Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 121 The Aftertaste
When the sunlight penetrated the window screen and shone onto the wooden table, Xue Sui was awakened by the sound of Lingyu's fluttering wings.

Some of the red camellia petals that were blown down by the heavy rain last night were stuck to the window frame, like bloodstains.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the thin quilt that was tangled around her waist.

In just a moment, the scent of ambergris mixed with soapberry lingered, as if carrying that person's body temperature.

How come this quilt is on her?

Xue Sui didn't remember when he fell asleep. He just lay on the bed with his clothes on, his collar loose and his clothes wrinkled...

There was a suspicious wet mark on the pillow...

Her heart tightened and she quickly pulled open the curtain.

There was no one in the room.

The guy left very cleanly without leaving any trace.

Xue Sui rubbed her aching forehead, took out the scar removal cream that Li Zhao had given her last time, and clenched it in her palm until the bottle became hot. Only then did she drive the fragmented nightmare out of her brain, turned sideways, and rang the bell.

"The girl is awake."

Xiao Zhao came in holding a copper basin and helped her wash her face and change her clothes.

As they were talking, Ruyi came in with a few peony flowers and placed them in a blue and white Ru kiln vase on the wooden table with a smile.

"Last night's thunderstorm was so fierce that it broke the two peonies that were in full bloom at the back wall. I felt sorry for them and thought it would look nice if I picked them up and put them in the house. Miss, please take a look. Do you like them?"

Xiao Zhao glanced at her.

These are not flowers that were broken by the thunderstorm.

The difference is that they were tortured by the prince...

She subconsciously glanced at the dark circles under her daughter's eyes and couldn't help but feel worried.

The prince acted recklessly, and he might have harmed his own daughter...

Xue Sui looked at his nose with his eyes, and his heart with his nose. He praised the flowers for their beauty and pretended not to see Xiao Zhao's eyes.

Wait until she is dressed and ready to go out.

I don't know when two guards were added to the gate of the courtyard.

Perhaps because they had stayed up all night on duty and lacked sleep, the two men fell asleep leaning against the door with knives in their arms.

Xue Sui coughed lightly.

Seeing them wake up in a daze, he turned around and said to Ruyi.

"An assassin broke into the mansion last night. Thanks to the two of you for your careful protection. Xiao Zhao, why don't you give the two young men some more money for tea and water?"

Xiao Zhao responded by stuffing two pieces of loose silver into the hands of the two guards.

The two guards weighed the item, overjoyed, and kept bowing to express their gratitude.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the yard.

"Hurry, hurry, walk steadily!"

"There are so many good things, don't drop them!"

Xue Sui looked over and saw three or five servants carrying a cypress box, followed by a few maids, each holding silks, satins, pearls and jade jewelry, and silk sachets, as they came to Tan Qiu Courtyard in a lively manner.

The water is covered with golden and silver threads, rippling in the sunlight, like flowing colorful clouds, which is very beautiful.

The person in charge at the front greeted with a smile before anyone even approached.

"Congratulations, Madam Ping An. Your Majesty, please give me a reward."

Seeing that Xue Sui didn't say anything, the steward smiled again and bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty sympathizes with the lady's fright last night, and specially ordered me to bring these silk jewelry and nourishing herbs to calm the lady down..."

Xue Sui thanked them, looked at the reward money, asked them to carry the things in, packed them up, and then went to the main house to express his gratitude.

Li Huan is not in the house.

As soon as she stepped into the main hall of the inner courtyard, she felt the atmosphere was solemn.

The maid in the corridor lowered her head and looked at her without greeting her, her expression somewhat tense.

Xue Sui said: "Please inform the princess that Madam Ping An is here to express her gratitude."

Before the maid could speak, the tightly closed door creaked open.

Feicui came over and smiled apologetically, "Princess, it is inconvenient for you to see Madam at this time..."

After saying this, he lowered his voice with a hint of obscurity in his expression.

"Princess Pingle has brought the little princess here, and she is talking to the princess in the inner room. If you go in now, I'm afraid it will upset the princess and cause her trouble..."

Xue Sui nodded slightly, "Thank you Aunt Feicui for your advice. I'll come back later."

