Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 51 Slap
Madam Chun was lying on the couch, with a crab-green cloud-patterned blanket covering her knees. The temperature had risen in spring, but she still felt cold during the day and seldom went out.

In order to entertain her, the maids and servants told her funny stories in different ways, and did not dare to mention a word of the gossip about Xue Yueying and Jingyuan Marquis Mansion that were circulating in the streets.

"You said, the one who is going to marry into the family is the Sixth Miss. How relieved I am right now..."

Mrs. Chun said this with a smile, but suddenly she saw her son standing at the door and couldn't help but frown.

"Why didn't you make any noise when you came?"

Gu Jie finally came to his senses, stepped forward and bowed to greet him, then said to the servant in the room:

"You guys go out, I have something to say to my mother."

Madam Chun knew that he was doing this for Xue Yueying. She snorted and waved her hand. After the maids and servants had left, she pulled the thin blanket and asked calmly:
"Are you going to blame your mother for your new bride?"

Gu Jie's cheeks were burning. Yesterday, Ying'er had spit on her parents' faces, and her father almost lost his temper. It was his mother who persuaded him to stop. Not only did she not blame him, but she also comforted Ying'er in front of everyone. Although he knew that his mother did it for the sake of her unborn grandson, it was already generous of his mother-in-law to do this.

Gu Jie lowered his head and said, "I don't dare. I just came to see if my mother is feeling better."

"You won't die." Mrs. Chun snorted unhappily, and when she saw his expression, her brows slightly frowned.

"You look so sad when you come back, but what happened?"

Gu Jie hesitated and pursed his lips, his heart was twisted like a knot.

The person who loves her child the most in the world is her mother.

But my mother is ill, how can I let her know about the Treasury Department...

Gu Jie was in a state of panic. He wanted to tell the truth to his mother, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps, the treasurer just made a cursory check. After all, it was the same every year, and he could just muddle through it. He did it covertly, with so many old accounts, where would he start?
Gu Jie gritted his teeth secretly, not daring to say a word, and only said: "Ying'er has had morning sickness recently, so mother doesn't need to worry about her food, lest she gets upset and affects the baby in her belly..."

When Mrs. Chun heard this, she couldn't help but sneer.

"I knew you weren't here to visit the patient. Do you also think that I am deliberately being harsh on your new bride? In your heart, your mother is such a person who doesn't know the importance of things?"

After that, she closed her eyes and waved her hands.

"Stupid thing, get out, I'm tired."

Gu Jie's heart choked, "Mother..."

Whenever he came, his mother was always delighted. Even if she was not feeling well, she would still force herself to smile for him.

Don’t you want to say even one more word now?
-
Xue Yueying has not left the mansion since the day of her wedding and is not fully aware of the rumors.

She followed Qiao'er's advice and prepared generous gifts to go find Pingle.

Today was not the gathering day of the "Women's Society". There were only some people doing chores in the society, and the princess was not there. She thought for a moment and simply went to Princess Pingle's mansion.

Pingle is the only princess in this dynasty with the same rank as a prince.

She had her own mansion and staff, just like a prince. Her mansion was huge, with a towering vermilion-lacquered gate and door knockers with intricate, lifelike carvings of animal heads, giving it a royal air at first glance.

However, after Pingle got married, she and her husband Duwei were very much in love and lived a happy life. Normally, he would go to the Women's Society to discuss matters with them and he did not like people from the Women's Society to come to him.

Therefore, Xue Yueying was very cautious and gave the doorman a generous reward.

"Young man, please put in a good word for me when you pass on the message."

This is what she always does. Money paves the way and everything can be negotiated.

Unexpectedly, the doorman today seemed to find the money too hot to handle, and he retracted his hand, and the purse fell to the ground.

"Miss Xue Si, please go back quickly. The princess won't see you right now."

Xue Yueying was slightly startled and smiled gently.

"This... I have something important to discuss with the princess. I beg for your leniency."

Seeing that she still didn't understand, the doorman couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"If you come to ask for help for nothing, the princess may not be willing to see you, let alone if you have something to ask for. You don't need to tell me about Fourth Miss Xue's matter. Are you afraid that you will cause trouble for the princess?"

He looked around and whispered, "The rumors in the capital are spreading everywhere, pointing the finger at the princess. The princess was called into the palace early this morning. She might be scolded by His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine again. Aren't you asking for trouble by coming to His Highness at this time?"

