Chapter 8 Acting Out the Empress Dowager’s Goodwill

When Qiu Shuzhi returned home, Qiu Qiushuang was sitting in the main hall waiting for her.

Seeing the blood on her body, he was frightened and pale, nervously running to her side to examine her up and down.

He was mute and couldn’t speak words of concern, but that anxiety and worry were impossible to conceal.

Qiu Shuzhi held his hand: “Cousin, don’t worry, this isn’t my blood.”

Qiu Qiushuang gestured: “If it’s not your blood, whose is it?”

“It’s the Crown Prince’s. His wound reopened and I bandaged it for him. The blood just dripped onto me.” She answered truthfully.

Qiu Qiushuang was stunned, a hint of inexplicable hatred flashed quickly across his eyes before everything returned to normal.

“Take off your outer garment, I’ll wash it for you,” he gestured.

“No need, it’s just a little blood, I can wash it myself,” Qiu Shuzhi said while taking off her clothes.

But Qiu Qiushuang was very forceful, not letting her touch any of the rough work, let alone cold water and the like. In his eyes, Qiu Shuzhi’s task was to study and become an official to revitalize the Qiu family. All other dirty and tiring work was what he should do. This made her feel grateful yet guilty, only wanting to earn money quickly to buy him a big house in the capital to repay his kindness.

He took her dirty clothes and went to the backyard to fetch water and wash them. Seeing that Qiu Shuzhi didn’t follow, he lightly sniffed at the collar of her clothes. A faint cold fragrance mixed with a trace of rich sandalwood, which wasn’t Qiu Shuzhi’s usual body scent.

The clothes in his hands were tightly clenched.

Crown Prince, Yue Guanyi, you really are a lingering ghost!

Third year of Zhengde, April 1st

The imperial edict demoted the top scholar Qin Shu to Baiyue, putting an end to this shocking case.

On the day Qin Shu was sent out of the city, the Qin family’s all-powerful matriarch Qin Zheng personally saw her off.

Qin Zheng had a daughter in her old age and doted on Qin Shu extremely. If it weren’t for Qin Shu’s actions causing such a stir throughout the city this time, she wouldn’t have agreed to send Qin Shu to such a remote and harsh place.

“Shu’er, don’t worry. This trip to Baiyue is just to clear your name of this crime. When you return, your position in the cabinet will still be yours,” Qin Zheng said.

“Mother, that broken place is too far,” Qin Shu said with a bitter face. She had told her mother that she didn’t kill anyone, but Qin Zheng simply didn’t believe her. There was nothing she could do; who told her to be so unruly before, often abusing young male attendants. Qin Zheng only thought she was trying to evade responsibility this time.

“It is far, but only by going to Baiyue to receive the surrender ceremony can you rightfully return to the capital. By then, not to mention the cabinet, even the position of Prime Minister will be yours.”

Qin Shu was startled: “Mother!”

Qin Zheng smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkling, white hair at her temples: “I’m old now, and lack the strength for court affairs. When you return from this experience, I’ll let you officially take over.”

Even though Qin Shu had been spoiled rotten, she still had some self-awareness: “Mother, I’m afraid I’m not up to the task.”

Qin Zheng shook her head: “If you were alone in court fighting single-handedly, I naturally wouldn’t be at ease. But with your uncle in control in the palace, and my disciples in the court advising you, they will all help you soar. You needn’t worry.”

Qin Shu immediately felt relieved. With her mother standing behind her, and Qin Qing and the Qin family’s disciples protecting her left and right, what did she have to fear? By the time she returned next, the entire Great Qi empire would be in her grasp.

Qin Shu set off on her journey. Although nominally exiled, she traveled by carriage, with no shortage of servants and guards. She even carried countless gold and silver with her. The spectacle looked less like exile and more like a noble lady going out for leisure.

The spies monitoring their every move relayed the news back to the palace. Yue Shen coldly snorted in her heart.

This mother-daughter pair from the Qin family, just sent into exile, were already plotting how to seize her empire.

Did they really think she was still that young, ignorant orphan girl with no support?

A hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes. She was the emperor of Great Qi. If they treated her like a soft persimmon they could squeeze at will, then she would make sure Qin Shu had no way back, completely severing the roots of the Qin family.

In Qingning Palace, Qin Qing held a copy of “The Book of History”, picking up a red cherry and putting it in his mouth. The full juice burst open in his mouth, sweet throughout.

“Has Qin Shu set off yet?” Qin Qing asked lazily.

Yu Ye replied: “In response to the Empress Dowager, she has already set off.”

“Have guards been sent to accompany her?”

“Dozens of guards, all trusted by the Qin family. Don’t worry, they can protect the young lady well,” Yu Ye said, hearing the concern in his voice.

