Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 19: Secret Meeting at Night
Xue Yueying brought Xue Sui into the Glazed Pavilion. The maid brought clothes, closed the door, and came out in a panic.

"Search the clothes and leave any token of your love behind."

Qingzhu nodded: "I've told Qinghong, don't worry young lady."

Xue Yueying was worried. Even though the weather was cool, she felt sweaty all over. She took out a handkerchief and wiped her forehead several times.

"Don't let her see any clues."

Qingzhu responded.

Soon, the maid Qinghong opened the door, holding Xue Sui's changed clothes in her hand, and nodded to Xue Yueying from a distance.

Qingzhu asked, "Miss, will Mr. Gu come?"

Xue Yueying snorted: "He dares not to come."

Qingzhu sighed, "Miss, are you really willing to do that? Will it be a bargain for Sixth Miss?"

Xue Yueying couldn't help but frown deeply.

Of course, she didn't want to share a husband with Xue Sui and make her his co-wife.

This was just her expedient measure.

Firstly, it shows her magnanimity and redeems her reputation of stealing her sister's marriage.

Second, she used the name of co-wife to appease Gu Jie's mother's dissatisfaction, so that she would not be bullied by her mother-in-law after she got married.

Thirdly, she really didn't want Xue Sui to go to Prince Duan's Mansion.

There was a strong sense telling her that Xue Liu would probably be favored by Prince Duan. When she became a phoenix, it would be obvious who would look at whose face.

But it was different when Xue Liu married into the Jingyuan Marquis’ Mansion.

Under her nose, she has Gu Jie's favor, Xue Liu is just a grasshopper after autumn, he can only be stepped on by her forever, just like in the past, don't even think about turning over...

It can be said to serve multiple purposes.

Now that Princess Duan has returned home, it has been confirmed that she has feelings for Gu Jie and has an affair with him. Then, Xue Liu will be the one who is guilty. Their identities will be swapped, with Xue Liu becoming a lowly woman who steals someone else's husband, and she will be the victim.

Once the matter was done, the eldest sister could no longer bring Xue Liu into the palace, and wealth and glory had nothing to do with her anymore.

"Four girls."

Xue Yueying looked over when she heard the voice.

After changing into nice clothes, Xue Liu seemed like a different person. Her light skirt fluttered at the waist, gathered into a willow-like shape, and she stood alone under the eaves, tall and slender.

Ten years ago she was very stubborn and never said a word when being beaten or scolded. But now she is always smiling and is polite to everyone she meets.

Xue Yueying also put on a smile, walked forward and held her hand, "Let's go, let's go eat. Don't take what happened just now to heart. The eldest lady is in charge of the household affairs, and she can't handle everything properly. In the backyard of this house, you give way to me and I give way to you, just don't lose face."

Xue Sui smiled, "The fourth lady is right."

The two returned to their seats, talking and laughing.

Xue Yuelou looked up at her and said nothing.

Xue Sui seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness just now and ate happily. When the meal was over, he whispered a word of thanks to Xue Yuelou beside him and led the maid back to Lixiangyuan.

Xue Ji had no status and could not sit at the family banquet table, so Xue Sui accompanied her for another simple meal.

The mother and daughter talked for a while. When Xue Ji heard Ruyi talking about the family dinner, her throat became stiff.

"Sixth sister, you have been wronged."

He added: "Just be patient for a while, and when you get to the palace, if the prince has mercy on you and you have a son or a daughter, you will have someone to rely on for the rest of your life."

Xue Sui raised his eyes and looked at her carefully: "Did you think like this when you followed Xue Qingzhi?"

Xue Ji was stunned for a moment, a layer of tears appeared in her red eyes.

Thinking back to those days, how many celebrities in the capital were attracted to her when she danced all over the capital?
The mother in the palace also spoiled her and had spread the word early on that she could choose a suitable man to redeem her. She took a fancy to Xue Qingzhi because he was good-looking and was from a noble family. She thought that she could escape from her status as a slave and entrust her with her life. However, she did not expect that the promise she made that night would become a thing of the past in the blink of an eye. She picked and chose, and finally chose a pit of hell.

"Sixth sister, it's mother's bad luck that has caused you so much suffering..."

She raised her sleeve to wipe her tears. Xue Sui could not bear to say anything more. He comforted her with a few words and asked the maid Caijuan to take her to rest, and then they went back to their rooms.

Turning around, the moon was at its zenith.

"Girl, girl."

In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the door.

