295 Not tell the First Princess
Jingfei finished lunch with her two sisters. For the first time in a long time, they all ate together for lunch. She sipped a little water and put the glass on the table.
âSister Jingfei, the Crown Prince will marry soon, by the beginning of the next month. Then, everyone will look forward to Sister Jingfeiâs marriage,â Xiaolian said. She was unable to believe that they had grown up so fast. Now, they would soon leave the palace.
âCommander Huang Xi doesnât like me,â Jingfei said with a dejected tone. Ai Fen peered at her.
âDid Sister Jingfei confess her feelings to Commander Huang Xi?â Ai Fen queried.
âYes, I did. I even went to the Hei residence, thinking he would like it. But I was wrong. He told me that he would never like me,â Jingfei said, and recalled it was her fault too. She was thinking ill of Lóng Wei when he was badly wounded, and Huang Xi ended up hearing her. That was the major reason why he started to hate her.
âThatâs so rude of him. Does he not know that Sister Jingfei is the Queenâs daughter?â Xiaolian was slightly angry.
âBut Sister Jingei cannot push her feelings on him,â Ai Fen said. âThat will create more trouble,â she opined.
Jingfei knitted her brows and wondered why Ai Fen was always against her marrying Huang Xi.
âI am not pushing my feelings. I only made an effort to get close to him. When you are in love, you are bound to do that. Is it wrong to even care about his motherâs choices?â Jingfei was slightly angry.
.....
âForgive me, Sister Jingfei. I didnât mean to hurt you with my words,â Ai Fen said. âSister Jingfei shall show Commander Huang Xi her affection for him. Take the example of Brother Lóng Wei. He continued to protect Li Hua and did many things for her, which made her open her heart too,â Ai Fen started to cheer up Jingfei.
âBrother Lóng Wei and Commander Huang Xi are close friends. Sister Jingfei should try to talk with Brother Lóng Wei once again. He may help her,â Xiaolian gave a suggestion.
âI asked Li Hua to tell Brother Lóng Wei that I wanted to have a conversation with him. He had refused to talk to me earlier,â Jingfei stated. She wondered if Li Hua forgot to ask Lóng Wei because until now there had been no response.
âBrother Lóng Wei and I have a bitter relationship. He may refuse to talk to me again,â Jingfei replied.
âSister Jingfei shall try once again. Brother Lóng Wei helps. He even supported Sister Jingfeiâs elder brother,â affirmed Ai Fen. Xiaolian agreed with her and encouraged Jingfei to talk with Lóng Wei once more.
âI will wait for Li Huaâs response first,â Jingfei said.
âWe have yet to meet Liu Jin Yu,â Xiaolian told them. âI heard sheâll be getting etiquette training before the wedding. We shall help her,â she added.
Jingfei was not interested in meeting her. As soon as Xiaoming got married, she would be the first one to get married off. If Huang Xi refused to marry her, then what would she do? She could not live without him. She could not even see him with another woman. These thoughts were killing her from the inside.
âSister Ai Fen, Sister Xiaolian, I need some rest. I will see you both later,â Jingfei told them. They both nodded and asked her to take care of herself. As soon as they left, Jingfei headed to meet Lóng Wei.
She asked the maidservant about Li Hua.
âHer Highness is with the Prince in his chamber,â the maidservant answered.
âTell Princess Consort Li Hua that I want to see her,â Jingfei instructed the maidservant.
âPardon me, Your Highness, but the Prince has given strict instructions to me not to disturb them. I will inform the Princess Consort about your visit,â the maidservant politely answered. Jingfei sighed and nodded at her. She returned to her chamber when she saw Huang Xi coming from the other side, followed by a few servants.
Her eyes glinted with happiness, and she wore a smile on her lips. She gradually moved ahead as her heart palpitated to see him coming closer. Huang Xi stopped for a brief moment and bowed his head to greet her before walking ahead. She immediately turned to look and followed him.
Her feet stopped and she found out that Huang Xi was conversing with Ai Fen.
He ignored her, but he was happily conversing with Ai Fen. Her heart burned with jealousy. Even that day, Huang Xi was interested in going out with Ai Fen. His gaze on Ai Fen was different from what he had on her.
Her eyes turned misty and her fingers curled up. She had warned Ai Fen to keep a hundred metresâ distance from Huang Xi. Then why did she have to do that? She wiped the tears from her eyes before running back to her chamber.
âCommander Huang Xi can start his investigation without any problem. The servants will surely cooperate,â Ai Fen humbly said.
âThank you, Second Princess.â Huang Xi gestured to the soldiers behind him to take the servants for the investigation.
Ai Fen thought to ask Huang Xi regarding his feelings for Jingfei. She was a bit hesitant when she heard Huang Xi say.
âDoes Her Highness want to say something to me?â
Ai Fen peered into his eyes and nodded at him.
âSister Jingfei has liked Commander Huang Xi for a long time.â She found the sudden change in his facial expression. âI am speaking about this because I am concerned for Sister Jingfei. She is a nice woman and-â she could not complete her words as Huang Xi interrupted her.
âYour Highness, pardon me, but I donât think Iâm suitable for her. I like someone else,â Huang Xi stated. Ai Fen was stunned to hear him and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out of it.
âI understand,â Ai Fen said after a long pause.
âCommander Huang Xi shall tell this to Sister Jingfei. She will not hold onto you,â Ai Fen suggested to him.
âI have told the First Princess that I never liked her and never will,â Huang Xi pronounced. Ai Fen was disheartened to hear it. Jingfei had been in love with him for a long time, and she was ready to make more efforts. She decided to tell Jingfei once so that she would not hold onto Huang Xi anymore.
âYour Highness, you should not tell this to the First Princess. She might not like it. If I get the time, I will converse with her and tell her why she should not keep her feelings for me,â Huang Xi advised her.
He didnât want Ai Fen to get hurt because of Jingfei. He was well aware of her nature, but telling Jingfei about it would be of no use. Ai Fen acknowledged his advice when Huang Xi took his leave.