Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 159 Silver Hook

"Gu!" Lingyu flapped his wings on the windowsill.

Xue Sui suddenly stretched out his hand to push him, but before he could scream, he was pushed back by a large hand with the scent of bergamot.

Li Zhao's robe brushed against her waist, and his voice was so beautiful that it sounded like the strings of a zither covered with night dew.

"How long are you going to stay here?"

"Your Highness, you broke into the rear residence at night, are you planning to make a hole in the roof of Prince Duan's mansion?"

"If I pierce the sky, I won't be the one who suffers..."

Li Zhao's fingertips slid across the silk ribbon around her waist and hooked the tassel to play with it. The burning skin aroused by the love silk poison flowed through her thin nightgown, burning her heart and making it tighten.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is behaving like a street thief, which is disgraceful to society."

Li Zhao chuckled, looked at her long hair in the moonlight, and his eyes slowly fell.

"Sven? I have this thing?"

Xue Sui turned her head to avoid his breath and found that her collar was slightly open during her struggle, as if she was pretending to lure him into a trap.

"If the prince wants to find me to relieve his boredom, why not speak up?"

She smiled calmly and simply unzipped her collar, revealing her delicate, white skin at the collarbone and a faint, winding scar under the moonlight, and faced him coldly.

The old scars clung to her snow-white skin like vines, making her cheeks look even colder.

"You and I are allies anyway. I don't care about chastity, reputation or other frivolous things..."

When she first went to Youhuangju, she was able to undress, let alone now?
She didn't believe that any man with such a scar could still have romantic fantasies.

Li Zhao's breathing stagnated slightly, and he was angry that she didn't understand romance, but his body was aroused by the love silk Gu and became hot, and his blood was surging like a tide...

"What kind of fragrance did you use when you served tea to Li Huan in the study today?" His voice was as hoarse as the wind and sand on a cold night, very alluring, "Su Xinlan? Yu Ruixiang? Hmm?"

"It's the fragrance of Su Xin Lan." Xue Sui replied.

"What a Su Xin Lan, did you know that this fragrance...can stimulate the love Gu?"

Xue Sui was startled. Li Zhao's hot fingertips had already rolled over the old scar on her collarbone, and slowly moved up to push aside the loose hair on the back of her neck.

"These scars seem to have faded?"

Xue Sui looked into his deep eyes, "If the prince's wound hadn't been tormented, it would have scabbed over long ago."

This means that he deliberately aggravated his injuries and came to her for treatment...

Li Zhao was not annoyed when he heard the voice, but laughed softly.

"Yes."

He suddenly leaned closer, his breath brushing against her ear.

"If Madam felt sorry for me, why didn't you plot against me twice?"

Xue Sui: "Your Highness, what you said really embarrasses me. What benefit can I gain by plotting against Your Highness?"

The two looked into each other's eyes, their breaths intertwined. Li Zhao suddenly chuckled, looking very happy. He sat down on the armchair beside the wooden table, his clothes fluttering, and as if by magic, he took out two bottles of scar cream.

"I'm here to deliver medicine to Ping An."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xue Sui bowed slightly, then sat quietly opposite him, looking at the two bottles of precious snow frog cream.

I have to say, the precious secret item in the palace is really effective for scars.

She accepted it without hesitation.

Li Zhao grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Xue Ping'an, do you think you can get yourself clean by using me to get rid of the Luo family?"

"I don't want to get rid of the Luo family." Xue Sui broke free from the shackles, and a bronze mirror on the table reflected the cold light in her eyes.

"Duke Zheng's Mansion?" Li Zhao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Or is it the Xiao family?"

Xue Sui narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking of Tianshu's words.

The wailing of 200,000 wronged souls in the Old Mausoleum Swamp haunts my dreams every night. How can this be compared to personal vengeance?
This hatred is too heavy.

As she lay on the couch just now, she was thinking about how to take advantage of the situation and move from personal hatred to the foundation of the court, from the three dukes and nine ministers, directly to the imperial power...

Before returning to Beijing, all her plans were to settle her personal grudges. Now she has to plan for a more ambitious and far-reaching future, which requires a more careful and detailed layout...

