Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 280 Medicinal Bath
The rain was pattering.

The atmosphere inside was as heavy as cotton wool soaked in water.

Li Zhao's thunderous roar, like a blade tempered with ice, cleaved through the stagnant air in the reception hall.

"Your Highness... you can let go now." Xue Sui said helplessly.

His voice was weak, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"The blood is flowing again, and it has carefully soiled Your Highness's hands."

"Filthy?"

Li Zhao had fought on the battlefield and seen too many wounds and too much bloodshed.

A fresh wound should bleed bright red, but the wound before me has an ominous dark red hue.

This color is strikingly similar to the foul blood flowing from the mouths of the soldiers at Blackwind Pass who were infected with an unknown plague and eventually died coughing up blood...

"Xue Ping'an, this injury is very unusual."

"A few minor scratches from hidden weapons... Your Highness, thank you for your concern."

Xue Sui closed his eyes, trying to gather his gradually dissipating spirit.

"This humble nun...will not die."

"How long are you going to keep being stubborn? Do you have to wait until I'm preparing your body for burial before you'll finally give in?"

“Your Highness…” she gasped, her voice broken and hoarse, yet strangely calm, “If this humble nun were truly dead…wouldn’t that suit Your Highness’s wishes perfectly? So as not to… be an eyesore to Your Highness…”

She managed a weak, almost defiant smile.

"To end it all at once...wouldn't that be cleaner?"

“You—” Li Zhao was stung by her words.

He really wanted to strangle this crazy woman who didn't know what was going on.

"You really know how to anger me..."

Li Zhao tensed up, reaching out to grab her, almost slamming her onto the couch—

"Your Highness, this old minister Zhang Huaicheng requests an audience..."

A deep voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

Li Zhao's taut knuckles suddenly relaxed. "Go in."

Zhang Huaicheng strode in carrying his medicine box. Upon seeing the scene inside, he was first taken aback, then lowered his head.

The prince's tall figure almost completely enveloped the woman in shadow. One hand was still holding her wrist, while the other hand supported her shoulder. His clothes were stained with glaring bloodstains.

"This old minister pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"no!"

"Your Highness, please allow this old minister to examine the injuries first," Zhang Huaicheng bowed and requested permission.

"Hmm." Li Zhao stepped aside, but his gaze remained fixed on Xue Sui's pale face.

Zhang Huaicheng stepped forward in response, put down the medicine box, and moved quickly and steadily.

He first carefully washed his hands before gently lifting Xue Sui's injured left arm.

As the cold fingertips touched the wound, Xue Sui subconsciously pursed his lips, and another layer of cold sweat instantly poured out on his forehead.

Li Zhao stared at her reaction, his jaw tightening even more, his hands behind his back clenched into fists.

"how?"

Zhang Huaicheng withdrew his hand, bowed deeply to Li Zhao, and looked solemn.

"Your Highness, Master Miaozhen's wound... is quite strange..."

"Poisonous?" Li Zhao's voice was taut like a fully drawn bowstring, every word filled with anxiety.

Zhang Huaicheng shook his head, then nodded.

"It's not poisonous, nor is it caused by ordinary snakes, insects, or herbs. Rather, it seems to be... a concoction made from the filth of plague-stricken corpses, and it also contains herbs like bone-rotting grass that slow wound healing and exacerbate pain... This is like a cold poison invading the body, obstructing the blood vessels..."

He paused, his tone becoming even more somber.

"This poison develops slowly, but it's like a bone-deep infection. If it's not removed in time, the cold poison will penetrate deep into the internal organs, damaging the meridians at best, and at worst... it could be life-threatening! And the longer it's left untreated, the harder it is to cure..."

Li Zhao's expression changed slightly.

"Is there any way?" he asked, his voice terribly low.

Zhang Huaicheng looked troubled: "We need to use a silver knife to scrape away the bruised flesh and putrefied toxins as soon as possible to slow the spread of the cold poison..."

He glanced at Xue Sui's pale face and hesitated.

"The process of scraping away the poison is extremely painful, like being burned by raging fire or having ice needles pierce the marrow, which is unbearable for ordinary people! Moreover, Master Miaozhen had previously suffered from the serious illness of Xue Li Ku, which damaged her vital energy, so I'm afraid... I'm afraid it will be unbearable for her..."

