Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 194 The Cunning Woman
Prince Duan's Mansion.

Inside the Lanzhi Courtyard, the strong smell of medicine mixed with styrax made people dizzy.

Li Huan sat on the embroidered stool in front of the wooden couch, looking at the scarlet rash that had spread from the neck of his concubine Zhang, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

The physician knelt before the footstool, slowly inserting silver needles into the acupoints, the veins on his forehead throbbing slightly with his breath.

"Your Highness, the symptoms have come on fiercely, it seems to be..."

The physician swallowed hard and continued, "It seems to be due to the accidental ingestion of something unclean, causing heat to accumulate in the spleen and stomach, leading to the external manifestation of toxins on the skin..."

The maid Cuizhi's hand holding the medicine trembled, and she knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness, the concubine's diet has always been meticulous, and I personally check it every day; there has never been a mistake..."

Zhang Shi huddled in the brocade quilt, her makeup smudged by tears, looking pitifully at Li Huan.

"Your Highness...is someone trying to harm me...?"

Li Huan glanced at Cuizhi, gently raised his right arm, and did not blame the maid. He simply looked at the imperial physician indifferently.

"Just prescribe the medicine and take good care of yourself..."

Seeing that he was distant and didn't seem particularly concerned about her, Zhang felt an unusual itching all over her body and started crying again...

"Your Highness, please save me! I'm so itchy, so incredibly itchy..."

Li Huan looked reluctant and was about to comfort him when a guard came to report.

"Your Highness, Minister Xue requests an audience."

Li Huan propped himself up on the table and suddenly felt a stinging itch all over his body.

He suddenly rolled up his sleeve, revealing a fine layer of red rashes on his forearm, like spreading tongues of fire licking his skin, the itch traveling through his veins to every part of his body...

The physician's expression changed.

"Your Highness, what... what's going on?"

Li Huan's gaze slowly shifted to Zhang Shi.

She stretched her neck, revealing an equally alarming red rash, and looked at Li Huan's arm, panicking like a frightened rabbit.

"Your Highness, please have mercy! I was unaware, I didn't know I had come into contact with anything unclean... I didn't mean to harm Your Highness..."

When Li Huan entered the room, he didn't touch anything else, except for a brief moment of contact when Zhang rushed over and hugged him...

Li Huan looked at Zhang's flustered and helpless expression and remained silent for a moment.

"Strictly inspect food and beverages. Clothing, bedding, and all personal items must be fumigated with chemicals..."

He then instructed the physician, "Once the medicine is ready, give me a bowl as well."

After saying that, he hurried back to the main house, changed into clean clothes, took a bath, applied ointment, and then went to the main hall to greet the guests.

Inside the main hall, Xue Qingzhi had been waiting impatiently.

Seeing Li Huan come out in casual clothes, he quickly stood up and bowed.

"Your Highness, this humble official pays his respects."

"No need for formalities, Lord Xue." Li Huan forced a smile and said, "I was feeling unwell just now and was delayed for a while. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Xue."

Xue Qingzhi caught a glimpse of the faint red rash under his sleeve, and then saw him coming after taking a bath, and hesitated to speak.

"Has Your Highness summoned the imperial physician for treatment?"

"The physician has already prescribed a medicine; it's nothing serious, just a minor ailment."

As Li Huan spoke, his brows furrowed involuntarily. The itch was like spider silk, densely coiling and growing wildly under his skin, making his knuckles, which were gripping the rosewood armrest, turn bluish-white.

"What brings you here today, Lord Xue? Please speak frankly."

For a person of upright character and proper manners, suppressing the itch on their body and resisting the urge to scratch is an unbearable torment, like sitting on pins and needles.

Xue Qingzhi could tell that he was impatient and uncomfortable, and the evidence in his sleeve seemed to weigh a ton.

"The day before yesterday, I received intelligence that some Xiz assassins had broken into the Zhang residence at night..."

