Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 204 Palm
Xue Yuechen watched Li Huan's departing figure, her fingertips gently brushing against the dark patterns on her brocade skirt.

The light gauze curtains on the window swayed in the autumn wind, casting alternating shadows of light and dark on her face.

"Distinguished guests, please enjoy yourselves." She picked up her glass cup, her demeanor as gentle as melting snow in spring. "Tell the kitchen to bring the dishes out as soon as possible, lest the feast become deserted."

"Yes, princess."

Laughter filled the air inside the Xiefang Garden.

The sound of string and wind instruments drifted gently from the waterside pavilion. Xue Yuechen sat upright in the main seat, her palm lightly covering her slightly protruding belly. She smiled politely and chatted casually with the guests.

“Sister.” Xue Sui leaned down to look at her, gently pressing her temples, a faint redness rising at the corners of her eyes. “I’m feeling a bit tipsy and want to go out for some fresh air.”

Xue Yuechen looked at her with concern and gently gave her some advice.

"Alright, let the maid accompany you, so you don't catch a cold."

Xue Sui turned and left, her skirt sweeping across the banquet, the gentle breeze she stirred up brushing against Li Zhao's nose.

The fragrance of orchids mingled with a faint aroma of wine, lingering gently in the air.

Li Zhao lowered his eyes, toying with his wine glass, his peripheral vision following that graceful figure. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he tilted his head back to drink, then leaned against the table, remaining motionless for a long while.

Suddenly, he heard someone whisper beside him: "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?"

"I am also not a strong drinker."

Li Zhao smiled faintly, leaning on the corner of the table to get up, his eyes and brows showing a hint of drunkenness.

"I'm going to sober up."
-
Xue Sui strode through the winding corridor covered with red carpet. The eaves lamps along the way lit up one after another, and the cool breeze from Yingyue Lake made her mind even clearer.

“Aunt,” Xue Sui said, the evening breeze ruffling her hair at her temples, making her expression appear cold and alluring.

She pressed down on the collar of her cloak and whispered to Jinshu, "Go and wait at the side gate. If there is any news, report back immediately."

"Yes." Jinshu accepted the order and left.

"Hurry up." Xue Sui led Xiao Zhao and Ruyi, quickening their pace.

Just as I reached the Taihu stone at the end of the corridor, I saw a figure emerge from behind the artificial hill. The figure was tall and slender, swaying slightly, with a jade pendant jingling at his waist.

"Isn't this the Second Prince's favorite concubine? Why are you in such a hurry? Where are you going?"

Xue Sui glanced at him, curtsied perfunctorily, and walked past him.

Why is Consort Xue hiding?

Li Yan stepped forward unsteadily, blocking her path, his tone flippant.

"Weren't you so eloquent and quick-witted at the banquet just now, ready to compete with me? Now that I'm here, why don't you dare to speak your mind? Could it be... that you have something to hide?"

"Your Highness, King Wei, respect yourself."

Xue Sui noticed the smell of alcohol coming from above, frowned, and took a half step back.

"If the prince sees you like this, you'll probably have to kneel in the ancestral hall for another month and still not escape punishment."

Last time, when the adultery was discovered at the villa, the Empress Dowager punished Li Yan by making him kneel in the ancestral hall for three days.

Although the punishment was not severe, it was still a great humiliation for His Highness Prince Wei.

One sentence enraged him.

Li Yan, enraged, disregarded his appearance and suddenly grabbed Xue Sui's wrist, his strong, pungent smell of alcohol hitting her head. "Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a lowly maid who climbed into the lap of a concubine!"

Xue Sui's eyes suddenly turned cold as he glanced at Xiao Zhao's hand, which was secretly gripping a thin blade.

"If Your Highness takes another step forward, believe it or not, by tomorrow when we arrive in the capital, the story of your 'accidental fall into the water after drinking' will be all over the place."

"How dare you threaten me?" Li Yan's expression changed drastically, and he raised his hand to slap him.

Suddenly a gust of wind came and slammed him hard against the artificial hill.

The black python robe swept past his eyes, and before he could see it clearly, a hook punch slammed heavily into his abdomen.

The force was so fierce that Li Yan cried out in pain and curled up like a shrimp.

“Audacious thing…”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Li Zhao's sinister and cold face.

“Crown Prince…” Li Yan was very surprised.

Li Zhao remained silent with a stern face. He grabbed the back of the neck, lifted the man off the artificial hill, and slammed him hard onto the bluestone slab. His voice was as cold as ice.

"If you, Third Brother, don't want this tongue, I'll cut it out and feed it to the dogs!"

Li Yan's face turned pale, and he sobered up considerably.

"Your Highness, why are you protecting this woman..."

Li Zhao sneered: "Who are you to give your opinion?"

Li Yan paused for a moment, then retorted sarcastically, "Your Highness is so nervous, could it be that you've developed feelings for your second brother's beautiful concubine... that you shouldn't have?"

Li Zhao's throat tightened. "I'm not as shameless as you!"

Before he could finish speaking, another punch landed on his chest.

Li Yan grimaced in pain and screamed.

"Is His Highness the Crown Prince going to kill his brother?"

"It's just teaching you the rules of being a decent human being!"

"Extremely arrogant!" Li Yan exclaimed in exasperation.

Men, when facing women, never back down. Although Li Zhao was the crown prince, Li Yan was also a prince, his half-brother. Relying on the Empress Dowager's doting affection and a bit of drunken courage, Li Yan stretched out his neck and retaliated…

"Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Li Zhao dodged the incoming fist, used the force to grab the man's wrist, then slammed his knee upwards, slamming it into the man's stomach. With a swift movement of his long arm, he flipped the man over, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud.

