Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 100 Sachet
"Xue Ping'an, the only one who can make you feel pain is me."

Xue Sui suddenly woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, his whole body covered in cold sweat, which had soaked his quilt and pillow.

I have forgotten most of the details of the dream. Only what Li Zhao said before he left kept echoing in my mind like a kaleidoscope.

He actually did what he said.

After that day, everything was peaceful and fine in Prince Duan's mansion.

No one suspected that she was involved in the fire, including Li Huan.

As soon as Li Zhao learned the news of Yuan Qingzhu's entry into the palace, he tried to let her know and told her to be on guard.

Don't let others cause her pain.

But her mouth still hurts from the bite.

Jinshu, Xiaozhao and Ruyi all took turns asking her what was going on...

If it was caused by inflammation, the wound doesn't look like that.

I said I bit myself because I was afraid they would think I was crazy.

If you make any other excuses, none of the three will believe you.

In desperation, she had to admit that it was Li Zhao who did it.

Okay, now the three of them are going crazy.

They said, this was the girl's first kiss, how could she give it to the prince like this?
But if you think about it carefully, giving it to Prince Duan instead of the Crown Prince would seem even more annoying.

The Crown Prince's Eastern Palace has not yet taken a wife or concubine, nor has he any other wives, but in the backyard of Prince Duan's Mansion, the women are jealous of each other all day long...

After thinking about it for a few days, the three of them looked at Xue Sui in a very strange way...

"Damn it! Bastard—"

Xue Sui cursed.

It was hard not to learn to swear in the Old Mausoleum Swamp, but she was not allowed to swear in front of her master, so Xue Sui was usually careful with her words and actions. However, on this windy and moonlit night, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, and when she thought of Li Zhao, she could only swear.

Jinshu has always been a light sleeper. When he heard the noise, he hurried in with a lamp.

"Girl, are you in a nightmare?"

"Yeah, I'm in a nightmare."

"What did you dream about?"

"I dreamed of a little ghost sitting at the head of my bed!"

"Ah!" Jinshu saw that she looked tired and quickly clasped his hands together.

"The sky and earth are clear and bright, and the righteousness is shining. Ghosts and monsters, please retreat immediately and do not disturb my girl..."

As he spoke, he gently waved a handkerchief on the side of the bed, like a sorcerer waving a peach wood sword to exorcise evil spirits, muttering to himself.

Xue Sui couldn't help but smile.

She rubbed her temples, glanced at Lingyu on the windowsill, and said to Jinshu as if she had thought of something, "I am upset at the moment and not sleepy at all. Go get me a tranquilizing sachet."

Jinshu responded with a smile, and quickly took out the sachet and gently put it under her pillow, "Go to sleep peacefully, young lady. Who knows, there will be more excitement in the mansion tomorrow."

Xue Sui hummed softly.

"Thank you, Auntie. You should also rest early."

The night in Tanqiuyuan is so quiet that it is a little depressing.

Except for two spies who had just changed shifts and were trying hard to stay awake, using small wooden sticks to prop up their heavy eyelids, it seemed as if the whole world had fallen into a dream.

The light was on in Miss Xue Liu's room.

After a moment, it went out again.

"Bitter."

"tired!"

"Sleepy."

"Who said it wasn't? My waist is almost broken."

"Our days as errand boys are really not for human beings."

"I just hope that at the end of the year, there will be more bonus money."

"Brother, come to think of it, life is not easy. Take the Crown Prince for example. He looks so majestic on weekdays, but it's not easy for him. Did you see that his mouth is bleeding from anxiety..."

"It's not easy to be the crown prince, so who has it easy?"

"Prince Duan! Prince Duan is easy! Wait until I'm unhappy one day and then burn his mother to death!"

"You take a nap first, I'll keep an eye on you."

"...Thank you for your help..."

There was dead silence all around, with the occasional chirping of insects coming from afar, adding a bit of tranquility to the night.

Xue Sui tossed and turned, sniffing the rich medicinal aroma from the sachet, but his mind was as clear as day.

When she was a child, she would easily wake up in the middle of the night and be troubled by nightmares.

During those years in the old mausoleum swamp, I finally recovered a little, but I didn't expect that Li Zhao's bite would bring back the nightmare of the past.

Just hold on a little longer!
As long as she gets her revenge, she can get rid of all this completely.

Li Huan, Li Zhao, and Li Yushu, all of them, go to hell!

In this quiet night, Xue Sui's thoughts were like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, running wild and active.

I thought about it for a long time, and I didn't know when I fell asleep...

When he regained consciousness again, he was awakened by Xiao Zhao's angry shout.

"How dare you! You dare to enter Mrs. Xue's Tanqiu Courtyard without the princess's permission. Are there no rules in this palace?"

Xue Sui sat up from the bed and listened carefully.

At this time, Ruyi hurriedly pushed the door open.

