Chapter 229: Hidden Flames
Li Yan stumbled back in fright, kicking over a pottery jar in the corner in his panic.
“Your Highness, mind your step,” Xue Sui leaned against the stone wall and reminded him slowly, “The lamp oil the jailer spilled the day before yesterday hasn’t dried yet.”
Her words were like a splash of cold water.
Most of Li Yan’s drunkenness instantly dissipated.
“You wretch, how dare you threaten this Prince?”
“Still so stubborn?” Xiao Zhao pushed her arm forward.
The sharpened bamboo thorn sliced through the air, grazing Li Yan’s ear and drawing a bloody gash on his cheek.
“Ah!” As soon as the shrill scream escaped his lips.
Xiao Zhao lunged forward, covering his mouth forcefully.
The bamboo thorn in her hand was then pressed against his vulnerable carotid artery.
“Make another sound, and I’ll take your life!”
Li Yan’s eyes widened in fury, and he immediately fell silent.
Xue Sui raised her hand to stop Xiao Zhao, smiling faintly, “Be more polite to Your Highness. Another inch forward, and this bamboo thorn will pierce your windpipe, leaving you paralyzed at best, or…”
She lightly lifted her fingertip above her knee, “Dead.”
“Xue Shi, how dare you!” Li Yan roared weakly, struggling to twist his body.
Unexpectedly, the sole of his boot hit something wet and slippery, like stepping on ice.
He slid forward uncontrollably, crashing hard into the wall. Stars exploded before his eyes, and a wave of dizziness washed over him, as if his bones were about to shatter…
“Why is Your Highness so careless?”
Xue Sui tidied her prison clothes and slowly stood up from the pile of straw, her movements unhurried. Her eyes fixed on Li Yan with an unfathomable expression.
“Could it be that Princess Ping Le’s wine was too strong, making you unable to even walk steadily?”
Li Yan’s pupils contracted sharply.
Looking at the woman’s cold smile, he felt as if he were seeing a soul-snatching demoness.
“You, you knew I would come?”
“Your Highness jokes. I couldn’t possibly know for sure…” Xue Sui’s shackles clinked as she walked forward, staring at him and smiling.
“It’s just that I know Prince Wei is always easily swayed, and after a few drinks, he loses all sense of proportion and is easily manipulated…”
“Who dares to manipulate this Prince?!”
“Whoever instigated Your Highness to come to the Ministry of Justice Prison is that person…”
Li Yan swallowed, gritting his teeth with a show of bravado.
“Don’t try to sow discord here…”
Xue Sui tilted her head slightly, smiling faintly, her eyes full of insight.
“Your Highness might as well think carefully, who has had the worst time in the Imperial Court recently? Duke Lu and Grand Tutor Lu, along with several other important officials, impeached Princess Ping Le, exposing all her unsavory dealings. She is in a desperate situation and needs a scapegoat… If something were to happen to me in prison, the blame would inevitably fall on Your Highness…”
She deliberately drew out her last word, pausing.
“Tell me, when that time comes, will His Majesty help Your Highness, or the Princess…”
Li Yan’s throat tightened, and cold sweat soaked his back.
He felt a pang of guilt, but he didn’t want to show it, still holding his head high.
“You think this Prince will believe your nonsense?”
“Whether it’s nonsense or not, Your Highness will soon find out!”
Xue Sui’s smile remained unchanged, the corners of her lips curling slightly. She suddenly began to count down.
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One…”
Before she finished speaking, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor.
The duty jailer quickly straightened his clothes and bowed.
“Greetings, Prince Duan!”
“May Your Highness be well!”
Li Yan’s face changed drastically. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Xue Sui suddenly let out a cold laugh and violently tear open the collar of her prison clothes…
The hideous old scar on her collarbone was clearly visible. She smiled and pressed the bamboo thorn against her own neck, her delicate body slowly slumping to the ground.
“Why must Your Highness press me so hard? This concubine would rather be a prisoner than suffer such humiliation…”
Li Yan’s eyes widened, his mind in utter chaos, unable to sort through his thoughts.
A cold shout, like thunder, exploded behind his ears.
“You scoundrel!”
Li Huan strode into the dungeon, his gaze like a knife.
“Guards, apprehend Prince Wei!”
