Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 279 A drink and a peck

"Self-respect?"

Li Zhao chuckled.

His hot, alcohol-scented breath brushed against her trembling eyelashes, and in her unfathomable eyes, a raging hatred seemed to surge, along with a desperately suppressed longing...

"You've been calculating and scheming at every turn, haven't you made me respect myself? You even used me when I returned to the city in triumph, making me make a knife for you on the Imperial Street in front of thousands of people, haven't you made me respect myself?"

"Your Highness has misunderstood..."

“Xue Ping’an,” Li Zhao interrupted her.

"You use me so skillfully, have you ever thought about... how I would feel?"

"I've thought about it." Xue Sui endured the double pain from the wounds on her wrist and arm, suppressed the tingling itch that made her heart pound, and met his piercing gaze with a slow, clear, and faint smile.

"It is precisely because I have considered this that I dare to trouble Your Highness."

Her smile was pale, yet carried a calmness that spoke volumes.

"This humble nun believes in His Highness the Crown Prince; he is decisive and knows his limits in matters of life and death."

Li Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed.

She continued, "Even if His Highness hates me to the core, he would never let go of this opportunity to establish his authority and consolidate his power. His Highness's swift and decisive actions today have shocked the court and the public, which is exactly what he wanted, isn't it?"

"You're really stubborn." Li Zhao's eyes darkened as he was provoked by her unyielding attitude, which even carried a hint of "I understand you." His voice suddenly rose, hoarse from drinking.

"Even now, they're still resorting to sophistry!"

"Your Highness is too kind." Xue Sui's voice was a little hoarse, with a slight tremor due to pain and the force of suppressing a cough, but it was unusually clear and calm.

"I am a person of the secular world, compassionate and merciful. I do not wish to see parasites gnaw at the foundation of the nation, nor the blood of soldiers staining the battlefield. The evidence against the Duke of Zheng's family is overwhelming, and justice is clear. I have merely brought the truth into the light of day, hoping to use Your Highness to set things right. This act will not only relieve the hatred of the common people but also comfort the spirits of the fallen soldiers. Your Highness... do you not feel satisfied?"

She paused, and the faint curve of her lips deepened slightly.

"Your Highness has rightfully rid the country of traitors, and this deserves to be recorded in history. This humble nun has only offered a small contribution; how could I possibly be of any use to you? I'm sure the spirits of those unjustly killed soldiers would be pleased with this. What does Your Highness think?"

"You used me, and you expect me to be grateful to you?"

Li Zhao let out a short, cold laugh.

The laughter was filled with absurdity and a sense of being fooled.

"Xue Ping'an, how dare you?"

“If Your Highness feels you have been used…” Xue Sui took a deep breath and met his gaze, “you may kill this humble nun now.”

"Kill you?" Li Zhao scoffed, his fingertip tracing the pale scar on the inside of her wrist. "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Xue Sui frowned, but refused to show weakness.

"What does Your Highness wish to do?"

"What you owe me, you should repay a hundredfold—"

"This poor nun has nothing."

“You do.” Li Zhao’s voice suddenly lowered, carrying a dangerous, almost whispered tone. “You have this life.”

His palm covered the back of her neck, his fingertips pressing on sensitive acupoints, forcing her to look up, his dark eyes piercing.

"And you, too."

The two were very close.

They were so close they could see each other's reflections in their pupils.

Xue Sui's expression darkened slightly. "Your Highness, why don't you give it a try?"

Li Zhao raised an eyebrow, his gaze seemingly brushing across her pale lips: "Are you so eager to die? Or are you so certain that I will be at your mercy?"

“It’s not about manipulation.” She gently shook her head. “It’s about a win-win situation.”

When have we ever had a win-win situation?

He sneered.

"I have suffered a complete and utter defeat."

"..."

Li Zhao suddenly leaned forward half an inch, tightening his grip on her wrist even more, almost making a faint cracking sound, forcing her to tilt her head back slightly and endure the almost bursting malice in his eyes.

"Xue Ping'an. What are you made of, this face, this heart? Stone? Or... black iron?!"

He stared intently at her, his gaze lingering on her pale yet stunningly beautiful features, trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt or wavering.

No.

Nothing at all.

There was only a cold, almost empty calm.

Despite the burning passion and obsession she once felt under the control of the Love Silk Gu, and the excruciating pain of having her heart ripped out to break free, those emotions had long since been torn to shreds by the blood and fire of the Western Frontier…

But he would still be captivated by those eyes.

