Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 246: Fateful Moment
In Tuya's eyes was a tender affection that transcended mountains and seas.

Xue Sui gently stroked the silver bell, feeling its warmth, her eyes slightly reddening.

A princess from a foreign land is destined to be trapped within these red walls, enduring half a lifetime of torment.

"I will recite the Buddhist scriptures that the princess gave me every day."

Her freshly shaved scalp gleamed softly under the lamplight.

"But this silver bell is too valuable; Xue Liu shouldn't have accepted it."

Tuya shook her head and gently slipped the silver bell onto her wrist.

"I envy you, being able to cut off a strand of dust with your own hands, while I..."

As his fingertips brushed against his wrist, Xue Sui felt a cool sensation.

Suddenly, I understood the loneliness in Tuya's eyes.

This woman, revered as a saint, was ultimately just a tribute to imperial power.

"Princess, take care."

"treasure."

Emperor Chongzhao did not break his promise.

The next day, Wang Chengxi was sent to deliver an imperial edict, granting her permission to leave the palace on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month...
-
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year is celebrated with the Kitchen God.

It is auspicious for travel, for praying for blessings, and for getting married.

It should have been a wonderful day.

Before dawn, snowflakes, like goose feathers, began to fall softly onto the red walls, transforming the capital city into a world of silver and white.

At dawn, Xue Sui tied a plain scarf and put on a cloak. He bid farewell to Tuya in Hanzhang Hall and slowly left the palace, led by two eunuchs.

Upon arriving at Anfu Gate, I saw two carriages parked under the palace lanterns amidst the falling snow.

Xue Sui pulled the cloak over his head and, with Xiao Zhao's help, slowly approached, looking at the silhouette-like figure.

Li Huan stood with his hands behind his back, his dark blue brocade cloak billowing in the wind, like a lone eagle with broken wings, poised to take flight.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Duan..."

Her voice was broken by the wind and snow.

With a hint of bitterness.

Li Huan's back stiffened slightly as he slowly turned to look at her.

"I have received my father's decree and will personally escort you to the Shuiyue Nunnery."

He turned around and looked at the blue-curtained carriage behind him.

"I've had all your old belongings left in Tanqiu Courtyard collected. Take a look at them later, and if anything is missing or inappropriate, just let me know, and I'll send someone to deliver them..."

The trunks were neatly arranged, along with Jinshu and four maids who accompanied the group.

It can be said that Li Huan was very thorough in his work.

Xue Sui lowered his eyes and clasped his hands together, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

The deerskin boots crunched over the frosty bluestone.

Li Huan slowly approached, raised his hand to signal that the carriage was ready, and personally lifted the curtain to invite her into the carriage.

Xue Sui glanced at the bluish-gray lining peeking out from his sleeve, then lowered his eyes and stepped onto the horse stool.

Both of them remained silent.

The carriage rumbled out of the palace gates, and nothing more was said.

Xue Sui, wrapped in a cloak, leaned against the carriage wall, listening to the rumbling of the wheels mixed with the hustle and bustle of the marketplace.

"Candied hawthorn berries"

"Delicious candied hawthorns—"

"Candied Fruit - Sugar-Frosted Chestnuts -"

"New rouge and face powder have arrived, ladies, take a look!"

The cries of vendors rose and fell, mingling with the fragrant scent of cosmetics from the rouge shops, filling the air as if from another world.

Suddenly, joyful music came from ahead—

The sounds of gongs and flutes intertwined, startling passersby who stopped to watch.

Xiao Zhao lifted the bamboo curtain, her gasp caught in her throat.

"Look, young lady! It's the Crown Prince's ceremonial procession!"

Xue Sui's heart tightened as he peered through the gap in the gauze curtain.

Twelve pairs of Imperial Guards led the way with halberds, followed by officials from the Ministry of Rites dressed in crimson robes and carrying imperial jade tablets, and then twenty-eight palanquins laden with vermilion gift boxes. Inside the boxes were bundles of dark red silk, goose-shaped lambs, jade tablets, and other precious stones, all bound with brocade and red satin, their colors gleaming festively in the snowy light.

The Crown Prince rode a magnificent, snow-white horse with a silver saddle, slowly making his way through the Imperial Street. The jewels on his golden crown shone brightly in the winter snow.

Li Huan suddenly rode his horse close to the side of the carriage, his voice like ice shards falling softly.

