Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 251 Shura Field

Everyone held their breath and even slowed their breathing.

Li Zhao walked slowly in his brocade robe and jade belt. His eyebrows and eyes under his jade crown were like snow reflected in a cold pool, colder than ice crystals in the dead of winter.

The sound of boots crushing thin ice was tense—

When the Crown Prince arrived, even the ancient cypress trees in front of the temple seemed to shrink by three points.

Master Huiming clasped her hands together, lowered her brows, and led the nuns in kneeling to welcome them, holding incense.

"This humble nun was unaware of His Highness the Crown Prince's arrival at my small nunnery; I have failed to greet him properly. My apologies."

The nuns bowed and kowtowed in unison.

"Welcome to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Zhao's gaze, sharp as a knife, slowly swept over Xue Sui.

The mountain wind whipped up snowflakes and hit her face, making her eyelashes look as if they were covered in frost.

Her robes swayed gently in the wind, and the sash at her waist fluttered, making her seem like the Moon Goddess of the Moon Palace who had been banished to the mortal world.

Li Zhao looked away, his face cold and indifferent. He walked up the steps with his hands behind his back, and suddenly stopped in front of the mountain gate. He looked at the three characters "Shuiyue Nunnery" on the lintel, remained silent for a moment, and then straightened the sash of his cloak before entering the nunnery.

Master Huiming led the congregation in bowing and paying their respects, then gestured to the young nuns to clean the incense table.

Li Zhao raised his hand to stop her, walked straight to the incense burner, washed his hands, picked up incense, and respectfully bowed to the Buddha statue before inserting the incense. Only then did he step back half a step and slowly put his hands behind his back.

"I have long admired the nun's profound meditation skills, and I have come today to offer incense oil as a token of my respect."

Seeing that his demeanor was proper, Abbess Huiming felt somewhat relieved and put her palms together, saying, "Amitabha, His Highness the Crown Prince is kind-hearted and will surely be blessed by the Buddha..."

"You're too kind, Abbess." Li Zhao suddenly turned around, his gaze once again fixed on Xue Sui. "However, besides worshipping Buddha, I have another matter to discuss—"

The candles inside the Buddhist hall burned on their own without any wind.

He paused, his tone slow as a dull knife in the dead of winter.

"I have a personal relationship with Miss Xue Liu and would like to have a few words with her alone. I hope you will grant me this favor, Master."

Upon hearing this, Abbess Huiming tightened her grip on the prayer beads, nearly losing her composure.

The nuns in the temple were also greatly shocked upon hearing this, and they all lowered their heads and remained silent.

Xue Sui had not expected that Li Zhao would come to Shuiyue Nunnery in broad daylight and act so madly.

This is utterly audacious and lawless!

"This humble nun's Dharma name is Liaochen, and I have severed all worldly ties." Xue Sui clasped her hands in a gesture of respect, a corner of her gray robe fluttering in the cold wind.

"If Your Highness has come to make an offering, please move to Songfeng Hall, where this humble nun will serve you tea..."

“No need.” Li Zhao’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly approached slowly, the sound of his boots being particularly clear in the spacious Buddhist hall.

"When old friends meet, they should naturally go to the meditation room to reminisce."

Before he finished speaking, he had already strode across the threshold and walked towards the meditation room in the backyard, as if he had been there a thousand times before...

The Crown Prince's imposing presence awed the entire audience.

No one dared to breathe loudly.

And nobody said a word for her...

Master Huiming sighed, bowed her head, clasped her hands, and began chanting sutras.

Such is the way of the world. Even a secluded and tranquil place is not a pure land outside the law. The nun may have transcended the Five Elements, but she could not escape the shackles of imperial power.

The Crown Prince is second only to the Emperor, above all others; who would dare to disobey him?
Xue Sui had no choice but to endure and follow, until they stopped at the moon gate of the Zen temple.

Their eyes met, and she smiled faintly, "What does Your Highness wish to say?"

Li Zhao: "I've traveled for half a day, can't I even get a cup of tea?"

His gaze was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on you from head to toe.

Xue Sui remained silent for a moment, then stepped aside to make way: "Your Highness, please."

He nodded again to the brocade letter.

"Go and fetch my treasured cloud and mist tea, and brew it with this year's newly harvested pine snow water."

The letter arrived immediately.

Li Zhao stepped into the meditation room with his hands behind his back, his gaze dismissive.

Before long, tea was served, and Jinshu stood respectfully to one side.

"You all get down!"

Li Zhaoguang brushed the corner of the table with his sleeve and gave the order with a cold face.

Jinshu didn't move, but Xiao Zhao gripped the broom tightly and rushed over.

Li Zhaodao said, "Guan Ya, ask them to leave!"

Guan Ya responded in a deep voice, and Xiao Zhao, with wide eyes, was about to make a move when she heard Xue Sui cough lightly.

