353 Top-tier nobles


    Xiaoming thanked the royal jeweler for exining about the jade pendant to him. He decided to tell Liu Jin Yu about this and asked Sun Fuguo if Liu Jin Yu was free.


    “It is lunch time. Miss Liu will be free, Your Royal Highness,” Sun Fuguo informed him.


    Xiaoming stood up and left to see Liu Jin Yu. As he arrived in her chamber, he found her practicing the walk. She had kept several books above her head. She stood next to the pir and observed her.


    Liu Jin Yu had her hands on the top of her belly and held her neck high like a crane. She walked straight while keeping a tiny smile on her lips. She stopped as she reached the other end of the room and then turned. Her eyes fell on Xiaoming, and she thought she would walk to him like a royaldy.


    She halted before him, took off the books from above her head, and then bent on her knees. She gracefully lowered her eyes and greeted Xiaoming. “Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness,” she said as she stood up straight and looked him in the eyes.


    “Good afternoon, Jin Yu,” Xiaoming responded.


    Liu Jin Yu motioned her right hand to the chaise and asked him to take a seat. Xiaoming nodded and stepped forward. He took her hand in his and took her to the chaise.


    Jin Yu nced at him as he made her sit on the chaise and then took the books from her hand. He put them on the tiny circr table beside the chaise and then sat next to her.


    “Did I look like a royaldy while walking?” Jin Yu wanted a feedback from him. “I heard from Lady Hong that on our wedding day, I have to walk in front of thousands of subjects and servants in the grand pce ground. Every eye will be on me as I take step towards you. I don’t want anyone to gossip behind my back and say that I am not suitable to be your wife,” she exined the reason behind her intense practice.


    .....


    “Hmm. It was perfect. You are indeed a fast learner,” Xiaoming said, and patted her back. “I am proud of you,” he said.


    Liu Jin Yu thanked him and asked him if he knew where Li Hua was. “I didn’t see her for two days, and without her I felt a burden in the practice,” she stated. “When she is around, l perform better.”


    “I do not know. I don’t have all the information,” Xiaoming replied. “Did my sister not visit you?” He asked her.


    “Princess Jingfei came yesterday,” Jin Yu replied. She didn’t tell him that Jingfei was lost in her own world and even scolded her.


    “I will ask her to visit you again,” Xiaoming said.


    “No.”


    Xiaoming cocked his eyebrow.


    “I do not want to disturb Princess Jingfei. Also, she is the Princess and I get ufortable talking to her,” Liu Jin Yu stated.


    “Sure.” Xiaoming understood that his sister said something to Liu Jin Yu, which she didn’t want to say. “I have found something about the pendant that you gave me,” and he took out the jade pendant from his pocket.


    “What did the Crown Prince find out?” Liu Jin Yu was desperate to know.


    “It belongs to top-tier nobles in the Kingdom. The cost of this jade is high. Either your father is a rank 1 or a rank 2 official in the Kingdom,” Xiaoming stated. “You told me that your father lives in Qinping. So, we will start our search from the capital,” he advised her.


    “How many rank 1 and rank 2 officials are in Qinping?” Liu Jin Yu asked him.


    “More than five hundred. However, we need to target only a specific. The court ministers, the old age officials we will target,” Xiaoming told her.


    “Let’s start with the court ministers. They are the richest after the royals,” Liu Jin Yu suggested to him. Xiaoming agreed with her.


    “Jin Yu, after your father is revealed, what will you do?” He knew Jin Yu had a grudge against her father because he had done so much wrong to her mother and her.


    “I will destroy him,” Liu Jin Yu affirmed. Her tone clearly showed the angst that was buried deep inside her heart. “I will make him beg like my mother did once for survival. Even if I have to bring danger upon myself, I will do it. He must know what my mother and I underwent because of him.”


    Xiaoming pulled her into a hug and told her that he would definitely find him for her.


    “Share with me everything that the Crown Prince will do. It is my fight,” Jin Yu stated, and leaned back. “Also, I still want to kill Kang Huijuan. Prince Lóng Wei didn’t let him get punished,” she asserted.


    “I will talk to him regarding this,” Xiaoming said.


    “Really?”


    “Hmm. He is stressed these days, so I refrain from going near him,” Xiaoming stated.


    “Will he be angry at the Crown Prince?” She questioned. “I am unable to understand Prince Lóng Wei sometimes. Li Hua was attacked, but he looked calm. I thought he would kill the alive soldiers too,” she muttered.


    “Prince Lóng Wei doesn’t fear anything,” Xiaoming stated.


    “Why did he kill his mother? Did it really happen? Because he seems so mysterious. What if Prince Lóng Wei lied to everyone?” Liu Jin Yu suddenly got curious.


    “Umm... It is prohibited to talk about that matter. However, you are going to be my wife in a few days, so I will tell you. As a part of royal family, you must know this,” Xiaoming stated.


    “Brother Lóng Wei indeed killed his mother. That night, after killing his mother, he went to the King’s manor. He admitted his crime and even showed the sword with which he had stabbed his mother. Brother Lóng Wei wasn’t remorseful of his act neither he attended his mother’s funeral. Whenever his mother’s death anniversary arrives, he is always absent,” Xiaoming briefed her.


    Liu Jin Yu was shocked to learn the truth. “That’s why everyone fears him,” she murmured.


    “Hmm. If Brother Lóng Wei can kill his mother, then he can kill anyone around him,” Xiaoming stated.


    “But why did Prince Lóng Weimit such a sin?” She was still confused.


    “It is said that Brother Lóng Wei’s mother was not good to him. I still remember two days before his seventh birthday, when he came to the pavilion and destroyed everything there. All the mothers, and their children had gathered except Brother Lóng Wei. Then, he came with his eyes full of rage and burning with anger. He openly told his mother that he would kill her one day.”


    Liu Jin Yu gulped to learn that.


    “We were all advised to stay away from him. And then, Monk Yuze’s prophecy created a sense of insecurity in me. I developed a hatred for him the day he destroyed the overcoat which his mother had crafted for me. She had gifted me the overcoat on the day of my coronation as the Crown Prince.”


    Xiaoming was still hurt by Lóng Wei’s that action. That was the moment, he started to make him feel inferior. He was overpowered by his negative thoughts against Lóng Wei.