Qin Qing shook his head, his long hair cascading: “The journey to Baiyue is long and distant. With last year’s great drought in the countryside giving rise to many refugees, there must be no shortage of bandits and scoundrels along the way. Qin Shu is the Qin family’s legitimate daughter, her safety must be ensured. Not the slightest error can occur.”

His current position of ruling from behind the curtain was closely tied to the Qin family’s power. He rose and fell with the Qin family. Even though he really looked down on that fool Qin Shu, he still had to ensure her safety.

After pondering for a moment, he said: “Go tell the Crown Prince to send a few skilled Imperial Guards to protect her in secret.”

“Yes,” Yu Ye instructed a palace maid to quickly go notify Yue Guanyi.

Qin Qing then put his mind at ease and continued reading, his fingertips lightly turning the pages. When he turned to “The Command to Cai Zhong”,

A faint smile unconsciously spilled from his eyes, and even his voice unconsciously softened: “How is Official Qiu today?”

Yu Ye sighed softly: “Don’t mention it. Official Qiu has been summoned daily by Her Majesty these days to be scolded. She often calls her to the Imperial Study to punish her by copying scriptures. I heard from Yu Zhi that Official Qiu’s hands are all blistered. Not only that, Her Majesty often belittles her in front of Minister Wang, who is her subordinate. After being tormented like this by Her Majesty, her whole person has become melancholy and thin. What a pity for such a divine figure.”

“Her hands are blistered?” Qin Qing recalled seeing Qiu Shuzhi in the Imperial Study that day, those slender fingers clean and flawless like snow and plum blossoms, not daring to harm them in the slightest.

“Send the soft jade ointment from my room to Official Qiu,” he said.

Yu Ye was slightly surprised: “Empress Dowager, that’s your treasured item. It can heal wounds and nourish the skin when applied. Even you only have one bottle. Are you really going to send it to Official Qiu?”

Qin Qing raised a fine eyebrow, the light in his eyes speaking volumes.

He placed Qiu Shuzhi by Yue Shen’s side, waiting for exactly this result. When she had worn away all her loyalty to this emperor, he would show a little goodwill, and then Qiu Shuzhi could be used for his own purposes.

But Qin Qing never expected that his well-laid plans would be completely ineffective with Yue Shen.

While Qiu Shuzhi appeared to be having a hard time on the surface, in reality she couldn’t be more comfortable.

Every day, the young emperor summoned her to the Imperial Study, dismissed the little spy Yu Zhi, and the two of them acted as ordinary teacher and student in the Imperial Study. Qiu Shuzhi explained the Four Books and Five Classics and the history of Great Qi to her. When the young emperor got tired of listening, she would tell her about interesting folk customs and stories.

Occasionally, to avoid arousing Yu Zhi’s suspicions, the young emperor would suddenly shout and scold her a couple of times, then continue their quiet activities.

In front of her, the young emperor was an obedient and well-behaved student, reminding her of her time as a tutor in her previous life.

How to put it, Qiu Shuzhi felt she was doing pretty well with her top boss.

“Is Your Majesty tired?” Qiu Shuzhi put down the book and asked, looking at Yue Shen whose eyelids were drooping.

Yue Shen covered her mouth and yawned, looking somewhat weary.

She closed the book: “If Your Majesty is tired, then this subject will take her leave.”

“Don’t go!” Yue Shen grabbed her hand: “Qiu darling, stay with me a little longer.”

In this deep and lonely palace, she had no one to rely on and no one to trust. Only when by Qiu Shuzhi’s side did she feel some comfort, making her feel at ease.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded, thinking that this young emperor must be quite lonely, having to deal with the Empress Dowager and ministers everywhere in the palace.

“Qiu darling, I heard them say that not only is your poetry exceptional, but your painting is also superb?”

Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly: “That’s just people’s exaggerated praise.”

Yue Shen rested her head on the table, her round eyes looking at her sideways: “You literati are always so modest. I know you must paint very well. Will you paint something for me?”

Her tone rarely contained a hint of childlike pleading. The young emperor was only fifteen years old, still a middle school student in modern times, yet had to face such a complex situation. At an age that should have been brilliant and pure, she was already prematurely old. She probably hadn’t enjoyed any childish fun.

Qiu Shuzhi didn’t want to disappoint her and nodded in agreement.

But she had no painting colors now, only a brush, an inkstone, and a sheet of rough paper.

A landscape painting was out of the question, as the ink would easily blur into a mess on the thin paper.

Qiu Shuzhi had an idea after a moment’s thought.

She picked up the brush and lightly sketched a few strokes on the rough paper with the finest brush tip, and a simple pattern appeared on the paper.

