Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 140 Secret
Ever since he accidentally got hooked on love at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, Li Zhao has been taking the medicine prescribed by Sun Huaicheng. Over the past period of time, his condition has gradually improved, from the initial difficulty in controlling himself and his mood swings to being able to calmly control himself now.

But tonight, I don’t know if it was triggered by the sight of blood, but the desire started to stir wildly in my blood...

"Xue Ping'an..."

The slightly rolling Adam's apple had already shown a faint blush, and the earlobes were also exuding an intoxicating crimson color.

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of being alone and reckless, or are you afraid of being unable to control your emotions?"

Xue Sui pressed his fingertips against the vital point on his heart, and his voice tightened slightly.

"If Your Highness does not want the poison to damage your heart meridians, it is best to let go."

"Crack!"

Lightning split the rain curtain outside the window, illuminating the corners of Li Zhao's scarlet eyes.

His hot fingertips gently stroked Xue Sui's brow bone and he laughed hoarsely.

"You actually used the love thread Gu to fool me? Miss Xue Liu, you know better than anyone why I would do this..."

Warm breath lingered around her ears. Li Zhao suddenly exerted force with his arms and took away the green jade hairpin on Xue Sui's head.

In an instant, three thousand strands of black hair fell like a waterfall.

Li Zhao lowered his head, touched her slightly trembling hair with the tip of his nose, and chuckled.

"You know, the stronger the poison is, the more it corrodes my bones and heart. Why do you want to torture me?"

Xue Sui turned his face away and said, "I don't know, and I don't know how to do it."

Li Zhao smiled softly against her neck, his fingertips stroking the old scar on her wrist.

"You clearly know it, but you still pretend. You will do anything to control me!"

Li Zhao's palms were burning like charcoal, almost burning through Xue Sui's waist through the thin clothes.

"Your Highness, are you really going crazy at this time?" Xue Sui pressed hard against his chest and pulled the jade hairpin back from his hand. The cold iron buckle popped out half an inch. "The most annoying thing about Gu worms is that their Qi and blood are surging—"

Li Zhao suddenly leaned over and bit her earlobe, pressing hard on the soft flesh.

"If I die, you will be buried with me."

Xue Sui pushed his arm away with his backhand.

"Your Highness, be careful! I am Madam Ping'an from Prince Duan's Mansion! She belongs to your brother..."

"Mrs. Ping'an is such a strict and law-abiding lady!" Li Zhao interrupted with a sneer, "Do you think I care?"

His breath was mixed with the smell of blood, three parts fierce and seven parts lingering, like an all-encompassing net, wrapping people in a damp vortex...

"I will give you double what my brother can give you..."

"Your Highness cannot give me what I want. Your Highness's current state of mind is nothing but being bewitched by the Gu, please wake up..."

Xue Sui put the tip of the hairpin against Li Zhao's throat, but he grabbed her wrist.

boom!
Thunder exploded in the rainy night!

Breaking the silence of the Xishan Palace, the candlesticks cast two entangled shadows on the screen.

Li Zhao clasped her hand with his slender fingers, his fingertips flushed with the uncontrollable red after the love poison took effect, and he held her hand tightly, laughing softly, shaking his injured shoulder.

"Xue Ping'an, you really have a heart of stone!"

The smell of blood mixed with the unique scent of love Gu hit me in the face.

A tiny red rash suddenly appeared on the side of her neck, and she turned her head away helplessly to avoid his burning gaze.

Li Zhao turned her face back to face him.

Eye to eye, Xue Sui breathed rapidly, bent her knees to press against his tense waist and abdomen, but he took advantage of the situation to grab her ankles, and she once again counterattacked...

On the soft couch filled with the aroma of medicine, the two of them rolled and tumbled, and the spilled hemostatic powder emitted a mist with the aroma of medicine.

Li Zhao seemed to be completely unaware of the pain from his wounds. His bloody skin revealed a tragic mark, and the heat brought by his love was like a fire that spread from his heart to his entire body...

"Xue Ping'an..."

His suppressed and forbearing voice was filled with resentment, and his red phoenix eyes had a strange luster under the candlelight.

"How long are you going to trample on me... before you stop?"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say."

"Why should I be careful about what I say?" Li Zhao sneered. Under his half-open robe, his strong waist was stretched like a full bow, burning the last bit of rationality into ashes. "When you put the poison on me, didn't you think that it would bring disaster to yourself? I will also let you taste the feeling of being unable to control your emotions..."

Li Zhao's bloody kiss left a scar under her collarbone...

In the rainstorm, there was a sudden sound of porcelain breaking, interrupting the beauty.

"Something happened. I'll go check it out."

Xue Sui took the opportunity to stand up, broke free from Li Zhao's restraints, and rushed out the door.

Wen Jia was seen squatting beside the stove, with his hands on his forehead, crying quietly.

"What's going on?" Xue Sui asked softly.

Wen Jia held the fan in her hand and cried, "I broke the medicine pot that I used to make medicine for my mother..."

When Xue Sui came over, he saw Lu Youan standing in the corridor.

She did not expose Wen Jia's disguise. Her heart, which had always been calm, could not help but tremble slightly at this moment, and she felt indescribably sad.