"Go out."

Li Zhao said coldly, "Close the door."

Xue Sui's expression changed slightly, but he remained silent.

The door to the meditation room creaked shut slowly, like a heavy hammer blow to the heart.

Xue Sui took half a step back, turning his back to the door.

"Your Highness, may we speak now?"

Li Zhao took off his cloak and casually draped it over the meditation chair. He stepped onto the footrest of the meditation bed with his black leather boots, sitting upright and steady. His angular face was illuminated by the firelight in the charcoal brazier, making him appear even more handsome.

"Xue Ping'an, haven't you had enough peace and quiet for so long?"

"Your Highness, the meditation room is a sacred place in Buddhism, and it is not appropriate to cause trouble there..."

"Is there anywhere in this world that I cannot go?"

He chuckled lightly, as if he were in his own home, casually reaching across the scripture table to look through the scriptures she usually copied, a hint of mockery on his lips.

Xue Sui bumped into the wooden fish while retreating, hitting the incense table with a dull thud.

Li Zhao raised his eyes. "Why are you hiding so far away? Do you think I'd eat you?"

Xue Sui avoided his gaze, lowered her eyes and clasped her hands together: "This humble nun is a nun, and should uphold the precepts."

"A monk?" Li Zhao chuckled, gracefully flicking his sleeve. "I see you still harbor worldly desires; why not return to secular life?"

"Your Highness is the Crown Prince, why do you make things difficult for this poor nun?"

Li Zhao was so angry when he heard her repeatedly calling herself "poor nun," pretending to be a Buddhist nun who had attained perfect purity of mind and body, that he burst out laughing.

"come over."

Xue Sui frowned and remained motionless.

"Xue Ping'an, I want you to come here." Li Zhao put down the scriptures, his eyes darkening as he locked onto her like a lone eagle circling and hunting its prey, his voice cold and hard.

"If you don't want to implicate the nuns in the nunnery, you'd better listen to me."

Xue Sui sighed inwardly and sat down opposite him with a sullen face.

"Now I can say..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Zhao suddenly reached out with his long arm, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his arms.

"Xue Ping'an, how dare you..."

His hot breath brushed against her newly grown stubble, causing a slightly tingling, unbearable itch.

Xue Sui's breathing quickened slightly, and her long-dormant emotions flared up like wildfire, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.

“If Your Highness continues to act recklessly, this humble nun will have no choice but to call for help.” “Call for help? Look around this nunnery, who dares to meddle in my affairs?”

Li Zhao looked at her tense jaw and trembling eyelashes, then suddenly chuckled and took out a string of Buddhist prayer beads from his sleeve.

"This is what you dropped at the Lantern Festival market. I picked it up for you."

Xue Sui gazed at the string of Buddhist beads, his expression complex: "Thank you, Your Highness."

She reached out to take it, but Li Zhao gently dodged her. As she leaned forward, he wrapped his long arm around her neck, pulling her down onto his lap. With his other hand, he pressed down on her struggling back and then pushed her down onto the meditation bed.

"Your Highness, this is a nunnery!"

"Wouldn't that be better?" Li Zhao lightly flicked the belt of her monk's robe with his fingertips, his palm burning hot against her lower back, like a hot coal, precisely branding the old scar on her waist.

"Use this string of prayer beads to count your sins..."

"Li Zhao!" Xue Sui called out to him, her voice unusually unsteady.

Li Zhao not only didn't get angry, but instead chuckled softly.

"Do you know how long it has been since I last heard this name? In the whole world, only you, Xue Ping'an, call me by my name directly."

Xue Sui pushed him, sat up, and tugged at his long, plain gray robe.

"Your Highness, as the Crown Prince, why do you bother to come to this secluded place of cultivation to amuse this humble nun and disrupt the proper etiquette and moral order?"

Li Zhao approached her, his fingertips tracing the top of her bald head, then pinched her earlobe fiercely, uttering a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Purification? Xue Ping'an, you shaved your head, and you think you've truly washed your hands clean and forgotten your hatred? Was that Xizi scimitar you personally handed me during the Lantern Festival, evidence of corruption in the Changping granary?"

She looked up and met his burning gaze, her heart suddenly racing.

"Your Highness originally intended to lure the snake out of its hole; I merely handed it a knife..."

Li Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the scripture table.

"Xue Ping'an, oh no, Master Liaochen. Your reach is still so long... Investigating corruption in the military grain depots, crippling the Duke of Zheng's power, and now you're fleeing to the Buddha to feign innocence? Hmm?"

