Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 4 Changing Fate Against Heaven
The three masters were waiting for her in the quiet room.

A solitary lamp is reflected on the wooden window. In the night of the old mausoleum swamp, the mountain wind howls like ghosts and wolves.

Master Jingshan sat cross-legged on a cushion, his body and eyes were calm. His pair of dark eyes, which had long been unable to see, revealed unquestionable majesty.

"Thirteen, kneel down!"

Xue Sui knelt down straight, "Master, Second Master, Third Master..."

She is the thirteenth and youngest disciple of the three elders who guard the corpses in the Old Mausoleum Swamp.

Young disciples are always the most favored.

Seeing her bow her head and admit her mistake, the Third Master couldn't help but sigh with distress: "Thirteen, was it you who secretly planned to get the eldest lady of the Xue family to find you and return to the capital?"

Xue Sui lowered her head slightly and nodded.

The second master asked, "Have you thought it through?"

"I have been thinking about this for ten years."

Xue Sui bowed again, kowtowed to each of the three masters, and raised his eyes. "Ten years ago, they often said that the daughter of a dancer was destined to be lowly, to endure all kinds of suffering and to endure all kinds of crimes. Even if she was beaten and enslaved by a noble, she should regard it as a blessing from heaven... They also said that I was born a bad seed with too strong Seven Killings, and I deserved to suffer humiliation. I have endured ten years of hardship just to get to this day... I want to change my fate! Please help me, three masters."

After a moment, Jing Shan finally spoke again: "Back then, your master swore in front of your master's sickbed that the corpse guardians of the Old Mausoleum Swamp would stay away from the turmoil of the martial arts world and the struggles in the court for generations, and only protect the peace of this place..."

"Disciple understands." Xue Sui lowered his head, took out the "Imperial Envoy" token from his arms, rubbed it reluctantly for a moment, raised his hands high above his head, and knocked it heavily.

"I am seeking revenge for a personal grudge and should not be in charge of the imperial edict. The journey is long and arduous, and I am responsible for my own life and death. The grudge has nothing to do with the Old Mausoleum Swamp!"

The forehead hit the cold blue brick, making a slight muffled sound, as if knocking on people's hearts.

"I am an unfilial disciple. I beg the three teachers to take care of their health and stay healthy. I will repay the teachers' kindness after I have avenged my great hatred."

Jingshan is silent, and his blind eyes are like a vast sea of ​​clouds.

The other two masters glanced at her from the corner of their eyes from time to time, silently and speechlessly.

They seemed to see the little girl who was as thin as a bean sprout, with stains on her face and tattered clothes, holding a rusty dagger, walking towards them step by step with her bare feet covered with blood blisters, and then kneeling heavily on the ground.

"I, the disciple, am willing to accept the master's teachings and follow him from now on. I will learn the ten arts, uphold the chivalrous heart, and help the suffering of the world. If I break this oath, I will be punished by heaven and earth."
-
Xue Sui was put in solitary confinement by his master.

At dawn ten days later, Xue Yueying, the fourth daughter of the Xue family, personally led people to the outside of the old mausoleum swamp.

With Nanny Fang's instruction, she did not dare to enter the Ling Swamp. She only spent money to hire a "guide" to deliver the message.

When Xiao Zhao got the news, Xue Sui was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, copying something with a brush in his hand.

Xiao Zhao was a little excited, "Girl, are we really going to Beijing?"

Xue Sui glanced at the yellow paper he had copied.

There are several names written on it.

There are Pingle, Xie Weilan, Yao Wei, Lu Xi, Guo Zhaohuai, as well as Gu Jie, Fu Shi, Xue Yueying, etc.

There was another one circled with an ink pen, named "Xue Qingzhi".

That's her father.

Xue Sui pulled out the yellow paper with the name on it and threw it into the brazier. When it was completely burned, he smiled and said:
"Go. There are so many delicious foods in Shangjing. Sesame cakes, sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root, eight-treasure soup, exquisitely roasted dried rice. Cloth, rouge, porcelain, spices, all are exquisite. There are restaurants, teahouses, entertainment acrobatics, music, flute and dance, it's all prosperous... How can you know what it's like if you don't go?"

Xiao Zhao shuddered.

She just noticed that what the girl wrote was not the scriptures that the master had punished her to copy, but rather a longer name than the one in the picture album, and she felt a chill in her heart.

Endless killing.

There is no way to kill them all.
-
Xue Yueying was sitting in the carriage. On the small rosewood table in front of her were fruits and hot tea. She was wearing a snow-satin lilac-colored skirt, embellished with rich crabapple and lotus flowers, and her makeup was elegant.

She is very beautiful, and it is hard for anyone who sees her for the first time not to be attracted by her beauty.

Accompanying her was the fifth son of Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion, Gu Jie.

The two of them were talking about their wedding next month.

"Fourth Miss, the person... has been brought out."

Xue Yueying slowly turned her head and saw Xue Sui standing under the ginkgo tree in the cold wind. The yellow leaves covered the ground, and she seemed to be smiling.

Ten years of time were cut short, and it is difficult for the person in front of me to coincide with my memory.

It is undeniable that the lowly dancer girl has grown up to be so beautiful and graceful that people dare not recognize her.

"Sixth sister, is that you?"

Xue Sui walked closer with a smile, "Miss Xue Si, how are you?"

