Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 26 Fighting Fire with Fire
Xue Qingxiu was stunned for a long time.

Is this the sixth girl from the old family?
With her graceful figure and pretty face, how come she looks like a fairy?

Next to her was a handsome young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He was accompanied by several young men dressed as chivalrous knights, who were very fast and fierce. The two strong men who held him hostage did not put up much resistance. After two or three moves, they blocked his mouth with a cloth and made him kneel beside them like a dumpling.

Xue Qingxiu felt at ease.

Anyway, I had a close call with death and managed to save my life.

He tilted his head to look at the hand that was holding his collar and signaled several times to let him go, but the person just ignored him and didn't move.

Xue Qingxiu finally noticed something was wrong and asked dejectedly:

"Sixth girl, what are you singing about?"

Xue Sui asked with a smile: "Uncle San, I saved your life tonight, do you acknowledge it or not?"

Xue Qingxiu said with a bitter face: "Recognize it, recognize it, those two bastards almost fell off the Qiong Tower and followed the footsteps of You Sanlang. Fortunately you came, otherwise my uncle would have met the King of Hell..."

Xue Sui smiled at Yao Guang who was beside him, "Senior Brother."

Yaoguang ordered his men to push Xue Qingxiu and the two guys into a dark room in the Lianqiao Casino in Qionglou.

Xue Qingxiu didn't think too much. As soon as he closed the door, he kicked the two guys.

"You son of a bitch! Tell me, who asked you to harm me?"

The two strong men had their mouths blocked and could not say anything.

He was hit several times and curled up on the ground.

When the cloth towel was loosened, he confessed honestly, saying that someone had hired someone to kill Master Xue San, but apart from knowing that the murderer was a young girl wearing a veil, he could not say anything else.

"We take money from people and help them get rid of their misfortunes. We never ask the identity of our employers..."

Xue Qingxiu became furious when he heard this and was about to go up and beat him up again.

Xue Sui stopped him and said calmly, "Uncle San, don't get angry with them. These scoundrels are just doing things for money. It's not worth it for Uncle San to bear the risk of a murder."

Xue Qingxiu tilted his head, his anger mostly subsided, "That makes sense. Get out!"

He kicked out again, and as the man groaned in pain, Yaoguang stepped forward and searched the two strong men.

A few copper coins, half a piece of dry food, a rough sweat towel, all of which were ordinary and insignificant things...

Therefore, the purse containing small change found on one of the strong men was particularly conspicuous.

Yaoguang smiled and glanced at Xue Qingxiu: "Mr. Xue San's life is very valuable. Here are about twenty taels."

"I'm only worth twenty taels?" Xue Qingxiu said angrily, then came to his senses.

"Who... is it that wants to take my life?"

Yaoguang didn't say anything.

Xue Sui looked at the purse in his hand.

The fabric of woven gold brocade satin is very precious.

The stitches are fine and even, and the embroidery is delicate and exquisite. One can tell at a glance that this is not something that can be used by people of this level of labor.

Xue Qingxiu followed Xue Liu's gaze and his eyes immediately became bloodshot. He felt a chill running up from his heels and almost screamed out loud.

"Sister-in-law?!"

This purse is not unfamiliar.

Concubine Xiao originally rewarded her eldest sister-in-law with a piece of brocade satin. His wife Qian liked it so much that she shamelessly asked her eldest sister-in-law for the remaining scraps and made two purses with her own hands.

Qian kept one for herself and gave the other to Fu. She also gave her a bracelet with excellent water content, put it in her purse and gave it to her. Only then did the sister-in-law feel relieved.

Xue Qingxiu did not understand women's embroidery, but this purse was very precious to Qian. The Qian family was not short of money, but things from the palace were rare. He often saw Qian wearing it. It was embroidered with koi fish, which was said to bring wealth and luck.

Although Qian had quarreled with him over the years, they were still a loving couple after all, and they had their moments of affection. For the sake of their two children, she would definitely not take his life.

If it's not Qian, then it can only be my eldest sister-in-law Fu.

When Xue Qingxiu thought about the humiliation he had suffered under the suppression of the eldest wife over the years, his blood immediately rushed to his head and he cursed angrily.

"Well, seeing that my mother loves me and is afraid that I will get more of the family property in the future, she has evil intentions. What a vicious woman! I will settle the score with her when I get back."

Xue Qingxiu was impulsive and was about to go out as he spoke.

Xue Sui called out to him, "Uncle San. Why don't you listen to me?"

Xue Qingxiu turned around angrily, "Sixth girl, don't try to persuade me. If I don't fight this vicious woman to the death today, I will take your surname!"

Xue Sui: “…”

She chuckled and pushed Xue Qingxiu to sit down.

Xue Qingxiu was still furious, and after struggling for a few times, he realized that this thin-looking niece was actually so strong...

He compromised, "Go ahead, say whatever you want to say. Just don't try to persuade me, and don't try to defend this vicious woman. I won't listen."

Xue Sui raised his eyebrows: "Uncle San has wasted his time these years. Have you ever thought about the day when you can earn honor for your grandfather and grandmother, get a job on your own, and rise to prominence, so that everyone in the Xue family will look at you with new eyes?"

Xue San's chest was swollen, and she even talked until her eyes turned red.

No one is born willing to be a playboy, and no one will really enjoy "living a life of idleness and no achievement".

He stretched his neck and said, "As a man, who wouldn't want to?"

"That's good." Xue Sui looked into his eyes and smiled slightly, "Then from now on, Third Uncle, just follow my arrangements. How about that? I will help you rise to the top."

Xue Qingxiu was stunned, half believing and half doubting. The two strong men also stared at the purse with eyes wide open, full of disbelief.