Seeing that Xue Sui had woken up, she was slightly startled and hurried forward to change her clothes.

"Young lady, you are awake, why don't you call me?"

Xue Sui asked, "What's the commotion outside?"

Ruyi snorted coldly, his face gloomy and very unhappy.

"It was Ting Heju's concubine Liu who went to complain to Concubine Yuan, saying that the girl was hiding evil things and intended to seduce the prince... Concubine Yuan brought a lot of people in, saying that they wanted to come in and arrest the girl for questioning..."

Ting Heju's concubine?

Go to Concubine Yuan to complain?
interesting.

Tingheju is the residence of Concubine Zhang.

Xue Sui looked at her calmly.

"What time is it now? Has the princess left the house yet?"

Ruyi said, "To answer the young lady, it is already morning. The princess left home at dawn." After a pause, she lowered her voice and said, "Xiao Zhao said that she wanted to drive them out. Young lady, go and take a look. Don't let them really fight."

Xue Sui was stunned.

Almost laughed out loud.

Maybe Xiao Zhao’s hands are itching again.

She said, "Where's Jinshu? Don't do anything. Be polite to others."

Ruyi said dissatisfiedly: "Aunt Jinshu is outside stopping Xiaozhao. Humph, if you ask me, a beating is fine, since they were the first to be rude."

"She is a concubine. Even if she was rude first, we cannot lose our manners."

Xue Sui finished speaking and smiled, "We must convince people with reason."

Ruyi curled her lips and said nothing more.
-
Today, the child of Zhou San, a girl whom Xue Yuechen has been friends with since childhood, had her third birthday.

Xue Yuechen went to congratulate early in the morning with carefully prepared gifts.

The prince goes to court even earlier.

Concubine Yuan came to visit at this time, which was obviously a calculated plan. A higher rank can crush someone to death.

She didn't dare to cause trouble for Xue Yuechen, because no matter how powerful her family was, Xue Yuechen's family background was not bad. Besides, she was only a concubine, and Li Huan attached great importance to the etiquette of respect and inferiority.

But for Lady Xue Sui, she didn't have to worry too much...

The imperial concubine's aunt said that one should not dirty one's hands when doing things.

So, she asked someone to secretly instigate Concubine Zhang's concubine Liu to spread rumors and gossip everywhere in the mansion.

Concubine Zhang was a person who wanted to "calm down the situation" as soon as she spoke, so she naturally did not want to come forward to conflict with Xue Liu. As a result, Liu naturally asked Yuan Qingzhu to come and deal with it.

Therefore, Yuan Qingzhu walked around and saw Xue Sui coming out. Even though he was unhappy in his heart, he had to maintain politeness on the surface.

"Mrs. Xue is so lucky to have woken up at this hour."

Xue Sui had not yet washed up. He looked lazy and listless, and had a sleepless night.

"I wonder why Concubine Yuan has come to Tanqiu Court with so many troops?"

Yuan stood in the yard with a serious expression and asked in a questioning tone.

"Mrs. Xue, someone has reported that there are filthy things hidden in your yard. This matter concerns the reputation of the palace. You must give everyone an explanation..."

Xue Sui pretended to be surprised and looked at her intently.

Yuan Qingzhu has long and slender eyebrows, a high nose bridge, thin and slightly mean lips, and a very fair complexion, the kind that looks as if it could be covered with ten kilograms of flour. This is completely different from Xue Yuechen's natural fair complexion.

In terms of appearance alone, Xue Yuechen is far superior to Yuan Qingzhu.

I really don't know where she gets her confidence from. She actually thinks she can compete with Princess Duan?
Xue Sui's mouth corners slightly raised, and he smiled very subtly.

"Concubine Yuan, you are joking. I am just a little girl, what shameful things can I have? I wonder which nobleman framed me like this?"

Yuan Qingzhu turned his gaze to Liu.

Liu immediately stood out from behind her.

She was wearing a pomegranate-colored dress and had a beautiful peony flower pinned in her hair. She looked very bright, like a butterfly flying among flowers, with a bit of family air.

"A maid in the mansion saw with her own eyes that Lady Xue sent some evil things to Mu Yue Residence, harming the prince and princess..."

This trick was taught by Concubine Yuan.

There is no need to tie the two Xue sisters together.

Holding the elder Xue in the stead, deal with the younger Xue first. The elder Xue will lose his capable assistant and will no longer be a threat to her.

Xue Sui looked at Liu calmly and did not argue with her. Instead, he looked at Yuan Qingzhu, "Did Concubine Yuan find out everything? Do you also think that I did such a shameful thing?"

Of course, Yuan came to visit only after making careful inquiries.

But she didn't want to get involved, so she frowned and questioned Liu in a harsh voice.

