Chapter 76 Solve Solve

Qin Qing’s seemingly kind words actually pointed all the spearheads at him.

If he nodded and agreed to let his future wife-master take in male concubines, the rear court would surely not have peace.

But if he was unwilling, then he would be disregarding the life and death of Qiu Shuzhi’s cousin. Before even entering the door, he would gain the notorious reputation of a vicious and jealous husband. No matter which choice he made, it would not make him comfortable.

Qin Qing coldly laughed, sinister like a venomous snake that had just crawled out of a deep quagmire. He wanted Yue Guanyi to be uncomfortable. Don’t think that just because he was engaged to Qiu Niang, he could rest easy. Love and affection were the most prone to change. Sooner or later, he would snatch Qiu Niang back.

“I……” Yue Guanyi’s voice was suppressed and deep.

“Your Highness need not be troubled.” Qiu Qiushuang took the initiative to gesture, only the hazy and weak tearful eyes swirled with a light smoke of despair: “I won’t seek death and make things difficult for you again. I will find a Taoist temple to become a monk, always accompanying the green lantern, far from the red dust.”

Such an understanding action was actually taking a step back to advance, further placing Yue Guanyi in a deep predicament.

How could he not understand Qin Qing’s vicious heart, and even more so understand that Qiu Qiushuang, who was now hiding in Qiu Niang’s arms, was putting on a weak and pitiful appearance just to force Qiu Niang to marry him.

The light he had longed for and admired for more than ten years was finally shining on him. Why should he share it with others? This was even more heart-wrenching than being tortured and having his bones scraped.

But compared to the soft-faced and vicious-hearted Qiu Qiushuang, what he cared more about was what Qiu Niang thought. If Qiu Niang also wanted to use this method to resolve the matter peacefully, wouldn’t his refusal leave a grievance in Qiu Niang’s heart?

He didn’t dare to gamble with Qiu Niang’s love for him. Once the love was worn away, even if he gave his life in exchange, it would be difficult to regain Qiu Niang’s affection. He didn’t dare to gamble.

“I’ll listen to Qiu Niang. If Qiu Niang is willing to welcome cousin into the household, I have no objection.” His voice contained a hint of obedience and ingratiation, only the suppressed emotions in his phoenix eyes burst out with a pain that was almost tearing.

He just stood silently by Qiu Shuzhi’s side, his tall and slender figure like jade and pine covered with a layer of thick, deep snow. He seemed to be calm on the surface, but he had already tried his best to persist. Just one more thin snowflake falling would cause the pine to break and the jade to shatter.

“What nonsense!” Qiu Shuzhi tightly grasped his wrist: the cold wrist was like being frostbitten by spring snow, frighteningly cold, but it also aroused a trace of distress in her heart.

No matter what happened, no matter if he would be hurt, he was always particularly obedient to her.

“Qiu Niang?” Yue Guanyi lost his voice, the murmuring tone carried a hint of joy as if reborn.

She gave him a gentle look to show comfort.

Then she turned around and said softly beside Qiu Qiushuang: “Cousin, you are my only relative now. We have a blood relationship. How can we become husband and wife?”

Qiu Qiushuang shook his head, the tearful eyes were like a beauty’s shyness, only the watery beautiful eyes carried a few traces of sorrowful sadness. The blood mark on his neck set off the pale and sickly face, like a pure and flawless white lotus flower about to wither. Any woman who saw it would feel distressed.

Qiu Shuzhi was no exception, but she felt distressed that her relative had suffered such humiliation for no reason.

He reached out his hand to gesture something, but Qiu Shuzhi grabbed it and placed it properly in her palm.

“Cousin, I know what you want to say. I understand the grievance in your heart. You have always been steady and dignified in your actions. Since the last time you fell into the water with His Highness, you have rarely gone to the waterside. How come this time you fell into the water again by coincidence?” She said, “I feel there are some suspicious points. Moreover, the one who suggested appreciating the fish with you was Minister Li Liang’s husband, Madam Chen. After you fell into the water, Li Liang happened to be the closest to you……”

Qiu Shuzhi paused for a moment and asked in a low voice, “Cousin, did you really fall into the water by yourself?”