She gathered her clothes tightly and laughed lazily, "Then your highness might as well guess, who will be in trouble next, the Duke Zheng's Mansion... or the Xiao family?"

The woman's boneless hands burned Li Zhao's heart and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his back.

His body suddenly tensed, and he pulled her a few inches closer, looking at her with burning eyes.

"Will it be the East Palace's turn someday?"

Xue Sui suddenly grabbed the prince's jade belt, breathing sweetly in the face of his surprised gaze.

"Your Highness, why should you be suspicious? You are investigating this case thoroughly, not because I ask you to. I want revenge, and Your Highness wants Xiao Song to confess his crime and be executed, so as to suppress the power of Prince Duan. I have said that Your Highness and I each get what we need, and we are the most suitable allies..."

Li Zhao wiped away the mockery at the corners of her eyes with his fingertips and waited until her breathing stabilized before speaking.

"Ally? Like you deliberately embarrassed me in the Persian embroidery shop, instigated the amorous woman, and boldly showed your affection to me?"

Instigation? Xue Sui frowned.

The bronze mirror reflected her smooth hair and the coldness in Li Zhao's eyes.

"Miss Guo San is in love for the first time. Her affection for the prince is her private matter. What does it have to do with me?"

"Xue Ping'an, do you have a heart?"

Seeing that she was silent, Li Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest.

Under the delicate brocade, the heartbeat of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was clear and intense, like the beating of a drum. The pair of black eyes that looked at her were also full of passion and desire...

"The love thread Gu is planted in my heart. Does it have nothing to do with you?"

Li Zhao suddenly approached, his breath entangled with the strands of hair on her temples, and he questioned her through his clenched teeth.

"There is one thing that I have never understood before. Why did you plant the love poison on me and why did you insist on entering Prince Duan's mansion? Now I understand..."

"What?" Xue Sui asked.

"You are a two-faced girl, playing both sides. You don't wish well for Li Heng, nor for me. Besides revenge, you must have other ambitions?"

After saying this, his eyes darkened slightly.

"According to the legend of the Old Mausoleum Swamp, an army of 200,000 was destroyed in the ruined imperial mausoleum of the previous dynasty. What a tragic event this was! Their descendants must have hated the Li Dynasty... So, Xue Ping'an, are you here to take my life?"

The curtains moved without wind.

In the dark night, the footsteps of the night patrollers could be heard faintly.

There was firelight coming in through the window.

The two looked into each other's eyes, feeling each other's heartbeat and breathing, and remained silent for a long time, until the flickering fire slowly faded away...

Xue Sui heard Li Zhao's disordered breathing again.

"Life is mine. You, leave it to me."

Xue Sui felt as if his palm was burned and wanted to withdraw his hand, but Li Zhao held it tightly.

The silver bell hanging on the curtain hit the black jade on his head, making a ringing sound.

His Royal Highness's heart is beating vigorously.

Xue Sui considered herself to be cold-hearted and would not be moved by love, let alone fall in love with a man. In order to prevent her from being hurt by love, Senior Sister Yu Heng had her take a special elixir to seal her love meridians.

It can be said that she is truly a careless person.

Whether it was getting close to Li Huan or Li Zhao, it was just to make things easier for him, and he never considered the relationship between a man and a woman...

But at this moment, she felt her cheeks getting hot and her heart beating faster.

My restless heart seemed to be about to jump out of my chest...

She gritted her teeth and said, "Your Highness, you are too kind."

"Ping'an, are you feeling uncomfortable too?" Li Zhao asked softly.

He was wearing a moon-white brocade loose dress today. It was very light, soft and smooth to the touch like flowing water. His thin waist and broad shoulders appeared like a silhouette in Xue Sui's eyes.

She raised her hands, but had nowhere to put them.

"Don't lie!"

Li Zhao came closer, his bright eyes and sparse eyebrows exuding a kind of charming evil spirit, the black jade reflected the moonlight, inexplicably adding a bit of seductive charm...

"Your Highness, Prince Duan has sent guards to Tanqiu Courtyard. Please do not act recklessly."

"Do you think I'm afraid of him?" Li Zhao supported her sweaty body, and felt the softness in his palms. The warm and soft jade rushed over like a torrent again, so rampant that it seemed to drown him...

