Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 255 Love's Lingering Love Even When Candle Fades
In the meditation room at midnight, only an oil lamp was lit.

The wick was covered with tiny, bean-sized flames, barely extinguished, emitting a soft, popping sound.

Xue Sui knelt on the prayer mat. The ink on the Xuan paper on the table was not yet dry. The last stroke of his brush was extremely sharp, tearing through the two characters "Peace" on the plain white Xuan paper.

Yuheng's glass bottle sat beside the inkstone, its contents wreathed in blood-red threads that seemed almost alive. As the lamplight swept across the bottle, it swayed gently, emitting a warm, crimson glow that seemed all the more eerie in the dim light...

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, seeped in through the window cracks.

Her robes clung to her back in the wind, her silhouette appearing and disappearing in the lamplight.

"Squeak!"

A soft sound.

The window frame was flung open by the north wind, the bamboo curtain swayed violently, and with a crisp sound, a figure wrapped in a black cloak and covered in snow slowly stepped across the threshold.

Xue Sui turned his head. "Your Highness has arrived."

Li Zhao remained silent, his face extremely tense.

As the cloak was lifted by the wind, the newly changed bandages on the shoulders and back were faintly visible, and the astringent smell of wound medicine rose in the air...

Xue Sui lowered his eyes, held the glass bottle in both hands, his fingertips slightly stiff.

"I have fulfilled my promise to Your Highness... Here is the antidote for the Love Curse, please accept it!"

Li Zhao slowly took the bottle, his fingertips brushing against the cool surface, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly in the shadows.

"Antidote?"

He suddenly chuckled, gripped the bottle tightly in his palm, kicked away the prayer mat, and as he approached her, his right shoulder slumped uncomfortably, clearly aggravating the whip mark...

"Xue Ping'an, you are my cure."

Xue Sui suddenly looked up and saw the snow water that had condensed on his eyelashes fall down, and couldn't help but tremble.

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"The original intention—"

As the last word faded, he suddenly exerted force with his palm, and with a cracking sound, the glass bottle shattered instantly...

Crimson beads of blood trickled down his palm, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.

Xue Sui lunged forward to grab it, but was suddenly grabbed by the waist.

She rammed her elbow into his chest, her fingertips barely touching the broken bottle shards before he twisted her arms behind her back and pinned her against the inkstone.

Buddhist scriptures were scattered all over the ground.

"You're asking for it!" she shouted angrily, slamming her knee into his stomach.

Li Zhao pinned her down, locking her shoulder with one hand and bracing his other hand heavily against the edge of the table.

Perhaps the movement was too forceful, tearing open the whip wounds. The blood seeping from his shoulder and back quickly spread, staining his robes a deep brown...

Xue Sui was so angry that he spoke recklessly.

"You've destroyed the antidote, you bastard! Just wait until the love poison takes its toll and you die..."

"With you on the road to the underworld, I am not alone." Li Zhao smiled and tightened his arms, but the wind from his sleeve accidentally swept the bronze furnace off its side.

Incense ash was scattered all over the ground.

Xue Sui was in a complete mess, his mind in turmoil.

"Bastard!"

Li Zhao grabbed her hand, saw blood on her fingers, and suddenly lowered his head to bite her bleeding fingertip.

The salty, fishy taste spread between his lips and teeth. He looked up at her, his eyelashes casting trembling shadows beneath his eyelids.

"You think you can get rid of me with this little bit of mercy? Xue Ping'an, I'm determined to entangle myself with you until the very end."

After saying that, he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest.

"I entrust my life to you. If I'm going to die, I'll die by your hand."

Xue Sui looked up into his bloodshot eyes, and felt a sharp pain in his ribs from anger.

"Your Highness has forgotten the itch that gnaws at your flesh and erodes your very bones when the love poison takes effect, making you wish you could rip your own heart out with a sword? Are you going to endure that torment forever...?"

"So be it!" Li Zhao raised an eyebrow dismissively.

