Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 462: Deep Gu
Xue Sui expressionlessly pulled out a dagger from his boot.

A flash of cold light, and the blade tip precisely pierced Xie Weilan's throat.

Fresh blood splattered on the back of her hand, warm and sticky.

"It's over."

If you meet Ping Le on your way to the underworld, remember to tell her... in the next life, don't mess with me again.

Xie Weilan's body went limp and collapsed. She died without making a sound. In her wide-open eyes, there was only lingering resentment and fear.

Xue Sui straightened up, wiped the blood off the dagger with Xie Weilan's sleeve, his eyes showing no emotion, as if he had merely crushed a disgusting insect.

Calm and ruthless.

Li Zhao leaned against the door, taking in the entire scene.

She killed with a swiftness unlike that of a woman; her figure was slender yet she possessed a resolute ruthlessness. Knowing that killing Xie Weilan would bring about a terrible disaster, she did not hesitate for a moment.

"Safety……"

He struggled to sit up, but staggered due to exhaustion and the churning turmoil within him.

Xue Sui immediately turned around and grabbed his arm.

"Shh-"

She listened intently to the sounds outside the door and checked the latch again carefully.

"Xuanjizi is cunning and suspicious; he may not have really gone far..."

Sure enough, before she finished speaking, chaotic footsteps could be heard outside again.

It was Xuanjizi, who had returned, lingering outside the door listening.

"Why is there no movement again?"

"Strange. I have a feeling something's off... Hmm, is something wrong?"

Xue Sui and Li Zhao exchanged a glance. They saw him leaning against the door, large beads of sweat on his forehead. He frowned, raised his hand, tugged at the collar of his palace maid's dress, revealing a small patch of skin, and then leaned back into Li Zhao's arms. His voice instantly became soft and weak.

"Your Highness...please...spare me...I can't take it anymore..."

Looking at her deliberately feigned weakness, and recalling her ruthlessness in killing just now, a faint smile flickered in Li Zhao's dark eyes.

She was incredibly intelligent, scheming and plotting murder without batting an eye, but she was ultimately an inexperienced woman, so how could she know what it was like to be truly moved by love?
He suddenly felt like playing a trick on her and abruptly put his entire weight on her.

"If you keep doing this, that old fox will see through you?"

"Hmm?" Xue Sui was taken aback, her breathing slightly erratic. "What do you mean?"

Li Zhao reached out and suggestively pinched her slender waist with his fingertips. His lips slowly brushed against her sensitive earlobe, his eyes teasing, and his voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it.

"If you're going to act, you have to have some genuine feeling in it."

Xue Sui tensed up, suppressing the urge to push him away, and squeezed out the words through clenched teeth: "Wasn't my acting convincing?"

"Not quite there." Li Zhao chuckled softly, his breath almost touching her skin, his voice hoarse. "Shall I teach you?"

Xue Sui's ears burned, but she still followed his words and asked, "Then... how can it be true?"

Li Zhao's eyes were turbulent with emotion as he pressed their bodies together tightly, allowing her to clearly feel her own throbbing tension.

"The real thing is the truest."

"..."

Xue Sui's breath hitched.

He didn't give her a chance to back down, his palm sliding down to her waist, giving her a light pinch.

Xue Sui was ticklish.

Caught off guard, a short but genuine exclamation escaped her lips, but realizing the inappropriateness of the occasion, she bit her lower lip and swallowed it back, which turned into a soft, shy moan with a sob in her voice.

"Your Highness...be gentle...there are still people outside..."

That sound was so soft it seemed like you could squeeze water out of it.

Li Zhao's breathing suddenly became heavy. The love worm in his body seemed to be pleased by the coquettish exclamation, and became even more agitated, almost overwhelming his reason.

"That's exactly right... This child is teachable..."

He tightened his arms, holding her even closer, and whispered a low laugh in her ear.

"Ping An, you learn very quickly."

He was panting, burying his face in the crook of her neck, rubbing against her cool skin, letting out suppressed groans, as if he could hardly bear it.

