Chapter 83: The Empress Dowager Secretly Eats the Wrong Thing

Yue Guanyi coldly glanced at Jiang Si and said in a slightly cold voice, “Lan’er, you go out first.”

Jiang Si lowered his eyes slightly: “Yes.”

“Qiu Niang, you and I are husband and wife, we are one. You can review the confidential letters from the Jinyiwei.”

As Jiang Si turned to close the door, he saw Yue Guanyi gently tug at her clothes, his voice coy.

Jiang Si’s beautiful eyes stared intently at Yue Guanyi’s hand, lost in thought.

He gently closed the door, his alluring eyes filled with viper-like calculations.

He knew Yue Guanyi sincerely liked Qiu Shuzhi, but he didn’t expect Yue Guanyi to like her to this extent, willing to share even the military discipline and important affairs of the Jinyiwei with her without reservation.

Jiang Si sneered contemptuously, his smile tinged with mockery. He had thought Yue Guanyi was made of sterner stuff, but in reality, he was no different from his father who only knew how to vie for favor. Both were blinded by illusory love, unable to live without a woman!

Jiang Si took a deep breath, clenching his fists. He would not become like Yue Guanyi. He wanted power, he wanted to firmly grasp power in his own hands, and would never hand it over to others.

“But I’m not part of the Jinyiwei after all. Wouldn’t this be overstepping…” Qiu Shuzhi still hesitated.

Although marrying Yue Guanyi would inevitably involve her in court politics to some extent, she remembered some favored officials in history who gradually expanded their power by approving documents on behalf of the emperor, eventually monopolizing power. But she really didn’t want to rely on a man to rise to power.

“Qiu Niang is an upright person, but others may not think so. They will only speculate with the darkest thoughts,” Yue Guanyi pursed his lips. “This servant knows you truly want to marry me, but in the eyes of other officials, you’re not marrying me as a person, you’re marrying the Jinyiwei.”

He carefully observed the emotions in Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes, afraid of saying the wrong word and displeasing her.

He couldn’t fathom Qiu Niang’s thoughts, not even knowing how much true feeling was in her marrying him. But he truly wanted to offer everything to her, using the power he had accumulated over the years to help her rise quickly, so she wouldn’t have to look at anyone else’s face in court.

Yue Guanyi’s words actually dispelled the hesitation in her heart.

“Yue’er is right. I was too rigid and old-fashioned,” Qiu Shuzhi said with a faint smile, holding his hand.

Before, she had been criticizing men who relied on their wives’ families to rise to power for being overly sensitive. Now that she was married to Yue Guanyi, they would share fortune and misfortune as one. Since no matter what she did, people would see her as relying on her husband to rise, she might as well do it thoroughly. After all, the court situation was precarious, with hidden external threats. The most important thing for her now was to gain military power as soon as possible. As for the idle talk of those officials, let them say what they want.

Yue Guanyi lowered his head, exposing the slightly reddened skin on the back of his neck.

He had thought his words would displease Qiu Niang, but fortunately, Qiu Niang had a mild temper and didn’t mind.

All morning, Yue Guanyi reviewed confidential letters while Qiu Shuzhi watched beside him, inadvertently learning many officials’ secrets.

For example, Mo An, the leader of the Five Cities Military Command, was having an affair with his brother-in-law behind his husband’s back;

Cai Er, Qin Zhengya’s personal attendant, had been trying to seduce the young emperor to rise in status, but the young emperor ignored him and found him vulgar;

The Princess Consort of King Dian had just lost her daughter Jiang Si, but before she could grieve, she had thrown herself back into the harem’s struggle for favor. Unfortunately, King Dian found her old and unattractive, and had taken another beautiful male consort;

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Gu Zhenghe, was also implicated in the Yanshun County silver mine affair, having been accepting ‘filial piety money’ from the Yanshun County Magistrate for years.

“The Jinyiwei’s network is truly all-seeing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about so many interesting things happening in the court and harem,” Qiu Shuzhi picked up Cai Er’s confidential letter, saying with a smile.

Yue Guanyi pursed his lips slightly: “Cai Er, as the empress’s dowry servant, doesn’t know his place and always thinks about competing with his master for favor.”

“The empress would be heartbroken if she knew about this,” Qiu Shuzhi sighed. She didn’t pay much attention to the empress, only vaguely remembering that he was kind to the palace servants around him. It must be awful to have your personal attendant trying to steal your spouse.