"Today is the betrothal ceremony for the Crown Prince. The Emperor has ordered the Crown Prince to personally go to the Duke of Zheng's residence to propose marriage, as a sign of the Emperor's favor..."

The crown prince's betrothal was naturally a momentous occasion.

Xue Sui glanced at Li Huan's noble and dignified face and suddenly understood why Emperor Chongzhao wanted her to leave the palace today, and why he allowed Li Huan to see her off...

She laughed.

The joyful sounds grew closer, mingled with the astonishment of the people.

"His Highness the Crown Prince personally officiated at the betrothal ceremony with a live goose formation..."

"The Crown Princess is truly blessed!"

"The betrothal ceremony is already so grand. Shouldn't the wedding day be celebrated with a ten-mile-long street?"

"Of course! It's clear that His Highness the Crown Prince is quite fond of this Miss Guo."

The people's voices were low, but every word was clear.

Xue Sui looked through the gauze curtain. Li Zhao's figure was somewhat blurred by the flying snow. He rode a white horse with a silver saddle. The rider's back was as straight as a pine tree, but his shoulders were thinner than before. His face was not clear, except for his jawline, which was as hard as if it were carved with a knife, as if it were covered with a thin layer of ice...

He was handsome and aloof, unattainable.

But he should be happy to be marrying a new bride, right?
As long as he takes his medicine on time every day, the effects of the Love Poison will diminish indefinitely. Once she finds a way to locate Senior Sister Yuheng at the nunnery and remove the poison from his body, he will be free from the poison, able to live a harmonious life with the Crown Princess, and secure his position as the Eastern Palace…

It's also a wonderful ending to the story.

"Your Highness, it's the carriage from the Prince Duan's residence," Guan Ya reminded him in a low voice.

Li Zhao suddenly tightened his grip on the reins.

He stared blankly at the blue silk carriage, his expression seemingly frozen in ice and snow.

According to the rules of etiquette, the Crown Prince's entourage has priority.

Li Huan gestured to his servant to lead the horse away...

He bowed slightly after the car had stopped on the side of the road.

"Congratulations on Your Highness's auspicious betrothal."

"Thank you for the concession." Li Zhao said expressionlessly.

"On His Highness's auspicious day, please do not miss the auspicious hour." Li Huan stepped aside and gestured, "Your Highness, please—"

Li Zhao pursed his thin lips: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The sound came through the carriage curtain, eerily calm.

The joyous music grew increasingly shrill, the horses' hooves pounded the thin frost on the ground, and the grand procession of the Eastern Palace marched forward...

Just as they were about to pass each other by the carriage of Prince Duan's mansion, Xiao Zhao suddenly lifted the carriage curtain by half a foot.

"Congratulations, Your Highness..."

Li Zhao turned his head to look.

Snowflakes fluttered against the blue satin curtains, and as the carriage curtains fluttered, a woman wrapped in a plain gray robe was revealed. Her eyebrows and eyes were as white as snow, and she sat upright with her hands clasped together, her face serene, like a bodhisattva who had stepped out of a mural.

The two stood apart in the crowd, gazing at each other but unable to meet.

Li Zhao turned his horse around, and the honor guard continued forward.

A vermilion canopy rumbled past, and amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, a faint fragrance, mingled with the cracks of wind and snow, drifted into the blue curtains.

Just like that night in the Ministry of Justice prison, when he fiercely pulled me into that burning embrace, the eerie aura emanating from him...

The cold wind swirled snowflakes into the car.

Xue Sui suddenly regained consciousness, and the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand suddenly fell to the ground.

She bent down to pick it up, but found her legs were weak and she almost fell over.

"Be careful, young lady!" Xiao Zhao quickly grabbed her elbow.

Xue Sui tried to steady his breathing, refusing to look at the panic and heartache in Xiao Zhao's eyes.

"It's nothing. This wind and snow are making me a little dizzy."

As the procession receded into the distance, the carriage slowly began its journey.

Only when the convoy disappeared around the street corner did Li Zhao turn around and realize that his palms were bleeding from the reins.

Even the greatest anger was defeated by that trembling voice.

In a daze, he seemed to see again the little girl curled up in a crevice under the artificial hill of Puji Temple, covered in blood, yet calmly and stubbornly urging him to leave quickly...

"You have to go...they'll beat you...go quickly...don't let anyone see you..."

