Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 439 The Road to Revenge

The princess's residence was shrouded in gloom and despair.

Wenjia sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), forcing her weak body to stay upright, refusing to lie down. Her lips were bitten until they bled, but she didn't feel the pain at all.

Xue Sui and Lu Youan sat quietly to one side, the air so still that one could almost hear the faint sound of snow falling.

One after another, servants came in to report, and then hurriedly left to carry out their orders.

"Reporting to the General. More than half of the houses in the western part of the city have been searched, but no trace has been found..."

"Report! Someone claims to have seen several suspicious-looking people leading a child towards Chang Le Fang two hours ago..."

Lu Youan said, "Send more manpower to search abandoned houses, warehouses, and cellars in Changle and Yongping wards..."

He glanced at Wen Jia, softened his tone, and added.

"Especially around Ping Le Women's Quarter..."

"Yes!" The servant accepted the order and hurriedly lifted the curtain to leave.

In order to win people's hearts, Ping Le secretly ran a women's brothel, often using elegant gatherings as a pretext to win over the families of officials and amass wealth.

At the height of her power, she not only owned numerous properties but also secretly kept many thugs. With Emperor Chongzhao's indulgence, even after being demoted to Shuozhou, she was never short of money and had many secret hideouts in the capital.

Lu Youan felt a little regretful. Back then, their relationship was distant, and he always turned a blind eye to her affairs, neglecting to care for her, thus losing the opportunity to take the initiative.

"She dared not make a big show of herself, and with her young child, she couldn't leave the capital..."

Wen Jia raised her swollen eyes and met Xue Sui's gaze, barely daring to look into Lu Youan's eyes.

"It's my fault...it's all my fault...I thought she was after me this time, but I never imagined she would be so heartless as to harm the child...General Lu, I'm so sorry..."

Lu Youan reached out and patted her trembling shoulder.

He had just returned from the capital garrison, still in his armor, his brows furrowed with frost, yet he tried his best to keep his voice calm and gentle.

"It's not your fault. She was scheming, and it was impossible to guard against her."

Wenjia's tears fell even harder, and her shoulders trembled violently.

Just then, a soft footstep sound came from outside the door.

The curtain was lifted, and a small figure, bringing a touch of chill, slipped in.

"Father……"

Guan Chen was pale, with a white veil wrapped around his forehead. His steps were unsteady, but he still tried to straighten his back and bowed to Lu Youan. "Let me go. I'll go find that wicked woman and bring my sister back."

"Nonsense!" Lu Youan's face darkened. He squatted down to look him in the eye and grasped his thin shoulders with both hands.

"Go back and lie down. Your injury hasn't healed yet; you shouldn't go out in the cold wind. What will happen if you catch a chill?"

"I can do it!" Guan Chen stubbornly raised his head, his eyes reddening, but he held back his tears. "I'm the older brother, I can protect my sister. She... that bad woman is still my mother, she won't hurt me..."

He himself sounded unsure of himself as he spoke, and his voice grew softer and softer.

Lu Youan looked at the wound on his forehead and felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"Silly child." He hugged his son tightly, his voice deep and hoarse: "You are just as important as Tongtong, neither of you can be replaced. Dad will bring Tongtong back safely, trust me."

Guan Chen's tears finally streamed down his face, making Xue Sui feel a pang of sadness.

Wen Jia couldn't bear it any longer, turned her face away, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

That day, Xue Sui warned her that Ping Le might cause trouble and devised a plan to lure the snake out of its hole. She cooperated by pretending to be relaxed and went about her daily activities in the courtyard as usual. She never expected that Ping Le would directly target young children, nor did she expect that she would feel so guilty and afraid after the incident...

If anything were to happen to Tongtong, she would never be able to forgive herself for the rest of her life.

Xue Sui glanced at her calmly, as if she could see right through her thoughts. "Don't worry too much. Even if Ping Le is crazy, she won't really hurt Tong Tong. What she wants is you, me, and General Lu's heartache, not the child's life..."

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and the butler Liu's voice rang out through the curtain: "Princess, General... the gatekeeper reports that someone slipped a note in."

Xue Sui looked up at Lu Youan and Wen Jia: "You're here."

