Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 152 Little-Known
Xue Yueying tore up the brocade curtains in the mansion and smashed everything that could be smashed in the main house of Wutong Courtyard. She cried bitterly and insisted on going back to her parents' home.

Madam Chun was afraid that she would have a miscarriage, resulting in two deaths, so she had to send her back to the Xue Mansion in person.

It happened that Xue Sui went to visit the old lady. As soon as he stepped into the mansion, he ran into Madam Chun.

Madam Chun's face was filled with sadness, and her expression was full of fatigue and helplessness. When she saw Xue Sui, she held her hand, her eyes red, and she complained bitterly.

"My Lord and I had good intentions and never intended to harm anyone. How could we end up in such a miserable way..."

The Jingyuan Marquis' family fell into poverty and had a miserable old age, which made Madam Chun feel guilty about the Marquis's mansion. She looked haggard and looked much older.

Xue Sui comforted him softly, "Auntie Chun, don't be too sad. Good people are blessed by heaven. You and the Marquis do good deeds every year, and you will surely be able to turn misfortune into good fortune in the future."

Madam Chun looked at her, as if tears would burst out in the next second, "A Sui, it would be great if you were my daughter-in-law..."

Xue Sui called softly: "Auntie Chun..."

"Don't mention it. I shouldn't mention it."

Madam Chun smiled bitterly and shook her head. "I have been feeling uneasy lately. Wu Lang is fine, but now he is getting involved with Ping Le. To be honest, I dreamed of him last night. He was standing on the Naihe Bridge covered in blood, calling me to save him..."

Her voice was filled with worry and fear.

Xue Sui patted the back of her hand with a complicated look in his eyes.

How could Gu Jie have such a background?

If it were another family, Xue Yueying would have to suffer so much that she would have to suffer at least a lot...

But Madam Chun, apart from ignoring her, did not treat Xue Yueying badly, nor did she intentionally harm the child because she was not from the Gu family. She still raised her with good food and drink...

That was not only because of the threats from the Queen Mother and the King of Wei, and the future of the Marquisate, but also because Madam Chun and Marquis Jingyuan were kind-hearted...

It was their kindness that accumulated virtue for their son.

As long as Gu Jie can mend his ways, she can spare his life.

Xue Sui sent Madam Chun to the door and watched her get on the carriage before returning home.

As soon as he stepped into the inner room of Shou'an Courtyard, he heard the old lady scolding Xue Yueying.

"...You little idiot, do you really think the Xue family's ancestral hall is a clay Buddha?! You dare to do this even though you are pregnant with a bastard. Do you think she hasn't brought shame to the Xue family? Fortunately, Madam Chun is kind-hearted, otherwise she would have suffered..."

Qian whispered to comfort her.

"Mother, calm down. Be careful, your headache may come back again."

Xue Sui greeted her at the door. When Mrs. Cui caught a glimpse of her, a kind smile instantly appeared on her face, and she patted the brocade quilt beside her to greet her.

"Sixth girl, come quickly and sit next to grandma."

Xue Sui sat over as he was told and said in a gentle voice, "Grandma looks very good today. Did you use the calming incense that Doctor Shu just prepared?"

The old lady smiled, "That's right. How can it be said that Doctor Shu is the reincarnation of a god? I always dream at night that Bodhisattva comes to save me on a cloud. I, an old woman, don't know how much merit I have accumulated to be able to save my life..."

Xue Sui's mouth curled up slightly, "Look at what you said, you are blessed..."

She smiled and chatted with the old lady.

The old lady seemed to have thought of something and suddenly pulled her, her throat choking slightly.

"My dear grandson, is there any news from the Duke Zheng's Mansion?"

Xue Sui smiled and said, "Yesterday I sent a letter to Master Jingkong of Puji Temple, and also invited Madam Luo and Miss Guo San to go to listen to Zen together. When the time comes, I will definitely speak well of you, Eighth Sister."

"Good good."

The old lady patted the back of her hands, very satisfied.

