Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 137: Poisonous Plot
Xue Sui walked hurriedly along the shadows of the trees on the embankment of Sangliu Lake, and the accumulated water on the bluestone slabs wet her shoes.

Tianshu's attendant Yunhai was already there to greet him at the gate.

"The young lady is finally here. The young master has been waiting for you in the pharmacy for a long time."

Xue Sui's eyes were filled with smiles and his steps were brisk.

It hadn't been that long since they last parted, but she felt like she hadn't seen her senior brother for a long time, and she felt a little anxious.

Jinshu and Xiaozhao looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

"I'm right."

Xiao Zhao winked and agreed, "Aunt is right, Dalangjun is the best."

Xue Sui lifted the Xiangfei bamboo curtain, and the aroma of medicine mixed with a hint of pine wood wafted towards him.

She sniffed gently, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously raised.

"Big Brother, did you change your incense today? This incense is cool and calm, with a long aftertaste, just what I want..."

Tianshu sat upright like a pine tree, his plain white undershirt visible from his wide sleeves with dark cloud patterns, his features still like the snow on the distant mountains. Before Xue Sui sat down, he had already pushed the red lacquered wooden box on the table in front of her.

"Thirteen, take a look."

That is the Zhahui Tie collected by Tianshu Sect.

Xue Sui took it solemnly, glanced at it, and the smile froze on his lips.

"Xiao Lingrong, this vicious woman, is so despicable and shameless! The Xiao family is full of vicious and ruthless people. They really don't deserve a good death!"

The spies at Tianshu Gate received a report that Concubine Xiao had used Xizi's extremely poisonous Heart-Eroding Powder in the blood swallow soup that the Empress gave to Concubine Wan.

Xue Sui tightened his fingertips in hatred, leaving deep wrinkles on the paper.

She had thought that Concubine Xiao would do something bad, but she had never expected that she would be so vicious.

The poison of this Heart-Eroding Powder was strange and unusual. Even if they knew the antidote, it would be difficult to gather the rare medicinal materials needed for the antidote in a short period of time...

Once the time for treatment is missed, Concubine Wan's life will be in danger.

Xue Sui was so filled with resentment that he did not notice the solemnity that flashed across Tianshu's eyes when he angrily cursed, "All members of the Xiao family must die a miserable death."

"Ping'an, how do you plan to deal with this?" Tianshu asked.

Xue Sui looked determined, "If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth. I will not let that vicious woman succeed."

Tianshu raised his eyes, and his eyes seemed to reflect the snow that never melts all year round, cold and deep.

Xue Sui looked at Tian Shu again and said earnestly, "Wan Zhaoyi and her daughter are truly pitiful. Senior Brother, please lend me the Resurrection Pill."

Tianshu gestured to Yunhai beside him to get it, without any hesitation on his face.

"Noble Concubine Xiao's actions are extremely sinister. When you go there, please be extra careful..."

Xue Sui nodded heavily, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. I've made a note of it."

Under Tianshu's watchful eyes, Xue Sui carefully put the Resurrection Pill into his arms, and took out some detoxifying and healing drugs from the pharmacy and stuffed them into his bag. When he was about to turn around and leave, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a few candied plums with an attractive amber luster in the celadon plate next to the medicine furnace.

She suddenly recalled that when she was twelve years old and had a high fever due to a cold, Tianshu stayed with her all night, boiling medicine and making soup without closing his eyes. When the sun rose, he walked on the icy river to find candied plums for her...

As the candied plums arrived, she gradually came to.

From then on, Tianshu decided that she loved eating these candied plums.

Looking at the wooden table, there was her favorite pre-rain tea.

It was obvious that the eldest senior brother had been waiting for her for a long time, but she had to leave before she even had time to sit down in her chair.

Every time we meet, we come and go in a hurry. We can no longer be together and talk freely like when we were young.

However, that feeling never changed - the eldest brother always protected her.

Xue Sui picked up a candied plum and put it in his mouth. He blinked his eyes gently, then raised the teacup, bowed slightly to Tianshu, and then took a swig...

Unexpectedly, the tea was too hot and she almost choked.

He quickly smacked his lips, tilted his head and exhaled, making a playful face.

"I dare not disappoint my elder brother, so I have to disappoint my tongue."

"You." Tianshu sighed and waved his hand, signaling her to leave. He sat still, his posture was like a deity from heaven, cold and otherworldly.

"Brother, let's say goodbye now—"

Xue Sui bowed and then led everyone away with a smile.

Tianshu looked at her back for a long time before he motioned Yunhai to come closer and whispered instructions.

