Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 77: Secret Meeting and Assassination
Why is the prince here?
Xiao Zhao and Ruyi looked at each other quickly as if they had seen a ghost, with surprise on their faces.

Xue Sui seemed extremely calm and bowed slightly.

"I have met His Highness."

The voice was clear and pleasant, yet a little distant.

It was as if the two of them were really unfamiliar with each other.

Li Zhao narrowed his eyes.

He looked at Xue Liu's appearance. His complexion was ruddy, his face was radiant, and his behavior was natural. How could he be infected with the "love thread Gu"? Not to mention being poisoned, even a young lady who was kept in seclusion would look a little weaker than her.

"Sixth Miss is very resourceful."

Li Zhao jumped down from the bluestone. Perhaps the action was too sudden. The guards beside him were all startled and subconsciously made protective gestures.

Xue Sui's expression remained unchanged.

She watched Li Zhao approach quietly and said in a light tone:

“Although the back mountain is secluded, it is not untouched.”

The implication was to remind Li Zhao not to be caught by others to avoid any trouble.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhaohun didn't care and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"You and I are not the wild mandarin ducks having a tryst in the bamboo forest, so why should we be afraid?"

From what he said, it was obvious that he had seen Xue Yueman and Guo Zhaoxuan having a secret meeting.

Xue Sui smiled slightly but did not answer.

Li Zhao stood tall, his eyes fixed on Xue Sui's fair and rosy face.

Xue Liu didn’t look like this before, right?
The newly blossomed mountain peach blossom in front of the Puji Temple seemed not as fresh and bright as she is today.

Li Zhao's heart moved, as if being touched by an invisible hand. An inexplicable wave of emotion accumulated in his chest, hot and strong, and his heartbeat accelerated involuntarily...

He subconsciously turned his face to the side, and his eyes caught the gorgeous Begonia flower on the corner of her sleeve.

The petals were layered and lifelike, as if they were blooming before his eyes...

He took a deep breath and calmed his inner turmoil.

"From the look of your face, I see no signs of poisoning?"

Xue Sui: "Gu is still young."

Li Zhao asked, "Is mine bigger?"

Xue Sui: “…”

The two men were less than three feet apart. Xue Sui didn't know how to answer for a moment. He remained silent. His eyes met his. He was neither dodging nor shy. He was as calm as the old monk who had practiced in Puji Temple for many years, his heart as still as water.

This calmness, on the contrary, made Li Zhao seem less calm, and his mind was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, somewhat out of control.

I wanted to ask her if she had any abnormalities in her body recently, and whether the residual poison of love would make her restless all night. But when the words came to my lips, I felt it was too abrupt.

So, he said slowly, "Sixth Miss insisted on marrying into Prince Duan's mansion, but didn't she consider the two love silk Gu? We are separated by two places, what if she wants to elope?"

After saying this, he smiled gently.

"When that time comes, even if you come to me for help, I may not necessarily obey you."

"The female Gu is docile and won't easily break out." Xue Sui's tone remained calm.

Li Zhao sneered when he heard this, "Are you so confident? Could it be that Miss Xue Liu has a way to dissolve the poison?"

Xue Sui tucked her hanging hair behind her ears and looked at the undercurrent surging in Li Zhao's calm eyes.

She pursed her lips slightly, not knowing what she was thinking of.

"I heard that there is a rare flower in the Western Regions, called the Love Silk Flower. This flower needs to be planted in special medicinal soil, watered with rootless water, and carefully nurtured. When it blooms and bears fruit, you can pick its fruit and use it to make medicine, which can suppress the Love Silk Gu poison. Your Highness, would you like to give it a try?"

Li Zhao curled his lips slightly, "Where do the flowers come from?"

Xue Sui said: "If Your Highness needs it, I can ask my fellow disciples in the Old Mausoleum Swamp to help find it. But the seeds cost one hundred taels of gold. It is agreed in advance that the love flower seeds have extremely strict requirements for the growing environment. If the climate and soil are not suitable, it will be difficult for them to survive..."

