Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 174 Late Night, Light Rain
Ruijin Hall.

Consort Xiao sat upright on the couch, her eyes cold. The lychee she was clutching tightly in her hand was almost crushed by her bright red nail polish, and the juice was slightly seeping out, the flesh already deformed.

Ping Le lay on the brocade carpet, stroking the gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, remaining silent for a long time.

The mother and daughter faced each other, the atmosphere so oppressive it was almost suffocating.

Consort Xiao remained silent for a long time, then became very dissatisfied. "I haven't even reprimanded you yet, and you're already putting on this face. Hmph, you don't know your place, you act rashly, and you've given others a handle to use against you. What else do you have to complain about?"

Ping Le raised her eyes: "Why doesn't Mother believe me that I didn't bring red musk into the palace?"

Consort Xiao's eyes sharpened, and she stared intently at her.

"You didn't bring red musk, so how did you get the pulse reading for your miscarriage? Could it be that Fu Qingsong misdiagnosed your pulse, or did you instruct him to say it?"

Ping Le opened her mouth, looked at her birth mother's tightly furrowed brows, then slowly closed it again, speechless.

This is why she didn't let Xue Liu continue his verification in the Cining Palace and had to leave in silence...

The miscarriage is true, but the fetus that died in the womb was not Lu Youan's.

Instead, it belongs to... Gu Jie.

Physician Fu was not making things up. He dared not respond to Xue Sui's words simply because he felt guilty—the death of Consort Xue was related to him.

Who would have thought that Xue Liu would exploit this loophole?
Ping Le despised Gu Jie from the bottom of her heart, so naturally she wouldn't give birth to Gu Jie's child for no reason. So she secretly asked Physician Fu to prescribe red musk powder and miscarried...

She wouldn't have taken this risky step otherwise.

Wen Jia is simply too arrogant. Not only did she seduce Lu Youan, but she also tried to please the Empress Dowager and turn her useless mother's fortunes around...

Xue Liu was the same; he kept pressing her, determined to embarrass her. So she decided to go all in and make them both suffer the consequences of their actions...

She had planned everything meticulously, but she hadn't anticipated that Xue Liu would preemptively strike, employing a series of cunning schemes to falsely accuse her of hiding red musk powder in her sleeve...

The flow of medicinal herbs in and out of the palace is all recorded. If it is found that the princess's residence used this stuff, then there will still be no way to defend themselves...

Not only that, but they will also expose her affair with Gu Jie.

Ping Le no longer dared to underestimate Xue Liu and Wen Jia, but her hatred for them was even stronger than before...

"Mother, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have given Wen Jiaxiu's tattered sutra as a birthday gift. It was incredibly unlucky..."

Consort Xiao glanced at her, her gaze still filled with suspicion.

Ping Le's eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips, deliberately changing the subject of the miscarriage.

"Mother, don't be nervous. Father hasn't issued the decree yet. As long as Father's heart is with us, even if Grandmother throws a tantrum, she can't do anything about it..."

"madness!"

Consort Xiao raised her hand and smashed the lychee onto the wooden table. The juice splashed out, and the flesh bounced up, landing back on Ping Le's newly tailored Moonlight Skirt, leaving a stain.

Ping Le was terrified, "Mother..."

"Confining you to your quarters is too lenient a punishment," Consort Xiao said sharply and sternly, her voice filled with disappointment. "Do you really think the Empress Dowager is so blind that she can't even recognize your embroidery skills?"

Ping Le rarely saw Consort Xiao angry with her. After a moment of stunned silence, she retorted:

“What the Empress Dowager values ​​is her daughter’s sincerity. If Wenjia hadn’t brought out a fake of Ye Fuzhou’s work to present for her birthday and win favor, the Empress Dowager would have been pleased even if she knew it wasn’t embroidered by her daughter herself… Besides, how would she know that the medicine manual was written by Wenjia…”

"It seems you still don't know where you went wrong..." Consort Xiao said, pointing at her face with great disappointment and resentment.

"Your father has spoiled you so much that you can't tell east from west. Where's your brain? The satin used to wrap the feet of the Medicine King Sutra was Rain Silk Brocade that Wen Jia received from the Imperial Clothing Bureau last month. When has your household ever used such material?"

Ping Le stared blankly at the lychee that had rolled to her feet, suddenly recalling the day she sent people to steal the embroidery manual, and how Wen Jia, pale-faced, had coughed and tried to stop them while clinging to the embroidery frame...

Wen Jianing would rather get hurt than let go, her acting was so convincing...

Ping Le's mind went blank for a moment, then suddenly felt hot. As if remembering something, he hurriedly got up and slowly knelt down.

"Mother, have I... been deceived by her? Wenjia deliberately let me steal the medicine manual?!"

Consort Xiao snorted, did not answer her, stood up, and paced back and forth in the hall.

"Miss!"

With a startled cry, the head palace maid rushed in, holding a vermilion and gold-painted lacquer box in her hands, her elbows trembling with fear.

"The Ministry of Justice...the Ministry of Justice sent someone to deliver it..."

Consort Xiao lifted the lid of the box, and a metallic sweetness suddenly welled up in her throat.

