Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 402 Old Promises Remain New
Yao Guang was pulled so hard she stumbled, her peach blossom eyes curving into crescents.

"What are you doing? Bullying an honest person?"

"Are you and your senior brother hiding something from me?" Xue Sui remained unmoved.

Yao Guang's smile froze for a moment, then he spread his hands exaggeratedly: "Heaven and earth bear witness. Little Thirteen, what am I supposed to say to you with this nonsensical talk?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Xue Sui took a step closer, his aura icy. "If you don't want me to alarm Senior Sister Yuheng and bring up your old grievances, then tell the truth."

Yao Guang's smile froze, and she waved her hands frantically, "Really, I didn't, I didn't either back then... Little Thirteen, you're trying to frame me..."

"Yaoguang!" Xue Sui suddenly raised her voice, the surging emotions in her chest rising to her throat. She subconsciously raised her hand to her chest, her lips turning slightly pale.

"I'll ask you one more time, what exactly happened to Li Zhao?"

Yao Guang's face froze completely.

His gaze fell on the back of her hand, which was pressed tightly against her chest, and the flippancy in his eyes vanished.

"What's wrong? Does your chest hurt? Or is something else bothering you?"

Xue Sui took a deep breath, suppressing the dull ache in her heart. "I find it strange too. I've been feeling palpitations and shortness of breath these past few days, and just now... it felt like someone had grabbed my heart and was about to crush it..."

Yao Guang gasped, blurting out, "Could it be a Love Silk Curse...?"

He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking, pursing his lips in regret.

Xue Sui's pupils contracted slightly: "Love Silk Gu?"

Putting aside the fact that she had already cured the poison, Yao Guang's words were clearly an indirect admission that Li Zhao was in trouble, and that he and Tian Shu had been hiding something from him...

"What's wrong with the Love Silk Gu?" she asked.

Yao Guang's eyes flickered. "That thing is really weird... You've been worrying too much lately, and your mind is exhausted. It's normal to have some heart palpitations. Don't scare yourself..."

"I want to hear the truth." Xue Sui's voice turned cold, his face grim. "Otherwise, I will set off immediately and personally go to the Western Frontier."

The last sentence was resolute.

Looking into her stubborn eyes, Yao Guang struggled internally for a moment before finally letting out a heavy sigh and rubbing her face in frustration.

"There is indeed some bad news. My senior brother was afraid you would worry, so he kept it from you... The great victory at Yongding City is true, but that brat Li Zhao... while pursuing Xiao Yan's remnants, he was hit by a stray arrow while covering Yu Qianshan..."

Yao Guang carefully observed Xue Sui's expression.

Xue Sui stood ramrod straight, and his voice was unexpectedly calm.

"How is he now?"

"He survived, but lost too much blood and was unconscious for several days..." Yao Guang was captivated by her gaze and hurriedly added, "My senior brother has sent people with the best medicine to the Western Frontier, traveling day and night. He will inform us as soon as there is any new information..."

After saying that, he pursed his lips and spoke up for Tian Shu.

"My senior brother didn't want anyone to tell you the truth... because he was afraid you would worry... He's not fully recovered yet, how could he bear it if something happened to him?"

Xue Sui said, "I won't be unable to bear it."

She slowly released her grip on the corner of the table and straightened her back.

The image of Li Zhao seeing her off from the palace that day involuntarily surfaced in her mind...

The carriage was cramped, and he was soaked to the bone. His hot breath brushed against her ear, and every word seemed to carry the power to shake mountains and rivers.

"In my life, I have wronged everyone in the world, but I will never wrong you."

At the time, I thought it was just passionate words of love, but now I realize that it was a heavy promise he kept in his heart. People who lack love are more afraid of losing it, and they also know how to cherish love more.

Li Zhao never betrayed her, but this world has never let him off easily.
-
In the days that followed, Xue Sui continued as usual.

