Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 53 Overjoyed
His tone was very calm, and it was hard to tell whether he was joking or serious.

But it seems to carry a tremendous force, weighing heavily on people's hearts.

Xue Sui knew that this was a common tactic used during interrogation, to take the initiative and test the suspect. The thief was guilty and would show his cowardice if he was not careful. His inner thoughts were fully reflected on his face, which was clearly visible to everyone.

Xue Sui met his gaze without any change in his body language or expression.

"Just because I came back from Old Mausoleum Swamp?"

Li Huan saw that she talked about the Old Mausoleum Swamp so frankly, and his tone was slightly hesitant.

"This king has verified that these things are more or less the work of Jiu Lingzhao..."

Xue Sui stood in front of him and looked at him calmly, as graceful as a green plum or bamboo, with the corners of his clothes not moving at all, only his clear eyes flickered with a faint light, as if he had no fear of the extremely powerful Prince Duan in front of him, and there was no trace of emotion between his brows and in his eyes.

"I think the prince has already checked me out. Xue Liu has endured ten years of hardship in the Old Mausoleum Swamp, and he is familiar with one or two of the disciples of the corpse keeper in the Old Mausoleum Swamp. But the Old Mausoleum Swamp has always had strict rules, and there are no exceptions for doing things for money. If the prince has anything that is inconvenient, I can act as a matchmaker for him, and I think they can also do it for the prince..."

Li Huan smiled and said, "You are quite clever."

After saying that, he pursed his lips and said, "Denying it flatly won't change the truth."

Xue Sui's face didn't turn red, and his heart didn't beat. He frowned and asked back: "Does your Highness have any evidence? I remember that in the "Twenty-Eight Essays on Reforming Criminal Justice" that your Highness had just written, the most important one was to convict with evidence, and to presume innocence. Your Highness doesn't advocate accusing a powerless woman without any basis. If you suspect me, your Highness should produce solid evidence."

Otherwise, you would be contradicting yourself.

Li Huan was surprised again.

He has never seen such a woman.

The Twenty-Eight Memorials on Reforming Criminal Justice were not necessarily taken seriously by the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, but Xue Liu took them seriously.

He looked towards the garden.

The wind was a little stronger at this moment, the flowers in the garden were swaying in all directions, and Xue Yuechen's skirt was also swaying in the wind.

His princess was a graceful and elegant lady, but she could no longer contain herself and looked over here again and again.

Li Huan retracted his gaze and said, "Just listen to what I just said, don't take it seriously."

Xue Sui said, "Brother-in-law, rest assured. I won't complain to my eldest sister. If my eldest sister asks me, I will just say that my brother-in-law asked about the day when my second brother-in-law beat my second sister. I happened to be there, so he came to me to find out the truth."

Li Huan laughed.

Calling him brother-in-law is so caring.

I found all the excuses for him and also drew a line between us.

Li Huan nodded. His handsome face, which had lost the youthful coldness, actually showed a rare casualness, and his black eyes were clear.

"You go ahead. As for the matter of the Old Mausoleum Swamp, I might really need you to help me."

Xue Sui bowed slightly and said, "I am willing to serve you."

Li Huan didn't say anything else. According to his thoughts, Xue Sui might know some disciples of the corpse guard, but he was still far from being the powerful "imperial envoy" and was not as good as that person. If he asked her about it now, it would make her proud. It would be better to wait until she entered the mansion and then interrogate her in detail.

Yes.

He also didn't realize that from the beginning when he strongly opposed Xue Liu's entry into the mansion to today, he had some interest in this abandoned Liu girl in the old mausoleum swamp. Of course, it was not a romantic relationship.

Xue Yuechen saw Xue Sui coming over, glanced at Li Huan, and asked about the conversation.

Xue Sui repeated what he had just said, and Xue Yuechen had no doubts.

"Second sister is really pitiful. Ming'er is not in good health, and Second Uncle Yao doesn't treat her well. That's fine. I heard that Second Uncle Yao can't get out of bed now. Isn't he a disabled person? She will have to take care of him in the future. Misfortune always picks on the unfortunate. Second sister's fate is really hard to describe..."

After that, she asked again casually.

"I heard that the second uncle fell down after being scratched by a cat. Why would the prince care about this?"

