Wang Li Xun, the Crown Prince, goes out hunting for the Celestial Flower to save his mother from a terminal illness. When he nearly dies from the attack of a mythical beast, he is saved by a mysterious boy who lives in the mountains.
To repay his ki...
Before he could bring Long'Er to the library, he received a message from one of his servants.
Apparently, Zhang Wei had the audacity to summon his presence, not forgetting to emphasise that it was an 'emergency'.
Without much of a choice, Li Xun decided to postpone the trip to the library, muttering an apology to Long'Er whose eyes lowered, looking rather crestfallen. His expression made Li Xun feel even more apologetic.
He was going to make it up to the poor boy later.
If his cousin had tricked him and set him up on another appointment with a woman again, he swore that he would throw the man into prison. No hesitation on that.
After they departed from the palace, they soon arrived at Zhang Wei's mansion in the early afternoon. Instead of finding the man waiting at the gate for the Crown Prince's arrival, the servants directed them into their master's room instead.
Strange.
Did something truly bad happen to Zhang Wei after all?
Concern stirred inside Li Xun. Entering the room alone, he was appalled to witness a rare scene. Empty wine bottles were scattered across the table, and sitting right by it was a drunkard drinking away helplessly.
It was a rather pitiful sight. Spotting Zhang Wei's depressed gaze and sunken cheeks, Li Xun's frown only deepened.
"What's wrong? You looked as if you've aged another twenty years."
At the sound of his voice, Zhang Wei lifted his head, his face breaking into an odd, sad smile. "Deeearest cousin, what toooook you so long?" His words slurred as he waved Li Xun over wildly, pouring him a cup of wine. "Drink with meeeee..."
But he snatched away the wine bottle and set it aside. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Allow me to guess – you lost a bet and now you're penniless?"
Zhang Wei hiccuped loudly, running his hand across his face dazedly, taking his time to answer his question. "Wrong," he pouted. "It's something far worse than that. My old flame turned up at the gate last night, asking to be my mistress because she's currently pregnant with my child."
Li Xun was stumped by what he just heard.
"Your...what?! Did you really impregnate her?"
Zhang Wei shot him a dismayed look."Of course not! I admit that I was wild in the past, but I, Li Zhang Wei, am a changed man. I stopped meeting this woman three years ago, which happened a long time before my marriage."
Frustrated, the man grabbed fistfuls of his hair and knocked his head against the table repeatedly. "Ugh, that shrewd cat has been going around to spread false rumours about me – saying that we've been secretly meeting behind my wife's back. That I cheated on her."
Li Xun patted his back, wearing a look of sympathy. He was very much aware of his cousin's playful behaviour in the past. To be precise, it was a known fact that Zhang Wei was a popular ladies man back when he frequently visited the courtesan house.
But now, he was a changed man.
"I believe you."
Zhang Wei sniffed loudly. "But my wife doesn't believe me. A few hours ago, she packed some of her belongings and left for her maiden's home with our child. My cute little Butterfly..."
He reached for the wine bottle again, knocking away the empty ones, but he was grabbed by the arm.
"Stop drinking."
He swatted Li Xun's hand away, letting out a guttural groan. "You horrid cousin! If you are not going to comfort me, get lost! I'm going to drink until I die."
He gathered to his feet, wincing, but Li Xun pushed him back into his seat, forcing him to stay wherever he was.
"Don't you think you should be at your in-laws' residence to fetch your wife home?"
"Your Highness, I don't think you understand the severity of this situation. Women are frightening." He lifted his chin, revealing an angry bruise that had formed at his jawline. "Do you see this? She chucked a book at me earlier."
Li Xun grimaced. "Are you going to sit here and mope forever?"
"No! What if my wife refuses to come back to the house? What about our baby?"
"Well then, stop wasting your time drinking and head out to find out the truth! After how you both had gone your separate ways, there must be a motive for your old flame to appear in your life again," he said. "If this helps, I'll get my men to investigate for you instead."
For the first time, Zhang Wei looked hopeful. His eyes glistened with tears. "You will? Thank you, Your Highness. I always know that I can count on you."
Li Xun couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes, mumbling under his breath. "Who was the one that called me a horrid man a minute ago?"
Pretending that he hadn't heard him, Zhang Wei decided to give him a toast and pour him some wine. "Drink with me, Your Highness. After tonight, I'll regain my will and courage, and convince my wife to come home with me. I'll make that crazy wench regret spreading rumours about me. And oh, we almost forgot to invite one more person to this party."
Throwing the doors open, he shouted loudly. "LING YAO, LING YAO! I need you to come inside now."
At his calling, Ling Yao appeared, but his face displayed a huge lack of interest. Dreading what was about to come next.
Li Xun knew that it wasn't because he didn't like Zhang Wei, considering the three of them grew up together. It was because from their experience, they knew that he was about to face long, taxing hours of listening to Zhang Wei's nonsensical rambles.
Turning his back on the man, Ling Yao started walking away but he didn't make it that far. Despite his protests, Zhang Wei grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into the room. Forcing him to sit as he began pouring wine into their cups.
From there, he began concocting a plan to get on his wife's good side again; flowers, gifts and a letter of apology.
His word of declaration never seemed to end, and the other two men could only sigh in chorus.
This was going to be a long night.
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