Chapter 235: A Beautiful Woman
“Your Highness, please show me the way.”
Gu Jie let out a suppressed whimper, like a cornered beast.
“As long as Prince Wei can pay the price, this subject is willing to do anything for Your Highness the Princess.”
Ping Le, barefoot, stepped onto the carpet and approached him, her body enveloped in a warm fragrance. She leaned down and lifted Gu Jie’s chin.
“Lord Gu, this pathetic appearance of yours is much more pleasing than your usual aloofness.”
The hibiscus curtains were warm, and agarwood curled from the incense burner.
Her fingertips traced his tensed Adam’s apple, as carelessly as a cat playing with a mouse. The strange scent that suddenly filled his nostrils made Gu Jie’s pupils contract sharply…
“Your Highness…”
Before he could finish speaking, Ping Le pulled him up.
The gauze curtain swayed, and the gilded curtain hooks struck the carved frame, making a faint clinking sound.
Gu Jie watched as Ping Le slowly removed her nightgown, revealing her collarbones, which glowed white in the warm fragrance…
“Didn’t you want to pledge your loyalty?”
She bit open his collar, her hair brushing against his neck, bringing a chill that was as cold as a viper’s tongue.
“This Palace will give you this chance, but you must satisfy me…”
A sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, and raindrops pelted the glazed tiles, sounding like a hundred ghosts knocking on the door.
Gu Jie’s body trembled violently. He stared at the incense ball slowly rotating on the canopy, a bitter taste rising in his throat.
“Your Highness, don’t rush…”
He clasped Ping Le’s wrist, his voice like a trapped beast banging against its cage.
“I have a plan…”
“Shh, we’ll talk about it later.” Ping Le pressed her fingertip to his lips, smiling faintly. “Let this Palace first verify whether your loyalty is true or false.”
“Your Highness…” Gu Jie’s breathing suddenly became heavy. In a daze, he felt Ping Le’s sharp fingernails dig into his shoulder blades.
Pain and pleasure washed over his consciousness like a tide.
Inside the tent, red waves surged, brocade quilts tangled, and a dangerous and alluring scent filled the air…
Gu Jie tensed his body slightly, then suddenly cupped Ping Le’s neck and breathed into her ear.
“Does Your Highness know that Xue Liu is gravely ill in prison and may not last much longer?”
Ping Le raised an eyebrow and pushed Gu Jie back, sneering.
“It would be cleaner if she died, saving this Palace the trouble. What, Lord Gu, are you feeling sorry for her?”
“Xue Liu deserves to die, but Your Highness wouldn’t want her to die so cleanly, would you?” Gu Jie’s palm slowly tightened around her waist, his hot fingertips rubbing over a patch of delicate skin.
“The Crown Prince and Prince Duan are both watching Xue Liu. If she dies in prison, Your Highness will be suspected of murder to silence her. Now, the Lu family and the Lu family have joined forces with the Censorate… relentlessly pursuing Your Highness. At that time, not only will you face impeachment from the court officials, but even His Majesty might become suspicious of you…”
These words struck Ping Le’s sore spot.
Ever since her Imperial Mother’s sudden death, and Imperial Father’s infatuation with Tuya, that seductive woman, his attitude towards her had become inexplicably distant…
If she didn’t clear herself quickly, her position in Imperial Father’s heart would be precarious.
Ping Le’s eyes flickered slightly, and she twisted Gu Jie’s hair with her fingertips, pulling gently.
“Speak, Lord Gu, what is your excellent plan?”
Gu Jie took a deep breath. “That day, Xue Yueying accidentally let slip that she had seen Li Zhao and Xue Liu meeting secretly at night in the Xue Mansion’s Li Xiang Courtyard…”
“Is that true?” Ping Le sat up abruptly, her cheeks flushing red with anger.
“What a two-faced Xue Si, to hide such a major matter and not report it!”
“Her surname is Xue, and in her bones, she has the ambition of the Xue family.”
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Gu Jie’s forehead. He took a breath before continuing, “This subordinate has dealt with the Xizi people before. To my knowledge, the blueprints for their Divine Arm Camp crossbows most likely originated from the Old Mausoleum Swamp.”
“Speak directly, don’t play coy!” Ping Le snapped impatiently.
Gu Jie lowered his voice. “The Crown Prince and Xue Liu are colluding. It was through the Old Mausoleum Swamp that the Crown Prince was able to intercept the Xizi Merchant Caravan’s gunpowder at the Yongding River and rescue Princess Wen Jia’s daughter…”
He paused, then leaned closer, a sinister smile in his tone.
“Princess, the two of them have been in cahoots for a long time – as long as we can prove the blueprints came from Xue Liu, not only can we solidify Xue Liu’s guilt, but we can also bring down the Crown Prince and allow the Princess to escape her current predicament. It’s a win-win-win!”
Ping Le’s fingertips stroked his nape, her eyes sharp.
“You want me to forge evidence of Xue Liu colluding with the enemy?”
“Not at all.” Gu Jie quickly explained, “If the Xizi people have it, even better. If not, they will forge it themselves… At that time, as long as the Princess sets a trap and catches them red-handed – with irrefutable evidence, even the Crown Prince will have no defense…”
Ping Le narrowed her eyes slightly. “Why would the Xizi people be willing to take orders from this Palace?”
Gu Jie’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he snorted coldly. “The Xizi are in internal strife now, with Ashina and Amun Rah fighting for power and purging their opponents. Those Xizi Death Warriors who have fled to Daliang cannot return home and are wanted by the Daliang court. They are struggling to survive. They need money, a lot of money…”
Hmph!
