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“Where is the Prince?” Li Hua asked one of the maidservants, who was standing close to her.

“His Highness didn’t inform any of us,” the maidservant answered.

“Oh.” Li Hua was dejected to learn about it. In the palace, Lóng Wei didn’t even wake up until she did. However, in the cold palace, he woke up early and even left somewhere without informing her. She was upset with him and decided not to talk to him.

“Umm... do you know where my brother is? I forgot the route. Please lead my way to my elder brother’s chamber,” Li Hua requested the same maidservant.

“Pardon me, Your Highness. None of them can take you to your brother’s chamber,” Eunuch Qian He intervened. “His Highness will be back soon, then the Princess Consort can go with him,” he humbly said.

Li Hua hummed and thanked him for the answers.

“Will Her Highness like to take the tea? I will send tea for her,” Eunuch Qian He asked her.

“Thank you, but I will drink tea with my elder brother,” Li Hua answered. Qian He nodded and looked at the servants. He asked them to leave, who bowed and silently left.

.....

“Eunuch Qian He, may I ask you something?”

“Anything, Your Highness. This Eunuch will be glad to answer Her Highness’s queries,” Qian He stated.

“Thank you.” A smile was carved on Li Hua’s lips. “Can Eunuch Qian tell me if the Prince goes out of the cold palace? Does the King not find out about it? Also, it seems the cold palace is full of luxury.”

Seeing Li Hua’s curiosity, Qian He started to laugh which bewildered Li Hua. He apologized for it and said, “The loneliness is the punishment, Your Highness. When he gets punished, he’s forced to live in the dungeon for months.”

Li Hua was shocked to hear him.

“A dungeon?” She mumbled.

“Yes, Your Highness. In the dungeon, His Highness used to sleep and eat for a month. The punishment to be kept in the dungeon depends on the period for which His Highness came here. The last time the punishment was for five months, so Prince Lóng Wei was locked in the dungeon for a month.”

Eunuch Qian’s words upset Li Hua. Why did the King ask to keep his son in a dungeon? This kind of behavior was not even done with the animals.

“But since no one from the palace comes here, His Highness may go out,” Li Hua stated.

“No. The dungeon has a locking system. Every time, His Highness got punished, the King sends a person from the palace, who closely watches His Highness’s activities,” Qian He answered.

“Is the dungeon dark?” Li Hua got curious.

“It is built underground. So, it is indeed dark there. Even light can’t escape in that place,” Qian He said. Li Hua’s heart sank to hear all this.

“After staying in the dungeon for a specified time, can the Prince go out of the cold palace?” Li Hua questioned.

“Yes. But not to the main city center. This place is unknown and restricted to commoners and even many of the nobles,” Qian He stated. Li Hua recalled the day when she met Lóng Wei.

“He isn’t bad. The ones who should be punished are enjoying their lives happily. I think the punishments were too harsh for His Highness,” Li Hua said in a low voice. She recalled the crimes of the prime minister’s son and felt the injustice.

She understood why Lóng Wei was so rebellious and cold to his family. No one could understand his pain. She recalled how mostly all the princes and the princesses asked the King to send Lóng Wei back to the cold palace. The Queen, the consorts, and the concubines, none of the mothers tried to understand him. But she was surprised to find that Lóng Wei bore the punishment instead of telling the truth to the King.

In her eyes, the respect for him had increased. She was happy that she got to find this side of Lóng Wei.

“Eunuch Qian, how many times has His Highness visited this cold palace and stayed here?” Li Hua asked.

“From the age of 8, Prince Lóng Wei regularly comes here. I still remember the time when he was brought here for the first time. He broke all the things here,” Qian He said, and started to laugh. He stopped his laughter and then, in a serious tone, “I understand that as a young child, he must be annoyed to stay away from his family.”

Li Hua grasped the sadness in Qian He’s tone.

“There’s a time when His Highness stayed here for more than a year. He was locked in the dungeon for five months,” he affirmed.

“May I know when?” Li Hua asked.

“When His Highness killed his mother.” A gloomy expression appeared on his face while narrating this to Li Hua. “The King was furious at the Prince. Everyone wanted him to punish Prince Lóng Wei to death. However, the King sent him here and commanded that the Prince must be locked in the dungeon for an indefinite period of time,” Qian He said and sighed. Before Li Hua could ask him more, he took his leave as he had to check the preparation of the morning meals.

“His Highness suffered a lot. But, why?” She murmured when heard Lóng Wei’s voice.

“You look pretty.”

She lifted her head and glanced at Lóng Wei. She found him smiling.

‘Why does he always smile? Behind that smile is a dark past, a dark life,’ she said internally.

Lóng Wei snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. “Where did you get lost?” He asked.

Li Hua shook her head, “nothing.”

“Your Highness, let’s go out today,” Li Hua requested him.

“Do you mean the Xu Residence?”

“No. I want to look around the cold palace. I want to visit that lake where we met,” Li Hua pronounced.

“Fine,” Lóng Wei agreed to her and gently grasped her hand. Pulling her close he whispered, “but I prefer to go into the water with you. If you agree, then I will definitely take you to the lake.”

He leaned back and peered into her eyes.