Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 199 Smell the fragrance
Xue Sui gazed at the curtain of rain hanging from the eaves, lost in thought.

The plum wine on the stove has been warmed three times, and its sweet and sour aroma is becoming increasingly rich in the room...

Jinshu tiptoed over, glanced at the wine pot on the stove, then at Xue Sui's graceful figure standing motionless by the window, and said softly, "Miss, it's late, perhaps..."

"Add two more pieces of silver charcoal." Xue Sui interrupted her, his gaze fixed coldly on the dark window, raindrops shattering into stars in her pupils.

Jinshu sighed inwardly and moved the charcoal closer to the table.

The red-hot coals crackled in the stove, reflecting off her lowered profile and making the copper pot for warming wine scald.

bang——

The night watchman's clapper struck three times...

There were no lights on in the darkness, and the copper bells on the pigeon coop swayed gently in the autumn wind, tinkling softly.

Suddenly, a slight knock came from the door knocker.

Xue Sui suddenly relaxed his fingertips.

She gestured for Jinshu to step back, straightened her clothes, and slowly walked over...

The moment the wooden door creaked open, a cold wind carrying rain rushed in.

Li Zhao didn't climb through the window; dressed in black, he slipped into the room like a ghost.

Without a word, he gently lifted his cloak, revealing water dripping from his hair, sliding down his sharply defined jawline, and his handsome face gleaming with a bewitching, dark light…

"Your Highness has quite the courage." Xue Sui's gaze swept over his soaked sleeves: "Knowing that Prince Duan was suspicious, you still risked coming here. Aren't you afraid that this water stain will tarnish the reputation of the Crown Prince?"

Li Zhao closed the door behind him and bolted it tightly. His voice was chilly with the rain, “What am I afraid of? Even if I am condemned by thousands, it’s just gossip.”

Xue Sui: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent. Even if his wings are broken, he is merely a dragon trapped in shallow waters, and at most he will recover for half a year. But I am afraid. I am afraid that ten years of hard work will be destroyed in an instant. I am afraid that villains will cause trouble and all previous achievements will be in vain. I am afraid that the two hundred thousand white bones in the old mausoleum will never be vindicated..."

Perhaps the plum wine had amplified her emotions, for her voice was colder than usual, like ice breaking in a frozen pool, making her lips appear even paler.

Li Zhao sneered, revealing the corners of his eyes, which were burning red from the Love Silk Gu.

"With me here, the sky will not fall down."

Xue Sui took a half step back, but her sleeve was grabbed by Li Zhao. With a soft snapping sound, she stumbled into an embrace filled with the faint fragrance of pine and cypress, her forehead hitting his firm shoulder, causing her to groan in pain.

"Li Zhao, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Not calling me Your Highness anymore?" Li Zhao raised an eyebrow, pinching her chin with his fingertips.

The red glow of the charcoal fire danced in his eyes, reflecting off her slightly disheveled temples.

"I am the Crown Prince, but I am also a fool who has been ensnared by your love spell."

Li Zhao's eyes were bloodshot, and the force he used to hold her wrist suddenly increased, as if he wanted to tear her apart and devour her...

That was the critical point where emotional intelligence was about to be destroyed.

He's like a demon.

"Xue Ping'an, didn't you think about the consequences when you provoked me?"

Xue Sui's heart pounded, the Love Silk Gu raging wildly in her chest, making her eyes feel cold.

"Your Highness is adept at turning the tables. If you didn't want to use me to restrain Prince Duan and investigate the Old Mausoleum, why would you have conspired with me? It's just a matter of each getting what they want; I haven't held a knife to your throat. Why pretend to be so aggrieved?"

Li Zhao's breath hitched, and he slid his fingertips to her cheek, gently rubbing it.

"Are you angry? Even when you're angry, you're still so beautiful... Tell me, what kind of bewitching evil magic is this Gu? How did it lure me into such a ridiculous state?"

