203 I will bring you back to Xinshui

Feng Lao left the dinner in the middle, which troubled his wife, Yang Mei.

“Is my husband alright?” Yang Mei asked him.

“I don’t have an appetite today. I will go and rest. You should sleep too and take the potion before sleeping,” Feng Lao said and left the room. Yang Mei wondered what happened to her husband, but she didn’t pay heed.

Feng Lao came to his room to pick up the jade ring which he had given to Li Hua. “How did it reach Prince Lóng Wei?” Feng Lao murmured and decided to meet Tang Zhaodang.

Upon reaching the Tang residence, he curled his fingers and walked in. Since Feng Lao had come to the Tang Residence, Tang Zhaodang could not refuse to see him. However, he was not ready to speak to him either.

“We are no longer friends, so you should not come to my house,” Tang Zhaodang coldly said.

“I want a few answers from you,” Xiaoming stated.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Tang Zhaodang asserted.

“I beg you,” Feng Lao pleaded with him. “Li Hua can never give this to Prince Lóng Wei. This is something which holds great meaning,” he proclaimed and looked again at the jade ring in the middle of his palm.

.....

Tang Zhaodang clenched his fists. He could not believe that Feng Lao was this good at acting. He indeed had no remorse for his actions.

“You should go to Qinping to find the answers,” Tang Zhaodang told him, referring to what Lóng Wei had told him.

“Is Li Hua in the capital?” Feng Lao asked in anticipation.

“I do not know,” Tang Zhaodang said, and averted his gaze from him. “Don’t come here, Shui Feng Lao. I get hurt every time I see you. My blood boils to see you. I feel like killing you,” he finally said, what he had been controlling for a long time.

“Kill me?” Feng Lao was confused to hear from Tang Zhaodang. He understood that he had to go to the capital to find his answers. He closed his fist and stood up from the floor chair. “I will go to meet the Sixth Prince. This should not have been with him,” Feng Lao said and left.

Tang Zhaodang looked in his direction. “How could he act so clueless?” He muttered in anger.

Feng Lao halted at the bottom of the stairs. “Li Hua, if you are alive, and in Qinping, then I will bring you back to Xinshui,” he murmured and walked ahead.

~~~~~

“Your Highness, why did you tell Princess Jingfei that I cannot see her?” Li Hua complained to Lóng Wei. They both were in the garden of their manor.

“When did I say that?” Lóng Wei inquired.”I told her to give us newlyweds time,” he affirmed.

“His Highness cannot stay around me all the time,” she reasoned.

“I can,” Lóng Wei said, and plucked a white rose. He walked over to Li Hua to put it inside her hair bun. “I don’t have any work to do. So, I can be around you all the time,” he clarified to her.

“Then, His Highness shall start working,” Li Hua advised him.

“Don’t you feel good when your husband is around you?” He asked and lowered his hands. “Look at the married women of your age. “Their husbands are unable to give them enough time, whereas I am the polar opposite,” he said, smiling.

“Their husbands have to work hard to meet the ends,” Li Hua opined.

“Yes. But I am lucky to be born with fortune,” Lóng Wei stated.

“Then, Monk Yuze’s prophecy will never come true,” Li Hua said and sighed. “Didn’t the Sixth Prince call himself the Son of the Dragon? He shall prove it with his actions too,” she said.

“Did my father give you another task to make me work?” Lóng Wei asked.

“No.” Li Hua shook her head. “His Majesty asked me to love my husband. He is happy to see his son smiling after a long time.” She didn’t tell him the truth.

“Then, how will you love your husband?” Lóng Wei asked and took a step towards her. Li Hua blinked a few times and wondered what to answer.

“Shall I teach you?” Lóng Wei inquired.

“No,” Li Hua immediately refused.

“How long will you make me wait?” He inquired.

“I do not know,” Li Hua answered when she screamed. Her hand automatically moved to her neck.

“What happened!?” Lóng Wei asked, with a panicked look.

“I guess an insect bit my skin,” Li Hua said. Her eyes turned misty due to the sharp sting. Lóng Wei quickly took her inside and examined her neck. Li Hua lowered her hand on Lóng Wei’s instructions.

Lóng Wei saw that the small portion of skin on her neck had turned red because of the insect bite.

“Court Lady Hong!” Lóng Wei shouted, and she ran inside. She bowed when Lóng Wei asked her to bring Physician Peng. “An insect bit Li Hua at the neck. Call him quickly,” Lóng Wei said. Court Lady Hong bowed and left to fetch Physician Peng.

“It needs to be treated. Physician Peng will be here soon,” Lóng Wei assured her and blew air over that area. Li Hua closed her eyes because of the pain.

Lóng Wei stood up and checked the water jar. He filled the water in a small cup and went to the cupboard to take a clean piece of cotton cloth. He dipped it in the water and asked Li Hua to tilt her head. He wiped the area with the soaked cloth. He sprinkled water with his fingers.

Surprisingly, Li Hua felt better than before. The pain had reduced but the itching was present.

Lóng Wei dashed out of the chamber to check where the physician was! After a minute, he came in to check if Li Hua was alright.

“Where did he go? I will-” he stopped as he saw the pain on Li Hua’s face. He walked up to her and asked her if she was alright.

Li Hua shook. “I feel uneasy, Your Highness,” she said, and moved the back of her hand over her forehead. Lóng Wei became tense upon hearing her and turned to leave when Physician Peng entered.

He panted and bowed before them.

“She got an insect bite and she is feeling uneasy,” Lóng Wei told him.

Physician Peng asked if he could touch Li Hua’s skin to examine her. Lóng Wei gave him permission.Physician Peng walked up to Li Hua and tilted her head a little.

“I used water to reduce the pain,” Lóng Wei informed him.

“His Highness did good,” Physician Peng said, and carefully examined the bite. He knitted his brows and asked his assistant to pass him his bag.

“It was a bug. It’s nothing serious, Your Highness,” Physician Peng told them. Lóng Wei was relieved to hear from him. Physician Peng mixed honey in Jin Huang Wan (a golden yellow powder) and made a thin paste of it. He gently applied it to Li Hua’s neck.

“Everything will be alright in an hour. This paste will remove any toxin that has entered the body,” Physician Peng assured Lóng Wei, who maintained his worried expression.Li Hua felt better, and even the uneasiness had disappeared. The itching had reduced too. Lóng Wei thanked the physician, who left.

Lóng Wei sat next to Li Hua and held her hand. “You aren’t feeling pain anymore, right?” He asked.

“Not much,” Li Hua said. Lóng Wei smiled and asked Court Lady Hong to give him a glass of water. She handed him the silver glass after pouring water into it.

Lóng Wei brought it near Li Hua’s mouth and asked her to drink it. Li Hua sipped the water as she observed Lóng Wei’s concern.

“I am alright, Your Highness,” Li Hua said, and her lips curled up into a smile.

Lóng Wei pulled her into a hug. “I was scared,” he said. Li Hua rested her hands on his back and caressed it.

historical

“I overacted, I guess,” she said.

“You didn’t. The bite was strong,” Lóng Wei answered.