Xue Yueying shivered and felt something was wrong.

She carried the gift that she couldn't give away, said thank you, stepped down the stairs, and was about to get in the sedan chair to leave when she saw a group of people walking towards her in the distance.

If that isn’t Princess Pingle’s carriage, then what is it?
Xue Yueying felt as if she had been granted amnesty. Her eyes instantly filled with tears and she almost knelt down.

"Princess, save me..."

Pingle was sitting on the sedan chair, and was furious when he saw her unlucky look.

There were countless eyes staring at the door of the princess's mansion. If she gave Xue Yueying a smile at this moment, someone would dare to say that they were connected...

This idiot!

Pingle raised his chin and instructed the nanny beside him.

"Someone, get this fool out of here!"
-
Xue Sui has not gone out these days.

I stay in Lixiangyuan every day, drinking tea and eating with Xueji, which is very relaxing.

In a blink of an eye, the day for Xue Yueying to return home arrived.

After all, gossip heard from outside is not as interesting as what is said in person.

Early in the morning, Xue Sui became interested when he heard that Gu Jie and Xue Yueying's carriage had arrived at the mansion. He changed into festive clothes, asked Xue Ji and the wet nurse to take care of Ming Ge'er, and took Xiao Zhao and Ruyi to the main hall.

Unexpectedly, when passing by the garden, I saw Gu Jie first.

He came over side by side with Xue Lan, followed by a few followers. It was unknown what they were talking about, but both of them had smiles on their faces, and they disappeared the moment they saw Xue Sui.

Xue Lan was the eldest son of the first wife, and had always been arrogant. He was still brooding over what happened last time, so when he saw Xue Sui he turned his nose up and sneered.

"Gu Wulang is already married, why are you still coming here?"

Xue Sui glanced at him and asked Ruyi who was standing beside him.

"Could it be that this Xue Mansion's garden was built for Fourth Uncle Gu? Only Fourth Uncle Gu is allowed to pass through, and we are not allowed to walk?"

Ruyi was bad-mouthed and laughed softly, "Maybe someone is stupid."

"How dare you!" Xue Lan didn't expect a little girl to dare to mock her. He pointed at her and said, "You, give me twenty slaps in the face."

Xue Sui: "No."

Xue Lan was furious: "What do you mean?"

Xue Sui: "I don't agree."

After saying that, he glanced at Xiao Zhao and Ruyi and said, "Let's go."

Xue Lan was so angry that he rushed forward and was about to slap Ruyi. Xue Sui grabbed his wrist without saying a word and slapped him back with his backhand.

With a loud bang, the earth shook.

Not only Xue Lan was stunned, but Ruyi was also stunned.

The girl always said that she wanted to "win people over with virtue", but she actually used martial virtue for her. She was so moved that her eyes were about to burst into tears...

Xue Lan was so angry that he was fuming. "Xue Liu, you dare to hit me, a slut like you, how dare you hit me?"

Xue Lan always acted arrogantly in the mansion, and was always courteous to everyone he met. He couldn't understand even if he racked his brains, how could the usually humble Xue Liu dare to slap him in the face?

"Come here, tie this girl up and take her to the ancestral hall. As her elder brother, I will punish her severely today."

Xue Sui sneered, "Why don't you try it?"

Xiao Zhao and Ruyi stood on Xue Sui's left and right.

"Who dares to touch our girl?"

Xue Lan sneered, and seeing the two girls being so strong, he became even more furious. He clenched his fist and was about to attack them, but his arm was grabbed by Gu Jie who came up immediately.

"Uncle, forget it, forget it. A gentleman should use words instead of fists. Why bother with a woman?"

He advised and glanced at Xue Sui.

"Xue Liu, please stop causing trouble. Aren't there enough troubles in this mansion because of your return?"

Xue Sui looked at his righteous expression and a laugh burst out of his throat, which he couldn't suppress.

"Where does Fourth Uncle Gu get the nerve to do this?"

Gu Jie frowned and sighed.

"It's my fault that I betrayed you. It has nothing to do with Ying'er. My uncle is even more innocent. Why do you have to make things difficult for others? Forgive others when you can. Ying'er and I are already married. Can we end our grudge here?"

Xiao Zhao was stunned when she heard this.

Ruyi shouted "good boy" in her heart and was greatly shocked.

