After Marrying the Disabled Crown Prince of the Enemy Country

Chapter 68          Uneasy

Le Zhi bit her lip lightly, her heart seemed to be squeezed tightly.

“… You eavesdrop!” She said with a frown.

Obviously, when she asked him if he wanted to come along, he refused straight out. Who knew he would follow her secretly?

Huo Du did not care. He even hummed confidently, and continued to ask, “So what?”

“Like him!” Le Zhi stood up suddenly, stomped her feet, and replied to him angrily as she walked away, “I like him a lot!”

As soon as the voice fell, she also happened to walk in front of him. The light in the secret passage was dim, and Huo Du looked at her cheeks, a little unclear, only saw that her lips purse tightly.

As if questioning him silently…

Are, you, satisfied?

Satisfied?

How could that be possible?

That night she leaned against him and spoke ironically in his ear, and he could hear every word clearly. But he was getting more and more greedy, how could it be enough to just listen to the irony?

Even in such dim conditions, even if she said it in an angry tone, it was good already. He was very patient with her. He believed that one day, she would say these words to him with a smile under the bright lights.

“All right.” Huo Du’s smile grew stronger, but his tone was very reluctant, “Let’s go back.”

Le Zhi did not say a word, just walked silently behind him, put her hands on the white jade wheelchair, and pushed him back quietly.

The secret passage was long and quiet, only could hear the sound of the wheels touching the ground and the light breathing of the two of them. Le Zhi’s heart was getting heavier, and her mind was chaotic. She looked at the secret passage as if she could not reach the end.

Suddenly, the back of her hand warmed up. She lowered her eyes and saw that Huo Du put his palm on her hand, and his long fingers slowly intertwined with her fingers to hold her hand. His palm was not as cold as it used to be, it should be because he held the purple stone every day.

The warmth she gave him, circled around, and returned back to her hand.

—

It was late at night when they walked out of the secret passage.

Le Zhi yawned unconsciously, with sleepiness on her face. But when she was about to reach the bedroom, she saw a familiar figure from a distance, which instantly made her sleepiness disappear without a trace.

“Sister?” she called with uncertainty.

Le Jin was wearing a soft white skirt and a light blue cloak. She had a light smile on her face with clear and bright eyes. When she heard Le Zhi’s call softly, she smiled and nodded, “Zhizhi is back?”

She said it with a clear and gentle voice, without any confusion. Only then did Le Zhi really believe that her sister was completely healed. Her heart tightened, subconsciously pulled her hand back from Huo Du’s palm, and her movements were panicky.

With the tenderness in his palm disappeared, Huo Du frowned in dissatisfaction and his face became gloomy. He moved his hand slightly, and the wheelchair was stirred toward the study.

Li Zhi’s heart sank suddenly, she looked at his distant back uneasily, and her nose was a little sour. But she suppressed all these emotions, and immediately turned around and ran towards Le Jin. She hugged Le Jin’s arm tightly and choked, “Sister, let’s talk in the room.”

Le Jin touched her younger sister’s head and entered the room with her.

The heater in the bedroom was burning hot, accompanied by a strong smell of medicine.

When she was seriously ill a few days ago, she took a lot of decoctions. Although the room was ventilated after her illness, the smell of the medicine dissipated very slowly.

“Are you sick?”

Le Jin knew it at a glance with the medicinal smell and coupled with Le Zhi’s tired look.

“It’s just an ordinary cold, and I’m better now.” Le Zhi lied casually while pulling Le Jin to sit down, and asked cautiously, “Sister, do you remember everything?”

Looking at Le Zhi’s worried appearance, Le Jin could not help but laugh. It was because she was not strong enough that she shut herself in her own world and made her loved ones worry for nothing.

She could not imagine how difficult her sister’s life had been during this period. Great Li’s most playful little princess, who had been carefree and willful since she was a child, was now struggling to survive in this enemy country. She even tried her best to protect and look for her loved ones.

