Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“Your Highness, I am afraid, I cannot give you the keys. I will fall in danger,” Gao Bing said, and asked him to let him go.

“Gao Bing,” Lóng Wei pressed his shoulder tightly, and he flinched in pain. “Don’t force me to use my ways. Give me the keys to that room. I will return them to you in the morning. You should not forget that our relationship will remain good as long as you want it to.” His words came out as a threat, and it forced Gao Bing to agree to Lóng Wei’s condition.

“May I know why the Prince needs the activity record of Eunuch Lianying? He is the Eunuch in the Queen’s manor and if anything goes wrong, then it will not be good.” Gao Bing didn’t want to be a part of any evil of Lóng Wei.

“You’ll find it soon,” Lóng Wei said, smiling and asking for the keys first.

“After dinner, I will give the keys to His Highness,” Gao Bing replied. It was an excuse to run away from Lóng Wei.

“Don’t take me for a fool. Give me the keys, else I will take them by force,” Lóng Wei stated. Gao Bing gave up. His tricks never worked on Lóng Wei. For the past few days, Lóng Wei hadn’t bothered him. But now, he was again after him, threatening him for his one small mistake.

Gao Bing slid his hand inside his pocket and took out the keys to the room, where only he could enter. Lóng Wei gripped the circular key holder, but Gao Bing didn’t let go of it.

Lóng Wei pulled it in his direction and smiled at him. “Thank you for these,” Lóng Wei said, and put them inside his pocket. “Now, after dinner, you must bring the activity record book. I will meet you in the pavilion outside my manor. If you don’t come, I will reach the King’s manor,” he stated and widened his smile.

.....

Gao Bing nodded his head. There was no way to refuse Lóng Wei. He knew how to blackmail everyone around him. “Your Highness, please take care of the keys,” Gao Bing told Lóng Wei.

“Don’t worry. They are safe with me,” he assured him and dismissed him. Gao Bing turned and left his sight.

Lóng Wei walked in and closed the door. He found Li Hua had come to the resting chamber from the patio.

“His Highness talked so rudely with Eunuch Gao Bing,” Li Hua complained as she put the candle stand on the table.

“He troubled me at a time when he should not have. He almost killed my mood, but then I calmed myself down,” Lóng Wei stated, and put his arm around her shoulder.

“I will share the plan with you,” he said, while she tilted her head. Lóng Wei whispered the plan in her ear and asked her if she would be able to do it.

“I can,” Li Hua answered.

“Great,” Lóng Wei said, and caressed her hair. “Li Hua, it is important for me to win,” he affirmed and furrowed his brows together.

~~~~~

Tianjie glanced at Zhang Xi who brought the record book where they both had distorted the details. “I brought them, Brother Tianjie. Now, before anything happens, we must destroy this,” Zhang Xi said as he looked at the record book which he had placed on the table.

“Did you replace it with a fake one?” Tianjie inquired as he picked up the record book. He flipped the pages as he examined them.

“Yes. I replaced it. Now, Lóng Wei will not threaten us,” Zhang Xi said, heaving a sigh of relief.

“We need to be careful from now onward. Lóng Wei has started to take an interest in palace matters. I do not know what he is up to, but it seems to me a sign of danger,” Tianjie pronounced.

“What can he possibly do, Brother Tianjie?” Zhang Xi questioned him.

“Did you not notice that the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince have suddenly changed sides? The Crown Prince wanted to remove Lóng Wei from our lives, but he stopped. Same with Brother Mu and Mingquan has even accompanied him to Xinshui,” Tianjie affirmed and put the record book back on the table.

“The Crown Prince indeed has changed. However, he used to protect Lóng Wei for a long time. The strange thing is that Brother Mu has turned a blind eye to Lóng Wei. A few days ago, I saw him practicing fiercely in the military area. He looked troubled,” Zhang Xi informed Tianjie.

Tianjie had a suspicion that Lóng Wei had threatened both of them. He was good in making people get into his favour.

“Your Highness, pardon me for intruding in the conversation of the princes,” Eunuch Ki Luo said and bowed.

“What happened?” Tianjie asked.

“Prince Lóng Wei has appealed in front of His Majesty to give him the position of Governor,” Ki Luo said while keeping his head down.

“What?” Both Tianjie and Zhang Xi were shocked to hear him. They both looked at each other.

“Yes, Your Highness. Prince Lóng Wei will bring the culprit who attacked the Crown Prince tomorrow morning,” Ki Luo narrated them. Zhang Xi ridiculed the words of Lóng Wei.

“Lóng Wei cannot become the Governor. He is only blabbering,” Zhang Xi stated.

“What if he isn’t?” Tianjie raised suspicions. “Lóng Wei knew the truth about the murder of the Xu family when they were unable to find out about it. He is sharper than we all thought. Zhang Xi, why does it feel like a big storm will soon come into the palace?” Tianjie curled his fingers and scrunched his brows.

“Brother Tianjie, no one will let Lóng Wei become the Governor. Everyone knows his past crimes. The court ministers would rebel if our father tried to make him Governor,” Zhang Xi said. “Also, the current governor is capable enough. He will not leave his position even if Lóng Wei finds the culprit. Our father will not want to anger the ministers and officials.”

Tianjie didn’t agree with him. “Yuze will support Lóng Wei. He will remind our father about the prophecy,” he asserted.

“Until Yuze is alive, things will go against us. He is almost 80 years old. When will he die?” Zhang Xi muttered in frustration.

Tianjie got this uneasy feeling that soon Lóng Wei would become more powerful than them. As per the prophecy, he was supposed to rule the Kingdom, and if it happened, it would be an end to all of them.