Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 438 A Mad Face Hides Calamity
East Palace.

Li Zhao stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing at the few proud plum blossoms outside the window, shrouded in wind and snow, his expression calm and serene.

The tea on the desk has gone cold.

Yuan Cang entered quietly and reported in a low voice, "Your Highness, everything is arranged. The Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review have both increased their manpower, and there are absolutely no mistakes."

Li Zhao hummed in agreement but did not turn around.

Yuan Cang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Recently, there have been many rumors in the capital, mostly about the destruction of the Xiao family... Should we send someone to Yiyuan to inform them? The Sixth Miss is still thinking about the injustice suffered at the Old Mausoleum, and she might overthink things after hearing this..."

Li Zhao recalled the words "read" in Xue Sui's letter yesterday, and the corners of his lips curved almost imperceptibly.

"No need. If she couldn't even handle something this simple, she wouldn't be Xue Ping'an."

Even so, he rubbed his temples, then quickly walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a short note.

"It's cold and snowing heavily, don't go out. I'll come find you later."

He put the pen back on the pen holder, placed the short note in the envelope, and handed it to Yuan Cang.

"You should personally deliver it to Yiyuan, and also bring some soft and sweet pastries. She loves them."

"Subordinates take orders!"

No sooner had Yuan Cang left than a palace attendant came to report that the Grand Princess had somehow heard the news that Xiao Song had been sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, and had fainted on the spot in her residence. The Emperor, feeling sorry for his aunt, was furious in the Zichen Palace and ordered His Highness the Crown Prince to go there immediately.

Li Zhao frowned slightly, straightened his robes, and regained his composure.

"Understood. Prepare the sedan chair, I will be there soon."
-
Princess Ping Le huddled in a secluded courtyard in the stone-paved alley in the west of the city, repeatedly drawing her scarred and bloodshot face in front of a bronze mirror.

The messenger was her old servant.

She knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, "...Your Highness! If the old master is torn to pieces, the Xiao family will never recover. Please heed my advice, come with me and leave the capital. Let's go back to Shuozhou to avoid trouble. Perhaps after a while, His Majesty's anger will subside, and he might remember our past friendship..."

Ping Le seemed not to hear, staring blankly at her ugly and disheveled reflection in the mirror.

“Lingchi…” she repeated the two words softly, as if she were hearing them for the first time.

"Being cut into a thousand pieces...it must hurt a lot, right?"

The old servant's crying stopped abruptly, and he stared at her in horror.

"Princess... what's wrong?"

"It's good to feel pain. The more it hurts, the more I'll remember this grudge..." Ping Le suddenly raised his head, and madness burst forth from the depths of his eyes.

"Those who harmed me, none of them will get away with it..."

"Li Zhao, Xue Liu, Wen Jia... you will all die a horrible death, you will all die a horrible death..."

“Princess…” The old servant was about to say something when he suddenly saw Ping Le get up and grab the bronze mirror.

"Go to hell, all of you go to hell..."

She frantically smashed things in the room, scattering fragments of tables, chairs, tea sets, and dressing cases everywhere.

The old servant was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly, not daring to utter another sound...

Exhausted from her ordeal, Ping Le collapsed to the ground, her disheveled hair falling down to cover her distorted face. Her shoulders trembled with extreme anger, yet not a single tear came out.

Her tears had been dried by a burning hatred...

Her mother died, her father abandoned her, the Xiao family was ruined, and Li Huan also abandoned her.

All her support was gone...

Princess Ping Le, once noble, illustrious, and showered with love, is dead at the hands of Xue Liu. Now, she's like a rat in the gutter, unable to see the light of day, with no way to turn back…

"Xue Liu! Xue Liu—"

She suddenly went berserk again, rummaging through drawers and cabinets in a frantic and chaotic manner. She knocked over a teapot on the table, and water spilled down the table, but she didn't care and just kept searching through the drawers.

Until they pulled out a red gold mandarin duck pendant from the bottom of the box.

That was part of her dowry given by her father when she got married, and she wore it close to her body when she and Lu Youan went through their wedding ceremony.

