Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

As he returned to his chamber, he went to the pavilion, where he found Hei Chengxi.

Hei Chengxi bowed to see him and smiled.

“Did you wait for long?” Qizhen inquired.

“I came a few minutes ago,” Hei Chengxi replied. “Tomorrow His Highness will go leave with Prince Lóng Wei,” he asserted.

“Yes. I want to spend time with my son,” Qizhen replied and opened his arms to hug Hei Chengxi. He hugged Qizhen back.

“You have been a great friend all these years,” Qizhen said and told Hei Chengxi to not be formal with him.

“I am glad I kept my faith that you were alive,” Hei Chengxi stated and they withdrew from the hug. “Is Prince Lóng Wei good to you?” he used an informal tone as Qizhen had asked for.

“He is. Lóng Wei has acknowledged me as his father. I have a deep regret, Hei Chengxi. Yu Jun bore a lot of torture for Lóng Wei and I could not do anything. Sometimes, I feel I should have been dead. After conversing with the three of the concubines of my younger brother, I cannot explain the pain inside me. She never smiled once at Lóng Wei. It must be torturous for her,” Qizhen asserted.

.....

“I wanted Lady Yu to run away the day Zedong sent me to bring her to the palace. Lady Yu refused. I should not have listened to her,” Hei Chengxi said and he scrunched his brows.

“Yu Jun knew that Zedong would find her. It could have brought your life in danger along with your family,” Qizhen stated and sighed.

“The past has gone. Lady Yu’s decision somewhere helped Lóng Wei grow only. It was all destined from the beginning,” Hei Chengxi concluded. Qizhen agreed with his deduction.

“Will you take retirement from the position of the General?” Qizhen asked.

“Yes. It is the time when other capable young men should get such prestigious positions. I have told my decision to the Crown Prince,” Hei Chengxi stated.

“That is great. You should spend quality time with your family,” Qizhen said with a wide smile.

“I wanted to accompany you all, but I think that my presence will be needed here the most. Huang Xi has yet to learn a lot of things. Then, I need to train my younger son as well so that in future he would serve the Kingdom,” Hei Chengxi informed Qizhen.

“You took a good decision. Huang Xi is of marriageable age. Did you start looking for a suitable woman for him?” Qizhen asked.

“I need to ask him first,” Hei Chengxi replied.

“Huang Xi is a commander currently. What if he becomes the General? Did you propose his name to the Crown Prince?” Qizhen inquired.

“Huang Xi is not suitable to be in the General’s position. I think he needs a lot of guidance as he sometimes makes mistakes. I proposed some other names to the Crown Prince,” Hei Chengxi answered.

“You are a great father. You already know where your sons lack and what they need to improve,” Qizhen stated with a smile.

“Prince Lóng Wei still has many enemies. The nobles were once loyal to Qiu Zedong. Did you think anything regarding this?” Qizhen asked.

“I did. I even had a discussion with the Crown Prince related to it. He assured me that he and Prince Mingquan would find such people before their return. We cannot eliminate such people from society,” Qizhen asserted.

“Father is so kind. When are you going to throw away your kindness?” Lóng Wei pronounced. Both Qizhen and Hei Chengxi turned around to gaze at him. They saw he had a scroll in his hand and he approached them.

“It is important to eliminate the weeds before they harm the useful crops,” Lóng Wei asserted and looked at Hei Chengxi.

“Kill such nobles. There is no need to keep believing in them thinking one day they will change. A leopard never changes its spots,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Lóng Wei, if we kill such nobles, then those families will hate us. Their children will hate us as well. The vicious cycle of killing each other will never end,” Qizhen advised him.

“Why did you not send my mother to a safe place when you knew what your end would be?” Lóng Wei questioned.

“I thought she would be safe in her house. No one knew about us, except the Yu Family,” Qizhen replied.

“Yu Wenyan betrayed you. If you had not believed the Yu family, she did not have to bear the torture here,” Lóng Wei affirmed. He knew those words would hurt Qizhen, but he wanted him to see with open eyes. “Does Father know what was more tortuous for mother?” He asked.

Qizhen remained silent.

“Pretending to hate me till her last breath. If only, you had not trusted her family that day, everything would have been different today. It was not my destiny to walk on this path. Yuze carved a different path for me which became my destiny,” Lóng Wei asserted.

“Prince Lóng Wei should not be harsh with his words toward his father,” Hei Chengxi stated.

“Why?” Lóng Wei arched his eyebrow.

“Because he is your father,” Hei Chengxi replied. “He is already in guilt because of his past,” he stated. Qizhen asked him to stop.

Lóng Wei chuckled. “I am merely stating the facts. I do not my father to act more foolishly. Trust does not happen if someone speaks a few sweet words. Also, truth is always bitter,” he affirmed and looked at his father.

“Lóng Wei, you grew up very quickly. I am proud to have you as my son. You are right. I should not act foolishly anymore,” Qizhen said.

Lóng Wei hummed and handed him the scroll. “I met the Crown Prince while coming here. He has given this for you,” he said.

Qizhen took the scroll from Lóng Wei and opened it. He read the message when Lóng Wei asked him what did the message say.

“It is related to the kingdom,” Qizhen said and folded the thick paper.