Xue Yueying did not fall asleep. She was lying on the bed with her clothes on. She sat up when she heard the maid's footsteps.

"How is it? Has Mr. Gu entered the mansion? Let's go to Lixiangyuan right away to catch the adulterer..." The door creaked open, Qingzhu held the lamp, his face full of confusion.

"Yes, it's the master of Biwuyuan. There's a thief in the house."

What? Xue Yueying's face changed with fear, "This Gu Lang is so confused that he can't even tell the difference between Biwu Courtyard and Lixiang Courtyard?"
-
In the night wind, there was a lot of noise coming from the back house.

Biwuyuan was the courtyard where Princess Xue Yuechen of Prince Duan lived before she got married, and she was still placed here when she returned home this time.

What would happen if a thief broke into Princess Duan’s courtyard?

A little noise immediately alarmed the entire Shangshu Mansion.

Xue Qingzhi also quickly put on his clothes and rushed over to Aunt Zhao's room.

"Princess Duan is staying in the mansion for a while. There are servants guarding inside and outside the mansion. The security is tight. How could there be a thief?"

The guard also looked puzzled. "I don't know either. Before going to bed, I told everyone in the courtyard to be careful and guard..."

Xue Qingzhi paused.

"You go, dispatch more people. We must catch the perpetrators red-handed."

Xue Qingzhi thought to himself: Prince Duan and the Crown Prince don't get along, this might be the Crown Prince's trick, taking advantage of Prince Duan's wife going back to her parents' home to do something fishy.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Bitong Courtyard with a group of guards and servants, he saw Fu standing at the door with an embarrassed look on her face.

The two girls beside him were also at a loss, with their heads hung to their chests.

Xue Qingzhi said with a stern face: "What happened? Did you catch the thief?"

The dim lights illuminated the Bitong Courtyard as bright as day.

The "little thief" who was trapped in the yard with his hands tied behind his back, not knowing what to do, looked at the crowd that swarmed over with an innocent face and called out weakly.

"Aunt. Uncle..."

Xue Qingzhi was so angry, "Why is it you?"

Fu was also very angry, "Jinghui, what are you doing here?"

There was silence in the yard.

This Fu Jinghui is Fu’s nephew.

If they were just relatives, it would be fine.

But before Xue Yuechen married into Prince Duan's mansion, Fu's family wanted to marry her eldest niece back to the Yongding Marquis's mansion. At that time, the Xue family had not discussed marriage with Prince Duan. Xue Yuechen and Fu Jinghui had known each other since childhood and were cousins ​​with a close relationship. Fu thought that if she married back to her family, no one would bully her daughter. When Fu Jinghui inherited the title in the future, her daughter would also be the mistress of the Marquis's mansion and would not suffer any loss.

Therefore, no one from either family objected at that time, and Xue Yuechen also acquiesced.

Later, the court affairs changed and Xue Yuechen was favored by Concubine Xiao, so he gave up the idea.

But many people in Shangjing City knew about this.

Now that Xue Yuechen had just returned to her parents' home, Fu Jinghui broke into Bitong Courtyard at night. How could this not cause gossip?
Xue Qingzhi's face turned pale. "How did you get in? Why didn't you alert anyone else?"

Fu Jinghui hesitated and couldn't give a clear reason.

Fu was anxious and angry, "Princess, what happened to the princess..."

She walked in hurriedly, only to see the door on the steps creak open.

Xue Yuechen was wearing a silver-white fox fur brocade jacket and standing in the courtyard. His whole body seemed to be covered with a layer of silver frost. A few strands of hair fluttered gently in the night breeze. His face looked grim and he said nothing.

Standing next to her were a maid and Xue Sui.

Fu looked at her in astonishment.

Xue Qingzhi frowned and asked, "Why is Sixth Sister here?"

Xue Sui smiled slightly, looking at the crowd illuminated by the firelight, and said calmly: "I ate too much at the family banquet and couldn't sleep, so I came to the princess's house to talk about some private matters. My sister and I were talking by candlelight at night, and we heard people shouting outside to catch the thief, and we were scared... What, was the thief caught?"

Xue Qingzhi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Sixth Sister is by the princess' side.

No matter how much the servants gossip, they can't say that Princess Duan took her sister to meet with a man from another family. That doesn't make sense...

The eldest sister's reputation was saved, but the culprit of this incident was unforgivable.

　Xue Sui: If you want to watch the show, of course you have to be there first.

　　Xue Yueying: ??? There’s a ghost!
　　(End of this chapter)