Xue Sui turned her head to avoid his touch, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her close, forcing her to look up at him. His long, slender fingers, like thorny vines, pinched her neck.

Hard.

Apply more force.

The two were so close that their breaths could be heard.

It looked like he was about to strangle her...

Xue Sui remained calm, and one could almost hear his rapid heartbeat.

"Your Highness has come tonight to take my life?"

Ah!
Li Zhao slid his hand down to her lower back and tightened it.

"If I wanted to kill you, I should have done it ten years ago at the foot of the artificial hill in Puji Temple. Why wait until today?"

Ten years ago…

Is it under the artificial hill at Puji Temple?

The wealthy young man who draped a fox fur cloak over her to keep warm...

Is it Li Zhao?
The past is like a knife cutting through ten years of time, cutting through her rotten flesh and unbearable pain.

The person before me slowly overlapped with the young master from my memories…

Xue Sui's pupils suddenly contracted as he watched his Adam's apple bob, and his blood seemed to freeze.

It's him!

His dark, fitted outfit accentuated his lean, slender waistline, while the dark jade pendant hanging from his belt gleamed with an eerie light, mirroring the crimson gleam in his eyes.

"Xue Ping'an, you are good at scheming, but you shouldn't have schemed against me."

Li Zhao's laughter carried a hint of self-deprecation.

"What makes you say that, Your Highness?" Xue Sui asked.

"You were the one who provided Xue Qingzhi with the intelligence about the Xiz spies. You were the one who turned the Xiz caravan's gunpowder into yellow sand. You were also the one who wanted the Crown Prince to take the blame for your smuggling of gunpowder and used someone else to do your dirty work. Xue Liu, how could you be so vicious?"

Xue Sui lowered her eyes to avoid his burning gaze, then turned and pushed the warmed wine cup onto the table.

"This strategy for defeating the enemy was told to Your Highness from the very beginning."

She gestured for Li Zhao to sit down.

Her pale fingertips gently lifted the wine pot.

The wine rippled like amber in the white jade cup.

"The plum wine has been warmed for two hours. It is smooth and gentle on the palate, and soothing to the stomach. Would Your Highness like to try some?"

"If one plan fails, try the honey trap?"

Li Zhao suddenly grasped her hand holding the teapot, examining it closely. As their breaths mingled, it felt as if the burning heat of the love potion was coursing through her veins, and the veins on the back of her hand bulged...

"What did they add to the wine this time?"

"It's just plums, honey, and poria cocos," Xue Sui replied casually.

Li Zhao stared at her, and then, taking her hand, drank the wine cup in his palm in one gulp.

"With the Love Silk Gu in hand, I doubt you'd dare to use poison."

Poisoned?

Xue Sui shook his head. "It's merely using the Ministry of Justice to create a loophole. Why is Your Highness so furious?"

Li Zhao sneered, raised his hand and braced it on the table, trapping her between himself and the table. The faint fragrance of orchids emanating from her body lingered around his nose, mixed with the sweetness of plum wine, stirring the love potion in his blood.

"You are overjoyed to be made a concubine, and from now on you will be adorned with a phoenix crown and pheasant robes, and Prince Duan will dote on you... You are indeed free and unrestrained."

Xue Sui looked up and met his gaze, pausing slightly.

“I have long been a member of the Prince Duan’s household. Whether I am a concubine, a lady-in-waiting, or a secondary consort, it makes no difference.”

She spoke calmly, but Li Zhao felt as if he had been doused with ice water.

"They are different."

Concubines, secondary consorts, concubines, and other female attendants are all different...

In terms of status, identity, and patriarchal rituals, she was a legitimate mistress certified by the royal family, a concubine who could be recorded in the clan genealogy, no longer a dispensable concubine...

An imperial decree bestowing the title of imperial concubine officially bound her to Li Huan, making their union legitimate. She could no longer become Li Zhao's crown princess, and there was no room for negotiation.

This was the root of his rage...

Li Zhao was startled by his own thought.

this is not right.

