Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 444 Longing for You in the Warm Pavilion
"Your Highness, please slow down, watch your step, don't slip..."

Laifu followed along happily, clearly showing that his master was in a good mood.

Li Zhao took off his outer robe, which was damp with the cold air, and entered the inner room in only a dark blue casual robe.

Xue Sui leaned against the soft couch by the window, her short hair, which was just past her ears, was loose and uncombed, swaying slightly with her breath. She held a small white porcelain cup in her hand, her eyes were soft and quiet, and the lines of her profile were like the moonlight melting into fresh snow, giving her a serene and beautiful appearance after all the worldly dust had been washed away.

Black Eighteen lay at her feet, gnawing on a bone, making satisfied noises.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Li Zhao's breathing became still until Xiao Zhao bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Your Highness..."

Li Zhao coughed lightly and looked away.

"You may leave. No one needs to wait on you here."

Xiao Zhao and Ruyi responded and bowed their heads as they withdrew.

Laifu, with great tact, added hot tea, glanced at his master, secretly pleased, and gently closed the door.

Xue Sui looked up at him, but didn't say anything. She simply pushed a bowl of soup that was warming on the small stove towards him.

Li Zhao sat down next to her naturally and took the porcelain cup.

It's a clear chicken soup with a wonderful aroma of mushrooms.

He asked, "How much money did you give Laifu? He kept praising you to me the whole way."

Xue Sui glanced at him indifferently, "It's only fifty taels, just enough to buy some food."

"Fifty taels of silver, and he's been sweet-talking you for half a day? He's acting like your trusted eunuch..."

Xue Sui raised an eyebrow: "Your Highness, what you're saying is irresponsible. Eunuch Lai Fu is doing his duty to Your Highness, what does it have to do with me?"

"His loyalty is so weak, I think you'll buy it off with money sooner or later." Li Zhao chuckled, put down the soup bowl, and gently flicked her nose, softening his tone.

"Next time, don't spoil him. Just ask him to do things for you..."

Xue Sui turned his head away, a smile spreading across his eyes.

These affectionate and doting gestures still felt awkward to her.

No one treated her like this when she was a child. In the Old Mausoleum Swamp, her master was strict and rarely showed any tenderness. Only Li Zhao was like a ball of fire...

She said casually, "What's a little money? It's a good deal to buy some convenience for the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace."

"Your Excellency is very generous," Li Zhao said, his smile deepening. "Would you also bestow some upon me?"

"What will Your Highness offer in exchange?" Xue Sui asked with a smile.

Li Zhao leaned closer, his lowered voice carrying a magnetic, seductive quality: "I've given you everything, what more do you want?"

"You're such a chatterbox!" Xue Sui scoffed, brushing away Xue Sui's approaching forehead with her fingertips, and then turned to business, "How's things in the palace?"

Li Zhao composed himself.

When talking about Emperor Chongzhao's favoritism and ruthlessness, he spoke in a calm tone, with a faint smile, as if mocking the weather.

"They're cursing me for driving my own sister to her death and disregarding human ethics. They want to find someone to hold accountable, but they can't find a reason. They're just brooding over it, and their coughs are getting worse. It seems they'll have to summon Doctor Shu to the palace to take their pulse again."

Xue Sui lowered her long eyelashes and gently blew on the steam in her cup.

"This time, Your Highness has been put in a difficult position."

"What's so difficult about it?" Li Zhao said dismissively. "In front of everyone, she chose her own path to ruin. No matter how much Your Majesty pities her, you can't call a deer a horse."

He paused, looked at Xue Sui, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"As for my safety, it was all a stroke of genius. I lured her into my trap step by step, yet I remained unscathed. This is the ultimate way to kill someone by destroying their spirit."

She killed Ping Le, but she didn't kill Ping Le.

Ping Le killed himself, so the emperor had no reason to punish him.

Xue Sui slightly curved his lips, his tone indifferent, "If we're talking about merit, Your Highness should be the first... If Your Highness hadn't delayed the delivery of the imperial pardon, Ping Le might not have gone to her death in despair..."

Li Zhao couldn't stop smiling as she praised him.

"You still have to be swift and efficient. You never use your own knife to kill. Your mind... sometimes, when I think about it, even I find it terrifying."

"Is Your Highness afraid?" Xue Sui glanced at him, his eyes cold and indifferent.

Li Zhao's palms itched, so he grabbed her slightly cool hand, held it gently, and placed it on his lap.

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid that you won't be able to use your intelligence on me."

Xue Sui let him hold her hand without pulling it back, his expression a mocking smile.

"Your Highness, you must have suffered quite a bit in the palace these past two days, haven't you?"

"Of course I was angry, but seeing that you're safe and sound, it all vanished." Li Zhao pulled her hand closer to the stove, warming it in his palm, and leaned in slightly, his breath falling on her ear.

"If Ping An is feeling sorry for me, why don't you... comfort me?"

Black Eighteen seemed to sense the intimacy between the two, so it put down its bone and came over to rub against Xue Sui's leg, then against Li Zhao, wagging its tail even more enthusiastically.

