Married To The Cruel Crown Prince

Lei Wanxi, after eating his lunch, came to meet the Crown Princess in her chamber. He wanted to apologize to her for the morning's incident. Court Lady Xu let him go in. "Sister Lili," he pronounced and stopped near the second door. 

Ying Lili, who was reading something, closed the book and lifted her eyes. "Brother Wanxi," Lili called his name and closed the book in her hand. Lei Wanxi sat on one of the ground chairs and asked her what she was reading. 

"A few poems," Ying Lili replied.. "Did you complete the work?" She asked him. 

"Yes, Sister Lili. My body is aching. Brother Sheng knows he gave a strict punishment to me," Lei Wanxi sighed. "Forgive me, Sister Lili. I should have stopped when you told me to. Is your wrist good? Sister Lili did not get injured anywhere, right?" He worriedly asked. 

"It was a minor cut, Brother Wanxi. I am fine. Do not worry about me." Ying Lili looked at the red marks on his palms and even on his forehead. 

"Brother Wanxi, did you get hurt somewhere? What are these red marks?" Ying Lili peered at his palms. 

"It's a dye color, Sister Lili. The pestle was so heavy and I regret not working on my strength. Now, Zhu Lin will make more fun of me since I asked for her help. Though working as a team made us do less effort," Lei Wanxi asserted as he looked at his palms. 

"Princess Zhu Lin is a nice woman. I do not know why Brother Wanxi fights with her. As a Prince, you are not expected to do this," Ying Lili made him understand, who got irked. 

"Sister Lili, she is not nice to me. Every time I think about getting on good terms with her, she does something which annoys me more. Did Sister Lili not see how she hit me with her shoe? How can she do this to me? I got embarrassed in front of everyone. Even the servants saw me getting beaten up by her," Lei Wanxi asserted. Ying Lili was befuddled to see Lei Wanxi talking this way for a person. She recalled the words that Lei Wanxi said to Zhu Lin, which angered her. 

"Brother Wanxi should not have said to Princess Zhu Lin that because of her, Brother Nianzu left. Your statement hurt her," Ying Lili stated. 

"She hurts others, Sister Lili. Do not stand for her. I do not like when you talk good about her when she is not," Lei Wanxi scoffed. "Today, I got punished for the first time in my life. No one ever punished me… not even Weng Wei. And because of Zhu Lin, I received two punishments at once." Lei Wanxi's words made Ying Lili feel that he had some serious misunderstandings regarding Zhu Lin.

"Brother Wanxi, do you know that Princess Zhu Lin loved Brother Nianzu?" Lei Wanxi widened his eyes. "She had heard about Brother Nianzu from many that's why she chose him to be her future husband. She came to Luoyang to confirm the facts regarding Brother Nianzu. It hurt her when Brother Nianzu did not communicate with her. However, as soon as Princess Zhu Lin found out about Brother Nianzu's feelings for a woman other than her, she stepped back from the marriage."

Ying Lili did not want Lei Wanxi to know about this as Zhu Lin had requested her not to tell anyone about that. However, when Ying Lili saw how wrongly Lei Wanxi thought of Zhu Lin, she decided to tell him. 

Lei Wanxi felt guilty for whatever he said to Zhu Lin. Did he by any chance make fun of Zhu Lin's feelings?! He wondered. But she was the one who always initiated fights with him. 

"Brother Wanxi shall apologize to Princess Zhu Lin. She will leave soon and your words will keep hurting her. The Princess does not complain as she finds it a waste of energy," Ying Lili persuaded Lei Wanxi to befriend Zhu Lin. Lei Wanxi had the nature to embrace everyone, but with Zhu Lin, his equation was completely different. 

"I will, Sister Lili. I am annoyed at her because she thinks of me as a weak person and also…" he paused. Ying Lili waited for him to answer, but he did not speak. 

"Brother Wanxi, she never considered you a weak person. It's just she was bewildered to see that a Prince got defeated against her. She then apologized to you regarding that. The incidents after that kept growing, and it brought you to different stages," Ying Lili stated. Lei Wanxi hummed. He was now guilty because he somewhere made fun of her feelings. He only thought about his elder Brother, Nianzu, while he forgot about the woman who left her home to just meet him. 

"Sister Lili, thank you for informing me about this. I will apologize to her and end my bitterness with her," Lei Wanxi affirmed. Ying Lili was delighted to hear that. 

"Brother Wanxi, do you fly kites?" Ying Lili suddenly asked. 

"No," Lei Wanxi replied. 

"Tomorrow, we all will fly kites. It will be fun. Though I will miss Brother Nianzu and Hu Jingguo's presence." The smile disappeared from her lips. 

"I will also miss them. Brother Sheng told me that Brother Nianzu is way happier with Chuntao than with us. And about Hu Jingguo, I have no words. He was such a nice friend," Lei Wanxi said. Ying Lili's eyes turned watery. 

"Brother Sheng visits the grave of Hu Jingguo daily. He is in guilt, Sister Lili." This sudden revelation tensed Ying Lili. 

"That's why he comes late," she knitted her brows. 

"I happened to see Brother Sheng going to the grave of Hu Jingguo. He did not get such a shock after losing his mother, which he did get after losing Hu Jingguo. Brother Sheng denied his friendship with Hu Jingguo, but he had made a different bond with him. Hu Jingguo's death had a huge impact on Brother Sheng's life," Lei Wanxi proclaimed. 

Ying Lili wiped the tears from the edges of her eyes. "Thank you for sharing it with me, Brother Wanxi. Hu Jingguo was my only family member left, but this bloody fight for the throne ended up taking his life. He saved the life of Sheng Li at the cost of his," Ying Lili said with a broken voice. 

"He wanted to see Sister Lili happy. If anything had happened to Brother Sheng, then things would have worsened," Lei Wanxi stated. Ying Lili agreed with him. After a few minutes, Lei Wanxi took his leave while Ying Lili decided to meet Sheng Li. 

She looked at herself in the mirror and came out of the chamber. "I am going to meet the Crown Prince. Do not follow me," Ying Lili requested Court Lady Xu after informing, who bowed. Ying Lili left the Imperial Palace to check on Sheng Li in the uphills.

While walking, the words of Lei Wanxi roamed in her head. 'How could I not see through all this? Sheng Li is in trouble. He is still in trauma and, this time, its impact is huge. I cannot let him ruin like this.' Ying Lili told herself.