"Follow the plan."

Yun Hai bowed quickly and said, "Yes, young master..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Tianshu's eyes turned cold, and quickly changed his words, "Yes, Sect Master."

Tianshu stroked the teacup on the table with his fingertips.

"Order the Black Armor Guards to secretly protect Miss Thirteen."

Yun Hai clasped his fists and bowed solemnly: "I obey your command!"
-
The convoy escorting Concubine Wan left the palace from Shenwu Gate and moved slowly forward in the hot weather.

When we arrived at Lion Hill, the sun was already setting.

The towering ancient trees beside the official road have intertwined branches and leaves, casting a dense, mottled shadow.

Inside the carriage, Princess Wenjia tightly grasped her mother's skinny hand, and looked anxiously at the sky outside the curtain from time to time, with beads of sweat already oozing out of her forehead.

"Mother, please bear with it for a while. The doctor will be back soon."

After many years of life in the cold palace, Concubine Wan's health had been severely depleted and she was weak and sickly.

After taking the imperial physician's medicine and seeing his daughter whom he had been thinking about day and night, he finally regained some consciousness. But halfway through the journey, he suddenly developed a fever and felt a sharp pain in his heart, which was unbearable.

The disease was extremely severe, and after the imperial physician diagnosed it, he could not find an effective treatment for a while. Moreover, the trip was hasty, and the medicinal materials he brought were limited. In desperation, he had to let everyone wait where they were, and the imperial physician personally led people to the nearest market town to purchase medicinal materials...

"Yin'er." Concubine Wan's face was thin and her cheekbones were high. She raised her hand with great effort, trying to wipe away the tears on her daughter's face. "It is a blessing from heaven that I can walk out of that cage and see you again in my lifetime... I have no more resentment in my heart..."

"Auntie——"

Wen Jia was overwhelmed with grief and tears flowed like rain.

A Niang finally regained her freedom, how could she encounter such a misfortune?

She couldn't understand why fate played such a trick on her.

Wen Jia suppressed his grief and tried to give his mother some hope.

"Mother, they are all waiting for you. Alim and High Priest Amon Rah are all looking forward to seeing you..."

Wan Zhaoyi nodded slightly, and her cracked lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to force a smile, but ultimately failed.

She had been imprisoned in the cold palace for too long, so long that she almost forgot that she was once a carefree little princess in the distant country of Xizi...

"Okay... Mother... I'll hold on... Yin'er, don't cry..."

Before Wan Zhaoyi could finish her words, she started coughing violently again.

"Princess!" The voice of the maid Dong Xu came from outside the carriage curtain.

"There's a fast horse coming. Could it be that Doctor Zhou has returned?"

How could Doctor Zhou be so fast?

While he was wondering, Dong Xu shouted in surprise:
"No, it looks like a girl... Oh my God, Princess, look, it's Miss Xue Liu!"

People around Wen Jia have always called Xue Sui this way.

Hearing this, Wen Jia suddenly drew aside the curtain, and saw Xue Sui, who was spurring his horse towards him on the official road, his figure becoming clearer and clearer.

Her tears flowed away -

"Sixth Miss, Sixth Miss..."

Wen Jia kept waving at Xue Sui, his voice filled with tears.

"Sixth Miss, come quickly. My mother can't hold on any longer."

"Gee!" Xue Sui threw the bag on his body to Xiao Zhao, squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and ran to the front of the carriage at an extremely fast speed.

She dismounted from the horse, grabbed the reins, and stepped forward in one swift step. Almost in an instant, she had stepped into the open carriage.

I have to say that Queen Xie was extremely thoughtful.

There was an ice basin on the carriage. As the sun was setting, the carriage was very cool.

Xue Sui said, "Order all the guards to retreat fifty steps and guard the surrounding areas. No one is allowed to approach without orders."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Jia conveyed her instructions.

"Please everyone step back fifty steps and allow Miss Xue Liu to treat Concubine Wan."

The guards were arranged by Empress Xie and naturally obeyed her orders.

At this time, Xiao Zhao also hurried over.

Xue Sui gestured to her, "Go light the mugwort and check the food carefully."

Xiao Zhao responded, hurriedly opened the bag, and took out all the medicines he had brought from Tianshu's pharmacy.

Wan Zhaoyi was lying on the felt carpet in the carriage, coughing bitterly. Seeing Xue Sui coming in, she forced a smile and said weakly, "This is the Sixth Miss Yin'er mentioned... a kind-hearted person... thank you so much..."