Xue Sui said lightly without even raising his head, "It turns out that Second Uncle Yao and Third Uncle You are close friends. They often eat, drink and have fun together. They got into trouble one after another. I guess the prince must have thought of the two cases together, so he came to learn about the details..."

"Could it be that the prince suspects my second sister?"

"No, I'm just questioning the character of Second Uncle Yao."

"Alas!" Xue Yuechen sighed, "Ever since His Majesty ordered the prince to supervise the affairs of Jingzhao, there has not been a single day of peace. There are so many complicated things to do, not only am I exhausted, but I have also made enemies everywhere in the court. It's really a thankless job..."

Xue Sui looked at her and smiled, "God will give great responsibilities to this person."

How many people want to suffer this pain, but haven't had the chance yet.

The emperor has five princes, and except for the crown prince, there is no one more noble than Prince Duan.

When the two looked at each other, Xue Yuechen's smile became particularly brighter.

"You and I, sisters, work together and share the glory in the future."

Xue Sui just smiled and said nothing.

Xue Yuechen was still saying something in his ear, but it gradually became blurred by the wind.

Coming out of the garden and walking all the way to the living room, Li Huan said goodbye to them and was led by the waiter to the men's seats.

Along the way, he didn't look at Xue Sui again, nor did he say anything else.
-
Returning to the parents' parents' home on the third day of the lunar year is a lively and happy event, but today is particularly different.

Everyone was there, but the atmosphere was still weird and awkward.

The female members of the family were reluctant to say anything to Xue Yueying. Only the Ninth Miss took her to the old lady and asked about the situation in the Jingyuan Marquis' Mansion, just as a routine matter.

A few days passed, and Xue Yueying's mood had not yet stabilized. Although she was wearing thick makeup, her face was still visibly haggard.

In front of all the sisters, Xue Yueying was too embarrassed to complain. She just said that her in-laws treated her well, and her husband treated her well too. She then distributed the gifts she had brought back for the elders and brothers and sisters one by one, and sent them to the back, but the eldest lady was not seen.

Old Mrs. Cui said, "Your mother is not feeling well and is lying in the Qinglan Courtyard."

Xue Yueying was slightly embarrassed, "I should go and greet my mother in person."

Gu Jie was invited by Xue Lan to the study to discuss something, so Xue Yueying took the maid to see Fu.

In Qinglan Courtyard, Mrs. Fu was lying sickly on the bed, ignoring her.

Xue Yueying knelt beside the couch, holding Fu's hand, and suddenly she was overwhelmed with grief.

"Mother, I think both you and I have been tricked by Xue Liu."

Mrs. Fu lay flat on her back, raised her eyelids, and said nothing. Nanny Liu hurried forward, helped her up, and sat her against the head of the bed.

After Xue Yueying cried for a while, she finally sneered.

"Didn't you swear at the beginning that you had Princess Pingle and Gu Lang to rely on, and that you didn't need me, your natal mistress? It's only been a few days since you came back, and you're already showing weakness. This is not like a girl I raised, to let people look down on you like this."

Xue Yueying shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It was my daughter who didn't know the seriousness of the matter and misunderstood my mother's good intentions."

Fu looked at her coldly and sneered again.

"Forget it. Don't kneel down, stand up and talk. If someone sees me, they will say I am a mean concubine."

After several blows, Fu's body was obviously weaker than before, and she had been taking medicine in recent days. But it was not that she had no strength to get out of bed. She just knew that Xue Yueying was coming back and deliberately didn't give her face, so she claimed to be sick and didn't bother to entertain her.

Xue Yueying had suffered enough abuse at her husband's house. On the day she returned home, her parents-in-law looked at her coldly again. She felt extremely miserable, but she had to put on a smile to appease Mrs. Fu.

"Mother, I really know I was wrong. I regret that I should not be estranged from you and make a fool of myself..."

Fu raised her eyebrows and said something sarcastic to her.

"You know how I treated you in the past. You are such a good daughter. You sold me again and again. My Qinglan Courtyard has become a forbidden place for the master. Seeing that we are separated, what's the point of you crying now? Originally, I had planned for you. Although you didn't make a name for yourself, your life in the future would not be difficult. It's you who kept making trouble. Who can I blame..."