"Look at my clever and good granddaughter..."

The maids and old women all laughed together.

The atmosphere in the room is relaxed and happy.

Xue Sui served the old lady a few mouthfuls of bird's nest porridge, and then Tianshu came in.

"It's time to take your pulse, Madam Cui."

Mrs. Cui thanked her and obediently extended her wrist.

Xue Sui sat on one side, looking at the focused and serious face of his senior brother when he was examining the patient. Suddenly, he felt that the fragrance of medicine in the room seemed to hide countless connections - Madam Chun's tears, Xue Yueying's suffering, the old lady's calculations, like a spider web that tightly bound everyone in it.

She was also hanging tremblingly on the spider web, and at any time she might lose all her previous efforts and everything because of a wrong decision.

After a diagnosis, Tianshu confirmed that the old lady's physical condition had improved, and Xue Sui also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she had no attachment to the Xue family, in this world, it was not a good thing to have no family support.

She still needs the Xue family, especially Mrs. Cui who trusts her...
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After coming out of the Shangshu Mansion, Tianshu did not say goodbye to her like he did last time, but leaned closer and whispered:

"Go to the medicine house."

Xue Sui knew that he had something to say, so he immediately told Jinshu and Ruyi to go back home to report first, and he took Xiaozhao and went to Sangliuyuan via a detour.

"Young lady, please sit down and relax. I will bring the cakes that the young master prepared..."

Qingfeng respectfully served tea and greeted Xue Sui.

The table was filled with candied plums, date paste cakes, and walnut biscuits.

The medicinal fragrance in Sangliuyuan always smells better than anywhere else.

Xue Sui started eating happily.

"Big Brother always treats me like a child..."

The breeze and the sea of ​​clouds smiled at each other.

"That's right, the eldest son always loves girls."

Tianshu entered the inner room and came out after a long while. His face was indifferent and his eyes were deep. The corner of his snow-white robe brushed past the slightly old pillars, without a speck of dust on it, and only brought out a scent of wormwood.

"I've been waiting for a long time, Ping An."

"Why are you being so polite?"

Xue Sui smiled and blinked, looking at the senior brother with extraordinary demeanor, and slowly turned his gaze to his hands.

He held the Lingqiong flute.

Back then, when she first arrived at the Old Mausoleum Swamp, Tianshu used this Lingqiong Xiao to smash the skull of the scoundrel who bullied her...

But today, the eldest brother's expression was very unusual.

"But something happened?" she asked.

Tianshu did not answer and slowly walked towards the medicine cabinet.

The hundred-child medicine cabinet towered into the beams, like a silent fortress. It was filled with a variety of medicinal materials, and each medicine cabinet had a different name written on it...

Tianshu stroked the grid with his fingertips, took off the Lingqiong Xiao from his waist, inserted it diagonally into the keyhole of a black iron medicine cabinet above, and turned it slightly... Snap! The candle flame suddenly jumped.

The black iron box opened.

A brass seal engraved with a hideous skull pattern fell into his palm.

The skeleton opened its bloody mouth in the dim light, and the scaly blue-black color surrounding it - just like dried blood.

"Take it."

Tianshu placed the brass seal on the table, his voice low but firm.

Xue Sui was stunned, his eyes full of shock.

This is what Li Huan was looking for...

What Pingle wanted but could not get...

Li Zhao also thought about it...

The seal of the imperial envoy to Jiulingzhao.

The smile on Xue Sui's lips slowly faded.

"I have already returned this to Master. This is..."

Tianshu said: "Master said that your performance in recent days has shown that you are capable of being an imperial envoy and can be of great use. This imperial envoy order is officially entrusted to you."

Now is the official date...

What about before? An informal test?

Xue Sui's mind seemed to be in a fog, with all kinds of questions coming one after another...

At the beginning, the master did not want the Old Mausoleum Swamp to be involved in the court disputes, and always warned his disciples to abide by the rules, stay out of it, and never get involved in the vortex of the royal family's struggle...

