Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 182: Vicious
The carriage traveled a short distance before stopping.

Xue Sui calmly avoided the staring gaze and looked up at the man's handsome face.

"Your Highness is too kind. I was sent by Princess Wenjia to the temple to copy scriptures and pray for the Empress Dowager."

She paused briefly and bowed slightly.

"But His Highness the Crown Prince, with such a large entourage, could it be that you're about to go out of the city for an inspection?"

Li Zhao: "I wish to leave the city, but my father has ordered me to guard the capital and I am not allowed to leave without permission..."

His tone was calm, yet it reminded Xue Sui of the embarrassment he felt that day in the Linde Hall when Emperor Chongzhao publicly forced him to drink. Furthermore, because of the Ping Le incident, he had repeatedly reprimanded him for "acting rashly and behaving inappropriately as the crown prince"...

She looked up and saw Li Zhao staring down at her.

Sunlight fell on his straight back, revealing a hint of loneliness.

"Your Highness—" she finally spoke, her voice as soft as a falling leaf, "The autumn rain is chilly, and one can easily catch a cold. Your Highness should take care of yourself."

Li Zhao smiled slightly.

Suddenly, he flicked the reins, and the black horse reared up and neighed.

"Please give my regards to Princess Wenjia and tell her that I will prepare a gift and visit her another day."

"Yes."

Xue Sui calmly lowered the carriage curtain and took his leave through the gauze curtain.

As the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, Xue Sui's palms formed crescent-shaped marks, but his face showed no emotion whatsoever.

As she watched the figure disappear at the end of the long street, she suddenly felt her heart pounding with blood, even more intense than usual.

We need to find Senior Sister Yuheng as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this.

一
Imperial City.

Inside the Ruijin Hall, Emperor Chongzhao stared at Consort Xiao's pale and haggard face on the bed, his expression as gloomy as iron.

In an attempt to force him to come over, Consort Xiao actually committed suicide in her bedchamber.

At this moment, the hall was completely silent, except for the intermittent sobs of Princess Ping Le.

Ping Le knelt on the ground, her long hair disheveled, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.

The Grand Princess sat to one side, the teapot in her hand making a crisp clinking sound.

“Ping Le has become so spoiled; she deserves to be punished,” the Grand Princess sighed. “But she is, after all, His Majesty’s darling daughter, His Majesty and the Consort’s only daughter…”

Emperor Chongzhao slammed his palm on the table, interrupting the Grand Princess, "I have already shown her leniency by confining her to her quarters for three months and making her copy the 'Admonitions for Women' a hundred times. How much more lenient do I need to be? ...Do you expect me to abolish all the laws?"

He suddenly stood up, pointed at Ping Le's face, and said, "From now on, you will stay in Ruijin Palace and copy scriptures with your mother to atone for your sins. Without my decree, you are not allowed to step out of the palace gates. Anyone who pleads for your life will be punished along with you!"

"Father!" Ping Le lay on the ground, crying her heart out.

"Your subject is innocent! It was Wen Jia and Xue Liu who conspired to frame me..."

She looked up through her tear-filled eyes, meeting the emperor's cold gaze, and her voice suddenly became sharp: "You once said you would always protect your son!"

Emperor Chongzhao turned his back, his voice filled with anger.

"I have given you face, yet you do not appreciate it. You have repeatedly acted recklessly, and I have tolerated it each time, never investigating further. But what about you? You actually used red musk powder to fake a pregnancy and framed your sister at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, making yourselves a laughingstock among the ladies of the court. Now, not only do you not know your crime, but you also try to justify yourself? Are you trying to force me to disregard our father-daughter relationship?"

He finished speaking sternly, then turned and left.

The dragon robe swept across the screen with a ripping sound.

Ping Le suddenly looked up, watching the emperor's departing figure, and scrambled to her feet to follow him.

"Father!"

Emperor Chongzhao paused, but did not turn around.

Ping Le suddenly burst into a bitter laugh, tears streaming down her face as she laughed.

"You told your daughter that with you as her support, she could face any storm in this world without fear. Even if she caused a huge mess, her father would stand up for her. If your daughter made a mistake, it was because you spoiled her—a son's lack of filial piety is the father's fault. You used to indulge your daughter's wanton behavior, but now, for the sake of this so-called imperial family's reputation, you heartlessly abandoned her..."

Emperor Chongzhao slowly turned around.

He looked at the tears on Ping Le's face, his fingers slowly tightening, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes...

In a daze, as if a stone statue had entered a meditative state, it took a long time before it raised its hand and waved.

"Guards." He closed his eyes, his voice low and deep. "Issue my decree: send Princess Ping Le back to her residence. Order the Imperial Medical Academy to examine her daily and allow her to recuperate peacefully. She is not to leave the residence without my decree..."
-
The west wing of Princess Ping Le's residence.

As soon as Gu Jie climbed over the wall, he was embraced by a soft, warm body.

He staggered a couple of steps, smelling the delicate fragrance, and swallowed lightly.

