Chapter 79: Two Big Unlucky Stars Collide

Xu Qi’s “good news” was shrouded in mystery.

“Is it that your sister-in-law is pregnant? Or that your cousin’s sweetheart is willing to marry him?” Xue Qingyin asked him casually.

“Neither,” Xu Qi shook his head.

Xue Qingyin perked up. “It can’t be that you’re using my name to do business outside, can it?”

“How dare I?” Xu Qi quickly said. “The good news I’m talking about is something that will bring you glory, Qingyin.”

He Songning interjected, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Could it be that Uncle has gone and found himself a godfather?”

Xue Qingyin: “…”

What had gotten into He Songning?

Xu Qi couldn’t help but glance at his nephew, saying, “There’s a Dou Fuping in the capital, have you heard of him?”

He Songning coldly replied, “No.”

Xue Qingyin, however, was taken aback. “Is he the Dou Fuping whose brother-in-law is the Minister of Personnel?”

Now it was Xu Qi’s turn to be stunned. “How do you know?”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, this man is involved in a series of cases in the original story, and in the end, the investigation leads back to the King of Wei.

At that time, the original Xue Qingyin had already become the King of Wei’s concubine, and because of her beauty, she was favored. This incident dragged her into the mess, and soon the whole capital knew that the Xue family’s eldest daughter was a lavish and extravagant woman who used the King of Wei’s name to make money outside.

The original Xue Qingyin died a miserable death, and this was one of the charges against her.

Xue Qingyin stared at Xu Qi, her voice laced with suspicion, “Do you know him, Uncle?”

“Yes, I met him and we hit it off immediately. He doesn’t disdain our Xu family, who are merchants, and is willing to lower himself to befriend us, which is truly remarkable. We’ve actually been in contact for a while, but only today did I hear the good news from him…”

“…You’re not trying to buy an official position from him, are you?” Xue Qingyin interrupted him.

Xu Qi abruptly stopped.

He Songning was stunned by this.

Xu Qi lowered his voice, “Qingyin, you’re getting smarter and smarter. How did you guess that before I even said anything?”

He Songning couldn’t help but laugh.

This fool.

Xu Qi asked, “What are you laughing at, nephew?”

Xue Qingyin said, “He’s laughing because your Uncle might not live long.”

Xu Qi jumped to his feet, shouting, “What?”

Xue Qingyin calmly explained, “Selling official positions for profit, if the current Emperor finds out, do you know what will happen to you, Uncle?”

Xu Qi muttered, “What will happen?”

Xue Qingyin lightly said, “You’ll die, your family property will be confiscated, your wife will remarry, and your cousin will have a hard time achieving anything in the future.”

The lighter her tone, the colder Xu Qi felt down his spine.

But he quickly realized that he was an elder! So he tried to regain his composure and defend himself, saying, “It’s not as serious as you say. You’ve been living in the inner quarters, you don’t understand anything about men’s affairs. If that Dou Fuping dares to sell, then how can he be held accountable? Don’t you know that Emperor Fengyang even led the way in selling official positions? Qingyin, you wouldn’t know this, would you?”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, I actually do know.

The original story briefly mentioned this Emperor Fengyang.

“That was the emperor of the previous dynasty, how can you compare him to the current Emperor?” Xue Qingyin scoffed, then continued, “Besides, do you know why Emperor Fengyang sold official positions?”

“Why?”

“Because the Feng Dynasty was weak and on the verge of collapse. In order to resist rebellions and foreign enemies, they needed to raise troops and collect grain. However, years of war had exhausted the country. Emperor Fengyang had no choice but to sell official positions for profit, so that wealthy gentlemen would be willing to contribute gold and silver, and the people would be willing to pay more taxes.” These things weren’t written in the original story, but Xue Qingyin had read enough books to guess that this was probably the case.

She continued, “Now, the Great Liang Dynasty is stable, and the foreign enemies have been defeated by the King of Xuan. Do you know what the current Emperor will do next?”

Xu Qi asked in a daze, “What?”

Xue Qingyin said, “Naturally, he will need to cleanse the court. First, he will arrest those who sell official positions for profit, and then he will break up those who form cliques and factions.” Remembering the scene she had accidentally witnessed at the poetry gathering, Xue Qingyin thought to herself, maybe the imperial examinations will be used to eliminate a group of people as well.

Xue Qingyin pointed at Xu Qi, “Uncle, you’re the first target.”

Xu Qi was speechless, his bottom slipped, and he rolled off the stool.

He Songning couldn’t help but look at Xue Qingyin deeply.

When did she become so knowledgeable?

Who taught her?

Even now, Xue Qingyin was able to speak to Xu Qi with such a calm voice.

He Songning was truly astonished.

This was different from her using her beauty to seduce the King of Xuan.

This was a completely different side of Xue Qingyin that he had never seen before.

Xue Qingyin didn’t bother to help Xu Qi up, she looked down at him and asked, “Uncle, did you pay?”

Xu Qi stammered, “No… not yet. The price is a bit high, I thought I’d come back and get some gold and silver.”

