Transmigrated as My Best Friend's Ex

114. Hello, Everyone, I’m Han Mingxu

Translator: Guy Gone Bad

With a smile, Keqi’s gaze swept across the royals present. When he saw Fonda, He was stunned for a second. Frise once told him that if he hadn’t been accepted as the crown prince by the old king, Fonda would be most likely to succeed to the throne.

Unlike other royals, Fonda made no comment on Keqi’s decision. He kept silent.

Noticing that Keqi was staring at him, Fonda gave Keqi a bright smile. Keqi’s eyes flickered momentarily at Fonda. ‘What does he mean?’ Keqi thought to himself, puzzled.

But now Keqi was in no mood to figure out Fonda’s intention. His blood was boiling for the freedom he was about to have.

“Reverend Priest.”Keqi interrupted the ongoing discussion. All eyes were focused on him again. “I remember a special rule in Leiluo Kingdom– a king, who abdicates voluntarily, has the right to recommend someone as the next king, right?”

The priest nodded, “Yes. He has the right to choose an heir. Even if the heir that the king recommends is not a member of the royal family, he will enjoy the same status as the royals, and his name will be added to the list of candidates.”

Every member of the royal clan knew this special rule.

However, every king in the history of Leiluo Kingdom had been in position until death. None of them had ever abdicated on his own initiative. In other word, this special rule had never been used before. But now Keqi mentioned it. Everyone present got a bad feeling. Was he going to recommend someone as the next king?

“Since it is so, now I want to exercise my power. Reverend Priest, can you be my witness?” Keqi darted a sideways glance at Frise and caught a flash of excitement in her eyes.  Frise was such a smart woman, why did she pursue something that didn’t belong to her?

“Yeah, of course, our great God will witness what happens here today,” the priest promised.

“Now I declare that the candidate I recommend is…”

“Good morning, everyone!” A low, melodious voice came from all sides and interrupted Keqi. Everyone in the cathedral was startled.

The voice was unfamiliar to other royal family members, but Keqi and Frise immediately recognized it as Nancheng Lie’s. After all, Nancheng Lie’s tone of voice was arrogant and domineering, easy to recognize. Frise’s heart skipped a beat. How could Nanceng Lie be here?

“Look up at the ceiling! The voice seemed to come from above.” A member of the royal family pointed to the ceiling of the cathedral and said, “Look carefully, there is a loudspeaker in the ceiling.”

Another member of the royal family added, “More than one loudspeaker! Look! There are loudspeakers all over the place.”

“Please be quiet, ladies and gentlemen. Don’t panic. There is no danger. And don’t try to find out where I am. Now I’m going to introduce an important man to you.” After a round of applause, a familiar, low voice came from the loudspeakers. “Hello, everyone, I’m Han Mingxu.”

The royals present didn’t understand the meaning of this remark, but Keqi got it. He backed up a few steps.

“I’m Han Mingxu… I’m Han Mingxu…” The remark kept ringing in Keqi’s mind. This name was taboo with him. What was more, that man’s voice was the same as his. He had killed his twin brother Han Mingxu with his own hands two years ago. Therefore, Han Mingxu couldn’t be still alive! So, who was that man? What did he want?

Keqi furrowed his brow. He turned to Frise and happened to meet her eyes. They looked at each other, their faces puzzled. They both couldn’t understand what was happening.

A noble queried, “If you are Han Mingxu, who is the king standing in front of us?”

Han Mingxu was the Chinese name of their king. This was known to all.

“God knows.” The man’s low laughter reverberated in the cathedral. “I will explain everything to you. Please sit down and listen to me… The story began two years ago.”

Two years ago?

Keqi and Frise were shocked.

What on earth did he know?

“Do you know what? Two years ago I had encountered a shooting before I was taken to Leiluo Kingdom.”

Keqi’s hand began to tremble, his eyes as cold as cold as ice. He seemed to be a cruel, cold-hearted man again. He could remember the precise moment when he had thrust a dagger into Han Mingxu’s heart two years ago. At that time, he had said, “Henceforth, I’m Han Mingxu.” At the moment, the past that he no longer wished to remember came back to lambast and haunt him.