Li Zhao's gaze sharpened as he swept it over Xue Sui, whose lips were pale and bluish.

Her eyes were closed, her fingertips resting steadily on her knees, her breathing was very light, and she didn't even furrow her brow. She showed no sign of the severe damage to her vital energy and the unbearable pain that Zhang Huaicheng had described.

He truly endures what others cannot.

His brows furrowed. "Then what are you waiting for? Shave!"

Hearing his cold and harsh words, Xue Sui glanced at his exposed forearm and spoke calmly.

"It's nothing, Physician Zhang, please feel free to do it, it won't cause any trouble."

“It’s nothing?” Li Zhao suddenly straightened up, his chest heaving violently, and stared at Xue Sui with a complex look, like the sea before a storm, containing turbulent waves.

"You dare to act recklessly at a life-or-death situation? Do you have a death wish?"

Xue Sui coughed lightly.

At this moment, Li Zhao was like a lit firecracker; anyone who touched him would explode...

She doesn't provoke people.

"Thank you for your help, Imperial Physician."

Zhang Huaicheng lowered his head, not daring to look at the Crown Prince's face, nor daring to be negligent. He took out a thin silver knife from the medicine box, heated it with fire, sprayed it with strong liquor, and took out the white powder from the porcelain bottle.

"Master Miaozhen, please bear with it. It will sting a little when the rotten flesh and blood are scraped away."

Xue Sui nodded.

Take a deep breath and lower your eyelids...

Just as the dagger was about to touch the wound, Li Zhao suddenly reached out and snatched the thin-bladed knife from Zhang Huaicheng's hand.

“I am here.” His voice was deep and unquestionable.

Xue Sui was taken aback and looked up at him.

In the candlelight, his jawline was taut, his eyes fixed intently on her gruesome wound, his long eyelashes casting deep shadows beneath his eyelids, and his whole being exuded an unusual seriousness.

"Your Highness is of noble birth and precious status, such a sordid matter..." Xue Sui tried to politely refuse.

"Stop talking nonsense," Li Zhao interrupted her, his tone curt.

"I've handled more corpses than you've ever seen dead."

He leaned down, his tall figure once again enveloping her.

Xue Sui simply closed his eyes.

Well, at this moment he's like an enraged beast, he needs an outlet.

The excruciating pain of having bone removed removed, the agonizing flesh inflicted by his own hands, was a form of revenge in itself. Her agony would surely bring him immense pleasure…

And let him be.

Xue Sui turned his face slightly, bracing himself for the excruciating pain.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhao picked up the dagger and carefully scraped away the poisonous blood around the wound. His movements were so steady and delicate that they were even gentler than those of the experienced Zhang Huaicheng.

Xue Sui's eyelashes trembled slightly.

The scent of agarwood mingled with the smell of rain, and the warm breath brushed against my arm.

It brings a tingling, itchy sensation.

"Speak up if it hurts." Li Zhao's tone was curt.

Xue Sui lowered her eyes: "This humble nun practices asceticism, what is this little pain?"

Li Zhao paused, then looked up at her profile.

The candlelight outlined her slender figure, her eyelashes trembling slightly, clearly indicating that she was trying hard to hold back her emotions.

He felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and with a forceful pull of his fingertips, he drew the poison into the wound. Xue Sui gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead, but he didn't utter a sound.

"A dead duck has a tough mouth."

Li Zhao cursed under his breath, but did not stop moving.

When he was halfway through shaving, he couldn't bear to see her forehead damp with cold sweat, so he paused and almost instinctively raised his left hand—the soft silk—to gently wipe away the cold sweat from her forehead.

This subtle movement caused both of them to freeze for a moment.

“Back then, under the artificial hill at Puji Temple, you looked just like this.”

Li Zhao's voice suddenly lowered, carrying a subtle hint of bitterness, as if he were lost in some distant memory.
"They would rather freeze to death than ask me for help."

Xue Sui's body suddenly stiffened.

A corner of the frozen memory was pried open, and the biting cold and the fox fur coat that young Li Zhao had thrown down, still warm from his body, seemed to reappear in an instant.

That same stubborn yet kind-hearted, awkward yet persistent boy is right before my eyes...

Her throat tightened slightly.

The boy at that time...

He once warmed her frozen body with his own body heat.

He's always been a stubborn but soft-hearted person.

