Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 441 Stripping Away the Face

Xue Sui stood quietly in place, watching Ping Le drag Tong Tong up the city wall, as if watching a play with a predetermined ending—

Ping Le stepped on the snowflakes, the clinking of the pearls and jade in her hair particularly jarring in the cold wind.

As she approached and saw the cold, sharp eyes beneath the hood, she paused, then burst into a shrill laugh.

"It's you? Xue Liu...it's actually you!"

"It's me." Xue Sui slowly took off his hood.

Her short hair was slightly ruffled by the wind, but her face remained calm, with a gentle smile. "Surprised?"

Ping Le was briefly taken aback, but this was quickly replaced by resentment.

"That bitch Wen Jia doesn't dare to come? She actually sent you to your death? Xue Liu, you're truly despicable, destined to be a dog's slave your whole life..."

Tongtong was pulled so hard that she cried out in pain, but the woman ignored her.

"Very well! Xue Liu. Let's settle our old and new scores today. You ruined my life, and today you'll pay for it with your life..."

"Li Yushu." Xue Sui called her name, his voice icy and clear, overpowering the sound of the wind. "The one who ruined you was not someone else, but yourself. Your insatiable greed, your arrogance and willfulness, your disregard for human life, led you step by step to this point... Even now, you still don't know where you went wrong?"

"What did I do wrong?" Ping Le seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and she gripped Tong Tong tightly.

The child's crying suddenly intensified, and his little face turned bright red.

She seemed not to hear, and questioned Xue Sui as if venting her frustration.

"If you hadn't plotted against me, how could I have ended up in this state? If it weren't for you, how could my father have abandoned me? How could Lu Youan have left me? I, a dignified imperial daughter, have come to this?"

Her chest heaved violently, and her eyes were filled with piercing hatred.

"If I've done anything wrong, my only mistake is not killing you sooner... I was too lenient with you and those bitches like Wenjia!"

Xue Sui smiled slightly, a faint mockery playing on his lips.

"Self-deception, how pathetic and laughable. Li Yushu, you've lived with flattery since childhood, and you've long since lost sight of your own worth. What makes an ignorant and foolish woman like you think you can kill me?"

Ping Le was furious and raised his voice.

"I am a princess of noble birth, the supreme imperial daughter. What are you, Xue Liu, to me?"

She couldn't accept that the little illegitimate daughter she used to trample on and bully could now stand on high and boss her around.

She hated it...

Xue Sui, however, insisted on shattering her dignity.

"All your life, you've relied on nothing more than your status as an imperial princess. Once you lose that status, you'll have nothing. Look, I gave you a chance to fight back, and you had enough time to turn things around. But what did you do? Li Yushu, you're nothing but a spoiled good-for-nothing. Strip away that veil of your status, and you're no different from a good-for-nothing. You're just a worthless life."

“You—” Ping Le was speechless with anger, his whole body trembling.

Xue Liu is insulting her.

Every word and sentence was tearing her skin apart and shattering her pride.

But she was so angry that she couldn't even utter a rebuttal.

"You are arrogant and foolish. You can't see the situation clearly, let alone understand people's hearts." Xue Sui's tone was calm, but his words were like knives, stabbing her in the most painful spot.

“Originally, if you had stayed peacefully in Shuozhou, His Majesty, out of consideration for your father-daughter relationship, might have allowed you to live out the rest of your life in peace. I would have been happy to see you live a few more days in anxious suffering, rather than letting you die such a dull death. But you insisted on returning to the capital, seeking your own death—”

Her gaze swept over Tongtong's pale face, her eyes slightly cold.

"She even went so far as to use her own flesh and blood as hostages. Does she deserve to be a mother? So you see, you chose this path yourself."

Ping Le was so enraged by her words that she went mad, and her thin veil could no longer hide her twisted and disheveled appearance.

"It really was you! Xue Liu, it was you who stirred things up behind the scenes. You ruined my marriage, my reputation, my honor and affection, and everything I had..."

Xue Sui curled the corners of his lips slightly, his smile almost cruel.

"So what?"

"You bullied me back then, didn't you tell me to come back alive and take revenge? I'm back, but why are you hiding behind the children? Where has your former arrogance gone?"
-
Below the city gate, the commotion among the crowd grew louder and louder, with a constant buzz of discussion.

Countless eyes were focused on the towering city wall, but no one could hear their conversation.

Lu Jing, standing on the execution platform, frowned and looked at Xue Qingzhi beside him. Xue Qingzhi's expression was solemn as he glanced at the executioner.

The executioner understood, paused in his sharpening of the knife, stopped, and looked toward the execution platform.

