Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 120 Secret Joy
The sudden rain fell like drumbeats, densely.

The flying eaves of Prince Duan's Mansion were faintly visible in the rain curtain, and the green tiles were hit by raindrops, making clear sounds like broken jade.

When Li Huan pushed the door open amidst the night rain, Xue Sui was slowly adding indigo sand into the tea.

Green smoke rose from the celadon cup, carrying the subtle fragrance of cedar and lingering in the room.

The aroma...rich and fragrant.

Xue Sui looked at Li Huan's stern expression, raised his eyes and smiled, then stood up calmly.

"Why is the prince here? Jinshu, the prince is here, why didn't you inform him?"

Jinshu followed behind Li Huan, with his head down and no words spoken.

Li Huan said, "It was I who told them not to pass it on."

Xue Sui smiled slightly, walked around the table, stepped forward slowly, and bowed calmly.

Li Huan glanced across the desk, "Ping An is in such a good mood that he is actually making tea and appreciating paintings at night."

Xue Sui looked back and saw a painting of a lady on the table.

The woman in the picture has wide sleeves fluttering in the wind, the brushwork is vivid and the expression is very charming, but there are some unusual wrinkles on the rice paper.

She smiled faintly: "I have nothing to do, so I found an ancient painting to copy. I'm sorry to make you laugh..."

The jade bracelet on her wrist swayed slightly, sparkling with light, making her skin look white as snow.

Li Huan stroked the figure's hair with his fingertips, and some ink stained his fingertips.

He raised his finger and looked at it. "Studying calligraphy and painting can help cultivate your temperament and will also be very beneficial to your recovery."

Xue Sui: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Li Huan's eyes suddenly swept towards the windowsill, looking at the barely perceptible water stain left by the pigeon's feet.

"An assassin just broke into the inner courtyard. Was Ping An frightened?"

Xue Sui stretched out his hand to hold the corner of the painting that was blown by the wind, his eyelashes trembling slightly, "Just now I heard someone shouting, so I curiously went out to take a look. I stepped on the rain all over the room, but there was no one there..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Huan suddenly leaned closer, and the fresh scent of ambergris mixed with rain and fog hit his face.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Xue Sui's fingernails were slightly sunken into his palms, but the smile on his face was faint.

"The palace is heavily guarded and there are many guards guarding it, so I don't feel scared..."

Li Huan smiled slightly, "You are quite calm."

After that, he looked at her deeply again, stood up and said calmly: "Recently, there have been many Xizi spies, disguised as merchants from the Western Regions, sneaking into Shangjing with ill intentions. Ping An must be more careful."

Xue Sui smiled gently.

"I am a woman living in a secluded house. Who would deliberately harm me?"

Li Huan also turned around with a smile, and his fingers once again stroked the painting of a lady with the ink still wet. It was unclear whether he was playing with it or trying to discover something. There was a hint of inquiry in his light voice.

"Ping An left Xue's house when he was young and wandered around. Unexpectedly, he learned to be good at calligraphy and painting..."

"What a pity! A remote and secluded place like the Old Mausoleum Swamp could have produced such a talented girl."

Xue Sui bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, you are too kind. I am just copying others. I cannot be considered a masterful talent if I imitate old works..."

Li Huan's eyes moved towards the tea stove filled with mist.

"This tea is very fragrant. I can smell it from far away. What is its name?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, snowy mountains and clouds."

Li Huan hummed lightly and sat down. "Good tea is hard to come by. Why don't you let me enjoy some?"

Xue Sui smiled calmly, "I was frightened just now and accidentally spilled the ink, which contaminated the tea. I dare not let the prince taste it again."

Li Huan smiled and said, "Let's drink together next time."

After a pause, he said softly, "It's getting late, go to bed early."

Xue Sui bent his knees slightly and smiled gently, "Your Highness, please take your time."

As soon as Li Huan left.

Xue Sui let out a long sigh of relief.

If Li Zhao continues to break into her residence so unscrupulously, he will tire her to death.

After Jinshu confirmed that there was no one around and closed the door, she walked over quickly, opened the intricately carved box, took out the neatly stacked women's clothes, and lowered her voice.

"Your Highness, please leave quickly."

Li Zhao took the colorful silk skirts with the faint fragrance of women, put them back calmly, stepped out of the box leisurely, with a smile on his face, looking calm and relaxed.

"I'm not leaving tonight."

Thunder suddenly roared outside the window, illuminating Xue Sui's suddenly contracted pupils.

"How does this work!"

She blurted out, anxiously like a small animal whose territory was invaded.

In the quiet space, ambiguous feelings grow wantonly...

Li Zhao chuckled and stroked her tense shoulder lines with his fingertips.

"I didn't say I wanted to sleep on the same bed with Ping An..."

Seeing that her eyebrows were raised and she looked like she was going to kill someone to silence him, the smile in Li Zhao's eyes became even more intense.

"Do you think Li Huan is so easy to fool? Since he is suspicious, there must be spies outside. With so many eyes watching, if I go out now, wouldn't I be walking into a trap?"

Xue Sui hummed.

"Your Highness has the ability to avoid being spotted coming in, but can't he avoid being spotted going out?"

Li Zhao smiled.

"Let's wait until the fourth watch. When the guards are lax, there will probably be a chance."

He lay down on the soft and comfortable chair.