“Your Highness…” her voice lowered, carrying a complex emotion she herself was unaware of, “He is a kind person.”

Li Zhao's hand holding the knife suddenly paused. He was suddenly stung by the words "good person," his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he looked up at her.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. He lowered his head and continued tending to his wound.

The movements, however, seemed to be gentler.

The candlelight flickered between the two, mingling with their overlapping breaths...

Even the silence was tinged with the stickiness of the night.

As he pressed down, Li Zhao's fingertips inadvertently touched an old scar on the inside of her arm. His eyes suddenly darkened, and his fingers tightened around the knife handle, unconsciously increasing the pressure in that instant.

"Uh..." Xue Sui was caught off guard and groaned in pain, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"Hmph! You say the harshest words, and you suffer the most bitter consequences." Li Zhao looked up at her, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration, his tone almost defeated.

"Xue Ping'an, do you never know what it means to back down? Or are you so sure that I... can't do anything to you?"

Xue Sui met his gaze, pursed her lips, and did not answer.

The wafting fragrance of agarwood carries the scent of the two people entangled.

The rain outside the window gradually subsided, and the sound of water droplets falling from the eaves was particularly clear in the silence...

Continue until the wound is completely cleaned.

Seeing that Li Zhao was panting and motionless, she coughed softly.

"Your Highness, it's all cleaned up."

As she spoke, she tried to straighten her torn clothes, but the movement aggravated her wound, causing her to gasp in pain and her arm to fall limply to her side.

"Don't move!" Li Zhao instinctively grabbed her wrist as she tried to straighten her clothes.

"Am I someone who eats people? Why are you so afraid of me running into you?"

Their eyes met, and they could hear each other breathing.

The air was filled with the smell of medicine and a faint stench of blood.

Xue Sui couldn't bear his burning gaze and tried to turn her head away, but he pressed down on the back of her neck with his other hand and pulled her closer...

His palms were calloused, and the warmth of his touch traveled through her skin, making her heart race.

"Your Highness, Physician Zhang..."

She tried to remind him that there were other people present.

"Get down." Li Zhao didn't even turn his head, his voice cold and hard.

After saying that, he lowered his head, embraced her, pressed down on her shoulders, and gently turned her head to look up at him...

It was as if Zhang Huaicheng were a dead man.

Of course, at this moment, Zhang Huaicheng also wished he were dead, or even deaf and blind...

But he can't die yet...

Zhang Huaicheng was caught in a dilemma, and his knees buckled as he bowed and reported.

"Your Highness, please forgive me! This old minister has something urgent to report... Scraping away the poison is only the first step. Although the spread of the toxin has been temporarily slowed, it has already penetrated into the muscles. The next step requires a medicinal bath to draw out the poison and allow the medicinal properties to be released, thus forcing the deeply embedded poison out of the body..."

Li Zhao squinted: "Soaking in a bath to remove toxins?"

Zhang Huaicheng coughed lightly, his inner lining soaked with cold sweat.

Under Li Zhaoshen's unfathomable gaze, he forced himself to speak.

"This process... requires removing the outer garment, leaving only the undergarment, to allow the medicine to penetrate..."

He paused, his voice lower, filled with utter embarrassment and caution.

"And someone needs to be by her side at all times, never leaving her side, to prevent her from fainting from exhaustion and sinking into the medicinal soup..."

Remove the outer garment?

Only wearing underwear? Constantly monitored?
Li Zhao suddenly turned around, his gaze fixed on Zhang Huaicheng.

Is he serious?

Zhang Huaicheng felt his scalp tingle under the Crown Prince's gaze, and he wiped away cold sweat and lowered his head.

"I will personally prepare the medicinal bath and the internal medicine decoctions needed..."

Without waiting for Li Zhao's reply, he bowed as if granted a pardon and almost ran away, nearly tripping on the threshold.

“Physician Zhang…” Xue Sui called to him, “Physician Zhang, just write down the prescription, and this humble nun will take care of herself when she gets back…”

"You're injured like this, where are you going?" Li Zhao turned around abruptly. "Stay!"

"Your Highness is joking." Xue Sui frowned slightly. "How can a humble nun like myself stay in the Crown Prince's villa for long... If word gets out, it will damage Your Highness's reputation."

"When did it become your business to worry about my reputation?" Li Zhao lowered his head and approached her, his nose almost brushing against her forehead.