Two ears were placed side by side on the brocade, their vibrant lacquer color contrasting with the air of death.

On one of her earlobes was a black mole, exactly the same as the one on her brother Xiao Jing's left ear.

"Prince..."

Consort Xiao's voice trembled, and her body swayed, almost losing her balance.

"Not only did the Crown Prince kill your uncle, but he also insulted the Xiao family like this... He deserves to die!"
-
The grand birthday banquet ended very late that day. The Grand Princess stayed behind after the banquet and chatted with Empress Dowager Chengqing in the Cixi Palace.

Seeing that she seemed hesitant to speak, Empress Dowager Chengqing smiled knowingly, gently raised her hand, and gestured for the palace servants to serve tea and snacks.

“Aunt, just say what you have to say. We’re family, there’s no need to hide anything.”

Empress Dowager Chengqing leaned back slightly in her chair, shedding her solemn and dignified demeanor. She looked quite tired, but her tone was kind and gentle, like that of an ordinary family.

"Ugh……"

The Grand Princess sighed deeply, fiddling with the string of eighteen jade beads. After hesitating several times, she finally spoke slowly.

"These past few years I've gotten older and am becoming senile; there are many things I can no longer handle. If I've said anything wrong, please forgive me, Your Majesty..."

The Grand Princess was much older than Empress Dowager Chengqing. Her full head of silver hair made her look old and frail, but her eyes were sharp and shrewd.

Empress Dowager Chengqing frowned slightly and pushed the steaming teacup across the wooden table.

"We've known each other for a long time, and we're as close as sisters. How could I possibly treat you like an outsider..."

The Grand Princess's expression softened slightly, and she leaned forward a little, lowering her voice as she said, "I've heard that the Ninth Miss Xue is beautiful and exceptionally talented. She's less than a year old and still a tender flower bud. Letting her become Prince Wei's second wife wouldn't be a disservice to the Prince..."

Empress Dowager Chengqing took a sip of tea and her gaze fell on the Grand Princess.

The Xue family had recently expressed interest in a marriage alliance, but she did not agree.

Firstly, the Xue family already had a princess, which made her somewhat wary.

Secondly, Li Yan was lazy and unruly, and did not want to marry another principal wife to be bound by her...

She pondered for a moment, gently turned the teacup lid in her hand, and sighed with a smile, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I stopped interfering in the marriages of the younger generation a long time ago. As for you, you're already quite old, you should just enjoy your retirement. Why bother with these trivial matters?"

The Grand Princess looked at the Empress Dowager with a solemn expression, her tone full of profound meaning.

"In the matter of Consort Xue, it was ultimately the Xue family who suffered injustice."

After saying this, she lowered her head to drink her tea, as if she couldn't see the Empress Dowager Chengqing's suddenly pale face.

When Lady Xue died, how could the Empress Dowager not know the hidden story behind it?

But the Grand Princess at the time persuaded her.

With the Crown Prince ascending the throne, given Li Yan's character and conduct, he will likely find it difficult to secure a place for himself and will certainly not fare well. On the other hand, Prince Duan is approachable and kind-hearted; his brotherly affection and respect will be a blessing for his descendants…

She ultimately turned a blind eye and chose to remain silent, letting the rumors spread.

The Grand Princess now wants to appease the Xue family and resolve the crisis caused by Consort Xue's death through a marriage alliance. However, the child they are raising in the Jingyuan Marquis's residence is also a mess caused by Prince Wei.

If Xue Si's situation remains unresolved and he marries Xue Jiu, the outcome may be disastrous...

Empress Dowager Chengqing did not want to obey the Grand Princess.

However, having boarded the Grand Princess's ship back then, it's now difficult to remain unscathed...
-
The clapper sounded at midnight.

Xue Sui stood under the eaves, watching the fine raindrops drift down from the night, and she gently raised her hand to catch them.

The raindrops fell into her fair palms, like condensed pearls.

A chill spread instantly.

After standing there for a moment, Lingyu fluttered over, its wings drawing an arc in the rain, and landed calmly on her shoulder.

"Cuckoo...cuckoo..."

The cooing of pigeons in the quiet courtyard at night sounded like the gentle strings of a harp.

Xue Sui glanced at it and smiled, then lovingly took it back into the house and asked Xiao Zhao to bring a soft cloth to wipe it clean.

"Look at all this water..."

Before she finished speaking, her gaze fell on the pigeon's leg band.

I have faith!

Xue Sui gently took down the letter tube, slightly taken aback.

It was news from the Crown Prince's palace, but the handwriting was not by Li Zhao. The two lines of crooked handwriting looked like a dog's tail sweeping across the page, and sounded like Lai Fu's tone.

"The master was forced to drink alcohol, and his old illness relapsed. Youhuang Residence."

Her expression tightened, and after thinking for a long time, she asked Ruyi to help her change her clothes and go out...

As soon as the gate of Tanqiu Courtyard was pushed open, Li Huan, accompanied by two attendants, walked slowly out of the night with his hands behind his back.

"It's late at night and drizzling. Where does Madam intend to go?"

see you tomorrow!