Feicui smiled and bowed, "Madam, this is really embarrassing for me. I am also from the Xue family, so how can I not be loyal to my family? Princess Pingle said that she would stay in the mansion for a few days. The princess has no choice but to do so. She is also very worried and I am afraid she can't take care of you. Madam, please be careful about everything and be more cautious..."

Xue Sui was startled and thanked him with a faint smile.

"Then I won't bother the princess and the princess anymore. I'll take my leave first."

Pingle set up the stage and took the stage herself, letting her experience the feeling of playing with fire and getting burned.
-
Back at Tanqiuyuan, Jinshu came back from outside.

"Girl, I brought back two pieces of news, one is very good, and the other is not so good. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Amid Ling Yu's cooing, Xue Sui trimmed the lush branches of the potted plants and smiled gently.

"Tell me the good news."

Jinshu said: "The eldest son went to Xue's house yesterday to treat Ming'er. He said that Ming'er's pulse has stabilized and is showing signs of improvement..."

The pulse has become stable, which means there is hope for Mingge'er's illness.

"It is indeed a great event. Senior Brother has been of great help."

Xue Sui raised his little face, which fell into the light and shadow cast by the sun, and his smile was bright.

"Where's the bad news?"

Jinshu suppressed his expression and said, "Fan Bing lost all the three thousand taels he got from the gambling house last night. As soon as the sun rose today, he went to Puji Temple under the influence of alcohol, and he must be looking for trouble with Princess Wenjia..."

Xue Sui raised his eyebrows, "What kind of bad news is this?"

Jinshu frowned slightly and looked into her dark eyes.

"Princess Wenjia is weak in character. I am afraid that she will not be able to handle Fan Bing's tantrums and will ruin your plan..."

Xue Sui said: "Although a woman is weak, she is strong as a mother. I believe that she will not be soft-hearted even for her daughter, and will definitely be able to deal with it properly."

She never looks down on women.

Don't look down on women who have become mothers.

From the moment she decided to take Wen Jia's step, she firmly believed that Wen Jia would do his best.

Jinshu sighed slightly when he saw her persistence.

"The eldest son said that the informant urgently reported that Princess Pingle was trying to find out about the itinerary of the Xizi caravan. After noon, Master Gu Wu was summoned to Pinglefang. I don't know what she wants to do..."

The scissors in Xue Sui's hand slowly stopped.

After a moment's silence, she slowly smiled.

"It seems that Pingle is not building a stage this time, but an altar for offering sacrifices to the heavens."

Jin Shu said: "Miss, what should we do next?"

Xue Sui looked toward the west window, and saw a group of black crows startled from the direction of the imperial city. They flapped their wings and flew rapidly in the azure sky, crossing the sky like ink.

Her voice was cold.

"Since she has built the altar for offering sacrifices to the heaven, we will prepare the three animals and six livestock for her."

Half an hour later, Lingyu let out a cry and flew out of Tanqiu Courtyard.
-
The sunlight faded a little in the afternoon, but the temperature became more and more hot and humid.

Jinshu used the excuse that Xue Sui's "old illness had relapsed" to ask Zhang Henian for some mugwort incense, and carefully fumigated the house inside and outside for the entire afternoon.

In the twilight, the smoke of mugwort was wafting in the air from Tan Qiuyuan. It could be smelled from a long distance away and was very pungent.

Everyone avoids walking here.

Unexpectedly, just as night fell, Li Huan came again.

Smelling the pungent smell, Li Huan coughed twice.

"Madam, this is quite a big deal."

Xue Sui said: "Tanqiuyuan is next to the lake, and there are many mosquitoes. Mugwort can repel mosquitoes and insects, ward off evil spirits and prevent epidemics, and can also open up the meridians."

Li Huan straightened his robe and sat down to chat:
"It is said that Ping An is proficient in medicine, but he can't cure his own illness?"

He was looking at Xue Sui.

Xue Sui seemed not to see it and chuckled softly.

“It has been a long time since doctors cannot treat themselves.”

Li Huan smiled and raised his hand, signaling the eunuch to bring the chessboard and tea.

It was an exquisite chessboard, and the chess pieces in the chess box were even more smooth and translucent - they were the chess pieces made of ivory and jade that Li Zhao had presented as tribute to him by the Xingluo people and that were given to him after Li Zhao defeated him in the Golden Palace.

