Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“Xiwan!” Lóng Wei called out for the assistant chef, who was leaving for the servant’s quarter. Seeing the Sixth Prince, he walked to him and bowed.

“Did you see Li Hua?” Lóng Wei asked him.

“She is in the servants’ dining hall, Your Highness. She is having her dinner,” Xiwan answered. Lóng Wei walked out of the royal kitchen and went to the dining hall. She should not stay outside for too long.

He halted when he saw many servants near Li Hua. When he heard a petty servant shouting at Li Hua, his blood boiled in anger. He marched towards them and caught the servant’s hand in the middle of the air.

“Yo-your Highness,” Senior Nuo said in a trembling voice.

Every servant turned silent and lowered their heads upon seeing Lóng Wei in the servant dining hall.

.....

Li Hua lifted her head and peered into the eyes of Lóng Wei, whose jaw clenched in anger as his eyes fell on her left cheek.

He pushed away Senior Nuo and gripped Li Hua’s chin. He tilted her head and looked at her left cheek. “Did she do that?” Lóng Wei asked her and saw the tears in her eyes.

“Why are you silent?” His voice reverberated in the hall, sending shivers to everyone’s bodies present in the dining hall.

“Forgive me, Your Highness.” Senior Nuo got onto her knees and begged for forgiveness. Her forehead touched the ground, and her entire body trembled in fear. She didn’t know that the Sixth Prince would show himself at this hour. So, begging for forgiveness was the only way to calm his anger.

“Shall I kill her and bury her alive in this hall?” Lóng Wei asked and waited for Li Hua’s answer. The servants were frightened to hear the Sixth Prince. No one had expected that Lóng Wei would appear in the middle.

“Y-Your Hi-Highness, as the senior rank servant, I was only teaching Li Hua what she should be around the P-Princes. Ple-ase, fo-forgive this servant,” Senior Nuo managed to complete her apology.

“Shut your filthy mouth! How dare you raise your hand at her? You all will die today. I won’t spare anyone,” Lóng Wei shouted as his fingers stroked Li Hua’s cheek.

The other maidservants also got on their knees and started to beg for their lives. The chief of the servants, Senior Court Lady Chu, arrived. She came forward and bowed before the Sixth Prince.

“Your Highness, I will look into this matter. Please calm down,” Senior Court Lady Chu said.

“I didn’t ask you to meddle in this matter,” Lóng Wei stated and pulled out the dagger from the slash around his waist. He threw the sheath away and was ready to stab the hand with which a petty servant hit his Li Hua. No, he would kill her as he immediately changed his mind.

“Let it be, Your Highness,” Li Hua said softly.

“I cannot,” Lóng Wei said and told Senior Nuo to get up, who rose to her feet. He brought the dagger to her neck, ready to slit it, when Li Hua held Lóng Wei’s hand.

Everyone was frightened and wondered what would happen next. The Sixth Prince looked in a terrible mood, and they were praying for their lives.

“Put your hand down if you don’t want others, who witnessed and encouraged this, to die here,” Lóng Wei told her with a stern tone. Li Hua furrowed her brows together. She did not want another gossip to occur, which could affect both of them next morning.

“Senior Nuo has apologized for her mistake, Your Highness,” Li Hua said and stood in front of Lóng Wei. “Let’s head back, Your Highness,” she said, in her calm voice.

Senior Nuo rubbed her hands together while pleading for her life. “I will never hurt Li Hua, Your Highness. It was foolish of me to raise my hand on her. Please forgive me, Your Highness,” She started to slap herself.

Lóng Wei grasped Li Hua’s wrist and gently pushed her away. “Sadly, I don’t forgive. You should have thought about it before slapping my person,” he said and slit her throat with the sharp blade of the dagger. The blood drops fell on his face and the upper portion of his dress.

Li Hua was aghast with Lóng Wei’s action. He was not supposed to kill someone for a tiny mistake. He did not think for a second before slitting her neck off.

Everyone was terrorized to witness it and feared that the Sixth Prince would also kill them. Lóng Wei threw the dagger on the floor and looked at the other servants present in the hall. “This is my first and last warning to everyone present here. Her insult is my insult. So, don’t try to provoke me. I turn mad when someone tries to go against my wish,” Lóng Wei loudly said. The servants kept their heads low and stayed quiet. His threatening words were enough to scare them.

“Send dinner in the chamber,” Lóng Wei told the Senior Court Lady and dragged Li Hua with him.

Lóng Wei halted when they reached the chamber and let go of her hand while turning to her. Li Hua had her eyes low. He was still enraged and wanted to kill everyone present in that dining hall, but for Li Hua, he controlled himself because he didn’t want to scare her.

He reached out his hand to her left cheek and stroked it. “Why didn’t you come here when they surrounded you?” Lóng Wei’s voice was hoarse.

Li Hua upcasted her eyes to meet his gaze. She had tried to defend herself, but Senior Nuo slapped her. If she would look from a servant’s perspective, Li Hua deserved to be punished.

“I did wrong by touching His Highness’ hand,” Li Hua said, in a low voice. Her lips quivered, showing she would break into tears any second.

“No. You did nothing wrong,” Lóng Wei authorized as his fingers started to stroke her cheek. “You should have run to me, the moment she scolded you for no reason. I am your shield, Li Hua. I never got this hurt. It’s strange, and this strange fire inside me tells me to burn them alive.” He grimaced and clenched his other hand.

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