Chapter 309: "The Fish Bites the Bait"
It didn't take long for Queen Liu to learn of the king's visit to Consort Luo's place. In fact, it took only minutes for her henchmen to bring the information to her ears.
The current queen was no longer the same foolish and unsuspecting woman from back then. After her return with Ling Yue's help, she's been growing and learning fast. Now, she had completely crushed the ears and eyes belonging to her opposition and replaced them all with her own, making her the undeniable ruler of the inner palace.
"Luo Wan told His Majesty about her miscarriage?" When Queen Liu received the news, she was honestly somewhat surprised here.
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If everything went according to normal means, she was certain that wretched woman would simply keep it hidden and suck up the defeat in silence, not blow it out into the open for all to know. Something was definitely wrong with the way things are panning out.
"I don't know what Consort Luo told the king, but His Majesty and Alchemist Chou are currently heading over to Lady Yao's quarter for divination tonight." One of Queen Liu's trusted followers explained in full detail.
"If that's the case, I want you to immediately inform Princess Yue." Tightening her brow into a knot, an inexplicable panic gripped the queen's heart.
Meanwhile over at Lady Yao's bedchamber....
"My king, I have finished the divination now. According to the results I've been given, you should've been facing a double auspicious event this year with your fortune. However, due to the descent of a death star upon our kingdom, bringing with it a great calamity, the two unborn princes took it upon themselves to shield you from the bad karma in your place. That's why they perished while still inside the womb." In spite of the superstitious nonsense pronounced by Lady Yao, the king was rather skeptical here.
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As a ruler, he can't be a good king if he will just listen to anything that comes his way.
"My king, were you feeling stuffy in your chest, short of breath, and slightly dizzy this morning? Those are the signs of the death star robbing the good fortune out of our kingdom. So long as that cursed being continues to live inside our great nation's land, Da Xia's luck will keep depleting until nothing's left." Noticing the skepticism in the man's voice, she starts turning the matter into an alarming issue to raise the urgency.
Lady Yao had served the king for a while herself, therefore she understands full well how weak and cowardly this man can be inside. What's more, when a man gets older with age, the more they would fear the topic of death.
"How outrageous, such a demonic creature must be eradicated before it can harm the state. Quickly Yao Yao, bring out your Brilliant Star Astrolabe to find that demonic being." As expected, the king became anxious as soon as his life was on the line.
Knowing the bait has been bitten, Lady Yao and Alchemist Chou were both exalted inside.
"My king, this monster is best at hiding its presence. In order to pinpoint its location, I need to open up a ceremonial alter to borrow the powers of star to reinforce my powers." In order to make it more convincing, she's going to put on a grandiose show tonight.
"Crown Prince, Your Highness (Consort Luo), everything is going smoothly. Lady Yao will begin the ceremony tonight as planned."
"That little bitch, I like to see how she will die this time." Stroking her flat abdomen, Consort Luo sounded quite sinister in her chuckle.
"Mother, you should get a good rest first. As for everything else, I will take care of the arrangements. By tomorrow, that Lan Ling Yue will be known as a monster and everything will be as you wish. Goodnight and take care, I'll be taking my leave now." Towards the scheming and disgusting display by his mother, Xia Hou Hong was honestly very turned off here. In fact, he's turned off by the very existence of the female sex.
Leaving his mother's quarter, Prince Hou Hong didn't wait and swiftly made his way for the outside. However, when his car passed through the main gate, it suddenly jerked to a halt and nearly tossed him right out of the carriage.
"Who's the blind fool to bump into the crown prince's car?!" The driver starts threatening and attempts to kick aside the one responsible.
Lifting the curtain up, the prince can see it's a child lying there on the road, "Hold on!"
The kid was somewhere between seven to eight years old. Though a tad dirty on the clothes, it didn't hinder that good face from showing through.
Those long eyelashes, that pinkish lip, and the roundish contour. All of sudden, something was triggered inside Xia Hou Hong's brain that he's been hiding all this time.
"Fourth Brother, why don't the other princes and princesses like me?"
Six years old, the young Xia Hou Qi (sixth prince) asks his elder brother Xia Hou Hong (crown prince) this question.
"Its fine if they don't like you, I will still like you."
Xia Hou Hong (crown prince) still clearly remembers it. The moment he touched the young boy's soft tender skin, it was unlike any other women he's come across.
That year he was but nine years old when he discovered his personal preference for the male sex. What's more, his favored target was his younger step-brother Xia Hou Qi from the queen!
In spite of his preference for the boy, he also held a lot of hatred for Xia Hou Qi. The reasoning, his mother was constantly telling him that his father the king and the dowager didn't like him was all because of that young boy.
So in the end, he followed his mother's tuning and pretended to be kind to Xia Hou Qi (sixth prince) just so he can impart that flawed training method.
As he wished, Xia Hou Hong was able to ascend into the Crown Prince position while his younger brother devolved into a madman. However, the evil prince from then on also discovered that he had no interest in women. His preference was those beautiful young boys that looked exactly like the one here before him on the road.
This matter, only a small handful of people knew about it. Among them were Hong Yu Long, one of his closest friend.
As for the recovery of Xia Hou Qi (sixth prince) himself, the evil prince was both shocked and happy at the same time.
Shocked that his younger brother was able to recover, and happy that his chance was here again. Yet, his good mood didn't last very long because he recently learned of his younger brother's crush on that little bitch Lan Ling Yue! This undeniable crushed any hope he had left.
"Your Highness? Crown Prince, what's wrong?" Facing the dazed out image of the prince immersed in his past, the coachman was truly frightened and didn't know what to do here.
Coming back to his senses after a long while of this trance, Prince Hou Hong's heart suddenly became overwhelmed with desire over the unconscious child lying on the ground.
It urged him, urged him to go forward. And dure enough, he did.
Leaning over, he picked up the young boy into his arms and expressed a hair raising smile: "We're going to the other place."
The coachman shuddered at the command. Making a sympathetic look at the kid, he didn't dare say anything else and drove the carriage for the destination.
Not long after the carriage started moving, Prince Hou Qi (sixth prince) and Yanche scurried out from hiding.
"I didn't think that bastard is really..." The changes in the disgusting prince's expression didn't go unnoticed to Xia Hou Qi (sixth prince).
He remembered it clearly. Back when he was young, that bastard also used the same eyes against himself. He didn't understand it then, but looking back at it now, it was extremely perverted and abnormal.
"Your Highness, we must catch up to them as soon as possible. Otherwise, that child will be in danger." Yanche looked worried as he said this.
Ever since he became aware of Prince Hou Hong's unpleasant interest, Ling Yue and the big guy here had been working hard at finding some hard evidence to expose the man.
As for that child, it's the very same one they saved a while back at that rundown shack located at the outskirt of the city.
It's unsure what Ling Yue said to the young boy before. But after a brief discussion, the child was able to break out of his shell from a frightened rabbit and into a strong willed boy that wants to expose the prince for all his misdeeds and save the trapped children like himself.
"Let's not delay then. We must catch up immediately so we don't ruin Ling Yue's plan." Nodding at Yanche's suggestion, Prince Hou Qi and his partner quickly disappeared into the night to carry out their mission.