Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 123 Painted Skin
In the midsummer of the thirteenth year of Chongzhao, the weather was extremely hot.

After the sun set in the west, the blue brick floor was still hot to the feet. It was almost night, and the heat in Tanqiu Courtyard had not subsided at all. Lingyu was so hot that he drooped his head and dozed off beside the feeding trough.

Ruyi knelt on the ground, holding the palm-leaf fan tightly in both hands, and kept fanning the ice basin, trying to bring a little coolness to Xue Sui, but in the end she couldn't resist the heat and sleepiness, and nodded her head again and again to the rhythm of Lingyu's sleepiness, just like a garlic pounding hammer...

Xue Sui sat quietly on the couch by the window, fingertips lightly touching a book, reading intently.

Outside the gauze cupboard, the cicadas chirped restlessly, which made her look even more calm and gentle as she held the book, like a quiet painting.

"Yinzi is here!"

"Sweet and icy grape drink!"

The beaded curtain rustled and Xiao Zhao rushed in holding a red tray, deliberately lengthening her voice.

"Purple grapes that have been soaked in well water for three times, mixed with crushed ice and mashed into a paste, and then mixed with two spoons of cliff honey - it can clear your heart and dispel summer heat, and invigorate your spleen and stimulate the production of body fluids. Don't miss it if you pass by, or you'll miss it!"

This voice instantly broke the tranquility of Tan Qiuyuan.

The iced drink was served in a glass cup with a thin layer of frost on the wall, which made people feel cool just by looking at it.

Xue Sui took a sip and the cool taste went down his throat.

She sighed contentedly and nodded with a smile.

"I made quite a bit, you can share it."

Ruyi was so hot that her clothes on the back were soaked. When she heard this, she was so greedy that her saliva was about to flow out.

"I'll serve it, I'll serve it..."

Xiao Zhao nudged her gently with his elbow.

"You have your own thing, don't push me. Oh, you little girl... girl, look at her! She will be punished by being exposed to the sun tomorrow!"

"If you want to sunbathe, you have to accompany me. I will go if you accompany me. Girl, punish me, punish me!"

The two of them were chatting back and forth, laughing.

The maids and old women in the yard also became lively.

Wang Po, a maid, held a bowl and chanted Buddhist scriptures, saying that the lady was the reincarnation of Guanyin.

Pei Lan, the newly promoted second-class maid, was shaking with fear when she took the cup.

She had worked in the palace for five years, and this was the first time she saw a master share such delicious iced drinks with servants...

The constant voices of thanks actually alleviated the heat a little.

Xue Sui turned a page of the book, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his eyes.

"Send some to the guards on duty outside, too."

The two guards were not from Tan Qiuyuan. They had separate arrangements for meals and shifts, which were all under the jurisdiction of the front yard and had nothing to do with Tan Qiuyuan.

The drink was brought to them, it was crystal clear, their stomachs, which had been hot and dry all day, seemed to want to stick out their tongues, and they could not help but swallow, full of emotion.

"Thank you ma'am for your concern!"

The drink contained chilled grape pulp and finely ground ice, and was sweet and refreshing. The two men squatted in the shadow of the tall banana trees and wolfed it down, eating so much that veins popped out on their necks.

When Jinshu hurried back, the two were still licking their lips with satisfaction.

"Aunt Jinshu, are you out shopping again?"

A guard saw the bulging bag in Jinshu's arms and stood up.

Jinshu glanced at him and smiled, "Our girl can't stand the summer heat, so she wants to eat some refreshing fruits, so I went to the market to buy some, thinking of making some drinks tomorrow..."

As she spoke, she took out two juicy pears from her bag, put one in each person's hand, and then stepped over the threshold with a smile on her face.

The two guards laughed so hard that their mouths almost reached their ears.

Although there is a supply of fresh fruits in the palace, most of them are given priority to the masters of each courtyard. It is usually difficult for those who are on duty to get a turn.

Summer duty is a tough job, and the two were full of complaints when they first arrived. Who would have thought that Mrs. Ping'an would be so easy-going?
Jinshu closed the door, the smile on his face disappeared immediately, and his expression became solemn.

"Girl." She walked to Xue Sui's side, squatted down, and lowered her voice.

"Lord Dalang sent a message that the Xizi caravan has exchanged customs documents in Longyou Road and will be able to arrive in Shangjing tomorrow."

Xizi and Daliang have had constant frictions in recent years, but they have not torn their faces apart, let alone formally declared war. Among the people, trade is quite frequent. Daliang regards itself as the superior country in Zhongzhou, and all directions come to pay tribute. It disdains to argue with ordinary people in Xizi, so it has always tacitly approved normal trade exchanges on the surface, but secretly controlled them.

Jinshu took out a secret letter from Tianshu from his arms.

The letter was top secret and Jinshu didn’t know what its contents were.

"It was given to the girl by the eldest son."

Xue Sui tore open the wax seal and unfolded the letter, which was written by Tianshu himself.

"Amon Rah, the high priest of the Xizi nation, is in the caravan. His daughter followed the envoys to the capital many years ago and was presented to the Emperor of Daliang together with Princess Wenjia's mother. Later, her life and death were unknown. During this visit to the capital, Amon Rah will definitely try to get close to Princess Wenjia. The news may not be true, so Ping An will make his own decision."

