Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“Princess Li Hua is praised for the musical piece that she played,” the servant replied. She didn’t tell anything more because that would show that she’s not loyal to the Queen.

“Nothing more?” Lóng Wei asked and turned his head to look at her. She shook her head. Lóng Wei let her go and again looked towards the patio. “Their expressions show that something serious is going on. Noble Consort Xiuying must be humiliating Li Hua for marrying me,” he murmured and slammed his hand on the pillar.

Li Hua looked at Jingfei, who was drinking the tea. “The First Princess is right. A servant cannot even dream of such a life. However, everyone in the palace is scared of the Sixth Prince including the servants because of his previous acts. So, no one could ever see what he truly is!” Li Hua replied to Jingfei.

Jingfei moved her eyes from the cup and glanced at Li Hua. She put the cup on the table and smiled. Looking at her mother she said, “Royal Mother, I used to think that Brother Lóng Wei’s wife will be polite unlike him. However, it is again a disappointment.”

“I think the same. Li Hua must keep her tone in check. The First Princess is the daughter of the Queen of the Qiu Kingdom. If Li Hua will talk this way with her, then it will show that she’s brazen like the Sixth Prince,” Virtuous Consort Ruoxi reprimanded Li Hua.

“My humble apologies, if I sounded rude,” Li Hua apologized and bowed, keeping her hands on her belly.

“I heard that Li Hua tried to get close to the Crown Prince,” Second Concubine Hu Jia said. “Forgive me, but it is what I heard from many people in the palace. I do feel that Li Hua remains loyal to her husband,” she commented on her character.

“The Crown Prince’s name did not need to be dragged in this. The Second Concubine shall remain in her limits.” Zhu Liling could not tolerate the way Hu Jia brought Xiaoming into the middle of all this.

.....

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I will also agree with the words of the Second Concubine. Li Hua did try to seduce the Crown Prince. Rumors also say that the Crown Prince asked Li Hua to come to his chamber,” Noble Consort Xiuying stated. She wanted to humiliate the Queen because of Xiaoming’s acts. This was the first time Xiaoming made such a mistake and she wanted to take this opportunity well to make sure that more rumors would spread about him.

Li Hua curled her fingers and raised her head.

“I never tried to seduce the Crown Prince. I can never dare to do it. Respected Noble Consort shall not malign the image of the Crown Prince by adjoining his name with me. Her Majesty is well aware of my nature. It has been more than two months for me in this palace and no such incident ever occurred,” Li Hua took a stand for herself.

“Li Hua is right. She never tried to do anything like this. Noble Consort Xiuying must keep her tongue in control,” Zhu Liling scolded her.

“What would Noble Consort Xiuying like to say about her son’s act who tried to molest a servant in his manor?”

They were astonished to see Lóng Wei on the patio. Li Hua could not believe that Lóng Wei broke his promise and again intervened.

“Greetings to Her Majesty and the others,” Lóng Wei said and put his hands down. He looked again at Xiuying and continued, “Oops! I was not supposed to reveal it.” He covered his mouth before putting his hand down and smirked.

“What does the Sixth Prince want to say?” Zhu Liling asked Lóng Wei.

“Your Majesty, I had promised the Second Prince that I would not tell anyone about it. He occasionally harasses the beautiful young servants,” Lóng Wei stated. “The Noble Consort loves to throw mud on other people instead of looking at what his son is doing,” Lóng Wei affirmed and chuckled.

“Thank you, Sixth Prince, for bringing such an issue to the limelight.” Zhu Liling saw the slap of humiliation that Xiuying got. How dare she maligns Xiaoming’s image? Now, she had gotten a way to show the King the immoral acts of the Second Prince.

“Your Majesty, the words of the Sixth Prince should not be taken as truth. My son will never do this,” Xiuying said confidently.

“I can present the proof if the Noble Consort wants me to. If she wants the world to know the immoral acts of her son, then she is welcome to take the action,” Lóng Wei challenged her.

The confidence in his tone intimidated her. How could Qiu Mu molest the female servants in his manor? She decided to keep quiet rather than turn the matter into a big issue.

“It seems the King must know about this. Prince Qiu Mu is not only the Second Prince in the Qiu Family but also the Second General,” Zhu Liling asserted. Xiuying glanced at the Queen and requested her not to do any such thing.

She stood up and knelt down. Behind her, the servants from her manor also got on their respective knees.

“Your Majesty, I will reprimand Prince Qiu Mu. Also, all this happened five months ago. Prince Lóng Wei informed us about it today, so there’s no meaning left to look into this matter,” Noble Consort Xiuying argued. “Please let this issue slide,” she again requested.

Zhu Liling smiled victoriously. “Since Noble Consort Xiuying requested me then I will let it slide,” she assured her. Xiuying thanked her and promised her that she would talk with Qiu Mu. Zhu Liling nodded at her.

Xiuying rose to her feet and returned to her seat.

“Today’s tea ceremony has barred the male’s entry for a reason, yet the Sixth Prince entered,” Zhu Liling said.

“I had to, Your Majesty. I do not like it when someone throws dirt at my wife’s character. Since the Noble Consort wasn’t present when I confessed my love for her, then I must again repeat this today. Li Hua never seduced anyone. Because she showed care towards me, I fell for her. I want everyone present here not to say anything about Li Hua’s character. Next time, I won’t be calm like today, but will create havoc,” Lóng Wei affirmed and looked at Li Hua, who had sat quietly.

“The tea ceremony has almost ended. We all enjoyed the teas prepared by Li Hua. Then, she also played guzheng for us. What does Li Hua want to have? I will fulfill her wish,” Zhu Liling announced. Jingfei had not expected this from her mother.

“Your Majesty, Li Hua does not want anything personal for her. It was her duty to serve her family the first tea after the marriage. I am glad that everyone liked it,” Li Hua said. Zhu Liling found Li Hua had no greed. She must agree that Li Hua was well-behaved. If she would be a noble family daughter, then she wouldn’t have hesitated to make Xiaoming’s wife.

“However, I have a small request from Her Majesty. If Her Majesty allows, I would like to say it,” Li Hua said.

“Sure. You are allowed,” Zhu Liling permitted her.

Li Hua lifted her head and said, “I want Her Majesty to punish those in the future who will ever say that the Sixth Prince killed his mother and he will do the same with me.”

Everyone was confused to hear her request.

Lóng Wei was dumbfounded to hear her. Li Hua could have asked anything. Why did she ask for such a thing? His brows furrowed together.

“Sister-in-law, that request is impossible to fulfill. Some truths cannot be hidden,” Xiaolian commented.

“Third Sister is absolutely right. A person must keep remembering his mistakes, his crimes till the end of his life,” Jingfei proclaimed.

“Since she is the Royal Mother, she must tell the Princes and the Princesses not to say such a thing to the Sixth Prince. I want Her Majesty as the Queen to tell the respected Consorts and the Concubines not to bring things related to the Sixth Prince’s past.” Li Hua ignored what Jingfei and Xiaolian said. She again clarified her request to Zhu Liling.