Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 45 Shortsightedness
The celebration banquet was held joyously. Madam Qian was surrounded by everyone, her face full of satisfaction, her mouth smiling so much that it almost reached her ears. This was the most revealing moment she had ever made since she married into the Xue family.

"I am a woman from a merchant family, how can I understand these things? This time, I am grateful for the guidance of the old lady, and our sixth daughter..."

As she spoke, she pulled Xue Sui in front of her and smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Don't underestimate the Sixth Miss because she is young. She is so smart and has helped me a lot. Otherwise, I would have embarrassed our Third Master today."

Everyone agreed.

"The Third Madam has finally made it through."

"Mr. Xue San has loved wielding a spear and a sword since he was young, and now his wish has come true. He has caught the eye of General Yiwu, and his future is limitless."

"It's also the blessing of the Third Madam."

"Thank you for the compliment." The Third Lady smiled modestly and glanced at the First Lady. "It's just that I have a job and I get paid by the emperor. I don't have to look at other people's faces for food anymore."

Everyone laughed again, and the atmosphere became more lively.

Fu was sitting in the waterside pavilion of the Moon Watching Tower, surrounded by several maids and old women, with an expressionless face.

Aunt Liu curled her lips in disdain, "You are so petty! You look like you have never seen the world."

Xiu Gu said: "Madam is kindhearted, she allows them to be so presumptuous. If it were me, I would say that based on her background, she is not even worthy of carrying Madam's shoes..."

The eldest lady raised her eyebrows slightly, her expression showing a bit of fatigue: "Say less, no one else can hear it. Do you think I am the eldest sister-in-law and I am unwilling to tolerate others?"

There are a lot of gossips in the mansion, and the eldest lady has had a hard time these days. The servants wanted to find an excuse to let her express her feelings, but after hearing her words, they had to give up. They just watched the third wife being so proud of herself, and it was not a good idea to meddle in other people's business in such an occasion.

At this moment, Cui Yu, a maid from Lianshui Pavilion, suddenly appeared running towards this side in a hurry.

His face was as pale as paper, and there was blood on his hands and clothes.

"Madam, Master, something bad has happened..."

Everyone looked over.

Xue Qingzhi stood up from his seat and asked, "Why are you so flustered?"

The little girl looked at his majestic face, then timidly glanced at the guests in the room, bit her lower lip, and held her breath before she burst into tears.

"Our second daughter committed suicide."

The eldest lady said that the second young lady liked quietness, so she left two maids of her own in Lianshui Pavilion to serve her. Even a few servants who did rough work were told not to enter the master's room at will.

Therefore, no one outside knows what is happening over there.

When the girl's voice fell, the air seemed to freeze.

The originally festive atmosphere was abruptly interrupted.

Xue Qingzhi's smile also froze on his face.

"On such a happy day, what sin did she commit?"

The maid trembled and said, "Just now, Second Uncle Yao, Second Uncle Yao had a fight with Second Miss... After the uncle left, Second Miss changed her clothes and combed her hair again, and sent Cuiyu and I to the outer room, saying that she wanted to calm down for a while to avoid being laughed at by others."

"Cui Yu and I waited and waited, but the second young lady didn't come out, so we pushed the door open to see, and the second young lady... was so upset that she cut her wrists..."

Cuiyu was not very old, but she looked terrified. Her body was extremely tense and she kept repeating herself.

But everyone finally understood.

Yao Wei beat the second girl and the couple had a quarrel.

"This damn girl, why can't she just let it go?"

The old lady's face darkened to the extreme and she glanced at Fu who was watching coldly.

"Why don't you call the palace doctor quickly! You, the mistress, really don't care at all!"

Fu sneered inwardly and did not retort when being blamed. She sent someone to call for a doctor while taking people to Lianshui Pavilion.

The female relatives also came to visit.

The door of Lianshui Pavilion was open. Xue Yuelou was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and her face pale. Half of her body seemed to be soaked in blood. The maid Cuiyu tore the bed sheet in a hurry. Her body was shaking like a sieve. She wrapped her wrists but couldn't stop the bleeding.

The strong smell of blood can be smelled even through the curtain.