She raised her arms, hugged her little sister, and hummed softly, saying in a distressed tone, “I’ve made Zhizhi worry.”

Le Zhi shook her head vigorously, hugged her sister tightly with red eyes, and tears welling up in her eyes. She could finally have a good cry.

When Le Zhi finished crying, the two chatted for a while. Finally, the topic inevitably talked about a person.

“Zhizhi, that Taizi of country Qi…”

“Sister, I…” Le Zhi’s voice trembled, and her face turned pale instantly. She wanted to tell her sister that she had no choice but to choose to rely on Huo Du to take revenge. To this day, the desire for revenge had not been shaken at all.

It was just that toward Huo Du… She could not lie to her sister against her will, saying that she only taking advantage of him.

She could deceive herself and lie to anyone. But for her loved ones, she could not do it. She had lost too many loved ones, and she could not even say a word of deception to her sister.

Seeing Le Zhi’s expression full of pain, plus what Fu Xian told her after waking up, and also the subtle look between Zhizhi and the Taizi of country Qi just now.

Her silly little sister, no matter how fast her hand was pulled back, Le Jin could still see it clearly and already saw it when they came from afar.

In the past, even if she grew up with Huo Xu, even if her imperial father bestowed her a marriage, Zhizhi was still a little estranged when facing Huo Xu. She thought that Zhizhi was just abiding by the etiquette between men and women and was unwilling to go beyond the rules. Now that she thought about it, it was because she did not like him. When a person liked someone, it was difficult to hide their desire to be close to them.

From childhood to adulthood, from beginning to end, Zhizhi just regarded Huo Xu as a brother and a playmate. So even if it was a joke, she deliberately kept a distance from him.

“Alright, alright, it’s my fault.” Le Jin patted Le Zhi’s back and comforted her softly, “I won’t ask anymore.”

Hearing this, Le Zhi’s tears became even more intense. She whimpered and shook her head, lowered her eyes, and apologized repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Le Jin silently picked up the silk handkerchief to wipe her sister’s tears. But as she wiped, her eyes also turned red, and her heart became sour.

She would not blame her. She believed that her imperial father, imperial mother, and imperial brother would not blame her either. She was only sixteen years old and had undergone tremendous changes. It was not easy to get to today step by step.

What did she do wrong?

It was her who was useless as a sister and could not protect her. She was the one who should say sorry.

Her vision gradually blurred. Le Jin suddenly recalled that her imperial father was always partial toward Zhizhi in the past and was a little strict with her imperial brother and her. Once, she and her imperial brother were really unconvinced and asked her imperial father angrily.

“Why don’t you punish Zhizhi who often goofs off to sleep? We just make banter once in a while, and you punish us to copybook. This is not fair!”

“Because you don’t know that she helps the palace people clean the palace together at night. When the maids are sick, she will go to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine for them, and then send someone to send it. Even if she sneaks out of the palace to play, she will also deliberately help some people who are not rich enough, instead of giving them money directly, she will buy some food seeds and let them be self-reliant.”

Her imperial father’s smile was always so gentle, and he said, “Your imperial sister is someone who has a big heart.”

At that time, she still did not understand the profound meaning of her imperial father’s words. Now, she finally understood. Zhizhi, who seemed weak, had the toughest heart. It was because of her deep love for Great Li and her people that she was in pain because she liked the son of her enemy.

She could not let it go, so she blamed herself.

Le Jin shed tears silently. She could only hug her sister, not knowing how to comfort her. If only her imperial brother was here, he would be the best at making her sister happy.

The two of them wept all the tears they had accumulated for a long time. When Le Jin left the bedroom, the morning glow on the horizon was just gradually unveiled.

Le Zhi took a good bath and wiped away the tears on her face. She sat quietly on the bed, without feeling sleepy at all. She recalled what her sister said to her when she left and was a little puzzled and… distressed.

