Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 186 A Shocking Turn of Events Within the Family
The hurried footsteps in the rain drowned out the sound of the rain.

The Imperial Guards of the Right Wing Guard almost turned Puji Temple upside down.

Li Huan remained standing under the eaves, looking at the dilapidated storage room.

The tightly closed door finally opened—

The house was a mess, with swelled straw and waterlogged earthenware jars scattered around. An old wooden box leaned to one side in the corner, and neatly folded prayer flags were mushy from the rain. Several logs lay haphazardly on the ground, and the damp, muddy smell mixed with the stench of rotting wood wafted through the air...

Because there was a large hole in the roof, rainwater poured down the beams and pillars, washing away all the debris and leaving very little trace...

The novice monks at the temple explained that there were too many things piled up in the inner room, and a log was blocking the door, making it difficult to push open.

The two Right Wing Guards searched inside and came out to report.

"Your Highness, there's no one here—"

Li Huan looked at the winding trails of rainwater on the ground and slowly reached for the sword at his waist.

Just then, a soft sound of tiles breaking came from the southwest corner.

Someone was stepping on the roof of the flying eaves.

"Surround them!" Li Huan shouted in a low voice, drawing his sword with a clear sound that pierced the rain.

Dozens of imperial guards swarmed like crows, instantly sealing off the side gates around the meditation room.

Li Huan stopped abruptly at the corner of the corridor, watching helplessly as a dark shadow swept across the eaves, its wide sleeves fluttering as it scattered bamboo leaves everywhere...

"There they are!" the Right Wing Guard Commander shouted, raising his goose-feather saber and leading his men in pursuit.

Li Huan suddenly raised his hand and snatched the bow from the archer's hand.

He looked in the direction where the dark figure had flashed by, lowered his shoulders, stretched out his arms, and drew the bowstring taut...

Whoosh!
The arrow tore through the rain curtain and shot into the sky.

Li Zhao waved his sleeve and spun around to avoid it.

The arrow grazed his arm, leaving a three-inch gash...

The sound of rain suddenly intensified. He lightly touched the dripping beast with his toes, rolled over the slippery bricks of the corridor, and used the momentum to leap towards the red wall, the tiles shattering beneath his feet...

Li Huan led his men to the red wall of the temple and blocked the moon gate.

"Fire arrows!"

Arrows and rain intertwined, like silver threads in the twilight.

Li Zhao closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his handsome face now filled with a fierce expression...

Suddenly, a cold light flashed from his sleeve, revealing more than a dozen poisoned bone-piercing nails that shot out, heading straight for the right side guard's vital point.

"Ah!" The shout pierced the air, mingling with the sound of rain.

Several Right Wing Guards fell to the ground, pierced by nails, and cried out in pain...

Li Zhao sneered, and under the cover of the torrential rain, pressed his body against the damp pillars of the corridor, gazing at the red walls that were faintly visible in the rain and mist, and suddenly put his fingers in his mouth.

"Chew..."

The whistle pierced through the clouds.

The neighing of horses tore through the rain, their footsteps creating tiny splashes of water on the rain-soaked road.

Li Zhao's boot tip scraped against the bluish moss at the corner of the wall, and he leaped down, leaving a faint footprint.

Then, he turned around, took out a jade pendant from his waist, and threw it forcefully.

The jade pendant slid down the crack in the wall...

"drive!"

He spurred his horse and galloped away.

Behind them, Puji Temple gradually faded into a hazy silhouette.

The shouts of the Imperial Guards blended into a roaring sound...

"People ran away!"

"Come on!"

Horse hooves pounded through puddles and mud, while in the distance, hunting dogs barked wildly in the bamboo groves of farmhouses, their barks mingling with the pounding rain and the shouts of pursuers, rising and falling like a death knell...

Li Zhao glanced back at the pursuing soldiers, slapped his horse hard, and tumbled down the gentle slope...

The horse was startled and galloped away!

In an instant, several Right Wing Guards surrounded them and looked at the hoofprints on the muddy ground.

"Chase them, they're over there—"
-
Rainwater, carrying the scent of sandalwood, spilled over the eaves of Puji Temple.

Li Huan stood on the bluestone steps under the corridor, a corner of his cloak lifted by the cool breeze, his cold and stern face shrouded in the dim light...

"Your Highness."

The Right Wing Guard Commander knelt with his sword in his hand.

"That thief was extremely cunning. He took advantage of the rain to sneak into the mountains and forests. We chased him halfway up the mountain and searched the area, but in the end, he still managed to escape..."

