Chapter 251: Asura’s Realm
Everyone held their breath, their breathing light.
Li Zhao, in his brocade robe and jade belt, walked slowly. His eyes beneath the jade crown were like a cold pool reflecting snow, colder than ice in the depths of winter.
The sound of his boots crushing thin ice made people tense—
The Crown Prince had arrived, and even the ancient cypresses before the nunnery seemed to shrink by three inches.
Abbess Huiming, with her palms pressed together and her head bowed, led the nuns to kneel and welcome him with incense.
“This nun did not know the Crown Prince Your Highness would visit this humble nunnery, and I have failed to welcome you properly. Forgive me, forgive me.”
The nuns bowed their heads in unison, performing the kowtow.
“We respectfully welcome the Crown Prince Your Highness.”
Li Zhao’s gaze, like a knife, slowly swept over Xue Sui.
The mountain wind, carrying snowflakes, whipped against her face, and her eyelashes seemed frosted.
Her monk’s robe swayed gently in the wind, the sash at her waist fluttering, making her appear like a celestial maiden from the Guanghan Palace fallen to the mortal world.
Li Zhao averted his gaze, his expression cold and indifferent. He walked up the steps with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he stopped before the mountain gate, looking at the plaque bearing the words “Shui Yue Nunnery.” After a moment of silence, he adjusted the ties of his cloak and stepped into the nunnery.
Abbess Huiming led the nuns in a kowtow and gestured to a young nun to clear the incense table.
Li Zhao, however, raised his hand to stop her. He went directly to the incense burner, washed his hands, took some incense, and respectfully bowed before the Buddha statue before placing the incense. He then stepped back half a pace, his hands behind his back.
“I have long heard of your profound meditative practice, Master. I have come today to offer incense and oil, a small token of my respect.”
Seeing his proper demeanor, Abbess Huiming felt a little relieved and said with her palms together, “Amitabha, the Crown Prince Your Highness is benevolent and kind, and will surely be blessed by Buddha…”
“You are too kind, Master.” Li Zhao suddenly turned, his gaze locking onto Xue Sui once more. “However, besides worshipping Buddha, I have another matter—”
The candlelight in the Buddhist hall flickered as if moved by the wind.
He paused, his tone as slow as a dull knife in the dead of winter.
“I have a personal acquaintance with Sixth Miss Xue, and I wish to speak with her privately. I hope you will grant me this convenience, Master.”
Upon hearing this, Abbess Huiming’s hand, holding prayer beads, tightened abruptly, nearly causing her to lose her composure.
The nuns in the nunnery were also greatly shocked. They all lowered their heads and fell silent.
Xue Sui had not expected Li Zhao to come to Shui Yue Nunnery in broad daylight, acting so madly.
It was simply audacious and lawless!
“This nun’s dharma name is Liaochen, and I have severed all worldly ties.” Xue Sui bowed with her palms together, the gray cloth of her monk’s robe lifting slightly in the cold wind.
“If Your Highness has come to offer alms, please proceed to Songfeng Hall. This nun will serve you tea…”
“No need.” Li Zhao’s eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly walked closer, the sound of his boots exceptionally clear in the spacious Buddhist hall.
“When old acquaintances meet, it is natural to go to the monastic room to catch up.”
Before his words had even finished, he strode across the threshold and headed towards the monastic rooms in the back courtyard, as if he had been there countless times before…
The Crown Prince’s imposing presence stunned everyone present.
No one dared to take a deep breath.
And no one dared to speak a word for her…
Abbess Huiming sighed, bowed her head, and pressed her palms together, chanting sutras.
The world had always been this way. Even a pure and tranquil place outside the secular world was not a sanctuary beyond the law. Though the Master had transcended the mundane, she could not escape the constraints of imperial power.
As the Crown Prince, second only to the Emperor, who would dare to disobey?
Xue Sui could only endure and follow. She stopped at the moon gate of the monastic courtyard.
Their eyes met. She smiled faintly, “What does Your Highness wish to say?”
Li Zhao: “I traveled half a day. Am I not even allowed a cup of tea?”
His gaze bore down on her like a mountain, from head to toe.
Xue Sui was silent for a moment, then stepped aside, “Your Highness, please.”
She then nodded to Jinshu.
“Go and fetch my treasured Cloud Mist Tea, and brew it with the pine snow water collected this year.”
Jinshu responded.
Li Zhao entered the monastic room with his hands behind his back, his gaze dismissive.
Before long, the tea was served, and Jinshu stood respectfully to the side.
“All of you, leave!”
Li Zhao swept his wide sleeves across the corner of the table and ordered with a cold expression.
Jinshu did not move, and Xiao Zhao, clutching her broom, rushed forward.
Li Zhao said, “Guan Ya, please escort them out!”
Guan Ya responded in a deep voice. Xiao Zhao glared, about to make a move, when she heard Xue Sui cough lightly.
