364 One wrong move

Lóng Wei smiled to see Zhu Liling, who was checking the arrangements for the wedding. She felt a bit uncomfortable seeing him and decided to ignore him. Lóng Wei walked up to her and said, “If I had known that after helping Her Majesty was going to behave this way toward me, then I would have reconsidered my decision to help her.”

Zhu Liling looked around and found the servants were eagerly waiting to find out what the Sixth Prince meant by that. Lóng Wei kept a grin on her lips when Zhu Liling asked him to see her later if he had some work.

“I do not think that I am patient enough to see the Queen later. I have lots of work to do,” he added. Zhu Liling wanted to reprimand him, but because he knew her biggest secret, she had no option but to listen to her.

She looked at the servants and asked them to continue to do their work. She went to the other side, where a seating arrangement was made for her. She settled onto the broad chair and then looked straight. “What does Prince Lóng Wei want from me?” She didn’t beat around the bush. “I know that he has come here because he needs something from me,” she was well aware of his nature.

“Exactly, Royal Mother. I am surprised to see that the Royal Mother read my mind,” he remarked and smirked. “Why don’t you let me enter the chamber which is secret to everyone in the palace?” he asked. Zhu Liling furrowed her brows to hear him. She was unable to understand how he found out about that secret chamber.

She glanced at her personal attendant, Court Lady Chu, who bowed and walked away. “Does the Prince not know that no one is allowed there to enter except the King?” She questioned him.

“I know, that’s why I am here in front of you. I want you to help me,” Lóng Wei stated. Before he could refuse him, he reminded her how she tried to snatch the happiness of her own son.

“Don’t threaten me with that, Prince Lóng Wei,” Zhu Liling’s tone turned stern, and she beamed at him. “Do you think that if you will threaten me, then I will start doing everything you say to me? You are wrong this time,” she stated. She could not let him control her. Moreover, he was demanding something which could lead her to prison.

“I knew that the royal mother would refuse to help me. That is why I prepared everything beforehand. If the royal mother thinks that I have no evidence about your evil deed, then she is wrong,” he affirmed and smiled.

.....

Zhu Liling was perplexed to hear him and asked him what type of evidence he possessed.

“Why don’t we go to the Crown Prince? I will be able to show the evidence in front of him,” he opined, and the smile on his lips widened. Zhu Liling curled her fingers and gulped the anger that had formed inside her.

“The help that the Sixth Prince wants from me is impossible to take into action. If we get caught, then we will both be punished.” Zhu Liling tried to make Lóng Wei understand.

Lóng Wei clicked his tongue. “As long as the Royal Mother is careful, nothing will happen,” he affirmed. Zhu Liling felt stuck. She did not know that Lóng Wei wanted to go to that chamber. She decided to help him, but at the same time, she would set a trap for him.

She wanted him out of their lives. He killed Eunuch Lishi very cleverly. She knew that Lishi didn’t die because of his foolishness, but that it was Lóng Wei who had set a trap for him.

“Is the Royal Mother thinking of a way to trap me?” Lóng Wei’s sudden question bewildered Zhu Liling. How come he read her mind?

She shook her head in refusal. “Why would I set a trap for the person who helped me?” She asked and slightly laughed.

“The Royal Mother should not even try to do that. You may fall into the trap you will try to set for me. You can ask the Crown Prince how sharp I am. So, don’t even think about it. Because if you betrayed me, I will make sure that you will be hanged to the death,” Lóng Wei stated and his words terrified Zhu Liling only a bit.

“I will never do that,” Zhu Liling affirmed.

“I expect the same from the Royal Mother,” he affirmed, and took out the key to the secret room from his pocket. He showed it to her and she got shocked to see that.

“Where did you find this key?” Zhu Liling asked and stood up from the broad chair to take it away from him. But Lóng Wei stepped back and told her not to act that way.

“Many eyes are on Her Majesty,” he stated and put the key inside his pocket.

Zhu Liling tightly clenched her fist and her jaw tightened. “There is a spy that I have implanted in the lovely Royal Mother’s manor. Ahh,” he raised his pointer finger, “there is a reason behind it. So, if she thinks that she can surpass me in intelligence, then she is wrong. One wrong move and everything in your life is ruined.” Lóng Wei had become solemn. Even his facial expressions were menacing.

Zhu Liling assured him that she would help him, but only after the Crown Prince’s wedding.

“No.” Lóng Wei refused and lowered his hand. “You will help me the day your dear son gets married,” he stated.

Zhu Liling got inquisitive and told him if she would not be present on the palace grounds, then many might doubt her.

“The Royal Mother will help me from the palace ground only. She only needs to do what I will ask her to do,” Lóng Wei proclaimed. Zhu Liling agreed to his condition and told him that she would surely help him.

“That was what Lóng Wei wanted to hear,” he stated, and then took his leave. Zhu Liling was panicked to find that there was Lóng Wei’s spy in her manor. She looked at the servants and wondered who the spy could be among them.

Lóng Wei smiled as he entered the corridor. He had scared Zhu Liling by telling her a lie that there was a spy in her manor. The Noble Consort Xiuying had stolen the key to the secret chamber from the Queen’s chamber the previous day and handed it to Lóng Wei as per her promise.

He wanted to find the records of the previous king. However, he would start the real work after the Crown Prince’s wedding was over. He would go to the secret chamber at a time when the entire palace was empty except for the palace ground.

historical

‘I will go till the end of the truth now. No matter how tough it will be for me, I will pursue it. And most importantly, I will also find the real enemy who massacred the Xu and Shui families.’ He told himself as he headed to meet Xiaoming.