This was not his original intention.

He's simply trapped by the love spell, obsessed with her...

How could he possibly think of making her his crown princess one day?
No, no, no...

Li Zhao's face suddenly darkened.

"Xue Ping'an, you are clearly acting out of self-interest. You are exploiting my power struggle with Li Huan, exploiting my feelings towards you..."

He suddenly fell silent and forcefully pinched her waist.

"Do you think I can't see through you? You only want to use me." Xue Sui had never seen Li Zhao like this before. His eyes seemed to be burning with raging fire, but they were suppressed by a deep layer of forbearance. Like a trapped beast, he could tear everything apart, but he chose to scratch his own heart with his claws.

"Your Highness might not be so?"

She reached out and pushed Li Zhao's shoulder away, looking up at him.

"We've always been using each other."

Li Zhao lowered his head and pressed her wrist down on the table.

The wine cup tilted, and the amber liquid slid down the edge of the table, leaving a dark stain, much like her chaotic thoughts at that moment.

"We both know the truth, so why pretend to be confused?"

Li Zhao stared at the corners of her eyes, which were red from straining, and sneered.

"Do you think that without the Love Silk Gu, I would willingly fall into your trap? Xue Liu, you were unjust first, yet you blame me for being unjust later?"

Xue Sui caught a glimpse of the dark turmoil in his eyes, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Since we have different paths, let's not work together. Let bygones be bygones. Farewell, Your Highness."

Having said that, she abruptly stood up, intending to see the guest out, but Li Zhao grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her in front of him—

The wine cup on the table fell to the ground, startling the spirit feathers in the cage, causing them to flutter loudly.

Xue Sui was startled and raised his leg to kick, but his knee was blocked by the other man's knee and he was pinned to the side of the table.

The dark hem of his robe tangled around her light purple skirt, and their gazes intertwined in an ambiguous vortex under the dim glow of the charcoal fire.

"What is Your Highness doing?"

Li Zhao leaned close to her ear, his voice low, hoarse, and cold.

"It's easy to wipe the slate clean. Just give me the antidote for the Love Curse!"

"The Love Curse has no cure, Your Highness, are you unaware?"

"Then I will use you to cure the poison." Li Zhao chuckled, his eyes bloodshot like those of a ferocious beast, and he grabbed Xue Sui's wrist, making a move to undress her.

“Li Zhao…” Xue Sui’s heart trembled slightly. She called his name in a cold voice, trying to awaken his reason, but Li Zhao responded even more fiercely.

"Calling for the Heavenly King himself won't help."

Xue Sui: "..."

She was not afraid of Li Zhao.

I fear only a slight dryness rising in my throat.

I shouldn't have been tempted by that cup of plum wine; getting close to him made my body go weak, like being entangled in a love affair...

"Your Highness, we shouldn't be like this..."

Before the words were even finished, her waist was suddenly clamped tightly by an iron arm, the brocade jade belt digging painfully into her.

His uncontrollable kisses slid from her earlobe to her neck, gently nibbling at her collarbone, like a young beast angrily marking its prey. The burning sensation of the love potion, wrapped in the sweet and sour taste of plum wine, sent a delicate shiver down her spine.

"Has Li Huan touched this place?" Thin lips rubbed together, the voice hoarse, the flickering light of the charcoal fire illuminating the raindrops still wet at Li Zhao's temples.

"Madman," Xue Sui cursed under his breath.

"Does it hurt?" Li Zhao asked breathlessly, pressing her against the cold table. Looking at her disheveled hair and resentful eyes, he gave a self-deprecating smile...

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his heart.

They jump extremely fast there.

"Do you know how I've endured these past few days? I'm in a lot of pain here."

The beads of sweat on his temples fell onto her cheeks, chillingly cold.

Xue Sui asked calmly, "Does Your Highness intend to become an adulterer?"

The dim glow of the charcoal fire cast distorted silhouettes of two people on the screen.

