Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 54 Hello Sixth Miss
Xue Qingzhi prepared a separate banquet for Prince Duan, separating him from the other people in the Xue Mansion.

After dinner, the two went to the inner room to talk.

As soon as he sat down, Xue Lan lifted the curtain and came in.

"Father, you can't forgive Xue Liu just like that..."

He had not even eaten yet. He returned to the room and put on some of his wife Xu's makeup, but still could not hide the red handmarks on his face. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he went to his father to ask for help.

When he suddenly saw Prince Duan sitting there, he was speechless for a moment.

Xue Qingzhi glared at him secretly and his eyes fell on Li Huan.

"Isn't it embarrassing to make a scene in the palace over such a trivial family matter? Why don't you go and meet His Highness?"

Xue Lan lowered his head and bowed.

"Xue Lan has met His Highness and father..."

Xue Qingzhi saw that Li Huan had a calm expression and said nothing, and his tone became even harsher.

"A man in his early twenties, impetuous and impatient, not knowing the difference between important and unimportant things, arguing with a girl, not acting like a brother, not acting like a gentleman, totally unbecoming! Why don't you step back!"

Xue Lan thought about the loss he suffered at the hands of Xue Liu and wanted to take the opportunity to find trouble with her. However, his father was angry and Prince Duan seemed to be completely indifferent. He did not dare to say anything more and left in disgrace.

Xue Qingzhi looked at Li Huan awkwardly.

"My son is so rude, I am sorry to make Your Highness laugh."

Li Huan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and pretended not to hear.

"Last year, there were sudden floods in many places, Xizhao had unusual movements, and southern Xinjiang was in urgent need of help. Your Majesty was worried about state affairs day and night, and your hair turned white from raising funds for disaster relief. Your health is not as good as before. It's not easy to get through the New Year, and everything is new and the country is stable. The Minister should be careful in what he says and does, and don't let your Majesty worry about trivial matters."

Xue Qingzhi nodded repeatedly.

"I will perform my duties conscientiously and diligently."

Although he spoke sincerely, he was secretly guessing what Prince Duan meant, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Unexpectedly, Li Huan chuckled: "The Shangshu Mansion is financially strong. The dowry list of the fourth lady in the mansion has attracted the envy of many high-ranking families in Shangjing."

Xue Qingzhi's forehead was covered with sweat. "To be honest, I am usually busy with official duties and have no ability to do business and make money. Most of the household chores are taken care of by my wife. Since my father passed away, the situation has been getting worse year by year."

It is right to cry poor in front of the prince.

But every word Xue Qingzhi said was true and he did not go against his heart.

"The dowry looks generous, most of it comes from the reward of Princess Pingle. Speaking of which, I have not yet found an opportunity to present a memorial to express my gratitude to the princess for her kindness."

Li Huan looked at him, "Pingle was also raised by the Shangshu, don't you understand her personality?"

Xue Qingzhi's heart skipped a beat and cold sweat ran up his back.

He couldn't comment on what kind of person Princess Pingle was. But one thing was that the princess had been pampered since she was a child and had been loved by everyone. In the eyes of the princess, there were not many people she liked. Although she had known the fourth sister since she was a child, and they often played together at the women's club's elegant gatherings twice a month, it was really unreasonable to say that all the wealth was given by Pingle.

He was immediately ashamed.

I should have taken it seriously when my mother asked me about it that day.

He is also optimistic and greedy for money.

He bowed his head and said, "I was negligent. I will go back and find that evil girl and interrogate her thoroughly."

Li Huan glanced out the window. "The Shangshu's house has seven courtyards, right? It must be worth a lot of money."

Prince Duan is young, but he is very scheming and always leaves his words unsaid.

Xue Qingzhi couldn't figure out why he said this.

"Please let me know, Your Majesty."

Li Huan said, "The Ministry of Revenue is investigating the bad accounts of the Ministry of Finance, and all the old accounts have been dug up. Your fourth son-in-law has been too popular this time, and he has attracted attention. The Censorate has filed a complaint, and His Majesty will definitely conduct a thorough investigation as usual. Whatever is found out by then, I wonder how much money will be needed to fill this hole."

In fact, when it comes to the treasury’s losses, everyone has a scale in their hearts.

Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet. There is no completely clean hand, it depends on how much you take, whether you take it openly or secretly, whether you hold it firmly or not, whether you eat alone or share it, this is not just the Ministry of Revenue, if you change to the Ministry of Justice, there are also some subtle water accounts that are hard to explain...

