Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“Prince Tianjie, I am not the one who will console you, butter you up. Instead, I will state the facts. Bitter facts. Father will not let you marry Song Jia. She danced for men,” Lóng Wei stated.

“But it was her work. Song Jia never let any man get close to her,” Tianjie argued.

“Make this understand our father. If you succeed in this, then he will let you marry Song Jia. Else, Father will probably punish her to death,” Lóng Wei affirmed.

“Even the Crown Prince married a woman who has—” Tianjie could not finish his statement after Lóng Wei interceded in the middle.

“The Crown Prince’s matter was different from yours. Father let the Crown Prince marry a woman from the lower class because Noble Consort Xiuying became the king’s second official wife even though she belonged to a not-so-good noble family,” Lóng Wei clarified to Tianjie.

“I have promised Song Jia that I will marry her,” Tianjie said.

“Then, fulfill that promise,” Lóng Wei encouraged him. “Fight for your love if you can. I know that you’ve always looked for your personal benefits in every matter that concerned you. You always tried to win our father’s heart. This time if you go against our Father, then Song Jia will bear the consequences. Can you push yourself to the limit where it may seem to you as torture?” Lóng Wei questioned him.

Tianjie lowered his eyes and contemplated for a while. Whatever Lóng Wei told about him was right.

.....

“I will do everything to protect Song Jia,” Tianjie stated.

“Tomorrow when Song Jia will come to the palace, all you need to do is fight with Father. That way Song Jia will keep her faith in you,” Lóng Wei opined.

“What if Father announces something unexpected? Eunuch Gao Bing told me that Father was upset because Sister Jingfei married Xu Zifan instead of Li Jianjun. He said I should have waited for the situation to calm down,” Tianjie informed Lóng Wei. “But I didn’t want to drag the matter, so I truthfully told Father what I wanted,” he asserted.

Lóng Wei squinted his eyes in suspicion. Qiu Zedong didn’t want Jingfei to marry Xu Zifan. But, why? He knew well what Jianjun was.

“Lóng Wei, sometimes I feel because my mother is a concubine I do not have a strong voice like the Crown Prince and Brother Mu. They both have more authority than us. Don’t you think? It’s easier for them to do anything of their choice,” Tianjie stated.

“I never thought that way,” Lóng Wei said. “The one fact I know is that I am the King’s son,” he affirmed.

Tianjie admired the thought process of Lóng Wei. “Lóng Wei, how do you carry this confidence?” He was curious to know.

“Umm… even I do not know,” Lóng Wei replied.

“Thank you for your time. I will surely implement your suggestions,” Tianjie said and stood up to leave.

“Prince Tianjie, even if you are a concubine’s son, you are no lesser than the other princes. Keep this in mind,” Lóng Wei stated. Tianjie hummed and left to his manor.

“Where did Li Hua go?” Lóng Wei murmured and stood up to check on her. When he stepped out of the chamber, he found the rain had started pouring.

He found Li Hua running upstairs with her hands above her head. Her dress was slightly drenched. Lóng Wei approached her and wiped her face. “You should change,” Lóng Wei said.

“Did Prince Lóng Wei have a conversation with Prince Tianjie?” Li Hua asked.

“We had a small conversation. Father didn’t grant his wish of marrying Song Jia. Instead, he summoned Song Jia tomorrow morning. I wonder what will happen,” Lóng Wei stated.

“That’s a problem. His Majesty may punish Song Jia,” Li Hua worriedly said.

“You are right. Let’s see how Prince Tianjie fights against this,” Lóng Wei muttered and took Li Hua to the chamber.

~~~~~~

“Li Zixuan can be your father. Brother Mingquan and I were investigating it for a few days. Li Zixuan had a wife before he married for the second time. But the accounts are lost including the woman’s identification,” Xiaoming told Jin Yu and handed her an old document.

“For now, we have retrieved only this which he failed to destroy,” Xiaoming stated.

Jin Yu checked the document where a name was mentioned.

“Is it your mother’s name?” Xiaoming asked.

“Yes,” Jin Yu answered. “It is my mother’s name, Crown Prince,” she said with a smile. She hugged Xiaoming and thanked him to find out about this. Xiaoming patted her back and told her not to worry anymore.

Jin Yu pulled away and asked Xiaoming if Li Zixuan would say the truth. “Why he mistreated my mother and threw her out? Will he accept that I am his daughter? He may accuse my mother because she did not give me birth at the Li residence,” Jin Yu stated.

“That is tough to say. His reputation may get ruined if the truth comes out. So, he definitely will try to deny the fact that he had you with his first wife,” Xiaoming answered.

“Does the Crown Prince has any plan?” Jin Yu inquired.

“A direct confrontation with Li Zixuan,” Xiaoming replied.

“I do not want to forgive him. He did so wrong to my mother. He enjoyed his life with his second wife and children while my mother and I suffered,” Jin Yu said with a furious expression.

“Your and your mother will get desired justice. Li Zixuan has to tell us why he did such a heinous crime. Since we have the sold proof of your mother’s existence in his life once, so he may not lie to us,” Xiaoming proclaimed.

“Thank you for fulfilling your promise, Crown Prince,” Jin Yu expressed her gratitude. “I am truly grateful for this.”