Seeing Gu Yanwei coming in, the Eighth Prince said with a fake smile: "Hey, Ninth Brother, haven't you been taking care of Father all the time? Why did you have time to come to me today?"
At this point, Gu Yanwei didn't want to continue to fight with him, so he said bluntly: "My dear brother, today it was your people who came to my palace and took Qingqiu away."
"Oh?" The Eighth Prince frowned, "My people, it's impossible, why would I go to call the princess, Ninth brother, did you misunderstand? After the court session today, I have stayed in my bedroom and have not gone out. I have never asked anyone to invite the princess, and I have never seen her."
"Myna, what happened between you and me has nothing to do with the princess. I hope you won't implicate innocent people, and don't touch my bottom line!" Gu Yanwei looked fierce. This was the first time he failed to control his expression in front of outsiders.
Seeing his expression, the Eighth Prince felt proud. Now, he could be sure of Shen Qingqiu's position in his heart. This way, things would be easier in the future.
"I know that you are worried, but I cannot give you the person you have come to me for. You insist that I took the princess away. Do you have any evidence?"
"Gu Anguo, I'll give you three days. I want to see Shen Qingqiu unharmed, otherwise..." Gu Yanwei looked around the Eighth Prince's bedroom, said nothing more, and turned away.
Watching his back as he left, the Eighth Prince smiled coldly, "Ninth brother, the Concubine was your weak spot before, and now there's a Princess. Ha, it seems you still don't understand that if you want to survive in this palace, you can't let anyone take advantage of your weak spot."
When Shen Qingqiu woke up from his coma, he heard moonlight shining through the window onto the ground.
Opening her hazy eyes, Shen Qingqiu slowly stood up and looked at the dark night outside the window. A cold wind suddenly blew in. She was wearing thin clothes and couldn't help but shiver.
"Gu Yanwei, you should have noticed that I'm gone by now, right?"
Shen Qingqiu leaned against the door frame weakly. Now, the Eighth Prince dared to imprison her in the palace. She was already trapped. But she didn't know what the Eighth Prince wanted to do by arresting her. Threaten Gu Yanwei? Shen Qingqiu thought about it and became more and more anxious.
It was very cold at night, and Shen Qingqiu was shivering from the cold. Just when she was about to fall asleep again, the door behind her was suddenly pushed open, and the creaking sound woke up the drowsy Shen Qingqiu.
The Eighth Prince pushed the door open and came in. He looked at the trembling Shen Qingqiu and smiled coldly. He then shouted outside the door, "How do you do things? I just asked the princess to stay here for a few days, and you treat her like this. Send in some clothes and bring some food. The princess is spoiled, how can she endure this kind of suffering?"
Shen Qingqiu forced himself to stand up, looked at the smug Eighth Prince in front of him and said, "Eighth Prince, what do you want to do?"
The Eighth Prince glanced at Shen Qingqiu, then walked to the chair in front of him and sat down. He shook his sleeves and raised his head, "I hope the group leader doesn't misunderstand. This prince just wants the princess to stay here for a while. Once I have successfully secured the position of crown prince, you can naturally leave."
"You increased the taxes on the people, making their lives miserable. It is the people who are against you. What is the point of arresting me?"
The Eighth Prince suddenly stood up, furious, "When is it your turn to come here and accuse me?"
The two of them were facing each other like this, Shen Qingqiu was not afraid at all. Somehow, the Eighth Prince suddenly smiled, slowly sat down, looked at Shen Qingqiu and said: "Now everyone in the court is dissatisfied with me, and they all clamor to let my ninth brother come out to take charge of the situation. Isn't this a slap in my face? How could I allow it? So I thought of you. Humph, I really made the right move. Princess, you don't know how worried my ninth brother is about you. He has already come to see me just now."
"What do you want to do?"
The Eighth Prince sneered, "Look at you, you are more aggressive than my Ninth Brother. His expression just now was very similar to yours. This is the first time I have seen her like this. For so many years, he has pretended to be extremely docile in the palace. He, Gu Yanwei, is the most cunning one."
The eighth prince's chest rose and fell, and it took a long while before he calmed down.
"Princess, don't blame me. After all, you are the one my ninth brother cares about. Only by using you can I drive him away. In this way, no one in the palace can compete with me, and the position of the crown prince will naturally be mine."
"Even if that's the case, how can the civil and military officials in the court respect and trust you?"
"None of this is important. What's important is that I've become the crown prince. As long as my father has passed away, I will be the undisputed emperor!" The eighth prince spread his hands, as if he had already grasped all the power.
On the other side, Gu Yanwei hurried back to the palace. Seeing this, Eunuch Li ran over and asked, "Your Highness, have you found the princess?"
Gu Yanwei frowned and said, "Search the entire inner court of the palace secretly tonight and find the princess for me."
"Yes." Your father-in-law nodded repeatedly. He had served the Ninth Prince for so many years, but this was the first time he saw him show such a terrifying look.
