Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 149: Embracing the Beauty and Jade
Two days ago, the prince returned to the palace injured. He was like a cat slave with its fur standing on end, and made Zhang Huaicheng guard him all night. At dawn, he was still running a high fever and cursing, which scared everyone in the East Palace.

How come you suddenly become...stupid?
Lai Fu felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, feeling sorry for him being poisoned and injured, but he was also cautious, not knowing how to persuade him...

"What are you thinking about?" Li Zhao suddenly asked, startling Eunuch Lai Fu.

"Master..."

"Deaf?"

"..."

Lai Fu didn't dare to say a word.

After all, people who are poisoned by the Gu will not only become inexplicably horny, but also easily get angry.

Fortunately, the prince returned to normal in a short while.

"Come on, follow me to Prince Duan's mansion..."

Lai Fu was surprised, "Your Highness, it's not dark yet..."

As soon as he said this, he realized he had said the wrong thing, so he quickly apologized with a smile and lightly slapped himself in the face.

Li Zhao stepped on the gold bricks in his black boots, with the corners of his robe flowing freely.

"I will go in through the main gate today."

Lai Fu grinned.

Li Zhao realized that his words had revealed something. He raised his eyebrows slightly and kicked Lai Fu on the butt.

"You're the only one who talks too much!"

Lai Fu jumped up, rubbing his butt, with a grin on his face that was so wide that his teeth were showing.

"The front door is good, it's good to go through the front door!"
-
As soon as Xue Sui's carriage entered the palace, he heard that the Crown Prince had arrived and was talking to the prince in the study.

She looked calm, as if this was a normal thing.

Xue Yuechen was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

"Could it be that the sun has risen from the west? Would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come to visit?"

Xue Sui said softly: "Princess, you are tired after a day, go back and rest early..."

Xue Yuechen glanced at her with a smile, "Sixth sister won the first prize in the shooting contest and brought honor to Prince Duan's Mansion. Sister, you must go to the prince and praise him and ask for a reward for your sister..."

Xue Sui was slightly embarrassed and smiled without saying anything.

The two walked hand in hand to the backyard.

When I heard a servant greeting me, I looked up and saw two people walking towards me.

One was Li Huan, the other was Li Zhao. Both of them looked relaxed and happy, talking happily. Several followers followed them from a distance.

Xue Yuechen bowed gracefully.

"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, meet His Majesty the Prince."

Seeing this, Xue Sui also saluted.

Li Zhao had a cold expression and was impatient to refuse the greeting. To Xue Sui, that distant look could be summed up in four words - like a stranger.

Li Huan stretched out his hand to lift up Xue Yuechen, but he looked at Xue Sui with a smile and reminded him in a gentle voice.

"Ping An, you should learn to change your words in the future..."

Xue Sui narrowed his eyes, "Sister, husband?"

The two words lingered on the tip of my tongue, sounding very awkward.

However, before the smile on Xue Yuechen's face faded, Li Huan chuckled, let go of her hand, turned slightly, and looked at Xue Sui intently.

"Don't be as reserved as your elder sister. Be more casual in private and call me husband."

In a word, it is like pouring cold water into a frying pan.

Xue Sui was thick-skinned and knew his intention, so he smiled calmly and pretended not to hear. However, Xue Yuechen seemed to have his chest burned, and he clenched his handkerchief tightly, looking uneasy.

Li Zhao suddenly laughed coldly.

"I won't disturb my brother from enjoying the beauty and jade. I will take my leave now!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

The slender shadow cast by the afterglow of the sunset was like a sharp sword tempered with ice, splitting the setting sun straight and going farther and farther away.

Xue Sui lowered his eyes and looked at the wild grass struggling out of the cracks in the rocks, and suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.
-
Two days later, Xiao Zhengyuan would be executed.

Before daybreak, a large number of people gathered around the execution ground, scrambling to occupy a good position so that they could see the most exciting moment of the beheading.

It is said that the capital is prosperous, and a falling plaque can hit nine officials, but people like Xiao Zhengyuan are still far away from ordinary people. Moreover, the Xiao family is a famous family with great power and wealth in the court...

One can imagine how exciting this beheading is.

