Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 23 Love
Qinglan Courtyard.

Xue Yueying wiped her tears with a handkerchief, stepped over the threshold, and knelt down without waiting for Fu to speak.

"Mother, Ying'er's dowry is already shabby. If we give some to Sixth Sister now, she will probably be looked down upon after she gets married..."

Mrs. Fu glanced at her calmly, "What's the point of all of you coming to force me and complain to me? Do you think I'm the Third Lady? With my ancestral inheritance, I only know how to eat, drink and have fun all day long. I don't have to worry about money, I don't care about anything, I don't have to do any serious work, and I have plenty of money to spend?"

She is very resentful towards the third wife.

After scolding Qian, he began to blame Xue Yuechen.

"Your elder sister is also completely mentally retarded. She doesn't listen to a word I say as a mother, but Xue Liu has coaxed her around. She even wrote a letter to specify in detail how many boxes and loads of dowry she wants, and what she wants as a dowry. Nothing can be lacking. If I don't reduce your dowry, how can I fill such a big hole?"

Xue Yueying burst into tears.

"Ying'er, I hope mother will have mercy on me. Sixth sister will surpass me in being a concubine..."

The eldest lady leaned back in the armchair and breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if she has complaints about her eldest daughter, she is still her biological daughter, and she still has to maintain her dignity as Princess Duan.

"Xue Liu is going to Prince Duan's mansion. Many people are watching with wide eyes. They are waiting to see if your elder sister and I will treat her badly. For the sake of your father's official reputation and your elder sister's reputation, her dowry must be generous..."

Xue Yueying cried so hard that her face became stiff and she kept sobbing.

The eldest lady put down her teacup, stepped forward to help her up, her eyes inadvertently fell on her belly, staring at it for a long time, "Mother knows you are wronged. But who can blame our Xue family's fourth young lady for being kind? You are the most well-behaved, please understand mother's difficulties, you won't complain, right?"

Xue Yueying's teeth were almost broken.

Madam, you are referring to the soft one.

She was filled with resentment.

But since she was pregnant before marriage, how could I say anything harsh?

"A daughter will not embarrass her mother..."

The eldest lady then smiled with satisfaction and helped her sit on the soft stool in the room.

"Didn't you say you wanted to share mother's worries? I'm just going to put you through a few days of hardship for Xue Liu to see. Don't worry, as long as you share mother's worries, mother will let you marry with dignity even if she has to give up her own money."

Xue Yueying's scalp tingled. Holding Xue Liu's purse in her arms felt like a hot potato.

Could it be that the eldest lady disliked her for being slow and not punishing Xue Liu, so she was deliberately making things difficult for her?

But the plan failed that night, and for the time being, she really had no better way to deal with her.

"My daughter will definitely find a way to help her mother share her worries..."
-
Xue Yueying burst into tears when she returned to Liuli Pavilion.

She smashed all the porcelain items that came to her hand.

The two older maids, Qingzhu and Qinghong, did not dare to come forward. One of them kept crying, while the other remained silent.

Only after the master had vented enough did he let the maidservant in to clean up.

A little girl who usually kept silent came over and bowed to Xue Yueying boldly.

"Don't cry anymore, Fourth Miss. Everyone in the mansion knows that, apart from the eldest girl, the Fourth Miss is the one who married well. She will be the Marquis's wife in the future, which is very honorable."

The servants in the Xue Mansion were either family-born children or bought boys. Xue Yueying was usually kind to a few maids in the house, and never spared a glance at the lower-ranking maids and the servants in the outer courtyard.

This girl hit the nail on the head.

"You are right, I am the legal wife, she is a concubine, just a concubine."

The girl heard her gritting her teeth and continued, "You are right to think so. No matter how powerful Prince Duan is, he will not protect a concubine. But Master Gu is different. He is in charge of the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue. What's a few boxes of dowry? The fourth lady has Master Gu's love, so what can't she have?"

Xue Yueying felt that she looked a little unfamiliar when she saw her talking.

"What's your name?"

"My dear Fourth Miss, I have been in Liuli Pavilion for a short time. My name is Qiao'er."

Xue Yueying looked back at Qingzhu and said, "Let Qiao'er come to my room to serve me from now on."
-
Gu Jie didn't come to see Xue Yueying until three days later.

That day he promised Xue Yueying that he would go to the appointment at night, but somehow his mother found out about it. Without saying a word, she had two servants carry him back and locked the door. Except for three meals a day, no one could be seen, and there was no way for his mother to send any message to Xue Yueying.

As soon as the house arrest was lifted, he came over without stopping, sent someone to pass the message to the Xue Mansion, and then waited for her outside the corner gate of the stable.

Xue Yueying went there with a heart full of grief and indignation.

It was drizzling outside. Gu Jie, wearing a blue shirt and a jacket, stood between the bluestone road and the white walls and black tiles with an umbrella. His tall figure looked quite handsome.

The anger in her heart subsided a little.

At this point, she couldn't afford to delay her pregnancy, and she absolutely couldn't offend Gu Jie. "Ying'er."