The mess in the Ministry of Revenue had nothing to do with Xue Qingzhi.

But the dowry list that triggered the bloody incident came from the fourth young lady of the Xue family.

He was horrified and stood up and bowed to Li Huan.

"Your Highness knows best what kind of person I am. I have been an official for many years. Although I can't say I am perfect, I can say I am clean."

A concubine's daughter from a clean family cannot afford the dowry when she gets married.

Li Huan did not point it out, but said, "The accounts are checked every year. It can be a big or small matter, it all depends on how we investigate it. Now that the Crown Prince is watching, it will be hard for the Ministry of Revenue to fool around. If this net is used, I don't know how many people will suffer."

After hearing this, Xue Qingzhi understood what was going on.

The matter was caused by his daughter's marriage. No matter how many people are caught in this network, his Xue family will offend that many people...

Not to mention others, those people in the Ministry of Revenue are probably cursing him at home right now.

The aristocratic families and officials are inextricably linked together.

People in the court are walking on thin ice.

If anything happens, only Prince Duan can protect the Xue family.

Xue Qingzhi knew it was time to show his loyalty.

With tears in his eyes, he walked quickly to Li Huan and knelt down on his knees in panic.

"Your Majesty..."

He cupped his hands and raised his eyes, showing the heart of a loyal subject.

"I have devoted myself to serving the public and have never overstepped my bounds. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this. Over the years, I have been loyal to the prince and have no second thoughts."

Li Huan lowered his eyes and looked at him for a moment. The coldness in his black eyes gradually dissipated, revealing a gentle smile.

"Father-in-law, please stand up quickly. Although I am a prince, I must abide by the laws of our ancestors and the foundation of human relations. You are the elder, how can you kneel before me?"

He personally helped Xue Qingzhi up. Without waiting for Xue Qingzhi to express his gratitude and say something polite, he placed a hand heavily on his shoulder.

"The sixth young lady in the mansion is quite smart and courageous. She was abandoned in the old mausoleum swamp when she was young. I think she must have suffered a lot to survive. Father-in-law should take good care of her..."

Xue Qingzhi's eyebrows twitched, and hatred suddenly arose in his heart.

It turned out to be that restless guy who annoyed Prince Duan.

"If Your Highness does not want this bitch to sleep with you, I will leave this matter to you. I have my own way to prevent her from entering the palace and polluting Your Highness's eyes..."

Li Huan's eyes moved slightly and he smiled.

"Sixth Miss is doing well, father-in-law is taking good care of her."

Xue Qingzhi's head buzzed and there was a brief blank.

Why is this a bit hard to understand? -
Xue Yueying and Xue Yuechen both left the house at dusk.

Li Huan rode in front, while Xue Yuechen sat alone in the carriage. Gu Jie did not come back to pick up Xue Yueying, so the eldest lady arranged a carriage to take her back to the mansion.

The whole family was sent to the door.

Maybe it was because she was thinking of the troubled Jingyuan Marquis Mansion, but Xue Yueying had a look of reluctance on her face, especially when she was looking at Xue Qingzhi, she cried for a long time and her eyes were swollen like peaches.

Xue Qingzhi was absent-minded today and kept urging her to get in the car quickly so as not to miss the time and displease her in-laws.

At this moment Xue Yueying finally understood what it meant that a daughter once married off is like water spilled out.

"Father……"

She choked with sobs and looked back repeatedly.

"Mother!"

Xue Qingzhi sighed and waved his hand.

Fu sneered and said nothing.

Everyone else was silent.

Qiao'er comforted her and got on the carriage.

Xue Sui and the other sisters from the Xue Mansion stood at the gate of the mansion, watching silently as the two carriages left, one on the left and one on the right, and slowly left in two directions.

But no one noticed that outside the wall of Xue's mansion, on the eaves and green tiles covered by a lush old locust tree, there were two spies from the Eastern Palace lying, their waists were almost broken from exhaustion.

"Hurry up and report to His Highness that Prince Duan is accompanying the Princess to visit her parents and will be back soon after having supper."
-
After returning home three days later, the weather became even warmer.

After sending Fourth Miss Xue away, the mansion began to arrange marriages for other girls.

Because Prince Duan disliked it, the Xue family did not plan to make too lavish a fuss about Xue Sui's marriage. All the necessary dowries were prepared, and there was no need to make it as grand as the marriage of the fourth young lady. There were no complicated rules and regulations, and even a wedding dress did not need to be prepared, which saved trouble.

