Secret Lover

Chapter 74: Secret Lover

"What? She took poison?" Jiang Yuan exclaimed when he heard Lu Tang mentioned that her condition was partly because of poison.

"Hmm.. And she must have gotten that thing from you." Lu Tang said as he eyed the anxious king standing in front of him. Jiang Yuan's white cotton robes were very simple. Nothing lavish like the late king's.

Jiang Yuan frowned hearing his words. When did he give her poison. It didn't take him long before he realised how she got her hands on that deadly poison.

"There is no saving her now. She had took it for long enough to push to the death's door. Since the day she stepped on the royal carriage of the now fallen Huang dynasty." Hearing this Jiang Yuan was left even more confused. Why? He didn't have to trouble himself to ask this question since Lu Tang himself replied again.

"She was forced to marry him. And also forced to hurt you. She couldn't take it and resorted to this."

Jiang Yuan was stunned hearing this. Didn't he ask her if she was forced to marry him? Why didn't she speak to him? Wasn't he powerful enough to protect her? He had an entire military unit under him. Lu Tang obviously understood what was going on in his mind.

"Oh no your majesty. You were not powerful enough. You still didn't know this but you and your house was all surrounded by assassins and one single mistake or a little hesitation on her part would have killed you or even worse, labelled you a traitor and executed you in the middle of the capital."

Though many didn't know about the relationship between the king and Min Hua, Lu Tang knew about the true nature of her father. His father was the royal physician and many times went to cure her injuries she got because of her father or mother.

Jiang Yuan stood rooted to his spot as he heard everything Lu Tang had to say. A year ago when he woke up drunk, he felt everything that happened was a dream or more like his hallucination. He didn't think that Min Hua came to him because she was scared and he sent her back hurt.

There was a moment of silence between them as Lu Tang contemplated about how to tell him about his new born daughter.

"A week ago, she gave birth to your daughter." Finally Lu Tang dropped the bomb and Jiang Yuan's eyes trembled. She gave birth? How much did she suffer alone?

"She wanted to die." Jiang Yuan said. It was more of a statement than a question. Lu Tang nodded as he clutched the clay mug hidden inside his robes.

"She probably had this tendency from a long ago. It was just that she met you and hoped to live with you. When that only dream of hers was snatched away, her urge to end this life became stronger."

Jiang Yuan went quite hearing this. He should have payed more attention to her. She should have made her look into his eyes and answer him. That silly girl was just too good at acting. Jiang Yuan always thought it was because she was pampered by the king that she always acted naughty and spoiled.

Only now did he realize that it was because she was never given love and freedom which she always wanted to explore. Whenever he spoiled her, she asked for a bit more, fearing that this might be the last time she would be pampered like this.

Perceiving that he should be near his Hua'er, he walked towards the door but Lu Tang still had one last thing to say.

"There is one more thing your highness." Jiang Yuan halted hearing this. What more now? Turning around, he found Lu Tang put something on the table and opening the cloth covering it, he found another one their little memory.

He didn't waste anymore time and ran towards her chamber. He can sense that they didn't have much time together. On the way he heard the physician saying that he couldn't save her and his heart chilled.

He had so many things to tell her, but she soon left him, this time forever. The last thing Min Hua heard was 'I love you' from Jiang Yuan, but before she could tell him the same, her life which had been hanging on a thread all this time broke and those three beautiful words never left her lips.

Having seen almost an year in one single night, Li Wei had a lot running inside him. How was Min Hua's fate any different from Xenxi's. Just that Jiang Yuan at least held her in her last minutes. Standing in the corner of the room silently, he watched Jiang Yuan wail and sob holding Min Hua's lifeless form close to his chest. Nothing could fill up the void in heart created because of her death.

From the very first moment when Jiang Yuan saw Min Hua in butterfly garden of the Min dynasty's royal palace, he knew this girl held his heart. He met her again and she too fell in love with him. She ruled his heart and he wanted to give her all the happiness she deserved. How did they end up like this? Jiang Yuan didn't know, neither did Li Wei.

"We meet again." Li Wei jerked hearing the voice right behind him. Turning around he found Min Hua smiling at him. He looked back at Jiang Yuan and saw Min Hua's body still in his arms. So Min Hua really left.

"Don't make that face. It's not like I am not coming back to you." Min Hua's sweet voice was the same as his Yueyue's.

"Xenxi?" Li Wei asked and Min Hua simply smiled.

"Hm. How are you? And how am I?" Min Hua asked playfully and Li Wei wondered was this the same girl he had been seeing all this time. Who had detached herself from everything.

"Not fine. Because you are not fine." Li Wei replied. Min Hua kept quite looking at Jiang Yuan. Li Wei had many questions and didn't waste time to fire them.

"Why is this happening?"