“You may go.”
Li Zhao said coldly, “Close the door.”
Xue Sui’s expression changed slightly, but she remained silent.
The monastic room door creaked shut slowly, like a heavy hammer striking the heart.
Xue Sui took half a step back, her back to the door.
“Your Highness, you can speak now?”
Li Zhao took off his cloak and casually draped it over the monastic chair. His black leather boots stepped onto the footrest of the monastic bed, and he sat down with perfect composure. The sharp angles of his face were illuminated by the firelight in the brazier, making him appear even more handsome.
“Xue Ping’an, has your time in seclusion been long enough?”
“Your Highness, this monastic room is a pure Buddhist ground. It is not suitable for causing trouble…”
“In this world, is there any place I cannot go?”
He waved his sleeve and chuckled lightly, as if he were in his own home. He casually reached over the scripture desk and flipped through the scriptures she had been copying, a hint of mockery on his lips.
As Xue Sui retreated, she bumped into a wooden fish, which made a dull thud against the incense table.
Li Zhao looked up. “Why are you hiding so far away? Do you think I’ll eat you?”
Xue Sui avoided his gaze, lowered her eyes, and pressed her palms together. “This nun is a monastic and must abide by the precepts.”
“A monastic?” Li Zhao chuckled, gracefully waving his sleeve. “I see your worldly desires are not yet extinguished. Why not return to secular life?”
“Your Highness is the Crown Prince. Why must you make things difficult for this nun?”
Li Zhao heard her repeatedly call herself “this nun,” as if she were a Buddha with six roots of perception, and he laughed out loud in anger.
“Come here.”
Xue Sui frowned tightly, not moving an inch.
“Xue Ping’an, I told you to come here.” Li Zhao put down the scripture, his eyes turning sinister. He locked onto her like a solitary eagle circling for prey, his voice cold and hard.
“If you don’t want to implicate the nuns in this nunnery, you’d best obey me.”
Xue Sui sighed inwardly, sat down opposite him with a grim expression.
“Now you can say…”
Before she could finish, Li Zhao suddenly extended his long arm, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her forcefully into his embrace.
“Xue Ping’an, you have quite the nerve…”
His scorching breath brushed against her newly grown hair, causing a tingling, unbearable itch.
Xue Sui’s breathing quickened. The long-dormant threads of affection ignited like a prairie fire, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
“If Your Highness continues to act recklessly, this nun will have to call for help.”
“Call for help? Look around this nunnery. Who would dare interfere in my business?”
Li Zhao looked at her tense jawline and trembling eyelashes. He suddenly chuckled and took out a string of prayer beads from his sleeve.
“You dropped this at the Lantern Festival market. I picked it up for you.”
Xue Sui looked at the string of prayer beads, her expression complex. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
She reached out to take them, but Li Zhao gently dodged. As she leaned in, he wrapped his long arm around her neck and pulled her down onto his lap. With his other hand, he pressed on her struggling back, then pushed her down onto the monastic couch.
“Your Highness, this is a nunnery!”
“Isn’t that better?” Li Zhao’s fingertips lightly lifted the sash of her monk’s robe, his palm burning hot against her lower back, like a hot coal, precisely branding the old scar on her waist.
“With these prayer beads, shall we count your sins…”
“Li Zhao!” Xue Sui called his name, her breath unsteady, which was rare.
Li Zhao did not get angry. Instead, he chuckled softly.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve heard that name? In all the world, only you, Xue Ping’an, call me by my name.”
Xue Sui pushed him away, sat up, and tugged at her flowing gray monk’s robe.
“Your Highness is the Crown Prince. Why must you come to this place of quiet cultivation to amuse yourself at this nun’s expense and break the rules of propriety and order?”
Li Zhao approached her, his fingertips tracing her smooth scalp, then pinching her earlobe fiercely. He spoke through gritted teeth.
“Quiet cultivation? Xue Ping’an, you shaved your head, and truly washed your hands and forgot your hatred? That Xizi curved saber from the Lantern Festival, was that the evidence of corruption in the Changping Granary that you personally handed to me?”
She looked up, meeting his burning gaze, her heart suddenly accelerating.
“Your Highness originally intended to lure the snake out of its hole. I merely handed you a knife…”
Li Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the scripture desk.
“Xue Ping’an, oh no, Master Liaochen. Your hand still reaches out so far… Investigating corruption in military grain storage, cutting off Duke of Zheng’s wings, and now you flee to Buddha’s side to feign innocence? Hmm?”
“Your Highness has your own plans in mind, why ask me?” She paused and said softly, “Your Highness and I are ultimately not on the same path. We can travel together for a while, but we cannot reach the end together…”
“Oh?” Li Zhao sneered. “Not on the same path? Then I will tear down that path! You flee to Buddha, and I will tear down the nunnery; you hide in the underworld, and I will chase you into hell—wherever you flee, my path will be built. What can you do to me?”