"The summer days are long, and the mugwort fragrance is lazy. Madam, why don't you play a game of chess with me?" Xue Sui lowered his eyes with a calm expression.

"Ping An is not good at chess and dare not play against the prince."

Li Huan was not annoyed and his face was still gentle.

"Mrs. Ping'an is too modest. It's just a pastime. You and I can do whatever we want, regardless of winning or losing."

Xue Sui said: "Then I'd better obey your command respectfully."

Two people sit opposite each other.

The sound of the chess pieces falling was crisp and pleasant, echoing in the quiet house.

The chess game keeps changing as black and white chess pieces move back and forth.

Li Huan placed the black piece on the chessboard and smiled gently.

"Madam, this game of chess seems to be a way of settling accounts with me."

Xue Sui looked at the black piece's decisive move, his brows slightly furrowed, looking like he was not very good at chess.

"Your Highness, you are joking. I am just nervous and dare not act rashly. The princess has always disliked me, and now I am a guest in the palace. As soon as I arrived, the prince rewarded me with so many things. Now I dare not even go out, for fear of angering the noble..."

She seemed to have thought of something, her fingertips hovered over the star position, and she raised her eyes.

"Does His Majesty like to watch trapped beasts fight?"

Li Huan stroked the teacup gently, as if testing the warmth or coolness of the tea.

"My reward has become a disaster in your eyes?"

He suddenly leaned over and tapped the white piece on the chessboard with a chuckle.

"Pingle has had a rift with her husband because of what happened last time. She has resentment towards me, not to mention you. You don't have to bother with her. Just stay away from her. If you have any problems, send someone to find me and I will take care of it for you."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty..."

"Snapped!"

The ivory chess pieces made a sound like shattering jade.

The black piece cut off the big dragon, causing ripples to appear in the tea soup.

Xue Sui looked at the chessboard and slowly leaned against the rosewood chair. The jade-colored chess pieces turned at her fingertips like moonlight.

"Alas! I lost."

She reached out to take the chess box and put away the chess pieces. When she raised her arm, she could see some faint old scars in her slightly opened sleeves...

The inquiry in Li Huan's eyes became deeper and deeper, but his smile remained unchanged.

"One more round, I'll let you have three moves."

We played chess until late at night.

Li Huancai left with a feeling of unfulfilled desire.

He did not take the jade chess pieces with him.

He only said, "I will come again when I have time to discuss with Madam."

Xue Suifu bowed and stared at the elongated figure on the ground in the firelight, "Your Highness, please take your time."

Li Huan smiled slightly at the corner of her lips, and the candlelight cast a butterfly-like shadow on her raven eyelashes...

He had never been able to see this woman clearly.
-
The dusk is as dark as ink in an elegant pavilion in Pingle Women's Square.

Princess Pingle's scarlet skirt swept over the threshold as she walked in gracefully.

Gu Jie had been kneeling inside for a long time. It was a hot summer day and the seat was already covered with traces of sweat.

He stood up and bowed tremblingly: "Greetings, Princess..."

Pingle smiled with cold eyes, looked down at him condescendingly, and slowly sat down.

"I heard that Fan Bing owed 110,000 taels at the Hongfu Casino. What do you think, if the Prince Consort loses everything, will he pawn Princess Wenjia to the casino?"

Gu Jie looked up and saw the pearl hairpin trembling in the princess's hair, as if he saw a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

"I dare not say anything irresponsible about this."

Ping Le laughed contemptuously, "Fan Bing is such a fool, he is so greedy that he will kill himself sooner or later. Do you think that bitch Wen Jia is worth the price?"

Gu Jie's forehead was wet with sweat, and he dared not say a word.

Pingle glanced at him with disdain, her nail-stained fingertips sliding across the exquisite tea set on the table, her laughter full of hostility.

"Have you thought about what I said before?"

Gu Jie's Adam's apple rolled and his hands, with bulging veins, tightly grasped the corner of his clothes.

"As long as the princess keeps her word and makes the King of Wei pay the price, Gu Jie is willing to serve you."

"So tactful?" Pingle was startled, and suddenly she laughed so hard that her body shook, raising a silk fan to cover half of her face.

