Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 3: Crazy Criticism of the Prince
"The closing drum has sounded, and the curfew has arrived. Citizens from all quarters must return home immediately. Violators will be severely punished!"

Bang!
The drumbeats were dull and a curfew had been declared in Shangjing City.

The north wind whirled in the sky with fine snow, howling sadly. It was already the beginning of spring, and it snowed again overnight, and the whole capital was cold.

Xue Sui looked at the three characters "Youhuangju" in black gold lacquer on the tall and majestic door lintel, wrapped his clothes, and knocked on the door again.

"Who is it?"

The corner door opened a crack, and a plump head poked out. He was visibly stunned when he saw Xue Sui's pale little face under the eaves lamp and his plain old jacket and skirt.

"Where did this beggar come from? It's the dead of night and you're disturbing everyone's peace. Go away! Go beg somewhere else!"

Xue Sui smiled slightly.

"Please inform the corpse keeper of the old mausoleum that I am seeking an audience with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The man's expression suddenly changed.

Youhuangju is the prince's villa, and that is a huge secret.

The people guarding the corpses in the old mausoleum are scary enough in the middle of the night.

He looked back at the guard in the shadows and winked.

Without saying a word, the two guards handcuffed Xue Sui's hands behind his back and dragged him inside.

Xue Sui did not struggle.

Youhuangju has five courtyards in total. The punishment room is located in the east courtyard on the north side. The stone steps are slanted and the wind through the hall is extremely cold.

"Go in!" Someone pushed me hard from behind.

Xue Sui staggered two steps and fell into the stone chamber.

The lights were dim and the strong smell of blood filled my nose. I didn't know who had committed a crime, but there were constant wailing sounds behind the door.

The huge splint was as ferocious as a beast, and the red-hot iron dried the remaining blood. The whip, dagger, charcoal fire, iron chain, and the cold light from the torture instruments seemed to tear apart the scars of her childhood...

The dormant memory is awakened——

Her breathing became slightly tight.

"No need to interrogate him, just throw him into the Snake Pit!"

A cold voice came from behind.

Xue Sui turned back subconsciously.

Only then did I discover that there was a heavy secret door in the torture chamber.

The door opened from both sides, and a young man stood tall.

Her hair was tied with a jade hairpin, meticulously done. Under the sea-blue cloak, she wore a dark-colored casual dress, with a cloud-dragon pattern embroidered with dark gold thread hidden on the hem, and she came in the wind, like a green pine and a crane in the clouds.

He seemed dissatisfied with his subordinates' behavior. He glanced at them calmly, sat on the only high chair in the torture room, and waved his fingers lightly.

"killed!"

This was not the first time Xue Sui met Li Zhao.

At the foot of Laojun Mountain, the prince encountered robbers on the road. She saw with her own eyes that Li Zhao shuttled among the robbers like a ghost, using a thin knife to cut the necks of dozens of people...

I also saw him calmly wiping away the blood, picking up a shivering puppy from a broken carriage, and gently bandaging its wounds.

During the Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival to worship ancestors, and New Year's Eve parade, he would either stand by the emperor's side and watch the people under the city tower cheering "Long live the emperor", or ride on his sedan chair through the streets of the imperial city to accept the worship of all the people.

Xue Sui squeezed in among the crowds and saw it many times...

Not as close as it is today.

It turned out that he was extremely handsome, extremely cold, and extremely young. Putting aside his gorgeous clothes and the honor of a prince, his eyes were filled with rare coldness and madness, which was unfathomable...

The prince is the prince, different from any other man in the world.

Two guards with swords dragged Xue Sui to the corner.

There was an eight-foot square snake pit, with tens of thousands of poisonous snakes trapped at the bottom by a layer of iron nets. Various patterns were surging, and it was unknown how long they had been hungry. Some were killing each other, while others were desperately climbing with their tongues spitting out, making a hissing noise...

A cold wind blew, lifting up Xue Sui's clothes.

She turned and looked at Li Zhao.

"I can assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and become a member of the Eastern Palace."

Li Zhao chuckled and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Xue Sui said: "The Xue family will send me to Prince Duan's mansion to serve Prince Duan."

As she spoke, she slowly took off the green scarf on her head, revealing her beautiful face to Li Zhao's contemptuous gaze. Her face was peaceful and serene, and as white as if covered with an impenetrable veil.

"Is it a good move for me to join the game and become the prince's accomplice?"

Li Zhao didn't say anything, but flicked his sleeves twice with his fingers.

Xue Sui lowered his eyes to look at his hands. They were thin, with long fingers and distinct joints, giving people a feeling of discomfort and crampedness.

She hadn't felt this way for a long time, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"The emperor dotes on Concubine Xiao, and loves her family as well. The son she gave birth to is also favored by the emperor. If it weren't for the ancestral precept of our dynasty to establish the heir instead of the eldest son, the current master of the East Palace would have been replaced long ago."

Since the emperor fell ill last year, the conflict between the Eastern Palace and Prince Duan's Mansion, Empress Xie and Concubine Xiao, and the fight between the two tigers has long been no secret...

But this was not what the prince wanted to hear.

The servants around him were all sweating.

Li Zhao laughed, "Interesting!"

The Ten Thousand Snakes Pit was right in front of us, with a dense swarm of snakes wriggling around, stirring the humid air faintly...

Xue Sui did not retreat. She squatted down and took the initiative to reach out to the iron net, with a gentle smile in her eyes, as if she was caressing a beloved pet from a distance...