He seemed to be acting out of desperation, suddenly lowering his head to bite her lips, his teeth grinding against the trembling corners of her mouth, prying open her teeth like taming a wild horse…
Inside the monastic room, the brazier burned brightly.
The heat from the coals could be felt even through their clothes.
His tongue coiled around her gasp until she could no longer breathe before he released her. His palm, through the monk’s robe, cupped her lower back, his thumb tracing the raised texture of the scar, as if confirming his exclusive trophy. He raised his eyes to look at her, a malicious grin on his lips.
“When I kiss you, I can taste… it’s the same path.”
Xue Sui met the deep meaning in his eyes and stiffly turned her face away, breathing rapidly.
“Your Highness, doing this, are you worthy of Third Miss Guo? To betray true feelings is to go to hell…”
Li Zhao let out a scoff and rubbed her lips with his thumb.
“Do you hate me?”
“Does Your Highness ever care?”
“I don’t care. If Buddha truly has a spirit, I will take you here and drag you to hell with me, how about that…”
Xue Sui suddenly bit his tiger’s mouth until the taste of blood exploded between her lips and teeth. She then fell onto the cushion, smelling the ambergris on him, clenched her fists, and took a deep breath.
“I will count to three. If Your Highness continues to be disrespectful, do not blame me for showing no mercy…”
Li Zhao raised his eyebrows, his fingers pulling at the sash of her monk’s robe, and lowered his head, his breath branding her collarbone…
“One!”
Li Zhao held her hands and pressed them onto the scripture desk, lowering his head and smiling faintly.
“Two!”
She gritted her teeth and raised her leg to kick him. Li Zhao not only did not let go but instead tightened his grip around her waist and pressed down, his knee pushing open hers, like a beast poised to strike…
Xue Sui’s body stiffened, feeling the resonance of their heartbeats. The threads of affection churned like boiling soup, her chest burning astonishingly hot. The sounds squeezed from her throat were also trembling and broken.
“Three…”
Before her voice had fallen, hurried footsteps were heard from outside.
“Reporting to the Crown Prince Your Highness, Prince Duan and Princess Consort Duan request an audience, stating they wish to visit Sixth Miss Xue.”
Xue Sui’s wrist tightened, her fingertips gripping the edge of the scripture desk…
Her eyes met Li Zhao’s, signaling him to let go.
To her surprise, Li Zhao chuckled softly, completely unconcerned.
“Sixth Miss Xue? Since when did this nunnery have such a person?”
“Make them wait! I am busy.”
Xue Sui was stunned…
Looking at the surging undercurrents in Li Zhao’s eyes, she suddenly understood. This was his long-planned revenge. When she was at Prince Duan’s Mansion, Li Huan often created a facade of marital bliss to deliberately provoke him.
At that time, Li Huan was in the right.
Even as the Crown Prince, Li Zhao had to endure and yield.
He remembered all those years of swallowing his pride.
He wanted everyone to know the consequences of offending him.
He even wanted to declare his power and possession in front of Prince Duan, taking fierce revenge…
“What? Afraid I’ll embarrass him?” Li Zhao’s fingertip lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
Xue Sui’s face turned cold, her back straightening rigidly. “Why must Your Highness push me so hard—”
“Push you?” Li Zhao suddenly chuckled, his fingertip tracing her fair white nape. “Before, you were Prince Duan’s Consort, and he could openly take you. Now, you are Master Liaochen, a young nun, and even Buddha cannot stop me if I want you. Xue Ping’an, remember this—”
He leaned in, the ambergris mixed with his hot breath spraying into her ear.
“In this world, if I want you, you are mine.”
Everything below the Golden Palace was a puppet.
The power that came with authority was unparalleled. What people said, public opinion, were all worthless…
The Crown Prince was the heir apparent, while Prince Duan was a subject.
As long as he remained the Crown Prince, he could crush Prince Duan’s dignity.
That was the ironclad law of power.
Li Zhao lightly kissed the corners of her tightly pursed lips, his eyes revealing a wild fire without concealment…
Xue Sui felt her blood surge upwards, her fingernails digging into his shoulder.
“Li Zhao! This is too much!”
Li Zhao chuckled and bit her earlobe, his breath hot, their gazes entangled.
“Xue Ping’an, I know you hate me. Then hate me a little more. Hate me until you can only remember my bad deeds.”
Outside the monastic room, snowflakes fell silently…
The crisp sound of boots crushing accumulated snow, from afar to near, broke the ripples in the monastic room.
Immediately after, Li Huan’s voice was heard, forcing a calm tone as he bowed, “This subject requests an audience with the Crown Prince Your Highness!”
Xue Sui: That scoundrel Li is crazy.
Li Zhao: You only just realized? It’s too late—
