Ink Burns

Chapter 148: Child? What child?

"As a son of the Xue family, you can't do anything, so how can a little girl like me turn the tide?" Shan Yue restrained her smile, and there was a little hesitation in her tone. She looked at Xue Chen sincerely: "But since I am 'Qingfeng', I must fight for Madam Zhu."

Xue Chen's joy was beyond words.

Shan Yue seemed to have found an ally: "I am willing to be the vanguard and charge into battle. I only hope that Brother Chen can support me when the time comes."

Xue Chen's smile froze on his face, and he stammered, "My mother's identity is awkward. Although I am a descendant of the Xue family, it is difficult for me to say much at this critical moment. If my brother misunderstands that I am solely dependent on my mother, and if he is determined not to observe mourning, how can I, I, I ever get ahead?"

For the so-called "future", he was unwilling to even agree or go along with it.

There was something cold in Shan Yue's eyes.

Compared to Zhu, Xue Chen is even more hopeless.

Zhu was vicious, but he took one step at a time and changed his fate. From a certain perspective, he was just a hero who failed in the battle for hegemony and remembered to find a way to save his only son's life at the moment of life and death. On the other hand, Xue Chen was like a vicious wolf who gave birth to a weak dog.

Shanyue frowned in confusion: "Brother Chen, have you passed the exam?"

Xue Chen was stunned: "Not yet."

Shan Yue was even more puzzled: "Then how can I succeed in the officialdom?"

Xue Chen's face flushed from his neck to his ears, but his elder sister-in-law, who was always gentle and kind, looked serious and innocent.

She must have done it unintentionally, Xue Chen thought.

There was a commotion outside the North Palace, mixed with the helpless and furious roar of a middle-aged man, the suppressed sighs and consolations of an old man, and the sharp sobbing of a woman.

"If Brother Chen still has concerns, since ancient times, the elder sister-in-law is like a mother, so I will do it for you." Shan Yue raised his foot and was about to leave.

Xue Chen burst into tears of gratitude: "If sister-in-law returns victorious, I will repay her for her kindness!"

I want you to die, do you dare to keep your promise?

Shan Yue walked forward, followed by the smartest and most evil steward Zhi in the entire West Wing.

Huang Zhi lowered his voice and asked quickly: "If Second Master Xue agrees to assassinate Grand Guardian Xue, it will save us a lot of trouble."

Shan Yue nodded slightly without commenting, and said in a low voice with regret: "Yes, it can be said that we have killed two birds with one stone - Xue Changfeng is dead, the mission of 'Qingfeng' is completed, and the shadow planted by the saint has also caught Xue Chen's handle of patricide. If we work hard, we can send Xue Chen to the guillotine, and the three of them will be reunited in the underworld and live happily together."

Huang Zhi: ".You should learn from Brother Jifeng - this is killing three birds with one stone, not two with one stone!"

and many more.

Huang Zhi lowered his voice: "There are spies planted by the saint in our house?!"

"What else? Why did the saint let Xue Changfeng return home?" Shan Yue was calm and peaceful, and stopped in the noisy corridor of the mourning hall: "Could it be that he is really merciful and wants him to spend his old age in peace?"

Xue Changfeng was also a tragic person. From birth to death, everything was just a chess move.

The saint now wants to use half of Xue Changfeng's remaining life to catch "Qing Feng" in the act.

"Qingfeng" has always been cautious and would not be fooled, but Shanyue did not expect that Xue Chen would escape because of his weakness.

Xue Changfeng was thus in a dead end.

No, nor is it.

If Xue Changfeng's desperate journey toward death can make Xue Xiao a little happier, then he still has some value.

Shan Yue stopped to ponder, just then a woman's cry came from the inner room: "She's dying, she's dying, she's dying! Our daughter has helped the Xue family to have children, run the household, and take care of the chores. She has done everything she could to fulfill her duty! Now she has died at the hands of the Xue family's son-in-law. Our Zhu family has neither filed a complaint nor threatened or blamed anyone. We only have one request, which is that the Xue family take our daughter's remains back to the ancestral temple and give her a name and incense. But they are resisting!"

"My nephew, you should always forgive others when you can. The person is staying in this mourning hall, and his soul is floating around the beam. The Xue family will be yours sooner or later. Don't you feel scared when you step on the Xue family's land?" an old voice said.

"It's useless to talk to him! His father isn't dead yet! Just call Brother Changfeng out. If he can't speak, can he nod his head? Just let him make the decision!" It was the voice of a middle-aged man: "Xue Xiao didn't grow up in the Xue family since he was a child. He is holding back his energy and wants to turn the Xue family upside down! You are a third-rank official - do you understand the principle that debts are forgiven when you die? Do you have to let your brother and sister-in-law rot in the mourning hall?!"

Everyone was forcing Xue Xiao.

Whether it is to move people with emotions or to persuade them with reason, the real purpose is wrapped in gorgeous words, appearing ugly and crowded.

Shan Yue walked in with a frown on her face, her eyes red as if she had been crying several times.

