Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 314 Yang-Boosting Powder

Inside the window, Li Huan sat down, lifting his robe, and looked at Xue Sui who had followed him in. He picked up a black chess piece and pressed it heavily against the corner of the chessboard, making a dull thud.

"I underestimated you."

"Your Highness is too kind. This humble nun is unworthy of such praise."

"Hmph." Li Huan stared at her. "In the Baohua Palace, she cut her wrist to show her resolve, her blood splattering before the emperor. With just a few words, she overthrew the current emperor's favorite concubine and a princess of the imperial clan. Such courage and such cunning are rare even among men."

Xue Sui met his gaze without flinching or avoiding it.

"My methods are far superior to Your Highness's. With a single order to suppress rumors, the Five Cities Garrison can act like wolves and tigers, storming into the sacred Buddhist temple, arresting people and confiscating their property, using every means at their disposal. My humble skills are merely for survival; how dare I compare myself to Your Highness?"

Her tone was calm, yet it hit the nail on the head.

It is said that he used the pretext of suppressing rumors to eliminate dissidents.

A hint of amusement flashed across Li Huan's eyes.

Staring at Xue Sui, he unconsciously stroked the cold chess piece.

"So, you've come here today to demand an explanation from me?"

"I dare not accept such praise. I only wish to seek justice."

"Fairness? You want to talk to me about fairness?"

Li Huan leaned forward slightly, and an invisible pressure spread out.

"When you were in the Prince's palace, how did I treat you? I provided you with fine clothes and delicacies, and provided you with precious treasures. Did I ever mistreat you in the slightest? But what about you? How did you treat me? You were scheming and harboring evil intentions. Who is depicted in that 'Book of Yama'? Hmm? Is my name among them? Are you trying to kill me?"

Xue Sui raised his eyebrows, denying it, with a half-smile.

"Still laughing?" Li Huan's eyes blazed with intense anger. "Murdering a high-ranking official, colluding with the remnants of the old imperial mausoleum, framing members of the royal family... For what you've done, even ten heads wouldn't be enough to cut off your head!"

"His Majesty has already investigated thoroughly and released us from the palace. This matter has nothing to do with Shuiyue Nunnery. How come, in the blink of an eye, the Prince has arrested people on trumped-up charges? Could it be that the Prince's orders are greater than His Majesty's will? Or is it that the Prince no longer regards his sovereign as his father?"

"You don't need to provoke me with your words."

Li Huan's face darkened, and he stood up, walking down at her with an air of superiority.

"I can give you a choice."

He leaned down, lowered his voice, and spoke with a chilling threat and a hint of barely perceptible coaxing.

"Either you hand over what I want and return to the palace, and I will spare their lives. I will forgive and forget everything that happened in the past. Otherwise, you can wait to collect their corpses."

Xue Sui remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.

“I am a hermit, living a life like a floating duckweed, indifferent to life and death. But those around me are innocently implicated. Even if I am shattered to pieces, I will make the instigator pay the price.”

"Such arrogance. I'd like to know how you intend to make me pay the price?"

Li Huan, enraged, laughed and slammed down the heavy sentence.

He slowly lowered his head and stared into her eyes, his movements carrying an unusual intimacy, and his tone became strangely gentle.

"If it weren't for my consideration of past relationships and my intervention, those girls wouldn't be the only ones currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, awaiting trial and sentencing. It would be you, Xue Liu, and the entire Xue family..."

The temperature inside the pavilion plummeted.

Xue Sui didn't even flinch.

He even took a half step forward, closing the distance between himself and Li Huan. His slender figure stood straight under his wide monk's robe, facing Li Huan's piercing gaze without fear.

"Since Your Highness has brought up that album, this humble nun would also like to ask Your Highness: In recent years, the Emperor's health has been poor, and the concubines in the palace have been unable to conceive for many years... However, Consort Li secretly possessed aphrodisiac powder and forcibly stimulated the Emperor's body to conceive the Emperor's child. Was this at Your Highness's behest?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? What aphrodisiac powder?" Li Huan's pupils dilated sharply. "And you said that Consort Li... is indeed pregnant?"

Xue Sui's eyes flickered slightly as he smiled and looked into Li Huan's eyes.

Slowly, he uttered words that pierced the heart:

"That's right. The aphrodisiac is potent and domineering, easily stimulating a woman's essence and making her pregnant, but it can also induce serious illness and damage the emperor's body... How did such a treacherous substance manage to bypass the defense and surveillance network of the capital region under the prince's control and be delivered unimpeded into the inner palace, reaching Consort Li's hands directly..."

There were only the two of them there.

Xue Sui did not shy away from the topic.

"The handkerchief I used to test the blood in Baohua Palace was the same one Consort Li used to wrap the medicinal powder that day, which is why she was afraid of it..."

She paused, then her expression relaxed even more.

"To deceive His Majesty and harm His Majesty is a heinous crime of regicide and treason. Is it because the Xiao family has many capable and talented people under their command, thus deceiving the Prince... or is it that the Prince and the Xiao family have long been in cahoots, tacitly hoping for auspicious signs in Consort Li's womb, to secure the Xiao family's favor and pave a shortcut for their own great cause?"