Li Zhao's expression changed slightly.

Then he laughed.

"Ms. Xue Liu, are you thinking of a new trick to deceive me again?"

Xue Suiwei bowed slightly and said, "Xue Liu dare not."

Li Zhao looked at her in silence for a moment, then suddenly called out, "Laifu."

Lai Fu stepped forward and bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, I am..."

Li Zhao looked into Xue Sui's eyes and told him:

"After returning to Beijing, give Miss Xue Liu three hundred taels of gold."

Lai Fu almost choked.

He watched helplessly as the prince agreed to such a ridiculous thing.

This Miss Xue Liu is really bold and cruel. She holds the prince in her hands and does whatever she wants. She is not afraid that one day the boat will capsize and she will be drowned by the flood...

"Little understands."

Unexpectedly, Li Zhao continued, "Two hundred taels for seeds, and the remaining one hundred taels..."

Xue Sui looked at him.

The same is true for Li Zhao.

The two looked at each other.

Only Lai Fu stared at his master blankly, then suddenly smiled and said:
"To add to Miss Xue Liu's dowry."

Xue Sui saluted slightly towards him, curved his eyes, and a slightly upward arc escaped from the corners of his mouth, as if a fish in a calm lake gently wagging its tail, creating ripples in the water that spread out in people's hearts.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is kind and generous, and his virtue is known to all. He will surely live a long life."

No one would complain about having too much money, and since Li Zhao was so "generous", she was naturally happy to accept it.

"If Your Highness has nothing else to do, then Xue Liu will go first..."

Li Zhao stared at it.

Not a word.

Lai Fu looked at the slender figure turning away and felt very unhappy.

Your Highness the Crown Prince has been caught in a weak spot!

What should we do if this continues?

Lai Fu opened his mouth several times to call out to Sixth Girl, and sure enough, he heard a voice.

"Miss Xue Liu, please stay!"

Lai Fu was shocked.

Hearing what was in his heart, the prince called it out.

The voice was icy cold.

Li Zhao caught up with Xue Sui in two or three steps, barely grasped his hand, and squeezed it hard in his palm, as if he was holding a hot potato. He suddenly broke into sweat, and his brows and eyes were filled with restlessness.

"Just leaving like this?"

Xue Sui frowned slightly and looked at him calmly without refusing.

Li Zhao looked at Xue Sui's face and his expression became increasingly stern.

Did this woman have no feelings for the intimacy of skin? When he touched her warm skin, his inner emotions became restless, so why was she so calm?

Xue Sui said, "Your Highness, is that enough?"

Li Zhao slowly loosened his hand on her wrist.

"I'm just trying to see if the insect reacts..."

Xue Sui asked: "How does your highness feel?"

Li Zhao frowned slightly, "Unhappy."

As soon as he finished speaking, his face changed suddenly.

The two looked at each other with a cold light flashing in their eyes almost at the same time.

In a flash, he actually felt a sense of telepathy with Xue Liu. It was the shrieking sound of approaching danger that passed through his eardrums. Without the slightest hesitation, his body was as fast as lightning. The moment Xue Sui dodged sideways, his long arm quickly stretched out, grabbed her hand accurately and forcefully, and pulled her into his arms.

"Whoosh-"

A sharp arrow, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, flew past their eyes at a rapid speed.

With the force of breaking the wind, it pierced straight into a thick tree trunk not far away, making a buzzing sound.

If this is the case even for towering ancient trees, the consequences would be disastrous if it pricked a human being.

Xue Sui loosened the hand in his sleeve, looked at the hostility surging in Li Zhao's eyes, and stepped back slightly.

"Your Highness is being followed."

Li Zhao lowered his head and smiled at her, his eyebrows and eyes were as clear and elegant as the bright moon in the mountains.

"Maybe he's following the Sixth Miss."

Xue Sui looked calm: "I never leave a tail behind me, unless I want to."

Seeing her so confident and calm, Li Zhao couldn't help but smile.

"Miss Xue Liu, please be at ease. He can't escape from this forest, and no one will spread the news. We met in secret and tarnished your innocence."