"I've endured this long enough, what's there to fear from enduring it any longer? You went to all that trouble to find the antidote, aren't you just trying to distance yourself from me?"

He is the one who needs the antidote.

He was also the one who ruined the antidote.

Xue Sui suddenly let out a cold laugh and poked his bleeding shoulder armor with his fingertip.

Why humiliate yourself?

"This is fate, I accept it!"

"The effects of lust are not temporary, but last a lifetime."

"Then I'll rely on you for the rest of my life."

Love, hate, and obsession in the mortal world are not all suffering.

At least for now, the warmth in his arms is real.

The sound of the water clock mingled with the wind and snow. Xue Sui couldn't break free from the iron-bound embrace. He was both angry and exasperated, his heart felt like it was blocked by cotton wool, and he didn't know what to feel. His eyes gradually became hot, and his eyelashes seemed to be covered with moisture...

"You're outrageous! Do you know that this antidote is mine..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Li Zhao lowered his head. "What about you?"

It was nurtured with the blood and sweat of one's heart, and exchanged for one's lifespan.

Xue Sui gritted her teeth, wanting to unleash a torrent of curses, but swallowed her words when she saw the unhidden whip marks on the back of his neck.

"Your Highness is injured and should not get angry, much less resist the detoxification..."

Li Zhao chuckled, his right shoulder trembling slightly from the pain, yet he still held her tightly in his arms.

"Are you willing to gamble on how much sincerity I have without the Love Silk Curse?"

Xue Sui was so angry that he was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He wanted to scratch him, but he had to consider that he was a poor man who had just been whipped by his own father.

Unable to quell his resentment, he could only grit his teeth and accuse.

"I don't care how sincere you are... I only know that when the poison of love takes effect, the pain of having one's heart ripped out is unbearable for ordinary people... You are willing to endure it, but I am not willing to die with you..."

"Does it mean that you can't die unless you're mutually happy?" He squinted and chuckled, a playful heat in his eyes.

An ambiguous atmosphere permeated the snowy night.

Xue Sui's cheeks flushed red, and she raised her hand to hit him, but he leaned over and pressed her down with his weight.

"Peace." Li Zhao called her softly, his voice filled with an unprecedented vulnerability.

"I am leaving."

Xue Sui was taken aback, her gaze meeting the lingering mockery in his eyes.

"Young lady, don't be so fierce."

Li Zhao lowered his head and gently kissed her smooth forehead, his stubble brushing against her skin.

She heard the man's muffled voice from his chest: "In three days, I will go to Chishui Pass to oversee the battle. If I return victorious... I will use my military merits as a dowry, and marry you with a grand procession of red bridal procession. If I die in battle..."

He paused, his lips brushing against the soft flesh of her earlobe.

"If you die in battle, then you can spend the rest of your life chanting scriptures before my memorial tablet..."

A barely perceptible tension lurked in his eyes, making Xue Sui want to laugh.

Li Zhao is such an awkward person!

When it comes to speaking softly, they never suffer any loss.

There was not a trace of tenderness or affection; it was terribly stiff.

"You want me to be a nun for life? Fine—"

She hesitated for a moment before responding, raising her hand to push against his shoulder, but recoiled as if burned when she touched the wound on the back of his neck.

"Is the wound infected?"

"Can't die."

"I was just being nosy..." Xue Sui's face darkened.

"Are you annoyed?" Li Zhao chuckled softly, raising his hand to rub her head, but paused due to the whip marks. Then he coaxed her affectionately, "Then ask again? I'll answer again?"

"I really owe you..."

Xue Sui forcefully pulled her hand back, kicked away the futon beside her feet, her eyes reddening but refusing to look at him.

"Your Highness is about to embark on a campaign, yet you insist on offering a word of reassurance. In that case, I will break my vow this time and have some side dishes and warm wine prepared to bid Your Highness farewell..."

Li Zhao's lips curled slightly, revealing a very faint smile.

"Then I will accept your kind offer."

So easy to coax!

Behind the screen, Laifu hunched his shoulders and muttered to himself.

