Chapter 27 Jealousy Jealousy

That kowtow from Qiu Shuzhi almost frightened his heart to pieces.

After applying the medicine well, he carefully wrapped a circle of gauze around her forehead, finally stopping the continuously bleeding wound.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Qiu Shuzhi covered the wound and smiled slightly.

“Has Secretary Qiu had breakfast yet?” he asked anxiously: “Why don’t we have breakfast together, is that alright?”

The look in Yue Guanyi’s eyes seemed to be shattered exquisite porcelain, fragments scattered all over the ground, barely self-healing and pieced back together, but never again with that initial perfection, the cracks forever present.

His eyes were filled with scars and hidden pain, but suppressed to the extreme with nowhere to vent, only allowing the pain to constantly accumulate and swell in his heart, until the day he could no longer control it.

“Alright.” She agreed very easily.

She admonished herself that she should keep some distance from him, but she also had some vague feelings of guilt inside.

Because all of this was pretense, she was using him.

She first pretended to know nothing about what happened after getting drunk.

Today she deliberately brought up this matter again, deliberately kowtowing in front of him, making herself bruised and battered, not to cut a knife in his heart, but to put on a show for the officials.

She got drunk yesterday and rode in the same carriage with him, today she suffered the bitter consequences, the wound on her face was the clean and pure proof between her and him, she walked around everywhere with this wound, the more people like Dai Yun knew, the safer she would be.

After all, she had used him, and owed him an apology.

Breakfast was soon brought in. Dai Yun had inquired about Yue Guanyi’s dietary preferences, and presented some light and refreshing dishes.

“Secretary Qiu, drinking last night hurt your stomach, have some porridge to soothe it.” Yue Guanyi voluntarily served her a bowl of porridge, placing it in front of her.

“Thank you.” She took a sip of the clear porridge, and the broken cracks in Yue Guanyi’s eyes seemed to ease a bit.

He lightly pursed his lips, revealing a faint smile like mist: “No need to be polite.”

In the courtyard, apart from the sound of the wind, there was only the crisp collision of porcelain bowls, and breakfast passed in such a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

“This time the Empress Dowager sent Your Highness to Yanshun County, I suppose it’s not just for supervising the silver mine, is it?”

Yue Guanyi put down his spoon, thinking of that lecherous old fox in the back palace made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t dare tell Qiu Shuzhi that he came this time on imperial orders to protect her.

He dared even less to tell her that the Empress Dowager actually harbored dirty and despicable thoughts towards her.

Yue Guanyi knew his own unworthiness, even if he admired her so much that he wanted to rip out his heart and give it to her, he didn’t dare to cling to the goddess in his heart.

And that Qin Qing, how could he be so shameless, he should look in the mirror at himself, at the age of thirty still dressing so flamboyantly to seduce women everywhere, even worse than him.

“Secretary Qiu is correct, the Empress Dowager sent me this time to ensure the silver mine is no longer robbed, and best to thoroughly resolve this matter, to fill the national treasury.” He did not directly state Qin Qing’s purpose, fearing it would pollute Qiu Shuzhi’s ears.

“To be honest, I have been investigating the silver mine matter for some time, and found that the reason the silver mine is frequently robbed is due to collusion between officials and civilians, mutually dividing the profits. They cover for each other, causing me, the Shuntianfu Zhizhong, to be practically useless, unable to take action.” Qiu Shuzhi spoke frankly.

When Gu Zheng originally sent her here, he only gave her two guards, which rounded up to her being a lone commander. She entered the wolf pack alone, not daring to act aggressively, afraid of angering this group of people.

She had also written to Gu Zheng, wanting to change the silver mine policies, but there was no response. It was at this time that she realized she had been abandoned by Gu Zheng.

If she had military power and decision-making authority, it would be different.

“That’s easy to handle. Tell me which villains and which officials are colluding, I’ll send the Imperial Guards to execute them on the spot right now. And that Dai Yun, deal with her as well.” Yue Guanyi was accustomed to ruthless actions, and never showed mercy when dealing with these minor officials and commoners.

But what Qiu Shuzhi wanted was not such a bloody suppression policy.

The current chaotic political situation had just stabilized, and the existence of the Imperial Guards to monitor officials was fine, but such harsh policies should not be used against the common people.

“Your Highness, these villagers and officials can be killed, but after killing them there will be new villagers stealing from the mines, and newly appointed officials will continue to be corrupt, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.”

