Chương 25: Back to Li Mansion
On the way back to Li Mansion, TanTan just stay silent for she is adjusting her feeling. After accepting last HuaMuTan's memories, she started to feel weird everytime she is being close with Prince Li. While Prince Li just silent and focusing riding the horse.
When they arrive at Li Mansion, Prince Li without any expression helps TanTan to go down from the horse.
XiaoRue, Aunt Tong and Uncle Tong who notice the arrival immediately gather at the front gate. They feels surprised seeing TanTan goes home with Prince Li. More over, XiaoRue notices TanTan mutters pain a little when she steps down of the horse.
XiaoRue right away approaches TanTan,
"XiaoCie, your leg...?"
"I'm okay...just a little sprain..."
Prince Li glances to her but doesn't say anything. He just walks passing TanTan and gives clear instruction to Aunt Tong,
"The Third Prince will come later. Aunt Tong, prepare a dinner. He might eat here later..."
Aunt Tong obeys the instruction and directs to the kitchen. The dinner with the Third Prince is something usual happen in Li Mansion because Prince FengEr is a regular guest in this house. Aunt Tong even no need to ask about the Prince FengEr's favourite menu.
While Uncle Tong just stands beside Prince Li, waiting any orders.
"Let's XuaoRue take XiaoCie to the bedroom" XiaoRue slowly holds TanTan's arm to help her walks, but then Prince Li stops her and stares sharply to HuaMuTan,
"No, you must come with me to the guest room...I still have many things to ask you!" Prince Li gestures her to follow him to the guest room.
TanTan sighed,
'Alright, lets finish this interrogation quickly, beside the guest room is nearer than my bedroom. Its not bad also if I can rest my leg for a while over there...'
She then assisted by XiaoRue walks slowly to follow Prince Li, who entering the guest room with Uncle Tong.
In the room, XiaoRue immediately assists TanTan to sit on one of the chair. While Prince Li is also sit on the other chair and drink the tea which served by Uncle Tong.
After sit with comfort, TanTan just opens her sock and shoe right away and pull up her dress to see the condition of her sprained ankle.
Showing a bare foot for a woman in this ancient time is not an elegant manner of a high class. In their tradition, a woman only can show it to their parents or their husband so it surprises Prince Li and others in the room, it also makes he almost choked up from drinking tea. he coughs and rebukes TanTan,
"uhuk...uhk...What are you doing, HuaMuTan?!"
TanTan gives a confused look,
"Why? I am only checking my sprained foot...is that forbidden?"
"You should do that in more private place...! Don't you feel shame if you show it here?..."
TanTan still confuses with the reaction of Prince Li, she looks to XiaoRue who also feels uncomfort with TanTan's act.
"Am I doing something wrong?"
"XiaoCie, a lady is usually not showing her foot easily....she only can show it in bedroom, in front of parents or... husband.."
TanTan looks around and notices Uncle Tong who stands beside Prince Li politely looks to other way. He seems shy to see part of TanTan's bare foot.
'What a weird tradition...' TanTan put on her sock and shoe again, but before she does it, Prince Li still be able to glance at her ankle which has becomes red and swollen caused by the sprain. 'Her ankle seems really got sprained...but does she purposely let me see it to make me sympathy to her? No...it seems not like that'. He remembers in the past, HuaMuTan never stops to take his attentions, from complaining many things till pretending too weak or faint to stop him meeting ShuangAi and it repeated too many times till it made him felt sick about it... But this time, he feels different...because this HuaMuTan didn't complain at all about her sprain since they arrive till now or force him to treat her sprain well. She even listened to him about not showing her foot anymore. Once again he convinces, 'It is a different HuaMuTan...'
Prince Li instructed Uncle Tong to leave the room before he can ask TanTan furthermore,
"Now before the Third Prince here, tell me the truth, why do you drag Prince FengEr to go with you to the Iron Place?!"
'So the interrogation has starting hah...'
TanTan tries to calm herself by taking a breathe deeply one time, she then answers,
"I didn't drag him, like I said, I went there to find the clue about the dagger... It was Prince FengEr himself who offered the help, you can ask XiaoRue about it."
"Is that true, XiaoRue?"
"Yes, Prince Li...this morning, we went to the town with Lady ShuangAi to buy a new cloth for XiaoCie's performance, at there we met Prince Li and Princess Xixi...." Then XiaoCie told the rest of story how Prince Li helped TanTan from his sister and then offered the help to assist TanTan,
Prince Li listens it with full attention,
'Hm...from her story, it seems that HuaMuTan really didn't arrange the meeting with San WangGe purposely but its a coincidence they met...but she had planned to go finding clue alone anyway, so if she didn't meet SanWangGe, did she still boldly goes alone put herself in danger?'
