Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

Zhang Xi put the book on the table that he had been studying for quite a long time. After the wrongdoings of his father, the late King, were exposed, he decided to learn governance from the stretch. He also had left the path on which he was walking.

Zhang Xi's loneliness increased too after Tianjie got entangled with Song Jia and then married her. His equation with the other brothers was not that well. So, he used to stay inside his chamber most of the time.

"Pardon me for intrusion, Your Highness. The King is here to see you," the maidservant informed him.

Zhang Xi quickly stood up from the floor chair when Xiaoming entered. Zhang Xi greeted him and kept his head down until Xiaoming asked him to relax. Xiaoming dismissed the maidservant from the chamber and asked Zhang Xi to take a seat.

"Was Brother Zhang Xi reading about the governance?" Xiaoming asked as his eyes fell on the book on the table.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Zhang Xi said.

"I am still your first brother. Brother Zhang Xi does not need to address me as Your Majesty," Xiaoming opined.

"The First Brother came to see me after a long time," Zhang Xi said.

"Forgive me for being negligent," Xiaoming stated.

"I understand. The First Brother has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders," Zhang Xi asserted.

"Indeed. The responsibilities have increased a lot," Xiaoming agreed with him and told him the request of his mother.

"My marriage?" Zhang Xi arched his eyebrows.

"Yes. You also wanted to get married. All of the princes are married except you and Brother Mingquan. However, Brother Mingquan's marriage is fixed with the state minister's daughter," Xiaoming opined.

"Yes, I wanted to. I thought of having a love marriage, just like all of you. I don't have any problem with arranged marriage either," Zhang Xi pronounced.

Xiaoming smiled at him. "What about General Li Tian's sister?" He suggested to Zhang Xi.

"Sure, First Brother," Zhang Xi said. He was excited to have a meeting with General Li Tian's sister. He asked Xiaoming about it.

"You can meet Miss Li Feiyi tomorrow. I will tell Li Tian about it today," Xiaoming stated.

"But tomorrow is Brother Mingquan's marriage," Zhang Xi affirmed.

"It is in the evening," Xiaoming reminded him.

"First Brother, I did not have much interaction with women. Since I will go and see Miss Li Feiyi what should I take for her?" Zhang Xi asked opinions of Xiaoming.

"Your mother will give you her hairpin, which was bestowed to her when she entered in the palace as the concubine of our late father. She was speaking about it with me. So, in my opinion, if you find Miss Li Feiyi suitable for you, then you should present your mother's hairpin to her," Xiaoming said.

Zhang Xi gave a simple nod and thanked Xiaoming for his valuable opinion.

"I should meet my mother regarding the same," Zhang Xi said.

"Sure, Brother Zhang Xi." Xiaoming prayed that Zhang Xi liked Li Feiyi so that he would be settled in his married life. Then, only Princess Xiaolian's marriage responsibility had left on him.

~~~~~~

"Your sister wants to marry Prince Zhang Xi?" Huang Xi asked in bewilderment.

"Yes, but that will happen if Prince Zhang Xi accepts the proposal," Li Tian told Huang Xi.

They both were in the barrack room, taking some rest after working for the entire day.

"When did your sister see Prince Zhang Xi? That was a sudden request, no?" Huang Xi asked Li Tian.

"True. It was a sudden request from Li Feiyi. She saw Prince Zhang Xi a few days back with Prince Tianjie in the capital's market," Li Tian asserted. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝑔

"So, it was love at first sight," Huang Xi muttered and smiled a little.

"From her side. I wonder how people fell in love so easily," Li Tian said.

"It seems General Li Tian doesn't believe in falling in love," Huang Xi remarked.

"I do, but not this easily," Li Tian said.

"It is up to the heart how it wants to fall in love, not upon your mind," Huang Xi opined.

"I have different thoughts on it, Huang Xi," Li Tian said. "I heard Chang Shi is getting married to Princess Ai Fen," he said out of the blue.

"He is," Huang Xi said.

"You fell in love too easily. I do not intend to hurt you. I merely want to know how it feels. You must have had sleepless nights because of all this," Li Tian asserted.

"It hurts in the beginning, but if you know how to move on, then it is easy," Huang Xi said.

"That's what fear me. An arranged marriage where we do not know about the opposite person," Li Tian expressed his thoughts.

"You are right. Li Tian, falling in love with the Second Princess was not my choice. It happened. You cannot control your heart in such things," Huang Xi explained to him.

Li Tian hummed and apologized to Huang Xi. "I made you recall all those things. Forgive me."

Huang Xi chuckled. "It didn't hurt me. I have moved on. This time I am serious," he affirmed.

Li Tian remembered the last time Huang Xi said the same, but his mind was always on that rejection. However, this time Huang Xi had no option except to move on. Ai Fen had found a life companion in Chang Shi, who was Huang Xi's close friend. Huang Xi could not destroy his friendship over a woman with Chang Shi.

"Huang Xi, I pray you to get a woman who loves you more than anything," Li Tian said and passed a smile to him.

"Ah, I do not think about it anymore," Huang Xi said. "Perhaps, I will have an arranged marriage too, where I do not need to know anything about the woman," Huang Xi recalled how his mother was telling him about the few marriage proposals. So, he decided to choose randomly any one of them if his mother keep asking him.

They both heard a knock on the door and a soldier walked in.

"Pardon me for intrusion. His Majesty has called General Li," the soldier informed Li Tian.

Li Tian immediately rose to his feet and told Huang Xi he would see him later. Li Tian left to see the King, followed by the soldier.

Huang Xi also left the barracks and went to see Lóng Wei. But to his surprise, he didn't find Lóng Wei in the manor. From a servant, he found out that Lóng Wei and Li Hua had gone to see Xu Zifan.

He decided to head to his home, but he encountered Ai Fen and Xiaolian on the way.

"It seems Commander Huang Xi was coming from Brother Lóng Wei's manor," Xiaolian stated.

"Yes. But they are not here," Huang Xi replied.

"They have gone to Xu Zifan's house," Ai Fen replied.

"The servant informed me," Huang Xi said and looked at Xiaolian. "Can Princess Xiaolian teach me how to make porcelain bowls?" He made a request.

"Why?" Xiaolian stopped blinking for a few seconds. "I thought Commander Huang Xi does not like such things," she stated.

"My mother's birthday is near. Yesterday she was telling me about her love for pottery. So, I thought, I should present something like that. If only, Princess Xiaolian, has time for it," Huang Xi stated.

"I have nothing to do. My studies are over too," Xiaolian said and told Huang Xi she would teach him.

"What about an hour before lunch?" Huang Xi asked her.

"Sure," Xiaolian replied.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will come from tomorrow to learn from the Third Princess," Huang Xi stated and then, he took his leave.

"Commander Huang Xi loves his mother so much. He is learning something which he doesn't like at all," Xiaolian said and looked at Ai Fen.

"That's good," Ai Fen didn't know what more to say.