Min Hua eyes turned gloomy as she heard this question.

"Because I wasn't supposed to love you." Her answer baffled him but he questioned again.

"I am not taking about Min Hua, the princess of Min dynasty who was supposed to marry the man her father choose. I am asking about us. Us. Like why is this happening in every life."

"My answer is again the same. Because I wasn't supposed to love you. And I was cursed because I loved you." This answer was still insufficient for Li Wei.

"Then how to get rid of this?" Li Wei waited expectantly to get his answer but his entire body froze when he saw two black and shrivelled skeleton like hands just behind Min Hua, ready to grab her if she opens her mouth.

"I can't answer that. I am sorry." The hands disappeared after Min Hua said these words and Li Wei released his breathe which he didn't realize he was holding.

Li Wei understood something was terribly wrong and didn't ask her that question any further. Min Hua took him out of the room and they walked out of the palace. He didn't ask her where they were going. He already guessed it. To their new born daughter. Li Wei wasn't even surprised anymore when he saw his little sweet sister who was once born as Jiang Yuan's daughter.

Neither of them could touch the baby, but the baby's laughs made both of them smile. They both knew Jiang Yuan would come and get this child.

"It's time for me to go Wei." Li Wei too knew this. She had to leave if she wants to reach him again. He didn't stop her and Li Wei's eyes flicked open in his room. It was 5:00 am early in the morning when Li Wei finally woke.

"Huh? Thank god you woke up." Li Wei tilted his head slightly and found Li Mei sitting on the bed and watching him. She woke up early and came to look if her Big sis was okay when she caught her 24 carat pure gold brother murmuring some girl's name and confessing his love to her. He was even begging her not to leave him alone or there would be no meaning left to his life. And that name definitely didn't sound like Ling Yue, Yue'er or Yueyue.

"What are you doing here?" Li Wei asked as he got up and rubbed his face. Apparently he was yet to notice Li Mei's bad mood.

"Came to look after my Big sis." Li Mei answered in a haughty tone and now Li Wei felt something wrong.

"Ohh..."

There was a awkward silence because of the way Li Mei's eyes were boring into him.

"When did you come here?" Li Wei asked to break the silence. His voice was low so as to not wake up Ling Yue who was still asleep.

"When you were confessing your undying love and care to your secret lover named Hua'er in your dreams." Li Wei pursed his lips hearing her. So this was why she glaring at him early in the morning. How was he supposed to explain this to her now? That he was once her father and Ling Yue was once her mother and he was spending his time with her in his dreams?

"Hua'er, Love, please don't leave me. Hua'er, forgive me. Hua'er, I love you.. Hua'er, Hua'er, Hua'er.. Blah blah blah.." Li Wei glared at Li Mei looking at her imitate what he said in his sleep.

"It is not what you think. Don't go blabbering this around and create misunderstandings." Li Mei snorted hearing this. There was nothing to blabber about. Their parents would simply abjure him if they find him using Ling Yue.

"Alright, alright. Don't give me that look now. Got and get ready. Don't you have school?" Li Wei questioned, intending to divert the topic.

"I took leave."

"Why?"

"To be with Big sis."

"Then who will study?"

"Big sis will teach me after she gets well."

Li wei didn't ask further. These days their parents didn't even care if she went to school or not. Ling Yue had been teaching her daily and she was far ahead in her syllabus compared to other students. What more? She even decided the university she wants to go and Ling Yue already the gave her flat keys of her condo in that city.

"Go and take the pet trio to walk. I will stay here." Li Mei concurred and went to take the pets on a walk. Li Wei went to the sleeping fairy on his bed. No matter how badly their story ended every time, this girl didn't tired of loving him. She was stubborn, intractable, resolute, intrepid, and intransigent. She came back to him again and again.

He looked at her slender neck and remembered those terrific hands bound to her. He vowed to free her from whatever curse it was. Bending down, she kissed her cheeks.

"Not this time sweetheart. I will not lose you this time." Li Wei looked at her calm face again before going in to washroom to start the day. Ling Yue opened her eyes when she heard the bathroom door closing.

She looked at the shut door. She always had this feeling of something buried deep inside her and wanting to come out but was forceful locked. This became even stronger when she left for abroad and the relief came only when Li Wei spoke to her. And yesterday in that cottage, she was sure she saw something different. She saw Li Wei, but he felt different.

She heard Li Wei screaming and sleep talking in the night. She was not a deep sleeper and it was inveterate of her to wake up to every tiny sound around her. He was calling some Min Hua in sleep. Min Hua? That queen? And what the hell was this 'I will not lose you this time'? Ling Yue checked her bandage before sitting against the headboard and started thinking about everything she might have missed. She didn't like to be kept in dark. And even more when it involved her.