"It's okay, it's okay, everything is fine, just break it up and fry another bowl..."

Xue Sui pulled Wen Jia up and asked her to sit on a wooden stool beside him. He put her crooked hairpin back into her hair and said softly, "Wan Zhaoyi just said that the girls of you Xizi would look up at the stars even if they had to hold back their tears..."

Wen Jia raised her head, tears in her eyes and said, "There are no stars tonight, and it's raining."

Xue Sui smiled slightly and lowered his eyes.

"The rain will stop and the sun will come out."
-
I don’t know when the heavy rain stopped that night.

When the first rays of sunlight leaked through the skylight, Xue Sui came out after visiting Concubine Wan's condition and saw Guan Ya waiting outside nervously. "The prince's wound is very painful, please ask Madam Ping'an to come over and treat him."

Xue Sui turned around and glanced at Xiao Zhao who was holding the medicine bowl.

"I was just planning to deliver medicine to His Highness."

The morning light, washed clean by the rainstorm, penetrates into the west wing.

Li Zhao holds a brush and draws on the rice paper...

Xue Sui brought Xiao Zhao in with a medicine box, and saw him fingertips on a painting of a lady that was not yet dry, and he was slightly lost in thought...

The woman in the painting had her long black hair scattered, just like how she looked when she left in a hurry last night.

Xiao Zhao asked curiously: "Which beauty did Your Highness paint..."

Li Zhao slowly put down his brush and said, "Guanju."

As he spoke, he dipped the entire scroll into the brush-washing pool with an unfriendly tone.

"The painting is too ugly, it's really unbearable to look at."

Xue Sui looked at the gradually dispersing ink color without saying anything.

The blurry figure of the beauty swayed with the ripples of the brush-washing pool, just like her strange mood at the moment.

Xiao Zhao sensed that the atmosphere was not right, handed over the medicine bowl, and retreated.

Li Zhao lowered his head and swallowed the bitter medicine, then leaned back on the couch, watching Xue Sui concentrate on preparing the dressing for his wound.

"You got away cleanly last night. I was tortured by the love poison and couldn't sleep all night..."

He glanced at his swollen and bleeding shoulder and frowned tightly.

Not only was he having trouble sleeping, the poisonous insect was still roaring wildly in his blood.

The pestle hit the mortar heavily, making a clear clanging sound.

Xue Sui pretended not to hear anything and continued to work with his head down.

Li Zhao opened his unsatisfied eyes, the redness at the corners of his eyes had not yet faded.

He looked at Xue Sui carefully, with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Are you really not affected at all?"

"Ah."

"Then what kind of love thread Gu is this?"

“It’s not my name.”

Li Zhao suddenly leaned forward and said, "Then why don't you change your name? Not Love, but Lovesickness..."

The pestle in Xue Sui's hand slid into the mortar as he moved. "The dressings are ready. Ask Guard Guan to change the dressing for Your Highness."

She stood up, casually threw over a bottle of painkillers, and spoke calmly as usual.

"If your Highness is in severe pain, take one pill. Two pills a day at most. Do not take more."

Li Zhao suddenly grabbed Xue Sui's wrist and casually lifted up her white silk shirt.

Warm and sticky blood flowed out of the hideous wound, soaking through the soft cotton bandage and leaving a large patch of mottled marks...

"Is this how you treat me?"

Xue Sui: "I am doing this for your highness's good."

The love thread Gu would be exacerbated by the presence of blood. The skin contact during the dressing change process would undoubtedly add fuel to the fire. If she stayed, wouldn't it make the love thread rage even more wildly?

Li Zhao smiled slowly and gritted his teeth.

"That being said, I see, do you have bad intentions?"

Xue Sui raised his eyebrows: "If Your Highness is too idle, why not think about how to deal with those survivors in the dungeon?"

Li Zhao let go of his hand and shouted, "Guan Ya."

Guan Ya walked in quickly with his head lowered, bowed respectfully, and held a bloody wolf tooth pendant in his palm.

"This was found on the assassin. This is the seal of the Xizi King's death warriors!"

The candle wick popped.

Xue Sui and Li Zhao looked at each other and saw huge waves in each other's eyes.

This was certainly not found on the assassin.

This was the evidence that High Priest Lisiz personally delivered last night.

"cough!"

Yu Qianshan cleared his throat through the carved screen.

"Your Highness, I have something to report."

Li Zhaoguang pulled his sleeves back slightly: "Come in!"

Yu Qianshan walked hurriedly around the screen, his back straight, without looking at Xue Sui's face, he bowed his head and saluted.

"Your Highness, the assassin has confessed..."

The heat in Li Zhao's eyes instantly faded into ice, and when he gathered his robes, he had regained the dignity of a crown prince.

"Make four copies of the confession. One copy will be sent to the Censorate, one to the Dali Temple, one to the Ministry of Justice, and the last copy..." He glanced at the heavy rain outside the window, "I will personally present it to my father."

Xue Sui was calmly adjusting her skirt when she suddenly felt a slight heat on her wrist.

She lowered her eyes and saw Li Zhao holding her wrist——

The sentence was drawn out at an extremely long pace, carrying with it an endless chill.

"I want to let the Xiao family know that if anyone messes with my people, you will pay with your life."