Xue Sui didn't say anything, his eyes dropped to his sleeves.

"Your Highness is injured."

There was a trace of bright red blood on the sleeve.

Li Zhao lowered his head to glance at the cuffs embroidered with a soaring dragon, then casually folded them up to block her view.

"It's just a scratch, nothing serious."

It was just his fault that he was in a hurry to block the arrow.

In fact, he didn't have to do that.

Because Xue Sui's reaction was fast enough and not inferior to his.

But at that moment, he subconsciously reached out his hand, for no reason.

"Guan Ya."

Li Zhao suddenly spoke.

The voice was so cold that it sent chills down one's spine, and it was completely different from the tone used when he called her "Miss Xue Liu" just now.

"Leave no one alive!"

When the arrow was shot just now, the secret guards in the woods had already caught up.

Since Li Zhao dared to talk with Xue Sui here, there were naturally more than just the guards led by Guan Ya around him.

But they didn't expect that the other party was so bold and cautious, and had hidden himself in the lush tree canopy early on, concealing himself very well.

Xue Sui stood quietly by the side, watching him order the guards to arrest people, without the slightest sign of panic.

"Your Highness, please be more careful when you go out in the future."

Li Zhao said: "Protect yourself..."

After saying that, he felt something was wrong and pointed at her with his slender fingers.

"Ms. Xue Liu's fate is to be alone."

If she dies, he will die.

Xue Sui himself said this was a kind of love Gu.

Xue Sui smiled slightly.

"Does your Highness know who did this?"

Li Zhao said: "There are many people who want to die alone, how do you know which one it is?"

His tone was light-hearted and smiling, but Xue Sui could sense a sense of helplessness and disappointment in his voice.

Everyone covets the position of crown prince, and the East Palace is like a sea of ​​fire and swords, full of dangers.

But that wasn't her concern.

Xue Sui then bowed slightly, said goodbye to Li Zhao, and asked Xiao Zhao to support Ruyi, who was pale with fear, and walked slowly back to the mountain path they had come from...

The world is filled with vibrant spring scenery, with bright red flowers blooming among the green leaves.

Her figure is getting farther and farther away...

Li Zhao stood there, with black hair and brocade clothes, letting the mountain breeze blow past him, like a lone wolf that had strayed into a bush of flowers.

Lai Fu stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, why didn't you keep the Sixth Miss..."

Li Zhao smiled: "What to leave behind?"

Lai Fu looked up at his cold face and said softly, "I have inquired about it. Her wedding date is set for April 12, Prince Duan's birthday."

Li Zhao said: "That day was not a good day."

Lai Fu looked at his cold face and cold words, and suddenly felt a little regretful and distressed in his heart.

Their master, from childhood to adulthood, is the most handsome and heroic among the five princes of the emperor. Even if His Majesty is partial, everyone around the prince flatters and respects him. If he really likes a girl, isn't that a blessing for the girl?

He is the current crown prince.

The Sixth Miss rejected him coldly one or two times. His Highness had a heart, but how could he say it out loud? He would not try to keep the girl anymore.

Of course, this was just Lai Fu's momentary feeling.

Li Zhao was actually quite calm and didn't have so many thoughts at all.

He was wondering why the love silk Gu was so powerful?
It can really bewitch people.

When he faced Xue Liu, he was no longer as calm as before.

This time when I return to the palace, I have to ask Zhang Huaicheng to find two strange people from southern Xinjiang to find out what is going on...

We must not let Xue Liu control us from now on.

In a moment, Guan Ya rushed back from the depths of the woods with blood still on his hands.

He walked up to Li Zhao and clasped his fists towards him.

"Your Highness, that man committed suicide out of fear of his crime!"

After a pause, he asked, "What should we do with the body?"

Li Zhao curled his lips slightly, "Weren't there two wild mandarin ducks having a secret meeting here just now? Then let the Duke of Zheng's Mansion and the Shangshu Mansion clean up this mess."

The second update is still during dinner, muah~