“Speaking of dowry servants, why didn’t I see Liangchun come to pay respects to cousin today?” Qiu Niang, how do you plan to arrange for him? As a concubine or…” Yue Guanyi pondered for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and anxiously asking.

“Liangchun? I let him rest in his room. He doesn’t need to come out to pay respects today,” Qiu Shuzhi said.

After all, Liangchun’s status was awkward. It was Yue Guanyi’s first day of marriage, and seeing him might ruin his good mood for the day.

Excused from paying respects?

“…I…I see,” Yue Guanyi’s fingers curled tightly, a thousand bitter feelings welling up in his heart. He didn’t expect Qiu Niang to be so fond of Liangchun, even specially excusing him from paying respects. Surely on the wedding night, that slut must have served Qiu Niang very well to receive such favor.

He lowered his head, his throat seeming to be tightly constricted by something.

Thinking of how he had wholeheartedly served Qiu Niang last night, that night of passion was the most beautiful night of his life. But perhaps in Qiu Niang’s heart, he was the most bland of all the men she had experienced.

He was stiff, inexperienced, didn’t understand romance, and didn’t know how to please. At most, he could only suppress his cries when he couldn’t hold back. How could he compare to Liangchun, who was born seductive and passionate?

Recalling how Qiu Niang had called Liangchun’s name just now, her tone seemed gentler than usual. Was it because she liked him?

Yue Guanyi’s heart ached painfully, almost suffocating.

“So how does Qiu Niang want to arrange for Liangchun? As a concubine or…” Yue Guanyi’s thin, fragile back could barely support his body, like a bamboo bent by snow, about to break at any moment.

Hearing a hint of jealousy in his words, Qiu Shuzhi put down the confidential letter in her hand and looked at him, resting her chin on her hand: “What does Yue’er think?”

What does he think?

Yue Guanyi was in so much pain he could barely straighten his back. Malicious thoughts roared like a tidal wave in his mind, a fierce fire shooting up to his heart.

He wished he could flay Liangchun alive, break his limbs and sell him to a brothel, to make him as low as dirt, never to appear before Qiu Niang again, never to seduce Qiu Niang, never to steal Qiu Niang’s affection for him, to make him suffer torment day and night, forever in pain.

“If Qiu Niang likes him, this servant thinks… perhaps make him a… concubine.”

The words “concubine” were uttered with almost all the strength Yue Guanyi had left in his chest. His inner self was rotting, consumed by jealousy. He was nearly driven mad with envy.

Before getting married, he thought he could be a good primary husband to Qiu Niang, without jealousy or resentment. But now that the day had come, he suddenly realized how absurd his previous thoughts were. He had just become her husband, and already he couldn’t tolerate her cousin and a mere Liangchun in her back courtyard.

Wild jealousy tore and shredded his heart. Possessiveness took root in the crevices of his bones, feeding on his blood. Sharp rootlets soaked in his fresh blood, piercing his heart, expanding wantonly in the shattered pieces of his [censored]. Dark possessiveness blotted out the sky, devouring all wavering reason.

He wanted Qiu Niang to love him.

An almost absurd thought suddenly sprang up in his mind.

In the past, he would have been overjoyed if Qiu Niang could give him just a little bit of affection, even if that insignificant liking was like teasing a cat or dog, just looking at him as a pet to play with and admire. He would have knelt at Qiu Niang’s feet in gratitude.

But now he had changed.

Qiu Niang’s gentleness towards him had magnified his greed.

Greed soared upward, constantly amplifying his heinous thoughts that had long been hidden in dark corners, enlarging them again and again until they twisted into a burning flame, igniting blood and scorching bones. His befuddled reason was refined into vapor by the extreme heat…

“Is that really what you think?” Qiu Shuzhi tilted up his chin.

Yue Guanyi raised his head, phoenix eyes gradually filling with tears, his nails turning a pale blue from twisted curling.

“I… I…” His thin lips drained of all color, fragile and pale as thin paper.

His whole body trembled as the devouring, expanding greed and possessiveness and his instinctive desire to please Qiu Niang crawled out from between his bones. The fierce flames intertwined, tearing and slashing his sanity, finally turning him into a twisted monster, a monster that could only be sustained by Qiu Niang’s love.

“Qiu Niang—” He let out a cry like the wail of a young beast.

No longer able to endure the torment tearing at his heart, he threw himself into her arms, inhaling her addictive scent.

He clutched her waist tightly, like constantly squeezing vines, wishing he could meld himself into her body. The tighter they pressed together, the more he couldn’t breathe, only then could his nearly suffocating heart get a breath of salvation.