Tianshu’s eyes were as deep as an ancient well.

"When the power is not strong enough, you can only avoid it. When the time is right, you can show your sharp blade. Now, Xizi and Daliang are fighting, and the Old Mausoleum Swamp is hiding in the dark. It can do something."

Xue Sui stared at him solemnly, very puzzled.

"I don't want the Old Mausoleum Swamp that Master has worked so hard to build to suffer any mishaps, and I don't want to disrupt Master's peaceful and tranquil life. I am not an imperial envoy, and using the power of the Old Mausoleum Swamp is just a deal, and it does not destroy the subtle tacit understanding between the Old Mausoleum Swamp and the Daliang court... Once I accept this imperial order, the situation will be very different."

ponder for a moment.

She added: "I will not let the people I cherish make such a huge sacrifice and pay a heavy price for my selfish desires."

Tianshu looked at her quietly.

"Ping An, your hatred may also be mine, Master's..."

Xue Sui was shocked.

"Eldest brother?"

Her eyes were full of disbelief, and she was eager to find more answers from Tianshu's face.

However, Tianshu looked straight at her with a solemn expression and spoke slowly and lowly, "Back then, the Xiao family army was plotted against, and hundreds of thousands of loyal souls were buried in the newly completed imperial mausoleum of the previous dynasty..."

After a slight pause, he continued in a cold voice: "General Xiao Chong, the great national defender, wrote the word 'injustice' on the general's flag with his blood before his death... At that time, he could no longer see or speak..."

Thunder broke the twilight outside the window.

A bright light illuminated the quiet and deserted wooden house.

Xue Sui's fingertips trembled slightly.

It seems that a shocking secret has been touched...

But an even bigger mystery immediately emerged.

"Big Brother, why have you been hiding this from me until now?"

Tianshu said: "I hid it from you to protect you. Be safe, the crisis is far from over, and the road to revenge has just begun. Just remember that everything you do is not only your personal revenge... but also related to the rise and fall of the entire Old Mausoleum Swamp..."

Xue Sui lowered his head in thought.

The flickering firelight reflected her drooping eyelashes.

"Big Brother, could it be that Master has had this plan since the day I left the Old Mausoleum Swamp?"

Tianshu said slowly: "Maybe even earlier, since you first entered the Old Mausoleum Swamp..."

Xue Sui raised his head and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"How many secrets are you hiding from me?"

"My last name is also Xiao. My ancestor is the great general Xiao Chong." Tianshu said slowly, unzipping the collar of his shirt.

The candlelight cast a mixture of light and dark shadows on his broad and firm chest, with several ugly scars twisted and intertwined like a centipede.

Memories flooded back like a tide——

On a rainy night when he was ten years old, the young boy stood holding a flute. The rain mixed with blood soaked his hemp clothes. His eyes were so lonely as if he was abandoned by the whole world.

It turns out that the wronged souls of Xiao's army were buried in those vague old events.

Xue Sui looked at him with heartache.

I was eating candied plums, but my mouth tasted bitter.

"What does the Old Mausoleum Swamp have to do with the Kingdom of Xizi?"

“……” Tianshu was speechless for a moment.

"What about Master? What secrets does Master have?"

Tianshu looked at her sincerely, "After you accomplish your mission, let the three masters tell you in person, how about that?"

Xue Sui said: "No, I will go back to the Old Mausoleum Swamp to find out."

As she said this, she was about to stand up.

"Safe!" Tianshu called her.

"Now is not the right time. If you go back now, not only will you not get an answer, but it will also arouse suspicion from all parties, which will cause a lot of inconvenience to your future actions..."

Xue Sui sat back slowly.

"Brother, how should I proceed from now on?"

Tianshu's distant gaze passed through the lingering tea fragrance and fell on her fair face.

"But do what is in your heart, and I will be by your side."

Xue Sui: I have received the imperial edict. Let me see who will come to provoke me...

Li Zhao: What do I have to fear? You have the imperial edict, and I have the love poison. Humph!
Xue Sui: ...