Xue Qingyin smiled, “Then that’s good, you won’t die.”

Only then did Xu Qi feel his soul return to his body. He crawled up from the table, unable to help but complain, “Qingyin, if I really die, won’t you save your uncle?”

Xue Qingyin was very honest, “Uncle, if you really die, I’ll remember to burn incense for you. But saving you is out of the question.”

Xu Qi: “…” He muttered something about blood ties being thin, but deep down, he had learned a lesson. He knew that he must never do stupid things in the future. If something happened, his niece might just burn incense for him.

Xu Qi only then remembered to look around, saying, “Fortunately, it’s just us today, no one else heard.” If he hadn’t kept it a secret and blurted it out in front of everyone, then things would have been really bad.

Xue Qingyin didn’t say anything, she looked at Xu Qi with a sense of wonder.

The Xu family… what a pool of low intelligence.

She had always thought that she wasn’t a particularly smart person, but now, she realized she was being overshadowed!

Xu Qi was still a little uneasy, so he covered his chest and went back to his room to rest.

Xue Qingyin also headed towards the Xinyi Pavilion.

He Songning followed closely behind.

Xue Qingyin curiously asked him, “Brother, aren’t you going back to the Xue family to check on Qinghe?”

Xue Qinghe wasn’t decisive enough and couldn’t handle those two shops. Shouldn’t He Songning go back and help?

He Songning, however, didn’t answer her directly, “We haven’t seen each other in a few days, it feels a bit strange.” He looked up at her, “Qingyin, Brother will help you. Don’t you think you’re being deceived by the Xu family’s false affection?”

What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so eager to help me now? Xue Qingyin tilted her head and looked at him.

He Songning lowered his gaze, sweeping over the jade pendant hanging from her waist, “You’ll know in a few days.”

…

The Ministry of Rites was bustling with activity.

They needed to choose auspicious dates for the two princes’ weddings, prepare the betrothal gifts, and the clothes, music, and banquets for the wedding day, all of which required careful planning.

However, they had one more thing to do today, and that was to have the Grand Astrologer match the birth charts of the King of Xuan and Xue Qingyin.

Normally, birth charts should be matched before the engagement.

But at that time, they were matching the King of Xuan’s chart with the Lu family girl’s. The Lu girl had a deep and profound destiny, and she could neutralize the King of Xuan’s ill fortune.

That result was still on Emperor Liang De’s desk, and even now, it felt like a pity to pick it up. But when he thought about the unclear relationship between the Lu family and the King of Wei, the Emperor’s face turned cold again.

“Your Majesty, Liu Siqing is requesting an audience.” The eunuch’s voice rang out.

Emperor Liang De said in a deep voice, “Bring him in.”

Liu Siqing was the head of the Ministry of Rites.

He walked hurriedly, his face filled with urgency.

Emperor Liang De couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety as soon as he saw him. His body leaned forward abruptly, and he asked, “Siqing, you’re so flustered, is it because the Xue family girl’s birth chart is completely incompatible with the King of Xuan’s?”

If that was the case, then things would be difficult.

The Emperor’s word was law.

How could he possibly retract his decree?

Liu Siqing bowed deeply, “Your Majesty, do you remember the King of Xuan’s destiny?”

Emperor Liang De was annoyed, thinking to himself, you dog, why are you asking me this?

But Emperor Liang De still said, “The Demon Star steals food, the arches and intersections collide, the offenses and transgressions pile up, and he walks alone.”

By the time he finished, his expression was already very grim.

Because the King of Xuan’s destiny was written from beginning to end with “great misfortune.”

At this moment, Liu Siqing stepped forward and offered Xue Qingyin’s birth chart, “Please take a look at this, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Liang De took a look.

She also had the Grand Yang, and also had punishment and killing.

Emperor Liang De’s heart clenched.

What kind of terrible destiny was this? It was also full of “great misfortune.”

But Liu Siqing said, “Congratulations, Your Majesty. The King of Xuan’s birth chart and Miss Xue’s birth chart, when separated, are both great misfortunes, but when combined, they are like a perfectly fitting peg in a hole, attracting heavenly grace into their destiny. There is no more perfect match in the world.”

Emperor Liang De hadn’t expected such a twist. His expression changed from anger to joy, and he slammed his hand on the table, shouting, “Good! Siqing, you are rewarded!” Then he said, “Reward again. Miss Xue is blessed with both wisdom and virtue, she is knowledgeable and well-mannered. Reward her with a pair of eight-sided secret color porcelain vases, eight gold and silver flat trays, a pair of green jade bracelets…”

In the Ministry of Rites, a Grand Astrologer secretly wiped his sweat, thinking to himself, the person who sent the message said that no matter what the birth charts said, they had to be portrayed as a perfect match.

He didn’t know how difficult it would be to weave together a story like this, to force the destinies of two people with great misfortune into one.

Hopefully, they won’t end up killing each other right after the wedding! Otherwise, his head wouldn’t be safe either.