He didn’t want to, he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to—Qiu Niang was his wife-master, his alone. What right did those covetous people have to share his wife-master’s favor?

His inner self screamed madly.

But Qiu Shuzhi couldn’t hear any of this. The torment, suffering, sinking, madness—it was all his ordeal alone.

Qiu Shuzhi felt her waist was about to be broken by his grip. His hands were like dodder clinging to a big tree, fitting tightly without a gap.

“I know you don’t want to,” Qiu Shuzhi gently embraced his overly fragile shoulders, softly stroking his hair. “After the situation stabilizes, I’ll send him away.”

In an instant, all the roaring waves stopped.

Yue Guanyi looked up blankly, his reddened eyes full of disbelief.

Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly, kissing his slightly upturned eye corners, her thin lips slowly brushing to his ear to softly tell him about that night.

The most plain tone, yet to Yue Guanyi’s ears it was the most beautiful love song in the world, each word seeming to strike the tip of his heart.

Qiu Niang would send Liangchun away—Qiu Niang didn’t like Liangchun—

His calmed heart suddenly rippled, the ripples spreading layer by layer, converging into a world-destroying tidal wave, extinguishing the raging fire, yet carrying every melted scrap of flesh and blood to form a vortex.

At this moment, all words and emotions became shallow decorations. Yue Guanyi’s heart was filled with thousands of inexpressible loves, wishing he could open his heart to her right now.

He threw himself at her recklessly, not caring about male virtues and etiquette. At this moment, he cared for nothing. His twisted greed could not be released; only Qiu Niang… Qiu Niang…

He licked her lips, her tongue, swallowing them into his mouth like a devout believer.

Not enough, not enough, still far from enough… Qiu Niang belonged to him alone, him alone.

He called Qiu Shuzhi’s name over and over again, his mouth full and sticky.

Yesterday’s wedding joy still lingered faintly today. He took advantage of this remnant heat to indulge himself one more time. The confidential letters on the table were carelessly pushed to the ground, the fluttering pages falling like snowflakes, scattered messily to one side.

Inside Qingning Palace, a gloomy atmosphere loomed like dark clouds pressing down on the city, destroying everything in its path.

Qin Qing held a brush in his hand, its tip dyed with red ink, poised to make notations on the pile of memorials. But the red remained suspended in mid-air, unwilling to fall.

Finally, the red ink congealed on the brush tip could no longer support itself and dripped a drop of red ink onto the memorial, blurring into a vague red plum blossom.

Qin Qing stared intently at that red plum stain, his calm gaze gradually surging with waves, his chest heaving more and more, gripping the brush tighter and tighter in his hand, until—

Snap—

The brush was forcefully broken, the crisp sound seeming to explode in the silent room.

Yu Ye hesitantly stepped forward, prepared to give him another brush, but unexpectedly Qin Qing suddenly went mad, sweeping all the memorials before him to the ground, even smashing the priceless Huimo ink stick and Duan inkstone.

Yu Ye shrank his shoulders in fright.

“That slut Yue Guanyi still hasn’t attended court today.” Qin Qing slammed heavily on the table, gritting his teeth in hatred.

Yu Ye carefully picked up the memorials from the ground: “Today is the third day after the Crown Prince’s wedding. By the calendar, he should come to court tomorrow… But tomorrow Madam Qiu can return home with His Highness to pay respects to you… You’ll be able to see him then.”

Qin Qing’s dark eyes were bone-chillingly cold, his voice almost bursting through clenched teeth: “Three days without attending morning court, that slut is really living comfortably.”

“Indeed he is, His Highness has now gotten his wish,” Yu Ye smiled, pursing his lips. “According to reports from the servant we sent, on the wedding night, the Crown Prince’s voice was so… wanton! His Highness kept begging for more, the bed creaking until late into the night. Even the married palace servants guarding outside blushed red to their ears hearing it.”

“Not only that, this servant also heard that on the first day of marriage, His Highness pulled Madam Qiu into broad daylight lovemaking, truly losing face for the royal family.”

Qin Qing curled his lips in a cold sneer: “Yue Guanyi is a product trained in brothels. He may have no other skills, but his bedroom abilities are naturally first-rate. Otherwise, how could he have stayed in brothels for so many years…”

And how else could he have seduced Qiu Shuzhi, making her lose her mind and marry such damaged goods, even doting on him so preciously.

Qin Qing’s meticulously manicured nails dug deeply into the edge of the table, his eyes filled with jealousy and hatred like festering poison.