Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 10: Revenge

Xue Sui unfolded the plain paper and read slowly.

The name above is a person who has been dormant in Xue Mansion for a long time. There are guards, maids, and cooks. Many of them are ordinary outsiders who have received relief from Jiuling Swamp and provided information to Jiuling Swamp, but they do not know the secrets of Jiuling Swamp, and they do not necessarily know each other's identities.

But Aunt Jinshu is the inner sect steward of Tianshu Sect, which is in charge of intelligence, so she knows everything.

"Madam, we have people around the first, second, and third masters... We are also trying our best to arrange for the courtyards of the masters and ladies..."

Xue Sui served as an imperial envoy for three years.

She sent spies into Xue's mansion.

But she was not the one who arranged Jinshu.

After handing over the imperial edict, she had no intention of using them.

Xue Sui glanced at her and lit the paper in the incense burner. "What else did Senior Brother Tianshu do?"

"Prince Duan's Mansion." Jinshu said, "The master has given orders. Whether it is the kitchen, the stables, or the accounting office, as long as there is a way, we should find a way to arrange for our people to go in and take care of the young lady..."

Jinshu looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he lowered his voice a bit.

"If you ask me, there's no need to go through all this trouble, young lady. If you want to kill a few people without anyone noticing, Jiuling Swamp has plenty of ways to do it..."

Another one who likes fighting and killing.

It turned out that he was from the inner sect of the Old Mausoleum Swamp.

Xue Sui smiled slightly, staring at the paper ashes flying up from the stove, a layer of haze in his eyes.

"Aunt, do you know that death is not the most difficult thing to endure? A life worse than death is the ultimate suffering. What you care about, you lose one by one; what you cherish, all becomes a bubble; what you are attached to, all turns to ashes; what you hope for, ends up in despair."

He laughed again: "Watching the rich families collapse, watching the mansions fall, watching their wives and children being torn apart, their families being torn apart...isn't it more interesting?"

Aunt Jinshu saw that she looked serious and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I understand why the young lady wants to go to Prince Duan's mansion."

If they don't want their enemies to die peacefully, they will take away everything they have and make them suffer. This is easy for ordinary people, but too difficult for those people. Because they can command the support of hundreds of people, and they almost own the world and do whatever they want.

Even if they die, they will be given a grand funeral, honored, and even recorded in history books...

"They are noble people in life and noble people in death."

Xue Sui shook his head, "Aunt, that's not what I want."

Jinshu said: "When I came here, I was worried that the girl was too young. If she wanted to survive in the palace, she would have to learn some tricks. Now it seems that there is no need to teach her."

Xue Sui smiled and said, "Aunt, please make arrangements for me. I want to see Senior Brother Tianshu."

The forces of Jiuling Swamp are divided according to the Seven Gates of the Big Dipper.

Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang and Yaoguang each take charge of their own affairs and have their own division of labor in an extremely rigorous manner.

The seven sect leaders were all Xue Sui's senior brothers and sisters. The one who knew Xue Sui best was the eldest senior brother Tianshu, who was in charge of intelligence, and the one who treated her best was also Tianshu...

But this time, her opponent was too strong.

The Old Mausoleum Swamp should not be implicated...
-
Qinglan Courtyard.

The maids and servants all lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.

"Sixth Miss is too bullying."

"Madam, you have to make the decision for this old slave."

"I have served the Madam for so many years and have been treated well by her. Who in this mansion dares not to give her some respect..."

Nanny Liu had been crying for half a quarter of an hour, and Fu listened indifferently all the time. When she spoke louder, she even told Xiu Gu to close the door to prevent her voice from being heard out.

"Why do you want to provoke her? Aunt Fang said she is crazy."

“Madam!” Madam Liu was extremely shocked. Her swollen face was particularly interesting. “I can’t bear to see her being so disobedient. She doesn’t even take Madam seriously…”

"Alas!" Fu sighed, "The master and the old lady have said that we should serve you well and not ruin the reputation of the mansion."

Nanny Liu looked at the Madam in confusion.

Last night she was gritting her teeth, wishing to skin Xue Liu alive, but today she has become a virtuous and loving stepmother?
"If this little rascal is not properly disciplined, he might just ride on the head of the Madam..."

"Hmph!" Fu gave her a glare, "Just bear with it. Your reputation as an official is important. If she does something wrong, wouldn't it embarrass you?"

Madam Liu still didn't understand the connection. "How can a concubine's daughter affect the reputation of the master?"

The room was full of Fu's cronies, and Nanny Liu was the wet nurse who had watched her grow up. If she didn't give an explanation and just let Xue Liu bully her, no one would accept it.

Fu thought about it and had to explain, "My brother sent me a message this morning, asking me to be more restrained. Recently, the one in the East Palace has been going crazy from time to time. At a time when Prince Duan is rectifying the reforms, he seized the handle and tried to accuse me to death. The master is helpless..."

The eldest lady's anger has subsided.

At first, she thought Xue Qingzhi was standing up for Xue Ji and her daughter, but now she realized that he was afraid of the East Palace...

"Who is the Crown Prince? Everyone in the capital knows him. If you run into his blade, you will be skinned alive if you don't die."

Madam Liu touched her face in embarrassment and hissed in pain, "What the Madam said is true... But we can't let her do whatever she wants."

Fu put down the hand warmer and smiled faintly: "Why do we need to go out in person to deal with a little demon? There will be sensible people who will rush to make contributions."

