Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 117 Jin Luan
When Li Huan stepped into the Purple Palace, Emperor Chongzhao was lazily leaning on the dragon throne, slowly turning a jade ring with a Kuilong pattern in his hand.

"The third brother just sent me ten hu of oriental pearls, but I threw them away. If you are here to plead for him, then you don't have to ask for anything."

Li Huan stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

"Father, I have something to report."

Emperor Chongzhao raised his hand and said casually, "Go ahead."

The atmosphere was depressing and heavy.

The rising green smoke from the huge coiled dragon incense burner blurred the emperor's majestic face, but it could not conceal the coldness deep in his eyes.

Li Huan stood up, holding the jade pendant in both hands, and bowed to present it: "Father, my third brother was framed this time. I almost fell into the trap."

Emperor Chongzhao raised his eyelids, looked at his most proud son, and gently uttered a word.

"Oh?"

"Someone deliberately let me see this, thinking that the King of Wei used Madam Gu to collude with the Xizi people to gather intelligence in Shangjing City, and even forged the jade pendant for this purpose..."

Emperor Chongzhao paused, "Fake?"

"Yes, it's a fake."

Li Huan wiped the concave part of the jade pendant with the sleeve of his robe and answered affirmatively.

Afterwards, he asked the emperor for a golden knife and carefully scraped the edges of the jade pendant. He saw fine powder falling from the blood-colored lines.

"When the Xizi jade is immersed in wine, a totem appears, so we used indigo sand and buried it in the ground dragon for more than three months before it can be integrated. This jade is very realistic, but the indigo sand on the dark pattern was applied later, and it has not been there for long. If it is scratched by a sharp object, it will fall off..."

Emperor Chongzhao looked smiling.

"You mean... the prince made a fake privately? To frame the King of Wei?"

Li Huan lowered his head, his peripheral vision keenly capturing every reaction of the emperor, and said in a steady voice, "In my humble opinion, the crown prince has no motive to hide the Xizi jade pendant, and there is no need to frame the king of Wei."

The emperor took the jade pendant again, looked at it for a moment, and gently scratched the jade ring with Kuilong pattern on it, making a slight sound, and his smile seemed to have deep meaning.

"You are quite protective of those useless brothers of the Emperor?"

Prince Duan bowed with a sincere look.

"Father, what I want to protect is not a certain person, but the morale of the 70,000 soldiers in Western Xinjiang—"

He paused slightly and emphasized his tone.

"The prince's actions are related to the reputation of the royal family. If the soldiers knew that a prince from Daliang was secretly communicating with the enemy country, how disheartened would they be? How would the court explain to the 70,000 soldiers in Western Xinjiang?"

He didn't say he was the prince.

It also seems to be a reference to the prince.

Inside the hall, the copper clock made a stagnant sound, and time seemed to have stood still.

Emperor Chongzhao was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of vicissitudes and helplessness.

"Bloodline is the shackles of the royal family. The more you cherish your bloodline, the heavier the shackles will be."

Prince Duan replied respectfully, "I understand."

"You can go down. I have my own ideas on this matter."

Emperor Chongzhao sighed lightly, then suddenly raised his hand and threw the jade pendant into the gilded box beside him, making a "clang" sound.

The jade ornament had a crack when it fell in the box.

The Big Dipper emblem on the gilded box is particularly eye-catching.

Li Huan's throat suddenly tightened.

That was a pattern of good fortune and luck, which did not seem to match the darkness and strangeness of the old mausoleum. It looked more like a pattern of great joy...

But this is the unique mark of the old Lingzha Beidoushichimen.

He had seen it when he was ordered to offer sacrifices at Yunlu Mountain, and he had also seen it when he was tracking down the old mausoleum swamp.

Li Huan couldn't help but wonder,

Why does my father have such a gilded box?
Prince Duan's Mansion.

Xue Sui got up in the morning and was dressing herself. As she was combing her black hair in front of a bronze mirror, she heard a commotion outside and faint sounds of crying.

She frowned slightly, motioned Xiao Zhao to change her clothes, casually tied her hair into a bun, and walked out with light steps.

The two people were arguing in front of the corridor.

Xue Yueying broke into Tan Qiuyuan, and Gu Jie was holding her wrist tightly.

Her hair was disheveled, her skirt was stained with mud, her pregnant belly was trembling slightly from the pulling, and she looked in a state of disgrace...

Jinshu hurried over from behind them and bowed.

"My lady, the princess said she caught a cold in the villa and she has not seen Madam Gu..."

It turns out he came to ask for help.

Xue Sui snorted softly, and stood quietly with her white silk corset around her waist. The morning breeze blew up the acacia pattern embroidered with silver thread, making the two people entangled under the eaves look even more unbearable.

"Didn't they say he was unconscious and no medicine could cure him? How come he got better in the blink of an eye? Madam Gu's drama is even more exciting than a storybook..."