"You little rascal, you sure know how to play along." Li Zhao chuckled and patted its head. "From now on, learn to be more observant from Lai Fu, and don't try to steal people from me..." "And then?" Xue Sui felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze. She smoothed her hair, suppressed the heat on her ears, and changed the subject.

"His Majesty cherishes his beloved daughter and will likely not let this go easily."

Li Zhao saw through her little scheme, chuckled softly, his dark eyes narrowed slightly, making no attempt to hide his admiration and possessiveness towards her.

"Of course not. He dotes on his daughter, but values ​​imperial power even more. If I'm not mistaken, he will definitely make a grand show of Ping Le's funeral, giving her the highest honors—to save face in this way, and also... to show me his power."

Xue Sui nodded knowingly.

"Has Your Highness decided what to do?"

It is unwise to provoke the emperor repeatedly.

Li Zhao, however, seemed confident and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
-
Unsurprisingly.

Emperor Chongzhao tossed and turned on his sickbed for two days, and then had a long private talk with the Empress Dowager. In the end, he was heartbroken and issued an edict to bury Ping Le with the highest-level princess rites and to posthumously confer upon her an extremely prestigious title – "Jingyi".

He tried to elevate his daughter to new heights after her death.

The ultimate honor bestowed upon her in death was used to make up for the shame she suffered during her lifetime, and to declare to everyone that the will of the emperor is not to be challenged.

And this is precisely what Xue Sui despises most.

Ping Le treated human life as worthless during her lifetime. She did not want to be cleansed of her sins after death, to have a grand funeral, and to receive incense offerings from future generations...

Such logic should not exist in this world.

It was at this moment that Madam Chun came to visit, her face full of sorrow, her eyes filled with undisguised resentment.

"Where is justice in this situation? Ordinary people die unjustly and without a trace. But the princess committed a grave offense, yet she is buried in a golden coffin and jade casket, and worshipped by all the officials..."

Xue Sui poured her a cup of hot tea without making a sound, and said calmly, "The life of an ordinary person is also a life, it's just that it doesn't catch His Majesty's eye."

Lady Chun sighed, her eyes slightly red.

"To be honest, Sixth Miss, I've come for my wretched son..."

It turned out that after returning from Tonghua Gate that day, Gu Jie locked himself in his room, refusing to eat or drink, as if he had lost his soul.

Lady Chun feared he might do something rash, so she sent people to watch over him day and night, trying to persuade him with earnest words. Unexpectedly, Gu Jie actually found a rope and said he wanted to atone for his sins with his death...

Lady Chun was so angry that she slapped him hard and scolded him for being foolish.

It is said that the Sixth Miss finally managed to pull him out of that quagmire of Ping Le, saving the Marquis's mansion and his life, but he didn't appreciate it...

"The moment Sixth Miss is mentioned, this wretched boy bursts into tears. It's not that I, as his mother, am biased towards my son; in all the years I've raised him, I've never seen Fifth Brother cry like that..."

Xue Sui looked at the flickering embers in the stove without saying a word.

Who knows for whom Gu Jie sheds his tears? Is it for Ping Le, for Xue Yueying, or for his own foolish years?

Gu Jie was a timid and stubborn man. It was rare for him to show any backbone, and he had already exhausted all his courage.

She didn't believe he was truly willing to die; she thought he was just trying to escape the mess of reality and to get over his own guilt.

“That little brat has brought out my heartache. His father was so angry he wanted to use family discipline, but I stopped him…” Madam Chun became more and more agitated as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. “If he really hanged himself, it would be the end of it all. But our Gu family… we, his parents…”

She choked up and couldn't continue.

Xue Sui handed a handkerchief to Lady Chun.

He waited until she calmed down before slowly speaking.

"Aunt Chun, do you want Young Master Gu to no longer bear the stigma and live a good life?"

“I…” Madam Chun was stunned.

Ping Le's entanglement with Gu Jie during her lifetime not only caused Gu Jie to be pointed at and unable to hold his head high, but also made everyone in the Marquis's mansion feel like they had swallowed a fly—

From the Prince of Wei to Xue Yueying and then to Ping Le, the Marquis truly worried himself sick over this son, and his hair turned mostly white.

Madam Chun felt depressed whenever she thought about those awful things.

“My heart aches for my son, and even more for the Marquis’s mansion. He was a man of strong character, and he lived a respectable life for half his life. I simply cannot bear to see him in his old age, still forced to feign respect, bowing his head before that vile woman Ping Le’s spirit, being gossiped about behind his back, unable to even stand up straight… But what right do we have to object to His Majesty’s decree…”

Xue Sui smiled slightly, "His Majesty's decree is not entirely inflexible. If Aunt Chun trusts me, perhaps you could have the Marquis do this or that..."

She whispered a few words in Lady Chun's ear.

Madam Chun hesitated at first, then gritted her teeth and clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly.

"Let's do as Sixth Miss says. Since things are already like this, we might as well put aside our pride and fight for the sake of the Marquis's reputation."

　Let me repeat: It's the last day of August, hahaha, sisters, don't forget about Sui Sui! Those with tickets, please join in...

　　Li Zhao: I also want to be in Sui Sui's bowl.

　　Reader: Damn!

　　(End of this chapter)