"Who are they? Tell me, and I'll help you get revenge and protect you."

"No one can protect me... Mind your own business!"

"Ignorant of good and evil."

"..."

The wind, carrying fine snowflakes, lashed against his face, where they condensed into ice crystals.

From then on, the palace walls stood high, separating them from the mortal world.

One marched towards imperial power amidst a grand procession, while the other walked towards a nunnery in a desolate carriage.

It was a wrong payment after all.
-
The carriage drove out of the city gate, bumping and jolting as it left ruts in the snow.

Finally, at dusk, we stopped outside the Shuiyue Nunnery.

Li Huan dismounted and personally lifted the carriage curtain for Xue Sui.

Xue Sui, wrapped in a gray cloak, stepped down from the carriage, looked up at the plaque above the temple gate, his eyes clear as autumn water and the vast sky.

"Ping An, this is as far as I can take you."

Li Huan stared at the temple gate, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Whenever you want to come back, just send someone with a message and I'll come pick you up."

"Now that my head has been shaved, I have no more attachments. Farewell forever—"

Xue Sui took three steps back, bowed, and her plain face was full of rejection.

"Thank you for seeing me off, Your Highness. Please give my regards to my elder sister..."

Li Huan's brows were furrowed deeply. "She's not doing well. She waits for your news every day, and she's become much more haggard. The imperial physician says the pregnancy is unstable..."

Seeing his hesitant expression, Xue Sui understood.

“From now on, I will burn three sticks of incense every morning and evening at Shuiyue Nunnery to pray for my elder sister and the prince.”

Li Huan remained silent for a moment, then turned and left.

"Your Highness," Xue Sui suddenly called out to him.

Li Huan stopped, and Xue Sui slowly walked forward, pausing with her head bowed.

"In Qinghui Palace, it was indeed I who changed the medicine. Consort Xiao died by my hand."

Li Huan looked up at the swirling snowflakes overhead: "I know."

Xue Sui stared into his eyes, "Then why doesn't Your Highness exterminate them all?"

"Seeing you and Li Zhao lose your loved ones is somewhat satisfying..."

Li Huan gave a self-deprecating laugh, swallowing the rest of his sentence.

"Let's consider our past as even, with no debts owed to each other."

Xue Sui smiled faintly and said softly, "Then let's each fulfill our own wishes."

“If there is an afterlife—” Li Huan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he gazed at her frosty, indifferent face, and he said softly, “I wish we were born into an ordinary family, to admire flowers in spring and gather around the fire on winter nights, without having to understand anything about family, country, or the world, and without having to succumb to the shackles of fate…”

"If I haven't achieved enlightenment in this life, I don't expect it in the next."

Xue Sui lowered her eyes to avoid his burning gaze, bowed, and took her leave.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the old plum tree outside the meditation room was bent over by its weight.

She gazed at the pure white sky and gestured for Xiao Zhao to go and knock on the door.

The temple gate creaked open.

A mountain breeze swept by, revealing a silvery-white world, utterly serene...

Xue Sui turned and walked towards the temple gate, stepping over the high threshold...

The joyous sounds of Suzaku Avenue have faded into the distance, and the man on the silver-saddled horse is now just a distant dream...

She took out half a piece of ambergris from her sleeve and gently tossed it into the incense burner in the courtyard...

Li Huan stared intently at her slender back until the temple gates slowly closed, then he mounted his horse...

White hair and black hair in an instant, three lifetimes of reincarnation as a youth.

Today I recommend Cheng Xiang's "Sharing the Moon Across a Thousand Miles," which perfectly matches this scene of parting (just kidding).

Winter goes and spring comes with gentle, continuous rain.
Flowers bloom in all four seasons, just waiting for you to pick them.

I'll whisper sweet nothings to you
Turn into firewood and cooking smoke
Her eyebrows curved and her face turned red.
A glance in the vast sea of ​​people feels like an eternity
You drift and fall, residing in my heart.
Never bothered by the hustle and bustle of the world
Wearing plain clothes to live out one's youthful years

Can you return to raise a glass and share joy?
You said you would never let your beloved down in this life.
We share the same moon, though we are thousands of miles apart.

Alas, the people have left and the building is empty, like smoke in the wind.

White hair and black hair in an instant
Reincarnated as a boy through three lifetimes

Can we rekindle our past relationship?