He still stares to HuaMuTan when XiaoRue finishes her story,
"Now you know that I met the third prince in coincidence. And I did go there to find the clue ,nothing else..." TanTan adds,
"...Then what clue do you find?" asks Prince Li sharply.
"...So far, I don't find anything about the dagger yet..." There is a disappointing tone in her voice, and coz he also didn't find any clue about the poison dagger, for once Prince Li feels he can trust HuaMuTan's words this time. he just confused about one thing,
"But why did you and Prince Li be at the woods?"
"That's..." TanTan continues but sudden she is interrupted by someone who just enters the room, Prince FengEr.
"I can explain that for you..."
"SanWangGe" Prince Li stands to greet him, Tantan also want to stand to greet him politely but Prince FengEr immediately stand beside her, gestures her to keep sitting,
"No need to stand,..MuTan Mei, its okay. How's your ankle?"
"Its fine. Thanks, San Wang Ge" TanTan sits back, but Prince FengEr clearly can see from her look that TanTan still feels the pain.
"Hm,...Wei Di, you should give MuTan Mei treatment first for her ankle before questioning her..." Prince FengEr gives a little scolding tone to Prince Li.
'Somehow SanWangGe treats HuaMuTan differently' Prince Li feels unpleasing with this development, but as usual he listens to Prince FengEr's advice coz for Prince Li, SanWangGe is like his closest brother he had. He is indeed closer with Prince FengEr than other princes. Even their mothers were also the close sisters in the harem palace. So Prince Li looks to TanTan,
"You're right, SanWangGe...HuaMuTan, you may return to your room now to treat your ankle"
"No,...I want to stay, l also want to involve on this investigation!"
"Don't be stubborn, HuaMuTan! You can't help anything than bringing yourself in danger...!"
"But I had already involved just now, I know about the weapons so I have right to know!"
"What do you mean?!" Prince Li stares to her curiously, "What weapons?"
"Wei Di, Maybe MuTan Mei is right.... maybe she need to stay.... Well, I think you need to listen first what happened..."
Prince FengEr then recites how they followed the illegal weapon smugglers and ended at the woods. Knowing it was HuaMuTan who checked in the lodge, Prince FengEr looks to TanTan,
"You has entered that lodge? Then what did you find in the lodge?"
TanTan remembers that she had taken one dagger from the lodge. She takes it out from her saving pocket in her dress and then shows it.
"What I saw was many wooden boxes which filled by a lot of weapon with an unique designs like this dagger..."
Prince FengEr who stands closer to TanTan, reaches the dagger and examines it. He is surprised because he recognizes the material and the dagger right away. Prince Li also comes closer to see the dagger.
Prince FengEr looks to Prince Li,
"This...?!" Prince Li just nods, it seems he knows what Prince FengEr want to say.
"Few days ago, we caught some thieves who also smuggled this kind of weapon the similar design, the similar material..."
"Its a very serious case, Wei Di"
"Yes, that's what I thought too, I think I should report it to the palace immediately..."
Both of Princes seems has ignoring TanTan who really lost and confuse, 'What actually matter with the weapon? Why it becomes the serious case? Isn't it just a weapon???'
Prince FengEr seems deep in his thinking, when suddenly he said,
"Don't report it yet, WeiDi...I think it isn't right time if we don't have any clue who is behind the weapons.."
"Why, SanWangGe? This is huge and important...*FuWang must to know it..."
"Coz the culprit might be someone in high position in the palace, it can be anyone beside FuWang. If you report it now, it just make them aware and get rid of any evidences or even fireback you before you can catch them!"
"How can you be sure about it, SanWangGe?"
Then Prince FengEr retells the last words of the enemy leader he fought before he died.
"Someone is higher than you?..Hm..."
Prince Li speculates in his thought,
'Who could be? Although the third Prince FengEr is known as playful prince but his status is quite higher than anyone in the palace, everyone knows that he is still one of the favourite sons of the King...except...yeah, there are 2 persons that can be considered having higher status than the third Prince... so if the words they heard is truth, than the suspects can be between...'
"Isn't the Crown Prince higher than the Third Prince?" TanTan suddenly mentions it, she wants to join in the conversation. Although she doesn't understand how important this case yet, but she gets the main line of the case here, there is an smuggling illegal weapon happened and the culprit is someone's position which higher than the Third Prince. Its not too difficult to guess...
Prince Li and Prince FengEr are surprised, coz TanTan speaks out their mind...yes, the crown Prince is the strongest suspect but they still doubting the Crown Prince would do such a treason? Isn't he will be the future king...why would he betray his own kingdom?
