Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“No,” Qizhen refused. “I don’t want him to use my son to kill me. Since you want a life full of happiness with your wife, I will tell Zedong that I didn’t have any son. He was mistaken all these years,” he explained to Lóng Wei.

“This is the reason you never succeeded. Do you think Father will spare you? He will skin you alive. Li Hua will hate me for not saving you. Don’t do anything,” Lóng Wei said. He didn’t request Qizhen, but the way he spoke was enough to tell that somewhere he was concerned for Qizhen too.

“I am unable to understand your care for me,” Qizhen said and smiled at him. Lóng Wei didn’t say anything and stayed silent.

“Did you marry the daughter of Xu Guang Li?” Qizhen asked Lóng Wei.

“Hmm. Did you know her father?” Lóng Wei questioned.

“Yes. He was known for his acupuncture and medical skills during the time of my reign,” Qizhen answered. “He was an upright man,” he added.

“He is dead. The entire Xu family is dead except Xu Zifan and Li Hua,” Lóng Wei informed him. He was unable to believe that he was finally having a peaceful conversation with Qizhen.

“Did you not try to find out about it?” Qizhen asked.

.....

“I did. I have a doubt if the person who did it was Father or not. Shui Xiaoqing before dying almost told me the name, but he died by then,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Zedong might have done that,” Qizhen said in a confident tone.

“How can you be so confident?” Lóng Wei asked. Though, he remembered what Shui Xiaoqing said before dying. He pronounced the word ‘K’.

Later, Qiu Zedong asked him not to do any investigation. But those were merely his doubts. Qiu Zedong had always protected him, so he could not be that person.

“Lóng Wei, your mother did what she was told so that your life be spared. Zedong always thought that I was your father, but because there was no one to prove it, he could not either kill you along with Yu Jun. I know there’s no meaning left in my explanation to you, but I will not lie to you. Qiu Zedong has used you all these years so that you will remain loyal to him and serve as he wants you to,” Qizhen gave him a detailed explanation.

“He can use me. I have no complaints about that,” Lóng Wei stated. “He could have killed me the day I…” he paused and gazed into Qizhen’s eyes, “killed my mother. But he didn’t.” He lowered his head and told Qizhen that he didn’t tell him why he was confident that the King killed Li Hua’s family.

“Did Monk Yuze not tell you?” Qizhen asked.

“Yuze never tells me anything. He wants me to find everything by myself. If he had told me the truth, I would not have even come here,” Lóng Wei said with a frustrated chuckle.

Qizhen smiled to hear him. “Yu Jun told Monk Yuze everything that happened with her before she asked you to take her life,” he stated.

“Why did you not save my mother?” Lóng Wei asked.

“A promise she took from me. Your life was more precious to us,” Qizhen said with a bright smile. “However, by the time Yuze came to tell me, you already had taken her life. I really wanted to save her.” He sighed.

“I was a terrible husband, a terrible father, and a terrible King.”

“You lost everything because of your poor judgment. Why did you even give control of the military to your brother!? Even if you had, then you should have been careful,” Lóng Wei didn’t refrain from getting harsh again.

“I realize that,” Qizhen said.

Silence prevailed in the room. The oil in the lantern was almost finished. The flame of the lantern would get quenched at any time.

“You chose to be in darkness. Instead of fighting, you chose to stay here. At least for the love of my mother for you, you should have fought. You should have gathered an army and challenged your brother to a battle,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Sometimes battles are not necessary. In a battle, lives are lost not one but many. Those kids, who are your step-siblings, have no fault. They could have been dead. Also, I was not in my right mind for many years. By the time I got sanity everything was ruined,” Qizhen explained to Lóng Wei.

Lóng Wei snickered and Qizhen with inquisitiveness gazed at him.

“You and I are so different. I can burn everyone if something wrong happens to my wife. Then, I will not care if I have to take the lives of those princes or princesses,” Lóng Wei said and sneered.

“At last, you have acknowledged me as your father,” Qizhen said and laughed a little.

“I never did that,” Lóng Wei promptly responded.

The lantern’s flame quenched and the room again went into darkness.

“You love to be in the dark,” Lóng Wei asked Qizhen.

“Hmm. Only it can understand me,” Qizhen replied. The pattering of rain on the roof intensified.

“I also loved it. But Li Hua illuminated my world. Mother has darkened my world. I cannot refrain myself from blaming her,” he clarified to Qizhen.

“Blame me not her,” Qizhen urged him.

“Hmmm. You are right. I should blame you both,” Lóng Wei stated and his stomach growled. He was hungry after walking so much and then arguing with Qizhen.

“I will bring dinner,” Qizhen said.

Lóng Wei didn’t say anything while Qizhen went out. A few minutes later, Su Yichen came with two big lanterns in his hand and found Lóng Wei on the floor, directly below the portrait of Yu Jun.

Lóng Wei didn’t look in his direction.

“A son should never talk this way with his father,” Su Yichen stated.