The young emperor’s eyes widened in surprise: “What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

She looked curiously at the drawing on the paper, momentarily forgetting even the imperial form of address.

“This is Aladdin’s magic lamp.”

Qiu Shuzhi had drawn a rough sketch of the magic lamp and genie on the rough paper, in a style similar to modern simple line drawings. She had originally wanted to draw Calabash Brothers, but thinking that those seven bare-chested little boys appearing in a female-dominated country might not be appropriate, she changed it to this.

“Aladdin’s magic lamp?” the young emperor asked curiously. “Is this another legendary story?”

Qiu Shuzhi told her the legend of the magic lamp, which was both interesting and educational. She truly treated herself as a real teacher in her teaching.

The young emperor listened intently, murmuring: “If only I had such a magic lamp, I wouldn’t be greedy. Three wishes would suffice. First, to eliminate treacherous officials and make Great Qi prosper forever; second, for my subjects to live in peace and contentment; third…”

When it came to the third wish, she glanced inadvertently at Qiu Shuzhi, probably feeling it was too childish and didn’t continue.

The movements of Yu Zhi guarding outside gradually became louder. Qiu Shuzhi tidied up the paper and brush, silently kneeling at Yue Shen’s feet: “Your Majesty, let’s end here for today!”

The young emperor was somewhat disappointed, looking at the setting sun in the west. Time always passed so quickly when she was with Qiu Shuzhi.

She carefully folded the paper with the magic lamp drawing and put it in her bosom, then scattered a large pile of neatly copied scriptures that Qiu Shuzhi had prepared earlier on the ground.

Yu Zhi’s footsteps were getting closer, and Yue Shen also composed herself, sitting back as the high and mighty emperor.

When Yu Zhi pushed open the door and entered, he saw copied scriptures scattered all over the ground like snowflakes. Qiu Shuzhi was kneeling at Her Majesty’s feet, her straight back rising like a pine or cypress.

Yue Shen frowned, using her toe to press against Qiu Shuzhi’s shoulder and pushing hard: “I told you to copy ‘The Book of History’ one hundred times, and in an afternoon you’ve only copied fifty times. Qiu Shuzhi, I see you don’t take me seriously at all.”

Yu Zhi’s heart ached seeing Qiu Shuzhi fall to the ground like a fallen leaf.

In reality, Yue Shen had very cleverly controlled her strength. The seemingly forceful push actually didn’t hurt much, it just looked frightening. They were both skilled actors, and their superb performances successfully deceived Yu Zhi’s eyes.

Qiu Shuzhi fell to the ground: “This humble servant knows her mistake. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Yue Shen snorted coldly, turning her back and waving her hand coldly: “Get out now. If you don’t hand in 100 copies tomorrow, I’ll chop off your head.”

Yu Zhi hurriedly helped her up and supported her out of the Imperial Study.

“Official Qiu, you’ve suffered,” Yu Zhi said softly, his gentle voice tinged with heartache as it sounded by her ear. “You are the dignified third-ranking scholar. How could Her Majesty treat you like this? Even I, a mere servant, really can’t bear to watch.”

Qiu Shuzhi knew Yu Zhi was Qin Qing’s person, and understood that all the words he was saying now contained hidden probes.

She again recalled what Yue Guanyi had said to her that day in the villa.

She sighed and said: “Who told Her Majesty to be the ruler and me to be the subject? Besides serving Her Majesty, I have nowhere else to go. Nevertheless, thank you for your kindness, Young Master Yu Zhi. This humble official will remember it in her heart.”

Yu Zhi had been seeing Qiu Shuzhi daily during this period. She was beautiful and had a good personality. Even though Yu Zhi approached her with a purpose, he couldn’t help but develop a hint of fondness for Qiu Shuzhi. The more he liked Qiu Shuzhi, the more he worried about her situation, hoping she could completely stand on the Empress Dowager’s side.

He took out the soft jade ointment sent by the Empress Dowager and quietly placed it in her hand: “The Empress Dowager knows about Her Majesty deliberately making things difficult for you, and ordered this servant to make sure to deliver this to you. Apply this soft jade ointment on your hands, and they will heal.”

Qiu Shuzhi held the small porcelain bottle in her hand, gratefully saying: “The Empress Dowager is benevolent and loving. This humble official is deeply grateful.”

Yu Zhi smiled, pressing his lips together: “The Empress Dowager doesn’t need your gratitude. You just need to remember that even if Her Majesty doesn’t like you, the Empress Dowager cares about you. For a talented scholar like you, only by standing on the right side can you soar with the wind.”

Qiu Shuzhi slowly nodded: “Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Yu Zhi. This humble official understands.”