Ping Le gripped the mandarin duck pendant tightly, the cold metal digging painfully into her palm.

One crazy and desperate thought after another swirled in her mind.

"Wen Jia... Lu Youan..." she gritted her teeth, her face full of resentment, "You want to live a peaceful life and enjoy family bliss? Dream on! Since I can't go on living, then let's all go to hell together..."

The old servant was terrified when he saw her like this.

"Princess... what are you going to do?"

Ping Le's lips curled into a sinister smile, her eyes chillingly malevolent. "I'm taking my children away. They are flesh and blood of mine, their blood flows in their veins. Does that bitch even deserve to be their stepmother?"

The old servant knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling.

“Princess, Princess Wenjia’s residence is heavily guarded. We have no way to get close to the young master. You should not take any more risks. We are outnumbered and have no backing. Let’s go back to Shuozhou…”

Ping Le slowly raised her head, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"I'll go find Gu Wulang... If you're ruthless enough, there's always a way..."
-
Two days later, in the back alley of the Lu residence.

A woman dressed in a coarse cotton-padded jacket looked around a few times, and seeing that no one was around, she hurriedly turned to the side gate of the princess's mansion and grabbed the steward, Granny Liu, who was about to enter.

"Oh dear, Granny Zhang..."

Granny Liu was startled, and was somewhat surprised when she saw that it was her.

"What wind brings you here?"

Zhang was Niu Niu's wet nurse when she was born. She took care of Niu Niu for two years. Later, after Niu Niu was weaned, she said that her husband had passed away, so she tearfully resigned and returned to the countryside.

Because of this past relationship, the servants in the princess's residence were still somewhat polite to her.

Madam Zhang rubbed her hands together, a fawning smile plastered on her face: "I've come to see the young master... I've been away for so long, and I've been thinking of him constantly. It's almost the New Year, so I made two new pairs of shoes for the young master."

They used to have a good relationship, but after Zhang Mama left, they lost contact.

Granny Liu assumed that she was having no other choice but to return to the mansion to cause trouble, which made her feel awkward.

"You too, why go to such lengths? The young master is doing very well now, and there are plenty of people in the manor. If you're looking for work, why not wait until after the New Year when the manor needs more people..."

"Good sister, please be lenient. I just want to see the young master for a moment, and I'll leave immediately afterward. I won't cause any trouble..."

Zhang stuffed a bag of loose silver into Liu's hand.

The silver coin felt heavy. Granny Liu squeezed it, then looked at Zhang's eager expression and hesitated before saying, "I need to go to the front to get something. You come with me and don't wander off." Zhang agreed immediately and quickly walked inside with her head down.

Passing through the hanging flower gate, you see Guan Chen and Tong Tong playing with bamboo swords in the courtyard, chasing each other and laughing. Niu Niu is nowhere to be seen, nor is Princess Wen Jia. Only two maids who are taking care of her are there, talking to each other.

The two children's little faces were flushed from running, and their laughter was crisp and clear...

Zhang paused for a moment, gritted her teeth, and walked over.

"This servant greets the young master."

The two children stopped and looked at her with some surprise.

"Who are you?"

“This servant was a wet nurse in the former mansion… I made two pairs of shoes for Miss Niu Niu…” Zhang bent down, opened the bundle, and took out two pairs of tiger-head cotton shoes to show them.

Tongtong approached curiously, but Guanchen stood still, his little brows slightly furrowed.

"My aunt said I'm not allowed to talk to strangers or accept things from outsiders."

“How could I be an outsider?” Zhang said, glancing towards the side gate. “If the young master knew I was coming, he would be overjoyed…”

Guan Chen snorted in dissatisfaction and was about to pull Tong Tong away.

Seeing this, Granny Zhang suddenly rushed forward and hugged Tongtong, pulling a pair of scissors from her sleeve and holding them to Tongtong's neck, her voice trembling but filled with a fierce tone...

"Don't make a sound. Or I'll kill her..."
-
Wenjia was changing Niu Niu's snow-soaked skirt in the warm pavilion when she heard the commotion outside. She quickly came out, and a maid dressed in a blue cloth dress walked straight towards her and curtsied.