He spoke tentatively, and seeing that Li Huan didn't respond, he forced himself to continue, "The two spies have been apprehended, and interrogation revealed... they didn't go to the Zhang residence to steal..."

"Oh?" Li Huan raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you go?"

"A secret meeting with River Conservancy Inspector Zhang Huaiyi." Xue Qingzhi's hands trembled as he took out his confession, his palms already damp with a thin layer of sweat.

“During the interrogation, one of them committed suicide. This is another confession. Please take a look, Your Highness.”

Li Huan took it and quickly glanced at it.

He wanted to examine it carefully, but he was incredibly itchy all over. The piercing itch made it impossible for him to calm down, so he just glanced at it a few times, then folded it up and placed it on the table.

"Understood. Minister Xue, please return to your residence. I have my own plans for this matter."

"Yes." Xue Qingzhi understood the implication that he was being asked to leave.

Since Li Huan wanted to protect Zhang Huaiyi, there was no need for him to say anything more...

Xue Qingzhi's eyes dimmed slightly as he rose, bowed, and took his leave.

After taking a few steps, he seemed to remember something, turned around, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

“Your Highness, my mother fell ill recently, and Madam Ping’an invited a traveling doctor from the countryside. He is quite skilled and even cured the old lady’s headaches that had plagued her for many years. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, perhaps Madam Ping’an could ask him to take a look?”

"A traveling doctor?" Li Huan's eyes flickered slightly. He slowly rubbed his itchy wrist and smiled gently.

"Then I would like to meet him."

Before he could finish speaking, the bodyguard Xiang Yang rushed in.

"Your Highness! Urgent report from the Yongding River!"

His face was anxious. "His Highness the Crown Prince, leading the Eastern Palace Guards, intercepted a Xiz merchant caravan. The caravan resisted arrest and a fierce battle broke out with the Eastern Palace soldiers. His Highness went on a killing spree and also... also sent men to detain the River Conservancy Inspector, Lord Zhang..."

Li Huan propped himself up, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Ready your horse!"
-
Autumn colors are bleak along the Yongding River.

Li Zhao reined in his horse as he approached the riverbank, his black cloak billowing in the wind, carrying the fishy smell of the riverbank, revealing the jade belt at his waist, its cold light gleaming.

"Your Highness, the thief is trying to escape!"

Li Zhao gripped the hilt of his sword. "Thirty feet to the southeast, we will flank from both sides, with archers and crossbowmen providing cover."

Before he finished speaking, the reeds on the riverbank suddenly rustled, and more than a dozen dark figures emerged from the reeds. They were dressed in tight-fitting clothes, just like the Xiz assassins who had previously assassinated court officials.

"kill!"

"Whoever takes the life of the prince will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold!"

"Kill!" The shouts of battle echoed through the sky.

The man in the lead, his curved blade gleaming in the sun, charged straight at Li Zhao.

"Hmph!" The prince on horseback did not move an inch, and the sword light that had been flashing suddenly appeared, sweeping across like a cold star...

Blades clashed.

Clang! A spark landed on Li Zhao's cold brow, making his handsome eyes appear even more dazzling.

"Your talent is worth a thousand taels of silver? Prepare to die!"

The Siz assassin staggered backward, blood trickling down his wrist along his scimitar...

A group of Imperial Guards from the Eastern Palace surrounded them. Outnumbered and powerful, the fighting lasted less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. Several wounded soldiers lay groaning on the ground. The Xiz assassins brandished their scimitars, charging left and right, fighting desperately, but ultimately they were no match for them...

"withdraw!"

Just as a assassin was about to bite through the poison sac between his teeth, Li Zhao's sword tip flicked lightly. A pebble struck him precisely in the jaw, and he collapsed to the ground with a cry of agony…

The others exchanged glances, cut the carriage shafts and reins, mounted their horses, and galloped away.

Li Zhao spurred his horse, flicking the blood off his sword, and spurred his horse to chase after them...

"Don't let a single person escape."