Xue Yueying followed over, and as soon as she stepped into the house, the pungent smell rushed straight to her head.

Her stomach churned, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth and nose, and she almost vomited with a "vomit" sound...

Xue Qingzhi frowned: "Why are you following me? Go down and have a rest."

Xue Yueying's eyes were red. "My daughter wants to come and see my second sister..."

Hearing this, Fu sneered and signaled the maid, "Why don't you help your fourth girl down quickly? She is so delicate, don't let her get bumped here."

Xue Yueying's face turned slightly pale, and Xue Qingzhi's face also sank. Each of them had their own sharp words, and they seemed to have completely forgotten that the person they should be most concerned about at the moment was Xue Yuelou, who was lying on the bed unconscious after cutting his wrists.

The girl fell to her knees with a thud, crying breathlessly.

"Madam, Master, please save the second young lady. Please save our second young lady."

Fu's face was gloomy: "Why are you kneeling before me? It's as if I killed her with a knife."

Xue Qingzhi saw the scene in the house, frowned, and began to urge.

"Where is the court doctor? Why hasn't the court doctor come yet..."

The room then became busy.

Xue Sui watched from afar. The large patches of scarlet stung his eyes. The compassionate faces that looked like they were wearing ghost masks were so abominable.

Looking at her second sister who was so thin that she looked like a ghost, she felt a deep sense of compassion.

A concubine's daughter in the harem who has no one to protect her is like a rootless duckweed. In the end, she is nothing but a victim of the family's interests. She has to please others and be bullied in order to survive.

"Get out of the way." Xue Sui pushed through the crowd and walked over quickly.

Her face was stern and her eyes were determined. She took the golden medicine from Xiao Zhao's hand. In the astonished eyes of everyone, she neatly untied the towel wrapped around her wrist, sprinkled the golden medicine on Xue Yuelou's wound, and then re-bandaged it to stop the bleeding.

Everyone's eyes were on hers.

Xue Yue'e said in surprise: "What is Sixth Sister doing? She wants to be in the limelight, but she shouldn't joke with Second Sister's life...Father, Mother, please stop her."

Xue Yueman also said anxiously: "Second sister is unconscious, Xue Liu, please let her go!"

Xue Qingzhi: "Shut up!" He had been to the battlefield and could see that Xue Sui was saving people.

Xue Sui did all this as if no one was around, then gently pried open Xue Yuelou's teeth, stuffed a pill into them, and then lifted her lower jaw. I don't know how he did it, but the unconscious Xue Yuelou's throat moved slightly and she swallowed the pill.

Everyone was surprised.

Yao Wei arrived late and happened to see this scene. He shouted:
"Xue Liu, what did you give the Second Lady to eat?"

Xue Sui looked at him coldly without saying a word.

Yao Wei's body froze, looking at Xue Sui's cold eyes, thinking of what she had just said in Wangyue Tower, he restrained his expression a little, acting like a loving couple, walked forward and hugged Xue Yuelou, heartbroken.

"Second Madam, why are you doing this? I was just angry and said a few words to you. Why are you so upset? Your husband came here specially to take you back home today."

Xue Sui looked at him and sneered, "My second sister is alive and well, why do you need to come and mourn?"

Yao Wei has been used to bullying her since childhood, how could he bear this change?
He raised his eyebrows and said, "Xue Liu, it's not your turn to speak about the matter between me and the Second Lady?"

A smile suddenly appeared on Xue Sui's originally solemn face, and his dark eyes were so deep that they seemed to be soaked in boundless coldness, which made Yao Wei feel a chill down his spine.

"The court doctor is here!"

The arrival of the court doctor interrupted the tense situation.

Everyone waited with bated breath, not daring to make a sound.

The palace doctor carefully examined Xue Yuelou's injuries and couldn't help but exclaimed in amazement.

"Second Aunt is so lucky that even the God of Hell won't take her away."

Even after losing so much blood, he was still able to survive and his vital signs stabilized. This was very rare even for him, who had been a doctor for half his life.

He turned to look at Xue Sui, bowed and asked, "I wonder what medicine the Sixth Miss gave the Second Miss?"

