Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

She tried to move away, but Lóng Wei wouldn’t let her. His grip was firm around her. He drew her close and kissed the back of her shoulder. “Li Hua, you are awake,” he asked, and she hummed at him.

“I think I hurt you,” Lóng Wei whispered.

“No, Your Highness. I am a little sore,” Li Hua replied, tilting her head to look at him. Luckily, she could see her eyes in the faint light, and she ended up blushing again. “It was amazing,” she said, and lowered her eyes.

“I will ask the servant to prepare the hot water bath for us,” Lóng Wei said.

“For us?” Li Hua arched her brow in confusion.

“Of course. Let’s bathe together. I believe we can now, “Lóng Wei affirmed. Li Hua turned her face away and told Lóng Wei that he should bathe in a separate bathhouse.

“No. You and I will go to the same bathhouse today.” He kissed her earlobe, and she curled her fingers. “I have seen everything already, so there’s no need to get shy anymore, Dear Wife,” he said and nuzzled his nose on the side of her neck. He moved away and put on his clothes.

He went to the door and opened it. “Prepare the bathhouse for the Princess Consort and me,” Lóng Wei ordered the maidservant. She bowed and walked away. Lóng Wei returned to the bedchamber with a lantern in his hand and put it on the bedside table.

.....

He caressed Li Hua’s hair and asked her if she would turn to him. He hugged her back and asked her not to act that way anymore. They talked with each other for the next ten minutes. The maidservant returned and informed Lóng Wei about it.

She had brought clothes for Li Hua to wear to the bathhouse. Lóng Wei told the servant to leave the manor. “Have your dinner,” Lóng Wei told her.

“I will leave for dinner after changing the bedsheet, Your Highness.” The maidservant was trembling in fear while speaking with Lóng Wei.

“Fine,” Lóng Wei said, and asked her to wait outside. She left while he turned to Li Hua. She sat on the bed and wrapped the blanket around her.

“Can His Highness go out?” She urged.

“Why?” Lóng Wei asked, hiding his smile. “There is no one here,” he added. He saw the glare in Li Hua’s eyes and walked up to her. He pinched her cheek and told her that he would wait for her in the bathhouse. She nodded and took the dress from her. Lóng Wei walked away while Li Hua bit her bottom lip.

~~~~~~

Tianjie asked Qiu Mu why he looked upset for the past few days. He poured the wine for Qiu Mu and handed the glass to him.

“I am not upset,” Qiu Mu said and faked a smile. He was terrified of Lóng Wei if he had to tell the truth to Tianjie. He had not expected that he would be Governor in one shot.

Why did Lóng Wei become desperate for the position? Lóng Wei had threatened him if he tried to ridicule him, then he would take the position of General in his place. Those were the few things that had given him stress for the past few days.

“Is it because of Lóng Wei?” Tianjie inquired. Qiu Mu had just sipped the wine and started to cough to hear the Third Prince’s words.

“Be careful, Brother Mu,” Tianjie said. Qiu Mu put the glass before him and wiped his lips.

“Lóng Wei suddenly climbed the stairs of success. The prophecy is turning true. Soon, we will be wiped out,” Tianjie asserted and noticed Qiu Mu’s reactions.

“That will not happen,” Qiu Mu said in a confident tone.

“We all used to think this, didn’t we?” Tianjie asked him and gulped the wine in a single shot. Qiu Mu asked him to explain his point. Tianjie plonked the glass before him over the table.

“Brother Lóng Wei will gradually force us to work for him, under his orders. Did Brother Mu not notice how the Crown Prince had turned to Lóng Wei’s side? Mingquan was already in Lóng Wei’s favor. Even the ministers in the court unanimously selected him as the Governor of Qinping. The assumptions we had about Lóng Wei, those didn’t come true.” Tianjie started to fill Qiu Mu’s ears, and it annoyed him more.

“Brother Tianjie doesn’t need to remind me of that every second,” Qiu Mu said, clenching his fists.

“Pardon me, Brother Mu. I had no intention of reminding you of all this. But the truth cannot be ignored. All are talking about Lóng Wei’s victorious character. The Prime Minister, who once despised Lóng Wei, is now one of his supporters. Why? Because Lóng Wei spared the life of Kang Huijuan,” Tianjie said and clenched his jaw.

“I don’t think that he will do anything to us. The Crown Prince had not shown this to Lóng Wei if he would be a threat to us.” Qiu Mu picked up the wine glass and sipped the wine.

“We should not be fooled by this, Brother Mu.”

Qiu Mu knitted his brows to hear Tianjie’s words.

“The Crown Prince got permission to marry Liu Jin Yu, not because he was adamant about not marrying anyone else, but the reason was different,” Tianjie stated.

“What does Brother Tianjie want to say?” Qiu Mu asked him to clarify.

“If Lóng Wei had not said that if our father could marry Brother Mu’s mother, who belonged to such a low-status family and still gathered such great power, then why couldn’t the Crown Prince? Brother Mu, we need to do something before Lóng Wei suppresses us all,” Tianjie proclaimed.

Qiu Mu could not forget that day. He felt so bad for his mother that day. He asked Tianjie what they could possibly do to remove Lóng Wei from the governor’s position.