She rose early and rested late, taking care of Yuki and handling various chores. No one noticed anything different about her than usual, and even those close to her couldn't fathom her plans...

But rumors were starting to circulate in the capital—that Crown Prince Zhao had been seriously wounded while pursuing Xiao Yan's rebel army, with an arrow lodged in his lung, and that he might not survive the winter. Some even said that the Crown Prince had already died from his injuries...

People living near the capital are the most sensitive; the slightest disturbance will be spread like wildfire...

When the gossip reached Yiyuan, Jinshu and Xiaozhao were pacing anxiously, but out of consideration for Xue Sui's feelings, they dared not say a word...

Xue Sui turned a deaf ear to this.

After winter set in, the weather grew colder day by day.

Xue Ji was afraid of the cold, and Xue Sui was also afraid of the cold, so the charcoal fire in Yi Garden was always burning very brightly...

In the warm pavilion in the afternoon, Xue Sui sat on a low stool, holding a small rhinoceros horn comb, carefully combing Xue Ji's hair.

After being poisoned, Yukihime's hair became dry and brittle, like autumn grass that had been hit by frost, and it did not improve even after a long time.

Xueji treasured it very much, looking at herself in the bronze mirror from left to right, a smile playing on her lips: "Sui Sui, look, there are little black hairs peeking out from your forehead."

Looking at her innocent reflection in the mirror, Xue Sui said gently, "Yes, the hair growth cream is very nourishing. In a few days, it will grow thick and black..."

"If my hair is long, black, and thick, does that mean I can get married?"

Xue Sui: "..."

Faced with her expectant mother, she didn't know how to answer.

“I mean Sui Sui, Sui Sui’s hair has grown long and is slowly turning black…” Xue Ji suddenly turned her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her with childlike curiosity.

"They say the Crown Prince won a great victory? Is he like the great hero in the opera, riding a tall horse and adorned with red ribbons?"

Xue Sui paused slightly in her hand holding the comb, a gentle smile curving her lips as she softly said, "Yes, he is a great hero."

"Then he must be very good-looking."

"This...is very beautiful."

Xueji suddenly leaned closer, with an innocent and naive air, "Is she even more handsome than Doctor Shu who treated me? There can't be anyone more handsome than Doctor Shu, can there?"

"..." Xue Sui was taken aback by the question.

She had never made such a comparison before. Nor had she expected that Yukihime, after waking up from her poisoning coma, would become so straightforward, so...undisguised.

Tian Shu is beautiful, aloof and otherworldly, like the moonlight atop a snow-capped mountain, so pure that one dares not desecrate it.

Li Zhao is different. He is as beautiful as a blazing fire, as sharp as a drawn sword. His laughter can drown people, and his coldness can freeze ice. These two extremes are combined in one person, which is breathtaking, full of tension, and makes people unable to look away.

"They each have their own merits..."

"Then why don't you choose Dr. Shu? Dr. Shu also likes Sui Sui..."

Xue Sui laughed at these childish words.

"Perhaps... only when he looks at me does his eyes sparkle? Also, Dr. Shu doesn't like me, Mother, you mustn't say anything like that in the future..."

"I like it..."

"It's not that kind of liking..."

"It's that kind of liking."

"..."

Yukihime is very stubborn.
Xue Sui couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he simply smiled and remained silent.

Xueji frowned, genuinely worried for her: "But when will the great hero come to propose to Sui Sui? When he proposes, I will be Sui Sui's mother. What clothes should I wear? Should I wear lots and lots of flowers?"

Xue Sui chuckled, "You're even more anxious than I am?"

"I am your mother! Sui Sui's mother..." Xue Ji straightened her back, trying her best to look like the mother she imagined.

“Of course your mother will keep an eye on things for you. If he dares to betray you, I will take... take a fire poker and beat him.”

She waved her fist and uttered words she'd heard from some storybook.