"Princess……"

Ping Le dug her ten fingers deep into his back, her voice trembling with resentment.

"Gu Jie, you said you would die for me, is that true?"

Gu Jie straightened his back and gasped.

Only after he half-embraced and half-carried the person into the room did he get a clear look at them.

Ping Le was only wearing a plain white nightgown, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. In the flickering candlelight, she appeared exceptionally pale. Gu Jie asked, "What happened?"

Ping Le gazed at the sycamore tree outside the window. "Gu Wulang, I have nothing left now. My father doesn't want me, and my mother can't protect me... Will you abandon me?"

"Upon hearing of the princess's return, I rushed here without stopping." Gu Jie stood stiffly, letting her hug him. His gaze inadvertently fell on the scattered medicine packets on the table. He patted her back reassuringly, paused for a moment, and then said:

"Princess, you are of noble birth and your body is worth a fortune. Why should you suffer? How could you be penniless?"

Ping Le looked up, a hint of dissatisfaction and ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"I only ask you this—you said you'd die for me, is that really true?"

Gu Jie was startled, "I'm willing..."

Ping Le suddenly lowered her voice and chuckled, "Gu Jie, I'm pregnant with your child..."

Before Gu Jie could react, she gave him another strange smile.

"Unfortunately, the child died in my womb, taken by a packet of red musk powder..."

"Are you crazy!" Gu Jie shoved her away abruptly, looking down at her lower abdomen. "You actually have the heart to harm your own flesh and blood?"

“It’s not my fault. I was killed by Xue Liu and Wen Jia… If they hadn’t forced me to take the red musk powder…” Ping Le laughed slowly, tears streaming down her face.

"Tell me, shouldn't they pay for their crimes with blood?"

Gu Jie stared at her in disbelief.

For a long while, they forgot to react.

Ping Le stared at him with venomous eyes, slowly pulling a palm-sized brocade box from her sleeve and placing it in Gu Jie's palm, her voice laced with seduction.

"Gu Wulang, as long as you remove this great thorn in my side, I will surely regain the Emperor's favor. At that time, I will ask my father to make you my consort, and from then on we will be husband and wife, enjoying wealth and honor."

Gu Jie stared at the crazed light in her eyes, his voice trembling.

"You want me to poison them... Wen Jia? Xue Liu?"

"Poisoning them would be good, of course. But they shouldn't have died like this. I have plenty of ways to deal with them..."

She will surely pay back double for the suffering she has endured.

They must be utterly disgraced, becoming the laughingstock of the world; the title of "Princess Protector of the Nation" must be stripped from Wen Jia; she must suffer endless torment; Lu Youan must be completely obedient and convinced of her worth; Xue Liu must be tortured to the point of wishing for death...

Destroying someone's spirit is more painful than killing them!

Ping Le clutched her handkerchief tightly, thinking of a way to vent her anger that would be even more satisfying than killing them, her eyes filled with resentment.

“There is someone right now who deserves to die more than they do.”

"Who?" Gu Jie asked.

“Fu Qingsong,” Ping Le said, her gaze deep and thoughtful, “he knows too much.”

Gu Jie stared at the intertwined floral pattern on the brocade box and felt a wave of dizziness.

"Physician Fu is the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. If something happens to him, it will definitely have far-reaching consequences."

“That’s why we need to use Xiz’s assassins.” Ping Le leaned closer to him, his warm breath brushing against his ear. “The brocade box contains Xiz’s arsenic, which is colorless and odorless. Even if he were a royal physician, he wouldn’t be able to detect it…”

Seeing Gu Jie standing motionless, she suddenly grasped his hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

“If I lose my child, I can have another one for you… In the future, I will have one that belongs to you, one that is for both of us.”

"Princess!"

"Don't you hate Li Yan? Don't you want revenge?"

Gu Jie took two steps back, his shoulders tense.

“Princess, I have no connection with Physician Fu, and I have no way of contacting him…”

"Hmph! What I want is for you two to never cross paths—"

Ping Le's face was contorted with rage, a crazed flame flickering in his eyes. "I've already thought it all out for you. Tomorrow, Wen Jia will go to Puji Temple to copy scriptures and worship Buddha. I've arranged to go with Fu Qingsong, to wait for the right moment... You just need to strike secretly, and you can kill him without anyone noticing... and then frame the Xiz assassins who are causing trouble in the capital..."

She raised her hand in a killing gesture and smiled slightly.

The sycamore trees outside the window rustled, like the sobs of wronged souls.

Suddenly, Gu Jie remembered what Xue Sui had said.

"To make someone suffer, you have to destroy what they cherish most..."

Isn't Pingluo the same?

Some fight openly, while others plot in secret; the capital city is never short of grudges and feuds.

Love is the sharpest knife in the world, and also the most deadly medicine.

Ping Le has it, but Xue Liu doesn't, so Xue Liu is always one step ahead...

Gu Jie couldn't help but shudder.

Li Zhao: Xue Pingan finally cares about me...

Xue Liu: I'm afraid if you die, I'll have to pay for your funeral.