Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 346 Tempting

A thread of love?
Empress Dowager Chengqing searched her memory...

That year's Hundred Flowers Banquet is long gone.

It took her a while to furrow her brows and scrutinize the woman before her.

"Is your illness still not cured?"

Ping Le let out a low, mournful laugh, his voice as hoarse as a broken gong.

"How could they possibly heal me? That wicked nun from Shuiyue Nunnery, that beast from the Eastern Palace, they colluded to steal my glory, ruin my appearance, and cut off my path to survival. They would love for me to die in Shuozhou and rot in the mud..."

Xue Sui!

Li Zhao!

These two names were like a red-hot branding iron, branding them fiercely onto her heart.

All her humiliation and pain stemmed from them.

"Grandmother, I am not reconciled."

Ping Le looked up high, tears streaming down her face, as if she had grasped at the only straw. She crawled forward on her knees and grabbed at Empress Dowager Chengqing's magnificent robes.

"Grandmother, you must do justice for me..."
-
The night is thick.

In the study of the west courtyard of the Wutong Courtyard of the Jingyuan Marquis's residence, only a small oil lamp was lit.

The dim, yellowish light danced across the table, illuminating a small pile of silver ingots and a stack of crumpled banknotes.

Gu Jie hunched over, counting again and again. His pale face looked even more listless under the lamplight, no longer showing his former elegance.

“Three hundred and twenty…four hundred and twenty-five…” he murmured, his lips moving silently.

This amount of money, in the eyes of the former fifth young master of the Jingyuan Marquis's mansion, was nothing more than a small reward for his servants, not even enough for him to buy a fine inkstone.

But now, the Marquis's mansion is just an empty shell, unable to make ends meet, and even maintaining its dignity is a struggle...

Through the dim light filtering through the crack in the door, Xue Yueying looked at her husband's almost obsessive back and pursed her lips.

"Green Bamboo."

She handed the child to the maids, signaled them to leave, then tidied her hair and pushed open the door to enter.

The door creaked open!
The wind is blowing in...

Gu Jie looked up in surprise.

Upon seeing that it was her, he abruptly swept up the money on the table, covered it with his sleeve, and demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

"Who... let you in?"

Normally, Gu Jie guarded against her as if she were a thief.

The study was a forbidden area, and she was not allowed to enter it lightly.

Xue Yueying had finally seized the opportunity, so how could she let it slip away?

She spoke with a sour tone, mockingly: "Of course... I miss my husband."

Gu Jie frowned. "What do you want with me?"

"What is it you want? I've come to ask you for some supplies."

Xue Yueying swayed her hips, carrying a sweet, cloying fragrance, and walked straight to the armchair in front of Gu Jie, sitting down with a sharp tone.

"Why are you staring at this little bit of loose silver at night instead of sleeping, Gu Lang? Do you think you can come up with gold ingots from your pathetic little business that can't turn your life around?"

"Instead of wasting your time making a scene here, why don't you go and curry favor with your Prince Wei and beg for some food?" Gu Jie was so angry that his face turned ashen and his lips were pressed into a straight line.

Xue Yueying became even more enthusiastic, her eyes scanning the cold and quiet study, her smile full of disdain.

"What, are you angry? You can't blame me for this. The Marquis's mansion is almost collapsing. With your meager salary, we can barely afford to pay for Yu-ge'er's wet nurse's monthly allowance. Are you suggesting that we, mother and son, should just starve while you're taking care of us?"

Gu Jie's eyes were covered in a thick blue shadow, but his gaze was sharp and astonishing.

"Don't look down on me. I, Gu Jie, am not necessarily unable to turn things around..."

Xue Yueying smiled and looked at him.

Then, he glanced thoughtfully at the heavy silver coins hidden under his sleeve.

"What kind of business did you do to earn this income?"

A cold smile appeared on Gu Jie's lips as he lightly tapped his fingers on the table.

"You wouldn't understand the business dealings of the Siz people..."

"Is this just empty talk to fool people?"

"The new King of Xiz, Turgutai, has just ascended the throne and urgently needs grain, cloth, and tea... We can exchange our finest goods from Liang for their spices, gems, and fine horses... and make ten times the profit in a single transaction. If we transport them quickly, we can reap a hundred times the wealth..."

He paused, then raised his chin.

"Didn't you always complain that the Marquis's mansion was poor and that I was incompetent, causing you to be looked down upon? Once this path is cleared, not only will I be able to restore the Marquis's mansion's prestige, but I, Gu Jie, can also walk into the Wei Prince's mansion or the Duan Prince's mansion with my head held high..."

"Tch—" Xue Yueying curled her lip and glanced at him sideways, "You?"

"With me," Gu Jie said, his eyes dark and his face cold, "I'll die either way, so why don't I gamble on a fortune? Xue Si, you don't need to laugh at me; you're even worse than me."

He leaned slightly forward as he spoke, staring at her with a contemptuous smile.

"Think about your eldest sister and ninth sister who became princesses, and your sixth sister who, despite becoming a nun, is still favored by the crown prince. Aren't they all trampling on your head now? Who do you think you are? You have to be subservient to your parents when you go back to your parents' home. You're not even as good as a dog." The one who understands you best is indeed your spouse.

Every word was like a dagger to the heart, every phrase like a knife to the wound. It struck where the pain was.

Xue Yueying turned pale with anger.

