Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“Why don’t you answer my question first?” Qiu Mu arched his eyebrow. “You were brought up in a well-off family. How could you work such heavy work?” he asked her.

“I needed to survive. It is not wrong to work,” Cha Ying replied.

“You were not supposed to carry those heavy sacks? I feel terrible to even think about it,” Qiu Mu stated and asked if her back did not hurt. “Do not lie to me,” he warned her.

“How did Prince Mu find out that I carry heavy sacks?” Cha Ying inquired him.

“That is not important,” Qiu Mu stated and sighed. He asked her to turn around and when she did not, he used force. He pressed his shoulders and then the shoulder blades. Cha Ying screamed in pain and quickly covered her mouth.

“Will you hate me if I punish your father to death?” Qiu Mu asked. His expression had darkened. Cha Ying turned to face him and asked him not to get angry.

“Kang Xi is such a terrible father. I wish I could kill him,” Qiu Mu said with frustration. He apologized to her for speaking such a thing about her father. In his eyes, it was Kang Xi and his greed that made Cha Ying run away from her house. Now, he was doing labor work to meet the ends.

“Your Highness, I also hate my father, but I do not want him to die. He must suffer while being powerless and understand his faults. That time situation was not right and I knew that the former King would free my brother from prison if I got married to you,” Cha Ying explained to him.

.....

“Did you not hear my father is dead? You could have returned, but you did not. Why? Did you never love me?” Qiu Mu ended up asking the question, which had bothered him many times and was the reason for his sleepless nights.

“I had not had enough guts to face Prince Mu,” Cha Ying stated. “Also, I thought he might have moved on from me; he might have found a better woman than me,” she reasoned.

“I always liked you before I officially met you in person. With time, you captured my heart. I even confessed my feelings to you, yet you thought I would have moved on from you!” Qiu Mu complained to her. It was his first time throwing a tantrum, but this side of his was visible to Cha Ying only.

“No one is better for me than Kang Cha Ying. Tomorrow we will go back to Qinping and we will get married to the same Prince Tianjie.” Qiu Mu announced his decision to her. He saw she had opened her mouth to speak when he placed his index finger on her lips.

“I will not listen to you this time. Do you want us to get married here? I can do that too. Just become my wife, and I will keep you always happy. I will not give you any chance of complaint,” Qiu Mu stated.

Cha Ying held his finger gently and lowered it. She ended up smiling. She lifted her body’s weight on her knees and hugged him tightly. Her eyes closed.

“Thank you for searching for me,” Cha Ying said.

Qiu Mu wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close.

“Forgive me for hurting Prince Mu’s feelings. My thoughts were not rational,” she stated. Qiu Mu smiled and moved his hand to her back. He caressed it and smiled.

“I forgave you,” Qiu Mu and kissed the top of her head.

~~~~~~~~~

Xiwan and Chang Shi were sitting on the huge rock near the cliff and looking at the city of Dongqing. Earlier, they had come to the forest and climbed the hill to stay there till evening.

“Xiwan, what do you think Prince Lóng Wei will be doing? I hope he has made improvements in the relationship with his father,” Chang Shi said and tilted his head to look at him.

“Prince Lóng Wei might have ended the differences between them by now,” Xiwan said. “Monk Yuze’s dream to see Prince Lóng Wei enjoying his life after forgiving his parents has finally come true,” he asserted.

“Monk Yuze was a great soul,” Chang Shi said and asked Xiwan if he would go to the Huiying city.

“I won’t. Prince Lóng Wei asked me to look into things behind him,” Xiwan affirmed.

“The Queen Dowager is scheming in the palace. She did not learn her lessons at all,” Chang Shi stated.

“I agree. Queen Dowager may end up like her husband. It would have been better if Prince Lóng Wei had punished her to death as well,” Xiwan said while clenching his jaw.

“She has arranged the poison for someone in the palace. Do you think it is for the Queen?” He wanted Chang Shi to make a guess.

“I am not sure, but that can be a possibility. The Queen Dowager never liked the Queen. Huang Xi is looking into that. I hope he will get rid of that,” Chang Shi stated.

Xiwan exhaled sharply. “Why the royal people cannot live in peace? Prince Lóng Wei must have been frustrated to see all this for so many years. I liked his decision of leaving the palace for a while,” he muttered.

Chang Shi hummed. “Don’t you want to get settled and have a family of your own?” He suddenly asked Xiwan.

“I never put a thought into this. However, I do desire of having a family. Let’s go to the matchmaking agency tomorrow evening,” Xiwan suggested to Chang Shi.

“I do not want to go,” Chang Shi refused.

“Why? Don’t you want to have a family?” Xiwan asked with a confused look.

“I am not good around women. I get shy and even start to stutter,” Chang Shi asserted.

“Don’t lie to me. You talk so fluently in front of Princess Consort Li Hua and I heard you escorted Princess Ai Fen too to her chamber,” Xiwan said.

“Those are different cases, Xiwan. I prefer to live alone. I feel my life more peaceful that way,” Chang Shi asserted.

“Tsk.” Xiwan hit his arm with his elbow. “You want to grow up alone without any family? That is so wrong,” he said. “I will find a suitable match for you when we go back to the capital.” Xiwan looked in his front again at the city.

“After several years, I want to see all of the people close to me happy in their respective lives, with their families. We have suffered so much that we want heaven to bless us with perfect partners so that when we return home, we have someone to care for us, and love us. I do not want any of us to live an aloof life anymore. This is my wish and dream for all my friends,” Xiwan pronounced with a wide smile on his lips.

Chang Shi admired his thoughts and told him heaven would soon hear his prayers.

“I hope so,” Xiwan said.