"When did all this happen? Why did you not inform me? I was worried about him. I thought Wanxi indeed had some heart disease," Sheng Li asserted and picked the teacup. He sipped the tea and looked back at Ying Lili. "Wanxi is a child. Are you sure he has fallen for the Princess?" Sheng Li asked her.
"Did you not see how Brother Wanxi was reacting? And Brother Wanxi is not a child. You were once like Brother Wanxi," Ying Lili remarked and lifted the teapot. She poured the tea into their cups and heard Sheng Li.
"I never acted like him. We both are different," Sheng Li affirmed.
Ying Lili smiled. "Sheng Li, you are more childish than Brother Wanxi. Earlier, you were stopping me from caressing Brother Wanxi's hand. Such a jealous man you are!" Ying Lili stated and brought the teacup near her lips.
"Lili, I do not like that. If I grab another woman's hand, then will you like it?" Sheng Li questioned her. "Let's suppose if there would be a sister of yours and she would have come to us regarding some problem. If I had grabbed her hand to console her, would you have liked that?" He clarified his words.
Ying Lili sipped the tea and put the cup down on the table. "I would not have said anything. I know that you only love me," Ying Lili stated. Sheng Li chuckled upon hearing the response of Ying Lili.
"Are you sure, Lili? I bet you will get jealous," Sheng Li confidently told Ying Lili, who scoffed.
"I do not get jealous," Ying Lili answered. Sheng Li moved closer to her and put his index finger under her chin.
"The other day, when that woman got close to me, you were so jealous that you ended up fighting with me," he smirked. He enjoyed this expression on Ying Lili's face. It was hard to make her confess that she would get jealous if Sheng Li allowed women around her.
"You are deviating the topic, Sheng Li," Ying Lili yanked his finger away from her chin. "Finish your tea," stated Ying Lili. Sheng Li hummed and picked the teacup.
"We need to go outside today," Sheng Li suddenly told Ying Lili, who was happy to hear that. "It is a mission which only we two can accomplish," Sheng Li told Ying Lili.
"What kind of mission?" Ying Lili questioned him, who gulped the tea and peered at her.
"We need to go to the Courtesan's House," Sheng Li replied.
"Why?"
"I found from my spy that in the Courtesan's house, a few Court Ministers are regular customers. They do meetings to avoid suspicions. Also, today they have invited a big merchant to the Capital. Since a few of them had joined hands with Gu Zhenya, we need to find out what they are planning for the future," Sheng Li explained to Ying Lili.
"But, Sheng Li, I might get caught. The Ministers have seen me," Ying Lili replied. "Take General Wang with you," she suggested.
"General Wang is injured; Xiao Zhan is outside, and others are not swift like you," Sheng Li reasoned. "It seems you do not want to go," he deduced.
"No. I was being cautious," Ying Lili answered. "If someone sees us, especially me, and recognizes my face, then it might create a problem even if I will be in the disguise of a man. We might have to run, and this mission can be failed." Ying Lili clarified to him.
*Hmm. You are right. Then, I will not take you with me. Commander Sun will accompany me," Sheng Li told Ying Lili, who agreed with him.
~~~~~~
Lei Wanxi reached his chamber and sat on the bed. The words of Ying Lili played in his head time and again. He picked the water jar and cup to drink water but to his surprise the water jar was empty. He shouted for a maidservant, who came inside.
"Why have you not filled this water jar?" Lei Wanxi did not intend to scold her but ended up. "You are not taking care of the Prince," Lei Wanxi complained.
"Forgive me, Sixth Prince," she apologized and deeply bowed.
"Bring me the water," Lei Wanxi ordered her, forwarding the water jar towards the maidservant. She took it and walked out of the chamber.
Lei Wanxi removed the headband around his head and put it on the table. "How can I love her? I hate her from the bottom of my heart. Why would my heart fall for her out of so many women? Sister Lili's deduction was wrong. I think because I have never been kissed this way, my heart raced," Lei Wanxi tried to reason with his mind and rested his hand on his chest.
The maidservant came inside and filled the glass with water. "Here, your highness," she forwarded the water glass to Lei Wanxi, who took it and gulped it. The maidservant put the jar and the glass on the bedside table and left.
"She is trained in martial arts. How could she fall over me? If she had not fallen on me, our lips would not have touched, and I would not have been restless," asserted Lei Wanxi and laid down on the mattress.
Oppositely, Zhu Lin was practicing sword fighting. She was in the same dilemma as Lei Wanxi. The movements of the sword were swift in the air, making it invisible sometimes. There were beads of sweat on her forehead because of the intense practice for an hour.
The drizzle had turned to heavy rain, so she stopped and went towards the shelter. Dusting her dress, she again recalled the day's incident. After that unintentional, accidental kiss, Lei Wanxi had run away from the market, leaving her in the middle.
She put the sword in the sheath. There were a few instances when Zhu Lin had felt strange, but she ignored them. "I shall apologize to the Prince. He will again complain that I made a mistake and did not even apologize," she murmured. She left for Lei Wanxi's chamber and halted in front of it.
"Is the Prince inside?" Zhu Lin queried the maidservant.
"Yes, the Prince is inside, Miss."
"Can I meet the Prince?" Zhu Lin humbly asked. The maidservant told her to wait and walked in to inform Lei Wanxi about Zhu Lin's visit.
"Why is she here?" Lei Wanxi, who was already troubled by his internal thoughts, panicked.
"This servant doesn't know."
"Uhh… tell her I do not want to meet her," Lei Wanxi ordered. The maidservant turned to go when something came to mind. "Don't say this. Send her in," he stated.
'If I refuse to meet her, then she will be suspicious of me,' he thought.
Zhu Lin came inside and bowed in front of him. Lei Wanxi skeptically peered at her. "Forgive me for the day," Zhu Lin stated. Lei Wanxi relaxed his brows.
'Why is she apologizing?' Lei Wanxi wondered.
"It was a mistake. I should have balanced myself. I hope I did not hurt the Prince," Zhu Lin stated and lifted her head.
Lei Wanxi got annoyed. "You always make mistakes and then apologize. Go away. I do not want to see your face," Lei Wanxi furiously said. Zhu Lin had not expected less from him.. She bowed and walked out of the chamber.