A scornful smile curved Ping Le’s lips.
“This Palace has no shortage of money.”
Seeing this, Gu Jie struck while the iron was hot. “As long as Your Highness the Princess offers a generous reward and promises them a place to stay, they will obey like dogs.”
Ping Le’s eyes turned cold as she looked Gu Jie up and down.
His eyes were bloodshot, showing the struggle and madness of a trapped beast.
He had been pointed at and humiliated in the Imperial Court, his relationship with Xue Yueying had reached a breaking point, and their marital affection was gone. The current Gu Wulang was at his wit’s end, and the despair in his eyes was so clear…
Such a person had no choice; he could only rely on himself to have a chance to turn things around…
Ping Le smiled, stretching lazily, her fingertips idly tracing his cheek.
“Tell me in detail, how exactly should this be done?”
Gu Jie’s breathing tightened. He flipped over and pressed Ping Le onto the brocade couch, leaning close to her ear, his voice very soft but with an undeniable fierceness.
“The ancients said, ‘To take, one must first give.’ This time, I’m afraid Your Highness the Princess will have to appear in person to gain the trust of the Xizi people…”
In the Princess’s Mansion, a soft red mandarin duck curtain.
Inside the Ministry of Justice prison, it was dark and damp, with a pungent smell of mold.
Xue Sui leaned against the damp stone wall, coughing incessantly.
“Consort Xue, someone is here to see you.” The jailer roughly pushed open the cell door.
Hearing the sound, Xue Sui managed to prop herself up and looked sideways.
“Third Miss Guo, why are you here?”
Guo Yunrong stood at the cell door with a food box. A speck of grass clung to her lotus-root pink skirt, and the wide sleeves with embroidered edges were also smudged, yet she looked beautiful, like a trembling magnolia on a branch in early spring, completely out of place in the prison environment.
“Consort Xue, are you feeling any better?”
Her eyes were slightly red, filled with worry.
As she spoke, she stepped over the threshold, carrying the food box, and crouched down, looking at Xue Sui’s chapped lips, a pang of sadness in her heart.
“Consort is so ill, has no one called a doctor to examine you?”
Xue Sui gently curved her lips and smiled weakly.
“Thank you for your concern, Miss Guo. A doctor has seen me; it’s just my body that’s not cooperating and hasn’t recovered…”
Guo Yunrong pursed her lips, carefully took out a pottery jar of simmering ginseng soup from the food box, poured a bowl, and held it out to Xue Sui with both hands.
“This is a prescription my mother found in Jiangnan. She said it can dispel cold poison, strengthen muscles and bones, and is best for nourishing a weakened body…”
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly choked up—
The woman sitting on the straw had a sallow complexion, her eye sockets sunken as if they could hold a pool of stagnant water. Her protruding shoulder blades beneath the prison clothes seemed almost to pierce the fabric, and she was so thin…
How could a bowl of ginseng soup make up for the hardship of this prison?
“Sister Xue, is there truly no way to clear your name?”
Xue Sui propped herself up to sit properly. The iron chain on her wrist made a crisp sound, making her voice particularly hoarse.
“Why must Third Miss Guo wade into this muddy water?”
After she spoke, she glanced at the twin lotuses pattern on the food box and suddenly chuckled.
“At this time, you should be at home, diligently embroidering a festive and luxurious wedding dress, preparing for your lifelong event…”
Guo Yunrong’s cheeks flushed upon hearing this, and she hastily covered the hint of bitterness with a handkerchief.
“There haven’t been the three letters and six rites yet, why the rush…”
“Soon.” Xue Sui coughed twice and smiled, “Being in prison, I must congratulate Third Miss Guo in advance for achieving her wish and finding a good match.”
Guo Yunrong’s eyelashes fluttered. She shyly and emotionally pursed her lips, then suddenly grabbed Xue Sui’s cold hand, her apricot eyes welling up with tears.
“If Consort hadn’t bravely helped me at my coming-of-age ceremony that day, and I had been schemed against and become a laughingstock, I would have become a discarded piece for a family alliance. How could I have had this opportunity…”
She added sincerely, “Consort helped me. I can’t just stand by and watch you be wronged… However, I’ve begged my father and mother, and they both said this case involves too many people, and no one dares to easily get involved…”
Xue Sui gave a bitter smile. “Third Miss’s kindness is appreciated. It’s just that once one enters prison, it’s hard to prove one’s innocence, and one cannot force it…”
“You wait for me…” Guo Yunrong bit her lip and shook her head. “Tomorrow I will beg Prince Duan. If that doesn’t work, I will beg the Crown Prince. As long as they are willing to lend a hand, they will surely be able to restore your innocence!”
Xue Sui looked at the flickering flame in the girl’s eyes and couldn’t help but think of the red smartweed blooming on the wasteland of the Old Mausoleum Swamp.
Sincere, passionate, and unbearable to disappoint.
Unfortunately, it was destined to be disappointed in the end…
This was not an ordinary case; the complex entanglement of interests involved was far beyond her simple nature to comprehend.
Xue Sui silently drank the soup, forcing herself to cope. Only after Guo Yunrong left with a worried expression did she lean against the wall and ask Xiao Zhao in a cold voice.
“What day is it?”
Xiao Zhao looked at the messy crisscrossing scratches on the stone wall and leaned closer with a solemn gaze.
“Miss, it has been eight days since this maidservant was imprisoned…”
Xue Sui’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she coughed twice.
“It’s time…”