Horse hooves pounded the shallows, startling egrets into flight.

Just as Hakmu was about to direct the breakout, he saw the horses of the fleeing caravan neighing. His own horse suddenly whimpered, its front hooves buckling to the ground, blood seeping from its hooves...

"what happened?"

"Chief, the horse... the horse is dying!"

The attendants were in a panic.

"The new horseshoes are faulty!"

Hakmu suddenly thought of the kind-hearted young blacksmith in the blacksmith's shop, and his solicitous smile when they parted...

"That scoundrel tricked me! Brothers, we've fallen for his trap..."

Before the sound had even faded, a figure swept past the startled horse. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his waist and fell headfirst off the horse.

Li Zhao reined in his horse and stood still, his eyes gleaming coldly, as if surging with murderous intent...

"Keep alive!"

He charged into the enemy ranks first, followed closely by a group of Eastern Palace guards like a black torrent. The bloody glint of swords reflected the terrified faces of the onlookers.

"Your Highness, one of them has escaped..."

Li Zhao squinted at the figure disappearing into the reeds, and slightly raised his hand, the black gold wrist guard gleaming coldly in the autumn sun.

"Let him be."

The goods were seized by the Imperial Guards and inventoried one by one.

Li Zhao walked in front, with two rows of guards standing in full armor on either side, the atmosphere heavy and somber.

However, when Li Zhao's sword tip parted the oilcloth, he saw a bucket of fine yellow sand. With a gentle shake, the sand grains slid off in a soft rustling sound...

Everyone froze for a moment.

Beneath the layers of spices lay not gunpowder, but yellow sand.

Guan Ya leaned closer to examine it, a look of doubt on his face.

Why transport yellow sand?

Li Zhao remained silent, a chill settling between his brows.

His gaze swept over the neatly stacked goods, and he raised his hand slightly.

As the oil paper covers were peeled off, the soldiers' pupils dilated as they looked.

"Your Highness, it's sand!"

"It's all sand!"

"That damned scoundrel, so cunning!"

"The Xiz people are transporting yellow sand all the way to the capital. Could it be that they intend to use witchcraft?" Yuan Cang stared at the sand bucket, scratching his head in confusion.

Guan Ya then speculated: "Could it be that someone is using a diversionary tactic, and the real gunpowder has already been secretly transported?"

Li Zhao bent down, grabbed a handful of sand, and let the grains slip through his fingers.

"interesting."

Guan Ya clasped his hands in a fist and asked for instructions, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Li Zhao shook off the yellow sand in his hand and mounted his horse.

"The gunpowder is fake, but the Siz assassins are real..."

Having said that, he glanced at the leader of the assassins who had fainted from the pain, and gave the order in a cold voice.

"The tooth has been extracted; take him back for further questioning..."

"Yes!" The Siz assassins had deadly poison in their teeth, ready to commit suicide at any moment. They had learned their lesson before, and they wouldn't be given another chance to escape interrogation...

The banks of the Yongding River were packed with onlookers, as densely packed as ants.

A group of dozens of people, escorting the bound and gagged Siz assassins, drove carts of goods through the crowd.

Li Zhao stared at the cold-shimmering river water, thinking of Xue Sui's bright eyes, the girl's laughter weaving a web in his mind...

The fishy, ​​sweet river breeze suddenly rushed into my throat.

Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation in my heart...

He chuckled softly, tilted his head to spit out the blood in his mouth, his canine teeth unconsciously grinding against each other like a wild beast licking its wound, and a hint of peach blossom color gradually appeared at the corners of his eyes...

Xue Liu.

Xue Pingan.

What a cunning and fickle woman...

Li Zhao: Xue Liu harmed the orphan and gained half a city of yellow sand!

Xue Sui: This is but a small gift, hardly a token of my respect. I hope Your Highness can appreciate its meaning?

Li Zhao: I can taste the flavor of longing; you must be madly in love with me...

Xue Sui: ...