Yue Guanyi raised his eyes: “Then what do you mean?”

Qiu Shuzhi’s gaze was firm: “Dai Yun cannot be killed, let her continue as the County Magistrate of Yanshun County.”

“Why?” Ji Mei, who had been listening on the side, was furious: “My lord, have you forgotten yesterday’s banquet? Dai Yun’s household luxury is almost comparable to that of an imperial relative, such a big parasite should be executed along with nine generations of her clan!”

There was also a hint of confusion in Yue Guanyi’s eyes, but he wasn’t angry, just gesturing for her to continue.

“The commoners living around the silver mine are so arrogant not just because of Dai Yun’s indulgence. Besides Dai Yun, the village heads and local leaders are all in cahoots with them, which gives them the courage, because they know that even if something goes wrong, someone will cover for them.”

“And the reason those village heads and local leaders are willing to cover for them is because they can also extract a portion of the silver they steal.”

Yue Guanyi’s expression became increasingly solemn: “You mean, directly give money to people like Dai Yun?”

“Yes.”

All under heaven strive for profit, these people cover for each other layer by layer ultimately for the sake of profit. Why not use their hands to eliminate those who steal from the mines, she’ll give them greater benefits than the mine thieves.

Moreover, the money of the mine thieves is ultimately dirty black money. If the court were to thoroughly investigate, the whole group of them would suffer. But this time Qiu Shuzhi gave them the opportunity to openly divide the profits, those village heads and local leaders would not miss out, and would eliminate thieves like Zhou Hu themselves without officials having to take action.

Yue Guanyi nodded slightly, but still had some hesitation: “What you say makes sense, but since you already had this decision in mind, why didn’t you negotiate with Dai Yun and the others earlier?”

Qiu Shuzhi lowered her head and smiled bitterly: “Such a big matter, this official does not have the authority to make decisions.”

Moreover, even if she acted rashly on her own, even if it really succeeded, when she returned to the capital, Gu Zheng could still use this as a pretext to punish her for her crimes.

She now urgently needed someone who could report this matter to the palace, so she would have the confidence.

“I understand.” Yue Guanyi said in a deep voice: “I will immediately send someone to report this to the Empress Dowager, I believe she will definitely agree.”

“This official thanks Your Highness.”

Yue Guanyi pursed his thin lips, his clear and moist eyes staring at her as he slowly said: “You’ve had a hard time these past days.”

He knew the difficulties Qiu Shuzhi faced alone in Yanshun County, and understood even more the reasons for Gu Zheng’s刁难 towards her. He sent a letter directly to the Empress Dowager, carefully explaining the ins and outs, and added some embellishments about Gu Zheng’s petty-minded thoughts.

Qin Qing was about to retire for the night when he received the letter. Reading the entire letter by the flickering candlelight, his expression became extremely unpleasant.

“This Gu Zheng, truly doesn’t take my words seriously, daring to deceive superiors and subordinates!” The fragile letter paper was heavily slapped on the table, shaking the candlestick.

Yu Ye, who was attending at the side, was startled: “Empress Dowager, what happened?”

Qin Qing’s anger had not yet subsided, his expression getting worse and worse. He actually didn’t know that he had repeatedly instructed Gu Zheng to take good care of Qiu Shuzhi, who was living a life of being bullied from both sides in Yanshun County.

Yu Ye picked up the fallen letter and looked at it, his delicate brows also furrowing: “How could Lord Gu conceal this from you and not follow your orders?”

Qin Qing’s eyes were like cold ice: “Just this one matter alone, she dares to defy my intentions, how much more is there that I don’t know about in secret.”

Hearing this, Yu Ye sensed the situation seemed not quite right, had the Empress Dowager become wary of Lord Gu?

“Perhaps Lord Gu just wanted to temper Secretary Qiu a bit?” he said.

“Is she the master or am I the master? A tool I placed in Shuntianfu, daring to disobey the master’s orders, this one thing alone is enough to punish her for her crimes.” A flash of murderous intent passed through Qin Qing’s eyes: “She thinks that because she’s already the Prefect of Shuntianfu, she can disobey my orders. I can give her power, and naturally I can also take it back.”

Qin Qing tightly gripped the fan handle, the three characters “Qiu Shuzhi” on the letter paper looked particularly gentle in the candlelight.