“After that, you all thought that I was taken back to Leiluo Kingdom, but in fact, I didn’t leave China, because at that time it was still not clear who was behind the shooting incident. Even if I had returned to Leiluo Kingdom, I would have been assassinated again. So, I got myself a substitute. Yes, as you might expect, the man standing in front of you is just a substitute of me,” he said, elongating the word ‘substitute’.

His every word was fashioned like pipe bombs exploding inside Keqi’s brain and shaking Keqi’s heart. Keqi trembled all over. The word ‘substitute’ kept ringing in his mind. He was not a fool. The man’s speech appeared to be mostly for the royals, but Keqi knew that the man was reminding him and Frise not to forget what they had done to Han Mingxu.

Who the hell was that man?

Why did he make up such a story?

Keqi was wondering who was the mastermind behind all this. It was not him or Frise. Keqi turned to Fonda and found that Fonda was looking at him. He quickly looked away. He was not afraid. He was just a little flustered. He felt as if an invisible big hand grabbed him by the neck.

“In order to draw the snake out of its hole, I had my stand-in stay in Leiluo Kingdom. He acted as a decoy. As for me, I holed up and secretly tried to hunt for clues. Actually the guy behind the shooting incident had taken no further action in the past two years. But some days ago that guy heard the news that my stand-in was gay. The guy hired a man to purposely approach Keqi and create a scandal. In fact, the press conference held the other day was part of my plan and so is today’s meeting. Now I know who that guy is. I have incontrovertible evidence. Guess which one of you is that guy.” It was a serious topic, but the voice from the loudspeakers was faintly mocking. Everyone present, for some unknown reason, got goose bumps.

Everyone was a born sceptic. Once the torch of suspicion was lit up, they could not overcome their distrust of one another. The royals got nervous immediately and forgot to verify the identity of the speaker; instead, they looked at one another with distrust.

But Fonda was an exception.

“Why should we believe what you say?” Fonda narrowed his eyes. He hated being watched.

As an important place in Leiluo Kingdom, the cathedral was heavily guarded. Fonda simply couldn’t believe that someone had sneaked into the cathedral without being seen and installed these loudspeakers.

“I can prove what I said. Two years ago Auntie Frise and I worked out this plan together. Over the past two years I have been living in a villa known only to me and Auntie Frise. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my dear aunt.”

Frise was very sure that Nancheng Lie was behind all this. How could he rock the boat? Had it not been for his sudden appearance, she would have changed her destiny and become the noblest person in Leiluo Kingdom.

Everyone looked questioningly at Frise. To be honest, she wanted to deny having anything to do with the episode, but she couldn’t. If the man who threatened her were Keqi, she could choose to die together with him. But that man said that he was Han Mingxu. If he really knew that Keqi was not the real Han Mingxu, she would possibly fail completely.

A feeling of fear surged up from the bottom of her heart.

In the eyes of Frise, Han Mingxu was dead. How could a dead man reappear in this world?

“Well, Auntie, you must want to know what’s going on. Come to me, and we can discuss how to solve the problem. As for the rest of the royals, please stay in this cathedral and pray for our country and our people.” The nobles knew that it was a kind of imprisonment, but with the excuse of praying for Leiluo Kingdom, none of them dared to refuse the arrangement.

“What’s all this about, Reverend Priest?”

“Your Highness, please give an explanation!”

Frise was in no mood to answer their questions. She understood the layers of meaning in his words. He was waiting for her. She couldn’t wait to see him.

The priest picked up the ring that symbolized the power of the king, and said, “Actually I’m one of the people who know about the plan. It was indeed His Majesty who was enthroned the other day. But after the enthronement, His Majesty had his stand-in stay in the Royal Palace. As for him, he hid himself again. His Majesty had informed me of what was planned before I summoned all of you to the cathedral. The ring symbolizes His Majesty. Now the only thing we can do is do as His Majesty says– stay in the cathedral and pray for our country.”

No one was allowed to use force in the cathedral. Anyone who broke the rule would be shot dead. So, the royals present didn’t dare to resist.

Frise and Keqi left the cathedral together. At the front door a car was waiting for them with its door open.

A strange man said to Frise, “Your Highness, please get in the car.” He was Mu Ming’s man.