Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 413 Tacit understanding
Footsteps and shouts grew clearer as they approached.

Li Zhao carefully lowered his head and leaned close to Xue Sui's ear.

"Ping An, wake up, our people are here."

Xue Sui's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes, still somewhat dazed.

"coming?"

Seeing that she was awake, Li Zhao raised his voice, "I'm here!"

The torchlight instantly surged to the cave entrance.

Yuan Cang was the first to rush in, his armor still covered in snow and mud.

He saw Li Zhao and Xue Sui in his arms, and was initially delighted. But when he saw the way the two were embracing, he quickly lowered his head to avoid their gaze and knelt on one knee.

"This humble servant arrived late to save Your Majesty, and deserves to die. Please punish me, Your Highness."

His voice betrayed his barely concealed excitement and self-reproach.

Li Zhao waved his hand, "Get up, lead the way."

He paused, then instructed him: "Send a nimble-footed man back to camp immediately, and have the physician wait."

"Yes!" Yuan Cang accepted the order and stood up.

The guards behind him quickly handed him a thick cloak and a water bag.

Li Zhao carefully helped Xue Sui up, fed her a couple of sips of water, wrapped her tightly in his cloak, and softened his tone.

"Ping An, it's alright now, let's go back..."
-
The group, carrying torches, struggled to move through the snow that was up to their calves.

Xue Sui leaned against Li Zhao's arm, her mind much clearer than before, but the high fever left her feeling weak all over.

It was two hours later when they returned to the main camp.

Xue Sui was placed in a tent, where the physician gave him emergency treatment and administered medicine, gradually relieving his dizziness.

She thanked him softly, her expression returning to its usual calm, as if the ambiguous and out-of-control situations in the cave had never happened. She looked at Li Zhao and said, "Your Highness, please let the physician examine your injuries as well."

Li Zhao glanced at it casually and asked the physician.

"How is the young lady's health?"

"Fortunately, the person was wrapped in a blanket when they fell, and the wounds were treated promptly, so no bones or tendons were broken." The medical officer paused, then his tone became serious again.

"But before the girl was injured, it seemed as if she had been drugged, and her pulse was sluggish... Moreover, she has many old scars on her body. I wonder if she suffered a serious injury in the past?"

Li Zhao did not want to say more, but only asked:
"Is the matter of the sleeping pills serious?"

"It's alright, the medicine will dissipate when the time comes," the physician replied. "It's just that the young lady is rather weak, and she has caught a cold after being frightened. She needs to take good care of herself."

Li Zhao nodded in agreement, "Prescribe the medicine...make sure to use the best available."

"Miss!" Xiao Zhao rushed in like a gust of wind, knelt down in front of Xue Sui, her eyes red and swollen like peaches, clearly from crying.

"You scared me to death!"

She looked at Xue Sui's bandaged arm with heartache, and tears welled up in her eyes again. "It's all my fault for being so useless. I was sleeping so soundly that I didn't even know that Miss had been kidnapped..."

Seeing her frustrated expression, Xue Sui's eyes flashed with seriousness, and he patted the back of her hand.

"No one expected the thieves to be so brazen, daring to make their move in the Prince Xian's villa. It's no wonder..."

Xiao Zhao wanted to take her hand, but didn't dare to touch it. Her gaze moved upwards, and she suddenly saw that Xue Sui's lips were unusually red and slightly swollen. She blurted out.

"Young lady, is your mouth... frostbitten? Or bitten by some poisonous insect...?"

Before the words had even finished, she caught a glimpse of the Crown Prince's swollen and red lower lip out of the corner of her eye. Her throat tightened, and she realized that she had said something she shouldn't have. She quickly lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"This servant...this servant misspoke..."

"I'm fine." Xue Sui's expression was normal, as if he hadn't heard her words clearly. "I just caught a cold, nothing serious. Are you injured?"

"This servant is unharmed, but... Guard Guan is seriously injured..."

Xiao Zhao's voice was slightly hoarse as she quickly changed the subject: "Yesterday, Guard Guan noticed something amiss and went out alone to investigate... Before leaving, he left guards behind and instructed me to be vigilant... But I never expected that the thief would be able to bypass the outer guards, sneak into the inner room, and even use despicable means... It was my incompetence that I failed to protect you, Miss, and even allowed Guard Guan to be ambushed and seriously injured... Miss, please punish me..."

Xue Sui sighed softly.

Xiao Dingshan chose the best opportunity and made careful plans, setting traps for everyone—luring Guan Ya away from the mountain, bewitching her and Xiao Zhao, and diverting or eliminating the outer guards, he could naturally succeed.

"This was not your negligence, but the thief's cunning. You have done your best, get up."

Xiao Zhao secretly glanced at His Highness the Crown Prince. Seeing that he remained calm and composed, as if he hadn't heard her offensive words, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded.

"Yes, poor Guard Guan has lost a lot of blood and is still unconscious... I was just helping to take care of him over there."

The physician added, "As long as the bleeding stops and you get through the first three days, your life will be out of danger."

Perhaps Xiao Zhao's words reminded him, for the physician subconsciously looked at Li Zhao's lips, slightly surprised.

"Your Highness's injuries also need to be properly treated..."

Li Zhaodao said, "I'm fine. It's just a superficial wound. We'll talk about it later."

The physician wisely kept quiet.

At this moment, a guard rushed in to report, "Your Highness, the bandit leader Xiao Dingshan has been captured. Of his four henchmen, three are dead and one is seriously wounded and captured. They have now been taken to the main camp... Please give your instructions, Your Highness!"

"Keep a close watch on them. I will interrogate them personally later."

Li Zhaozhou's body pressure suddenly dropped.

The tender demeanor from just moments before had vanished, replaced by the ruthless and decisive Crown Prince. He asked, "How is the Virtuous Princess Consort?"

