Female Novel
Chapter 673 A Time For Mourning (Part Two)
Francis stared at Lucas who was crying so much and sighed. "Go back to the palace right now. You'rethe only one missing. Father loved you the most when he was alive. You should go and see him for thelast time."
During the entire journey to the palace, Lucas was crying helplessly. Unconcerned about his image andcomposure, he wiped his tears with his clothes. When Francis noticed this, he looked at his youngerbrother with a frown. Lucas had always been profligate. Who would have thought that he would be soshattered about the death of the emperor? In fact, he must be the only one who was genuinelydisheartened about it!
Lucas blew his nose with a handkerchief and continued crying. He then said, "Francis, how did ourfather pass away? He was fine yesterday. If I had known that this would happen, I wouldn't have beenmad at him and run to the brothel. Even if Father wanted to kill me, I would have shamelessly stayed inthe Tranquil Hall."
In an ambiguous tone, Francis responded, "Don't worry; you're not alone in your sentiments. I'm alsosurprised. Who would have thought that Felix hated our father so much since he was deprived of histitle as the crown prince? With deep hatred, he sneaked into the palace to assassinate our father.When I arrived, our father was already dead and Felix was about to flee so I killed him on the spot. Ididn't have a choice."
Lucas was so stunned so he asked, "How could that be possible? How could Felix do that?"
"I can't believe it either. Our father had been so merciful to him. He didn't even punish Felix with adeath sentence after he tried to murder him. But still, without an ounce of guilt or shame in his body,Felix took our father's life. If I had known that he would do that, I shouldn't have interfered and pleadedour father's forgiveness for him." Tears fell from the corner of Francis' eyes. He wiped them off his face
and turned away from Lucas. It was like he didn't want anyone to see him in a sorrowful and regretfulstate.
Lucas was rendered speechless and silently burst into another set of tears. Inside the palace, the bodyof the emperor was placed in the Immortal Hall. Princes and princesses were kneeling down in arespectful manner. Lucas changed into a mourning garment and was silently crying in front of theemperor.
When Lilian saw that Lucas had come back, she looked at him with so much worry. She wanted to saysomething, but in the end, stopped herself from doing so. The entire Immortal Hall was filled with sobsand silent cries.
Meanwhile, Harper was sitting nearby in silence. She was only the sister-in-law of the emperor, so shewasn't obliged to kneel down and mourn for him. Wale, the youngest prince, was also present. He wasin the arms of his nanny. He didn't cry or make any noise at all. The emperor had a lot of sons, but afterall sorts of political struggle, there were only a few left. At that moment, the royals looked like a smallfamily.
When Francis came in, he knelt down immediately. Even though he looked steady while on his knees,his face was filled with the sorrow of losing a beloved one. Meanwhile, Sherry and Monica were cryingso hard that they passed out and were sent to their respective residences.
On one side of the hall, Jason had been kneeling for a long time that there was now extreme pain in hisknees. So, he moved a little to ease the pain. When he caught a glimpse of Harper, he winked at herwithout any hint of sadness in his face. Harper thought that he looked the same as usual. However,when she noticed that he was gritting his teeth, she knew that he was having difficulties because hehad never knelt for such a long time.
"Someone, come here," Harper stated, not too loud and not too soft. Jason saw that she utteredsomething so he was wondering what Harper wanted to do.
"Your Highness," a servant responded.novelbin
"Teach Jason how to kneel properly," Harper said indifferently while she continued to drink her tea. Infact, Jason's body was slightly skewed. Then, the expression on his face froze since everyone waswatching him. Immediately, he knelt with a perfect posture like Francis. Meanwhile, he sent daggerswith his eyes at Harper's direction and thought, 'You ruthless little woman. How could you trick me!'
Francis turned to look at Jason. The latter was almost bursting into tears, but he didn't dare to offendHarper. After all, now that the emperor had gone, it would be quite disadvantageous to the prince if heoffended Matthew since he had over three hundred thousand soldiers under his command. The spit ofthose soldiers was enough to drown him.
The little commotion which Jason created had attracted a lot of people's attention. However, Lucasdidn't see a bit of what had happened. With a blank expression on his face, he was staring at theemperor's coffin. His back was hunched, like a wounded wolf silently licking his wound.
When Francis looked away, he paused for a moment once he caught sight of Lucas. But then heimmediately turned his back. It was very unusual for everyone to see the usual frivolous Lucas kneelingthere. He wasn't doing any pranks or causing trouble. The poor prince was just silently mourning.
Lilian sympathetically looked at Lucas. Among all the princes, Lucas was the apple of the emperor'seye. Now that their father had died, Lucas must be devastated. Moreover, Lilian would soon leave forthe Great Jade Kingdom because of her marriage. By then, Lucas would be very lonely in the imperialcapital.
Lilian thought for a while before kneeling beside him. She tried to comfort him. "Lucas, don't be tooupset. Father loved you very much. He would be sad if he saw you like this."
Lucas' mind was racing very fast while his eyes narrowed. His father might not have been a perfectemperor, a perfect husband, or a perfect father. His brothers and sisters could blame their father for alot of things, but Lucas just couldn't. He had been doted on by his father since he was a child. In orderto protect him, his father deliberately raised him as an idle prince. But he also privately sent someoneto teach him the emperor's political techniques and the art of ruling an empire. In front of others, hisfather had been a stern and cruel emperor. But in front of him, his father had always been a kind andloving person.
With these thoughts in mind, Lucas whimpered, "Father, why did you leave like this? If I were to dosomething wrong in the future, no one would take the responsibility for me. I'm sorry. I shouldn't haveprovoked you. Father, I'm so sorry."