Chapter 263: Chapter 263

263 Lóng Wei as Hostage

“What is the Prince trying to say?” Qiu Zedong suddenly turned furious at Lóng Wei. “Kang Xi is the most loyal person I could ever have,” he stated.

Li Hua got slightly worried about Lóng Wei. She feared that Lóng Wei might get punished.

“Your Majesty, please do not misunderstand my words. Lianying is loyal to the Kang family more than he is to the Royal family. It was the anger inside Lianying that made him take such a step. Because the Crown Prince refused to marry Kang Cha Ying, Eunuch Lianying decided to harm the Crown Prince,” Lóng Wei pronounced.

“Your Majesty, Yi Xinze’s wife was taken as a host by Eunuch Lianying. I saw myself,” Huang Xi finally spoke. “Eunuch Lianying is lying to everyone here. As my father has said earlier, only a person from the palace could have known when the Crown Prince would leave the palace,” he affirmed and glanced at Lóng Wei.

“Your Majesty, I, upon the instructions of my master, kept an eye on the Crown Prince, and the moment he left, I alerted Yi Xinze,” the servant asserted. Lianying curled his fingers and his nails dug into the rug beneath him.

Lianying pulled out the dagger from inside his long-sleeved pocket and quickly stood up. He pointed the dagger at Lóng Wei’s neck, and took him as the hostage. Everyone stood up from their respective seats.

Li Hua stepped forward when Lianying threatened her. “If you take another step, he will be dead,” Liyanying pronounced.

“Liyanying, drop the dagger!” Qiu Zedong shouted at him and got down the stairs quickly.

Lianying moved the dagger closer to Lóng Wei’s neck, and its sharp blade cut his skin. “Prepare the horse for me. Make a safe escape for me if you don’t want the youngest prince to be dead,” he threatened the King.

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“Lianying, you won’t be able to escape,” Lóng Wei said as he narrowly gazed at him. “You proved us yourself that you were the one who attacked the Crown Prince. At least, confess your crimes before thinking about escaping,” he stated.

Li Hua stepped forward despite Lianying’s warning, which he noticed. “I told you that I would kill him, if you took another step towards me,” Lianying tightened hold on the hilt of the dagger.

“Li Hua, stay at your place,” Qiu Zedong loudly said.

“Eunuch Lianying, don’t do anything stupid. Let the Prince go away,” Qiu Mu said this time and slowly pulled out the sword from the sheath.

“No. As I demanded, prepare a horse for me. I will count to ten, and if you fail to do that, then Lóng Wei has to lose his life,” Lianying threatened them.

“Do as he is saying,” Qiu Zedong ordered Qiu Mu. He dashed out of the hall to prepare a horse for Lianying.

“Your Majesty, you cannot let Eunuch Lianying leave. He tried to kill my-”

“Quiet!” Qiu Zedong shouted at her. Xiaoming couldn’t believe it was his mother. Even at this moment, she didn’t care about Lóng Wei’s life. He felt terrible. Because of him, Lóng Wei’s life fell into danger.

“Why did you do it?” Qiu Zedong asked Lianying. “Answer me before I let you go,” he said with fury.

“I never knew that the King loved his youngest son so much,” Lianying asserted. “The Crown Prince is sound and safe, yet the King wants to punish me. However, he didn’t punish Lóng Wei, who killed Concubine Jun,” Lianying stated.

“Why are you bringing her into all this?” Lóng Wei clenched his fists. His eyes turned red, and so did his ears.

“Shut your mouth, Lóng Wei!” Lianying said. “It is wrong that you were not punished to death when you committed such a grave sin. Your Majesty, you are growing a snake in this palace. A day will come when Lóng Wei will kill everyone in this family. Yuze and Lóng Wei want to take control over everything,” Lianying filled the ears of the Queen as he looked into her eyes.

“Eunuch Lianying, that’s enough. You are crossing your limits,” Xiaoming stepped up this time. “Don’t try to create a rift in the regal family,” he asserted.

“Your Majesty, it’s the truth. Yuze is not someone who can be taken lightly. A time will come when you all will have to die because of the Dragon’s son. He will overthrow the King and establish himself as the King of the Qiu Kingdom. Mark my words,Your Majesty,” Liyanying asserted. He was on the verge of death, yet he didn’t stop filling the ears of the Queen against Lóng Wei.

“Royal Father, the horse is ready,” Qiu Mu informed Qiu Zedong as he rushed inside the door.

“You all are fools to think that Lóng Wei will make this Kingdom prosperous. I heard Yuze and Lóng Wei discussing their future plan to rule over the Qiu Kingdom,” Lianying didn’t hesitate to lie. That’s why he wanted to plant a seed of suspicion in everyone’s mind.

Lóng Wei went to extreme lengths to expose his truth, so Lianying decided to destroy him as well.

Lóng Wei promptly moved his hand above Lianying’s, which was on the hilt. “Kill me, Lianying,” Lóng Wei said.

“Your Highness!” Li Hua’s heart sank to hear him.

She turned to face the King and said, “Eunuch Lianying is lying, Your Majesty. Prince Lóng Wei never had any such thoughts. Please don’t believe the rubbish that Eunuch Lianying spat.”

“How can we not believe Eunuch Lianying?” Xiuying stepped down the stairs and said, “Yu Jun died because she knew what Prince Lóng Wei would become one day. He killed his mother, and he could do the same with us too.”

“Lianying, why are you afraid to kill me? Kill me already,” Lóng Wei said, and crushed his fingers. Lianying flinched in pain and his hold on the dagger loosened. Huang Xi noticed that and immediately acted.

He pushed aside Lianying and unsheathed the sword. Before Lianying could act, Huang Xi pointed his sword at him.

Li Hua, Xiaoming, and Mingquan rushed to Lóng Wei. He was extremely angry because Lianying’s lies made things difficult for him. He grasped him by his collar and glared into his eyes.

“Why did you lie about me?” Lóng Wei asked him, with a murderous look in his eyes.