Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 28 Backhand
Xue Sui couldn't help laughing when he saw that they were clearly in the wrong but still acted so arrogantly.

"Father had better have a reason to break in, otherwise it would affect his daughter's reputation in the middle of the night."

Xue Qingzhi felt so suffocated by her questions that his heart tightened and his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Did you go to Zhuque Street tonight? Did you go to Qionglou?"

Xue Sui smiled and said, "My daughter went to Shou'an Court to visit her grandmother and uncle, and she has not left her room since she came back. Zhuque Street, Qionglou? What is that place?"

Xue Qingzhi stared at her indifferent face.

When he led troops in his early years, he developed a pair of sharp eyes.

It was difficult for a teenage girl to lie calmly and not show any panic under his gaze.

"Did anyone see you following Uncle San to Qionglou at night?"

Xue Sui said, "Who is gossiping about me? Father should punish him severely."

Fu sneered: "Master, I think she won't cry until she sees the coffin."

Xue Qingzhi high-fived with a sullen face.

The servant bent over and squeezed over from behind the crowd, bowing slightly, not daring to look at Xue Sui.

"Yes, I saw the Sixth Miss go to Qionglou with my own eyes. She must have killed the Third Master..."

Xue Sui sneered in a low voice, "So it's you. You failed to steal and framed me. Xiao Zhao, you tell me."

Xiao Zhao came over and stared at the boy.

It was worth it that the girl couldn't sleep at night, and she kept deducing and writing so many words. These bastards really came in one by one.

"Master, this bastard was assigned by the Madam to do odd jobs in Lixiang Courtyard. He is usually lazy and bullies the servants. If someone is dissatisfied, he will say that he is the Madam's confidant and always make people pay for it. Yesterday, he was even more daring. He sneaked into the inner room and stole the Sixth Miss's red gold exquisite hairpin, which was given by the old lady. The Sixth Miss was kind and spared him, but unexpectedly, this bastard became resentful..."

The boy's face suddenly changed and he fell to his knees with a thud.

"I didn't. I didn't steal. Master, please understand. Madam... you, please speak for me."

Fu raised her eyes slightly, her expression indifferent: "Sixth Miss said that she has not left this courtyard since she came back from Shou'an Courtyard. Is there any witness?"

Xue Sui: "Everyone in Lixiangyuan can testify for me. And Aunt Jinshu..."

Only then did everyone see that there was another person named Jinshu coming out of the house.

Xue Sui said calmly, "Since I returned home, my grandmother has been taking good care of me. As spring is coming, I wanted to make a set of clothes for my grandmother, but I didn't know her size or the pattern she liked, so I asked Aunt Jinshu to come over. We worked all night in the house to sew clothes and make shoes, and we had no idea what happened in the mansion..."

At the beginning, the eldest lady specifically pointed out the most remote Lixiangyuan to it in order to be mean and humiliate Xue Sui.

When something happens at night, no one comes to inform them, and it is normal for them to hide in the house and be completely unaware of what is happening.

When Aunt Jinshu heard that something had happened to Master Xue San, the old ancestor fainted and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh my god, I deserve to die. When I came to Lixiang Courtyard, I talked to the old lady. When she heard that the Sixth Miss wanted to make clothes for her, the old lady was very happy. How could it be that such a mess happened in just a few hours..."

Xue Qingzhi may not trust the people in Lixiangyuan. But Jinshu is close to the old lady and has served in Shouanyuan for seven or eight years. It is impossible for her to lie for Xue Liu. The old lady is also involved, and the old lady cannot lie.

Xue Qingzhi glared at Fu and pointed at the boy:
"Come here, take this slave who framed his master and told lies away. Give him twenty lashes of the cane and sell him out!"

The boy was so frightened that his face turned pale and he started wailing immediately.

"I didn't steal Sixth Miss's bracelet, and I didn't say anything nonsense. I really saw it... Madam, Madam, help me, Madam, please save me, please save me..."

Fu didn't expect things to develop to this point. She turned her head away, unable to bear to watch any longer.

"Madam, it was you who asked me to monitor the Sixth Young Lady and report everything to you. You can't just ignore me. I didn't steal the hairpin..."

The servant's crying was deafening in the dark night.

Xue Qingzhi frowned and said, "Now that things have come to this, let's rest early."

After saying this, he put his hands behind his back and was about to take his people away.

Xue Sui sneered, "Father! You've tarnished your daughter's reputation, and you're just going to let it go like this?"

Xue Qingzhi was already feeling upset. He looked back at her and became even more furious. "What do you want? Do you want me, your biological father, to kneel down and kowtow to you and admit my mistakes?"

Xue Sui bowed slightly, "My daughter doesn't dare."

She slowly turned her eyes to look at Mrs. Fu, "Why did the Madam send people to monitor me and slander me? What are you trying to cover up? Who was responsible for Third Uncle's death? I want to ask the Madam too!"

She refused to budge.

This gave Xue Qingzhi a headache.

He asked Fu: "What do you say?"

