Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 48 Private Alliance
Xue Yuelou came early, wearing a brightly colored new dress and putting on makeup. She looked more energetic, holding the hand of her six-year-old son Mingger. Although her expression was cold and indifferent, even the servants saw it and secretly talked about how Second Uncle Yao had gotten into trouble and Second Aunt's complexion had visibly improved.

She went to see the old lady and Mrs. Fu, and then went straight to Lixiangyuan.

Xue Sui looked at her face and smiled with a relaxed look.

"Ruyi, quickly find a seat for the second young lady."

Xue Yuelou was not polite with her. He sat down and took the tea poured by Ruyi, then talked about Yao Wei.

"Mr. Yao San's life was saved, but his eyes were damaged. He couldn't see clearly and couldn't speak clearly. He groaned and coughed all day long and couldn't even get out of bed. The doctor said that this was due to the inhalation of dirty fluid, which caused the lung qi to stagnate and damaged the internal organs. The body fluid turned into phlegm, which blocked the airway, burned the lung yin, and ulcerated the corners of the eyes..."

She said it with a smile.

Xue Sui listened with a smile.

Yao Wei, whose life was worse than death, was even more miserable, and he could no longer bully her.

Xue Yuelou couldn't suppress his joy, and spoke again without waiting for Xue Sui to ask.

"The Yao family was in a state of depression. They invited all the famous doctors in the capital, but they all said that the disease was difficult to treat and that no matter how they treated him, he would probably never recover. His parents and widowed sister-in-law cried their hearts out and forced me to take care of him. I was happy to do so because he was under my control at the moment... I was willing to serve him now."

Xue Sui smiled slightly.

"Master Yao San has suffered such a great injustice, but he doesn't want to seek revenge?"

Xue Yuelou chuckled: "Who are you going to settle accounts with? The wound on Mr. Yao's back is obviously a cat's paw print. Do you think we should catch all the cats in Shangjing City and interrogate them?"

Seeing her happy expression, Xue Sui also smiled.

Senior Brother Yaoguang is very experienced and has plenty of ways to deal with this kind of thing.

She thought about it, with a hint of smile on her lips, and asked in a very secretive manner.

"Has there been any abnormality in the Yao Mansion recently?"

Xue Yuelou was startled. Seeing that there was no one around him, he took out two rolled-up paper rolls from his wide sleeves and handed them to Xue Sui.

"I found this in his study. Sixth sister, can you take a look and see if it can be of use?"

Yao Wei's father was Yao Hong, the Minister of Internal Affairs. He was usually responsible for the drafting, reviewing, and communicating of court decrees. He also participated in the compilation of some archival books. He had access to the court's confidential decrees and important official letters.

But what Xue Yuelou gave to Xue Sui had nothing to do with this.

It’s about the appointment and removal of officials…

There were three imperial examinations on February 9, 12 and 15 this year. After the Spring Examination, many local students stayed in Beijing to seek official positions.

The father and son of Minister Yao begged Princess Pingle for help and took the opportunity to make a lot of money...

They were originally from the same party. Yao Wei's biological sister, Yao Minjun, was the head of Princess Pingle's "Women's Shop" and was one of Pingle's trusted lackeys.

“It’s very useful.”

Xue Sui took the things and smiled at Xue Yuelou.

"Second sister, are you willing to divorce and leave the Yao Mansion completely?"

Xue Yuelou was very surprised to hear the word "divorce".

"Sixth sister...how can you do this?"

Since ancient times, it has been easy for women to be divorced, but it is extremely difficult to get a divorce.

From the moment she married into the Yao family, she had been a tool for the marriage between the two families. She had suffered days and nights of humiliation and even asked Yao Wei to divorce her, but was unsuccessful. How could she get rid of it?
"Let me keep you in suspense for now. For now, Second Sister, take care of yourself and enjoy serving Third Master Yao. If you have any difficulties in the mansion, go to Manager Fang and he will help you."

After Xue Sui finished speaking, he stood up and walked over to gently stroke the child who was squatting on the ground playing.

"Ming, come here, call me auntie..."

Ming Ge'er raised his head and looked at her blankly, with saliva hanging from the corners of his mouth and his eyes dull, clearly looking stupid.

Xue Yuelou sighed secretly, feeling very sad.

"Ming'er fell ill when he was three years old. He consulted numerous doctors and took countless medicines, but it still didn't work..."

Xue Sui picked up the child and said with a smile, "It's quite heavy."

Xue Yuelou said: "Fortunately, his mouth is still working well, he can eat and sleep, otherwise I would be even more worried."

Xue Sui weighed the child and found that he was taller and stronger than ordinary children. His facial features were like Xue Yuelou's, handsome and elegant. If it weren't for this disease, he would have been a handsome man when he grew up.

She looked at Xue Yuelou: "Do you want to leave Ming'er in Lixiangyuan for a few days? I'll find someone to look after him..."

A look of hope appeared on Xue Yuelou's face.

She was able to survive that day thanks to Xue Sui's help.

"Sixth sister turned out to be a miracle doctor?"

Xue Sui smiled awkwardly.

"I don't dare to call myself a miracle doctor, I just know a little bit."

Xue Yuelou thought she was being modest and thanked her profusely.

But Xue Sui was serious.

She studied ten arts in the old mausoleum, one of which was medicine. But she was not specialized in medicine. The real expert was her senior brother Tianshu. The pill that saved Xue Yuelou that day was given to her by Tianshu to save her life...