"Gu Jie, you—"

She shouted, then bit her lower lip hard, swallowing back the rest of her words.

“Gu Lang…” She glanced at the silver ingots on the table, her voice softened, and carried a hint of tentative flirtatiousness.

"We are husband and wife, our fortunes are intertwined, one's prosperity is the other's prosperity, and one's loss is the other's loss. You wouldn't want to see me suffer, would you? So... why don't you tell me the details of this business deal, and what I can do for you?"

Gu Jie sneered inwardly, but his expression softened somewhat.

"No need. What use are you, a mere woman?"

Xue Yueying raised an eyebrow, a hint of smugness in her eyes. "To say something you might not like, your connections are limited these days, which is quite inconvenient. But I'm different... Although His Highness Prince Wei has a legitimate son, he dotes on our Yu-ge'er. To be honest, these days, when the Prince is feeling down, he often has Yu-ge'er keep him company and help him pass the time. As for me... he's been quite kind to me. Perhaps somewhere, I can lend you a hand..."

She deliberately spoke in an ambiguous manner.

Gu Jie's eyes narrowed slightly.

He suddenly burst out laughing.

He assumed Xue Yueying was greedy and eager to prove herself, but he never expected her to talk about such a shameful thing so confidently.

My youthful infatuation and obsession with her now seem utterly absurd and laughable...

Gu Jie forcefully suppressed his anger, raised an eyebrow, and said coldly.

"If you have the ability, then borrow the King of Wei's token?"

"A token?" Xue Yueying's heart skipped a beat. "This... it's a personal item of the Prince, I'm afraid it's not easy to borrow..."

Gu Jie scoffed, "Isn't Li Yan also greedy for money and lustful? Once we've made a fortune and have a huge wealth, you can take mountains of gold and silver to the Prince of Wei's mansion. Won't Li Yan treat you like a god of wealth? What is Xue Yue'e? What is she, a princess, compared to you? Why worry about not being able to hold your head high?"

Xue Yueying hesitated, but her eyes shone with an alarming intensity.

His heart was fiercely struck by the allure of mountains of gold and silver and the temptation of stepping on Xue Yue'e's head, becoming greedy and fanatical.

She bit her lip. "You...you can really do it flawlessly?"

Gu Jie's gaze was intense, and his words were resolute.

"As long as you get the token, wealth and glory will be within your grasp."
-
The morning light is dim.

The windows of Rika-in were tinged with a light gold by the sunlight.

It's another beautiful sunny day!

Xue Sui sat cross-legged on the bamboo mat, holding the wolf bone talisman that Wen Jia had given her in her hand.

The talisman felt icy to the touch, its ferocious wolf head gleaming with a dark light, its fangs slightly exposed, seemingly carrying the bloodthirsty aura of the savage wilderness…

"Miss," Jinshu quietly entered, gently placing a freshly brewed cup of honeysuckle tea on the corner of the table, and lowered her voice, "There's been some movement at the Jingyuan Marquis's residence."

Without even raising his eyelashes, Xue Sui put the wolf bone talisman into a hidden pocket in his sleeve.

"explain."

"Last night, no sooner had Gu Wulang returned home than Xue Sisian received the news. She quietly slipped into the study, dismissed everyone, and the two of them talked privately for almost half an hour... Our men dared not get too close, for fear of alerting them. We only vaguely heard them arguing about some incredibly lucrative business deal..."

Jinshu paused, then continued, "Before dawn this morning, Miss Xue, in a small sedan chair, secretly led Yu-ge'er to the back gate of the Prince Wei's residence, saying... she wanted to pay her respects to the Princess Wei..."

Xue Sui picked up his teacup.

"interesting."

She took a sip of the slightly hot tea, which had a bitter taste followed by a sweet aftertaste.

"Xue Yueying's brains are all used for scheming..."

Ruyi, who was standing by, listened with great interest.

"The Prince of Wei is still languishing in his mansion after being dealt with by the girl. He's still harboring wicked intentions but is also incredibly bored. Xue Si is practically offering himself up. Isn't it like someone offering you a pillow when you're sleepy? What good can he possibly do?"

Xiao Zhao chimed in, "That pair of adulterers, might as well just kill them cleanly! It'll save us from being an eyesore."

Jinshu shook her head, somewhat worried, "Can Gu Jie really persuade her? Even if Miss Xue is stupid, she should know that trading with foreign countries without official registration is a capital offense, right?"

"All she cares about is making huge profits."

Xue Sui put down her teacup, the rising steam blurring the smile on her lips.

"Besides, Gu Jie knows all too well how to catch this greedy fish, and he might not tell the truth. The longer someone is looked down upon, the stronger their desire to turn things around becomes... Xue Si, relying on having a son of the emperor, thinks he has leverage and has been trying to use that meager favor to squeeze into the imperial ancestral temple..."

She got up and walked to the window.

The wind was strong last night, shaking down many petals, covering the bluestone path with a layer of pink and white, which was quite eye-catching.

"Greed breeds delusion, and delusion drives madness. When profit is the driving force, there will always be those who take risks..."

Her voice was calm, and her gaze was fixed on the distance, as if piercing through the sky of the capital city and landing on the inn in the west of the city that was full of secrets.

"Jinshu, prepare a generous gift for me and ask Princess Wenjia to make the connection... I should also go and meet that Xiz merchant."

　See you tomorrow, my darlings!
　　(End of this chapter)