505 To take the throne
Qiu Mu saw Lóng Weiing from the front which shocked him. He never found Lóng Wei in a white hanfu dress all these years. Also, he thought that Lóng Wei would nevere out of his chamber.
It was a matter of discussion in the entire capital how Lóng Wei had turned quiet and many officials were happy about it. Some had evene to the King to remove Lóng Wei from the position of Governor since he had forgotten entirely that he carried a bigger government position, unlike the earlier times.
Lóng Wei did not stop to see Qiu Mu which made him chuckle.
“Brother Lóng Wei, how are you?” Qiu Mu asked out of sympathy and turned to look at him.
Lóng Wei halted in his steps and tilted his head over his shoulder. His narrow gaze fell on Qiu Mu. “I am alive. Did you pray for my death?” Lóng Wei asked.
“Can Brother Lóng Wei not speak gently? I was merely concerned for him,” Qiu Mu said while frowning.
“Prince Mu, I am surprised to hear that you were concerned for me,” Lóng Wei stated and walked ahead. He had this menacing look on his face. The servants, who wereing from the front, quickly stepped away from his way.
Lóng Wei reached the imperial court and looked at the doorkeepers.
“Open the doors,” Lóng Weimanded them.
.....
“Forgive us, Your Highness. But in the middle of the council, we cannot open it,” one of the doorkeepers said.
Lóng Wei gazed at him. “Do not show me your face when Ie out of the imperial court, else I will kill you. I mean it,” he affirmed and looked at the other doorkeeper. He quickly opened the doors for Lóng Wei.
The ministers at the end turned to look and found Lóng Wei walking in. Xiaoming and the other princes looked at Lóng Wei with smiling faces, but at the same time, they were bewildered. Lóng Wei looked different for the first time.
Lóng Wei stopped in the middle of the imperial court hall. He bowed to the King and said, “Forgive me, Your Majesty.” He raised his head and looked into Qiu Zedong’s eyes.
“I will not leave my position of the Governor. Whoever dares to remove me,e forward and give the proper exnation to it. Failed to do so, he has to lose his life right here,” Lóng Wei challenged every minister present in the hall.
“Prince Lóng Wei, you are not supposed to act this way. Since you have been neglecting the work for these past few days, the ministers wanted me to reconsider my decision,” Qiu Zedong stated.
“Your Majesty blindly trusts his ministers. They are the ones who are looting the kingdom for a long time. I thought to stay quiet, but not anymore. Prime Minister’s son did the most heinous crime in the kingdom, yet His Majesty did not give his son a death sentence. If I would have been at his ce, I had been dead by now,” Lóng Wei stated and red into the eyes of Qiu Zedong.
“Minister Li Zixuan’s son tried to fool the King and his daughter, yet His Majesty wanted them to get married. What kind of justice is going on in the kingdom? Minister of State Affairs, has been abusing his power for a long time, yet His Majesty is not ready to listen to the pleas of those people. I can present the evidence against every such minister who has been acting loyal to His Majesty, yet behind his back, they are fooling him.”
Qiu Zedong frowned to hear that and wondered what exactly happened to Lóng Wei.
The ministers got displeased to hear all such things about them, not a few but all. Li Zixuan told the King that Lóng Wei had lost his mind after losing Yuze.
“I have not lost my mind. I am merely following Yuze’s teachings. He wanted to see this kingdom prosperous. If you are this honest, then tell His Majesty about your and your son’s doing. You cannot do it, right? Shall I do it on your behalf?” Lóng Wei asked and turned to face the King.
He took out the scroll from his inner pocket and continued, “The King is known for his justice. I, Lóng Wei, the Governor of Qinping, request the King to remove Li Zixuan as the Minister of Finance. This scroll contains three documents on the basis of which I demand Li Zixuan’s removal as the minister.”
Xiaoming came to Lóng Wei and took the scroll from him. He opened it and checked the three documents. Li Zixuan begged the King not to listen to Lóng Wei since he was merely twisting the facts.
“Minister Li, Prince Lóng Wei is not doing it,” Xiaoming stated and looked at Qiu Zedong. “Your Majesty, Minister Li has been secretly taking a part of the Kingdom’s revenue for his personal use. Apart from this, Minister Li hid his second marriage. He was even involved in the illegal distribution of alcohol in Xuiyue Town, where hundreds of people lost their lives after consuming poisonous alcohol,” Xiaoming narrated all such events that the documents had mentioned.
Li Zixuan got on his knees and told the King that Lóng Wei was lying about him. “Prince Lóng Wei has forged these documents. I never did this,” Li Zixuan stated.
“Your Majesty, please make an inquiry on the actual finances that the kingdom makes if my investigation is false. His Majesty will not find out. Also, I never make a piece of evidence without any investigation. I can call the Finance department officials, who found out about these discrepancies and informed me. His Majesty’s so-called loyal is not a bit loyal to him. It is the time he should look for new and young officials, who can benefit him,” Lóng Wei affirmed.
Xiaoming liked the idea proposed by Lóng Wei. As the Crown Prince, he supported Lóng Wei and asked the King to think of this once. The ministers started to rebel when Lóng Wei spoke,
“You all should not forget that His Majesty is capable enough to kill all of you. The previous king failed to run the kingdom when His Majesty decided to take the throne. Am I right, Your Majesty?” Lóng Wei asked the King.