421 A Different World
Wen Yazhu asked Lóng Wei if he could understand the message. However, the Prince lied to him. “I think it is nothing,” Lóng Wei asserted and he told him that he could take the scroll back.
“What will I do of this scroll?” Wen Yazhu asked. “Since it belongs to your father, you should keep it,” he stated.
“He’s not my father,” Lóng Wei said with a stern tone, which confused Wen Yazhu. He could feel the anger in Lóng Wei’s voice. He stood up and turned to leave when Wen Yazhu stopped him. He handed the scroll to the Prince.
“Return it to Qizhen when you find him,” Wen Yazhu said with anticipation. He patted Lóng Wei’s shoulder and thanked him for helping him out.
“What is he like?” Lóng Wei asked.
“He is a kind and humble person. I think that was the main reason why he got such kind of fate,” Wen Yazhu asserted.
“No. He was foolish,” Lóng Wei stated. “I hope from here onward you do not have any grudge left. He is gone, so don’t consider him as your king. The current King is our king,” Lóng Wei proclaimed. Wen Yazhu was puzzled to hear his words and asked him to explain why he said so.
“Because I am loyal to the current King,” Lóng Wei affirmed, “he is my father and I am his son.”
Wen Yazhu was curious to know why Lóng Wei said that, but he took his leave. Wen Yazhu saw him off to the main door. He bowed his head as Lóng Wei left his sight on the horse.
.....
After the Prince left, Yazhu raised his head. “He was not foolish,” he murmured and walked into the residence.
~~~~~
Tianjie looked at the fine silk handkerchief that Song Jia gave him when he talked to her for the first time. It was white in color and a rose flower was carved at its one end.
“I should have returned it to her when I already made up my mind not to feel attracted to her,” Tianjie murmured.
He heard the footsteps and turned to look when he saw Xiaoming. He immediately hid the handkerchief by taking his hand behind his back and bowed to see the Crown Prince.
However, Xiaoming had already seen that. He stopped in from of Tianjie, who asked him why he came there.
“I was looking for Brother Lóng Wei, and ended up seeing Brother Tianjie,” Xiaoming asserted and curiously asked about the handkerchief.
“Ahh, tha-that,” Tianjie stuttered. “That was something I bought in the market. It appeared a fine and exotic handkerchief to me,” he told a white lie.
“Does it belong to Song Jia?” Xiaoming questioned him.
Tianjie’s brows drew close as he had not expected that Xiaoming would find out.
“Ahh... Umm...”
“Are you not interested in her anymore?” Xiaoming asked him.
“Yes,” Tianjie replied, “I was merely attracted to her beauty,” he added.
“I thought you would like to take this relationship ahead,” Xiaoming said.
“I would love to if she was from an upper class,” Tianjie affirmed.
Xiaoming was astonished to hear his answer. Last night, Lóng Wei said something similar. He told Xiaoming that Tianjie would like to be stronger than marry a woman whom he fell for.
“Why an upper class only? I have not married a woman with any political family background. You should go with your heart, Brother Tianjie,” Xiaoming advised him.
“The Crown Prince and I are different. For the future, I need political support because I am a concubine’s son. Many men got infatuated with Song Jia and I felt the same. She has a different world while mine is completely different. I should use my conscience rather than listen to those temporary feelings that developed because of her beauty.” Tianjie expressed his true thoughts.
“So, Brother Tianjie wants to become politically stronger. That’s a good decision too,” Xiaoming didn’t oppose his thoughts anymore. Every individual had different sets of priorities. Tianjie had the same. Perhaps, he faced something which Xiaoming never did because his mother was the Queen.
“Let’s go back to the military camp. It is lunchtime. Brother Lóng Wei might have returned,” Xiaoming opined.
Tianjie nodded at him and they both went to the main tent house, where they would sit together for the lunch. To their surprise, Lóng Wei was already present there.
Tianjie had put the handkerchief inside his pocket and was asking the server if he cooked chicken soup for him.
“Where was Brother Lóng Wei? I didn’t find him around,” Xiaoming asked as a servant pulled out the chair for him. The server stood straight with his head low and until the Crown Prince settled on the chair, he didn’t serve. Tianjie also took a seat and asked Lóng Wei if he was good.
“I will not feel good until I see Li Hua,” he asserted.
Lóng Wei picked up the chopsticks and started to eat. They all silently ate their respective meals and soon, they finished eating.
“Bai Juchen and Huang Xi had not returned yet,” Xiaoming said.
“They might be doing a search in Wu Zihao’s house,” Lóng Wei opined. “Wu Zihao thought that he would easily fool us all. Wen Yazhu did well by killing him, but because he feared his death, he hid it from all of us since our father might have not believed him if he had told him beforehand,” he explained to them.
“You are right. Wu Zihao was a powerful general. Our Father would not have easily believed that his General could think about rebelling against him,” Tianjie said.
“I am glad that we solved the matter sooner than. It is all thanks to Brother Lóng Wei. I am again impressed with the way he thinks and solves the matter. I am happy to have him as my brother,” Xiaoming again complimented him. He didn’t want Lóng Wei to feel anymore that he was alone. When the last night, he opened up to him, Xiaoming realized Lóng Wei became a different kind of person because of his mother.
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