"If I tell you to stay, then you must stay."

The two were very close, and Xue Sui could smell the alcohol and medicine on him.

You can also see the undeniable domineering presence in his eyes, like that of an ox...

She suddenly smiled.

"Does Your Highness intend to place this humble nun under house arrest?"

"Think what you want." Li Zhao's eyes were deep and unreadable.

After saying that, he lowered his head and remained silent.

"Initially, it was the 'Lonely Love Silk Gu.' Later, you took it upon yourself to remove the Gu, without offering a single explanation. Xue Ping'an, what about you here..."

His fingertips slid to her heart, his fingertips tapping it lightly. "Have you ever been moved by anything in the past?"

Xue Sui closed his eyes, feeling as if something was gripping his heart tightly.

She never wanted to tell him about the ants devouring her heart during the exorcism and the price of losing ten years of her lifespan.

"Your Highness, please don't blame me. In truth, I should have been dead ten years ago. I am alive now only to prolong my life for personal vendettas... How could someone as worthless as a blade of grass be worthy of the Crown Prince's sympathy?"

Li Zhao looked at her deliberately distant gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"very good."

He slowly got up, looking at the rain outside the window, his chest heaving violently.

The pain that flashed in his eyes was quickly covered by indifference.

"I will not ask again."

After saying that, he turned his back to her and sat by the window, as if in a meditative state.

Xue Sui looked at his lonely and desolate back, gently stroking her arm, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

What is this? Revenge? Concern?
Or is it... an unresolved emotional entanglement?
-
Raindrops pattered on the eaves, endlessly tapping against the windowpanes of Youhuang Residence.

The quiet room in the dead of night felt increasingly oppressive and deathly still.

When Zhang Huaicheng, accompanied by two servants, shakily carried in a wooden tub filled with medicinal soup to report, Jinshu and Xiaozhao, who were guarding outside the door, also pushed open the door and entered.

"girl!"

Xiao Zhao immediately noticed that half of her young lady's sleeve was torn, revealing a red and swollen wound on her forearm, still oozing blood. She looked even more disheveled than before, and Xiao Zhao was so angry that her heart trembled.

"Whoever did this, I'll tear him to pieces!"

"Ahem!" Jinshu glanced at her, then curtsied.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for sending someone to find a doctor. However, a young lady's health is delicate. Would it be better if Your Highness and the imperial physician wait in the outer room for a moment, and I will help the young lady undress?"

Zhang Huaicheng bowed respectfully, briefly explained the whole story, and then nervously said to Li Zhao:

"Your Highness, there is no time to lose. We must immediately prepare a medicinal bath for Master Miaozhen to remove the poison..."

Xue Sui glanced at Li Zhao.

"Please excuse us, Your Highness."

Li Zhao's eyes darkened.

Seeing her prop herself up from the couch, her forehead and neck were covered in sweat, and her already disheveled clothes were soaked with cold sweat and bloodstains, clinging tightly to her thin body and outlining her delicate and exquisite figure...

An indescribable heat, accompanied by a deeper panic and a strange emotion called "possessiveness," suddenly surged to the top of my head.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, his eyes suddenly darkened, and an undercurrent of emotion, unfathomable to himself, surged within his chest and abdomen...

"Get out." His voice was terribly hoarse, carrying an undeniable determination.

Zhang Huaicheng and his servants were all taken aback.

"Your Highness?"

Jinshu's face turned pale. She was about to step forward when Li Zhao's sharp, knife-like gaze froze her in place.

"I say, all of you, get out!" Li Zhao's gaze swept over the crowd like ice. His voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable pressure.

"No one is allowed to enter without my order!"

Jinshu and Xiaozhao gasped for breath, their fingernails digging deep into their palms as they looked at Xue Sui with worry.

Xue Sui remained silent.

After a moment, she looked up and gently comforted him.

"Go down."

Jinshu responded softly, glanced at her, and silently withdrew.

Xiao Zhao's eyes reddened. She wanted to disobey but dared not. She looked back every few steps and gritted her teeth to close the door again.

The soft click of the door closing seemed to cut off the last trace of sound from the outside world.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Only the crackling of the candlelight inside and the sudden, heavy rain outside the window remained...

　Two chapters combined...

　　Li Zhao: Why don't you just agree!

　　Xue Sui: ……!
　　(End of this chapter)