The messenger said, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort was frightened but is otherwise unharmed. Her throat was choked by the smoke, but she has been settled in her tent. His Highness the Prince said that this matter arose because of the lax security at his villa, and he is quite uneasy about it. He wants to come and apologize in person when Your Highness has time."

"Understood." Li Zhao nodded, gave Xue Sui a deep look, and softened his voice. "I'm going to deal with Xiao Dingshan. You should rest well and I'll come see you later."

Xue Sui looked into his eyes and smiled knowingly.

"Military affairs are of utmost importance, Your Highness, please attend to them."

She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Li Zhao stride away.

It's good that he's gone. Otherwise, with him here, the physician would be constrained, and Xiao Zhao would overthink things, causing unnecessary embarrassment.

"What's wrong, young lady? Would you like some water?"

Xue Sui unconsciously pursed her slightly itchy lips, her heart skipping a beat.

The intense heat in the cave, the warm embrace, the almost out-of-control intimacy... all were clearly imprinted on my mind.

"It's okay, just a little tired."

She managed to suppress the turmoil in her heart, looked away from the physician, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

Looking at her young lady's cool and aloof profile, Xiao Zhao stopped asking questions, helped her lie down, and felt her heart pounding like a rabbit.

"Then please rest well, young lady. I will stay here and watch over you. If you need anything, please let me know."
-
Yuan Cang arranged the outer perimeter security and hurriedly chased after them to the outside of the tent, just in time to see Li Zhao and Lai Fu coming over.

He stared at the injury on Li Zhao's mouth, and after holding back for a long time, he couldn't help but lean in and ask, "Your Highness, is your injury... serious? Did you fall? Or were you beaten by that scoundrel surnamed Xiao?"

Seeing how tactless he was, Grandpa Laifu couldn't help but roll his eyes and gave him a double-edged reminder.

"Your Highness was so eager to save lives that he fought fiercely against the traitor Xiao, so it's only natural that he suffered some minor injuries..."

Yuan Cang scratched his head, looking completely honest: "Huh? But the injury on Your Highness's mouth looks unusual. It doesn't look like a fight wound, but rather like a teeth mark. Could it be... that Xiao Dingshan is a dog, capable of biting people?"

Li Zhao gave him a cold glance.

“Say one more word and I’ll go guard the granary.”

Yuan Cang immediately shut his mouth.

Eunuch Lai Fu smirked, deliberately falling a few steps behind him and getting closer. "Only you, Guard Yuan, dare to ask. If it were anyone else, ten heads wouldn't be enough to cut them off."

Yuan Cang touched his nose and whispered back, "I was just concerned about Your Highness... It wasn't a hit or a bite, it was scratched by a stray cat?"

Laifu was absolutely furious with this blockhead.

"It's not a stray cat, it's a domestic cat."

"Oh—" Yuan Cang suddenly realized, his dark face instantly turning a deep liver color, so annoyed he wanted to slap himself. "I'm stupid, I'm stupid, Eunuch Lai is right to reprimand me... Look at my foul mouth, I've only survived this long thanks to His Highness's mercy..."

The two whispered to each other, but Li Zhao happened to hear them.

He slightly curved his lips, lifted the curtain, and walked in without stopping.
-
With the fire at Jingbo Garden and the frequent activities of Xiao Yan's remnants, Li Zhao specially arranged for a quiet corner in the camp to house several female relatives.

The camps of the Prince Xian and his wife were not far apart, right next to Xue Sui's.

Xue Sui took the medicine last night and slept very soundly.

Fortunately, her well-trained body could withstand the beating, and when she woke up the next day, her fever had subsided.

After washing up, she went to visit the Princess Consort.

As soon as they arrived outside the tent, they heard the wise king gently comforting Lady Wen.

The couple had a harmonious relationship and their words were full of concern for each other.

Xue Sui's heart stirred slightly, and she said softly, "Your Highness, Xue Sui has come to visit. I apologize for disturbing you."

Lady Wen had been in shock all night and was still in a daze when she heard Xue Sui's voice. She quickly broke free from Li Shao's hand and got up to greet him.

"Sixth Miss, are you feeling better? I was so scared when I heard you were injured."

Xue Sui stepped forward and curtsied.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am now fine. It is Your Highness who has been frightened."

Madam Wen held her hand, her face full of apology: "It's all my fault and the Prince's fault for not thinking things through. If we hadn't invited you to Jingbo Garden, this wouldn't have happened..."

"Your Highness is too kind. This matter has nothing to do with you or the Prince." Xue Sui gently squeezed her hand back. "The thief had been plotting for a long time. Even if I hadn't been in the other courtyard, he would have found another opportunity to strike. It is Xue Sui who has caused Your Highness to be frightened. I feel bad and have come to apologize."

Li Shao watched the two exchange pleasantries and said gently, "It's all in the past. It's windy outside, let's go inside and talk."

As soon as the three turned around, they saw Li Zhao approaching with his guards.

Upon seeing the crowd, he paused for a moment, then bowed slightly to the Prince Xian and his wife.

"Royal brother, royal sister-in-law."

Wen returned the greeting, glanced at Xue Sui, and smiled, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is here to visit Miss Xue, right? We were just about to go inside and talk."

The wise prince also smiled and said, "If Your Highness doesn't mind, we'll serve tea inside the tent to warm you up?"

Li Zhao's gaze fell on Xue Sui. Seeing that her complexion had improved, he felt a little relieved and said in a calm tone, "Perfect timing. I also have some matters I would like to discuss with my brother."

"Your subject will obey," the wise king said respectfully, gesturing for him to proceed.

Li Zhao strode in.

　See you tomorrow, my darlings!
　　(End of this chapter)