Xue Yueying cried so hard that her shoulders trembled and she couldn't make a sound.

"My daughter is young and ignorant, and I have failed my mother. I would like to ask my mother to step in and help my daughter. The mother-in-law of the Marquis's Mansion has not accepted my daughter's daughter-in-law's tea until now. I am Mr. Gu's wife who was married to him through a formal matchmaker, but I am worse than a concubine..."

Only then did Fu realize that they wanted her to come forward to mediate.

She smiled, "You have better things to rely on, why do you need your family to intervene? On the second day of March, Queen Xie will hold a spring flower viewing banquet in the Imperial Garden. You can go with Princess Pingle. How can your mother-in-law not give Princess Pingle face?"

Xue Yueying hesitated.

She didn't dare to tell her that Princess Pingle had fallen out with her, and only said, "I heard that the Spring Flower Banquet is to select a concubine for the Crown Prince, and the Marquis of Jingyuan Mansion will also bring two unmarried girls to the banquet. I am a concubine's son and his legitimate wife, I am afraid I don't have the face to go..."

Fu glanced at her and said nothing.

People with ideas will naturally go to this kind of event.

But even if there are girls waiting to get married in the Xue family, they will not marry into the Eastern Palace.

Everyone knows that the Xue Mansion and Prince Duan's Mansion are closely related and have nothing to do with the Eastern Palace.

The two of them talked for a while, each with their own hidden agenda, and Xue Yueying finally pulled Fu up from the "sickbed". With the mistress's presence, her return banquet would not be so ugly.

However, as soon as they returned to the main hall, they saw Xue Sui and Xue Yuechen coming in side by side, talking and laughing. They were so close that they looked like real sisters, and their smiles froze.

The two looked at each other and their faces darkened.

Xue Sui seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.

She seemed to be unable to see the resentment in Xue Yueying's eyes, and asked with a gentle smile:
"The fourth young lady doesn't look very well. Is it because of the torment of pregnancy or because she is not used to the climate in the mansion? Look, in just a few days, her chin has become pointed and her eyes have become sunken. She is so pitiful."

Xue Yuechen smiled, said nothing, and sat down to talk with Fu.

Fu looked at her indifferently, with a sick look on her face, "You are thinking about your parents now."

Xue Yuechen knew that she was unhappy, so he quickly served her tea to comfort her and said some filial words.

"Sixth sister." Xue Yueying was ignored and walked towards Xue Sui with a sullen face.

The two looked at each other, and Xue Yueying no longer forced a smile. She wished she could throw all the grievances she had suffered these days on Xue Sui's face.

"You have been targeting me since you returned home. These things are all your conspiracy, right?"

conspiracy?

That was an exaggeration, but she wasn't stupid.

Xue Sui curled his lips slightly and looked at her gentle smile.

"The seed in your belly is not mine, how can I harm you? Huh?"

"You!" Xue Yueying saw Fu looking at her, and she suppressed her expression, forcing a smile, her eyes slashing across Xue Sui like a knife, "Sixth sister, don't be complacent, there is still a long time to go, let's just wait and see..."

Xue Sui chuckled and said, "Just wait."

She turned and left, with an attitude as arrogant as if she was the master of the house. Xue Yueying suddenly became furious and went to complain to Fu.

"Mother, look at my sixth sister. She has no respect for me as her elder sister..."

In order to express her grievance, she forced out a string of tears.

The third wife, Qian, was feeding the tenth young lady cakes. When she heard the noise, she knocked the plate against her chest, making a loud noise.

"Sister-in-law, a married girl crying in her parents' home is bad feng shui. Don't you think the things happening in the mansion are embarrassing enough? It's really unlucky! It's because you have a kind heart that you can tolerate such a person. If it were me, I would have chased him out with a broom long ago..."

Fu was so angry that her throat was choked, but she couldn't find any fault with her.

"Third sister-in-law, today is the day when Fourth Sister comes home."

"What about returning to your parents' home? Can returning to your parents' home destroy your parents' feng shui? Your child is grown up, but mine is still young and cannot stand such filth..."

Finally, the Third Lady took advantage of the situation and made a scene, feeling aggrieved and complaining to the old lady, saying that it was detrimental to the future of Mr. Xue San and the growth of the children in the family. So the old lady had to put on a fierce face and reprimand Xue Yueying.