"you--"

Li Huan gasped.

Only then did I realize what Li Zhao had said outside the Zichen Palace that day.

What auspicious sign that Consort Li was pregnant! He delivered it just in time...

The original source is here.

If Consort Li truly used the aphrodisiac to harm the emperor's body, then it would be a grave dereliction of duty on his part.

This accusation is more fatal than the power struggle within the Crown Prince's palace.

"Your Highness, you wouldn't want me to present the source of the medicine powder and all the witnesses and evidence to His Majesty, would you?"

Emperor Chongzhao was inherently suspicious.

No matter how much one likes Li Huan, it is not as important as one's own good health.

Compared to Consort Li's feigned pregnancy to deceive the emperor, what the emperor hated even more was that someone was using potent drugs to harm his already precarious health... This would be a hundred times more terrifying than the impact of the Yama's Picture Book.

"You think you've won?" Li Huan never expected Xue Sui's counterattack to be so cunning and ruthless.

He steadied himself, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I have a thousand ways to ensure that your news, and your people... cannot leave Tingyu Pavilion..."

Xue Sui met Li Huan's gaze directly, showing no fear.

"Your Highness has used the lives of several innocent people to force this humble nun to submit. I have witnessed your methods. But I wonder... what is it that Your Highness truly desires?"

She lowered her voice and smiled slightly.

"Is it the true cause of death for the 200,000 souls lost in the Old Mausoleum? Or... those numerous pieces of evidence that could clear the name of the Old Mausoleum, bring down the Xiao family, and shake the foundations of the Great Liang Dynasty?"

She paused slightly, looking at the turbulent emotions in Li Huan's eyes, and continued, "Does Your Highness think that if I die, no one will know? No. If something happens to me, the irrefutable evidence that Consort Li used forbidden drugs to harm the Emperor will appear on the Crown Prince's desk tomorrow, and may even... reach the Emperor's ears. Your Highness, and the Xiao family, are you prepared to bear His Majesty's overwhelming wrath? Can your painstakingly planned grand undertaking withstand such a truth?"

This is a blatant threat, directly targeting the core interests of Li Huan and the Xiao family...

Li Huan never expected that she had such a deadly trump card up her sleeve.

"why?"

Despite having leverage over Consort Li, he did not use it in the Baohua Palace, but instead kept it hidden until this moment to restrain her and rescue the maids.
Xue Sui raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing his confusion.

Of course, it's because of Ruihe...

Someone is eager to make a move; why should she get herself involved?

Besides, the most crucial things are best saved for the most critical moment, as they can be extremely dangerous when used in the most critical time...

She smiled, her expression indifferent.

"Because I am a nun who practices spiritual cultivation, I originally intended to make an exception... but Your Highness has gone too far?"

"Very good. Good. You're doing very well."

Say the most vicious words in the calmest tone.

This means.

That's a scheme.

That's courage.

Li Huan felt a chill run down his spine.

"Safety."

He called her by her nickname in a familiar, even affectionate tone.

Xue Sui frowned almost imperceptibly.

Li Huan noticed this subtle reaction and involuntarily reached out, almost touching the wound on her wrist with a look of pity...

"The crabapple blossoms in the Sandalwood Courtyard have been carefully tended to by my men, and they are blooming even more profusely than in previous years... We have no enmity between us, so why have things come to this? If only you would turn back, let go of those unwarranted obsessions, and return to my side..."

"Your Highness, please have some self-respect." Xue Sui dodged his outstretched hand, her movement so swift that it created a gentle breeze, knocking the teacup off the table.

"Snapped!"

The tea splashed everywhere, shattering the illusion of warmth.

“Peace, we were husband and wife. Do you truly have no feelings for me at all?” Li Huan frowned deeply.

"Your Highness, please be careful with your words. Xue Yuechen is your wife. There is no affection between you and this humble nun whatsoever; you only use her."

Xue Sui stared at him expressionlessly, remaining motionless for a long time.

Li Huan clenched his fist tightly, his face turning ashen.

"So it seems I was just being presumptuous..."

"You could say that," Xue Sui said.

Li Huan's eyes suddenly darkened, and a surge of resentment rose in his throat, almost making him vomit blood.

Just as the air became so tense it seemed about to snap—

A guard's loud announcement came from outside the pavilion.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Before the last note faded,

There was a loud bang.

The heavy, carved wooden door was pushed open from the outside by Guan Ya.

Li Zhao, dressed in the Crown Prince's everyday robes and draped in a black fox fur cloak, exuding a chill, stood against the gray-white light of the sky at the open doorway.

The flames in the charcoal brazier seemed to be suddenly suppressed by the cold wind, making a mournful "poof" sound.

Li Huan suddenly turned around, his face ashen.

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this? Trespassing on my residence..."

"Is Your Majesty hard of hearing? Didn't you hear my announcement?" Crown Prince Zhao interrupted him with a frosty expression, his brows furrowed with malice.

"Brother, if you want to play chess, why don't you ask me?"

(End of this chapter)