But after hearing what Prince Duan said, Xue Qingzhi felt uneasy and didn't want to deal with the matter hastily.

The Prince Duan's mansion is not like an ordinary family. If she marries in, she will have the status of a lady. Not only does she have to prepare a banquet, but it also has to be lively so as not to offend Prince Duan.

He mentioned it in a roundabout way, and Fu's face immediately fell.

In front of the old lady, he made sarcastic remarks.

"Master, you don't run the household, so you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. There are so many people in this house, and what food, clothing and daily necessities do they all cost? You just took care of the fourth young lady, and how much money is left in the account? Now you have to make a big fuss about it, how can the rest of the people survive?"

"If the Sixth Miss holds a grand party, how will the Eighth Miss and the Ninth Miss prepare for it? Besides, Master doesn't even notice that the Sixth Miss is always picking on him. Does she appreciate the Master's kindness?"

Xue Qingzhi said: "Whether she appreciates my kindness or not, I am her biological father. You can't write two Xue characters with one stroke. Her last name is Xue, so she is a descendant of the Xue Mansion, and Diu is also a member of the Xue family."

"Has the Xue family lost enough people? Are you still concerned about such a small matter?"

Fu retorted and refused to give in.

The couple had been at loggerheads lately, and Mrs. Cui felt a headache listening to them.

"You are such a short-sighted person. If you think the housekeeper is too much trouble, then just hand over the account books and let the third son's wife take care of it. I saw that she organized the celebration banquet last time very thoroughly and the guests all praised the banquet. It did not bring disgrace to the Xue family."

When Fu heard this, she thought that this was an attempt to take away her power and sneered again.

"After all the calculations, I am an outsider, neither inside nor outside."

She sat down angrily, twisted her handkerchief in her hands, raised her head and said:

"Let's not talk about this for now. I came here today to ask the old lady and the master for advice. There are two marriage proposals for the eighth lady. One is Guo Zhaoxuan, the fourth son of the second branch of the Duke of Zheng's mansion. The master of the second branch is Guo Rui, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. Guo Zhaoxuan has a handsome appearance and is the youngest son of the second branch. He is very favored."

"The other one is Zhao Hong, the eldest son of Zhao Hanwen, a doctor of Guangwen Academy. This boy is very talented and well-known in Shangjing. He is also handsome, but his family background is a little low. However, he is highly praised by the teachers in the Imperial College. They say that he is expected to pass the imperial examination next spring. With so many students from his father, his future is not a problem."

"After much searching, I can only say that the sons of these two families are pleasing to my eye. In terms of family background and character, our Eighth Lady is marrying out of her league. We must decide early, otherwise the good sons will be snatched away by other families, and I, as the mistress, will be accused of being useless and mistreating my concubine..."

She brought this up specifically at this critical juncture.

But Mrs. Cui listened carefully.

"Zhao Hanwen, a doctor of Guangwen Academy, comes from a noble family with a good reputation. She is also the eldest son's wife, so this is a good choice. The family of Duke Zheng is high-ranking, but Qi Da is not a good match. The eighth girl is impatient and reckless, and she doesn't think about her actions on a daily basis. I'm afraid she can't handle the twists and turns here."

Fu curled the corners of her lips and glanced at Xue Qingzhi.

Even though they didn't say it, they both understood.

When girls and boys talk about marriage, they always consider their family.

Although the position of Doctor of Guangwenguan is not high, he has a good reputation and prestige and is respected by scholars all over the world. He will not be involved in court disputes, unlike the complicated forces in the mansion of Duke Zheng.

In-laws are a double-edged sword, with thorns both ways.

With Eighth Girl's personality, she would rather live a stable life, so her grandmother is doing her best to help her.

Fu said, "I also planned this, but a girl cannot be controlled when she grows up. Last time, the eighth girl met Guo Zhaoxuan, the fourth son of the Duke of Zheng, at Puji Temple, and she fell in love with him. Otherwise, the Guo family would not have come to propose this marriage..."

"Nonsense." Old Madam Cui said, "Parents' orders and matchmaker's words, how can a girl decide her own marriage?"

Mrs. Fu said with a smile, "If it's the meat in my belly, I can make the decision as a daughter-in-law, but not the eighth girl. With the lessons learned from the past, I'd better not interfere. Let the old lady and the master make the decision."

Old Mrs. Cui was so angry that her chest heaved and she was speechless for a long time.

They parted on bad terms again.