Li Yan had been close to Li Huan in the past, and Li Huan had treated him with great affection and indulgence. He had never seen his elder brother’s expression so sharp and murderous.
For a moment, he was so frightened that his face turned a mixture of pale and green. In his panic, he suddenly pointed at Xue Sui and stammered:
“She, she seduced this Prince!”
“Oh? She seduced you all the way to the dungeon?”
Li Huan raised an eyebrow, his eyes chillingly cold.
“Shameless wretch! How dare you spew lies before this Prince?”
The air in the dungeon seemed to freeze.
Li Yan, terrified, suddenly turned to flee, but was blocked by guards with drawn swords at the entrance.
The glinting blades pressed against his chest.
It was as if any slight movement would result in him bleeding out on the spot.
“Tie him up!” Li Huan commanded coldly.
The well-trained guards swarmed forward.
Li Yan fell heavily to the ground, struggling but looking at Xue Sui in terror.
He saw Xue Sui slowly rise, leaning against the wall. In the shadow where Li Huan could not see, she met Li Yan’s terrified gaze and smiled faintly, her eyes as calm as water.
–
Ci An Hall.
The brazier in the warm pavilion burned red, and the scent of fruit mixed with tea fragrance wafted through the air.
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing reclined on a rosewood couch, her eyes half-closed, her prayer beads gently turning in her hands, her expression exceptionally relaxed.
The curtain swayed gently twice…
Suddenly, Palace Aide Cui entered in a hurry.
“Empress Dowager, an urgent report from the Ministry of Justice—”
Palace Aide Cui lowered her voice, her peripheral vision sweeping over the palace maids serving in the hall.
The Empress Dowager frowned slightly and gestured.
The palace maids curtsied and filed out.
Once the hall door was shut, Palace Aide Cui quickly approached the Empress Dowager and whispered with a pale face, “Reporting to Your Ladyship, Prince Wei broke into the Ministry of Justice dungeon last night and was apprehended by Prince Duan on the spot…”
She lowered her eyes again, cautiously glancing at the Empress Dowager’s expression.
“It is said he made advances towards Consort Xue, attempting to take liberties, which angered Prince Duan greatly…”
“Crack!” The prayer beads in Empress Dowager Cheng Qing’s hand suddenly broke, scattering bodhi seeds all over the floor.
Her face instantly darkened. Staring at the leaping sparks in the brazier, her chest heaved with anger.
“This useless thing! To dare to get drunk and commit violence before his mourning period is even over, does he think this Shangjing City is his Prince Wei’s Mansion’s backyard?”
Palace Aide Cui hastily knelt to pick up the prayer beads, only to hear the Empress Dowager suddenly ask coldly:
“How did Prince Duan deal with him?”
“Replying to Your Ladyship, Prince Duan, on the grounds of trespassing in a heavily guarded area, has temporarily detained Prince Wei in the Right Imperial Guard’s prison, stating he will request the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to punish him according to ancestral law.”
Noticing the Empress Dowager’s expression, Palace Aide Cui’s voice grew even softer.
“Prince Duan has always been upright and incorruptible, unable to tolerate the slightest fault. I fear he intends to use this opportunity to discipline him…”
The Empress Dowager looked up sharply, her eyes full of suspicion.
“Why would Prince Wei suddenly go to the Ministry of Justice Prison to cause trouble for Xue Shi?”
Palace Aide Cui dared not look up and stammered, “Replying to Your Ladyship, according to the servants of Prince Wei’s Mansion, last night, Prince Wei met Princess Ping Le at Zui Xian Ju. It is unknown what they discussed… Prince Wei suddenly went mad and led his men straight to the Ministry of Justice Prison…”
“Well done, Ping Le!”
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing suddenly slammed the table, making the teacups on it clatter.
“Simply audacious! To dare instigate Prince Wei to go to the dungeon to silence her, attempting murder by a borrowed knife. Hmph! Does she truly think I am dead?”
Palace Aide Cui buried her head even lower, not daring to breathe.
Empress Dowager Cheng Qing pondered for a moment, then slowly sat down, her fingertips tightly gripping the cushion by the couch. After a long pause, she spoke faintly.
“Go and summon His Majesty. Tell him that this Empress Dowager’s old illness has relapsed and she is suffering from unbearable chest pain…”
