Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Lóng Wei used his right hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks using his thumb. “I love you, Li Hua,” he said, keeping a tiny smile on his lips.

The tears appeared instantly in her eyes. “His Highness doesn’t love me. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have put his life in danger. He hid everything from me and took such a dangerous step to find the culprit. The Fourth Brother told me everything,” Li Hua said, and wiped the tears from her eyes with the pad of her fingers. She put her hand on his arm and made him sit on the bed.

“I will bring soup for His Highness,” Li Hua said.

“I want to drink water,” Lóng Wei replied.

“I am afraid, but His Highness cannot drink plain water for two hours. The poison may be present in your body, which can show adversity if you drink water,” Li Hua answered. She stepped up and stood close to him while he lifted his head to peer at her.

Li Hua removed the thin silk robe from above his upper body and put it aside. “I need to change the bandage,” she stated and turned to pick the herbal medicine from the table along with a clean cotton bandage.

“When did His Highness find out that I am good at needles?” Li Hua inquired as she picked up the white porcelain bowl.

“In the second week of our encounter,” Lóng Wei replied. “You used to learn from your father in the backyard of the residence,” he stated.

.....

Li Hua put the bowl back on the table after measuring the thickness of the paste. She wiped her fingers and called for a servant. “Please bring a vessel with lukewarm water and also the washcloth,” she asked the maidservant. She bowed and left to bring what Li Hua had asked for.

“His Highness always watched me from afar. I would love to see you get introduced to my family,” Li Hua stated, and turned to face him.

“I had such plans, but I wanted to be out of the cold palace first,” he stated. “Why isn’t Peng Yuxian treating me? Did you do the entire acupuncture on me? He is a skilled physician as well.”

“He said you couldn’t be saved, Your Highness. He lied to everyone and wanted to let you,” her eyebrows fluttered and her breath caught in her throat as she could not even say it. Lóng Wei understood her and pulled her down so that she sat next to him.

“The Queen must have ordered him to let me die without treatment. But she forgot that I have such a beautiful person in my life, who is better than thousands of physicians. When I closed my eyes, I believed that you would save me even if everyone wanted me to di-” Li Hua didn’t let him complete his words and placed her fingers on his lips.

“Don’t say that,” Li Hua urged him. “Monk Yuze was here, and he was the one who let me see you. Since His Highness’ life fell in danger because of me, I would have been severely punished. I request that His Majesty let me save you. Your Highness, today I realized that you have so many enemies around you. That’s strange because His Highness doesn’t even hold any power, unlike their sons. Still, a few royal family members think ill of His Highness.” Li Hua was worried about him. She had only heard from her father how dangerous the palace was, but she got to find it today.

“Yuze always returns at the right time,” Lóng Wei said with a chuckle. “Indeed, these few people are jealous of your husband. But don’t worry. I know how to tackle them,” Lóng Wei said.

They turned quiet when the maidservant returned with a vessel in her hand. She put it on the floor table and placed the washcloth beside it. Li Hua thanked her and asked if she would call Xiwan. The maidservant complied with Li Hua’s command and left for the kitchen.

“You are supposed to order the servants,” Lóng Wei told her.

“I worked as a servant once. I cannot do that.” She rose on her feet and carried the vessel to the bedside table. She dipped the washcloth in it and wrung it well to remove the excess water from it. She made folds of it, sat by Lóng Wei’s side, and grasped his left hand. She wiped his fingers and palm well before moving to the arm.

Lóng Wei continued to watch her and got lost in her. She asked him to tilt his head to the right, which he did. After wiping his face and neck, she asked him to turn his back on her. Lóng Wei silently followed her orders.

“I remember the first day I asked you to help me wash. You were shy,” Lóng Wei said, and smiled to recall that memory. “You have accepted me from your heart too,” he concluded.

“Yes,” Li Hua said.

Lóng Wei was taken aback when he heard her. He hadn’t thought that she would respond to his statement because she usually used to dodge her question every time he asked her about her feelings for him.

Li Hua started to remove the bandage while being careful. “It must be painful,” she said, and looked at the red skin.

“Not anymore,” Lóng Wei said.

Li Hua removed the herbs from the wound and put them in an empty porcelain bowl. As he felt the sharp stings, Lóng Wei flinched. He had hardly gotten such a wound, so he felt the pain.

Li Hua again dipped the washcloth into the vessel and wrung it. She cleaned the wound as gently as possible while blowing the air. Once she was done cleaning, she used the fresh herbal medicine to cover the wound and wrapped the bandage around it. She came to his front and tied the small knot on the bandage.

“His Highness is good at bearing the pain,” Li Hua said when Lóng Wei pulled her down, and now she was seated on one of his thighs. Li Hua’s wrists rested on his shoulders, and she looked into his eyes.

“Why don’t you tell me what I want to hear from you?” He wanted her to confess her feelings for him. This time he looked impatient. “You said that you have accepted me in your heart. It means that you love me,” he said.

“If I tell His Highness what he wants to hear from me, then will he stop looking for the person behind-”

Lóng Wei pressed his finger to her lips, preventing her from making a deal in front of him.

“In our love, there must be no deal. Li Hua, it is not about your revenge anymore. It is something deeper than that. I need to find the truth to find why the person targeted your family.” He slowly lowered his finger.

“Your life is more important than anything,” Li Hua said.

“I know. Yuze has told me that I have a long life,” Lóng Wei stated. “Believe his words if you don’t believe mine.” This time, Lóng Wei would do anything but make her confess.

“I love you.”