Xue Sui felt weak all over and couldn't move. He said bitterly:
"Are you putting in so much effort just to make outsiders think... that His Highness the Crown Prince is exceptionally virile... is that right or wrong..."

Li Zhao: "..."

Her words were like adding fuel to the fire, instantly shattering Li Zhao's last line of defense. A desire more intense than the incense, mixed with the power of the love potion, fiercely pounded at his heart.

He used a little force to pull her in front of him, their waists touching, their breaths mingling.

It was hotter and more dangerous than before.

The gradually cooling corpse of Xie Weilan and the bloody smell mixed with incense seemed to become the most cruel and immoral background in this erotic illusion.

He was panting, his eyes fixed on her.

"Peaceful people kill and set fires without batting an eye, so why are they afraid of this?"

Her cheeks were flushed crimson, even her neck was tinged with pink, but she refused to admit defeat.

"Who is afraid?"

After saying that, she gripped his arm tightly, then suddenly glanced at Xie Weilan's corpse, her throat tightening.

“Back then, she fawned over Ping Le and did a lot of bad things.”

Xue Sui's voice was very low, and his eyes changed slightly, "When I was a child, I decided that one day I would definitely get it back from her..."

Li Zhaodao: "You don't need to explain..."

"She's your cousin, a member of Empress Xie's family, isn't she?" Xue Sui looked into his bloodshot eyes, his body burning with heat, and his lips inexplicably dry. "If I kill her, will you blame me?"

“She deserves to die.” Li Zhao said without hesitation. “I’m only worried about you.”

Xue Sui paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What about Your Highness? Why would you rather hurt yourself than touch her? Clearly... that way you could easily escape and avoid all this suffering."

Li Zhao grabbed her wrist forcefully.

“I said it.” His voice was terribly hoarse, each word seeming to come from his chest, carrying a bloody stench and an undeniable obsession. “In Li Zhao’s life, you are the only one. This is not a joke.”

"Your Highness..."

He tightened his grip, pulling her closer to him, his burning lips almost touching her earlobe, his breath scorching. "You just said it yourself... my life is yours, and my body is yours. No one else can touch me, touch me, or even think about me."

Xue Sui's ears burned, and his voice tightened, "Your Highness, there's no need for this. You owe me nothing. The favors we received from you before are long gone..."

"Xue Ping'an, don't you understand?"

Li Zhao practically bit her earlobe, his voice hoarse as he spoke:
"It's not gratitude, it's infatuation. It's not being able to bear seeing you suffer even the slightest grievance, it's wanting to hand you the knife when I see you committing murder and arson, it's wishing I could cut my heart out and show it to you... Xue Ping'an, what more do you want me to say?"

Xue Sui was stunned.

When he presented his burning affections without reservation, the string of reason nearly snapped.

"Do you know how much I want to... take you right now..."

His voice was hoarse and strained, filled with intense desire and pleading, "Xue Ping'an, dying on your body would be worth it..."

Xue Sui's cheeks were flushed. Looking at his painful and tormented appearance, she glanced at the door, quickly took out the small black porcelain bottle that Tian Shu had given her from her bosom, poured out a Qingxin Pill, but did not feed it to him immediately.

"Li Zhao," she whispered, then suddenly leaned down, "May you live to be a hundred years old."

Li Zhao's heart trembled violently as he looked at the blush spreading across her cheeks, his throat tightening.

"Safety…"

Xue Sui lowered his eyes and did not answer.

She put the pill in her mouth, then kissed him again, passing the pill over to him.

Veins throbbed on Li Zhao's forehead, and sweat trickled down his handsome features...

She was very persistent, repeatedly feeding him the medicine.

Li Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the pill that carried her scent, then he took the initiative and deepened the kiss.

It was not a gentle comfort, but a dangerous plunder and possession, as if it wanted to devour the soul completely.

The pill gradually dissolved, and the cooling sensation suppressed some of the scorching heat, but it couldn't extinguish the raging wildfire.