"I am lonely, take a rest. Take care of yourself and don't pay any attention to me."

As he said this, he really didn't treat himself as an outsider. He closed his eyes, folded his hands on his abdomen, and looked lazy and relaxed, as if he was defenseless against everything around him. He was more comfortable than in the East Palace. Xue Sui pulled a quilt over and threw it at him, but he grabbed his wrist.

The tightly closed eyes suddenly opened and looked at her with a smile.

The body temperature came through the thin shirt, and suddenly a night owl cried out from outside the window, breaking the rain curtain.

There was a fragile silence between the two of them, which seemed like it would be broken at any moment.

Xue Sui pulled his wrist back with force, but Li Zhao did not resist.

"Go to sleep."

The soft and hoarse voice seemed to carry a hint of tenderness.

How could she undress and go to sleep with him there?

Xue Sui sat helplessly on the edge of the couch, turned off the lights, lowered the brocade curtains, her pretty face hidden in the darkness, her mind filled with thoughts.
-
In Hongfu Casino.

Fan Bing's roar penetrated the noisy voices.

"Another bet of three thousand taels!"

"Master Fan, there is no money on your table."

Fan Bing's robe was stained with wine. He brushed it off casually and turned around to shout loudly.

"Waiter, bring me some silver..."

The waiter came over, bowed with an embarrassed look on his face, and told him: "Mr. Fan, you haven't returned the money you borrowed before. This... I can't make the decision."

"I am the current emperor's consort, are you still afraid that I will default on my debt?"

Fan Bing threw his belt next to the dice cup with a clang and shouted in dissatisfaction at the waiter.

"Go, call your boss over here."

The waiter went down and came back soon, bowing and saying respectfully, "Brother Fan, our headmaster Chen is busy right now, please come to the account office on the second floor to talk."

Fan Bing snorted and looked back at his fellow gamblers around him with pride.

"Wait! Wait until I get the money back and continue playing. Don't leave, all of you, don't leave..."

He followed the waiter upstairs with a swagger.

As soon as I walked in, the door closed.

Two tall men who looked like servants were guarding the door on the left and right like door gods, with stern expressions.

Fan Bing had seen many thugs in the gambling house, so he raised his eyebrows indifferently and looked at the middle-aged man with a thick goatee in front of the square table, speaking with an arrogant look on his face.

"Don't bother, boss. Just give me another three thousand taels and I'll sign the debt right away."

Manager Chen said nothing, but calmly took out a stack of debt deeds from the drawer.

One by one, they were slowly placed on the table.

Every time he put one up, Fan Bing's face became uglier.

This prince consort had more than a dozen IOUs.

Manager Chen slowly unfolded the debt contract, and the friction sound of the parchment was particularly harsh.

"My Lord, please pay back the money first. I run a business to make money through harmony, but I am not a charity. You are a noble person, so you can't treat us like this."

"You know I'm a noble man, yet you still dare to make things difficult for me?"

Fan Bing became furious and slammed the table, pointing at Manager Chen and ready to explode.

"Hurry up and borrow the money. The people downstairs are waiting for me..."

A dagger was pressed against his throat.

The guard said nothing. He didn't look fierce, but there was a cold look in his eyes.

At first glance, he was the kind of ruthless person who could stab someone without blinking an eye...

Fan Bing was so frightened that his face turned pale. He raised his hands and bowed continuously.

"No, no, no, I will pay it back. I will definitely pay it back. Don't worry, I have plenty of money. I will definitely pay you back. I will definitely pay you back..."

Manager Chen stood up, walked over and took the dagger from the guard.

Another waiter brought over a tray with neatly stacked banknotes and some loose change on it.

"Here is three thousand taels. Add to that what Master Fan borrowed earlier, the total is 118,000 taels. I'll wipe out the change and give it to Master Fan as a bonus."

After that, Shopkeeper Chen flicked the blade of the dagger with his fingers, "Three days. If Mr. Fan cannot return the money to me in full, don't blame me for following the rules and being rude to the Prince Consort."

Fan Bing's forehead was covered in cold sweat and his smile was forced.

"Yes, yes, definitely, definitely."

A figure walked out from the secret door.

The crane-beak copper lamp in Hongfu Casino makes people look tall and straight with an extraordinary bearing.

It was Yaoguang.

Then, a woman wearing a veil and a hat came out from the secret door. Her hibiscus-colored skirt brushed against the screen, and her figure was graceful.

She gave Yaoguang a casual smile and placed a few banknotes on the table.

"Thank you, Master."

Yaoguang took back the banknote and put it back into her hand.

"What is this for? I gave it as usual, but this time you helped me make a lot of money, so I should give you some bonus..."

Manager Chen also bowed and echoed, "The consort surnamed Fan is as stupid as a pig and is addicted to gambling. He gambled away everything and refused to stop. Now he is in huge debt and I don't know where to find the 110,000 taels..."

Yaoguang looked at the woman and smiled.

"Thieves have their own rules, thieves have their own ways, and officials have their own ways. We don't have to worry about it, just wait to get paid."

The woman gently stroked the veil of her hat and gave a meaningful smile.

"The Sect Master is absolutely right."

Li Zhao: If I tell you that I slept with Ping An, do you believe it?
Xue Sui: ...

Xiao Zhao: Give me s!!!