Forced Marriage

Chapter 60: Forced Marriage.

"Hua'er. Go and get changed. We need to go back to palace now." Jiang Yuan said strictly looking at the lazy girl sprawled on his bed. Min Hua pouted hearing his no-nonsense tone.

"Why do we need to go there? And I like this dress. I don't want to change." Min Hua wailed and looked at Yuan with a pleading gaze which didn't work on the strict commander at all.

"You either get ready, or wait till your father send troops to scout the entire area." Min Hua pursed her lips and sat on the bed. She would never wish for her father to come here. But her warm brown eyes twinkled the next minute and she looked at Jiang Yuan with starry eyes.

"Brother Yuan, how about you change my dress?" Jiang Yuan shut his eyes and took a deep breathe to calm himself but ended up imagining changing her clothes. He opened his eyes and shook his head. This girl will the death of him one day.

"Sigh.. Hua'er.. You either go and change yourself right now, or let me change them which might take the entire night and tomorrow morning too." Jiang Yuan warned and Min Hua gulped looking at that hot intense gaze looking at her. Taking her clothe, she ran off to another room and locked it properly. Who knows that man can even barge in while she is changing.

Jiang Yuan chuckled looking at her run. All bark and no bite, huh?

Soon Min Hua came out dressed in royal robes and Jiang Yuan hoisted her up onto the horse to send her back to the palace from where she sneaked out.

"Wait wait wait.. I forgot the mug. Help me down." Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes but still helped her down. He really didn't expect that she would think of taking that ugly mug back with her. Min Hua ran into the back yard of the house and collected the mug before coming back to him.

Through out the horse journey, she held the mug close to her and happily spoke to Jiang Yuan. Li Wei playing the role of the spectator again could tell that Min Hua had attached herself a lot to that mug. Her eyes sparkled whenever she spoke to Jiang Yuan. She looked at him with love and admiration. And if Li Wei had to put it correctly, Min Hua looked at Jiang Yuan with devotion. It was the same for Jiang Yuan. One look, and anyone can tell that he truly doted on that cheerful girl.

Jiang Yuan dropped her at a secret entrance of the palace and Min Hua bid him good bye after getting few kisses and hugs with the promise of meeting again soon. With her cheeks still tinted red, she happily walked in the palace grounds towards her chamber.

"Greetings Your Highness. His majesty the king has requested your presence." A guard came to Min Hua and conveyed the message. Min Hua frowned hearing this. This man never bothered to see her. Why did he want to meet her now?

"Where did your king request my presence?" Min Hua with a straight face. The previous cheerfulness was gone and was now replaced with a cold facade. This personality trait of hers matched Ling Yue's.

"Let me escort you there Your Highness." The guard said Min Hua silently followed him. Though discreet, Li Wei could still see Min Hua's tight grip on the mug which she hid in her robes before entering the palace.

They walked into a desolated location in the palace and soon the guard guided her into the dungeon. Li Wei looked at the creepy place and couldn't quite understand why someone would call a princess to this kind of place. Li Wei flinched looking at the stained walls and the horrible smell reeking out of the place. But unlike him, Min Hua didn't as much as bat an eye while walking into the dungeon.

Walking deeper, Li Wei heard agonizing shouts and pleas of a man and soon they reached a cell holding a feeble man, almost naked with iron chains.

"I heard you weren't in the palace Min Hua?" A cold tone questioned the young princess and Li Wei found a middle aged sitting on a luxury seat and coldly watching Min Hua.

"Apologies Your Majesty. I wanted to have some fresh air and went out. I should have informed someone. I was wrong." Min Hua bowed to the man sitting on the grand seat.

"Ohh.. I heard someone saw you with Commander Jiang?"

"I just met him on the way and the Commander was worried about my safety, hence dropped me back at the palace." Min Hua replied again, he head still bowed.

"Hm.. Why did you all stop? Did I order you to halt?" the cell keepers shivered hearing their King and resumed what they were told to do - to torture the man till he is dead.

Min Hua stood there silently looking at the men torturing the prisoner. The captive cried and begged as the knives cut into his flesh, but the king didn't bestow mercy on him and the torture went on until the capture died after an hour of pain and agony.

"Do you know who the dead man is?" The king asked as he lazily sipped on his wine. Min Hua shook her head. The king chuckled looking at the dead body.

"You eldest sister once took a small liking in him. Or so I have heard. Since I have some free time now, I am cleaning all the trash." The king smiled looking at his daughter and Min Hua stood rooted on the spot looking at that calculative smile.

"Do you like anyone?" The king asked softly, as if encouraging her to open up her heart.

"No Your Majesty. Min Hua doesn't like anyone." Min Hua replied straightly but her grip on the clay mug hidden under her robes tightened. The King smiled satisfactorily at her reply and leaned back on his chair.

"Hmm.. Good. Or else I would have to lose a powerful commander like Jiang Yuan in this dungeon." The king said thoughtfully and Min Hua's face turned pale as she imagined Jiang Yuan going through everything what the dead man had gone through few minutes ago.

