Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 250 Cinnabar
Prince Duan's Mansion.

The snow in Tanqiu Courtyard weighed down the bamboo branches.

Li Huan stood by the window, gazing at the empty desk. The plum tree outside the window was in bloom, its petals falling onto the window paper, much like cinnabar dots on rice paper.

The room was filled with silence.

Xue Sui took everything with him.

The ivory chessboard is still displayed in the room.

The black pieces were clustered in the corner, while the white pieces were scattered like stars, much like the unfinished game she had left before she left.

He stroked the chess pieces, and couldn't help but recall that afternoon when the tea smoke curled up and he played chess with her.

"What is Your Highness looking at?" Xue Yuechen entered, supported by Emerald's arm; her pregnant belly was already quite heavy.

As she moved about, she smiled and chatted, but a hint of inquiry lingered in her eyes.

Li Huan turned to look at her, "Weren't you going to Shuiyue Nunnery? I'll accompany you tomorrow. Come and see if there's anything we've forgotten..."

His voice was calm, yet it saddened Xue Yuechen.

She couldn't decipher the emotions in Li Huan's eyes—

It wasn't hate, nor love, but a kind of melancholy that had been worn down by the passage of time.

After Xue Liu left, it was as if a thin layer of ice separated her from Li Huan. They could no longer return to their former mutual respect. Even their pretense seemed stiff, forced, and powerless.

However, she couldn't care less about that right now.

My body felt heavier and I became more and more afraid.

Master Jingkong once said that the reason she had few children was because evil spirits were causing trouble, preventing her children from being reincarnated.

She needs a blood relative with a strong constitution to protect her from disaster.

All the past events made her realize that Xue Liu's life was indeed incredibly tough...

It was because of her that she became pregnant. Without Xue Liu by her side, she inevitably lived in fear and anxiety. Recently, she had been having frequent nightmares, and she couldn't bear it any longer, so she decided to stay at Shuiyue Nunnery for a while until she gave birth.

"Your Highness used to dislike these kinds of trivial matters the most, why would you suddenly want to accompany me?" She smoothed her hair, a forced smile appearing on her face, but it was quickly replaced by mockery.

"Could it be that you miss your sixth sister?"

Li Huan did not answer, his gaze falling on a painting of a chess game on a snowy night on the wall. The woman in the painting had wide sleeves that reached the ground, her fingertips hovering above the chessboard, and half of her fair wrist was visible through the cuffs of her sleeves, with a bright red birthmark that was dazzlingly beautiful.

After a short while, he spoke softly.

"If Your Highness has nothing else to do, please return to Yingyue Residence to rest and prepare for your pregnancy. I wish for some peace and quiet!"

"What's troubling Your Highness?" Xue Yuechen smiled gently, wrapped in a sable cloak, her palm lightly stroking the rounded pregnant belly bulging from the brocade. "Are you annoyed that she'd rather be a nun than accept your favor? Or are you annoyed with yourself..."

"presumptuous!"

Li Huan frowned deeply.

Since Xue Liu left, Xue Yuechen has become more sharp-tongued and suspicious than ever before.

He was impatient.

They are intolerant of arguments and explanations.

"I have gone to the front hall for a meeting."

After saying that, he strode away.

Xue Yuechen suddenly grabbed his sleeve and asked with a sorrowful expression, "If she has had enough of the desolation of the nunnery and wants to return to the Prince Duan's mansion, will the prince accept her?"

Li Huan looked down at her fingertips, recalling the way Xue Sui coughed up black blood. Those frosty, desolate white hairs fell into his palm, like a clump of snow that he couldn't grasp, melting away in an instant.

"I may be willing, but she may not."

Xue Yuechen let go, staggered backward, and her eyes were lifeless.

She already knew the answer, but she couldn't suppress that sliver of hope and deliberately made a fool of herself in front of him...
-
The morning bell of Shuiyue Temple pierced through the thin mist.

The sound of the wooden fish drum gently murmurs...

After finishing his morning prayers, Xue Sui, wearing a gray monk's robe, pushed open the door to the meditation room and saw Xiao Zhao squatting under the eaves, dozing off with a bamboo broom in her arms. Her nose was red from the cold, and her lips were shiny with oil, which she hadn't wiped clean yet.

"Stealing food again." Xue Sui gently knocked on the corridor pillar, startling Xiao Zhao, who hurriedly got up and almost knocked over the earthenware pot at the base of the wall with her broom.

"Girl! You walk so quietly?" Xiao Zhao hurriedly wiped her mouth, looking somewhat guilty.

"I got up to shovel snow before dawn, and was busy all morning without even having time to eat..."

Xue Sui: "Wipe your mouth."

Xiao Zhao stuck out her tongue and grinned mischievously.

She always had a knack for sneaking away some food and drink, or going down the mountain to find some meat. Those mundane things that Master Huiming had been telling her were "things that shouldn't exist in a pure Buddhist place" were her and Ruyi's little sources of satisfaction.

Ruyi naturally had to speak up for her and defend her.

"Sister Xiao Zhao didn't go down the mountain to find food on purpose; it's all because the vegetarian food at the nunnery wasn't oily enough..."