"Mrs. Xue is the princess's sister, and you cannot slander her. Especially when it comes to such evil things, you must not be careless. Think it over before you speak, and don't wrongly accuse a good person!"

Liu said quickly, "Concubine Yuan, I saw it clearly. The maids in Tanqiu Courtyard acted sneakily and avoided people when doing anything. If they didn't have anything to hide, how could they be like this?"

Yuan Qingzhu nodded: "Mrs. Xue, if this is the case, I am afraid I will be sorry for you..."

After saying this, she glanced sideways and instructed the maids and servants who came with her.

"Go in and search!"

Xiao Zhao shouted, "How dare you!"

Seeing this, Xue Sui gently pressed the back of Xiao Zhao's hand and squeezed it slightly, signaling her to calm down. He said calmly: "What Concubine Yuan said is not unreasonable. If they don't search, I will have a hard time defending myself. Then let them search. Only in this way can I be cleared of all charges."

Xiao Zhao said anxiously: "Girl!"

Xue Sui smiled slightly, "Jinshu, open the door and let Concubine Yuan's people go in and search!"

Jinshu and Xue Sui looked at each other and said, "Yes."

The sachet was placed under Xue Sui's pillow and was found without much effort. Xue Sui would usually destroy the things he wrote afterwards.

There was nothing shameful in the entire Tanqiu Courtyard at this moment.

Soon, the sachets were searched out and neatly placed in front of Yuan Qingzhu.

Liu's eyes lit up, "Concubine Yuan, it must be this ghost thing!"

A thin and clever girl, seeing that they had found the "evidence", also hurriedly stepped forward to take credit.

"It's this kind of sachet. I heard clearly that day that Ruren Xue said in person that it could help the princess achieve her wish. The princess believed her and put the sachet under her pillow every time the prince came. Strangely enough, since the princess got the sachet, the prince would stay the night whenever he came..."

Xue Sui looked over.

The girl looked very familiar; she was actually from Muyueju.

Yuan Qingzhu is also quite scheming.

But this method is really not enough.

If she didn't want anyone to know about the sachet, she had many ways to hide it from everyone, including the third-class maid in Muyueju. If she let them see it, it meant that she didn't want to hide it, or she let them see it on purpose.

There is a road to heaven but she doesn't take it.

There is no door to hell, but I’m going to come anyway.

Xue Sui sighed.

"If I say this sachet is harmless, Concubine Yuan will probably not believe it, right?"

Yuan Qingzhu initially thought that there was something strange and terrifying in the sachet, but when he opened it, he found it was full of powder. Although it smelled like medicine, he couldn't tell what it was.

She didn't dare to get close to smell it, but said confidently: "What good thing could make the prince so infatuated that he would stay overnight?"

It is indeed a strange thing that Prince Duan stayed at Muyue Residence for several consecutive nights.

Everyone speculated that the sachet must be hiding a secret that could not be told.

Every time Prince Duan came to Muyue Residence, the servants would be dismissed.

Except for Xue Yuechen's two trusted girls, no one else could know the privacy of Li Huan and Xue Yuechen's room, let alone know that Li Huan stayed because he slept too deeply...

This is also the pass that Xue Sui left for them.

If they don't do bad things or harm her, then they will have no use.

But it finally came.

Xue Sui looked at Yuan Qingzhu and chuckled, "Concubine Yuan, how do you plan to deal with me? Do you want to beat me up while the princess is not at home, or do you want to be more straightforward and beat me to death or sell me out?"

Yuan Qingzhu's face changed.

She didn't expect Xue Sui to show no fear at all.

Beating to death or selling him off would be better...

But she is not that brave yet.

Li Huan wanted to establish an image of fairness and strictness in the outside world, and he also reformed the criminal law. How could he allow the abuse of lynching in his own backyard?

Yuan Qingzhu said: "Don't worry, I won't beat you, and I won't sell you out. I will wait until the prince and princess come back, and then I will do justice."

Xue Sui bowed slightly, "In that case, thank you Concubine Yuan for your understanding."

Yuan Qingzhu looked at her coldly, his smile chilling.

"But Mrs. Xue, the family rules of this palace are very strict and everyone must abide by them. Since the princess is not here, I will take over her duties..."

At this point, she shouted sharply.

"Come here, take Madam Xue outside the door and make her kneel for two hours. Let her reflect on her mistakes..."

There are big trees providing shade in this Tanqiu courtyard.

In another half hour, the sunlight will no longer be able to shine directly.

But the garden outside Tan Qiuyuan is exposed to the sun all day long.

Yuan Qingzhu was so thoughtful because he wanted to make Xue Sui suffer.

At the same time, she was also certain that there must be something fishy in the sachet. Even if Xue Yuechen and Li Huan came back and found out, she would still be able to hold her ground!

Li Zhao: That’s great, Xue Ping’an dreamed of me again.

Dear readers: If I twist your head off, I will have a nightmare...