The Prince Is Abolished

Chapter 3

Lu Ran's spirit for adventure was insatiable. She kept dodging Lu family guards and then she settled down on a boulder. Her mind immediately went back to the dashing stranger and she smiled absently.

'He was so handsome!'

Him offering his hand to her was the greatest gift she ever got on the festival of colors!

This was an encounter that she would remember throughout her life. She chuckled and then feeling gratified at her outing, walked in the direction of her guards and joined them to return to the Lu mansion.

Xi Mang was still standing where he met Lu Ran and was eager to know about the beauty's whereabouts.

'Sorry, Prince, I went after her but she just vanished.'

The prince was unhappy but he knew that she was not of noble blood as she had never been seen in the palace. Her absolute ignorance of his status further accentuated his theory. She also seemed carefree and really gullible as if she were untouched by this world's many machinations and seemed unaware about her beauty.

Captivating looks, honeyed voice, and an hourglass figure, what more could a woman have?

Plus, she seemed to come from an affluent family considering that she was being chased by her own guards and was wearing absolutely stunning clothes.

That night, Xi Mang, just couldn't sleep. His mind was so full of this few minutes' encounter that he started analysing it from every possible angle.

'Why didn't I ask her name?'

'Wait! Why didn't she ask my name?'

'Will she make a good Crown Princess? Yes, she could turn out to be a good wife...'

'She cannot be a good Crown Princess...the lady was too naïve! Told me about her burn right in our first meeting! What if she would speak in front of guests?'

'So what? When I am the Crown Prince, who can plot against her? Plus I can ban her from speaking too much or going out too much? I can fix this bit about her.'

'But will she hold a grudge if I do that? Naah, a woman's heaven is in her husband. She must always obey!'

A new day was awaiting Xi Mang but the last one, kept a thorough grip on his thoughts and he was growing impatient at the lack of information about the mysterious woman who he met.

Xi Mang's younger brother Prince Xi Jiang saw that the former was distracted and smiled at him from a distance as he set out to see his beloved kingdom.

He was a happy youngster far away from the calculations of others and kept to himself, especially after he figured that his elder brother saw him as a competitor.

Xi Jiang didn't want this bad-blood among the brothers and took his focus on what he truly liked to do, like agriculture.

The satisfaction he got after harvesting a crop of wheat and rice was immense.

He also knew that the Mi kingdom's Lu family was the pioneer in agricultural reforms and wished to learn from them. Xi Jiang decided to meet the Lu Xang and ask him to take him under his wings.

Lu Ran had woken up early that day and decided to go to the river.

The festival of color was over but who said that lamps should be lit only at the festival's night.

Doing in day, will be better and I will be safe as well.

She picked a dried-lotus-leaf lamp, poured a bit of oil, added a cotton thread wick, got a lamp lit from the kitchen and went out.

Ji Gang also followed her lady to the river bank. The two of them lit the leaf-lamp and Lu Ran made a silent prayer in her heart as was the custom of the Mi Kingdom.

'I pray to live happy.'

As she turned around, she lost her footing due to a sudden rush of water and slippery stones underneath her feet. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her lamp sink in this milieu.

No!

Ji Gang stopped her lady from going to save her lamp and just then, Lu Ran saw the stranger from last night in the water, looking at her with curiosity mixed with arrogance.