Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 18 Provocation
Qingzhu was walking back and forth alone under the bell tower outside Chengtian Gate.

From time to time, I looked back at the clock tower, and only when I saw that familiar figure did I feel happy.

"Mr. Gu!"

Gu Jie relied on the influence of the Jingyuan Marquis's family to get a job as a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue's Treasury Department, handling some treasury affairs. He was good at reading and had a sharp mind. Jingyuan Marquis was a famous military commander who had high hopes for his weak son. He sent him to the Ministry of Revenue so that he could make connections and pave the way for future promotion.

As soon as Gu Jiegang and his colleagues came out, they saw Qingzhu.

"Ahem!" He bowed to his colleague, looked around, and walked over. "But is there something wrong with your daughter?"

Qingzhu laughed, and when she saw the worry in Gu Jie's eyes, her smile became even brighter.

"This is a letter from the young lady to Mr. Gu. Please read it immediately..."

Qingzhu took out a folded piece of plain paper from his sleeve.

Gu Jie's face changed after reading it, "Nonsense! Who gave Ying'er such a bad idea? No way, no way. There is no chance for me and Xue Liu to be together."

"Don't worry, Master Gu." Qingzhu said, "Master Gu knows best what kind of person my young lady is. Seeing that the sixth young lady is going to the palace to be a concubine, the young lady couldn't bear it and was determined to save her from suffering. The young lady also said that this was also for Master Gu's consideration..."

Gu Jie hesitated: "Consider me?"

Qingzhu said, "Mr. Gu, think carefully about who is Madam Chun's favorite daughter-in-law? Our girl has to swallow her grievances and fulfill Madam Chun's wishes. Why doesn't Mr. Gu understand?"

Gu Jie's heart almost broke when he heard this.

Ying'er suffered a lot for him.

But his mother was born in a low family and had no knowledge. She could not see the good in Ying'er and just liked Xue Liu. When she heard that Xue Liu had returned to the Shangshu Mansion, she sighed and said that she had missed him...

I'm afraid that if Ying'er marries into the Marquis's Mansion, she will still have to depend on her mood...

Gu Jie clenched the letter in his hand and sighed.

"I know Ying'er is kind. But how can I, Gu Jie, be so foolishly filial and be such a heartless person?"

Qingzhu saw people coming and going from time to time, so he stopped staying.

"The girl said that with Mr. Gu's sincerity, all these hardships are nothing. Tonight, the girl will leave the door open for Mr. Gu. Mr. Gu, please don't let the girl down."

Qingzhu bowed, lowered his head and left in a hurry.

She was not worried that Gu Jie would not come.

Mr. Gu never disobeyed the Fourth Miss's words.

However, she didn't understand. As a maid, she could see that Xiu Gu's tears and words of instigation were not good intentions. She was just trying to instigate the fourth lady to be the first lady's pawn. How could the fourth lady not know?
In order to stop the Sixth Miss from going to Prince Duan's Mansion, the Fourth Miss was willing to sacrifice her beloved husband. She was really willing to do so.
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Shou'anyuan becomes lively at dusk.

Several sisters surrounded Xue Yuechen, chattering and full of envy.

Marrying Princess Duan is a marriage that these girls cannot reach. Those who are not married all want to rely on their eldest sister and find a good family.

Only the second Miss Xue, who had returned to her parents' home for a short stay, was taciturn.

Xue Sui couldn't help but look at her twice.

The second girl was named Xue Yuelou. She was not as dignified and generous as the eldest, Xue Yuechen, nor as graceful and gentle as the fourth, Xue Yueying. She sat alone and indifferently, with a thin face, no makeup, and only an ordinary hairpin on her head, without any other accessories.

Two words to describe it: bland.

She doesn't talk to anyone and is like an invisible person.

The next day after Xue Sui returned home, he heard from Ruyi that the second young lady had returned to her parents' home with her foolish son. It had been about ten days, and the second brother-in-law had not sent anyone to pick them up. The eldest lady's face was becoming more and more ugly, and the second young lady was also having a hard time.

But Xue Sui paid attention to her not because of these.

This is because Xue Yuelou’s husband is Yao Wei, the son of Yao Hong, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

People in the album.

The two looked at each other, and Xue Yuelou nodded.

Xue Sui also smiled at her, but neither of them said much.

At family dinners, men and women sat separately, with a curtain in the middle.

Xue Sui has been back home for so long, but he has not formally met the young masters of the Xue Mansion.

After not seeing each other for many years, she couldn't tell who was who by the voice, but she could recognize the voice of the eldest son of the house, Xue Lan.

He is the apple of Fu's eye, and is treated like a treasure. He speaks to his brothers in a very frivolous manner, so he can be easily identified.

The maids shuttled back and forth in the dining hall, and the dishes were served like flowing water.

An ordinary family banquet was filled with a dazzling array of delicacies. A quick count revealed that there were dozens of dishes.

Xue Sui never had the chance to sit at the Xue Mansion's family banquet table when she was young. The chefs in Jiuling Swamp treated her well, but they were all frugal people and would not be so extravagant. She had never eaten so many varied and complicated dishes.

Xue Yuechen was of distinguished status and sat next to the old lady.

After she took her seat, everyone else sat down in turn. After the old lady picked up her chopsticks, the maid began to serve the girls food.

Old Mrs. Cui was very satisfied with her children and grandchildren. She smiled and said, "It's just an ordinary family dinner, there's no need to follow so many rules. It's a rare occasion that your eldest sister is back, and the sixth girl has also come back. Why not remove the curtain and let the brothers and sisters have a good time."