"It can be another person beside him..."
Prince FengEr say it carefully, there is an doubt in his tone.
Hearing TanTan's voice reminds Prince Li that it would be better if HuaMuTan doesn't involve too far in this case, beside there is another person he suspects all the time, the one that has close family relationship with HuaMuTan.
"I think it's time for you to go back to your room, HuaMuTan....XiaoRue, take your XiaoCie go..."
"NO!" TanTan knows that Prince Li means to stop her from continuing the investigation, but she has a feeling that this case might have a connection with her killers too at least she can start from here "Let me stay and help... SanWangGe, you said to me before that I have enemy in the palace. Can't it possible that my enemy and the culprit behind this case is the same person? In that case, don't we have the same enemy to look for?"
"Well...I did say that...But it just none other than a speculation, Mu Tan Mei?"
Prince FengEr actually also.doesn't want TanTan to be in danger situation again.
Prince Li adds to make TanTan give up her mind,
"Listen, your enemies are indeed a lot, HuaMuTan! How come you be sure that they are the same person? Do you have any proof of it? No right? So why don't you just stay in your room while we're doing our job!"
" Its true that right now I don't have anything to proof it but I believe my guts!" The same guts she has all the years she study about laws and crimes.
"What a ridiculous is to trust your guts?? You just throw yourself in a danger, don't expect that you can be saved over and over again!" Prince Li is triggered to mock TanTan in anger.
"Well, I won't ask to be saved by you again later...!"
"Fine! I won't save you again for the next time!"
The condition between them becomes so intense that Prince FengEr feels to calm them,
"Alright...WeiDi, MutAn Mei, I think we can continue discuss it. Why don't we have dinner first now? You know this all things make me feel so hungry!"
"Very well, like SanWangGe said, let's continue later...Let's move to the dinner room..." Prince Li once again listens to Prince FengEr's advice, he stands and gestures to allow Prince FengEr walks "SanWangGe, please...."
But TanTan just keep sitting on her chair, it weirds Prince FengEr,
"Won't you join also, MuTan Mei?"
TanTan widens her eyes, she looks to Prince Li. Since the first day she back to Li Mansion, she never had a dinner together with Prince Li. They always eat in their own room.
"Can I join the dinner?"
Prince Li seems still upset to TanTan, but he doesn't want to object Prince FengEr so he just answers shortly.
"Sure..."
TanTan can see Prince Li is not sincerely allow her to join the dinner so she is guessing because it because Prince FengEr's offers just now. Although TanTan is also upset but she is too, doesn't want to reject the offer of Prince FengEr. It just TanTan doesn't want to feel awkward later, so she suggests something else,
"Can FangFang join us too?"
Prince Li looks to her curiously while Prince FengEr smiles to her,
"Wah, sure...I already so long not seeing your little girl, Wei Di...let her join, the more is merrier.."
Prince Li sighed,
"Very well...if she doesn't have dinner yet, she may join as well..." Then he instructs a servant to call FangFang.
"Do you need anything else?!" Prince Li asks her in the sharp tone.
"No...Its enough...ugh" Once again when TanTan try to stand, she feels the pain on her ankle. Prince FengEr reacts worry, he actually want to help TanTan, but he knows the manner not to touching TanTan especially in front of Prince Li, her husband.
"XiaoCie, be careful.." XiaoRue immediately assists her walk slowly.
Seeing TanTan's condition, Prince Li feels uncomfort coz sudden he feels sympathy to TanTan but he doesn't want to show it,
"Just walk slowly. We'll wait for you at the dinner room..." Prince Li talk softly then gestures Prince FengEr again to walk directing the dinner room, where is not too far from the guest room.
In other place, in a one cave of hill. The black-clothed men is busy to put many wooden boxes inside the cave.
Their leader standing with his right man watches the work,
"Make sure no one knows the existence of these weapons. Prince Li has restricting the inspection at this town's gate. We can't deliver these weapon to Han country right now... Wait until I find the way to pas through the inspection."
"What about the girl at the woods, Master? Should we kill her?"
The black shadow leader, with his silver black mask raises his hand, gesturing his objection to the idea,
"Don't worry about her! I'll take care of her by myself...Just focus to keep these weapons unseen..."
"Yes, Master!" The right man then goes to check the work, while the silver black mask busy in his thinking,
'HuaMuTan...although you seems has forgotten past, still once again you put your nose in my business...if continue like this, maybe I really should have to send her away to her mother...too bad...'
*FuWang: the calling of the king's children to their father.
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