"Your Highness, distinguished guests have arrived. Their carriage has reached the second gate."

Wen Jia was taken aback: "Who is this distinguished guest?"

The maid answered fluently: "Princess Consort Xian. She came from Dianzhou, saying that she just came to the capital with the Prince and came to pay her respects. She invites the princess to come and have a chat."

Wen Jia frowned slightly.

Princess Xian and she were not close, so why would she suddenly come looking for her in the freezing cold?

Moreover, she had not heard any news of the Princess Consort's arrival in the capital.

She suddenly realized something and was about to speak when the maid's face changed, revealing a fierce expression. She grabbed her wrist and shouted loudly.

"Quickly take the young master away..."

"What are you doing?" Wen Jia was horrified. She shoved the maidservant away and shouted, "Assassins!" before rushing towards the children.

But in the end it was still a step too late.

Suddenly, several burly servants rushed in through the side gate. One grabbed Guan Chen, and another carried Tong Tong and ran outside.

Outside the gate, a horse-drawn carriage with a black cloth covering its roof was parked.

"Auntie...save me!" Tongtong's voice was choked with sobs, broken and intermittent.

Although Guan Chen was also afraid, he struggled and shouted loudly.

"Let go of my sister! You bad people!"

The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, revealing Princess Ping Le's slender figure.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was loosely tied up, and a light veil covered his sickly and ugly face.

"Guanchen! Tongtong! Come to your mother, I'll take you away from here..."

"No...no...you bad people...let me go..." Tongtong screamed and cried in terror, kicking and hitting desperately. The old woman dared not hurt her, and could only forcibly stuff her into the carriage.

Tongtong cried out, kicking and thrashing her legs wildly.

"Tongtong, it's your mother, come with me..."

"You're not my mother, you're not my mother, you're a bad person..."

Upon hearing this, Ping Le's face instantly filled with hatred.

She grabbed Tongtong and hugged her tightly in her arms.

"Nonsense! I am your mother. I am your biological mother."

Guan Chen's arm was twisted by a strong maid. He became so anxious that his eyes turned red, and he suddenly lowered his head and bit the maid's hand.

The maidservant cried out in pain and let go, "Ouch!"

Guan Chen rushed over: "Let go of my sister..."

Enraged, the maidservant shoved him hard with her backhand.

Guan Chen was just a child after all. She pushed him and he staggered a few steps, hitting the back of his head hard on the tree trunk. He groaned and his forehead quickly swelled up and bled.

"Brother!" Tongtong cried out in a heart-wrenching voice.

Wen Jia rushed out of the side gate, grabbed the fallen Guan Chen and pulled him into her arms, her eyes bloodshot with rage.

"Ping Le. Are you crazy? They are your own flesh and blood, how could you bear to kill them..."

Ping Le looked at her son, whose forehead was bleeding, and her eyes were momentarily dazed before being overwhelmed by a deeper madness.

"Precisely because they are my own flesh and blood, I will not leave them for you to misuse..."

She hugged the heartbroken Tongtong tightly and yelled at the servants.

"What are you all standing there for! Let's go..."

Several burly servants quickly approached the carriage.

"Chase, chase quickly..." Wen Jia shouted hoarsely as she held Guan Chen in her arms.

But Ping Le came prepared, having already prepared a fast horse. By the time the guards from the manor arrived after hearing the news, she had already rushed out of the alley with Tong Tong and disappeared into the swirling snow...

Wen Jia slumped down in the snow, holding Guan Chen, trembling all over.

Niu Niu was terrified and rushed over to hug her, crying loudly, "Mommy, what happened to Brother Guan Chen? Where's my sister? Where did Tong Tong go..."

Wen Jia's teeth chattered, and her voice was hoarse.

"Quickly, fetch a doctor...and report to His Highness the Crown Prince and General Lu..."

　Sisters, look here—it's the end of the month, and monthly votes are doubled! Sisters who have votes, don't forget to cast them for Wen Jiuqing! Li Zhao and Sui Sui will thank you! Mwah!
　　(End of this chapter)