Jinshu looked at Xue Sui, seeing the flickering candlelight reflected in her smiling eyes, and continued, "Gu Jie stayed overnight at Zui Xiang Lou yesterday. This morning, he booked a dozen rooms at Tianshui Inn in the north of the city. I think it was prepared for the caravan."

Xue Sui listened quietly.

Gu Jie was a risky move for her.

Xue Sui was not sure whether he could lure him into the game.

She chuckled, a cold light flashing in her eyes.

"Send someone to keep a close eye on him." Jinshu responded and lowered his voice.

"There was also movement from Fan Bing. He left the back door of Hongfu Casino at 15:30 in the evening, rented a carriage with green curtains at a carriage shop, and headed straight for Princess Pingle's West Hill Villa..."

Xue Sui chuckled and gently put down the book in his hand.

"He is really anxious. He was so impatient when he got the news... He has even hired a carriage. Is he planning to do something big?"

such a pity!
The gift of fate has already been secretly marked with a price.

If he goes to get it this time, it might be his own life.

Jinshu smiled and said, "Young lady is really good at predicting things. Everything is in her calculations, not even a single detail is wrong..."

Xue Sui shook his head slightly, smiled and said: "It's all thanks to everyone. What can I accomplish alone?"

The "gambling buddy" arranged for Fan Bing in Hongfu Casino provided Fan Bing with a shortcut to enter Xishan Villa - the nephew of his aunt's uncle's father-in-law worked in Xishan Villa. This man had many connections, and although the villa was strictly guarded, as long as an acquaintance gave some money, he could easily sneak in.

Princess Pingle seldom went there often, so the servants would take some and eat some, and as long as they were willing to show respect to the person in charge, no one would pursue the matter, and everyone would turn a blind eye.

Fan Bing believed it.

The desperate prince consort easily fell into this trap.

Xue Sui looked calm. He picked up the white porcelain cup that Ruyi had placed on the wooden table, took a sip of the grape drink, and sighed contentedly.

"What is Pingle doing now?"

Jinshu smiled and replied, "I heard that Prince Consort Lu came to the palace yesterday to ask for permission to divorce Princess Pingle. When I came here, the princess's carriage was already waiting outside the ceremonial gate. I think he is going back to the princess's mansion to question her..."

The news that Lu Youan asked for a divorce was like a bolt from the blue to Pingle, enough to make her panic.

Xue Sui narrowed his eyes slightly, suddenly chuckled, and reached out to take the wooden carved kitten beside him.

The kitten's smiling chubby face turned back and forth on her fingertips, as if brewing something.

After a moment, Xue Sui's fingers stopped and his eyes were full of smiles.

"Didn't Pingle plant a lot of spies in the mansion? Then let her know - say that Fan Bing found out that she had built a secret room behind the waterfall in the West Mountain Villa, which was filled with gold, silver and jewelry, so he bribed the gate guard of the villa and drove his carriage to the West Mountain...

"That's interesting. Let's see if the princess wants people or money..."

Jinshu nodded slightly and smiled knowingly.

"I will do it now."

"Wait a minute!" Xue Sui said.

Jinshu stopped and looked at her in confusion.

"What else do you want, young lady?"

"It's just a small trouble, it's too easy for her. She wants me to be the painted skin ghost, so I will give her a real ghost show!"

Xue Sui took out a white silk handkerchief from his sleeve, gently wiped the corner of his mouth, and then said: "When Pingle goes to Xishan, tell Lu Fuma that Fan Bing took Princess Pingle's private seal and went to Xishan Villa to enjoy the moon."

Emperor Chongzhao was very concerned about his reputation and would never allow his beloved Princess Pingle to suffer any injustice.

If Lu Youan wants to divorce, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky.

So, after receiving this news, whether out of his dignity as a husband or to find an excuse for divorce, he would definitely go to Xishan Villa.

"Is this a big deal?" Jinshu's heart was pounding.

Princess Pingle is not someone who can be easily dealt with, nor is she a puppet that can be manipulated at will. With such a big show, she might be exposed...

“Don’t worry, she will lose her mind as long as she encounters Lawrence Lu’s affairs.”

So what if I have doubts?

Once a woman is trapped in love, she will become blindly impulsive.

When Jinshu looked up again, Xue Sui had already picked up the volume of "Qiwu Lun" again and began to read it with relish. His wide silk sleeves had slipped half way down, revealing a fat wrist.

Jinshu didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the old scar on the girl’s arm seemed to have faded a lot.

She thought that the girl's orders always made sense.

Otherwise, how could she, who was not the best in the ten arts, be chosen by the three elders of Jiuling Marsh as an imperial envoy? Was she really a flatterer as Mr. Qi said? Of course not.

Jinshu took a deep breath.

"A good idea! I will definitely do it for you, young lady."

She went down in a hurry.

Xiao Zhao looked at the girl's gentle face, and vaguely recalled the night when You Zhimu fell from Qiong Tower.

The girl also smiled, turned the wooden kitten, and said lightly, "Then push it down."

A simple sentence decided You Zhimu's life or death, and started a turning point in the fate of everyone in the album.

Xiao Zhao firmly believes it.

Everyone in the album will be like You Zhimu in the future. As the kitten on the girl's fingertips turns, they will be quietly rewritten and move towards their final fate.

I have a slight cold, so that’s all I’ll update today. I’ll update early tomorrow (fist, for sure!)

Li Zhao: Am I not going to appear today?
Reader: The powerful male protagonists are usually behind the scenes making things happen. I have never heard of anyone climbing through the windows every day.