Gu Jie looked at her coming over and raised the silk umbrella in his hand.

Xue Yueying's eyes were red as she looked at him in silence until Gu Jie became flustered. Then she asked aggrievedly:
"Why didn't you come that night? Do you know how much trouble you caused me?"

Gu Jie resented his own mother for confining him to his house, which led to Ying'er's misunderstanding, but after all, she was his own mother, so he couldn't say anything harsh to her.

He gently led Xue Yueying under the umbrella, walked side by side to the distant eaves, and lovingly brushed the moisture from the ends of her hair.

"I know you have a kind heart and want to pull Xue Liu out of this hell... But you and I are about to get married, and I have no feelings for Xue Liu at all. The thought of meeting her and pretending to be affectionate makes me sick. Ying'er, I would rather die than marry her."

I can't face her...

Just looking at Xue Liu's eyes was enough to make him feel uncomfortable all over.

Xue Yueying listened silently, not wanting to tell him what happened in the mansion.

She just said coquettishly: "You didn't listen to me this time and made me angry. You need to apologize!"

Gu Jie immediately bowed and said, "I know I was wrong, please be magnanimous, Sister Ying'er..."

"No." Xue Yueying said coldly, "Anyone would say such things. It's not sincere."

Gu Jie smiled and coaxed her: "How should I act? I hope my sister can give me some advice?"

Xue Yueying raised her head slightly, stared at him for a long while, and her eyes suddenly turned red. "You know I am the concubine's daughter of the Shangshu Mansion. My mother died early, and no one loved me. My dowry was already meager. Now, in order to appease my sixth sister, the eldest lady has reduced my dowry by half... Gu Lang, if I marry into the Marquis' Mansion like this, I will definitely be ridiculed..."

Gu Jie said distressedly, "No, my family is definitely not the kind of people who only care about money. Don't cry, Ying'er, all my future salary will be given to you."

"Fool, how much can that be?" Xue Yueying said with her eyelids drooping, "You can embezzle some of the treasury silver and add a few boxes of dowry for me."

Gu Jie was shocked when he heard the voice.

He worked in the Ministry of Revenue's Treasury Department, and although he had access to a large amount of silver in the Treasury Department's treasury, doing so was too risky. Once his superiors conducted an investigation, he would be in big trouble.

"Ying'er, you absolutely cannot do this."

Xue Yueying felt annoyed when she saw how timid he was.

She felt that she didn't ask for much. Compared with Princess Pingle, Yao Wei, Xie Weilan and others, she was just taking a little bit of money that was easily available. What did it matter?
"You just don't want to feel sorry for me. When I marry into the Marquis's Mansion, I will be inferior to my Sixth Sister as a concubine. I am afraid I will become a laughing stock. How can I hold my head up in the Marquis's Mansion and in the women's society of Princess Pingle?"

Gu Jie still shook his head.

Xue Yueying grabbed his sleeve and guided his hand to her lower abdomen.

"Gu Lang, I am not doing this for myself, but for our children. Without money, how can you and I, the illegitimate children, gain a foothold in the Marquis' Mansion? How can you become the Crown Prince and the Marquis? How can I become the Crown Prince's wife or the Marquis' wife and receive an imperial decree? How can our children hold their heads high in the future? Gu Lang, tell me, which one doesn't cost money?"

Gu Jie held her hand tightly, "Ying'er, I am incompetent, but don't worry, I will never let you suffer any grievances..."

Xue Yueying shook her hand off, "You only talk nonsense. My ears are already callused."

"Ying'er, this is not just a small matter of buying a hair flower and rouge..."

"What are you afraid of? Princess Pingle and I are close friends... This afternoon, I will go to the Women's Club in Pinglefang to meet the princess. The princess doesn't know about Xue Liu's return home yet. I will explain it to her when the time comes... If something really goes wrong, won't the princess back us up?"

Princess Pingle was the only princess in this dynasty who had her own government and staff, and whose rank was the same as that of a prince.

Gu Jie works in the Finance Department and knows all too well how many dirty things Ping Le has done to make money.

They plundered over 500 miles of farmland, piled up stones to form mountains, diverted water to form streams, and demolished countless houses, causing people to be displaced, all for her to build a racecourse and expand a villa. Pingle was the emperor's beloved daughter, favored by the emperor, and had everything that others dared not dream of.

Just like his lame elder brother, even though he was good for nothing, he could enjoy the wealth and status of the Marquis of Jingyuan's Mansion simply because he was the legitimate son.

He didn't want to be an incompetent bastard for the rest of his life.

But he could embezzle a little to add a few boxes of dowry to the woman he loved, and then pay it back when he had enough money. He didn't think anyone would find out, right?
Gu Jie held Xue Yueying's hand tightly.

"Ying'er, for you, I am willing to go through fire and water."

"Gu Lang..."

The two people hugged each other in the rain and fog in the alley.

　Pigeon: Oh my god! Come and see, they are so affectionate!!!

　　Li Zhao: Xue Ping'an, tell me... who taught you to be so bad?

　　Xue Sui: Li is a big thief, I can be even worse.

　　(End of this chapter)