The seemingly caring inquiry had already quietly changed the direction of the matter. Qiu Qiushuang knew that this was Qiu Shuzhi’s determined attitude.

A crystal clear teardrop slid down the corner of his eye. He could only shake his head along with her words, but the hatred in his heart rolled in like black smoke and thick fog.

He had paid such a heavy price for this moment, not hesitating to ruin his innocence in front of everyone, just to make Qiu Shuzhi pity him and agree to let him enter the household as a male concubine.

However, all of this was completely shattered by Yue Guanyi’s deliberate act of humility and scheming. He pretended to be virtuous and kind, saying that everything was up to Qiu Shuzhi to decide. In fact, he himself was unwilling but pretended to be magnanimous, which instead made Qiu Shuzhi feel guilty and dismissed the idea of welcoming him into the household.

He tightly grasped Qiu Shuzhi’s wet clothes, and the eyes filled with tears showed a fanatical and fierce hatred.

Yue Guanyi, it’s all because of you!

“In that case, that Li Liang is very strange.” Yue Guanyi immediately said, “Previously, you killed Li Mian, and she may have held a grudge because of it, so she wanted to take revenge on cousin.”

Although he was not present at the time, these matters could be cleared up immediately by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Yue Guanyi clenched his fist hidden in his sleeve. Regardless of whether it was Li Liang’s underhanded trick or not, she almost made Qiu Qiushuang become Qiu Niang’s bedmate, nearly sharing Qiu Niang’s favor with him. In his narrow and sharp phoenix eyes, a sinister aura swirled, wishing to tear him into pieces and grind him into meat paste to feed the dogs.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded, her face solemn.

This Li Liang, before she could make a move, had already taken the initiative to come to the door.

“But what about Sir Qiu? Even if Li Liang deliberately schemed to ruin Sir Qiu’s reputation, after all, so many people witnessed the incident of falling into the water……” Qin Zhengya spoke up.

Just now, when Qin Qing suggested that Qiu Shuzhi take Qiu Qiushuang as an equal husband, he was truly shocked. A dignified prince, it would be fine for his wife’s family to accept a few male concubines, but to make an equal husband on par with the prince? This was simply a slap in the prince’s face, and it was tantamount to announcing to everyone that the prince was not favored in his wife’s family, and any man could climb on top of him and act arrogantly.

Fortunately, Madam Qiu was sensible and rejected this absurd proposal.

But for some reason, Qin Zhengya didn’t feel a bit of joy, but instead felt very disappointed.

It was like watching someone in trouble. Although he didn’t kick them while they were down, he still stood on the side and took pleasure in their misfortune, even secretly hoping that they would suffer more and be more miserable, never able to get back up in their lifetime.

Such dark little thoughts were like insects living in unseen corners, constantly laying eggs and reproducing, crawling all over the heart.

“Rumors and gossip are not to be taken seriously. Moreover, all of this is Li Liang’s dirty scheme. How can I push cousin into the fire pit?” Qiu Shuzhi gently stroked Qiu Qiushuang’s weak back, which was tightly nestled and trembling at the mention of Li Liang’s name.

“Besides, cousin is already my close relative, living under the same roof. From now on, I will take care of him. I’d like to see who dares to say an extra word!” Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes were like deep snow.

It was the first time Qin Zhengya had seen Qiu Shuzhi show such an expression, and a vague and thick sourness arose in his heart.

Madam Qiu is really good to His Highness the Crown Prince!

This was the affection he didn’t dare to yearn for even in his dreams. Even before entering the door, she protected and cherished him in every way. If he entered the door and served by her side every night, and even had a chubby noble daughter, he would definitely be extremely favored.