Nanny Liu gritted her teeth secretly, knowing that the beating was in vain.

Everyone in the room sighed, saying that the eldest sister had brought back a disaster. As they were talking, a maid came in to report outside the curtain.

"Madam, Princess Duan is back, and her carriage is outside the gate..."
-
Prince Duan has been married for many years without a child, which makes Concubine Xiao in the palace very anxious.

The current emperor has five adult princes. Except for the crown prince who just came of age last year and is still unmarried, the rest are all married.

His Majesty attaches great importance to offspring, believing that more children bring more blessings. Producing offspring is the foundation for stabilizing the country and is related to the fate of the family and the country.

Prince Duan was the most favored prince, but after he set up his own palace, he had one principal wife, two concubines, but only one girl, not even a male one.

Without a son of his own, he was inevitably at a disadvantage among the princes.

Concubine Xiao had long wanted to pick a few beautiful palace maids from the palace and send them over to her son so that he could expand his harem and have children. However, Prince Duan always blocked her idea with the excuse that "matters of offspring should be left to fate."

This time, the daughter-in-law thought about it first. When she went to the palace to pay her respects, she mentioned her own sister...

Concubine Xiao agreed without hesitation and immediately discussed the date for taking a concubine.

It was originally a happy event, but for some reason, the news in the palace spread out on the same day.

Several prominent families in the capital quietly handed their daughters' birth certificates and portraits to Concubine Xiao.

The prince is naughty and unruly, and is hated by the emperor. The queen has the support of the Xie family but is weak by nature. If it were not for the ancestral laws, the East Palace would have changed its owner long ago.

But aren’t the rules set by our ancestors meant to be broken?
Privately, a group of court officials who were attached to Prince Duan believed that he would be the master of the world, it was only a matter of time.

If the daughter gave birth to the eldest son for Prince Duan, she would be a great hero.

Concubine Xiao naturally understood what these people were thinking. If she wanted to compete with the Queen and the Crown Prince, it was not enough for Prince Duan to just have a reputation for virtue.

She also has to rely on strength in numbers.

Without carefully examining the portraits of the women, Concubine Xiao had Princess Duan called over, gave her some instructions on “putting the overall situation first”, and then gave her instructions.

"Take them all, and bring them all to the mansion on Huan'er's birthday."

Xue Yuechen was very angry.

Bringing Xue Liu to my side was a last resort to ward off disasters and misfortunes.

Unexpectedly, after she opened this loophole, those people took the opportunity to force her daughter into the house.

Xue Yuechen was holding back his anger and used the excuse of going home to visit his elders as he led his servants and maids back to the Shangshu Mansion in a grand procession.

When the eldest lady heard the news, she went out to greet him without even having time to change her clothes.

The mother and daughter met and exchanged pleasantries, then went together to the old lady's Shou'an Temple to pay their respects.

Old Mrs. Cui hadn't seen her eldest granddaughter for a long time. She held her in her arms and asked about her well-being. After a few words, the hard shell on Xue Yuechen's body broke. She wiped her tears and cried to the old lady and the first lady.

"Two concubines are already annoying enough. This time there are five more. One of them is the youngest daughter of the Minister of Personnel. The Imperial Concubine said that she will be a concubine when she enters the palace..."

In the palace, except for the principal wife, the concubines, illegitimate concubines, maids, and maids are all concubines, not the mistress.

Fu said, "You are the legitimate wife. What are you afraid of?"

Xue Yue shed tears silently, "So what if she is the legitimate concubine? She still has to watch helplessly as new people keep coming into the harem."

Princess Duan is beautiful and intelligent, and has a good reputation for virtue, but is there any woman in the world who would be willing to push her husband into the bed of another woman?
Fu was silent, and the atmosphere in the room became a little solemn.

Old Mrs. Cui peeled the orange herself and handed it to her.

"My dear grandson, calm down."

Fu could only advise her, "The prince is a man who does great things and is not bound by the harem. You should also look at the long term."

Xue Yuechen knew what her mother meant.

If Prince Duan succeeds to the throne and becomes the emperor in the future, will she be able to handle the anger of the three palaces, six courtyards and seventy-two concubines? Moreover, Li Huan is not a man who indulges in beauty. Yesterday, Concubine Yuan came to pay her respects and complained to her that she hadn't seen the prince for a long time.

Old Mrs. Cui and Mrs. Fu took turns to comfort her.

But Xue Yuechen felt like he had eaten a fly and couldn't spit it out.

She asked Fu: "Where is the sixth sister?"

Xue Yuechen has been feeling uneasy ever since he decided to find Xue Liu.

"I haven't seen you for ten years. I wonder what your sixth sister looks like now? Is she worthy of your Highness's approval?"

Fu had a sullen face and said nothing.

Old Mrs. Cui, however, smiled and gestured to the maid.

"Go and inform the girls in each room that Princess Duan has returned home to visit her parents, and ask them to come and pay their respects. The brothers are all studying, so don't disturb them. Come back after school."

The girl smiled and replied, "Yes, old lady."

　Second update. My dears, please leave more comments and interact with me. I need your encouragement.

　　Xiao Zhao: Are you going to kill them? Are there no orders today?

　　Xue Sui: Conquer people with virtue. We must conquer people with virtue.

　　The beaten Madam Liu: I don’t believe you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)