"Useless trash! How dare you act so arrogantly in front of me?"

His eyes were sharp and cold, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

Li Yan tried to get up, but was pushed down by the shoulder...

When the cuffs were rolled up to the elbows, the unhealed arrow wound on the forearm was exposed.

Xue Sui was startled and was about to speak when he heard a "thump".

Li Zhao actually dragged Li Yan to the lakeside and kicked him into Yingyue Lake.

"Wake up!"

Li Yan was a good swimmer, but every time he swam close to the shore, Li Zhao would kick him back into the water with a blank expression. After several such incidents, he became so angry that his eyes turned red, and he waved his fists and cursed, splashing around in the lake like a drowning frog.

His Highness the Prince of Wei was now in such a sorry state, like a stray dog, crying out to heaven and earth in vain...

Xue Sui approached silently. "Your Highness, the banquet at the Prince's residence has not yet ended. It is not advisable to cause any further trouble."

Upon hearing the reminder, Li Zhao looked up.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he chuckled softly and waved to Guan Ya.

"His Highness has sobered up quite a bit. Take him back to the Prince of Wei's residence, change into some clean clothes, and get some rest."

"Yes."

Two guards stepped forward and dragged the soaking wet Li Yan away.

Even from a distance, you could still hear his struggles and screams...

Xue Sui chuckled, "Your Highness is quite ruthless in dealing with your own children."

"Consort Xue is quite tolerant."

Li Zhao glanced at Xue Sui without looking to the side, then strode forward with a livid face.

Xue Sui paused for a moment, then silently followed behind. When they reached a secluded corner inside the hanging flower gate, they saw Li Zhao standing in the shade of flowers and trees, his figure tall and slender, like a lone paulownia tree leaning against the clouds.

He was obviously waiting for her.

Xue Sui took out a clean handkerchief and stepped forward to press it on the wound on his forearm.

"Your Highness drinks strong liquor before the poison has been cleared, and fights with others before your arrow wound has healed. Do you think your life is too long?"

Li Zhao grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the tree trunk.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Your Highness's life or death is none of my concern."

"If I die, who will clean up the mess left by the Xiz envoy?"

"Therefore, Your Highness is to live to be a hundred years old."

The autumn wind carried the scent of alcohol, and the two men's breaths mingled.

Li Zhao lowered his eyes and stared at her reddened eyes: "You're lying. Do you wish I would die sooner? That way no one will bother you anymore."

Under his aggressive and burning gaze, Xue Sui felt a tightness in his scalp and his breathing became rapid.

"Your Highness, aren't you afraid that Prince Duan will notice your insolence?"

Li Zhao chuckled softly: "I've already become the adulterer, why would I be afraid of him catching me in the act?"

Xue Sui smiled slyly, her fingertips tracing his bobbing Adam's apple. Seeing the veins on his forehead throbbing and his chest heaving as he suppressed his emotions, she deftly flipped her hand and placed a wax pill into his palm.

"I will protect Wen Jia and give His Highness the Crown Prince another credit."

After saying that, she pushed him away and turned to leave.

Her demeanor was so graceful, like that of a queen in complete control.

Li Zhao grabbed her sleeve, straightened up, crushed the wax pellet in his hand, and smiled with his head down.

"Xue Liu, how many more tricks do you have up your sleeve?"

Xue Sui paused slightly, turned back with a charming smile: "Enough to make Your Highness... willingly become my blade."

As dusk fell and autumn mist filled the air, the slender figure receded further and further into the distance, slowly disappearing from sight.

Li Zhao lightly licked his gums and murmured in a hoarse voice, "Crazy woman."
-
As the setting sun faded and the streetlights came on, twilight enveloped Changshun Street.

Princess Li Fuyin's carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs and sped toward the west gate.

She kept lifting the curtain to look outside, and as the sky grew darker, anxiety filled her brow.

"Faster, faster."

Half an hour ago, she suddenly received a secret letter.

“Niu Niu is in the dilapidated temple in the west of the city, come quickly—Amon Rakh.”

She hesitated for a moment, then finally put on the cloak, ordered someone to go to Prince Duan's residence to inform Xue Sui, and then hurriedly left the residence with a few guards.

Seeing her anxious expression, Dongxu was very worried: "Princess, this matter may be a trap. Why would the High Priest invite you to the Earth God Temple in the west of the city? Why don't we wait for news from Consort Xue and then make a more careful decision?"

Wenjia knew she was right.

But as a mother, her concern for her daughter prevailed.

Ignoring the risks ahead, she firmly shook her head.

"If it really is Niu Niu... I can't not go."

The carriage sped along the official road, its wheels kicking up dust.

The land temple in the west of the city is about two miles away from the official road.

The temple was covered in cobwebs and was as quiet as a ghost town.

A chilling fear shot up from the soles of my feet to my heart.

Wen Jia was extremely anxious. She got off the carriage and led several maids inside.

"High Priest, where is he?"

As soon as I stepped into the temple gate, I saw a flash of light coming from the blade.

A whooshing sound suddenly rang out, and Dongxu's expression changed drastically: "Princess, be careful!"

She cried out in alarm and rushed forward. The blade sliced ​​across her chest, and blood instantly stained her clothes.

A dozen or so masked assassins rushed out of the dilapidated temple, the Siz totem on their scimitars gleaming with a chilling light.

Dong Xu hurriedly held Wen Jia in his arms.

"Escort!"

Several guards, wielding sticks, stumbled forward.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the temple.

Dozens of silver-armored guards stormed in, their torches illuminating the man's cold, handsome features—

They turned out to be the Crown Prince's private troops.

Wen Jia exclaimed, "Watch out!"