It was his fault for believing Gu Zheng’s slanderous words and sending her, who had just started out, to such a difficult place. It was hard on her to persist for so long in such circumstances, far exceeding his expectations. And the suggestions she proposed also deeply won his heart.

Qin Qing closed his eyes deeply. The palace was full of cold traps everywhere, even people raised up by the Qin family could not be trusted. Only Qiu Shuzhi’s gentle and clean brows and eyes lingered in his mind: “Bring brush and ink.”

Yu Ye hurriedly found brush and ink, grinding the ink while looking at the contents of his letter, secretly rejoicing in his heart that Secretary Qiu was coming back.

Two letters, coming and going in one day, brought Qiu Shuzhi an unprecedented sense of ease. With the Empress Dowager’s letter as backing, even Gu Zheng wouldn’t dare to find fault with her.

She began negotiating with village heads and local leaders in the villages near the silver mine. Originally, with the Imperial Guards following behind her, the deterrent effect was already extremely strong, with an overwhelming sense of pressure. And she brought such favorable conditions that almost no one refused.

Thus, a campaign to strike at mine theft from within and without began vigorously, like an unstoppable fire, burning everything clean.

From then on, there was no more mine theft in Yanshun County.

Qiu Shuzhi could be considered to have fulfilled her mission, and prepared to return to the capital.

On the night before departure, Dai Yun pulled her aside and said all kinds of grateful words.

Qiu Shuzhi’s expression was outwardly warm with smiles, but inwardly cold. Letting Dai Yun go did not mean she could forever enjoy freedom from the law. When the day came that the silver mine was emptied, it would be the time for Dai Yun’s family to be seized. The wealth she was now taking was only temporarily keeping it for the court.

“Secretary Qiu, your great kindness is beyond repayment. This official has prepared a little something nice for you, it’s in your room.” Dai Yun whispered in her ear.

Qiu Shuzhi frowned slightly: “What do you mean?”

Dai Yun smiled mysteriously: “You’ll know when you return to your room.”

Qiu Shuzhi opened the door in bewilderment. No lights were lit inside, pitch black darkness.

She fumbled to light a candle, and in the faint light saw a slight bulge on her bed.

Qiu Shuzhi called out: “Who’s there? Come out!”

The bundle under the bedding moved a little, and soon revealed half of a coquettish face. The fair skin was particularly eye-catching in the darkness, the candlelight tracing a path from his neck down to his collarbone. Qiu Shuzhi suddenly realized that he was currently unclothed.

She hurriedly stepped back, turning to lean against the door, facing away from him: “Quickly put your clothes on.”

A rustling sound came from behind, and she could sense someone slowly approaching her from behind.

She thought he had already put on clothes, but when she turned her head to look, she immediately closed her eyes.

“Rui Zhu, what are you doing? Hurry and put your clothes on!”

Rui Zhu walked towards her naked, his thin frame faintly visible in the candlelight. He desperately hugged her from behind, his arms encircling her tightly: “My lady, take this slave, let this slave serve you once.”

He knew he was no longer pure, and had suffered inhuman torment from Zhou Hu. During those dark days, his only emotional sustenance was Qiu Shuzhi’s gentle smile towards him on the boat that day. She was the only woman in his life who had been kind to him.

“Rui Zhu, do you know what you’re saying?” Qiu Shuzhi pulled his arms away, hurriedly retreating outside the room.

“I know, I want to follow my lady for a lifetime, serve my lady for a lifetime, be a beast of burden for my lady.” Rui Zhu knelt crying before her.

“Be a beast of burden? Heh, you’re not worthy.” A bone-chilling cold voice came from not far away. Yue Guanyi stared fixedly at Rui Zhu kneeling on the ground with reddened eyes, like icy blades from a frozen hell piercing fiercely into his body.

Only then did Rui Zhu realize there was someone else present. Embarrassed, he tried to cover his body. Qiu Shuzhi hurriedly pulled down her outer robe hanging nearby to cover Rui Zhu.

Rui Zhu hastily put on his clothes, trembling and shrinking behind Qiu Shuzhi.

Yue Guanyi’s heart was being eaten away by jealousy, the sparks in his eyes wishing to burn him to ashes. To shamelessly seduce a woman while naked, and now putting on an act of being weak and delicate like a coquettish fox spirit, it was truly disgusting.