Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 245 Farewell
The rain lingered for more than half a month, finally clearing up on the eve of the Beginning of Winter.

Inside the Imperial Clan Court, Princess Ping Le waited anxiously.

He repeatedly threw things and cursed.

He cursed Lu Youan, Gu Jie, the Lu family, Xue Sui, Li Zhao, and everyone else he could curse...

Having lived in the Imperial Clan Court for so long, no one was willing to tell her what was happening outside. She couldn't go out and received no news at all, like a bird imprisoned in a gilded cage, occasionally experiencing a craving for sex...

She would cry and make a fuss, tormenting me so much that I couldn't eat or sleep.

She smashed all the porcelain, broke the tables and chairs, and even injured the palace servants who were guarding her...

"You bunch of scoundrels! Do you think I'm some ordinary criminal?"

"You dog servants! How dare you show me such disrespect? When I meet my father, the first thing I'll do is cut out your tongues..."

"Did you hear me? Let me out! I want to see my father..."

The palace servants who were attending to them were trembling with fear.

Finally, on the morning of the Beginning of Winter, Emperor Chongzhao arrived.

The bright yellow robe swept across the threshold, and the dragon-patterned boots pounded heavily on the blue bricks.

Ping Le stared blankly, then loosened her grip on the teacup.

"Father!"

Her eyes lit up instantly, and upon seeing the emperor, she immediately threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly, her shoulders trembling with emotion, and she sobbed uncontrollably...

"You've finally arrived. Your son has missed you so much."

Emperor Chongzhao looked down at her, patted the back of her head, and said nothing.

"Father..." Ping Le called out in a trembling voice, her voice choked with sobs.

“They won’t serve me properly. There’s sand in my food that’s hard to chew, the bedding smells musty, and they don’t even add enough charcoal to the brazier… Father, I really can’t take it anymore…”

She went about her own business and complained.

The emperor sighed softly, gesturing for Wang Chengxi to gently open the food box, revealing her favorite pastries—

The sweet aroma of chestnut cake filled the air...

Ping Le was stunned for a moment, then smiled through her tears.

Whenever she got into trouble as a child, her father would coax her with some snacks.

"Try it, it's something your mother made when she was alive, see if it tastes the same..."

Ping Le's tears fell in large drops.

“It’s exactly the same as what Mother made, Father…”

"Eat slowly, I specifically asked them to put less sugar in it."

"Father loves his son the most..." She suddenly smiled innocently like a child, "When I go out, shall I make you chestnut cake by hand? I'll use the freshest chestnuts, it'll be so delicious..."

Emperor Chongzhao looked at the mess on the ground, his gaze falling on his daughter's disheveled hair. A hint of heartache flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by imperial majesty.

"Ping Le, Father Emperor will not be able to eat the chestnut cake you made."

Ping Le's fingers froze in mid-air as she looked at the icy coldness in Emperor Chongzhao's eyes.

Slowly, he knelt down, his voice filled with pleading.

"Father, I know I was wrong... I was just confused for a moment. I really didn't poison Mother, I really didn't..."

Emperor Chongzhao turned his face away, unwilling to see her tears.

"Since you've made a mistake, you must admit your guilt and accept punishment."

Ping Le kowtowed repeatedly, “Your subject truly knows his mistake… Father, your subject is utterly loyal to you and has never dared to harbor the slightest dissent. This time, I was merely instigated by others… Please forgive your subject this time. Your subject will never dare to do it again.”

"Enough!" Emperor Chongzhao abruptly flicked his sleeve.

"You keep claiming to care for your sovereign and father, yet you've been colluding with enemy states and harming the women of the harem! If I continue to indulge you, how can I face our ancestors?"

After saying this, seeing her clutching the hem of her clothes tightly and sobbing uncontrollably, Emperor Chongzhao sighed again.

"You've been spoiled by me since you were little, that's why you're so audacious. It's also my fault for failing to properly raise you—"

Ping Le's eyes were filled with terror. "Father, you're not really going to kill me, are you? I'm your own flesh and blood!"