Li Huan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his gaze unusually cold in the rain.

He didn't get angry; his expression remained calm and stern. "Send down the order to completely seal off the villages surrounding the mountains and forests. Deploy two battalions for patrols and conduct door-to-door searches. We need to find them alive or dead."

The commander dared not hesitate and hurriedly clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

At this moment, a guard came running from the front hall corridor.

"Your Highness, I have been ordered to investigate all the worshippers at the front hall, and there are no unfamiliar foreigners among them..."

Another guard rushed forward from around the corner, saying, "Your Highness, I have not found any accomplices either."

"Your Highness, we have searched the woodshed, kitchen, vegetable garden, release pond, and stables in the back garden, but we haven't even found a single suspicious stray cat..."

There was no good news.

Everyone held their breath, too nervous to even breathe.

Li Huan first raised an eyebrow, then pursed his lips, chuckled, and his expression became extremely strange.

“Your Highness…” Xiang Yang glanced at his gentle and handsome face and said in a low and cautious voice, “The pattern on the dagger that killed Physician Fu is indeed that of the Xiz assassins.”

As he spoke, he presented a plain handkerchief with both hands.

The bloodstained dagger lay there, gleaming with an eerie light.

"The totem on the hilt is exactly the same as the Siz token we seized last time."

Li Huan stared at the menacing ring, slowly raised his hand, and rubbed the indentation of the hilt a few times before suddenly chuckling.

"What a clever way to shift the blame eastward."

When Xue Sui came out after getting ready, she heard this seemingly random remark.

She paused under the eaves, her gaze fixed on the damp base of the storage room wall.

A mud-stained oil paper package, crumpled and mixed among broken tiles and damp, rotten straw, blended in with the surrounding colors and didn't stand out much.

"Your Highness." Xue Sui pulled his cloak tighter and slowly approached, as if the unpleasantness from earlier had never happened. "Have you discovered anything?"

Li Huan glanced at her sideways, twirling his jade thumb ring, and replied casually, "It's strange that nothing was found. But if something is indeed found, then it's definitely... someone framed me."

Xue Sui asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Li Huan: "How could the Xizi assassins leave so many flaws when they kill people?"

After saying that, he walked to the damp wall of the storeroom, bent down, and reached out to take the crumpled oil paper package, but heard Xue Sui shout in surprise to stop him.

"Your Highness, don't move!" Li Huan looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

Xue Sui's eyes flickered, and he gave a faint reminder, "If this matter is truly related to Xiz, it's best to be cautious. The Prince just said that if anything is found, it's because someone framed us. But I think there might be other possibilities besides being framed..."

"What do you want to say?" Li Huan approached, his voice icy.

Xue Sui did not retreat but advanced, saying, "Besides framing others, he also kills people."

After saying that, she bent down, picked up a stick, and gently pried open the oil paper package.

Inside was indeed a layer of white powder, which, because it was tightly wrapped, was not washed away by the rain.

"I've heard that Siz has a poison that is colorless and odorless. If it accidentally comes into contact with the skin or enters the mouth or nose, even a god couldn't save you..."

Li Huan squinted at him, "Ping An knows a lot."

Xue Sui looked back calmly, "I know a little about the common origin of medicine and poison."

Li Huan rubbed his thumb ring without saying a word.

Before he finished speaking, a guard stumbled over, soaked to the bone, panting heavily, his excited voice trembling.

"Your Highness, we've found this! We've found a token..."

It was a jade pendant engraved with the Xiz totem...

It was exactly the same as the one found on Li Yan, the Prince of Wei, last time.

"Your Highness, it was left behind by the murderer."

With the dagger and jade pendant as evidence, and given the methods commonly used by the Xiz assassins, it is certain that Fu Qingsong was killed by a Xiz person.

Everyone held their breath and stared at Li Huan.

Li Huan did not answer.

The Right Wing Guard Commander bowed and asked, "Your Highness, what should we do now? Should we continue the search?"

Puji Temple is a sacred Buddhist site. The extensive search has already disturbed the monks' peaceful practice. Further investigation might incur the wrath of the monks and tarnish the imperial family's reputation for reverence for Buddhism...

Li Huan looked at the continuous rain under the eaves and slowly waved his hand.

"You should retreat to the outside of the mountain gate, gather your men, and guard the temple gate strictly."

"Yes!"

The group accepted the order and left.

The sound of hurried footsteps gradually faded away in the rain.

Li Huan slowly walked back to the corridor and stood in front of Xue Sui.

Rainwater slid down his chin, spreading across his soaked collar. His expression was somber, his gaze unfathomable.

