Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 289 Blood Debts Must Be Repaid
Lai Fu watched as Xue Sui and his servant disappeared through the side gate, then turned and found Li Zhao in the courtyard deep in the rain.

The former Crown Prince despised romance and disliked tending to flowers and plants, but today he squatted before the Love Silk Flower, gently plucking at a withered petal, as focused and lost in thought as a craftsman polishing jade...

"Your Highness, Miss Xue has already gone far away."

Li Zhao had his back to him, gave a soft "hmm," and didn't turn around.

In the rain, stood a man dressed in a dark, close-fitting outfit.

It was Night Owl, the secret guard of the Eastern Palace.

No one knew when he arrived; he stood silently like a ghost.

"If Your Highness wishes to stay, she will not be able to leave."

Li Zhao was taken aback, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"What cannot be kept is like this flower. Even if you do your best to make it bloom, it will eventually be beaten down by the wind and rain and fall into the mud. You may cherish it and pity it, but you cannot forcibly break its branches, much less move it into a greenhouse, as that would only make it wither faster and fade away sooner..."

The owl remained silent, not understanding.

Laifu felt a pang of sadness, heartbroken for his master.

"Her blood feud remains unavenged, and my foundation is not yet secure."

Li Zhao turned and stepped into the rain.

The surroundings were as quiet as a funeral parlor for the deceased.

The cold rain fell on his handsome face, making him look like a defeated general stripped of his armor, his words as cold as frost.

"Besides, she doesn't like me, how can I force her?"
-
Winter came very quickly this year.

The biting cold seemed to have swept through the streets and alleys of the capital overnight. Even in the humble dwellings of the wealthy, the charcoal braziers burned red-hot, but they could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Beside the left side gate of Chengtian Gate, a dark "exposing corruption box," barely large enough to hold a single sheet of paper, is firmly nailed to the stone base of the palace wall.

That was the "grievance tube" newly set up by Crown Prince Li Zhaoxin.

Anyone with grievances, secret reports, or accusations of illegal activities may anonymously deposit their information into this box.

The dark, gaping opening of the cast-iron box, like the fangs of a giant beast ready to devour its prey, exuded a silent fear and allure under the bleak winter sun.

At first, the crowd simply watched from a distance, pointing and whispering.

It wasn't until the first old doctor, his head and face wrapped in rags and his body hunched over, trembling in the darkness, dropped a neatly folded piece of paper into the black box and quickly disappeared that the long-suppressed undercurrents were reignited...

Nobody knows who exposed whom...

What was revealed...?

Panic, like a plague, spread silently and quietly among the nobles of the capital...

The once bustling mansion, filled with music and revelry, is now tightly shut. Even the servants who come to make purchases are hurrying along, their eyes darting around, as if they are being chased by ghosts.

In teahouses and taverns, rumors about a certain high-ranking official became the most entertaining accompaniment to meals...

The atmosphere at the Duke of Zheng's residence was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Main courtyard...

Guo Pi lay deep within the brocade tent, his eyes sunken, his cloudy gaze fixed on the intricate carvings above his head. With each word he uttered, a hoarse sound came from his throat.

"Well... well... put yourself in a life-or-death situation... and then you will survive..."

With red and swollen eyes, Guo Yunrong knelt before the bed, tightly holding her grandfather's withered hand, her voice choked with sobs.

"Grandfather, the imperial physician said that your pulse is gradually stabilizing after taking this new medicine, so you'll be alright..."

Guo Pi's cloudy eyes slowly rolled.

After a long silence, he managed to squeeze out three words through gritted teeth.

"Get...paper...pen..."

The servant in the hall quickly brought the brush and ink to the small table in front of the couch.

"Get out." Guo Pi looked at Guo Yunrong.

He then turned to his eldest son, Guo Hong, who was sitting to the side.

"You...all of you...get out..."

"Yes."

The crowd filed out.

The room was filled with heavy breathing and deathly silence.

Guo Pi had his attendant help him up. Trembling, he stretched out his withered fingers to hold the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote several lines of startling characters on the fine Xuan paper.

[Guo Mingyuan, the second son, and Guo Zhaohuai, the eldest grandson, colluded with Xiao Yan, the military governor of Longxi, Wang Qinian of the Ministry of Works, Ma Yuankui of the Ministry of Revenue, Xie Yanzhan of the Court of Judicial Review, and others... to falsely report troop numbers, tamper with account books, and intercept and resell military supplies. The evidence is conclusive, and their crimes are unforgivable.]

After finishing writing, he felt as if all his energy had been drained away; his hand loosened, and he collapsed in despair.

"Quickly, deliver the account books to the Crown Prince."

The servant held the paper, his hands trembling like a leaf.

"Master, this...this...why must this be done..."

Guo Pi coughed violently, almost passing out.

“Tell Zhaohuai… that his grandfather has wronged him… to let him acknowledge him… and preserve… the family line…”

He closed his eyes, and two streams of murky tears slid down his cheeks.

"The blood of the Guo family descendants... will not be shed in vain... Xiao Song, Xie Yanzhan... these old scoundrels... will not be able to escape unscathed..."
-
The Ministry of Justice prison, cell number C (earth).

The stone walls exuded a bone-chilling cold, and a sliver of pale light leaked through the tiny vent, illuminating the musty and bloody smell that filled the room, making this small space seem like the underworld.

Guo Zhaohuai huddled in the corner, his prison clothes were tattered, and blood was still seeping from the whip marks on his face. He no longer resembled a noble young master.