Emperor Chongzhao shook his head, "How could I kill you?"

Tears welled up in his old eyes, and his voice trembled slightly.

"But you have truly disappointed me..."

Ping Le's eyes widened, and he felt dizzy.

She suddenly remembered when she was little, her father held her in the Imperial Garden and flew a kite, saying she was the most obedient daughter. She also remembered at her coming-of-age ceremony, her father personally put the phoenix crown on her head and said he would choose the best consort in the world for her.

Are these things gone forever?
"Father!" She reached out, her hand trembling, and grasped Emperor Chongzhao's sleeve. "Your daughter is your own flesh and blood, your most beloved daughter. Have you forgotten? You said your daughter was the apple of your eye, and that you would give her anything she wanted..."

"Yes. So it was Father Emperor's excessive indulgence that harmed you."

Emperor Chongzhao slowly pulled his sleeve back and turned his back.

"Princess Ping Le, Li Yushu, colluded with the Xizi Wolf Guard, wreaked havoc in the palace, harmed the innocent, and disregarded the safety of the nation. Her crimes are too numerous to count, and she deserves to be executed..."

Ping Le was struck as if by lightning.

Emperor Chongzhao took a breath. "Considering his imperial lineage, I will spare his life—he shall be stripped of his title, demoted to a commoner, and sent to a deserted garden in Shuozhou for confinement, never to set foot in the capital again. So be it."

After saying that, he strode away, leaving Ping Le kneeling on the ground, watching his back, tears falling drop by drop onto the blue bricks.

"Father..."

"Father, how could you treat me like this? I am your daughter!"

"Father——"

"Father!"

Emperor Chongzhao turned and walked away quickly without looking back.

Ping Le slumped to the ground, watching the emperor's departing figure. Suddenly, she recalled the look in Gu Jie's eyes when he betrayed her at the Hu Ji Tavern in the West Market that day, and she thought of Lu You'an, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. She then resolutely left...

She finally understood that in this palace where imperial power reigned supreme, there was never any kinship or affection, only a balance of interests.
-
When news of Ping Le's demotion reached Hanzhang Palace, the water stains hanging from the eaves were still wet. The blue bricks on the palace walls, washed white by the rain, emitted a cold, eerie light. Several gray sparrows pecking at food fluttered their wings and flew over the eaves, as if cheering for something…

Wen Jia led Dong Xu into the palace, carrying a bunch of winter plum blossoms, her face beaming with joy.

“Ping Le has brought disaster to the country and its people, and this retribution is well-deserved. Father Emperor has protected her for so many years, and has finally made a decision…”

Xue Sui brought Xiao Zhao a celadon vase, personally inserted the winter plum blossoms into it, and smiled slightly.

"What about the rest?"

Wen Jia glanced at her.

"The Crown Prince falsely claimed to have received an imperial edict. Considering it was his first offense, the Emperor fined him a year's salary, confined him to the Eastern Palace, and ordered him to re-catalog and proofread the palace's records, with a three-month deadline..."

"Prince Duan requested to guard the imperial tombs, but the Emperor did not grant his request. Instead, he ordered Prince Duan to go to the Imperial Academy to teach for half a year, specifically instructing the imperial family members on the principles of loyalty between ruler and subject..."

Xue Sui remained silent.

Wenjia asked, "Is Ping An satisfied with this result?"

Xue Sui looked down at his hands, his fingertips gently tracing the old scars on his wrists...

"Only when all the traitors are killed will I be satisfied..."

In any case, this matter that has dragged on for so long has finally been settled.

The fact that the princes and princesses were punished shows the extent of the emperor's wrath.

In the teahouses and restaurants on the streets, storytellers tapped their wooden clappers, lamenting day after day that "the imperial family is heartless." The common people looked towards the palace walls, thinking that the snow this winter might freeze the vermilion gates.

Xue Sui lived in a side hall of Hanzhang Hall, listening to the chanting of scriptures coming from next door day after day...

He stayed in the hospital to recuperate for more than two months.