In a large prison not far from the execution ground, Xiao Zhengyuan sat dejectedly against the wall, with his head hung and his face haggard, waiting for the last meal of his life.

There was a foul smell in the cell.

The wound on his shoulder from the stab wound by the Grand Princess was bandaged the next day after he was imprisoned, but the wound worsened and no one cared. Now the blood stains on his prison uniform have long dried up and turned black and purple...

At first he was still hoping for luck, waiting for the Xiao family to rescue him...

Later he found that no one came to visit him, not even his mother - perhaps because of this, the prison bosses were no longer polite to him. Not only did they withhold his food, they also often spoke ill of him and beat him if they were not satisfied with him.

He finally understood that the Xiao family had completely abandoned him.

"Xiao Zhengyuan..."

The gruff voice of the prison boss came from outside.

Xiao Zhengyuan didn't look up or respond.

Bang!

The cell door opened.

Xiao Zhengyuan was shocked.

Normally, when delivering food, there is no need to unlock the door. There is a small door in the cell, which can be pushed open to put the food in the bowl. It is simple and crude, comparable to pig food.

He looked over in surprise and met a pair of concerned eyes.

The person who came was Pingle.

She was wrapped in a green cloth headscarf, dressed like an ordinary maid, and walked in carrying an ordinary food box in her hand.

"Hurry up, it only takes a quarter of an hour."

The jailer urged and locked the cell door.

Xiao Zhengyuan looked at Ping Le as he walked in, his eyes emitting a desire to survive, "Ping, Ping Le? Are you here to save me?"

Pingle didn't answer.

She slowly squatted down, took out the food and wine from the food box one by one, and placed them on the rotten straw...

"Third brother..."

Xiao Zhengyuan is her cousin, but Pingle has called him that since she was a child, as if they were brother and sister from the same mother.

"You should eat something..."

"So, you are here to see me off?" Xiao Zhengyuan understood, stared coldly at her obviously disguised appearance, and sneered.

Ping Le was furious, "This time the Xiao family really suffered a setback, and they were caught off guard. They had no choice but to sacrifice their own car to save their own driver..."

"It turns out I'm a car... a damn car!"

Pingle's body was tense with anger. He didn't notice Xiao Zhengyuan's expression at all. He just choked and vented his anger.

"I've heard from my uncle since I was a kid that the sons of the Xiao family are all as tall as pine and cypress, and if they were to break, they would break in the fire. How could you break in the mud..."

"How could I fail in this mess?" After hearing these words, Xiao Zhengyuan was already burning with anger.

"Pingle, Princess Pingle, I should be the one asking you this. Why did I end up like this?"

Pingle couldn't help but be stunned.

The third brother had always been very caring towards her and had never spoken to her in such a sinister way. At this moment, his brows were furrowed, his eyes were blazing, and he looked very scary.

"Third brother... I know you treat me the best... I still remember when I was ten years old, you said you would build a golden house for me..."

She stammered and tears fell.

But all he heard was Xiao Zhengyuan's screaming scolding.

"Put aside your hypocritical behavior. If you didn't want to cling to the royal family, do you think so many people would go to such great lengths to please you?"

"Third brother?" Ping Le was shocked. "Are you blaming me?"

"If not you, who else should I blame?" Xiao Zhengyuan had a ferocious and terrifying expression.

"I don't blame you, who the hell can I blame?"

Pingle was so frightened that his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

"How can you blame me?"

Xiao Zhengyuan roared almost crazily: "If it weren't for your ambition and greed, why would I be like this?"

"If you weren't so narrow-minded and jealous, and wanted to put Wen Jia and her daughter to death, how could you be targeted by the East Palace, causing this catastrophic disaster, and forcing the Xiao family to use me to take the blame?"

Xiao Zhengyuan's desperate and angry expression was engraved in Pingle's eyes like a brand.

She was also very excited. "Third brother, don't worry, I will definitely avenge you. I swear, I will make those people pay with blood!"

“Ha…haha…hahahahahaha…”

Xiao Zhengyuan let out a series of shrill laughs.

"I am the scapegoat of the Xiao family, and even more so your scapegoat. Pingle, remember, I died because of you, not Wen Jia, nor Li Zhao, but you! It was you who killed me!"