After a long while, when she had laughed enough, she slowly stood up and threw a black iron token in front of Gu Jie.

"Three days later, a Xizi caravan arrived in Shangjing. I heard that they have great magical powers and extensive connections, and have made many secret transactions with the Jiuling Swamp black market. They also have blueprints of the crossbow machine and bed machine for the Shangjing Shenbi Camp city defense that flowed in from the black market..."

Gu Jie's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Why are there these confidential blueprints in the Old Mausoleum Swamp Black Market?"

Ping Le smiled coldly and said expressionlessly: "A year ago, a bizarre theft case occurred in the Ministry of War. A Xizi woman disguised herself as a Hu Ji and seduced Minister Cao of the Ministry of War. She stole the confidential drawings and fled. Later, when the old Minister of War died, the case was left unresolved... I suspect that she fled to the Old Mausoleum Swamp!"

Gu Jie: "The princess is saying..."

Ping Le asked with a smile: "What do you think of Xue Liu's appearance?"

Gu Jie was sweating all over and answered very carefully, "Her biological mother is Hu Ji. She is tall and slender, with clear and sharp features. She is very, very unique..."

She didn't dare to say that Xue Liu was pretty in front of Pingle, but compared to the gentleness and reserve of Zhongzhou women, Xue Liu's facial features were bold and flamboyant, her whole life was bright and dazzling, and she also added a touch of heroism and an indescribable sense of charm.

Both charming and fierce.

Others can't imitate...

When she was a child, she was probably not liked because she looked like this.

Ping Le seemed to see through his euphemism. She curled her lips and said calmly, "From what I have learned, the woman was caught and tortured. Several people tortured her to death. But she was pregnant with Minister Cao's child at that time. In order to avoid being held accountable by Minister Cao, the soldiers said that she had escaped and was not caught..."

Gu Jie frowned.

Pingle got a lot of information through the Women's House.

Those ladies and girls chatted when they had nothing to do. They knew a lot of information that others could not know, and they could not control their mouths. After a few cups of tea, they could not help but speak the truth...

Pingle smiled, but his eyes seemed to be filled with poison.

"Isn't it a coincidence that Xue Liu also has a brand on his lower back. I guess he has a lot of scars on his body too, right?"

The steaming summer heat condensed on his back, and Gu Jie felt his scalp tingling.

"But, Your Highness, two years ago, Xue Liu was only sixteen years old and still in the Old Mausoleum Swamp. How could he have been involved in stealing confidential drawings from the Ministry of War?"

"So what? She has been away from home for ten years. Who can prove that she is Xue Liu? And not the woman who stole the confidential blueprints and fled?"

Gu Jie shuddered.

Minister Cao just passed away half a year ago.

The woman was kept by him outside, so not everyone knows what she looks like...

Thinking of this, Gu Jie couldn't help but feel confused again.

"The woman died at that time. Who was the one who got the crossbow blueprints from the black market?"

Pingle's face fell in dissatisfaction.

"Is that the point?"

Gu Jie apologized quickly, looking extremely terrified.

Ping Le sneered sinisterly: "With a huge reward, there will definitely be brave men. When told of the great benefits, some people will not care about life and death. The Ministry of War, the Divine Arm Camp, and those soldiers may have stolen and profited from it... In short, it doesn't matter who stole and sold it. What matters is that Xue Liu's hands must be involved."

Her brows suddenly furrowed, and every word she spoke was very sharp.

"This time, I want Xue Liu to be the Painted Skin Ghost who died unjustly!"

When Gu Jie heard Ping Le talking that day, he was not quite sober after being drunk. Now he gradually figured it out - Ping Le wanted to frame Xue Liu for the crime of stealing the crossbow machine map by the female prisoner from Xiz, and to create the illusion that there were dealings between Jiulingzhao and Xiz merchants, to confirm the charges and leave Xue Liu with no way to defend himself.

If this is true, not only can the Xue family and Princess Duan not protect her, but Prince Duan can't protect her either.

Gu Jie remained silent.

This move is indeed cruel.

Two chapters in one!

Good night, sisters. See you tomorrow.

After the New Year, I will adjust the update time~

This year passed by in a daze. It passed, but it was like nothing happened. Only people who were tired as cows were left. Did you...