From the beginning of winter to the coldest days, during these days in Hanzhang Palace, the Empress Dowager did not cause any trouble, and Li Zhao and Li Huan seemed to have disappeared.

She was as quiet as a vintage wine locked in a cellar.

Isolated from the world—

When the first snow of deep winter fell in the capital, she was finally able to get out of bed slowly with the help of Xiao Zhao, and then walk briskly on her own, stepping through the snow like shattered jade...

After a long illness, I am finally well.

Xiao Zhao stood under the candlelight, holding a bronze mirror.

Watch as she picked up the razor and trimmed her newly grown, uneven short hair straight down to the roots.

The person in the mirror had a thin face, and the sickly look had faded. In his thinness, there was a sense of tranquility like that of a monk.

"Miss...is it really impossible for your hair to turn black again?"

Xue Sui turned his head and his gaze fell on Xiao Zhao's reddened eyes.

Ever since she shaved her head, this girl has always secretly cried behind her back.

Xue Sui asked with a smile, "Isn't a bald head good-looking?"

“The girl is naturally beautiful, and even with a shaved head, she looks better than the other young nuns, but…” Xiao Zhao sniffed, her voice tinged with sadness.

"This servant still prefers the way you look, Miss, adorned with flowers and jade..."

Back then, the eldest son would always seek out folk remedies to make the girl's hair grow up beautifully, so black and shiny that it was the envy of everyone.

Xiao Zhao suddenly missed her eldest son.

He loves the girl the most, so he must have a way to make her go back to how she was before.

"I wonder when I will be able to see my eldest son again..."

Xue Sui paused slightly in his grip on the razor, looked at his reflection in the bronze mirror, and smiled gently.

"Let's pack up, it's time to say goodbye to the princess."

"Does the young lady really intend to go to Shuiyue Nunnery? The practice of cultivation is so austere..."

“Silly girl…” Xue Sui interrupted her, saying softly, “Although the nunnery is austere, it is much cleaner than this palace.”

A gust of north wind swept up the remaining snow from the eaves. Princess Tuya stepped in gracefully, her hand warmer resting on her wrist, the silver bell on her wrist jingling softly.

The maid behind him was holding a sandalwood box.

"Is Miss Xue feeling any better?"

Xue Sui handed the razor to Xiao Zhao and stood up to bow.

"Thank you for your concern, Princess. I am fully recovered and was just about to take my leave..."

Tuya chuckled, said nothing more, and turned to have her maid bring the box over.

"The winter clothes made for the start of winter, young lady, try them on, do they fit?"

It was a plain gray cloak that could be draped over her head, made of a soft, delicate material, just enough to cover her newly shaved head, keeping her warm and concealing her baldness...

Xue Sui's fingertips brushed against the soft fabric.

"Thank you for your trouble, Princess."

He added, "Please trouble the princess to inform His Majesty that Xue Liu requests permission to depart for Shuiyue Nunnery immediately. I hope you will grant him permission..."

"Does the Sixth Sister know about the snow swans of Mount Ulan?" Tuya suddenly asked.

Then he slowly knelt on the Persian rug and personally poured tea for the guests.

“Every year on the eve of the Awakening of Insects, he would always crash into the prayer flag pillar of the temple and die… Year after year, like a moth drawn to a flame, he only asked for piety and not for fate.”

Xue Sui shook his head.

Tuya whispered, "The priests of the Holy Mountain will use the blood of the Snow Goose to dye the prayer flags red and smear the altar... Perhaps, this is the place the Snow Goose desires to return to..."

"The princess is clear-headed."

"Unfortunately... no matter how fluttering the prayer flags on the holy mountain are, they cannot withstand the wind and snow of the capital."

Tuya suddenly lifted her sleeve, took off the silver bell from her wrist, and solemnly placed it in Xue Sui's palm.

"This silver bell has accompanied me on my pilgrimage for many years. It has been soaked in the blood of snow swans and touched the spiritual essence of divine stones. May it bless you with a smooth and peaceful journey on your spiritual path."