Xue Sui knew what they were thinking.

This is not the money in their pockets.

What they took was another embroidered purse.

She brought it with her to the family dinner at the Xue Mansion that day, and it was later secretly taken away by a maid from the Liuli Pavilion.

However, Yaoguang just replaced it.

Yaoguang's nickname was "The Smart Thief". No one knew what was happening, not even Xue Qingxiu, who had poor eyesight, and even the two strong men themselves were confused and thought they had seen it wrong in the dark.

~

That night, someone fell to his death on Zhuque Street again.

The deceased, like You Sanlang, also fell from the railing of the flying bridge of Qionglou, but his death was even more tragic. Before falling from the building, the deceased had been beaten, his whole body was bruised and deformed, and his face was scratched. If it weren't for the third master's long-time attendant who was there to identify the body, it would be difficult to identify him.

When the news reached the Xue Mansion, Mrs. Cui rolled her eyes and was so angry that she almost fainted.

Fu, Qian and the young ladies and masters in the mansion all rushed to Shou'an Courtyard and called a doctor to give her acupuncture. There was a flurry of activity in the room before the old lady finally came back to life, but she continued to complain.

"What a sin! I shouldn't have said those depressing words during the day. Who would have thought that I would end up saying it..."

Fu shed two tears, "Grandfather, you are going to scare your daughter-in-law to death. Don't get yourself hurt by worrying..."

Qian cried so hard that her handkerchief was soaked. She couldn't stop her tears from streaming down while talking to the messenger boy.

"Where is the Third Master? Has he been brought back?"

The servant said, "Madam, someone from Jingzhao Prefecture has taken the Third Master away. They said they are investigating the case of You Taichang's family. Isn't this just in time? They want to investigate the case together."

"Joint investigation? Oh my God! What kind of enemy did he offend that was so cruel to want to kill him..."

Qian was crying her heart out, but Fu was much calmer than her.

"It's no use for us to be anxious in the backyard. Quickly, send someone to inform the master. Let the master go to Jingzhao Prefecture and he will know what the rules are."

The servant said, "The Jingzhao Prefecture has informed the Master and asked him to go and identify the body."
-
When Xue Qingzhi got the news, he hurriedly rode his horse to Jingzhao Prefecture.

At the gate, they met Prince Duan Li Huan and his men riding over on horseback.

The two sides exchanged greetings.

Li Huan said, "Minister Xue, please accept my condolences."

Xue Qingzhi sighed heavily, "In the middle of the night, I actually alarmed the prince."

As he spoke, he raised his sleeve to wipe his red eyes, "Although my third brother is a heavy drinker, he knows his limits and values ​​his life. He would not climb up the railing of the flying bridge for no reason. Your Majesty, there must be something fishy about this matter..."

Li Huan nodded, "Has your brother ever made enemies with anyone?"

Xue Qingzhi thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "The third brother is used to being casual, and his behavior is sometimes out of tune, but his temper is very good. He is always friendly when talking to anyone, and he loves... He is generous and has many friends, but he never makes enemies."

Li Huan nodded again and raised his sleeve to signal him to go inside.

The prefect of Jingzhao was a little old man named Yin. He had already come out and invited the two of them in.

The body is in the morgue of the government office.

There were several bodies packed together, and the smell was so bad that it was suffocating. Xue Qingxiu was easy to recognize. Even though his clothes were torn, the fabric and shoes were easy to tell at a glance.

Xue Qingzhi lifted the white cloth covering the corpse and took a look. The face was swollen and disfigured, but there was still some resemblance, so he covered his nose and stepped back.

"The third child..."

He shed tears, and Xue Qingxiu's attendant also burst into tears.

"I wanted to stop the Third Master from going up the flying bridge, but he refused to let me follow him. Who knew I would run into a murderer..."

The master and servant talked for a while about what happened before Xue Qingxiu's death, and then the leader was taken away to sign and record his testimony.

Xue Qingzhi was invited into the main hall, where Li Huan was sitting and talking with Lord Yin, flipping through the documents of the on-site investigation.

He stepped forward and saluted, and Li Huan responded indifferently.

The atmosphere was solemn, and Xue Qingzhi sat down after watching his expression. The servant brought him tea, but he did not dare to drink it. He carefully asked Lord Yin, "They said that a murderer was caught, but did they find out anything during the trial?"

Lord Yin shook his head. "When the yamen runners arrived, they surrounded Qionglou. Seeing that the murderer could not escape, he committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Captain Wang knew this man. He often stole in the Jingzhao area. He was caught twice and behaved himself for a while. I didn't expect that he would dare to take money and kill people..."

After he said that, he looked at Xue Qingzhi, slightly hesitant.

Xue Qingzhi's scalp tingled when he saw him. "If the prefect has something to say, please feel free to say it."

Lord Yin cupped his hands and said, "Minister Xue, a purse was found on the murderer. In the purse, in addition to twenty taels of silver, there was also a small portrait of Master Xue San. Does it look familiar to you?"

He signaled the yamen runners to bring the evidence and placed it in front of Xue Qingzhi and Li Huan: "I have asked someone to find out. Among this batch of Yunjin tribute satin, apart from a few ladies in the palace, only the eldest lady of the Xue family received a piece of it."

That was because Fu was the mother-in-law of Prince Duan, and Concubine Xiao gave her face.

Lord Yin stopped talking, and Xue Qingzhi's face changed when he heard it.

He felt that there was something strange and unreasonable about it. But he glanced at Li Huan's cold and serious face, stood up coldly, and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I will go home and question that bitch, and I will give her an explanation."

　See you tomorrow.

　　(End of this chapter)