Xue Sui couldn't help but chuckle. She straightened her clothes and said in a gentle yet firm voice, "Alright, I'll do whatever Mother says. If he dares to betray me, I'll beat him..."

"No, no, Sui Sui should say that if he doesn't listen, she should hit him with a fire poker!"

"Okay, okay, hit him with a fire poker."

Yukihime immediately cheered up.

Tilting her head, she asked with clear eyes.

"When will that be?"

Xue Sui could not answer.

Just then, the curtain of the warm chamber was gently lifted.

Ruyi brought in freshly warmed ginger and jujube tea, her expression slightly somber, and her voice carrying a hint of displeasure.

"Miss! People from the Prince Duan's residence have arrived. They've delivered an invitation, saying that the Princess Duan invites you to her residence for a chat..."

The gentle smile on Xue Sui's face suddenly froze, leaving only a calm, icy coldness in his eyes.

Xue Yuechen is looking for her at this crucial moment...

It was definitely not just about reminiscing about sisterhood.
-
Prince Duan's Mansion.

After being punished and stripped of his power by the emperor, Li Huan spent his days secluded in his study, either strategizing alone at the chessboard or writing down wise sayings on governance, reflecting on his own faults. He neither concerned himself with worldly affairs nor allowed anyone to disturb him.

However, people are driven by self-interest, and the prince lost the emperor's favor. As a result, the people in the mansion became somewhat lax, and the atmosphere grew more and more somber each day. Even the servants on duty seemed listless and sluggish in their work.

Xue Yuechen was very worried about this.

After waiting for two days without receiving a reply from Xue Sui, she finally had someone prepare generous gifts and personally visited Yiyuan Garden.

Xue Sui was examining Xue Ji's medical records in the warm pavilion when Xue Yuechen arrived.

She quickly got up to greet him, and as soon as she reached the hanging flower gate, she saw a face full of smiles.

"Sixth Sister, you are a very busy person and shouldn't have come so abruptly. But Aning has been talking about you for several days, and I couldn't refuse her, so I had no choice but to come and bother you..."

Xue Yuechen had always been warm and friendly, but never before had he lowered himself to such a humble level, almost to the point of fawning...

"Ah Ning, quickly call your sixth aunt..."

Ah Ning called out crisply, "Sixth Aunt," then hid behind Xue Yuechen, peeking out half her head to look at her...

"This child is shy."

Xue Yuechen smiled and explained, though her tone was somewhat forced. Xue Sui pretended not to understand and calmly led her into the warm pavilion.

The charcoal fire dispelled the chill.

The daffodils on the windowsill are in full bloom.

Xue Sui had someone refill her tea. Seeing her staring at the narcissus in a daze, she asked directly, "Elder sister, you've come to see me at this hour, surely it's not just about Aning?"

Xue Yuechen's smile froze, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her handkerchief: "Nothing can be hidden from you. To be honest, it's for the sake of the Prince..."

She picked up her teacup and took a small sip, as if considering how to approach the topic, her voice extremely soft.

"Ever since His Majesty stripped the Prince of his power, there hasn't been a moment of peace in the manor. The day before yesterday, people from the Jingzhao Prefecture also came knocking, saying they were acting on His Majesty's imperial decree to thoroughly investigate the Xiao family's collusion with the rebels... Humph! These sycophants, they're quick to switch sides when things turn sour, and they even say they want to investigate the old accounts of Tongbao Money Shop. Isn't that infuriating..."

Xue Sui smiled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and remained silent.

Xue Yuechen leaned forward, her hands unconsciously clasped together on her knees, her tone humble.

"Sixth sister, for the sake of your elder sister and your niece, do you think... could you put in a good word for the Prince in front of the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Xue Sui looked at the earnestness in her eyes and smiled faintly.

"Elder sister, do you know that the five thousand taels of silver notes from Tongbao Money Shop are related to the case of Boiling Blood Powder? Do you know what His Majesty hates the most?"

　See you tomorrow!

　　(End of this chapter)