Lu Jingdao said, "There is still a quarter of an hour left. When the hourglass runs out and the gong sounds at noon, the execution will begin immediately."

The executioner replied in a deep voice, "Yes."
-
On the left side of the city wall, a bodyguard crouched down and whispered in Yu Qianshan's ear, "General, the archers have already aimed at their targets and are just waiting for the order to move..."

Yu Qianshan nodded slowly. "General Yu, we must not act rashly..." Lu Youan's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his fists clenched tightly, suppressing his anxiety.

"She's gone mad now; she's capable of anything. If we miss, we might accidentally hurt the child..."
-
In a private room of a teahouse not far away, Li Zhao got up and walked to the window.

His dark cloak fluttered in the cold wind, making his face look like jade and his figure tall and handsome.

Yuan Cang whispered, "Your Highness, the deposed princess is holding a dagger and is extremely emotionally unstable. The Sixth Miss may be in danger facing this alone. Should we make our move now?"

Li Zhao raised his hand to stop her, gazing at the solitary figure on the city wall, "Wait for her signal."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the guard Qingming rushed in, bowing and urgently reporting.

"Your Highness, the Grand Princess has entered the palace and is heading straight for the Zichen Hall to plead for Princess Ping Le."

Li Zhao's gaze never left the city wall; he gave a faint "hmm," as if he had already expected it.

“Ping Le was hoping someone would save her until her death, thinking she could escape by relying on her father’s favor… She was utterly foolish.”

He pondered for a moment, then a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"However, Father has done many absurd things for her. It is not impossible that he would give her a lenient decree to extricate her from this predicament."

He turned to Qingming and coldly ordered, "Tell Yexiao that if Zichen Palace intends to issue an edict of pardon, instruct him to find a way to delay for a moment. Say... it is my will."

"Yes!" Qingming bowed and stepped back, his steps light and quick.
-
On the city wall, the wind and snow intensified, emitting a mournful sound.

Seeing Xue Sui remain silent, Ping Le became even more frantic.

"Xue Liu, haven't you always touted your kindness? If you jump off this city wall, I'll release the child immediately... How about it? One life for one life, you won't be at a loss, will you?"

"That's your child. Kill him or do whatever you want with him."

Xue Sui smiled faintly, as if chatting casually, and even calmly tidied his short hair that had been ruffled by the wind.

“Look back. Below the city wall are countless soldiers, and on the city wall itself, there are countless arrows aimed at you… If I give the order, you will be riddled with bullets. Li Yushu, you have no right to negotiate with me.”

Ping Le's back stiffened abruptly.

She instinctively wanted to turn around, but she forced herself to stop, giving a cold, menacing laugh to hide her guilty conscience.

"Xue Liu, I dare to kill my own child, do you dare? Aren't you afraid that if I accidentally pull my wrist, your General Lu's precious daughter will be buried with me?"

"..." Xue Sui raised an eyebrow, his expression calm to the point of being indifferent: "I'll watch you make your move."

Ping Le suddenly pulled Tong Tong in front of him, and with his other hand he pulled a dagger from his wide sleeve and held it against the child's neck.

"You think I wouldn't dare? Xue Liu, if this child's blood is spilled on the city walls today, it will be because of you..."

Exclamations suddenly arose from below the city gate.

Tongtong's face turned pale, and she cried out in fright.

"Father... Father, save me..."

"Li Yushu!" A loud shout rang out.

Lu Youan could no longer hold back. He pushed aside the guards and stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Ping Le. He walked up step by step.

"You've reached a dead end. Don't make another mistake. Let go of Tongtong; she's your own daughter..."

Ping Le saw the heartache in his eyes, and her own eyes instantly welled up with tears...

But when he saw the Imperial Guards surrounding him, his face was covered with even deeper hatred.

"Now you know she's my daughter? When you insisted on a divorce for that bitch, did you ever think of me? Did you think of our child?"

Lu Youan's eyes turned cold as he suppressed the pain in his heart.

“Ping Le, you hate me, but what has Tong Tong done wrong? Even tigers don’t eat their cubs. If you have any grievances, take them out on me. Why make things difficult for the child…”

Upon hearing this, Ping Le suddenly burst into wild laughter.

"You forced me to this point, you pushed me to this level, and now you blame me for being heartless?"

Her laughter stopped, and she screamed shrilly again.

"Wenjia, let that bitch come out. If you make her jump off this city wall, I'll release the child..."

Lu Youan's expression changed drastically.

Wen Jia stood silently on the rampart of the city wall. Upon hearing the sound, she pushed aside the guards beside her, walked up with a pale face, and spoke softly but firmly.

"I'm here!"

(End of this chapter)