Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 272 Sugar Mixed with Arsenic
At midday in the height of summer, the heat in the capital city was unbearable.

In the private room of Hung Fook Casino, three ice basins were placed, and white mist drifted to the carved window frames, obscuring the sunlight outside...

Guo Zhaoxuan, the fourth young master of the Guo family, was soaked through, his eyes were bloodshot, and he stared intently at the dice cup, with veins bulging on his forehead.

Across from him, a wealthy, arrogant out-of-town businessman was leisurely sipping his tea.

"Young Master Guo is having a bad day, why don't we play again another day?"

"I refuse to believe this bad luck. I haven't lost a single day in half a month and have won fifty thousand taels of silver. Could it be that I've run into a jinx today...?"

"Why bother?" Hao Shang used the tea lid to skim the foam, a cunning glint in his shrewd eyes. If it weren't for his slightly upturned mustache, his features would have been quite handsome.

"It's just a matter of luck. How about we have a cup of tea to soothe our throats first, and come back another day with enough money to try and win back our losses?"

"Bullshit!" Guo Zhaoxuan's hands trembled as he pulled out the last stack of silver notes from his pocket.

"If I don't win this today, I swear I'm not a man!"

"Fourth Young Master, take it easy. If you keep losing, you'll be starving."

"Would a noble Duke's mansion be short of your meager funds?" Guo Zhaoxuan slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Again! Keep betting!"

The dice cup is lifted—two, two, three, small.

Another game lost.

His temples throbbed with veins as he slammed a land deed onto the table.

"A house in West Lane, South of the city, bet 50,000 taels. If you lose, it's on me!"

The servant stood beside him, clutching his handkerchief and trembling. The wealthy merchant lightly tapped the edge of the teacup with the lid, his smile deepening.

"Open! Open!" Guo Zhaoxuan roared, his eyes bloodshot.

The dice cup is opened—four, five, six, big.

"Hahaha! Young Master Guo, you flatter me!" The wealthy merchant laughed, grabbing the mountain of silver notes and land deeds piled on the table and stuffing them into his arms.

The lights on the second floor of the gambling den flickered on and off in the summer night.

It stayed lit until dawn.

The ice basin had long since melted into water, and the window frames facing the street were already showing dappled sunlight.

The wealthy merchant yawned, a relaxed smile appearing at the corner of his eye.

"Young Master Guo has run out of bets, so it's time for me to take a break. Manager, let's tally up the chips..."

Guo Zhaoxuan slumped in the chair, his fingers slipping on the edge of the table, almost unable to sit still.

The gambling den owner bowed and stepped forward, handing over a still-wet IOU.

"Fourth Young Master, take a look at the numbers. Do they match?"

He nodded in acknowledgment, and the butler beside him, wiping his sweat, hunched over and walked up, placing the abacus on the table, the beads clanging loudly.

"Manager, after accounting for the mortgaged estates and houses, the total debt is still... 150,000 taels. The full amount must be raised and repaid within three days, interest-free. After three days, interest will be 3% per day, compounded daily..."

The wealthy merchant turned his jade thumb ring and looked at him with a forced smile.

"Young Master Guo, would you like cash, or... a couple more rounds to try and win back your losses?"

Guo Zhaoxuan was struck dumb, slumped in his chair, and turned deathly pale.

150,000 taels!

How can there be so many?

He had won 50,000 taels of silver a few days ago and had a lavish party at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, but who would have thought he would lose his entire fortune today...

The numbers were overwhelming him.

His personal savings were already depleted, and the second wife had spent a considerable amount of money on bribes and favors due to his father's imprisonment. His mother was already secretly selling off family paintings, calligraphy, and dowry jewelry. The first wife was also very protective of the public funds and would never give him money to fill this hole.

If his grandfather knew that he had mortgaged his house and estate and was in such a huge debt... his life would be in danger.

"I...I..." Guo Zhaoxuan was covered in cold sweat.

"What? The young master of the dignified Duke of Zheng's mansion is trying to renege on his debt?"

The gambling den owner, who had been all smiles and friendly just moments before, immediately darkened his expression when he saw the man's unfocused gaze and his slumped posture, refusing to place his bet.

Several burly men immediately surrounded him, their expressions menacing.

"Gambling houses operate on the principle of integrity, and our owners despise those who renege on their debts. Giving us three days is already a show of kindness; if we don't receive the money within three days, don't blame us for being ruthless. Chopping off our hands and feet is the least of our worries; we'll skin you alive and hang you in front of the Duke of Zheng's mansion, displaying your disembowelment to the public..."

Guo Zhaoxuan was terrified and scrambled out of the gambling den.

He was consumed by immense fear.

He wandered aimlessly around the city like a headless fly, and finally, as if possessed, returned to his residence and ran to the courtyard of his second brother, Guo Zhaohuai.

In recent years, Guo Zhaohuai had been cultivating connections and climbing the social ladder by associating with Princess Pingle. He rose from a minor official in the Court of State Ceremonial to a junior official in the Ministry of War. Although he was not directly implicated in the military supplies corruption case, he kept a low profile due to his father's strict orders and the rumors circulating outside. Apart from going on duty, he usually stayed in his study, copying calligraphy and tending to his flowers and plants. He appeared to be well-behaved and very cautious and low-key.

After listening to Guo Zhaoxuan's tearful tale, Guo Zhaohuai's face turned so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

"Trash! Idiot!"

"With the house in such a state, you still dare to cause trouble outside?"

Guo Zhaohuai kicked over the low stool, still not satisfied, and slapped Guo Zhaoxuan to the ground, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt and rage.

"Fifteen thousand taels! Do you think this is fifteen copper coins? How dare you!" "Brother... save me. Only you can save me." Guo Zhaoxuan clung to Guo Zhaohuai's leg, trembling all over.