What does my sister want to do?

At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open, and a familiar person entered the room. Le Zhi’s eyebrows twitched, she hurriedly got off the bed and ran towards him, pushing him towards the side of the bed.

Before the sun rose, it was the coldest time outside. She could not help recalling the injury on his leg. Sitting on the bed, she leaned over and gently rolled up his trouser, taking a closer look at his leg.

Fortunately, the wound on the leg was not opened by the cold.

“Your Highness, quickly sleep for a while.” She held his hand.

Huo Du was originally annoyed by her eagerness to pull out her hands and tried to distance herself from him, but when he saw her red eyes and eyelids were slightly dark, no matter how angry he was, they disappeared instantly.

He let her support him and lay on the bed with her strength.

Le Zhi pulled the quilt, covered herself and him firmly, turned her head on the embroidered pillow, and asked, “Does your leg hurt?”

She was worried that the weight of the quilt on his leg would hurt a little.

“No.” Huo Du said lightly.

Then, there was a long silence. Neither of them closed their eyes, just looked at the ceiling of the bed, not knowing what they were thinking.

Finally, Huo Du sighed softly and broke the silence. He asked in a casual tone, “Did you have a good chat?”

“Yes.” Le Zhi replied softly, “My sister is finally healed.”

After a pause, she added, “Thank you.”

“That’s good.” Huo Du chuckled, “Go to sleep.”

Le Zhi could not sleep at all as she remembered her sister’s words. She originally wanted to ask her when she woke up, but the more she thought about it, the more she could not sleep. She reached out her hand hesitantly, and tugged Huo Du’s sleeve gently under the quilt, “My sister wants to meet you.”

She really had no confidence, let alone knew the reason why her sister wanted to see Huo Du. She was a little afraid, but she did not know what she was afraid of. She had to pray in her heart that Huo Du would reject her so that she could explain to her sister.

But after a moment of silence, Huo Du’s voice sounded and said, “I see.”

Just like this, Le Zhi could not sleep anymore. But Huo Du seemed to know that she was a little lost. He put his arm around her shoulders and took her into his arms, “Let’s sleep.”

Perhaps his tone bore some light coaxing, or maybe her body was really tired. In the warm embrace, Le Zhi finally closed her eyes slowly and fell asleep.

It was just that after she entered a deep sleep, the person next to her got off the bed gently, tucked her in the quilt, and headed outside the house.

—

Study.

Huo Du sat quietly by the window, with deep eyes.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Then, the door of the room was pushed open, and An Xuan’s voice came.

“Please go in.”

Then there was a soft sound of the door closing.

Huo Du suddenly felt uneasy. He was obviously in his study, but such emotions appeared in his heart out of nowhere. He smiled self-deprecatingly and turned the white jade wheelchair to face the person who wanted to see him.

Le Jin.

On the contrary, Le Jin was much more at ease. She was still dressed in plain clothes, with a faint smile on her face. However, she was also a little distressed, not knowing what to call the Taizi of country Qi.

Your Highness? Brother-in-law?

All seemed to be a bit wrong.

“Sit.” Huo Du gestured, breaking the silence in the study.

Le Jin nodded slightly and walked slowly to the soft chair to sit down. Her movements were calm, and her gestures carried the grace of a princess.

She raised her eyes to look at Huo Du with a calm face and could see that he was controlling his emotions extremely well. But upon closer inspection, it was not difficult to see that there was a trace of panic hidden in his eyes.

She could not help but smile and asked bluntly, “Tired of loving Zhizhi?”

Huo Du did not expect Le Jin to ask so directly, which made his face, which had always been composed, appear a little stunned.

The author has something to say:

Du: I didn’t sleep all night and still had to see my in-laws. I panic a lot… QAQ (scared to death)

Zhi: Rarely, you will also get panic?

An Xuan: You also have today? (The revenge of all-nighters is avenged)

Du: ???