It's just that she couldn't tell Xue Yuelou about this kind of thing.

So he picked up Ming Ge'er again and changed the subject.

"It should be getting lively up front by now, shall we go take a look?"

Xue Yuelou had hope for the future, and his face looked much better. He quickly responded and followed. "Prince Duan is here, and there are more guests than usual. All the famous families in Shangjing have sent gifts..."

This is how the mundane world is. Even if you want to be more noble, you have to go with the flow in the treacherous world of fame and fortune and struggle to survive. Everyone is like this, it is inevitable...

Xue Sui's eyes were indifferent, but his smile remained unchanged.

"As you deserve."

It’s time for everyone to come and see the grand ceremony of the Xue family’s daughter’s wedding and see how rich Xue Yueying’s dowry is…
-
At about the hour of You, the wedding procession from the Jingyuan Marquis's residence arrived, beating gongs and drums along the way, and marching through Fu'an Lane in a grand and majestic manner.

The Xue family’s mansion is at the very end of Fu’an Lane.

The two sides were already surrounded by people.

There were maids from the Xue mansion, scattering wedding money and handing out wedding candies at the door, and the atmosphere was very lively.

"The bridal sedan has arrived, and the groom is here!"

Gu Jie was wearing a bright red wedding suit and a black veil on his head. His handsome face was flushed, his eyes were bright, his posture was upright, and his smile was like the warm spring sun. He looked full of vigor and vitality.

He bowed frequently and saluted those around him with a smile, which caused bursts of laughter.

"What a handsome groom."

"Gu Wulang is famous for his talent and handsome appearance. Many ladies from famous families are attracted to him, but he only loves the girl from the Xue Mansion."

"That's because the Xue family is so well-off that they can attract such an outstanding son-in-law..."

Amidst the praises, Gu Jie walked to the gate of the mansion and dismounted from his horse.

At the gate, several brothers of the Xue family, as well as the boys of uncles, aunts, cousins, and relatives' families, were all crowded there, chattering and shouting, demanding that the groom pass before they could enter.

The customs passed down from our ancestors cannot be broken by anyone.

When it comes to reciting poems and composing couplets, Gu Jie is no problem at all.

The brothers happily asked questions, and Gu Jie answered them quickly and well, drawing applause from the whole room.

At this time, Xue Yi, the youngest son of the third room, squeezed out from the crowd, raised his hands, and shouted with a smile.

"I want to ask questions, too. Let me ask questions!"

The little guy had a chubby face and stood in the middle of the crowd with his hands on his hips, immediately causing everyone to laugh.

"It's too early for you to be a groom, so don't make trouble..."

Xue Yi's face turned red and he screamed at the top of his voice.

"I want to ask the groom, 'secretly conjure a child without a marriage accomplice, secretly conceive a child, and have sex with a male and a female', how do you explain this? I heard someone say that my fourth sister and her husband were like this..."

The child's words were like pouring a bucket of cold water into a hot oil pan.

There was a sudden silence around, and the smiles on everyone's faces froze.

The child was still young, so what he said was not scheming. But every word was like a slap in the face of Gu Jie and the Xue family. Even those who were not aware of the situation would smile knowingly after hearing this, and would understand it to some extent.

Gu Jie's smile became extremely awkward, and the festive atmosphere became subtle.

The matchmaker was knowledgeable and experienced, so she quickly had Xue Yi taken away. The young man from the Xue family stopped making a fuss and opened the door to let him in. Gu Jie slipped in, pretending not to see the fiery gazes and hear the whispers of the people around him.

Little Xue Yi was brought in by the wet nurse. In front of the old lady and the eldest lady, Qian scolded him with a dark face. The child pouted and shed tears silently, which made the old lady feel distressed again.

After this incident, Xue Qingzhi had a very unhappy look on his face as he had embarrassed the Xue family.

But it was a happy occasion and it was impossible to have a quarrel with the people from the third room in front of all the guests.

Xue Qingxiu didn't care much. He touched his son's head and blamed Qian.

"Why scold him? Children speak without restraint. Yi Ge'er is at an age where he is eager to learn. He knows that his fourth brother-in-law is very knowledgeable, so he went to him to solve his doubts. What's the big deal? Is it worth making a fuss?"

He was used to being carefree, and Qian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In private, she quietly asked Xue Yi:

"Tell me honestly, who told you to do this?"

Xue Yi stuck out his tongue and ran faster than the wind.

"I won't tell you. I won't tell you!"

Qian could only sigh in amusement.

"This is also the fault of the fourth lady herself. No one else can be blamed."
-
Glazed Pavilion.

Before Xue Yueying even left the house, she heard people talking about what happened at the gatehouse.

She was so angry that her face turned red, her heart beat faster, and tears came immediately. The makeup lady had to patiently touch up her makeup. Several people took turns to comfort her for a while. Finally she suppressed her anger and took the "wedding fan" embroidered with twin lotus flowers. With the help of the wedding lady, she covered her face and went out of the house. She went to the altar in the courtyard, knelt down and kowtowed, bid farewell to her ancestors and parents, and then got into the bridal sedan.

The wedding procession went out with music and drums, and Ruyi looked on with regret.

"It's such a shame to let the fourth girl go so easily.

Xiao Zhao crossed his arms and nodded, "Why not kill him..."

Ruyi was shocked, "Why do you always think about fighting and killing?"

Xiao Zhao looked at her and said, "We don't have any other skills."

Xue Sui wiped Mingge'er's saliva, glanced at the two of them, and smiled faintly.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy..."