Only then did Xue Sui realize that his tense body was trembling slightly, as if he was enduring great pain.

"Does the wound hurt?" Her fingers gently brushed Li Zhao's shoulder.

Li Zhao chuckled, lowered his head and leaned close to her earlobe, as if he was going to bite it. "Fake love and fake friendship."

Xue Sui was angry and pushed him hard on the shoulder.

Seeing him baring his teeth in pain, she looked at him coldly.

"ask for it."

She turned around decisively, and although there was clearly no gentleness in her expression, Li Zhao felt that it was particularly affectionate and gentle.

His Adam's apple rolled involuntarily, "I used to think that no one in this world could control me. I never thought that the love thread Gu could do it, and you, Xue Liu, could do it."

His eyes were blurry.

That is the fragility revealed by a person trapped in love.

"Xue Ping'an, if you want to be the one doing the fighting, you should at least give me some sweet treats."

Xue Sui was briefly absent-minded.

In fact, she didn't expect that Senior Sister Yuheng's things could be so powerful.

As the crown prince, Li Zhao sat in the East Palace and grew up in the midst of power struggles. He was a man with a strong heart, but his restraint and forbearance were no match for the love silk Gu...

"Your Highness, do you want to take revenge on me?"

Li Zhao sneered, his face full of passion, his eyes full of wild desire for sex, and suddenly he hugged her sideways...

Xue Sui was caught off guard and was hugged by him. His back touched the soft quilt, and his hands and feet rubbed against the edge of the couch, causing pain. He couldn't help but let out a low cry of annoyance...

The next moment, she had been turned over and was lying on top of him.

Her long hair had just been loosened, and Li Zhao took away the green jade hairpin on her head. Her black hair fell like a waterfall, gently landing on his shoulders and neck, making him feel itchy.

"Xue Ping'an, with your bad temper, who would care about you except me?"

Li Zhao's eyes turned red and the muscles in his arms twitched.

But although he looked crazy, he was not panicked at all, nor did he have the nervousness of breaking into the backyard of the palace. The determination and hidden possessiveness in his eyes even made people suspect that he was looking forward to exposing the secret of the two.

Xue Sui's mood sank slightly.

Li Zhao was chosen because he was disgusted by old conventions and was rebellious, making him the best helper.

If I end up making things worse and let him deal with me at all costs, it would be a waste of time and effort.

"Are you angry?" Li Zhao's tone was gentle with a hint of teasing, as if he was coaxing a naive little girl. His hands gently held her long hair, as if combing it.

"Be obedient and stop making trouble with me. You don't know how hard it has been for me these days..."

The moonlight was like a soft and misty silver gauze, casting a soft glow on his face.

Through the thin fabric, the love thread Gu seemed to be trying to break free from the blood...

Xue Sui was in a trance for a moment, then suddenly looked him in the eye and said in a soothing voice,
"Your Highness is in such a state of distress. I can help you. In a better way..."

There was a string in Li Zhao's heart that broke in an instant.

The senses that had been tortured by the love silk Gu for a long time and could not be satisfied, the accumulated desire was like a wildfire burning his mind, almost devouring him...

There were thousands of thoughts roaring in my mind, with only one thought: take her away.

This idea is crazy.

Even though he tried to hold it back until his eyes turned red, he still couldn't control himself.

If anyone dared to say that he would lose control in the past, he would slap the person in the face.

He has never cared about women, let alone competing with others for favors.

But now, he was like a madman, coveting his brother's wife, and he wanted to possess her, take her away and hide her away from others...

Even though he knew that all this was caused by the love thread Gu.

But his mind was clear.

He watched himself sinking into depravity and making mistakes with clarity. This clarity itself made him feel more anxious and tormented than losing control. At his craziest moments, he even wanted to overthrow the government and morality...

"Okay." His voice was trembling, soft and deep.

"I will believe you..."

Xue Sui's eyelashes fluttered, and he calmly sat up, fumbled for the belt he had untied when changing clothes, and slowly climbed up...

The half-opened collar is lazy and free, and very charming...

Under Li Zhao's puzzled gaze, she calmly lifted his hands, crossed them together, and tied them solemnly to the bedposts of the carved bed.

