Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 228 Wildfire Burns the Heart
In the Buddhist hall of Princess Ping Le's residence, a gilded Buddha statue smiles with a flower in hand, its face kind and benevolent.

Granny Zhou knelt on the ground, staring at the broken porcelain scattered all over the place, but dared not utter a sound.

"That Li Fuyin!" Ping Le grabbed the handwritten Buddhist scripture from the table and tore it to shreds. "She pretended to be a chaste and virtuous woman, seducing the young master of the Lu family, and then turning around to instigate the old man! That old scoundrel Lu Jing, who prides himself on being a refined scholar, is actually manipulated by a woman like her! And that Xue Liu—"

She paced back and forth, growing angrier as she spoke, her face contorted with rage as she gritted her teeth.

"Even while imprisoned in a dungeon, she managed to turn the Crown Prince and Prince Duan against each other. I never realized she was a reincarnated fox spirit when I was a child!"

Gu Jie stood in the shadows of the corner of the Buddhist hall, looking at Ping Le's bloodshot eyes, pondering Ping Le's words...

When Xue Liu was a child, she was thin and frail and was always bullied by children her age. He didn't realize she was a vixen, but he could tell that she was kind-hearted, calm in the face of adversity, and that there was always a fire hidden in her eyes...

It's no ordinary creature!

At that time, he was still young and was bewitched by Xue Yueying, losing his mind and mistaking a fish eye for a pearl... tarnishing his lifelong reputation and ruining his promising future.

"What is Lord Gu thinking about?" Ping Le suddenly turned around and walked towards him, her delicate fingers entwined with a strand of black hair, supporting his chin with a slight pressure.

"Why hasn't the Prince of Wei gone to the Ministry of Justice prison yet? Could it be that you're showing favoritism to your old acquaintances and are secretly sabotaging this?"

Gu Jie lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, "The Prince of Wei has been spending the last two days in the Qunfang Pavilion, so drunk that he can barely walk... I can't very well send someone to carry him to the dungeon..."

“It seems your good wife is quite incompetent.” Ping Le suddenly released his hand and turned to look at the enshrined Bodhisattva.

“I have been burning incense and kowtowing every day, offering you precious incense and candles every month, and providing you with so many gold and silver ritual objects. It’s time for you to bless me this time.”
-
On the day of Frost's Descent, a light drizzle fell.

The lanterns of Zuixianju swayed in the wind and rain. In the warm yellow glow, several drinkers gathered around the glowing red stove, discussing in hushed tones.

"Have you heard? The Crown Prince is going to arrange a marriage between the Duke of Zheng's family and Miss Guo the Third..."

"Then the Crown Prince's wedding must be before the Prince of Wei remarries?"

The man chewed on braised beef, laughing indistinctly, "The Prince of Wei's second wife is the illegitimate daughter of the Minister's family, and her birth mother is also the illegitimate daughter of the Prefect of Chenzhou. Compared to Miss Guo... it's like comparing heaven and earth..."

"Shh—" another drinker lowered his voice, "The Prince of Wei's mother died early, and he doesn't have a noble maternal family. It's already quite good that he was able to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official. Unlike the Crown Prince, who was born the eldest son of the Eastern Palace. Now that he has married into the Duke of Zheng's family, his position as heir apparent is as secure as Mount Tai."

The raindrops pattered against the window paper.

Prince Li Yan of Wei leaned against the carved wooden railing of the private room, listening to the discussions of the patrons in the next room, and then smashed his wine cup against the railing with a "bang".

"Why is Third Brother so angry?"

A seductive, playful laugh came from behind the curtain.

Li Yan turned around and saw Princess Ping Le lift the soft silk curtain and walk in, her fox-collared cloak stained with rain.

Li Yan looked up and let out a cold laugh.

"Why is my imperial sister here in this place of worldly affairs instead of observing mourning for the Imperial Concubine at the Princess's residence?"

Ping Le waved for the maid to leave, then sat down gracefully and personally poured herself a cup of hot wine.

"Naturally, I've come to keep my third brother company and help him pass the time." She glanced at the empty wine jar in front of Li Yan, a half-smile on her face.

"I heard that Your Majesty sincerely attended the Duan Prince's wedding banquet, but was humiliated by Xue Liu and even kicked into Yingyue Lake by the Crown Prince, where he was treated like a duck. He almost lost his life and was left with a chronic illness?"

Li Yan gripped the wine cup tightly, his knuckles turning white.

That day, he was beaten black and blue by Li Zhao, thrashing about like a drowning quail, utterly humiliated, yet his father only lightly uttered a single sentence—

"Brothers should prioritize harmony. As the elder brother, you should be more tolerant."

Ping Le's words at this moment were like rubbing salt into his wound, making the pain even worse.

Ping Le continued, "Third brother, do you still remember that year in the Imperial Garden, you were punished by Father for kneeling for three hours simply for dropping the Crown Prince's kite? But the Crown Prince beat you up, yet you were only punished by copying the Classic of Filial Piety twice..."

"So what?" Li Yan felt a tightness in his chest as he recalled Li Zhao's condescending and sarcastic manner. He pushed the wine that Ping Le had offered him and drank it all in one gulp.

“He was born into the imperial family and is the crown prince. What can I do to him?”

“What’s even more infuriating is—” Ping Le shook his head and sighed for him, “Even Xue Liu’s lackeys dare to ride roughshod over you, Prince Wei, and knowing full well that Xue Si is your man, Your Majesty, they still dare to slap and humiliate him in public. Your Majesty, can you swallow this insult…”

"This is absolutely outrageous!" Li Yan suddenly gritted his teeth. "Just because he's the crown prince, he can treat me like an ant and trample me into the mud..."

Ping Le looked at Li Yan's red eyes and knew that the time was right.