“Your Highness has your own plans, why ask me?” She paused, then said softly, “Your Highness and I are ultimately not on the same path. We can walk together for a while, but we cannot reach the same destination…”

"Oh?" Li Zhao sneered, "If we're not on the same path, then I'll tear down that path! If you flee to the Buddha, I'll demolish the temple; if you hide in the underworld, I'll chase you into hell—wherever you flee, I'll build my road there. What can you do to me?"

He seemed to be going all out, suddenly lowering his head to bite her lip, his teeth grinding against the trembling corner of her lips, like taming a wild horse, prying open her jaw...

Inside the meditation room, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly.

You could feel the intense heat, like burning coals, even through my clothes.

He clung to her gasp with his tongue until she was breathless, then released her. He lifted her lower back with his palm through her robe, his fingertips tracing the raised lines of the scar, as if confirming his prized possession. He looked up at her, a triumphant malice on his lips.

When I kiss you, I can taste... the same path.

When Xue Sui met the deep meaning in his eyes, she stiffened and turned her face away, breathing rapidly.

"Your Highness, how can you do this to Miss Guo? Betraying true love is a sin that will send you to hell..."

Li Zhao chuckled and pressed his thumb against her lips.

"Hate?"

"Your Highness, have you ever cared?"

"I don't care. If Buddha truly has a spirit, I'll take you right here and drag you down to hell with me, how about that..."

Xue Sui bit down hard on his tiger's mouth until the taste of blood exploded between his lips and teeth, then slumped onto the futon, smelling the ambergris on his body, clenching his fists and taking a deep breath.

"I'll count to three. If Your Highness continues to be rude, don't blame me for being merciless..."

Li Zhao raised an eyebrow, flicked his fingers to loosen the sash of her robe, and lowered his head to press his breath against her collarbone...

"one!"

Li Zhao held her hands and placed them on the scripture table, then lowered his head and smiled faintly.

"two!"

She gritted her teeth and kicked him, but Li Zhao not only didn't let go, he grabbed her waist and pressed down on her, his knee pushing her away, like a wild beast poised to pounce...

Xue Sui's body stiffened as he felt the resonance of their heartbeats. Their emotions surged like boiling water, and his heart burned with an astonishing heat. The words he uttered were trembling and broken.

"three……"

Before the words had even faded, hurried footsteps could be heard outside.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Duan and his wife request an audience, saying they wish to visit Miss Xue."

Xue Sui suddenly pulled her wrist back, her fingertips gripping the edge of the desk tightly...

He met Li Zhao's gaze and gestured for him to let go.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhao chuckled softly, completely unconvinced.

"Sixth Miss Xue? How come I didn't know there was such a person in the nunnery?"

"Let them wait! I'm busy."

Xue Sui was taken aback...

Looking at the undercurrents surging in Li Zhao's eyes, she suddenly understood that this was his long-planned revenge. Back when she was in the Prince Duan's mansion, Li Huan often created the illusion of a harmonious marriage to deliberately provoke him.

At that time, Li Huan's position was legitimate.

Even as the crown prince, Li Zhao had no choice but to endure and yield.

He's kept it all in his heart, enduring so much humiliation for so long.

He wanted everyone to know the consequences of offending him.

They even asserted their power and possession in front of Prince Duan, and exacted a severe revenge...

"What? Are you afraid I'll embarrass him?" Li Zhao lifted her chin with his fingertips, forcing her to look at him.

Xue Sui's face turned cold, his back ramrod straight. "Your Highness, why must you press me like this—"

"Forced?" Li Zhao chuckled softly, his fingertips tracing the back of her fair neck. "Before, you were a concubine of Prince Duan, and he could openly take you away. Now you are the little nun Liaochen, and if I want you, even Buddha cannot stop me. Xue Ping'an, remember this well—"

He leaned closer, his breath, mixed with the scent of ambergris, spraying against her ear.

"In this world, I want you, and you belong to me."

Below the throne, all are puppets.

The power that comes with authority is unparalleled; public opinion and so-called social norms are utterly insignificant...

The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, while Prince Duan is his subject.

As long as he remains the crown prince, he can completely overshadow Prince Duan.

That is the iron-fisted law of power.

Li Zhao gently kissed the corner of her tightly pursed lips, making no attempt to hide the wildfire in his eyes...

Xue Sui felt his blood rushing upwards, and his fingernails almost dug into his shoulder.

"Li Zhao! That's gone too far!"

Li Zhao chuckled softly as he bit her earlobe, his breath hot and his gaze lingering on hers.

"Xue Ping'an, I know you hate, then hate me even more. Hate me so much that you can only remember my bad deeds."

Outside the meditation room, snowflakes fell silently...

The crisp sound of boots crushing the snow came from afar, breaking the ripples in the meditation room.

Immediately afterwards, Li Huan was heard to give a long bow with feigned composure.

"Your subject requests an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Xue Sui: Li Zeida, he's gone mad.

Li Zhao: You're only just finding out? Too late—