"Who in this world is more capable than the man who sleeps beside Prince Duan? I don't think His Highness will be willing to kill me."

Li Zhao looked at her strange behavior.

"Are you not afraid of snakes?"

Xue Sui raised his eyes: "What's so scary about snakes? They just want to survive. They are no different from me."

Li Zhao: "The Xue family supports Prince Duan, why do you choose me?"

Xue Sui: "The Crown Prince is second only to the emperor and above everyone else. He is the best supporter in the world."

Li Zhao sneered, "If Prince Duan succeeds, your Xue family will also be honored."

Xue Sui looked at him steadily, "Whatever the Xue family chooses, I abandon. Whatever the Xue family opposes, I join. The Xue family is not as proud as I am."

Li Zhao stared at her as she slowly approached, staring at her with a half-smile, his brows showing an even colder expression.

"You want to ask me for help?" Xue Sui said, "Your Highness, if you don't agree, you will be the one who suffers."

Li Zhao's slender fingers paused for a moment.

The light from his back blurred his handsome face.

"How can I trust you?"

Xue Sui stood up silently and stood face to face with him, her lips slightly pursed, like a soft and harmless girl, staring at him with her fingers reaching for her collar.

Li Zhao's pupils darkened slightly, revealing disdain.

Xue Sui did not hesitate. He was as decisive as a hungry sheep running into a wolf pack. Right in front of the wolves and the wolf king, he forcefully peeled off the rough and worn linen clothes.

She was extremely beautiful, but unfortunately her white jade was stained with flaws.

On the snow-white skin, there are many old scars visible to the naked eye, like spider silk. Even a man who has served in the army for many years will have this scar.

"It took me ten years to get to your highness' presence."

Then he asked softly, "Can I gain the trust of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

The silence in the torture chamber was suffocating.

Ten years later, many scars have faded and disappeared, but from this tip of the iceberg, one can still see the cruelty and abuse she suffered when she was young. Without saying a word, a monstrous hatred swept over her, as if to revive those scars and turn them into hideous smiles.

Eunuch Lai took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness..."

"Don't pity me." Xue Sui calmly pulled up his old coat. "I'm not here to seek sympathy. I will let the prince see my value."

He looked up at Li Zhao again, "Each of us takes what we need."

Li Zhao: "I will not do business at a loss."

Xue Sui's eyes were indifferent. "If you're dead, what does it matter whether you get compensation or not?"

Li Zhao laughed again.

The smile is heart-shaking.

The eunuch and several guards were so nervous that their hearts were in their throats.

Xue Sui acted as if nothing had happened, straightened his clothes, and said seriously: "I came here today to tell the prince that at the Xiaohan Festival in three days, the 'robbers' from Laojun Mountain will come back again."

Li Zhao raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Sacrificing yourself to warn others? What do you want to do?"

Xue Sui glanced at him and said, "Consider it my gift to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I will be back at the Xue family soon. If Your Highness is still alive by then, please give me a gift in return."

Li Zhao's mouth slightly stiffened, "Hmph!"

The prince walked away in a huff, and the eunuch was confused.

This woman broke into Youhuangju at night, which was a great taboo for the prince. There was no reason for her to survive.

Why were you so soft-hearted and let her go?
He was anxious, but Xue Sui was not.

She bowed slowly and said, "This courtyard is deep and secluded. I am afraid. I beg you to escort me."

Lai Gonggong: ...

She was not scared at all.

Now he is the one who is frightened.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is unpredictable. If you are not careful, you will lose your head.

Eunuch Lai sent Xue Sui to the door with a gloomy face, and saw the prince's personal guard Guan Ya chasing after him.

A pitch-black Qinglong wooden box was handed to Xue Sui.

Xue Sui didn't answer, "What is it?"

Guan Ya had a blank expression on his face: "His Highness has instructed that you please go back and have a look."

……

Xue Sui returned to Jiuling Marsh with the box. It was already dusk two days later. She opened the first layer and found another box inside the box, which was locked with a Luban lock.

Did Li Zhao assume that she couldn't open it?

Xue Sui raised her eyebrows, and the box turned between her white fingertips...

Snap! The dowel popped out.

There is a brown-gray pill in the box.

There was also a note.

"You are lucky. Take the antidote and you will survive."

Xue Sui held the cold box in her hand, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back, as if a poisonous snake from Youhuangju had slithered up from under her skirt...

The wooden box is poisonous!

If she couldn't open this special Luban lock, she would be a fool and unworthy of working with the Eastern Palace. Then, death by poisoning would be her final fate.

There are thousands of treacherous schemes and evil intentions hidden everywhere.

Li Zhao is so cruel!
People always say that the East Palace is more dangerous than the Imperial Palace, and being a Crown Prince is more difficult than being an Emperor. If Li Zhaoxing had made a mistake, he would have been doomed.

He can't help being cruel.

If Xue Sui wants to take advantage of the tiger, he can only be more ruthless than them.

The poison took effect quickly, and I started to sweat heavily and my stomach ached badly.

Xue Sui swallowed the pill and a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Girl, the master is back and wants you to come over."

Xiao Zhao knocked on the door, Xue Sui's expression changed and the smile disappeared from his face.

Everyone has fear.

Xue Sui has three masters.

What she feared most was the master.

　It’s nice to see familiar faces in the comments section.

　　See you tomorrow, my dears~
　　Li Zhao (zhào).

　　Prince: What do you mean? Just a cameo appearance and that's it? I'm not the male lead?

　　Xue Sui: No. The next one...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)