"Third brother, why do you think Father is in such a hurry to bestow a marriage upon the Crown Prince?"

"Why?" Li Yan asked, bewildered.

"Third brother, don't you understand? Father's move is nothing more than using the century-old foundation of the Duke of Zheng's mansion to build an impregnable wall for the Eastern Palace and consolidate his position as crown prince."

Ping Le picked up the wine pot and slowly poured the amber-colored wine into the cup. "The royal family is the most cold-hearted. My third brother is also a prince... but unfortunately, his mother passed away early. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's pity and care, I'm afraid he would have had no place to stay in this vast imperial city..."

Li Yan suddenly smashed the wine cup, watching the porcelain shards fly everywhere, his chest heaving violently.

"Li Zhao is merely a legitimate son! As for talent, I..."

“Third brother—” Ping Le pressed his hand down, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"How could I not know the grievances you feel? You've lost your mother, and so have I. From now on, I have no one to rely on, no one to shelter me from the wind and rain..."

After saying that, he picked up his wine cup again and sighed leisurely.

"Who would have thought that Xue Liu, that vile woman, could be two-timing two princes, making them willingly risk their lives for her..."

Li Yan's pupils contracted sharply. Ping Le's words were like a cluster of nameless will-o'-the-wisps, igniting his long-suppressed resentment.

"She doesn't deserve it!" He suddenly stood up, snatched the full wine cup from Ping Le's hand, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

"I want to see what kind of seductive tricks Xue Liu has that can drive the Crown Prince and Prince Duan crazy for her!"

Having said that, he kicked away the low table beside him, his brocade robe stirring up a gust of cold wind.

Ping Le watched him stagger out the door, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, sat down slowly, poured herself a drink, and began to drink.

"Princess, His Highness Prince Wei's recklessness is probably..."

Granny Zhou hurried in, approaching but hesitating to speak.

"Recklessness is good," Ping Le chuckled.

The candlelight behind her suddenly burst open, illuminating her cold, alluring eyes.

"The more insane they become, the more I, the more filial and gentle I appear."

This fire has been lit and there is no way it can be extinguished.

All that's left is to wait for the fire to spread. And she will eventually burn away everyone who stands in her way in this blaze, including Xue Liu, Wen Jia, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Wei, and even... her good-for-nothing older brother Li Huan and Lu You'an.

She vowed to make everyone who had wronged her pay the price...

Why is it that princes are born with the power to rule the world and possess a magnificent country, while princesses are confined to their chambers and become pawns in political marriages?

She also wanted to venture into these nine-layered palaces.
-
The twilight, like an unyielding mass of ink, shone over the Ministry of Justice prison.

The long, cold night filled the damp cell with a chilling atmosphere, much like Xue Sui's current state of mind—cold, sharp, and allowing no room for retreat.

She sat motionless on the damp haystack, watching Xiao Zhao kneel in front of the stone wall, grinding a bamboo chopstick.

The bamboo chopsticks were gradually sharpened, turning into sharp bamboo spikes that were extremely razor-sharp...

Xiao Zhao wiped the dust off her face, raised the bamboo chopsticks and gestured with them, her eyes shining.

"It would definitely work well for killing people."

“That’s enough,” Xue Sui said softly.

"Anyone who dares to offend you, young lady, I'll gouge out their eyes with this..."

The oil lamp outside the cell suddenly flickered a few times—

Xiao Zhao clutched the bamboo splinter and exchanged a glance with Xue Sui.

Disordered footsteps echoed from the end of the passageway, mixed with Li Yan's slightly drunken snort.

"Open the door for me!"

"Your Highness, this place is holding serious criminals of the imperial court, you cannot..."

"Make way! The Crown Prince can enter, Prince Duan can enter, why can't I?" Li Yan said aggressively, his eyes filled with malice and arrogance.

"If you utter another word, I will chop off your heads..."

The jailers looked at each other, and seeing his fierce expression, they dared not stop him any longer.

The moment the iron lock fell to the ground, Li Yan kicked open the cell door and swaggered in.

His brocade robe was stained with rouge, his hair ornament was askew, his steps were unsteady and he reeked of alcohol; it was clear at a glance that he had just crawled out of some den of debauchery…

He kicked away the gray bowl on the ground, his gaze fixed on Xue Sui's loose prison uniform collar, ignoring Xiao Zhao who was protecting her.

"My beauty, are you missing me terribly, all alone in this dungeon?"

Xue Sui leaned against the wall, slowly brushing back his hair, the iron chains on his wrists rattling with the movement.

"Have all of Your Highness's injuries healed?" She raised an eyebrow dismissively, a cold smile playing on her lips.

"It seems that His Highness the Crown Prince didn't punish me enough last time."

It would have been better if this matter hadn't been brought up, because as soon as it was mentioned, anger surged in Li Yan's eyes, and his drunkenness turned into a fierce rage.

"What a shameless wretch who doesn't know her own limits!"

Blinded by jealousy and fueled by alcohol, Li Yan strode forward, roughly grabbed Xue Sui by the collar, and slammed her against the wall, choking her...

His breath reeked of alcohol, which came down from his head; he was furious.

"You dared to embarrass me at the Prince Duan's residence that day, today I'll show you..."

"What do you know?" Xue Sui suddenly interrupted with a light laugh, the iron chain on his wrist making a pleasant clinking sound on his face. "Do you know that Your Highness colluded with Princess Ping Le to poison Consort Xiao, just to frame His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Li Yan froze, his veins bulging.

"Don't you dare spout such nonsense..."

Before the words were even finished, a bamboo thorn, sharpened to the point of being pierced by a blade, was pressed against his reddened neck, almost piercing his throat.

Xiao Zhao: I was just itching to open my hands when an order came in! God, how lucky am I...

Xue Sui: ...