Xue Yueying wiped the tears from her face, broke free from Gu Jie's hand, staggered to her knees, and pressed her bulging belly against the bluestone, crying and begging, "Madam Ping'an, please spare my life and the baby in my belly." The King of Wei abandoned her to protect himself, and she had nowhere to turn to. When she returned to her mother's house, Xue Mansion, she was beaten by the old lady, so she came to the Prince of Duan's Mansion. But Xue Yuechen also claimed to be sick and did not see her, and shamelessly went to Xue Sui to make a scene.

Xue Sui chuckled and said calmly, "A guest is a guest. Jinshu, prepare some spring tea and snacks and place them under the eaves."

He looked at Gu Jie and Xue Yueying again.

"This is a humble room, and it is not suitable for entertaining distinguished guests, so I will not invite you to sit inside."

This is another way of saying that she is unlucky.

The two girls laughed when they heard this.

Jinshu responded in a serious manner and quickly prepared the tea table, chairs and fruits.

Xue Sui sat down gracefully, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

“Good tea!”

Seeing that she was indifferent, Xue Yueying dug her nails into the blue bricks and kowtowed twice, "Sixth sister, I know you hate me and Gu Lang, but the child is innocent..."

Xue Sui smiled and nodded the tea lid nonchalantly with his fingertips.

"When I begged you, who said the word innocent?"

A breeze blew by, and Gu Jie's ears felt burning. He wanted to drag Xue Yueying away, but Xue Yueying was lying on the ground, her clothes were stained with grass debris, and she was still showing weakness without any decency.

"It was just a child's play back then. Ten years have passed. Why do you take it to heart, Sixth Sister—"

"Playing?" Xue Sui blew away the tea foam. "Back then, when you buried me behind the rockery of Puji Temple for Princess Bo Pingle's smile, you said - 'This is called elegance'. What? Is it not elegant now?"

She paused slightly, and suddenly poured the boiling tea at Xue Yueying's feet.

"Or is it that Madam Gu's desire for elegance is to have Princess Pingle put a dog leash around my neck and force me to swallow stale rice mixed with incense ash and bark like a dog?"

Gu Jie stood aside, his face as pale as paper.

He never let himself recall the evil deeds that happened ten years ago, as if that way he could pretend that they never happened...

But Xue Liu came back.

Sitting in front of them, she looked at him and Xue Yueying with a calm but intimidating expression. She didn't say anything radical, but there was a chilling sense of oppression that came over them...

It keeps poking at my heart.

His hands hung limply.

Xue Yueying became angry and embarrassed.

"Xue Liu, don't think that being the prince's woman means you are superior to others. No matter how proud you are, you are still a concubine. No matter how unbearable I am, I am pregnant with the noble royal blood..."

Even with Gu Jie standing by, she was still so bold.

She really didn't take this man's dignity seriously.

Xue Sui smiled and said, "Do you think you are pregnant with a ladder to heaven? In fact, it is a talisman to guide you to the underworld... If the King of Wei insists that the baby in your belly is not his, what proof do you have?"

She leaned forward slightly, her eyes sharp as a knife.

"If you are not careful, not only will you be accused of framing the prince and confusing the royal bloodline, you will be sentenced to death, and even the Jingyuan Marquisate will be buried with you for your stupidity!"

Xue Yueying's pupils suddenly shrank and an expression of horror appeared on her face.

Then she turned her head with tears in her eyes, and dug her red nails deeply into Gu Jie's arm.

"Gu Lang, did you see that? How vicious is this Xue Liu? She is cursing me, the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion, and our entire family."

Xue Sui chuckled, slowly stood up, casually broke off a green pine branch, and threw it into the boiling tea.

"The crying sound has to be more realistic to be beautiful and poignant."

"Do you hate me so much?" Xue Yueying looked at her with resentment, her nails digging into the cracks of the blue bricks and stones.

"I've seen enough of the show. I'm tired too. Jinshu, help me in."

Xue Sui totally ignored Xue Yueying's words. He turned around and walked up the bluestone steps. Then he suddenly turned back, looked at Gu Jie, and smiled meaningfully.

"When you hit a snake, you must strike it at its most vulnerable part. When you bite a prince, you must cut off the dragon's vein."

Gu Jie was stunned.

It was as if thunder struck overhead.

"Thank you... Miss Xue Liu for not bearing grudges."

He suddenly bowed to the ground, grabbed Xue Yueying and left.

"Gu Jie! Are you crazy? This vicious woman is cursing us!"

Xue Yueying screamed miserably, but her husband's iron-like hands grabbed her throat.

"Don't make noise if you don't want to die." Gu Jie shouted in a low voice, dragging her struggling bloated body mercilessly, walking faster and faster without any mercy.

In the shadow at the end of the corridor, Li Huan watched Gu Jie and his wife stagger away, raised his hand and signaled the servants to come over.

"Keep an eye on Tan Qiuyuan. Report any movement to me immediately."

It's time to let Xue Sui, this sharp blade, help him explore the muddy waters of Shangjing City...