The dignified Crown Prince was so easily flattered that he was practically overflowing with sweetness, practically wagging his tail at the person's feet...
-
A moment later, the steaming wooden table was placed on the table.

The earthenware jar containing plum wine was placed next to the charcoal stove.

Bang!
Xue Sui personally broke the mud seal.

The wine simmering in the copper kettle bubbled and steamed, its aroma mingling with the smell of charcoal fire.

The two sat facing each other, the atmosphere as subtle as melting spring snow, tender and ambiguous.

This scene resembles a typical couple bidding farewell, filled with warmth and reluctance.

Xue Sui raised her celadon cup, the aroma of wine swirling in her eyes, reflecting the glowing red light of the charcoal fire, making it exceptionally shimmering…

"May Your Highness achieve a resounding victory and return to court in triumph soon!"

"Alright. When we return victorious, you can prepare wine to welcome us again!"

Li Zhao's eyes flickered, and he raised his glass as he spoke...

Unexpectedly, Xue Sui gripped the half-cooled wine cup, tilted his head back to drink the wine, and suddenly grabbed his collar and kissed him.

Li Zhao's eyes widened slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing violently—

The wine went down my throat, and suddenly a warm, soft body bumped into me...

Xue Sui's lips were colder than the snow on the plum blossoms.

He swallowed instinctively, then suddenly felt a commotion in his stomach and his pupils contracted sharply.

"What did you give me to drink?"

"The antidote is in the wine." She touched his throbbing neck pulse with her fingertip, where the skin was burning hot. Her voice trembled, and her eyes reddened.

“I guessed that Your Highness was unwilling to take the medicine properly, so I was extra careful… Oh, right, I didn’t tell Your Highness earlier. This antidote is only effective if both of us drink it together.”

"Xue Ping'an, you lied to me again!" Li Zhao glared at her angrily, his eyes bloodshot like those of a wounded beast, gritting his teeth.

"You woman...you woman..."

Enraged, he reached down and swallowed.

A strong, metallic sweetness welled up in his throat, but he didn't cough it up.

Li Zhao was furious. "You lied about recommending yourself at Youhuang Residence, you lied about getting me to use the Gu poison at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, you lied about coughing up blood and having an attack of illness in the Ministry of Justice prison, and now even the farewell wine is laced with scheming... Xue Ping'an, what do you really have that's true...?"

Xue Sui remained silent.

Silently, she slipped the prayer beads back onto her wrist.

She knew that when the Love Silk Gu took effect, it would gnaw at her bones and burn her heart, leaving her with a nine-out-of-ten chance of survival.

Pushing Li Zhao away was the best way for her to repay the kindness she had shown him in the past.

"Your Highness, our fate has come to an end. May we each find our own peace."

"Such a wonderful thing, is it up to you to decide?" Li Zhao grabbed her chin, his eyes suddenly turning icy cold.

"Didn't we agree that once the curse was lifted, I wouldn't owe you anything anymore..."

"I forbid it! Don't even think about it." Li Zhao chuckled coldly, grabbed her wrist, brushed his fingertips across her palm, slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, then gently kissed her forehead, his tone softening.

"Ping An, when I return, will you tie up my hair for me?"

Xue Sui felt a lump in his throat.

For some reason, I felt like something was blocking my chest.

She then realized she had forgotten to ask Senior Sister Yuheng how long it would take for the antidote for the Love Silk Gu to take effect after taking it.

How long will it take for Li Zhao to stop going crazy like this...?
-
That night, Li Zhao left amidst the wind and snow.

Scouts report that supplies and provisions have been stolen, and the military situation is critical. We should immediately go to the camp, muster the troops, and set off.

He had no choice but to leave, without looking back or saying another word to her. Man and horse, gleaming coldly in the snow, seemed to melt into a long sword that cleaved through the wind and snow, disappearing into the swirling snowflakes...

Xue Sui stood under the corridor, letting the snowflakes fall all over his shoulders.

In the end, it turned into a barely audible sigh on his lips.

(End of this chapter)