Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 56 Something happened
After Xue Sui finished this matter, he didn't care about the marriage preparations for her in the mansion. He practiced calligraphy in Lixiangyuan every day, or sat with Xue Ji for a while in a calm manner.

Xue Ji's health has improved a lot recently, but her hair has become even whiter.

She often stared at Xue Sui for a long time, as if she couldn't stare enough, and she didn't say anything.

Many times, the mother and daughter often sat in silence.

At noon that day, Xue Sui was accompanying Xue Ji in a sunny corner looking at a petunia that had just been planted this spring when Shou'an Court sent someone to deliver the message.

"Mrs. Chun is here to visit. The old lady asked Miss Six to come over..."

Mrs. Fu has been claiming to be sick recently, and all matters big and small in the mansion often require Old Lady Cui to personally deal with them. So Old Lady Cui called the third lady, Mrs. Qian, to come and keep her company. When Xue Sui changed her clothes and went over, Mrs. Chun was talking and laughing with Mrs. Qian, but it was hard to guess what they were thinking from their expressions.

Meeting old friends again after a long separation, Xue Sui stood outside the door for a moment before walking in with a smile and bowing to everyone.

"grandmother."

"Aunt Chun."

"Third aunt."

The old lady waved at her lovingly and motioned for her to sit next to her. When Qian saw her, she also smiled and asked about her well-being.

Madam Chun watched coldly from the sidelines. The Sixth Miss's life was much better this time after she came back than she had been in the mansion ten years ago, and she felt a little better.

"After not seeing you for ten years, I can hardly recognize Sixth Miss."

Xue Sui saw that she truly loved him and smiled as well.

"Auntie Chun, are you feeling better? I should have come to see you earlier, but I was afraid of causing you trouble."

Madam Chun sighed and rubbed her knees, "It's an old problem, it's nothing serious. I came here today to see Xue Ji and talk to Sixth Miss..."

Since she said so, the old lady and Qian naturally gave her face and smiled as they asked Xue Sui to invite the person to Lixiangyuan.

Xue Sui followed suit and led Madam Chun and several maids to Lixiangyuan.

Madam Chun and Xue Ji were both famous prostitutes in Liuxiang Pavilion back then, but they were not very good sisters. It was just that Madam Chun felt a certain sympathy and pity for Xue Ji.

So it was obvious that she didn't come here just to see Xue Ji, and it was obvious along the way that she was worried.

Xue Sui guessed that she came to the Xue Mansion for other things, so he didn't ask any more questions. He sat down and asked someone to pour tea and water, greeted her warmly, and then asked someone to call Xue Ji out to meet the guest.

Mrs. Chun looked at her busying about. Her little face was fair and tender with a faint blush, just like peach blossoms blooming in spring. Her eyes were full of dignity and confidence. She couldn't help feeling emotional. She held Xue Sui's hand, refusing to let go for a long time, with a look of melancholy on her face.

"Sixth girl, tell Aunt Chun, do you blame Wu Lang?"

Xue Sui looked at her, not knowing how to start.

Her resentment was not what Aunt Chun thought it was.

Hate is not the same kind of hate.

But I couldn't say anything too cruel to Aunt Chun.

So he said, "It's all in the past, no need to mention it anymore."

Madam Chun looked at her and smiled, then suddenly sighed.

"Auntie Chun came to see you today, and also to see your mother. I don't know when we will meet again..."

Xue Sui was slightly surprised, but he didn't show it. He just smiled and asked her, "What did Aunt Chun say? You don't have to come to see me next time. I will go to your house to find you personally..."

Mrs. Chun frowned, looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, and smiled bitterly.

"I'm afraid Wu Lang is going to get into big trouble this time. The Marquis' Mansion might be implicated by him. As a mother, I can't discipline my son well. How can I have the face to stay in the Marquis' Mansion..."

Xue Sui felt sad and pretended not to know.

"Is it still about the dowry? Aunt Chun should be more open-minded. The rumors will fade away sooner or later..."

Madam Chun shook her head. "It's about the dowry, but it's not entirely about the dowry. You don't understand it, so let's not talk about it. Anyway, I came to see you two today and see that you are living well, which will fulfill one of my wishes..."

Her tone was very depressed.

Xue Sui guessed that there was progress in the matter of Gu Jie embezzling treasury funds...

"Auntie Chun, think more positively." Xue Sui held her hand. "No matter how big the problem is, it is not as important as your health. Don't we still have the Marquis? Things will eventually pass..."

Mrs. Chun clenched her fingers tightly and looked at her with a wry smile.

"If Wu Lang is willing to listen, it would be great if the person he chose is you..."

Xue Sui pursed his lips, smiled slightly, and did not answer.

At this time, Xue Ji came out holding Ming Ge'er's hand. With the company of the child, her face was much more smiling. Madam Chun couldn't help but sigh when she saw her current appearance.

"Ah Xue, you gave birth to a good daughter, who is well-behaved and sensible. You have hope for the future. But I gave birth to a bastard son, who can't enjoy the blessing and makes his parents suffer..."