In this way, Gu Yanwei did not sleep all night, but he did not wait for any good news.
Everyone in the palace stood trembling in front of Gu Yanwei. At this moment, he was like an ice sculpture, making the temperature in the palace much colder than usual.
Chen Jie sent everyone away, and after hesitating for a while, he finally spoke: "Your Highness, if the Eighth Prince took the Princess away just to threaten you, then we can be sure that the Princess will not be in danger of life. The most important thing at the moment is that we need to know what the Eighth Prince wants to do next."
Gu Yanwei had a cold face and didn't listen to what Chen Jie said at all. The only thing in his mind was Shen Qingqiu. He was only thinking about how she was doing with the Eighth Prince and whether she was suffering.
"Send our people to guard outside the palace gate to ensure Qingqiu is not sent out."
"yes."
It has been two days and two nights since Shen Qingqiu disappeared. Gu Yanwei has searched the entire palace but still cannot find Shen Qingqiu. He has also lost a lot of weight.
Eunuch Li looked distressed, holding the bowl of porridge but hesitant to step forward.
Chen Jie walked in at some point, looked at the situation in the room, took the porridge from Eunuch Li and said, "Let me do it, you go out first."
Looking at the pale Gu Yanwei, Chen Jie sighed, gently placed the porridge in his hand in front of him and said, "Your Highness, eat something. If you continue like this, I'm afraid that the princess will find you and you will be exhausted by then."
"Is there any news about Qingqiu?" Gu Yanwei had asked this question countless times in the past two days, but he never got the answer he wanted.
They were both silent for a long time until Eunuch Li knocked on the door and walked in.
"Your Highness, the Eighth Prince has sent someone over."
Upon hearing the name of the Eighth Prince, Gu Yanwei stood up immediately. Perhaps because he had not eaten for a long time, he almost fell down. Fortunately, Chen Jie next to him helped him up.
"Where are the people?"
"Just outside the door."
Gu Yanwei walked out in a panic, only to see the Eighth Prince's confidant standing outside the door. When he saw him come out, the man bowed and said, "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, our Highness wants to see you."
On the other side, the Eighth Prince was discussing countermeasures with Li Xin.
"Your Highness, I still feel that it is a bit too hasty to ask the Ninth Prince to come here under the current circumstances. After all, the Emperor..."
"You don't have to say more." Before Li Xin could finish his words, the Eighth Prince interrupted him impatiently and said, "I know about my father's condition. He won't have much time left. I must make a quick decision in the next few days and ascend the throne smoothly. Then..." The Eighth Prince smiled proudly, "You will be the prime minister, second only to the emperor."
Upon hearing this, Li Xin no longer hesitated, nodded and said: "I will swear to be loyal to the Eighth Prince until death."
The Eighth Prince waved his hand and said, "You go out first. My Ninth Brother will probably be here soon."
"yes."
In less than a cup of tea, Gu Yanwei was already standing in front of the Eighth Prince.
"Humph, it seems that the princess is really special in my ninth brother's heart, and each time she comes, it comes faster and faster."
"Where is Qingqiu?"
The Eighth Prince slowly put down his teacup, walked up to the Ninth Prince and said, "Yes, I took Shen Qingqiu away."
Hearing this, Gu Yanwei grabbed the eighth prince by the collar, his eyes wide open, "If she is hurt in the slightest, I will never let you go."
“Hahaha.” The Eighth Prince laughed even more wildly, and after a long time he pushed away Gu Yanwei’s hand that was grabbing his collar and said, “Princess, you are very smart, and you look…” The Eighth Prince pretended to enjoy it, but what he got in return was a heavy punch.
"Gu Anguo, I'm telling you, if she's hurt in the slightest, I'll cut you into pieces!"
The Eighth Prince took two steps back after being hit by him. He raised his head and used his hand to slowly drain the blood from the corner of his mouth. He smiled coldly and said, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in him. If you want to see him, I have only one condition."
"Speak!" Gu Yanwei said through gritted teeth.
"Leave here, leave the capital, and never come back, and I will release Shen Qingqiu."
Seeing her so proud, Gu Yanwei clenched his fists tightly until his nails dug into his flesh before he said, "Okay, I promise you."
——
"Hahaha."
Shen Qingqiu had not slept well these past few days because he was worried about Gu Yanwei. Just as he closed his eyes, he was awakened by a burst of laughter outside the door. When he looked up, he saw the Eighth Prince with a smug look on his face.
"Princess, I have good news for you today. You will be able to go out soon."
Shen Qingqiu's heart suddenly shook, and he immediately turned over and sat up, grabbing the Eighth Prince's sleeve, "Did you do anything to the Ninth Prince? What do you want to do?"
She was so anxious that tears almost fell.
Looking at her, the Eighth Prince somehow felt something strange flash through his mind, but soon he returned to his smug look, "Princess, why do you always think so badly of me? He is my own brother, what can I do to him?"
"Where is the Ninth Prince now? Why do you suddenly want to let me out?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