This immoral entanglement seems to have stained the blank page of traditional ethics, turning the dignity of the royal family and the proper brotherhood into dust...

"Safety."

"Xue Ping'an".

Li Zhao, his voice hoarse, slowly opened his long arms and trembled as he pulled her into his embrace. His hoarse voice was so low it sounded like a murmur squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Please, just do me a favor. Help me."

No one knows how he spent these days. Every day, with his reason consumed by the Love Silk Curse, he was like a demon bound in chains in hell, repeatedly tormented by desire and fantasy...

Restraint, forbearance, and torment.

Life is better than death.

When the Love Silk Gu flares up, only her presence can provide him with some relief.

That's why he always carried a handkerchief he'd swiped from her, almost getting caught by Li Huan...

That's why, after Emperor Chongzhao issued the decree, his jealousy caused his blood to surge in reverse, triggering the backlash of the love potion and bringing him to the brink of losing control...

"Don't move! I'm not a wild beast that goes into heat indiscriminately..."

Li Zhao noticed her struggle and spoke in a low voice.

He gently nuzzled her neck again, his breathing rapid and disordered, mingled with a faint scent of wine.

"I just wanted to smell the fragrance of your orchids..."

Xue Sui's fingertips trembled slightly as she touched the burning heat on his chest. "Does it smell good?"

"Unique in the world, unparalleled in its kind."

Only then did he release his grip and lower his head to kiss her temple.

"Don't worry, Li Huan isn't in the manor. Mr. Qiu sent a secret letter saying that there was news of an imperial envoy from the Old Mausoleum. He took his guards and went to Qixia Mountain to keep the appointment overnight."

Xue Sui: "..."

Li Zhao smirked, "Still angry?"

Xue Sui saw the light in his eyes. It was a delusion even more intense than the Love Silk Curse.

She heard her own voice soften.

"You did it? Just to distract him?"

"Mmm." Li Zhao rested his head on her shoulder, like a wounded beast. His tall and slender figure seemed to be pressing down, as if waiting for someone to lick his wounds...

"Ping An, I like it when you call my name."

Xue Sui raised his hand, hovered in mid-air, then curled his fingertips. After a pause, he suddenly pressed down on Xue Sui's shoulder, his expression hardening.

"Li Zhao."

"Hmm?" he answered softly, gripping her body even tighter.

"I'll help you." Xue Sui suddenly broke free from his embrace, walked to the bedside, lifted the plain silk curtain, took out the prescription that her senior sister Yuheng had given her from under the pillow, and turned to hand it to Li Zhao.

"This is the best way I can find to break the Love Bond, as for the Love Bond Gu..."

Back then, Senior Sister Yuheng said this thing was like a smokescreen, actually relying on the poison of the Love Bond. Over time, it would gradually lose its effectiveness…

However, Li Zhao's inability to control his emotions, as well as her recent unease, gradually made her suspicious of the real existence of the Love Silk Gu.

That's why he was so eager to find Yuheng to get to the bottom of things...

But Li Zhao was like a drowning person, unable to control himself...

In the past, Xue Sui would not have paid any attention to him.

But ten years ago at Puji Temple, Li Zhao saved her.

She couldn't bring herself to do it and watch him sink into depravity.

Moreover, his loss of control and decisiveness...

He is no longer a ruthless collaborator.

If this continues, who knows how crazy he'll become...

Xue Sui refused to sacrifice himself.

She sacrificed so much during the long ten-year wait and planning.

With her revenge unavenged and her long-cherished wish unfulfilled, she would not allow herself to give up so easily...

But she could release Li Zhao.

Xue Sui frowned and pondered for a moment before filling his wine cup.

"Once I find the antidote for the Love Silk Gu, I will definitely give it to you. Even though our business deal fell through, we remain friends, and we've crossed the river together without any enmity. Let's drink this cup of wine together and then forget each other in the martial world."

It's been so long since I wrote any romance scenes... I'm so rusty...