Ping Le burst into tears and cried, "It's not me, third brother, it's just fate..."

"Bullshit!" The chains on Xiao Zhengyuan's body shook violently, and he struggled with all his might, trying to pounce on Pingle.

Pingle screamed in fear and stepped back in terror.

"It's you, you vicious woman. You have harmed me to such an extent but you did nothing about it. You are so cruel and vicious that you shall not die well..."

Xiao Zhengyuan used all his strength, stretched out his hands, and pinched her neck.

Pingle tried his best to hide backwards...

In the end, Xiao Zhengyuan ran out of energy and fell in front of her.

Pingle staggered to his feet and banged on the cell door desperately.

The jailer walked over slowly.

"It's not time yet..."

Pingle shouted while banging on the door frame.

"Open the door, open the door!"

The jailer did not recognize her as Princess Pingle, and grumbled in dissatisfaction: "I've said it before, there's no point in visiting death row prisoners. They are too violent and have brought bad luck upon themselves for no reason..."

After stepping out of the prison, Pingle held her breath, and without looking back, she rushed to the gate from the dark corridor. Hongxing hurriedly caught up with her, calling her loudly. Pingle seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and fell headfirst into Hongxing's arms, and then burst into tears, her cry full of grief.

Behind him was Xiao Zhengyuan's hysterical roar.

"I hate you..."

"Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you go..."

"You and your aunt... a vicious woman, a vicious woman!"

"You are the ones who deserve to die..."

Pingle burst into tears.

She couldn't express the sorrow in her heart.

She felt like she had lost something very important, but couldn't get it back.

Xiao Zhengyuan in prison was no longer the loving third brother she remembered. He seemed like a ferocious evil ghost, threatening her with his fangs and claws to collect debts from her.

She looked down at her hands.

These hands have been stained with countless lives, but she has never felt guilty.

In her eyes, those people were lowly, humble, and like ants.

If a person steps on an ant to death, will he feel sad for the ant? No. Even if there are piles of bones under the waterfall, she will just treat it as entertainment and fun.

When she was a child, she bullied Xue Liu wantonly and never treated her as a person like herself. She never felt any guilt or sympathy at all.

Only today...

The third brother used the most vicious words to hit her soft spot.

What she thought was sincere turned out not to be sincere.

Just like the day Lu Youan left her, ruthless and resolute. Why would the person she cherished look down on her and despise her? When he looked at her, it was like looking at a smelly bug...
-
Noon.

The sun is high.

Xiao Zhengyuan knelt on the execution ground, heavy shackles on his neck and wrists, rubbing his pampered skin and oozing blood...

Pingle was mixed in the noisy crowd, watching the executioner's knife light up Xiao Zhengyuan's face hidden by his messy hair.

"The time has come—"

"cut!"

The executioners were Xue Qingzhi and Xie Yanzhan.

The two men barely even looked at each other before issuing the execution order.

The executioner spit out a mouthful of strong liquor, raised his arm high, and the blade of the knife reflected the scorching sun, dazzling...

Pingle narrowed his eyes.

Watching the knife fall, blood splashed out...

It was as if it splashed on her heart, slowly turning into a thick, bloody ball of hatred...

"Third brother, goodbye."

She murmured silently in her heart, "I will avenge you."

A breeze blew by, accompanied by the overwhelming cheers of the surrounding people, and the fluttering flags on the execution ground seemed to be cheering for this killing.

On a magnificent corner tower on the east side, Xue Sui stood quietly by the balcony, with Yao Guang beside him, with his arms folded across his chest, sighing softly.

"It's finally over."

"The show has just begun." Xue Sui raised his chin slightly, stroked Lingyu's feathers, lowered his head and said a few words, then slowly let go and released the pigeon...

Yaoguang asked: "Thirteen, are you happy?"

Xue Sui watched the white shadow pass over the eaves and fly into the distance.

Slowly, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Happy. But not enough—"

Li Zhao: Xue Ping'an, do you know what flies don't bite?

Xue Sui: No biting of dogs?

Li Zhao: Why?
Xue Sui: Because love doesn’t stop at licking dogs, things(s) can connect everything…