The rules in the mansion are strict, and the words of the ancestors are also important.

The two younger children were overjoyed.

After the curtain was removed and everyone greeted each other, the young masters' attention was focused on Miss Xue Liu who had just returned home...

They haven't experienced anything serious yet.

The name of the Old Mausoleum Swamp is frightening to the eye, and one cannot help but look at it strangely...

Old Mrs. Cui looked at her children and grandchildren with a smile, as if she had thought of something. She looked around the dining hall and landed on the third wife. "Where's the third wife? We agreed to attend the family dinner tonight, so don't be absent. Where did your husband go?"

Qian had just picked up the rice bowl, but when she heard the voice, she put it back and replied with a smile, "Old lady, your question is really hard for your daughter-in-law to answer. His legs are on his body, can I tie him to his waist with a rope?"

Qian was the daughter of a merchant family. She was generally known to have no manners. Relying on her family's wealth, she had a very aggressive temper.

Her sour words made the old lady so angry that her teeth ached.

"As his wife, you should also restrain him a little. The younger generations are all grown up, and he is an elder. How can he be so unruly? If the younger generations follow suit, the rules of our ancestors will be ruined by him."

Qian curled her lips and responded with a forced smile, and the old lady didn't mention it again.

Her son was her own child, so she knew him best.

"Let's have a dinner."

The women were very quiet, they ate without talking and were very well behaved. But the young masters were very lively.

Xue Lan is twenty-two years old this year, and works as a recorder in the Dali Temple. His official rank is no higher than the eighth rank, but because he is the eldest son of the family and his brother-in-law is Prince Duan, he loves to talk big and has no scruples when talking about the secrets of strange cases in front of his brothers in the mansion.

"Have you heard about You Sanlang's incident? A healthy and alive person just disappeared without a trace..."

Xue Yi, the nine-year-old young man from the third room, was so excited that his eyes widened.

"Could it be that he was taken away by a ghost?"

Xue Lan snorted, "Where did the evil ghost come from? You should stop reading those weird books. I was off duty today and saw people from Jingzhao Prefecture fishing for a corpse in a pond. They said that You Sanlang secretly placed more than a dozen beauties in the house in Chongrenfang. This guy is absurd on weekdays, beating and scolding the beauties. I guess he tortured them too much, so they teamed up with him and took advantage of him being injured and unable to move..."

He gave a fierce look.

"Kill and dismember."

"Alan!" Xue Qingzhi stopped him, "Don't talk about court affairs."

Normally when we discuss political affairs at home, my father would occasionally give some advice, but today he doesn't allow me to say anything?

Xue Lan did not notice the solemn expression on Xue Qingzhi's face, and could not help but say, "Some people also say that this behavior is quite similar to that of the corpse-guarding person in the old mausoleum. Maybe someone hired someone to kill him..."

"Ah!" A scream interrupted him.

A maid brought a bowl of boiling hot soup and poured it all over Miss Xue Liu.

Heat was emanating from her dress, but Xue Sui did not move. She seemed unconscious and her expression did not change at all.

The old lady spoke first: "How dare you! How do you do things?"

The girl was frightened and fell to her knees.

"Grandfather, please spare my life. I was just scared and nervous, and I spilled it..."

Mrs. Cui said sternly, "What are you afraid of?"

The girl raised her eyes timidly, looked at Xue Sui, and quickly lowered her head.

"Fear, fear, the Old Mausoleum Swamp..."

The three words were light, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

The Sixth Girl who came back from the Old Mausoleum Swamp frightened her.

The room was silent for a moment.

People had been looking at Xue Sui just now, and now they were all looking at her, holding their breath, as if they felt the same way as the maid said. They smelled the decayed and gloomy smell of the old mausoleum swamp on Xue Liu.

Xue Sui took the handkerchief from Ruyi and wiped his clothes slowly, as if he didn't see those unfriendly looks.

"It doesn't matter."

Old Madam Cui glanced at the girl and said, "Sixth Miss has forgiven you, why don't you leave quickly? If you do anything clumsy again, I will peel off your skin."

The girl kowtowed to express her gratitude and retreated cautiously.

Xue Yueying smiled and said, "It's still chilly in spring, it's not good to catch a cold. Liuli Pavilion is close to Shou'an Courtyard, why don't you come with me to change clothes? You and I are of similar body shape, and I happen to have a few new clothes that I haven't worn yet..."

Xue Sui looked at her with a half-smile, "Thank you, Fourth Miss."

When she tried to stand up, someone held her arm down.

It was Xue Yuelou who was sitting next to her.

She had been silent at the family dinner, but now she spoke softly.

"Lianshui Pavilion is closer than Liuli Pavilion. I see that Sixth Sister is thin, so I think Sixth Sister can wear my clothes."

Xue Sui glanced at her.

There was no emotion or concern in Xue Yuelou's eyes.

Every word was ordinary. But she held her hand tightly.

Xue Sui smiled slightly and gently pushed it open.

"Thank you for your kindness, Second Miss. Fourth Miss spoke first, and I can't refuse her."

Xue Yuelou watched her leave the table, opened his mouth, and said nothing, but earned a cold snort from Fu.

"Take care of yourself. How long have you lived at your mother's house? The second uncle didn't even say he would come to see you. You didn't even say you would go back and give in. Do you want to wait for a sedan chair to take you back?"

Xue Yuelou lowered his head and said nothing.

　Sisters, please take care of the new book period, save your reading recommendation tickets, and do whatever you want...

　　(End of this chapter)