Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

She opened the drawer and took out a sheet. “Bring the ink and brush,” Zhu Liling told her personal attendant. She settled on the floor mattress and placed the sheet on the table.

The Queen had to send a message to her brother to come to the palace and meet her once. She had to find a way to remove Lóng Wei from the palace. Her brother was the Western Province General and would soon retire by giving his duties to his son.

The personal attendant returned with an inkstone and brush in her hand. She put them on one side of the table and ground the ink stick to prepare the ink. Zhu Liling dipped the brush into the ink and started to write on the sheet. She told her brother to come to the Qinping within a week. After the ink was dried, she folded the sheet and put it into the envelope.

“Give this to the messenger and tell him to give this to my brother, General Ye Yujin,” Zhu Liling instructed her personal attendant. She bowed and left the chamber.

Zhu Liling was going to stand up when angry Xiuying entered and a few maidservants followed her. Zhu Liling was confused to see her and asked her why she entered without asking for permission.

“Your Majesty, I do not need permission to enter here. Because of your servant, my life came into danger. I felt so humiliated. I was dragged out of my manor. Apologize to me for the wrong your servant did,” Xiuying said with a stern tone.

“How dare the Noble Consort try to speak in this tone with the Queen of the Kingdom? Your Majesty, I will drag her out,” the chief maidservant in the Queen’s manor said while glaring at Xiuying.

Xiuying was already in her worst mood when the maidservant raised her anger further. Xiuying lifted her hand and slapped the chief maidservant hard. Her gaze was fixed on Zhu Liling as she opened her mouth to speak, “How dare a lowly servant speak in front of me? Stay out of this if you don’t want to be dead today.”

.....

“You all must leave,” Zhu Liling told the servants. They complied with the Queen’s order and left the chamber.

Zhu Liling rose to her feet and said, “Sister Xiu, I didn’t know that Eunuch Lishi would do something like this. I am shocked to know the truth. If your anger is satisfied by my apology, then I apologize.”

Xiuying frowned at her words. She thought the Queen would not apologize to her, but the opposite happened.

“Anything else you want?” Zhu Liling asked. Xiuying shook her head and walked away.

“I wish Lóng Wei had put her in prison for longer,” Zhu Liling muttered, and went to the inner chamber.

~~~~~~

Qiu Mu thanked Lóng Wei for proving to everyone that his mother was accused. You can ask anything of me because you helped me greatly. I will surely fulfil your wish,” Qiu Mu affirmed.

“That was quick, Prince Qiu Mu. I had not expected that you would be willing to help me even if I helped your dear mother to clean her image,” Lóng Wei said with an amusing smirk on his lips.

“Lóng Wei, why do you love to irritate me?” Qiu Mu asked him. “I have admitted that you are a step ahead of him,” he said while putting stress on his words.

Lóng Wei clicked his tongue. “A correction! I am ten steps ahead of you. I do not love to irritate the Second Prince, but I love to show him what I am. He used to mock me off,” he said as he recalled those old days.

“Lóng Wei, forgive me for mocking your capabilities,” Qiu Mu apologized and it surprised Lóng Wei. “Forgive me for thinking ill of you. I know that my apology will not be accepted by you, so I will tell you something important. Tianjie wants to kill your wife. So, be careful,” Qiu Mu stated.

The smile from Lóng Wei’s lips disappeared.

“How do you know?” he asked.

“Because Tianjie had come to me yesterday for help. I refused him and even told him not to do this. He stepped back at the last moment because Liu Jin Yu accompanied your wife. However, Tianjie doesn’t like that you try to blackmail us. He thinks Li Hua is your weakness,” Qiu Mu explained to him.

Lóng Wei fisted his palms and thanked Qiu Mu to inform him about this.

“The only thing I expect from you is to respect us elders and not to belittle me,” Qiu Mu stated. That was the main factor behind his enmity with Lóng Wei, but it was no longer present. He stood up and left, saying to work on his behavior pattern.

“I will kill Tianjie,” Lóng Wei muttered under his breath. He was ready to leave when Feng Lao walked in.

“Why are you here?” Lóng Wei asked in annoyance.

Feng Lao first bowed before answering him. “Xu Zifan has come to see his sister, so I accompanied him. I thought to see His Highness because I wanted him to help him.”

Lóng Wei raised his eyebrows in inquisitiveness.

“Your Highness, we need to set a trap for the enemy to bring him out. It will be wise if we find him as soon as possible,” Feng Lao opined.

“I do not agree with you. Why are you so desperate? Is it because of Li Hua? Because earlier, when you had enough time to ask your father, you ignored it.” Lóng Wei was dubious about Feng Lao’s behavior. He was already irked to know that Tianjie tried to harm Li Hua, and now Feng Lao was annoying him.