"Those people are all desperate criminals. They're not afraid of the law and they really will kill me..."

"Shut up!" Guo Zhaohuai paced back and forth irritably.

Although this illegitimate son was useless, he was still his second uncle's biological son, and he used to often follow him around carrying his boots and running errands...

If something really happens to him, I will also be implicated.

More importantly, if this matter were to escalate and become known to those with ulterior motives, it would undoubtedly worsen the already precarious situation of the Duke of Zheng's mansion.

"No money," Guo Zhaohuai said firmly. "Don't even think about the public funds, and don't let Grandfather hear a word of it, or I'll break your legs and call it a day..."

"Then... what should we do?" Guo Zhaoxuan's face was full of despair.

Guo Zhaohuai's eyes flashed, revealing a ruthless glint.

"The only option now is to take a risky move."

He lowered his voice, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Your debt is clearly a setup. Who knows what kind of enemies are lurking behind that gambling den? They want to use you as a starting point to destroy the Zheng family through the military supplies case. Do you understand..."

Guo Zhaoxuan shuddered in fright.

"Then...then...what should we do..."

"Listen up!" Guo Zhaohuai grabbed his collar, his eyes flashing with malice.

“I will not cover your gambling debt of 150,000 taels of silver, nor will I stand by and watch you die. Listen, I have an account book that records the military supply deficit. My second uncle secretly gave it to me before his accident. It involves some higher-ups... It was originally meant to be kept in case of a crisis to save my life. Now... it might be able to save your dog's life, or even turn the tables on those who bit us.”

A glimmer of hope ignited in Guo Zhaoxuan's eyes: "What is that?"

"Outside the city on the western outskirts, crows cross the river, beneath the shrine of a dilapidated temple."

Guo Zhaohuai lowered his voice even further, with a hint of barely perceptible tension and mystery.

"The place is not very popular and is extremely secluded. Go there in person at midnight tonight to retrieve it. After you get it, go to the Huichuntang Pharmacy in the east of the city and find a manager surnamed Hu. Just say, 'My old illness has relapsed, please give me two ounces of angelica.' He will arrange for you to hide temporarily until things calm down."

"Hide? What if the gambling den comes knocking on our door?"

Guo Zhaohuai pushed him away.

"Then tell everyone you're dead!"

His voice was cold and indifferent, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Guo Zhaoxuan staggered back a few steps, and looking at his brother's cold eyes, his blood seemed to freeze instantly.
-
Shuiyuean.

Xue Sui did not chant scriptures in the meditation room, but stood alone beside a newly cultivated medicinal herb garden.

As dusk settled and the bamboo forest grew dark, only the small ram's horn lantern in her hand emitted a halo of dim yellow light.

She crouched down and carefully examined several herbs that had just sprouted tender leaves, the hem of her robe stained with damp, fresh soil.

Jinshu coughed lightly, appeared silently behind her, and whispered:
"Girl, the fish has taken the bait. Guo Zhaoxuan has gone to Hanya Ferry."

Xue Sui gently stroked the serrated edges of a herb's leaves, his movements tender, yet his eyes held an unusual coldness.

"Hanya Ferry... is a good place."

She slowly rose, the light of the lantern casting her slender figure onto the swaying bamboo shadows, making her appear sometimes long and sometimes short, like a ghost.

"Back then, the eldest son of the Guo family grabbed my hair and kicked me like a wild dog in that reed marsh. Just because Ping Le praised his archery skills, he sharpened a reed stalk into an arrow, shot it through my mouth, and poked my eyes with reed leaves..."

Her voice was very soft, her breathy voice broken and intermittent, as if she were telling someone else's story...

Jinshu felt a chill run down her spine.

I dare not imagine the suffocation and despair I felt when, many years ago, a young girl was bullied by Ping Le and the little tyrant of the Guo family during a cold winter...

"Is everything arranged?" Xue Sui asked, his gaze falling on the dark bamboo forest, his expression calm.

"It was arranged personally by the Seventh Prince, so it's foolproof."

Jinshu lowered her head and paused, a hint of hesitation in her voice barely perceptible.

"But young lady, could there be something fishy about the account books? Guo Zhaohuai is a shrewd man, how could he not know what kind of good-for-nothing Guo Silang is? How could he easily entrust his secrets to him..."

“The ledgers are obviously fake.” Xue Sui stared at the swaying lamplight, his tone calm and relaxed.

"The Duke of Zheng is cunning and shrewd, but his two sons are mediocre and incapable of achieving anything. His most valued grandson is Guo Zhaohuai. Guo Zhaohuai is not a fool. If he truly had a fatal weakness, he would have destroyed it long ago. Why would he easily let a fool like Guo Zhaoxuan know about it?"

"Then how do we lure him into a trap?"

"For such cunning people, one must fight fire with fire."

Xue Sui broke off a bamboo twig and played with it, lowering his voice even further, each word laced with amusement.

"We let Guo Zhaoxuan taste the sweetness first, and then drag him into the abyss, just to make him emotionally collapse and lose his mind. The pain of falling from the clouds is the most extreme - only in this way will he feel that Guo Zhaohuai is abandoning him and wants to kill him to silence him. And we... are his only lifeline."

Jinshu understood perfectly, and bowed respectfully with a smile.

"I understand. I'll make that Guo fellow think he's found a way out of his predicament."

　Li Zhao: When I return to the capital, I will definitely teach that woman Xue Ping'an a lesson!

　　Xue Sui: If you keep talking nonsense, I'll paint you up like the Kitchen God and throw you into the dilapidated temple in Hanya Ferry, where Guo Zhaoxuan will kowtow to you three times.

　　Li Zhao: ...Thank you!
　　(End of this chapter)