Li Zhao was slightly surprised, and there was a flash of cold lightning in his eyes.

"Xue Ping'an, what are you doing?"

"Don't move!" Xue Sui was calm and almost ruthless. He did not hesitate to strike, and pressed his fingers hard on his forehead. Then he lowered his head and moved closer, lowering his voice to an almost inaudible level. "Your Highness, aren't you feeling uncomfortable? When reason cannot control itself, it can only be forced. Don't worry, Your Highness, you will feel better once you calm down."

Cold and horny.

Yet it is so close yet so far away, out of reach.

Li Zhao had never seen such a cold yet extremely charming woman. Her whole body seemed like a red-hot iron, with flames burning wildly in her eyes.

But she fumbled around without saying a word and poured him a glass of cold water.

He took out a silver needle from the medicine box, pricked his finger, dripped the blood from his fingertip into the water, and then put it to Li Zhao's mouth.

"Drink it to balance the yin and yang. Maybe it can relieve the restlessness of the male Gu..."

Maybe?

Last time, Li Zhao was tricked by her and naturally resisted.

Especially, he just thought that she said "help him" in the way he thought. Unexpectedly, this vicious woman really didn't understand romance and had no romantic thoughts for him at all.

Li Zhao gasped a few times and tried to untie the restraints.

Seeing that he was not obedient, Xue Sui held down his arms and pulled out his belt. He then separated his two feet to the left and right and tied them to the vertical pole in the shape of a "big" character.

"I'm sorry! Prince——"

The cold water dripped slowly onto his lips.

Seeing that he refused to speak, Xue Sui simply extended his bloody finger towards him...

Li Zhao's pupils narrowed slightly.

His skin was very fair and delicate, his lips were beautifully shaped, the color of petals, soft and warm... Seeing her playing with him like this, with his collar slightly open and his cheeks stained with a suspicious blush, but with such angry and cold eyes, Xue Sui felt that he had committed a sin.

"Are you feeling better?"

Li Zhao opened his dry mouth slightly, and his tongue inadvertently swept across it. The bloody taste not only failed to suppress the impulse, but also added fuel to the fire...

The rapid breathing seemed to dispel the restrained murderous intent and desire.

"Xue Ping'an, I will kill you, believe it or not?"

The moonlight that shone in was blocked by Xue Sui's back, and she couldn't see Li Zhao's expression clearly. She could only hear his muffled humming, like the growl of a trapped beast.

"Is it so uncomfortable?" Xue Sui squinted his eyes, as if he was studying some deadly beast, looking at him calmly, touching his forehead, and then reaching out to feel the pulse of his bound wrist, his voice as cold as broken jade...

"Don't worry, don't worry, Your Highness, please stay calm..."

Li Zhao laughed angrily, with fire burning in his eyes.

"You are really a good person..."

He looked down at his bound body, which looked in a miserable state. If Lai Fu, Guan Ya and others saw him, he, Li Zhao, would never be able to leave the East Palace and see anyone again.

"Let me go, now!"

"I'm thinking about His Highness." Xue Sui was very calm. His fingers wandered between his Adam's apple and neck, as if to test the heat brought by the love thread. He even pinched his red earlobe and rubbed it repeatedly to see his reaction.

For Li Zhao, this was like adding fuel to the fire, like thousands of ants gnawing at his heart...

"Xue Ping'an..."

Even death is better than suffering such heart-wrenching torture...

Li Zhao gnashed his teeth, struggling so hard that the bed rails creaked, and his moon-white brocade robe was in disarray like crumpled rice paper. The red at the corners of his eyes from the attack of the love poison had not yet subsided, revealing a broken and messy color.

"Xue Ping'an..."

The window was half-open, with a breeze blowing and the moonlight dim and unclear.

At this moment, torches suddenly lit up outside the courtyard wall.

There were hurried footsteps and Li Huan's deep voice came through the window screen.

"Safe, the night watchman said he heard a noise in your room. But what happened?"

Xue Sui was slightly startled and pulled off the silver hook on the bed curtain.

Li Zhao: Xue Ping'an, you dare to cheat me without even asking me what my name is?

Xue Sui: Your surname is Li and your name is Zeida? Your nickname is…Zheteng Jushi?