"Will you come back to the manor with me, or stay another night?"

Xue Sui hesitated for a moment, "I'll trouble Your Highness to go ahead. Wen Jia and I just finished copying the scriptures and haven't had a chance to offer them yet. With such a big incident, the temple's religious ceremonies may be affected, and we'll probably not be able to return until tomorrow..."

"Hmm." Li Huan nodded without the slightest doubt and left.

Xue Sui watched his retreating figure and silently returned to her meditation room.

The door had just closed.

Li Huan stopped in his tracks.

He looked back at the meditation room and slowly walked back.

The boots stopped outside the dilapidated storage room, their eyes fixed on the damaged wooden door...

After a long pause, he took another step and left...
-
The candlelight in the meditation room flickered.

Xue Sui stood quietly by the window, taking in Li Huan's sudden stop.

"Miss, shall I follow the Prince?" Xiao Zhao asked softly as she walked behind her.

Xue Sui shook his head and unconsciously poked at the soaked window paper.

Outside the window, the rain fell like a curtain, and half of her face was shrouded in shadow.

"The bait has been taken; now we await the outcome."

Before she could finish speaking, her gaze suddenly froze as she caught sight of a glimpse of a moon-white robe behind the screen—

Turning around abruptly, he saw Tian Shu holding the Lingqiong Flute, his face as indifferent as the thin snow that was about to melt.

"Eldest brother?"

Tian Shu nodded silently without making a sound.

Xiao Zhao glanced at the two of them, then turned her gaze slightly and winked at Ruyi.

"This servant will wait outside."

The half-burnt candle flame burst open, and Xiao Zhao and Ruyi tacitly retreated outside the door.

Tian Shu slowly sat down, and Ling Qiongxiao twirled leisurely between his fingertips, his voice soft.

"Manager Qiu is being watched by both the Crown Prince's Palace and the Prince Duan's Mansion."

He told Xue Sui what had happened in the antique shop...

Xue Sui asked, "Did the two of them fight?"

Tian Shu shook his head. "They didn't run into them."

Xue Sui raised her delicate eyebrows slightly: "Senior brother, do you think Old Qiu is reliable?"

Tian Shu didn't move, but Ling Qiongxiao suddenly stood in front of the candlelight, covering the cold light in his pupils. "His little Quan is in the Old Mausoleum Swamp. I doubt he would dare to betray us."

"That's good." Xue Sui said, "High Priest Amenglah of Xiz and King Ashina of Xiz, one advocates peace and the other advocates war. They are outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds. The Xiz assassins who are lying in wait in Shangjing are Ashina's personal guards..."

She paused, sat down in front of Tian Shu, and tapped her knuckles lightly on the table, making two crisp sounds. "Ashina's move is ostensibly to use the assassins to disrupt the situation in the capital and fish in troubled waters. In reality, he wants to take this opportunity to overthrow the High Priest and seize sole power in Xiz."

Tian Shu's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you think?"

Xue Sui said, "Senior Brother, how about we devise a 'Defeating the Enemy' strategy this time? We can use their strength against them and nip Ashina's conspiracy in the bud..."

Tian Shu asked, "What benefits would it bring to the old mausoleum?"

Both Daliang and Xizi are far more powerful than the Old Mausoleum. It's not worth getting involved in the conflict for either side; staying out of it and seeking personal gain is the Old Mausoleum's consistent strategy.

Xue Sui understood Tian Shu's meaning and paused for a moment. "It's wise for us to remain passive and reap the benefits. But we can't just sit back and wait. We have to sacrifice some bait and act strategically. Senior brother, a small sacrifice is necessary to achieve a greater gain..."

Tian Shu looked at her seriously, "Should the credit for the strategy of defeating the enemy be attributed to Li Zhao?"

Before Xue Sui could answer, Tian Shu asked again, "Ping An, do you only use Li Zhao, or do you have some ulterior motive? Aren't you afraid that the wolf you've raised will turn on its master?"

Wolf?
Who is the wolf is still undecided.

Just as Xue Sui was about to speak, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

She and Tian Shu exchanged a glance. "What happened?"

Xiao Zhao pushed open the door, her face filled with barely suppressed panic.

"Girl, something terrible has happened..."

Xue Sui rarely saw such a panicked and bewildered expression on Xiao Zhao's face.

Her heart sank. "Tell me slowly..."

Xiao Zhao clutched her chest, her voice trembling slightly, "News has come from the Western Hills Palace: Consort Wan has been poisoned to death, and Niu Niu is also missing..."

See you tomorrow!