Xue Sui looked calm, "It's just a ginseng pill. He's still holding on. Fortunately, the doctor came in time."

Seeing that the Sixth Miss didn't want to say more, the court doctor smiled and stopped asking questions. He bowed and stepped aside, concentrating on writing the prescription.

Yao Wei watched the people coming and going in the room.

Finally, his cold eyes fell on Xue Sui.

This Xue Liu deserves to die even more than he did ten years ago.

—

Mrs. Qian was unhappy that a good banquet was ruined like this. But the limelight had already been revealed, and the second young lady was really pitiful, so she couldn't blame her. She asked someone to bring some high-quality medicinal herbs, handed them to Bizhu, and gave her some detailed instructions.

"Take good care of your second daughter. If there is anything you need, come to the west courtyard to find me."

Bizhu shed tears and said yes.

Xue Yuelou woke up an hour later.

When she finally opened her eyes with great effort, she saw Xue Sui sitting beside the bed, his eyelashes drooping and his face solemn. The light and shadow fell on her slender figure, as if it was coated with a layer of glow, revealing a reassuring power.

"Sixth sister..."

Xue Sui turned his head when he heard the voice, and his eyes softened a little.

"Second Miss, are you feeling better?"

Xue Yuelou's eyes turned red, tears began to fall again, and his heart was filled with sorrow.

"I'm telling you a joke."

Xue Sui shook his head slightly, and asked with a smile: "Didn't you laugh at my jokes enough in those years?"

Xue Yuelou's face changed, as if he remembered something, and hesitated to speak: "Sixth sister, my second sister was incompetent back then..."

"I know everything." Xue Sui interrupted her gently, his voice revealing a bit of loneliness: "The year I left the mansion, Aunt Liu was punished by the eldest lady to go to Baiyun Temple to copy scriptures and pray for blessings. You followed her for half a year and didn't know about it..."

Xue Yuelou said: "I know. But... I can't help you with anything."

Xue Sui smiled and said, "Then I'll help you."

"What else can I do?" Xue Yuelou smiled bitterly.

"After marrying into the Yao Mansion for so many years, my mother-in-law is unkind, my father-in-law doesn't like me, my sister-in-law always ridicules me, and my husband hates me to the extreme... My child, Ming'er, was born stupid and foolish, not presentable, and will have a hard time inheriting the family business in the future..."

Xue Sui bent down slightly and looked at Xue Yuelou at eye level, "Second Miss, have you ever thought about why Ming Ge'er is so stupid?"

Xue Yuelou choked suddenly, and the image of Mingge'er as a child involuntarily emerged in his mind.

She remembered that when Ming'er was just born, he was cute and lively. He was even smarter when he was babbling. He was not like he is now, stupid and timid. He didn't understand anything he was told and couldn't remember anything he was taught. He had to be reminded countless times for even the smallest thing.

Especially later, the Yao family felt that he was a disgrace and did not allow him to leave the house or interact with others, which made him even more dull and stagnant.

Thinking of this, Xue Yuelou burst into tears and sobbed, "Poor Ming, it's all my fault as a mother. I gave birth to him and didn't take good care of him, it's all my fault..."

Xue Sui shook his head slightly.

"Whenever something goes wrong, find fault with others. Be less critical of yourself and more critical of others."

Xue Yuelou lowered his head, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

"Now I am still useful to Yao Wei. He is only thinking about career advancement, and it would be bad to have the reputation of mistreating his wife. But if one day I am no longer useful... my brother Ming, life will surely be even more difficult. Sometimes, I think that taking him with me would be a relief..."

Xue Sui held her hand and patted the back of her hand gently, "For Ming Ge'er, you have to live well. Other things will be arranged by God..."

Xue Yuelou was slightly startled and raised his tearful eyes.

"Do you think God can see this?"

Xue Sui smiled at her and nodded.

"There is a god above us. Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished. Karma will continue. Second sister, you must stand up!"

Xue Yuelou looked at her with tears in his eyes.

Xue Sui held her hand tightly and said, "Only when you stand up can you support your child."

Xiao Zhao: Girl, it’s time to place the order.

Xue Sui quickly wrote two words: East Palace.

Li Zhao:? ? ? ?