Xue Ji was totally unaware of her distress and only said a few words to comfort her. Madam Chun sat for about a cup of tea and then stood up to leave.

When leaving, Xue Sui saw that she had difficulty walking and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

How could Gu Jie have such a mother...
-
Two days later, the Xue Mansion received the news.

The Ministry of Finance found a huge amount of empty accounts, with a gap of millions of taels...

Gu Jie was taken to the Ministry of Justice prison that night.

Such a huge amount of money was certainly not achieved by him alone.

But who made him the first one to come forward? He was the first one to be attacked.

When the Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion heard the news, they were shocked and had to sell off their belongings and borrow money from everywhere to make up for the deficit and mitigate Gu Jie's crime. Of course, those in the Ministry of Revenue who had eaten and taken money were also raising money privately to pay it back...

Only then did Mrs. Cui understand why Madam Chun had come to her house with generous gifts that day and had talked for a long time but had nothing to say.

That day, she must have wanted to find her in-law, the Minister of Justice, to plead for her son, or find a way to make things more flexible...

But in the end, for some reason, he just went to Lixiangyuan to see Xue Sui and her daughter and left, without feeling embarrassed to speak.

How could she have expected that Gu Jie would cause such a big mess?
Old Madam Cui was so angry that she almost fainted, and asked someone to call Xue Yueying back home.

As soon as Xue Yueying arrived at the mansion, she was called to the ancestral hall by two maids and was forced to kneel down before she even had the chance to see the old lady. Even Xue Qingzhi's personal visit to Shou'an Courtyard to plead for her was in vain.

The old lady leaned on the couch, took the handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes, then pointed at him and started scolding him.

"You are still protecting her. If you continue to do so, the Xue family will fall!"

Xue Qingzhi was also extremely worried.

"This is strange. How could a dowry list cause such a big incident?"

He always felt unusual.

"Someone must be playing dirty tricks here."

The old lady looked at him angrily and raised her voice.

"Even if someone is playing tricks, there must be a trick. If it weren't for your beloved Fourth Girl, who is greedy and acts flamboyantly, there would be no way such a disaster would have happened..."

"That was done by the fourth uncle, and it has nothing to do with the fourth girl?"

"You are still here to protect her. Don't you know what kind of character your daughter is? With the courage of the fourth uncle, if it weren't for the instigation of the fourth girl, would he dare to get involved in the treasurer's money of the Ministry of Finance? In the past, you were biased and pitied her for having lost her mother since childhood, so you gave her a little more respect. I am an old woman who eats idle meals, so I don't bother to care too much. But you let her do whatever she wants. This is to bring disaster to the Xue family..."

"My mother taught me that."

Xue Qingzhi begged for mercy with a shameful look on his face, was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"My son just met Marquis Jingyuan before returning home..."

The old lady sat up and took a deep breath. "How did you say that?"

Xue Qingzhi said: "He came to my son to find a solution, but Prince Duan and I have to avoid suspicion and cannot interfere in this case. My son advised him to find a way to make up for the shortfall first. Jingyuan Hou has military merits, and his ancestors have been loyal for generations. He can also ask for mercy from His Majesty, and saving the life of the fourth uncle is not a problem. But I am afraid that he will not be able to serve as an official in the court in the future..."

The old lady said, "This is nothing. He dared to cause such a terrible disaster. He deserves it. What I am worried about is, what impact will this have on you and the third brother?"

Xue Qingzhi stroked his hair, "Your Majesty is wise and not unreasonable. Mother, don't worry. Your son can handle it. Right now, the matter is only being investigated internally. The bigwigs in the Ministry of Revenue are secretly selling their land and shops to raise money. From your Majesty's point of view, as long as the stolen money is paid, the matter will be settled..."

No one knows whether the emperor hates corruption or not.

But the emperor actually knew exactly what was going on under him.

Considering the interests of the imperial court, the emperor did not want the matter to escalate and cause public resentment.

It would be a serious matter if the people no longer trusted the government.

Xue Qingzhi thought for a moment and said, "What I'm afraid of right now is..."

The old lady looked at him with a frown on her face, and couldn't help feeling worried.

"What are you afraid of?"

Xue Qingzhi said: "Recently, Jingzhao Prefecture has been tracking down stolen goods with the dowry list, but who is willing to give up what they have got? Recently, people have been writing petitions to the emperor to complain about their grievances. The number of people is increasing, and the impact is getting bigger and bigger. I'm afraid it won't end well..."

Although the people are insignificant, weak and small like ants, once they are excited and gathered together, they have the power to overturn the world.

Old Mrs. Cui understood the reason.

She warned him, "In the future, you should be more careful in the court... Pay more attention to Prince Duan. If our girl can give birth to a boy or a girl for the palace sooner, we can feel more at ease."

Xue Qingzhi stopped talking.

He used to be against Xue Liu going to Prince Duan's Mansion.

Now that I think about it, Xue Liu is smart, so maybe he can be a way out.