"You two are just like greedy cats." Xue Sui shook his head and chuckled, taking the comb Ruyi handed him...

Although she was bald, Tian Shu personally crafted a medicinal comb for her. Every day, after soaking her scalp in water, she would use it to massage her head, unblocking the meridians and promoting blood circulation... "Who was it that secretly ate persimmons last night and had a toothache?"

Xiao Zhao blushed, stuck out her tongue, handed the plain silk handkerchief to Xue Sui, and then instructed Ruyi, "Go to the kitchen and bring over the warm yam porridge, and add some chopped red dates..."

"Okay!" Ruyi kicked at the snow on the stone path and ran away.

Xue Sui watched her retreating figure and slowly sat down.

When she first entered the Prince Duan's residence, this girl was a head shorter than her. In the blink of an eye, she had grown much taller, and her demeanor had become much more efficient and poised...

"Look, girl! The bellflowers in the yard have sprouted!" Xiao Zhao pointed to the corner of the wall and ran out happily.

Xue Sui corrected him without even looking up.

“That’s not bellflower, it’s codonopsis that the nun planted last year.”

Ruyi turned around when she heard the voice and giggled.

"Girl, do you believe it or not, Sister Xiao Zhao can eat ginseng like it's a radish..."

Xiao Zhao raised her eyebrows. "Dare to laugh at me? See if I'll still give you food..."

The two people were chasing each other in the snow.

Jinshu came out of the meditation room carrying a basket, and shook her head upon seeing the scene: "These two girls have no manners, yet you have the leisure to tease them..."

"It's good that they're lively. Let them be." Xue Sui smiled, put down the comb, tucked her frozen red fingertips into her sleeve, and warmed them with her breath.

"The sun is so cold and lonely in the nunnery, we have to find something to do..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Jinshu looking hesitant and wanting to say something.

She raised her head slightly, "But is there any news about Senior Brother?"

Jinshu looked around, walked closer to the person who was out of the wind, and lowered her voice.

"The arson case at the Lantern Festival market led to the discovery of inflated losses in the Guanglu Temple's granaries, with no inventory checks for three years and incomplete accounts. The Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. His Highness the Crown Prince discovered that the Ever-Normal Granary had embezzled 200,000 shi of military rations and resold them to private merchants in Jiangzhou for profit, using moldy grain to fill the gaps and fabricating transport losses. All the evidence was seized..."

"To thoroughly investigate the corruption case involving military supplies, the imperial court dispatched Master Xue to escort the grain transport commissioner to the capital for trial..."

Xue Sui picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip.

She still vividly remembers the chaotic scene on the Lantern Festival.

The assassins from Xiz disguised themselves as street performers and set fire to the place, with Jiulingzhao fanning the flames, all in order to expose the layers of darkness surrounding the Guanglu Temple and the Changping Warehouse to the light of day.

The person in charge of the Ever-Normal Granary was Guo Mingyuan, Guo Zhaohuai's second uncle.

Li Zhao was indeed meticulous; he followed the clues and uncovered the entire corruption chain, not disappointing her.

At present, the war in the western frontier is at a stalemate. At this time, embezzling the army's food and supplies will result in serious consequences, if not death.

Xue Qinglian was appointed as the Left Assistant Secretary of Jiangzhou.

Sending him to escort the criminals to the capital at this time is quite a decision worth considering...

"His Highness the Crown Prince is shrewd and resourceful, seizing opportunities to act with remarkable efficiency..."

Jinshu's words came to an abrupt halt.

A familiar cooing sound came from outside the bamboo fence, and in an instant, Lingyu fluttered its wings and landed on her shoulder.

Its beak opened and closed slightly, gently touching her earlobe, as if it were being affectionate.

She instinctively grabbed its paw, but couldn't find the mailbox. She then smiled and tapped its cold beak.

"naughty!"

After saying that, he stroked Lingyu's head and turned to look at Jinshu.

"The weather's getting colder, and both girls are craving food. We need to think of something to improve their meals..."

Jinshu lowered her eyes and agreed.

Turning around, I saw Ruyi walking towards me carrying a purple clay bowl. The honey stains on the rim of the bowl shimmered in the morning light, creating a ring of tiny sparkles.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Ruyi put the bowl on the table, grimaced, blew on it, and touched her ear.

"The fire in the kitchen was too strong, and it almost burned the bowl."

"No manners." Jinshu took the bowl and wiped the rim clean with a handkerchief. "The young lady has a good temper and won't blame you, but you are so careless in your actions."

Just as Xue Sui was about to raise his hand, he faintly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats coming from the mountain gate.

Soon, Xiao Ni came calling from outside the door.

"Liaochen, the nun invites you."

Xue Sui and Jin Shu exchanged a glance.

As they went out, Abbess Huiming led the nuns of the nunnery to greet them.

The leaden sky, like spilled ink, spread across the mountain ridges.

Xue Sui looked up and saw the Crown Prince's entourage stopped in front of the mountain gate. The gilded phoenix-patterned carriage gleamed coldly in the howling mountain wind, as if it were about to break through the quiet mountain gate of Shuiyue Nunnery.