447 When I find out the truth

Tianjie lost Lóng Wei midway. He pulled the reins of the horse and the horse neighed. He looked around as the people gathered around, thinking about what the Prince was doing.

“Where did he go?” Tianjie mumbled. He urged the horse to move forward again by gently pressing his calves on the horse’s sides. He rode the horse for a few hundred meters, but Lóng Wei was nowhere to be found.

Tianjie furrowed his brows together and wondered where Lóng Wei could possibly leave in such a hurry. He decided to return to the palace and turned his horse left by pulling the left on its left side while keeping the right rein steady.

He stopped the horse as he saw several people had gathered a few meters away from him. One of the men was beating the drums loudly as if he was ready to make an announcement anytime.

“Listen! Listen! Listen!

???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!

The famous Qijiang’s Province Dancer is in the city of Qinping after three years. Young Lady Song will stay in the city till the occasion of the Qiqiao Festival in the capital.

The Tickets to see the performances of Young Lady Song will be distributed from tomorrow onwards. Do not miss this chance to attend the show this time.”

Tianjie was stunned to hear the announcement. Song Jia was in the Capital to perform! That was unexpected to him. He was happy and bothered at the same time.

.....

The woman he wanted to forget about was now so close to him. He wanted to go to her and see her, but a selfish part of him had stopped him.

He wondered why Song Jia traveled such a large distance merely to perform in Qinping. He wanted to check on her once and found the answer to it.

‘I will not go near her and will only check why she is here,’ he told himself. He hopped down from the horse and then started to walk toward the crowd.

The people, mostly men had started to move out of their ways despite the excitement to know where the tickets were sold and bowed their heads.

‘No, I cannot ask anything directly about Song Jia. The people will start making stories about me and Song Jia,’ he thought and stopped. He changed direction and walked ahead.

He had decided to send a servant from his manor to find the whereabouts of Song Jia. Once he would find where she was staying, he would himself go there and check if she was treated well.

“I have gone mad. Since when a woman started to bother me this way,” he murmured as he continued to walk.

The commoners were confused to see Tianjie on the streets of the capital. After a certain distance, Tianjie mounted the horse and rode back to the palace.

~~~~~~

Lóng Wei panted as he reached outside the Yu Residence. He saw people had gathered around the residence. Some were inside while some were outside.

He got off the horse and rushed in while asking the people to move away. The sound of weeping fell into his ears and his steps slowly came to a halt.

His grandmother was dead. He looked at his uncles, and aunts, who were mourning for Yu Shin. Lóng Wei fiddled with his fingers as he realized that there was nothing left now.

His eyes met with his cousin brother, but he soon averted them and turned to leave. The people had their eyes on him. Not because they knew he was the Prince but because they had never seen an elite-looking man ever before in this region.

He walked out of the residence. It seemed to him his world had been crushed apart. He was so close to the truth, but then he was pushed far from it.

Even at this moment, he wasn’t upset about his grandmother, Yu Shin’s death, but about his failure to reach the last message that his mother, Yu Jun, had left for him. He was so desperate to get this message, but heaven didn’t want this.

He had held the saddle and was ready to mount the horse when he heard a masculine voice.

Lóng Wei tilted his head and looked at his eldest cousin brother. “Prince Lóng Wei,” Yu Linzhen said and bowed at him.

“What?” Lóng Wei didn’t look in a pleasant mood and glared at him.

“At least pay Grandma your last respects,” Linzhen opined.

“No. I am not eligible to do that,” Lóng Wei stated and turned when Linzhen’s words made him contemplate.

“Her anger toward Prince Lóng Wei left when she asked for him to come and see her. Soon, her journey to the afterlife will begin,” Linzhen asserted. “She will be at peace if his only grandson from her only daughter pays her his last respect,” he rested his words and let Lóng Wei decide.

“Maybe I will give her last respect when I find out the truth,” Lóng Wei asserted and he mounted the horse. Linzhen raised his head to look at the prince.

However, Lóng Wei did not meet his gaze and left on the horse for the palace. He had a lot of things on his head. A drop of rain fell on his cheek, he slowed the horse’s speed and looked up at the sky.

“When did these clouds gather in the sky?” He mumbled. The horse had stopped by now and the few people, who could be seen on the pathway had run to their houses.

Lóng Wei had stopped with his horse in the middle of the road to the palace. His hair turned wet and so was his face. His clothes had drenched slightly in that rain which only turned heavier.

He got down the horse and took it to the nearby tree to prevent them from drenching in rain.

The drops of water fell onto his cheeks through the gaps in the leaves and he waited for the rain to stop.

“I never chased for anything like this in my life,” He muttered and laid his back on the trunk of the tree.