352 Let’s Begin


    Xu Zifan arrived at the residence before noon. When he found the pnquin outside the residence, he rushed in to see Li Hua.


    Instead of being happy, Xu Zifan was worried.


    “Why did youe out of the pce without informing me?” He questioned her.


    “Commander Huang Xi has apanied me, Elder Brother. Also, I had important work,” Li Hua said.


    “What kind of important work did you have outside the pce?” Xu Zifan squinted his eyes in inquisitiveness.


    “I wanted to meet General Hei and have a conversation with him in private. It was impossible to do that in the pce, so I had to rush here,” Li Hua briefed him. Feng Lao told Zifan that he would exin himter the rest of the matter.


    “Could Commander Huang Xi and Feng Lao please give us some privacy?” Li Hua urged them. They left, and Huang Xi closed the doors behind them.


    “What’s going on? It seems you are up to something behind the Prince’s back,” Xu Zifan asserted. “Why did you meet General Hei here?” He queried his sister.


    “I have an important matter to discuss with him about Prince Lóng Wei. Forgive me because I cannot tell anything to my brother for a while,” Li Hua stated.


    .....


    “I understand,” Xu Zifan answered. Li Hua poured a ss of water for her brother. He thanked her and drank the water. cing the ss on the table, he continued, “I found out about Prince Lóng Wei’s two uncles. They live far from this city, and it takes almost two hours in the carriage. They work in the capital though.”


    Xu Zifan took a deep breath. He had seen how the people around them were not friendly towards them. They would talk about Lóng Wei behind their backs and, more than that, they would talk about his mother.


    “Li Hua, Prince Lóng Wei’s mother, was a forced concubine. Am I right?” He asked and waited for her response. She nodded at him and asked him how he knew that.


    “I heard from the neighbors. By any chance, are you looking for Prince Lóng Wei’s past?” He frowned at her because this was something he didn’t want her to look into.


    “Yes, Elder Brother. I need to find a lot of things to make His Highness’ present stress-free and secure,” Li Hua stated.


    Xu Zifan advised her that it might be dangerous. “The King will punish you if he finds out about this,” Xu Zifan opined.


    “That will not happen. Elder Brother, please trust me. I have to do this for my husband. He did a lot for both of us, especially for me. As a wife, it’s my duty to free him from the burden of his past. I need your support on this. Please do not discuss it with Prince Lóng Wei,” Li Hua after giving him a brief exination, made a request too.


    “I agree with you. Prince Lóng Wei did so much for both of us. Even if I had to take thousands of births, I would be unable to pay off his beneficence on us,” Xu Zifan asserted. “I will help you, but you need to tell me everything. I need no secrets between us. It is for your safety,” he added.


    “Elder Brother, I want to know the truth about why Prince Lóng Wei’s mother was cold to him. I want to find the answers so that the title of the sinned prince can be removed from him. This is the only thing I can tell my brother because Prince Lóng Wei has trusted me with what he told me about his past,” Li Hua affirmed. Xu Zifan found out that his sister was no longer the one who would say everything to him, but a woman who had promised her husband not to reveal the secrets from his past.


    “I understand,” Xu Zifan replied.


    “How is your training going? Do you want to have a sword fight with your brother?” He asked with a tiny smile on his lips.


    Li Hua was astonished to hear that. Her brother never asked her to have a sword fight with him. However, she had never picked up a sword before except that day.


    That day!


    She was terrified of seeing the blood, and she knew she had to ovee it. This was the perfect chance for her. Her brother was a great swordsman, and he would teach her in a better way. She readily epted her brother’s challenge.


    Xu Zifan stood up and asked her to follow him. His sister needed training. Earlier, his views were different. He wanted to protect her from any outside evil force. But he could no longer do that. Huang Xi and Feng Lao saw them stepping out of the room. However, they found they were heading to Xu Zifan’s room.


    “Did their conversation still not end?” Huang Xi murmured.


    “Let’s check,” Feng Lao said, and they also followed them.


    Xu Zifan handed a sword to Li Hua, which was not heavier than the one Lóng Wei had. She asked the reason for it. “A lighter one will be better on the first try,” Xu Zifan suggested. Li Hua hummed and found her brother looked confident.


    As they came out, Feng Lao and Huang Xi saw the sword in their hands. “What’s happening?” He promptly asked.


    “Nothing, but a friendly match,” Li Hua answered.


    Huang Xi was amused and wanted to find out who would win. He didn’t want to say it, but in his opinion, Xu Zifan would not be good with his left hand. Xu Zifan and Li Hua stood opposite each other. She was stunned to see that her brother unsheathed the sword with a single hand.


    She found it difficult to unsheath the sword when Feng Lao stepped up to help her.


    “Let her do it,” Xu Zifan told Feng Lao.


    Li Hua managed to unsheathe the sword and wondered why it took her so long. She held the sword tightly at its hilt and wondered what she should do.


    “Attack,” Xu Zifan told her.


    Li Hua pursed her lips together and attacked him. He defended her attack easily and pushed her away. Li Hua somehow bnced herself when Xu Zifan pointed a sword at her. “You are dead, Little Sister,” Xu Zifan said, and smiled at her.


    “Let’s begin,” he said and this time he attacked her.