Lu Youan released Guan Chen and said in a deep voice, "Bring it in."

Uncle Liu entered, bowing as he carried a letter. The envelope was blank, and the edges were damp from the wind and snow.

Wen Jia suddenly stood up, breathing rapidly.

Lu Youan quickly opened it.

The short line of text was written in a messy and chaotic manner.

It was Ping Le's doing.

"Three days later, at noon, outside Tonghua Gate in the east of the city. Have Wenjia wait for me on the city tower. If he dares not keep the appointment or tries anything funny, he can expect to be collected in the dead."

Three days later, on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the day the Imperial Astronomical Bureau said would be the coldest day of the winter.

Noon was also the time when Xiao Song was executed by slow slicing and displayed to the public.

Xue Sui sneered, "She certainly knows how to pick a place."

Wenjia's hands were shaking violently. "I'll go, I'll go and bring Tongtong back."

"No!" Lu Youan flatly refused, his tone more stern than ever before. "She's a madwoman now. Going there would be tantamount to suicide..."

“The person she wants is me. Only if I go will she release Tongtong…” Wenjia burst into tears.

Lu Youan patted her reassuringly, then turned to look at Xue Sui, his brows furrowing slightly.

"It seems that the Sixth Miss had anticipated this?"

Xue Sui nodded, not denying it.

“I expected her to resort to desperate measures and try to harm Wenjia and the children. But I didn’t expect her to choose this day and this place.”

Lu Youan frowned: "She has always acted in an extreme way. Choosing the day Xiao Song was executed was to make a big fuss and let us also taste the pain of heartbreak."

“Perhaps more than that…” Xue Sui’s gaze turned slightly cold, “She wants everyone to witness her final glory, to see how she takes revenge, how she destroys herself…”

Of course, she herself was the same.

In that place, to witness the end of Ping Le, to see Xiao Song executed, to see enemies pay for their crimes in blood, to see wives and children separated, and to see families destroyed—this was also her long-cherished wish for many years…

Xue Sui paused, then looked at Lu Youan, "General Lu, Tonghua Gate is close to the canal wharf, offering a wide view, and the execution ground is right below... On that day, there will undoubtedly be a large number of onlookers, a mixed bag, which could easily cause chaos. We must be wary of anyone inciting the people to riot..."

Lu Youan's expression was grave. "On the city wall, the space is relatively small, making it difficult for heavily armed soldiers to approach discreetly... Moreover, Tongtong is in her hands, so we inevitably have to be cautious about harming her..."

Xue Sui nodded, slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the old trees in the courtyard covered with thick snow, and spoke in a calm, smiling voice.

"I will go in place of the princess in three days."
-
The small courtyard deep in the stone-paved alley was especially cold and damp on this snowy day. The charcoal stove in front of the bed burned extremely brightly, but it could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Tongtong huddled in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), her little face streaked with tears, sobbing occasionally as she looked at the woman dressed in a gorgeous palace gown, her back to her as she dressed in front of the mirror.

"Mother... I want Father... I want Aunt..." Her voice was hoarse from crying, and even weaker.

Ping Le's hand, which was combing her hair, suddenly stopped. The face in the mirror, which was so disfigured that even heavy makeup couldn't hide, instantly contorted.

"Shut up! Don't mention that bitch again... She's not your aunt, she's a slut who stole someone else's husband..."

She snapped and abruptly turned around.

Tongtong was so frightened that she choked, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

"Auntie isn't a bad person...Auntie is very good to Tongtong and her brother..."

"If she's not a bad person, then am I?" Ping Le suddenly stood up, rushed to the front of the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed Tong Tong's shoulder, and pulled the child in front of her with such force that the child cried out in pain.

"I gave birth to you and raised you, enduring ten months of suffering during your pregnancy. You don't think about your mother, but keep saying she's a good person? What kind of bewitching potion did that bitch give you and your siblings?"

Her face was contorted with madness and pain, her heart aching as if it were being torn apart.

Unfortunately, the young child couldn't sense her mother's emotions and despair. All she felt was fear, and in her pain, she burst into tears…

"Princess, please be gentle, you're frightening the child." A deep voice came from the doorway.

(End of this chapter)