His eyes were unfocused as he thought about the message his grandfather had sent through someone.

Confessing crimes, exposing wrongdoing, and bringing down others.

He would sacrifice his own life and that of his second uncle to protect the Guo family clan.

As the eldest grandson of the Duke's family, he should have fulfilled his filial duties. However, he truly had never been involved in the embezzlement case concerning military supplies in the Western Frontier, nor did he receive any of the spoils. He was truly wronged.

Why?
Is Grandfather trying to frame him?

Why should he die?
He also has a beautiful wife and concubines, and a young son...

He doesn't want to die...

He couldn't die. Despair, like a cold, venomous snake, tightened around his heart.

"Clang-"

The prison door opened.

A meek and obedient jailer in blue robes entered, his straw hat pulled low over his head, revealing only his cold, hard chin.

Behind him followed an inconspicuous jailer carrying a food box.

Guo Zhaohuai launched into a tirade of curses.

"Where did this piece of trash come from? Get out of here..."

The jailer didn't say a word, but walked steadily to him, took off his straw hat, revealing a pair of cold eyes...

"Young Master Guo, do you still remember me?"

Xue Sui kicked aside the straw at his feet, squatted down in front of him, tapped the food box with her fingertips, and smiled at him.

"An old friend has come to see you off."

Xiao Zhao opened the food box, inside were golden-brown ghee cakes. Guo Zhaohuai's parched throat suddenly tightened—

"Xue Liu, didn't you go to become a monk? What are you doing here? What do you want?"

Xue Sui slowly picked up a pastry, rolled it between his fingertips, and the flaky crust fell off.

"Ten years ago, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, crows crossed the reed marshes."

Guo Zhaohuai was startled.

“You grabbed my hair and kicked me into the ice water.”

Xue Sui stared at his dilated pupils, his smile icy.

"Just to please Princess Ping Le, you used a reed stalk you broke off to poke my eyes, and then asked me with a grin, 'Is the sky completely black for a blind person...'"

“Old stories, why are you bringing them up…” Guo Zhaohuai shrank back in fear, but was held back by the heavy shackles.

The iron chains rattled.

Xue Sui tossed a pastry in front of him.

“I had a high fever for seven days and almost died… Also, that winter, under the artificial hill at Puji Temple, you stuffed me into an ice hole and whipped my back with snowballs…”

"Thanks to the kindness of the people who saved me, I have survived to this day and am here to see you off in your final moments."

One sentence at a time.

The long-buried sins, in the musty smell of the prison, are peeled back open, and scabs over once more...

She slowly let go of his hand.

Another pastry rolled down at Guo Zhaohuai's feet.

His golden skin, stained with mud, mirrored his current disheveled state...

"Xue Liu, you mere weeds, how dare you plot against an official of the imperial court?"

"You are a prisoner."

Xue Sui stood up and looked down at him.

"Your grandfather has already abandoned you, and no one can protect you anymore. After you die, there will be no clean shroud for you, your wife and children will be separated, and your family will be destroyed... Young Master Guo, did you ever think that you would suffer this retribution back then?"

"You...you're a madman!"

"A madman, is that it?" Xue Sui said, "I will do as you wish..."

Guo Zhaohuai's pupils contracted as he looked at the surging anger in her eyes.

thump!
His knees buckled and he knelt down.

"Back then...back then I was young and ignorant...the joke went too far...Miss Xue...you are so magnanimous...please...please let me go...I'll kowtow to you..."

He suddenly burst into tears and struggled to kowtow and beg for mercy.

"Too late." Xue Sui sneered. "The road to the Yellow Springs is long. You'd better fill your stomach before you starve to death, and also see for me if the world of the blind is truly black..."

Guo Zhaohuai shook his head desperately.

Fear made him incoherent.

"No! I won't eat it! It's poisonous! This is poisonous..."

“How could it be poisoned? This is a fine dessert.” Xue Sui smiled gently, leaned close to his ear, and spoke softly.

"I went to great lengths to set up this scheme... and even prepared a farewell gift for you. How could I have left such a clumsy handle? Eat with confidence, it's much sweeter than the pig feed you used to give me."

"Xue Liu, what have you done to me, to the Xue family... what have you done... you madwoman..."

"Young Master Guo, may you rest in peace—"

Xue Sui slowly pulled out a picture book from his pocket, grabbed Guo Zhaohuai's convulsing and trembling hand, and used his blood to draw a huge and ferocious blood fork on the page depicting him.

“Xiao Zhao.” Xue Sui stood up indifferently.

Xiao Zhao responded, her eyes shining with the excitement of a wolf cub.

Xue Sui said nothing more and turned to step into the shadows outside the prison gate.

Behind it all lies Guo Zhaohuai's heart-wrenching curse.

"Xue Liu... I'll haunt you even as a ghost..."

Xiao Zhao grabbed a piece of ghee and stuffed it into his wide-open mouth.

"Well……"

A short, agonizing scream choked in his throat.

The rats in the prison screamed and scurried about.

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the prison door slammed shut again with a heavy clang...

Golden fragments mixed with bloodstains were trampled on the ground, like Guo Zhaohuai's once illustrious but now lowly fate.

he died.

Xue Sui used the anger from ten years ago to drag a duke's heir from the clouds into the mud, and let him rot to death in this dark prison amidst betrayal and abandonment.

Li Zhao: This woman is a bit scary. It's all thanks to the fox fur coat that saved my life back then... Laifu, put that garment away for me...

Laifu: Master, it seems you've been abandoned?