In the mourning hall, the coffin was placed in the middle. Xue Xiao stood still and said nothing. He just sat in the main seat behind the coffin with his horse and sword. When he saw Shan Yue coming in, he raised his eyes and took a few more glances.

Everyone present took these two glances to heart.

The current head of the Xue family is just a seniority, the same generation as Xue Changfeng's grandfather. He has never entered the government, let alone held an official position. He usually manages the family affairs in the old house in Zhenjiang. No one listens to him, but he has a seniority and relies on the big family, so he has no worries about food and clothing. Coming to Beijing today is just a gambler's gamble - just last month, after the news of Zhu's death reached Zhenjiang, a senior eunuch who claimed to be from the Sixth Division of the Forbidden Palace came to visit and said bluntly that if he could force Xue Xiao, the unfilial son, to mourn, his grandson would have a chance to become a juren today.

Before this, his second grandson, who always preferred sleeping to studying, passed the exam and became a scholar without even going to the examination hall!
He completely believed in the eunuch's supernatural powers, so he came to Beijing.

"My niece, please say something." Xue Laojiu, who now regarded himself as the ancestor of the Xue family, showed off his wealth and raised his voice: "Tell me, where is your mother-in-law's coffin?"

Shan Yue just sat down and shrugged timidly.

Liang Er Niangniang beside him was about to help Shan Yue out of the predicament, but she heard Xue Xiao, who had never spoken in the hall, speak coldly: "Master Jiu, did you get the wrong direction? My wife has always been sturdy and taciturn, and she is a junior, so she can't make such a big decision."

Mrs. Liang's neck shrank: Hehe, I almost became a joke! I have my husband to protect me! Hehe.

Xue Xiao finally spoke.

It was like a summer mosquito net that finally had a crack, and thousands of gnats swarmed in.

"You still know that you are a junior! You make decisions naturally! Those who know think that the Xue family is a family that has passed down Confucianism, Taoism, poetry and literature, while those who don't think that whoever holds a higher position or has the most power has the final say!"

"Don't pay any attention to him! Carry the coffin aboard tonight and bury it directly!"

"Yes! The Xue family will not do such a shameless thing! Even if the Zhu family lied first, the rice has already been cooked, and we have to admit it!"

"ignore him!"

"Bury directly in the ancestral tomb!"

The mourning hall was in chaos.

Madam Liang Er held a silk handkerchief to cover her nose with one hand, and turned sideways to chat with Shan Yue: "It stinks, doesn't it?" She pointed at the coffin and said: "When I came here just now, I saw a stream of yellow water flowing out of the coffin - Aunt Zhu was a person who cared a lot about her reputation in her life, but she probably never thought that she would be so embarrassed after her death?"

Shan Yue lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Madam Liang Er did not need Shan Yue to agree with her, and continued to speak excitedly: "Your husband is a man who can stand against ten thousand men. The Xue family recognizes Zhu and not his mother Su. This hatred must be avenged today! You two are of the same mind, so you must share the same hatred and the same enemy."

Shan Yue was surrounded by Liang Er's wife.

Xue Xiao was surrounded by countless people.

I don’t know when.

Xue Xiao stood up quickly, his eyes fell on Shan Yue's face: "Let's go, it stinks here" - he looked around: "Not only is it stinky, it's also noisy, just like mosquitoes in summer, why don't we go back home and live our leisurely life."

Xue Xiao raised his foot and took a step forward.

But the person behind him didn't catch up for a long time.

Xue Xiao bowed slightly, showing an extremely docile and indulgent confusion.

".I..I agree with them."

The mountain moon was like a frightened little rabbit, and stood up uneasily.

"What did you say?" Xue Xiao frowned, and his voice rose involuntarily. He seemed to suddenly realize that raising the volume would scare his wife, so he tried his best to calm the ups and downs of his tone: "What are you saying?"

"I, I say, I agree with them. I also hope that Madam Zhu can rest in peace." Shan Yue said calmly, his hands curled in his sleeves, his fingertips rubbing the cuffs, his eyes reddened as he spoke: "I don't know how Madam Zhu treats others, but she treats me the best. If she hadn't chosen me personally, I would just be a branch of a small family in Songjiang Prefecture. How could I be worthy of standing beside you and walking with you?"

"returning a Favour many times more."

Shan Yue lowered her eyes and a tear fell: "Please give Madam Zhu a chance to be buried."

Mrs. Liang unconsciously moved away from Shanyue: Oh my god, what’s the point of husband and wife being of one mind?

This idiot!
I thought she was a smart girl who made a fortune quietly, but who knew that she was actually a fool who made stupid mistakes quietly.
Xue Xiao seemed to be furious, but he was trying to suppress his anger, staring at the mountain moon with burning eyes.

"You also need a reputation as an official!"

Shan Yue secretly shed tears, but her right hand unconsciously touched her belly: "Even if you don't want this false reputation, how can our child live with the reputation of being unfilial and unrighteous in the future?"

what?
Xue Xiao:?
what?
child?

What child?
Xue Xiao nearly sprained his waist.