Painful, desolate eyes, hiding ashes and abyss.

"Xue Ping'an."

Li Zhao's voice was broken, hoarse and dangerous like that of a wounded beast, each word seemingly ground from the depths of his throat, laced with blood.

“From beginning to end! From that damned Love Curse, you have been scheming against my love, my power, and my life—and now, you want to squeeze every last drop of my blood to pave your way for revenge.”

"Xue Ping'an, you madwoman, how cruel you are!"

Xue Sui was captivated by the almost insane crimson glint in Li Zhao's eyes. Li Zhao's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

His originally dark eyes appeared slightly eerie in the candlelight, like a venomous snake awakening, faintly overlapping with the images from the depths of her memory of him when his love potion took effect, carrying a humid, aggressive, and predatory quality—

My skin felt burning hot, and that searing sensation coursing through my veins returned.

An absurd and terrifying thought struck her chaotic mind like lightning!

Is it...

That love-binding curse... wasn't eradicated?!

The cost of removing the curse is far more than what Senior Sister Yuheng mentioned.

Once the thought arose, it grew wildly like vines, instantly seizing her.

A suffocating panic, mixed with the excruciating pain of her wound and the spreading numbness, made her fingertips icy cold and even made it difficult to breathe.

"His Royal Highness..."

A crack finally appeared in the calm on her face, and her voice became slightly hurried.

"We are not irreconcilable enemies, much less would we be bloodshed on the spot..."

A low, hoarse, cold laugh escaped Li Zhao's throat.

He didn't let go, but grabbed her injured left arm, knelt on one knee against the edge of her couch, and pulled her into his arms, his nose brushing lightly against her ear.

"You're scared now? You crazy woman, weren't you supposed to be heartless?"

"Same here." Xue Sui swallowed the metallic taste in his throat and said calmly, "Your Highness is no different. You'll do anything for power."

"I'm not as vicious as you!"

"This humble nun is simply doing what she should do."

Li Zhao's cold gaze swept over her furrowed brows, finally settling on her left arm, which he held firmly and which was trembling slightly.

"Don't touch it!" Xue Sui grunted.

"You're capable of getting hurt, but not of enduring the pain?" Li Zhao's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of concern tinged with resentment.

"I might as well kill you and end it all."

"Do it, Your Highness. You'd better not hesitate."

Li Zhao laughed again, a chilling laugh.

The hand, calloused and bearing the marks of a gun and sword, which had once brushed against her temples, suddenly grabbed Xue Sui's left sleeve, pulling her hard with an urge to tear away her disguise.

"His-"

A sharp, tearing sound rang out in the deathly silent living room.

Li Zhao was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The soft fabric, as fragile as a sheet of paper, tore instantly from her shoulder to her elbow under his fingers...

Large swathes of her smooth, creamy skin were exposed to the cool air, which also completely revealed the short, inch-long wound—

The edges were slightly red and swollen, but the oozing blood was a deeper, darker red.

His careless actions were like those of a lecherous man who had lost control.

Li Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed violently...

All the actions, all the anger, came to an abrupt halt.

Although he was arrogant and unruly, he never flirted with women. Seeing this, he suddenly felt a little deflated...

"Xue Ping'an..."

Xue Sui looked at him calmly.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's way of treating guests is indeed extraordinary."

Li Zhao slowly raised his eyes, his gaze moving with extreme slowness and eeriness from her hideous wound to her face, which was slightly pale from the pain and her forced endurance, and finally to her eyes that finally revealed a hint of genuine pain and mockery...

A moment later, his face turned extremely pale.

"You crazy woman! You won't back down even when you're injured..."

He seemed to be burned by the shocking wound, and subconsciously loosened his grip on her wrist, replaced by a deeper and more complex hatred, and... a trace of panic that even he himself did not realize.

"It hurts?"

"Your Highness need not worry..."

Xue Sui gasped in pain. The excruciating pain in her left arm and the discomfort of being exposed to the cold air made her sway and almost collapse. Her vision blurred.

"Your Highness, please let go. Don't let my blood stain your brocade sleeves..."

She instinctively tried to pull her arm away, but her voice was broken by pain, carrying a hint of weak annoyance.

"Shut up!" Li Zhao roared, his voice booming through the wind and rain outside the window.

He looked down at his wound, then suddenly turned and shouted sharply towards the door.

"Send word to Zhang Huaicheng!"

　Li Zhao: I didn't mean to tear her sleeve...

　　Reader: Those who know, know.

　　(End of this chapter)