"You will be married to Emperor Huang Meng in next two months. We had an agreement of making you the queen. The announcement will be made in few days. I don't want you to dissatisfy king Huang in any way. Got it?" The king asked and Min Hua obediently bobbed her head up and down.

"Hmm.. Be careful with whatever you do from now on. The commander might not even know how he died if you make any mistake." saying this the King left the dungeon and the pale princess slowly walked back to her quarters. She didn't tremble, nor did she shed a single tear as she made her way to her chamber.

Min Hua closed the door as soon as she stepped into her room and collapsed onto the floor. The brave and indifferent facade were now gone and surfaced the shaken girl who just witnessed gore and threat from her own father.

Min Hua cried and cried till her eyes ached and she fainted on the cold floor hugging the clay mug.

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Sitting in the balcony Li Wei thought about what he had seen earlier in his dream. His expression was lost and blank remembering the gore he has just seen. He couldn't even fathom the self restraint Min Hua practised to put up with that excuse of a father and brutality she witnessed.

A tired smile marked Li Wei's thin lips recollecting Su Rong sitting on his mighty seat and crumble his daughter's hopes, dreams and happiness. A doting father? Ludicrous. A pampered and spoiled princess? Hilarious.

History was wrong. People made her the villain of her own story, while the villains were praised to sky. Married because of greed and thirst for power? Ha.. She was forced to leave the man she loved and marry a stranger. Min Hua wasn't even given the chance to rebel.

Li Wei imagined himself in Min Hua's shoes. Had he been in her situation, he too would chose to let go of his love rather than holding on to it and being the reason for his loved ones painful and meaningless death.

The night was calm, with the moonlight bathing the Li Mansion and the soft flute tone played by the music player. Li Wei turned on the music player for Ling Yue before coming out to get some fresh air and clear his mind.

Jade Nicholas, Su Rong and who knows who all are around to hurt her. The foreboding of the impending doom scared him. He was aware of how much he was in love with Ling Yue. It was just matter of time Ling Yue realises this and her feeling towards him. But their parting ways in both pasts made Li Wei conscious about the unknown that was orchestrating everything.

"Ling Yue. Let's not leave each other this time. Let's be together." Li Wei's soft voice passed Ling Yue's ears and she turned to his side to hug him in her sleep. Li Wei sighed and covered themselves with blanket before resting again. Seems like the universe had showed mercy on him that he had good sleep for the rest of the night.

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"Little girl. You don't attend meetings personally right? Why are you attending this one?" Father Li asked at the dining table. He would miss a good gaming partner today.

"Z heights has nothing to do with today's business. It's just me." Ling Yue replied looking at the stock market reports.

"You are starting a new project? How come I didn't know about it?" Father Li questioned again. Ling Yue shifted her gaze to Father Li and spoke.

"Why should you know about this?"

"I thought you share everything with me?" Father Li said exasperatedly. He had taken himself too highly. Mother Li, Li Wei and Li Mei looked at the childish old man before going back to their food again. Why would Ling Yue share about her business dealings and tradings with him? Everyone shook their heads looking at Master Li's behaviour. He was becoming more and more infantile these days.

"Hah.. Now you are ignoring me? Wah.. Since when did you start maintaining secrets with me?" Father Li was vexed. Why was no one supporting him?

"Uncle Li. Did we ever have this topic before for me tell something?" Ling Yue asked with a straight face. Is this kind of behaviour fit of the Patriarch of Li family? Sigh.. Father Li thought for sometime and calmed down. They really didn't have many discussions regarding business. So her explanation was reasonable. He nodded and announced that he was the closest person to her before going back to his food.

Li Mei openly scoffed at his announcement earning a glare from Father Li.

"I will go and fill up the trio's bowls." Ling Yue got up from her seat and went to get pet food from kitchen.

"You already filled their bowls Yue'er." Mother Li reminded her as Ling Yue was about to go into kitchen. Ling Yue stopped in her tracks and frowned. When did she fill their bowls?

"Huh? I did? When?" Ling Yue asked, looking confused.

"Before you started your breakfast. Isn't that what you do daily?" Mother Li pointed to the three bowls laying in the garden. The two dogs have completed their fills and Xiao Bai was still eating. Ling Yue tried hard to remember when she did that but her mind suddenly felt empty. This alarmed her but still went back to her seat and started going through her documents as if nothing happened.

Others too thought that it just slipped off her mind and got busy with their schedule for the day. Well, that 'others' didn't include Li Wei though. The moment she had that lost expression on her face, Li Wei understood she didn't remember it. This was what he feared. Her condition getting serious.

"Big Sis. Can you pick me up from school in the evening?" Li Mei requested while picking up her snacks box and thanked the maid.

"Okay. My meeting will be done by then." Ling Yue agreed and everyone left for their works except Master Li who seemed to be extremely jobless these days.