"You are too polite, Empress Zhaoyi. Please stop talking to avoid wasting your energy."

Xue Sui reached out and felt Wan Zhaoyi's pulse, then stuffed a resurrection pill into her mouth.

Xiao Zhao leaned over and pointed at the table, "Miss, the blood swallow soup is poisonous."

Upon hearing this, Xue Sui gently picked up the empty bowl on the table that had served the blood swallow soup, put it to his nose, and sniffed it carefully.

"This dose of poison is enough to kill two horses."

Wen Jiaru was struck by lightning. "This blood bird's nest soup was given by the Queen Mother. It was not made by anyone else... My mother liked it so much that she used up half a bowl..."

Xue Sui said: "Noble Concubine Xiao has been managing the palace for many years. If she wanted to poison someone, she would always find a way to avoid being seen."

Wen Jia burst into tears, "How could she be so cruel? My mother is already in this state, why is she still unwilling to let go?"

Xue Sui took out a silver knife from the medicine box and cut Wan Zhaoyi's fingertips.

I saw black blood gushing out——

She said, "This poison is extremely dangerous. The elixir I gave Wan Zhaoyi can temporarily suppress the poison in her body, but it cannot completely eradicate it. If we don't find the antidote within two hours, I'm afraid there's no way to save her."

"What should I do?" Wen Jia sat down in despair, hugged Wan Zhaoyi, and cried, her voice was hoarse and she lost her sense of proportion, "Mother, if you have anything to do, your daughter will go with you..."

Xue Sui glanced at the curtain that was shaking as she pulled it.

"There's still a chance. Don't panic. Someone will send the antidote."

"Who?" Wen Jia asked, "Who can get the antidote, and who knows Xiao's vicious heart..."

Xue Sui did not answer her and took good care of Wan Zhaoyi.

"I... I can't do it... Yin'er..." Before Wan Zhaoyi could finish her words, she leaned on the pillow and coughed violently. Wen Jia handed her a handkerchief, on which there was a dark red mist.

Wen Jia cried out in grief, "Mother!"

Wan Zhaoyi looked at the bloody color, was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile and said slowly: "Don't be afraid... Everyone... will die one day... You must thank... the Queen... the Crown Prince..."

She tried to look at Xue Sui again and smiled gently, "And Sixth Miss... I will never forget your life-saving grace..."

Wen Jia nodded while crying, choking with sobs, "My daughter remembers it. My daughter remembers it all."

Xiao Zhao held the moxa stick in her hand, her eyes red as she watched this scene, feeling sorry for it. "Don't worry, with our girl here, the King of Hell will definitely not take Lady Zhaoyi away."

Wen Jia was crying so hard that she couldn't speak.

"Mother, mother, you haven't seen my Niuniu yet..."

"Yes, mother can see it. She must be as cute as you were when you were a child..."

Wan Zhaoyi looked at her daughter tenderly with a smile in her eyes, revealing a kind of relief and serenity.

"Yin'er, mother wants to be buried at Wangyue Cliff..." She could no longer see anything in her gray eyes. Before she finished her words, she suddenly vomited a mouthful of black blood, and her skinny ten fingers tightly clasped Wen Jia's sleeves.

There was blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, but he was smiling.

"The stars of Xizi are brighter than those of Zhongzhou... After I die... there will be priests... who will sing songs to summon the dead... That will be all right..."

"No, mother, don't..."

Wen Jia fell to the ground crying, her hairpin falling onto the felt carpet.

The setting sun outside the car looked like blood, and the last ray of afterglow in the sky seemed like it would disappear at any time.

The imperial guards of the escort team have already sat down to rest and take turns to change shifts.

As she waited, Wan Zhaoyi's breath became weaker and weaker, and her chest rose and fell slowly, as if she was not breathing...

"Miss." Xiao Zhao reminded softly, "Wan Zhaoyi is in a bad condition. I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

Seeing Wen Jia crying so hard, she couldn't bring herself to say that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to continue crying.

Xue Sui clenched his hands slightly, and the curtain of the car was suddenly lifted up by the strong wind.

The sound of horse hooves was heard again in the distance.

At the end of dusk, a man rode his horse, crushing the sunset glow; the sound of its hooves sounded like a bell to summon souls.

"Princess, yes, it's the prince consort..."

The maid Dongxu said halfway, then felt something was wrong, "It's Prince Consort Lu."

It's still inappropriate because Lu Youan and Ping Le have already divorced.

She suddenly thought of something and shouted in surprise, "Princess, Master Lu is here."

There's hope! Xue Sui smiled.

See you tomorrow, readers~