Li Zhao pressed his forehead against hers, breathing heavily, his eyes burning with a frightening intensity.

“Not enough…” Li Zhao murmured, his hand stroking her back, pressing her even closer to him.

"Peace, give me some more."

Xue Sui had no way to resist.

All the scheming, hatred, and defensiveness seemed to vanish at this moment.

She responded awkwardly, a very soft moan escaping her throat, a strange tide rising deep within her body...

My clothes are disheveled...

The charade teetered on the brink of spiraling out of control, slipping towards becoming half-real.

Li Zhao's kisses gradually moved downwards...

Xue Sui tilted her head back, breathing rapidly, enduring this painful pleasure.

I felt a mix of anticipation and a slight fear, and I couldn't help but feel nervous...

"Scared?" He chuckled, his breath hot against her collarbone. "Where's the ruthlessness you showed when you killed her?"

Xue Sui turned her head away, her ear tips turning so red they were almost bleeding, and grabbed his arm tightly.

"No...not here..."

He leaned closer, looking at her flustered expression, his eyes burning even more intensely: "Where can we go? Hmm?"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly picked her up and placed her steadily on the soft couch that was covered with brocade and carefully decorated.

The rustling of fabrics, mingled with their breaths, created an exceptionally enchanting atmosphere in the silent palace...

Xue Sui subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck, her palms touching his sweaty hair, and her heart involuntarily went awry—she should have pushed him away, and she had never been one to cling to men, yet she was so enamored with his warmth and strength, and as if possessed, she held him even tighter.

Li Zhao's whole body was tense.

He pinched her waist slightly with force.

Xue Sui trembled slightly, her fingertips gripping his clothes until they turned white.

She suddenly felt a little scared. She looked down at the overlapping hem of her clothes, and her cheeks flushed. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she felt a panic and fear she had never experienced before.

"Your Highness...no...I can't..."

"Trust me." Li Zhao's voice was hoarse. He shifted his waist slightly, sweat dripping from his chin onto her clothes. "Take it slow."

“Your Highness…” she protested softly, her voice sounding unlike her own.

"Call me husband..." He lingered on the crook of her neck, his voice muffled and hoarse.

"..." Xue Sui couldn't bring himself to say it, "Bastard."

"What did you call me?" Li Zhao gently rubbed her earlobe, tightened his arms to hold her waist even tighter, and suddenly let out a muffled groan, as if he had been immersed in a pool of soft, sweet hot spring water that could drown a person.

“…Li Zhao.” Xue Sui trembled, biting Li Zhao’s shoulder, slightly lost in thought.

He was extremely satisfied and became even bolder in his explorations.

Dry wood meeting a raging fire—how could it possibly hold back?

In the exchange of body temperature, only primal desire and possession remain.

The wind and snow outside the palace seemed to be getting even heavier...

After an unknown amount of time, an unusual commotion suddenly broke out in their ears, interspersed with the faint sounds of armor clashing, like a bucket of ice water being poured on the raging fire of their passionate lovemaking.

"not good!"

The two quickly exchanged a glance.

Xue Sui's cheeks were still flushed as she listened intently, her expression suddenly changing. "They still managed to discover something..."

Almost simultaneously, a heavy knocking sound came from outside the hall, a loud banging.

"Your Highness! It's getting late, shouldn't you get up? His Majesty is waiting to ask you some questions..."

Li Zhao took a deep breath, but still couldn't suppress his heavy breathing, and couldn't help but fly into a rage.

"How dare you! Who gave you the audacity to interrupt my good time?"

"Your Highness, a palace maid has gone missing from the Imperial Kitchen. We suspect an assassin has infiltrated the Zichen Palace," Xuanji Zi shouted through the door, his voice filled with urgency and suspicion.

"Please open the door, Your Highness, so that we may enter and verify your safety, and then report back to His Majesty!"

　Li Zhao: It's not easy being alone...

　　Xue Sui: Bah, you dog! Li the scoundrel!
　　(End of this chapter)