Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

556 Forgive your mother [Bonus chapter]

Qiu Zedong remained silent for a while when Lóng Wei shouted at him. He was running out of patience.

“I wanted greater control over you. I wanted people to fear you and despise you so that the prophecy’s meaning disappears. You could never become the King even though Yuze’s prophecy said otherwise,” Qiu Zedong revealed the truth.

“Why did you do it to my son?” Qizhen grabbed Zedong by the collar and glared into his eyes. “How could you be this cruel?”

Qiu Zedong chuckled and said, “It is because of you. You decided to keep me away from the palace. I never wanted to stay as a General all my life. You questioned my ideologies. I was always more capable than you, yet you got the throne.”

“If you had asked me once, then I would have handed it to you,” Qizhen stated.

Qiu Zedong chuckled. “You were greedy than me and still are. Why didn’t you come to the palace if you loved Yu Jun and Lóng Wei dearly?” He questioned Qizhen and then glanced at Lóng Wei.

“Qizhen used you, Lóng Wei. To take everything again. He never cared for your mother or you. He only saw from afar the sufferings you two had to bear here,” Qiu Zedong proclaimed.

Lóng Wei frowned and turned to look at Xiaoming. “I request the Crown Prince to lock Qiu Zedong in prison.”

Xiaoming was surprised by Lóng Wei’s request. He thought Lóng Wei would himself ask Hei Chengxi to drag away Qiu Zedong.

.....

“General Hei, take him away,” Xiaoming ordered. Hei Chengxi stepped up and dragged Qiu Zedong to prison, followed by some soldiers.

Xiaoming wanted to console Lóng Wei, but he left the palace grounds.

Qizhen decided to go after his son, but Xiaoming stopped him. “Let Brother Lóng Wei be alone. He needs time,” he suggested to Qizhen.

Xiaoming looked at Li Hua, who was crying. She went to her and asked her to go to the manor.

“Where did Prince Lóng Wei go?” Li Hua asked while sobbing.

“I don’t know. But I think he has gone to his mother’s chamber… to give a tribute to her. The Princess Consort should not go after Brother Lóng Wei as it will stop him from releasing his true emotions in front of his mother,” he advised Li Hua.

Xiaoming gazed at Feng Lao, who escorted Li Hua to the manor.

The atmosphere had turned so tense that no one even wanted to speak about it. Mingquan silently went to see Lóng Wei while the other princes stayed at their respective places.

~~~~~~

Lóng Wei stepped inside the chamber of his mother and shut the doors. He continued to walk until he reached the central room, where Yu Jun’s portrait was hung on the wall. Below the portrait, on the table incense stick burner, some flowers, and two lanterns were placed.

He removed his shoes and went ahead. Picking up one incense stick, he burned it and put it into the tiny burner. Lóng Wei took a step back and got on his knees. He lowered his head as tears filled his eyes.

Lóng Wei recalled the night when he killed Yu Jun.

**Flashback Started**

“My mother has called me?” Lóng Wei astonishingly asked and a smile appeared on his face. It had been years since his mother called him to see her. He quickly put on the formal robe that the prince used to wear and then put on his shoes.

Lóng Wei soon reached outside the chamber of his mother and halted. He took a deep breath and put on a smile on his lips. Though, he had a slight fear of what his mother would say. Usually, she would be angry at him, and in return, he would also get angry.

But Lóng Wei had decided not to be angry at her. She was his mother after all. He should respect her. His mother’s single call made his anger vanish which was inside him for a long time.

Lóng Wei walked in and removed his shoes before entering the main chamber. His eyes fell on his mother, who was seated on the floor mattress.

As soon as she looked at Lóng Wei, she asked him to sit.

Lóng Wei sat down in front of her and looked around. Nothing had changed in his mother’s chamber.

“Lóng Wei, did you have dinner?” Yu Jun asked.

Lóng Wei turned his head to look at her and then he shook his head. “I had no appetite,” he replied.

“Do not skip your meals, Lóng Wei,” Yu Jun asserted.

Lóng Wei was startled to hear his mother’s words. “I don’t feel like eating. Mother never smiles at me nor does she talk with me. I am surprised that she summoned me. Everyone hates me because I talk rudely with them. I don’t like any of them either. I don’t want to leave the palace either,” Lóng Wei asserted.

A few months ago, his mother asked him to leave the palace and go to the academy which was in another province. When every prince is getting an education in the palace, then why should he leave? Moreover, he was not interested in studying. Yuze gave him an education which was enough for him as the prince.

“Forgive your mother,” Yu Jun said.

Lóng Wei stopped blinking after hearing her. He wondered why she was speaking in a different way.

“Are you really my mother?” Lóng Wei asked and blinked before looking at the table’s surface. “Mother never talked this way,” he asserted and again met her gaze.

“Let’s have dinner. I am hungry,” Yu Jun said and called a maidservant inside. Yu Jun asked her to bring the dinner meals for them.

Lóng Wei, on the other hand, kept pondering over his mother’s words. He knew something was wrong. His mother would never have asked him to have dinner with her. When was the last time they even had meals together? He didn’t remember. It was strange, but he was happy to see this change in his mother.