"Sixth sister, you have suffered." Xue Yueying's eyes suddenly turned red, and she stood up and tried to pull Xue Sui.

Xue Sui took a step back, and she found a space, and bent over awkwardly, neither sitting nor standing. "It's been ten years, and Sixth Sister still has complaints in her heart? Alas... How old were they then? They were just immature children, and they were young and ignorant. When they played around, it was inevitable that they would go a little out of line. Sixth Sister should be more tolerant and generous..."

She opened the secret compartment in the carriage and took out the box.

"Madame Fang was frightened in the old mausoleum swamp and fell ill when she returned home. Mother was furious and wanted to beat you with a stick. I persuaded her with all my might and asked Gu Lang to bring a hundred-year-old ginseng. When you return, you can offer it to mother, kowtow, and confess your sins, and then you will be spared the punishment."

Xue Sui smiled slightly.

She is one year older than Xue Yueying, and both were born out of wedlock, but their fates were worlds apart.

The fourth girl was extremely beautiful and gentle. Although her mother died early, she became the white moonlight in Xue Qingzhi's heart. So she was raised by the eldest lady Fu since she was a child. She was considerate and eloquent. Among the many girls in the Xue family, she was the one who was most like her eldest sister Xue Yuechen in character, talent and appearance, and was very favored.

Whenever Xue Sui was bullied in the past, the fourth girl would always stand up for him, speak well of him, and shed tears of sympathy from time to time.

With this unique skill, the more she begged, the more those people bullied her.

And Xue Sui, at first, had treated her as a good person and sincerely...

"Thank you, Fourth Miss." Xue Sui chuckled, his eyes slightly raised.

"Do I need to kneel down to receive your grace?"

Xue Yueying was stunned for a moment, then laughed softly.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Sixth Sister? We are good sisters and family."

She put her hands away from her sleeves and sighed, "I've often dreamed of you over the years. Later, I asked people to look for you, but the people who came back said that you were kidnapped... Sixth sister, you have suffered so much over the years... Alas, since you are still alive, why don't you come back home?"

Home? Xue Sui couldn't help laughing.

"It seems that the fourth lady has forgotten that the Xue family doesn't want me."

Xue Yueying thought of her childhood and wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "It's all in the past. Sisters have not seen each other for a long time, so let's not talk about those sad things. Now that my eldest sister has mercy on me, my sixth sister has found a good marriage, and she has finally made it through..."

Xue Sui smiled and said, "Such a good marriage, shall I give it to the fourth lady?"

Xue Yueying bit her lower lip in grievance, "Sixth sister is still blaming me, because I was young at the time and couldn't protect you?"

Xue Sui pursed his lips: "The fourth lady is still so kind and generous, and she knows how to speak human words."

There was no fluctuation in her tone.

Gu Jie heard the sarcasm in the words and his expression changed.

"Xue Liu, what are you still dreaming about?"

He looked at Xue Sui with disgust: "Ying'er is thinking about you wholeheartedly, but you are unwilling to forgive her. In the final analysis, you still can't let go of our engagement. Don't you think about it, it was not my own will. If you hadn't shamelessly begged my mother back then, how could she force me to marry you?"

Gu Jie's mother and Xue Sui's mother were both famous ladies in Liuxiang Pavilion.

But Gu Jie's mother was carried into the Marquis of Jingyuan's mansion in a sedan chair carried by eight people.

Although Lord Gu did not let her remarry due to family pressure, he did not marry another wife either. All the affairs in the rear house were handled by her, which was equivalent to half the mistress.

The Marquis was willing to listen to her words, so Gu Jie had no choice but to listen.

Xue Sui called her "Auntie Chun". She was a woman who loved to laugh. She smelled very good and had warm palms. She would make delicious candied fruits and put them in her mouth, as if to make people's hearts melt with sweetness.

It was also because of this that when she saw Gu Jie being humiliated by those people because of Aunt Chun's identity, she rushed to rescue him without hesitation.

Gu Jie was timid and never resisted when being beaten or scolded.

They were having so much fun that day that they rode on Gu Jie's head and slashed his clothes with a knife, almost cutting his throat...

It was Xue Sui who rushed over, pushed the knife away, and protected him...

Unexpectedly, the knife cut Princess Pingle's peacock feather dress.

From then on, the person who was bullied changed from Gu Jie to her.

Although Gu Jie, who had climbed out of the abyss, refused to look back at her, Aunt Chun was convinced that she was a good match for Gu Jie and insisted on marrying her into the Xue family.

As a result, Xue Sui later "disappeared for no reason". Aunt Chun heard some gossip coming out of the Xue Mansion and learned about her experience. She was so distressed that she burst into tears and made a harsh statement to others that she would rather her son be a bachelor than marry someone else.

Until this year, when Aunt Chun fell ill and Xue Yueying was pregnant again, the situation could no longer be suppressed if they didn't get married, and it would also be embarrassing for the Marquis, so she softened her heart and agreed to the marriage between Gu Jie and Xue Yueying.

Xue Sui looked at this disgusting couple and suddenly laughed.

"I haven't seen you for ten years. How is Aunt Chun?"

　Li Zhao: Which reader can tell me why people in the comment section call me "Li Zeida"?

　　Xue Sui (sneers): You are so bold! You want to poison me to death.

　　Li Zhao: Okay, Xue Ping'an.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)