to eat and drink. Also, ordinary people could not enter that restaurant.

When they took a seat around a round table of four people, a teenage boy came to them and wrote their orders. Xu Zifan only ordered one tiny bowl of noodles to eat. He looked around when he heard some of the noblemen discussing Kang Huijuan.

“I heard the Crown Prince has gathered evidence against him,” Ang Nian said. “Kang Huijuan must be punished for his arrogance,” he added.

“Why does it seem you have enmity with Kang Huijuan?” Xu Zifan asked Ang Nian.

“I have no enmity with him, Xu Zifan. I am just angry with the system of justice. I studied with him in the same academy after qualifying for the exam of civil services. He used to bully us there. Two even left the academy because of the atrocities we faced,” he explained to Xu Zifan.

“Indeed, Kang Huijuan is wicked,” Hong Zhi said. “Just because his father was the prime minister, he got the special perks. We suffered because of him. I am glad that Prince Lóng Wei is the governor of the capital. Only he can handle a wicked person like him,” he said in fury.

“Let’s hope that Kang Huijuan gets the death penalty,” Liang Ma stated.

“He surely will. He did wrong to so many people. The Crown Prince holds strong evidence against Kang Huijuan, so he will be strictly punished this time,” Xu Zifan affirmed with a smile.

Their orders came and they started eating while having wine. Xu Zifan took only one glass and enjoyed the time with them. An hour later, Xu Zifan took his leave. He descended the stairs of the restaurant and walked on the cobblestone pavement. The place had turned crowded and he could see several tables in the courtyard.

“Ahh,” he screamed as the hot tea fell over his left hand. The young boy apologized to him and asked for his forgiveness.

“It is fine. You can resume your work,” Xu Zifan said. “Can you tell me where I can wash my hand? Even my dress got the stain,” he asked.

“Please follow me this way, Young Master,” the boy said as he put the tray on the table. Xu Zifan followed him to the backyard of the restaurant where a well was situated. The boy took out the water for Xu Zifan.

“Thank you for the help. You can go,” Xu Zifan said as he took the wooden mug from him. The boy expressed his gratitude toward Xu Zifan as he did not punish him before leaving his sight.

Xu Zifan dipped his hand in the water jug and felt better. He then threw that water and took clean water from the bucket to wash the part of his outfit where it got a tea stain. Once he was done, he went ahead, but he got confused after finding two routes.

“Which route did I come from?” he murmured and after thinking for a few seconds, he went to the right path. It led him to the inner part of the restaurant where usually high-class noblemen would book private rooms.

“Where did I come?” Xu Zifan mumbled as he got lost in the corridor. He turned to go back in the same direction when he heard the voice coming out of a room.

“You gave up on Song Jia to be with the First Princess?”

“I had no choice,” Jianjun pronounced. “Princess Jingfei is my key to a top position in the kingdom, so I cannot step back from marrying her.” He gulped the wine in his glass and plonked it on the table.

Xu Zifan went close to the door to hear more of their conversation.

“I have a better woman than Song Jia for you. In the brothel house, I heard a beauty from the south has come. Men are crazy for her.” Xu Zifan heard this unfamiliar voice again.

“I would love to,” Jianjun said.

“Jianjun, is Princess Jingfei not enough for you? I heard that she is as beautiful as the Queen,” another unfamiliar voice came out of the room.

“Unfortunately, Jingfei has failed to sway my heart,” Jianjun stated and chuckled. “Huang Xi rejected her. She must have some faults that he rejected her. She is just a door to my quick fortune,” Jianjun affirmed with a grin on his face. He picked up the wine jar and filled the glass for himself.

“Do not forget us when you will get that fortune.”

“Of course,” Jianjun said, “I want to be the Governor of Qinping. Princess Jingfei will help me become the governor,” he told them his ambition.

“It is not easy to remove Prince Lóng Wei from that position.”

“It will happen after I marry the First Princess,” Jianjun said and sipped the wine. He recalled how Lóng Wei humiliated him by not accepting his warm greetings. Now, he wanted to throw Lóng Wei out of that position.