Fu looked at his cold expression and her eyes turned red. "Master, you and I are husband and wife, why don't you believe me? I have been married to the Xue family for so many years. How do I treat my second and third brothers? Everyone in the mansion has eyes on me. How could I have such a vicious heart?" Xue Qingzhi snorted coldly, "Whether I believe you or not is not important at the moment. What's important is whether Lord Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture and His Royal Highness Prince Duan can believe you. Your purse was actually searched from the murderer."

He added, "What's more, if the case is tried together with the case of You Taichang's family, things will be troublesome. Old Lord You is worried about not being able to find the body of his third son, and he is looking for people all over Jingzhao. If he knows about this, won't he come to our house to attack us?"

In Shangjing, the You family is notoriously difficult to deal with.

Mr. You is also the mentor of the current Emperor Chongzhao.

He went to the emperor and cried, but the emperor was helpless.

"If we put the blame on the Xue family and fail to find the real culprit, there's no guarantee that the You family won't take advantage of the situation to cause trouble..."

Fu's face changed again and again, and the hand holding the handkerchief became stiff. If her eyes could be knives, I'm afraid she would have poked holes all over Xue Yueying.

Seeing this, Xue Yueying walked over with her eyes downcast and said softly, "Father, if it really doesn't work, your daughter will take the blame for your mother..."

When Fu heard this, she was so angry that her mouth twisted. "What crime have I committed that I need you to take the blame?"

Xue Yueying's face flushed, and she said cautiously, "My daughter is saying that if Jingzhao Prefecture insists on putting someone in jail, I am willing to suffer for my mother..."

Xue Qingzhi looked at her and said, "It's good that you have such filial piety. But you can't help with this matter."

Xue Yueying covered her face with a handkerchief, tears welling up in her eyes: "But so many things have happened in the mansion. Although I am incapable, I also want to share my parents' worries."

Xue Qingzhi waved his hand: "Go back and rest early."

Xue Yueying bowed: "Thank you, father."

Seeing Fourth Miss Xue behaving like this, Fu felt very cold in her heart.

Fourth Miss Xue looks very much like her dead mother, which is why she is the only one loved by Xue Qingzhi among so many daughters.

Even her name is more beautiful than that of her elder sister.

One is "Sinking Moon" and the other is "Waxing Moon". The master's partiality over the years is all reflected in the names of these two sisters.

He even insisted on explaining that Yuechen was the same as "chen" in "chen fishes sink and geese fall", which almost made her angry to death.

If that woman had not passed away long ago, the Xue Mansion would probably not have had the peace and tranquility it has had these years.

Fu thought of Xue Yueying's dead mother, stretched her neck and sneered in rebuttal.

"If I didn't do it, then I didn't do it. Even if it gets reported to the Taiji Palace, I dare to swear to heaven in front of His Majesty..."

"What's the use of swearing to heaven? Sister-in-law, can you swear to spare my husband's life?" Qian stepped over the threshold, her red and swollen eyes filled with resentment.

Her head was wrapped in a white gauze five fingers wide. With the support of a maid, she knelt down in front of Xue Qingzhi in public, trembling.

"Uncle, please help me with Xiulang. The child is still young. If Xiulang leaves, how will we, an orphan and a widow, survive in the future..."

Whenever she cried, someone would wipe their tears.

Only then did Xue Sui step forward and hand Qian a clean handkerchief.

"Aunt, please accept my condolences. My father is the Minister of Justice, in charge of the criminal justice system of the country. He is known for his fairness and virtue. Now that His Royal Highness Prince Duan is in charge of Jingzhao, he will definitely seek justice for my uncle."

This one sentence put Xue Qingzhi in trouble.

In fact, no matter how much he hated Fu, there was one thing that Fu was right about - husband and wife are one.

It was impossible for him to really drag his wife to Jingzhao Prefecture for legal prosecution.

The Fu family's dignity is the Xue family's dignity, and also the dignity of him as the Minister of Justice. He can't afford to lose this face, and the Xue family can't afford to lose it either.

Xue Qingzhi looked at the gloomy atmosphere in the room, sighed, and ignored Xue Sui's sarcasm: "You guys take good care of the old lady at home, I will handle the Jingzhao Prefecture."

After that, he put his hands behind his back to comfort Qian, "Third brother's case will be investigated thoroughly. Sister-in-law, please accept my condolences. Third brother is gone, and the Xue family will protect you and the children..."

When Qian heard him say this, she burst into tears again.

Tenth Miss Xue Yuezhen hugged her mother and dragged her little brother Xue Yi. The three of them hugged each other, looking so miserable.

Xue Qingzhi's eyes were swollen and painful, so he asked someone to send Qian and the two children back to the west courtyard.

"It's all gone."

Xue Qingzhi went to Shou'anyuan to visit his old mother who was still crying, comforted her, and served her something to eat. Then he went out and had his horses prepared, preparing to go to Jingzhao Prefecture at night.

No matter what, you have to put your wallet in order first.

He walked very quickly, and just as he passed the corridor, he saw Xue Sui.

In the night wind, the daughter who had never been close to him, wearing a moon-white coat, stood quietly on the bridge.

　See you tomorrow, sisters, please be kind and interact with me after reading my articles. During the new book period, I need your love from all sides～～Xia mua!
　　(End of this chapter)