"It's such an auspicious day, but you've ended up crying. If you want to cry, go back to your husband's house."

Xue Yueying held back her tears and bit her lower lip. She was already angry and went out to wash her face, but she saw Gu Jie coming over from the other side in a dejected manner. When he saw her, he acted like a mouse seeing a cat...

Her heart choked and she secretly thought that something was wrong.

"stop!"

Gu Jie covered his face and turned sideways without looking at her.

Xue Yueying asked Gu Jie's long-time attendant Ma Er, "What happened to Fifth Master?"

Ma Er lowered his head and looked at his toes, not daring to interfere in other people's affairs.

Xue Yueying thought Gu Jie had done something wrong to her, so she walked over and pulled his hands away from his face in public, and found red finger marks on his face.

With red eyes, she asked sternly, "Who did it? Who hit you?"

Gu Jie didn't say anything.

Ma Er said in a low voice: "Miss Xue Liu."

Xue Liu.

It’s actually Xue Liu?
Why did Xue Liu beat her husband?

Xue Yueying was about to go crazy.

"What a jerk Xue Liu is! She even dares to hit her son-in-law. This is simply outrageous. I'm going to ask my father to judge..."

Xue Qingzhi doted on her in the past, and she had everything she wanted in the mansion. Now that she was married, she didn't believe that her father would not support her.

Xue Liu beat his brother-in-law, and there was no way to justify it...

However, when she tried to turn around, Gu Jie grabbed her.

"Ying'er, forget it. We are in the wrong..."

Xue Yueying was anxious when she heard this, "What did we do wrong? What did she do wrong?"

Gu Jie said: "I broke up the marriage and married someone else, so it's reasonable for her to feel resentful..."

"Why?" Xue Yueying's eyes turned red with anxiety. "There is no marriage certificate, only a few verbal exchanges. What kind of engagement is that between you and her? Xue Liu relied on Madam Chun's favor and reached out to the Marquis' Mansion to trip me up, and he even dared to hit you. Today I must ask my father for an explanation..."

She was furious, and a huge amount of resentment surged in her heart.

However, Gu Jie had already been embarrassed enough and didn't want to make things worse.

He couldn't stop her or persuade her, and seeing that Xue Yueying was still angry, he finally lost his temper.

"enough!"

"I've said enough!"

Gu Jie stared at her with his eyes wide open.

"How long are you going to embarrass yourself?"

"Do you think I'm embarrassing?" Xue Yueying pointed at her own face and looked at her husband in disbelief. The man who used to be gentle and considerate looked at her in that way, without any pity, but only irritation and impatience.

People who have been pampered for a long time cannot stand such a change.

"Gu Lang, have you been seduced by Xue Liu and changed your mind?"

Gu Jie took a long breath and saw that people came out of the house from time to time to look around. He didn't want to stay any longer, and he didn't want to be stared at like a monkey in public and laughed at by others.

"You can think whatever you want. I have things to do, so I'll go back home first. If you've had enough of your mother's house, send someone to let me know if you want to come back. I'll send someone to pick you up."

Without waiting for the voice to fall, he flicked his sleeves and left.

Xue Yueying was almost unable to stand. She supported her lower abdomen with one hand and grabbed Qiao'er's arm with the other hand, only then did she manage to keep her balance.

"Why would he treat me like this..."

"Why did everyone change after Xue Liu came back?"

"Everyone is targeting me. What did I do wrong?"

"Woo!"

She squatted by the door, suppressing her sobs, tears streaming down her face.

A group of people came out of the house. When they heard that the new son-in-law had turned his back on the fourth girl and left without waiting for dinner, they all found it strange, but did not dare to step forward to ask more questions. They just watched silently and talked in a low voice.

Xue Yueying felt even more isolated and helpless, as if the whole world was against her and laughing at her.

And all this changed because Xue Liu came back...

This disaster star.

She deserves to die.

He should have died back then.

Why come back?

　This chapter has over 4,000 words, it’s really thick~long…

　　Xue Yueying: Yes! These are all my jokes, right? You guys are enjoying watching them, right?

　　Reader: ...I misunderstood. Maybe you have fans too? Who likes you?

　　(End of this chapter)