He stood at the very edge, wearing a proper and appropriate smile, silently watching Yue Guanyi, whom he envied tightly, his thoughts gradually blurring.

When Qiu Shuzhi first passed the imperial examination as the top scholar, he was still in the boudoir. He had heard a few illegitimate brothers discussing her by the lotus pond, saying that although her family was poor, she had both talent and beauty, and had enchanted many men in the capital to be willing to die for her.

The illegitimate brothers begged their father, who was a male concubine, to go to the door to propose marriage, saying that they didn’t mind that the other family was poor. Who knew that they were actually rejected?

At that time, he was obviously an outsider and just listened to it as a joke. Now he had become an insider, but he had become a laughing stock himself.

If he had known earlier that one day he would deeply fall in love with Qiu Shuzhi and be unable to extricate himself, thinking about her day and night, and even the only meaning for him to persist in the palace was for her, he would have definitely begged his father back then, even if he didn’t want a dowry and had to give ten miles of betrothal gifts, he would have been willing.

“What you said is not bad. Sir Qiu and Qiu Niang are of the same bloodline and live under the same roof. Whether they get married or not doesn’t matter. They will be together anyway, seeing each other all the time.” Qin Qing lazily leaned on the edge of the bed, his thick ink-black hair hanging down, his gorgeous and dignified bearing making people not dare to look directly at him.

“The Empress Dowager is right.” Qiu Shuzhi said lightly.

“As for my Guanyi, he has a gloomy and rigid personality. After entering the Qiu family’s door, Sir Qiu will need to take good care of him and guide him.” He laughed lightly, the smile had no warmth, only coldness.

Qiu Qiushuang bowed slightly with tearful eyes, seeming to agree with the Empress Dowager’s words.

With the matter resolved, Qiu Shuzhi specially arranged several palace servants to take care of him. The group was about to return to the banquet. Just as they were walking back, they encountered Yue Shen, who had slipped out with the excuse of “changing clothes”.

“This humble servant greets Your Majesty.” Qiu Shuzhi wanted to salute, but Yue Shen supported her up.

“In the future, you and I don’t need to mind these formalities.” Yue Shen smiled lightly, her chubby cheeks had a slight dimple, decorated with red clothes, dazzling and lovely.

Yue Shen instructed the empress and others to go ahead, while she stayed behind with Qiu Shuzhi.

“Shuzhi, have you dealt with your cousin’s matter?” She asked.

Speaking of this matter, Qiu Shuzhi’s heart was filled with anger. Her innocent cousin’s reputation was ruined by a wretched old woman. Sooner or later, she would make her end up like Li Mian.

“Don’t be angry anymore.” Yue Shen grabbed her hand, comforting in a childish young voice.

Under the moonlight of the full moon, her eyes were dark, and she poured out her hidden selfish desires while holding Qiu Shuzhi’s hand. Let her indulge a little tonight.

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern.” She said lightly.

“An unmarried man will be ridiculed by others. With your cousin’s reputation ruined, it will be difficult for him to find someone to marry in the future.” Yue Shen held her hand, the wide sleeves tightly pressed together under the moonlight. Her fingertips moved, and the delicate and smooth sensation like mutton-fat jade bloomed in her hand.

“Indeed.” Qiu Shuzhi’s always calm expression finally showed a trace of loosening.

She was a modern person and didn’t care about these things, but cousin was born and raised in the Great Qi country, with feudal thoughts deeply rooted in his bones. How could he really not care?

“If your cousin has difficulty getting married in the future, I can take him into the imperial harem.”

“That won’t do.” Qiu Shuzhi was shocked and couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her hand.

The dry and warm hand wrapped her tightly like a piece of top-grade warm jade. The apricot eyes curved happily, and the eyes even rippled with a trace of moisture due to excitement.

She bit her lip: “Who dares to comment on the emperor’s dignity? If he enters my harem, no one will dare to gossip about him in the future.”