"What the girl said is right. As long as you do a lot of bad things, you will be thick-skinned enough. Did Fourth Uncle-in-law eat wax on his wedding night to seal his brain? Your Fourth Auntie got pregnant before marriage and made a scene at the wedding hall. You are the one who should be laughed at. The Fourth Auntie is pregnant with your child, not our girl's. Who is harming whom? You have a face as big as a bowl. Can't you see it in the mirror?"

Ruyi learned a lot of swear words from the old women in the mansion.

Having said that, anyone else should have the idea in their mind.

But Gu Jie has always felt superior to Xue Liu since he was a child.

Xue Liu once risked his life for her, and her love for him became his deep-rooted belief, which he could not change in a short time.

He believed that Xue Liu's complaints were all because he refused to marry.

"Xue Liu, that's enough. Let's stop here, okay? If you want to hate someone, hate me, and don't do anything to Ying'er again. You must know that no matter what you do, Gu Jie will never have anything to do with you again in this life..."

Xue Sui: “…”

She spoke only when she saw Gu Jie pulling Xue Lan away.

"Master Gu, please stay."

Gu Jie looked back at her carefully made-up face, her fair skin and graceful figure, her expression full of affection, and his heart was slightly moved.

If Xue Liu was not rejected by Princess Pingle, it would be nice to take her back home as a concubine to serve me. I would be happier seeing her, and my illness would get better.

It's a pity that she is destined to be hated by everyone. Getting involved with her will only cause trouble...

Gu Jie sighed.

"Don't waste your energy any more. It's useless for you and me to say anything..."

Xue Sui asked with a calm smile: "Do you know what I am going to do?"

Gu Jie said: "If you want to scold me, go ahead. There's no need to act so aggrieved..."

Xue Sui sneered, walked up to him, raised his hand and slapped him.

"This slap should wake up Fourth Uncle Gu. Go back and look in the mirror and see what makes you worthy of me."

Gu Jie suddenly tilted his head and covered his face, "You hit me?"

Not only did they beat Xue Lan, but they also beat him?

"Xue Liu, are you crazy?"

Xue Lan was extremely angry upon seeing this and rushed forward to attack.

"Xue Liu, you crazy woman, I will personally teach you a lesson today..."

Xue Sui grabbed his hand without saying a word and slapped him again, making Xue Lan dizzy. He was immediately furious and completely forgot about his gentlemanly manners. He rushed towards him like a madman.

"Little hoof, I'll tear you apart..."

The two maids rushed forward to protect their master, and Xue Lan's servants were also eager to try.

The scene was in chaos and very ugly.

At this moment, a loud cough was heard suddenly.

Then I heard the servants' greetings.

"Greetings, Your Majesty, Princess!"

Xue Sui glanced sideways and saw Li Huan and Xue Yuechen.

Li Huan was dressed in a brocade robe, with an upright posture and a stern expression. Xue Yuechen stood beside him with delicate makeup, and her slightly furrowed brows revealed a bit of worry.

Everyone in the garden fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Xue Yuechen forced a smile.

"Brother Lan, Sixth Sister, what's going on?"

When Xue Lan saw his elder sister and brother-in-law, his face turned red with anger and he became even more furious.

He pointed at Xue Sui: "This bitch, how dare she hit me and attack me and Brother Gu..."

Xue Yuechen frowned unhappily and glared at him.

Xue Liu was the concubine of Prince Duan's mansion promised by Concubine Xiao herself, so she shouldn't be called a lowly servant all the time.

She and Li Huan both saw the slap just now. Although they didn't know why, Xue Liu was so cruel, so it must be because of his second brother's bad mouth.

She had a terrible headache.

I didn't want Li Huan to see such a scene, but he saw it anyway.

Every time Li Huan appeared, Xue Liu would beat him up.

How could this make him feel good about her and allow her to sleep with him sooner?
Xue Yuechen's mind turned thousands of times, and he said to Li Huan in a gentle voice: "There is a small conflict between the brother and sister. I will go and say a few words. Your Highness, please go to the room and sit for a while. I will come later."

Li Huan narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Xue Sui.

"It doesn't matter. I'll see how the princess handles it."

Xiao Zhao: Conquer others with virtue. Our girl has finally conquered others with her martial virtue.

Xue Sui: ...It's not worth it, I did it myself.

PS: Erjin, Xue Liu and "Ask the Nine Ministers" wish all the sisters who read this article a safe, healthy, prosperous, and smiling new year~