237 Losing His Highness
They were all overjoyed when Lóng Wei awoke from his unconscious state. Li Hua immediately got down to sit next to him and hugged him tightly. She forgot for a while that the King and her brother were present too.
Lóng Weiâs lips curled into a smile, and he placed his hand on her back. âI am fine,â he said. Those words came as an assurance to Li Hua, and her eyes remained closed. Only she knew how those hours passed while treating Lóng Wei.
When Qiu Zedong cleared his throat, Li Hua realized that she was not alone with Lóng Wei. She immediately pulled away from the hug, making Lóng Wei upset. She apologized to the king for behaving wrongly.
âItâs fine,â Qiu Zedong said and walked up to the bed while she got away.
âRoyal Father, please donât kill Shui Xiaoqing. I need to ask him who was behind all this. I am so close to knowing about the person,â Lóng Wei requested his father.
âQiu Mu asked him, but he refused to speak. My precious sonâs life fell into danger because of Shui Xiaoqing and his son. Thatâs why they both must die. Didnât you want me to give them the harshest punishment? The entire Shui family will be executed as they were part of the deadly incident in the Xu residence,â Qiu Zedong announced his decision.
Li Hua didnât want it to happen, but if she spoke now, Qiu Zedong might get angry. So, she decided to remain quiet for the time being.
âRoyal Father, Shui Xiaoqing cannot die until I get the name from him. Let him live for one more day. I will investigate him on my own. Please allow me to do so,â Lóng Wei stated.
Li Hua studied the face of the King and found out that he was turning furious. Lóng Wei was speaking about her familyâs matters after he came out of death. That was the main reason behind Qiu Zedongâs unhappy face.
.....
âPrince Lóng Wei must not talk anymore. He returned from the mouth of death, and this is what he had to say to his father. Because the Prince disobeyed my command, thatâs why I have decided to punish his wife,â Qiu Zedong stated, and glanced at Li Hua. She put her head down and didnât object to his statement.
âWhy would Li Hua get punished when I was the one who did all this? Shui Xiaoqing was being attacked by assassins. Someone wanted him to die, and thatâs why I needed to go out to find the truth. I knew I would not die as my wife is an acupuncture expert. Thatâs why I took that shot, Royal Father,â Lóng Wei argued and put his feet on the floor.
âYour Highness,â Li Hua stopped him from standing up, âyou cannot leave the bed, nor can you go anywhere. Please listen to the command of the King if you do not want me to get punished. The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are also punished because they helped you. Please stop.â
Hearing Li Huaâs words, Lóng Wei wondered what happened when he was lying unconscious. His father had to have a confrontation with Li Hua. He was feeling weak and exhausted. He agreed to her, but he again pleaded with his father not to give the orders to hang Shui Xiaoqing.
âAlso, I humbly request my father not to punish my wife. She didnât know anything. I will take punishment tomorrow for disobeying you,â Lóng Wei said. His voice turned low because of the heaviness he felt in his head.
âThe law is equal for everyone, Lóng Wei. Because of Li Hua, you decided to take such a drastic step. Moreover, I have already punished two of your brothers. Now, you must take a good rest,â Qiu Zedong said, gazing at Li Hua before leaving the chamber.
Xu Zifan stepped up and told them that he would leave them alone.
âXu Zifan!â Lóng Wei stopped him and asked him to come closer. He stepped up and went to the bed.
âGo to Huang Xi and tell him to keep an eye on Shui Xiaoqing. The enemy is in the palace. He might get killed if we arenât cautious enough,â Lóng Wei said.
âLet him die,â Li Hua furiously said. Both Lóng Wei and Xu Zifan looked at her.
âLet Shui Xiaoqing die. Letâs not find anything. Itâs not like anyone from the Xu family will revive from the dead,â Li Hua said while tears gathered in her eyes.
âLi Hua, you donât understand all this. I will handle-â
He could not complete his words as Li Hua interjected in the middle. âIndeed, I know nothing of what His Highness is up to. But one thing I know is that because of all this, I donât want to lose my husband. What if I could not save you? Do you even have any idea what I underwent when I found out that my husband got shot?â Li Hua welled up into tears and wailed like a child. She covered her eyes with her hands as her cries became deep and intense.
âLi Hua,â Xu Zifan touched her shoulder, but she stepped back.
âI donât want to speak to my brother. Ev-even he lied to me and let the prince leave,â she complained and continued to cry. âWhat if he had lost his life? How would I have survived?â She sniffled while continuing to wail.
Xu Zifan gazed at Lóng Wei. He gestured for him to leave. Xu Zifan silently left the chamber, closing the door behind him.
Lóng Wei managed to get up and took a step towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and quickly brought his hand to her hair. âForgive me, Li Hua. I didnât know that the situation would end up like this,â he said in a low voice.
Li Huaâs cries soon turned to sobs as she said, âI have only you and my brother left. How could you even think of putting your life in danger? I was so scared to see your condition. Letâs stop trying to find out who was behind my familyâs massacre. I canât even imagine losing His Highness.â