Lóng Wei trailed his fingers on the hot water surface while thinking about Li Hua. He had put on his satin robes so that it would not be an uncomfortable situation between the two. He looked towards the door, waiting for Li Hua to come in.
Five minutes… Ten minutes… Fifteen minutes.
Time passed, but she didn't come to the bathhouse. Lóng Wei washed and dressed in the new pair of clothes that Li Hua had put for him. He went to the chamber and found Li Hua with a maidservant. They both were cleaning the chamber.
Lóng Wei heaved a sigh of relief. For a second, he thought that Li Hua was taken before the King for last night's incident.
"Your Highness," Li Hua welcomed him with a smile, "I helped her clean the chamber." She referred to the maidservant, who bowed her head. "You can leave, Sister Jia," Li Hua told her.
The maidservant left the chamber while keeping her head low.
"His Highness' hair is still wet. Please sit on the chaise, I will dry it," Li Hua said and went to the dressing chamber. Lóng Wei followed her and settled on the chaise in front of the dresser.
Li Hua took a clean towel and stood behind him. She took a section of hair and blotted it with the towel.
Lóng Wei looked at her through the mirror and opened his mouth to speak. "I waited for you to come."
Li Hua stopped her work momentarily but again began it. "His Highness didn't tell me to accompany him," Li Hua answered.
"So, we are going to play this way," His right eyebrow arched, "interesting!"
"You are supposed to do my every work. That includes helping me in bathing too," Lóng Wei said and tightened his hold on the bolster on his left side.
"Your Highness, I have asked to appoint a servant to help you. I am allergic to the scent that His Highness loves to use in the water." Li Hua cleverly escaped from the trap that Lóng Wei set for her. She knew he wanted her to touch his body. She would never do that!
"Then, throw that scent away. Use what you love. I didn't ask you to appoint a helper for me," Lóng Wei said with annoyance. He didn't want to get angry at her and ruin his entire day.
"What if His Highness hates the scent that I love?" She posed the question. She stepped back when Lóng Wei turned to face her.
He pulled her down and pinned her on one the slant side of the chaise. "Don't play smart with me. Annoy me more, and I will teach you a good lesson," Lóng Wei stated, with a menacing expression.
"I didn't know my truth would annoy His Highness," Li Hua said with pouty lips.
Lóng Wei clicked his tongue. "You did that intentionally. Let's see how you will escape the other days." He smirked and let go of her. Li Hua fiddled with the towel in her hand and stood straight. Lóng Wei turned back to face the mirror and smiled upon seeing the horrified expression on her face.
Li Hua blotted his hair with the towel for the second time and put it away. She picked the comb and brushed his hair. She made a hair bun of his hair, keeping some hair strands loose. Putting the knot holder on the bun, she used a gold hairpin to keep it in its place.
Lóng Wei stood up and came near her.
"You look pretty today," Lóng Wei said. "You always look, but today the glow is more," he said and brought his hand to her right cheek. He caressed it for a while, before bringing his hand down. "I am still hurt because of yesterday's incident. Let's go. Father will announce our marriage today," he stated and walked past her.
They reached the greeting hall, and Li Hua stood behind the seat on which Lóng Wei was seated. It was the first time Lóng Wei had arrived earlier than expected.
Mingquan reached the chamber and was astonished to see the Sixth Prince come on time in the hall. "Good morning, Sixth Brother," Mingquan greeted him. "Are you good?" He asked worriedly.
Li Hua looked at Lóng Wei, who didn't respond to Mingquan's morning greetings. That was so rude of him.
The other Princes and Princesses also arrived, who were shocked to see Lóng Wei. They took their respective seats. Jingfei didn't like the presence of Li Hua.
"The sun rose from the west today, I believe," Qiu Mu remarked and looked at Tianjie, who smiled.
Xiaoming looked at Li Hua, who was standing behind Lóng Wei. He found Lóng Wei was glaring at him. Probably because he was checking out Li Hua.
"Crown Prince, you didn't ask your younger brother how he is doing," Lóng Wei said, with a stern tone.
"He seems well. The floggings hardly left any effect on him," Xiaoming stated.
"It seems that the Elder Prince wanted me to be in bed for many days," Lóng Wei asserted. "He didn't even congratulate me. I am still waiting for his wishes," he said and looked at the ring on his pointer finger.
The Princes wondered what Lóng Wei would probably be saying.
"I don't think I need to congratulate the Sixth Prince. Because our Royal Father may change his decision," Xiaoming said, beaming at him.
Li Hua, for a brief moment, gazed towards Xiaoming. Before anyone's notice, she lowered her eyes. What did the Crown Prince mean by that statement?
Lóng Wei chuckled. "Unfortunately, that will not happen," he glanced at Xiaoming, "not even in the Crown Prince's worst nightmare."
"What kind of conversation is going on between the eldest brother and the youngest one?" Qiu Mu asked as their conversation puzzled him, including the others.
Before Xiaoming could answer, the King and the Queen entered the greeting hall. Everyone got up and bowed their heads.
Qiu Zedong and Zhu Liling took their seats on the throne. "I am surprised to see Prince Lóng Wei in the hall on time," Qiu Zedong said, with a smile.
"Li Hua woke me up earlier, Royal Father," Lóng Wei admitted.
Qiu Zedong passed a smile to him and asked everyone to sit. The tea server served the tea to the King and the Queen first. Later, she served tea to other Princes and Princesses.
Qiu Zedong sipped the tea and put it back on the table. "I was informed about the incident in the Servants' Dining Hall," Qiu Zedong said as he looked in Lóng Wei's direction.
"I killed a servant because he slapped Li Hua," Lóng Wei answered.
"You killed a servant?" Qiu Mu was shocked to hear it.
"When the Royal Father has already punished me, the matter ended at that instant. The servant did wrong by hitting my person," Lóng Wei affirmed.
"Why did the Sixth Prince kill the other servants, who were quiet and only present in the hall?" Qiu Zedong's voice sounded furious.
Li Hua looked at Lóng Wei with skepticism. When did he do that? He told her that he would spare the others.
"I did not kill them, Royal Father," Lóng Wei stated and looked at Xiaoming, whose gaze had fixed on him.