Chapter 2: Handkerchief – The Favored Male Protagonist

“Miss Qiu, if you’re free tonight, why don’t we go have some fun together?” Jiang Si’s golden hairpin shimmered at the end of her hair, the smile in her eyes was self-evident.

Qiu Shuzhi tightened her grip on the reins: “I’ll pass on joining in the excitement.”

Jiang Si said slowly: “Miss Qiu isn’t interested in the young gentlemen? Could it be that you have a handsome man hidden at home?”

“What handsome man, there’s only my cousin and I at home. I’m worried about him being a man, alone and unsafe.”

Qin Shu rode over on horseback, impatiently saying: “Jiang Si, why are you wasting time with her, she’ll come if she wants to.”

Jiang Si’s eyes darkened, the corners of her mouth curled up: “Forget it then, I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll invite you for a drink another day.”

The two rode off on their horses, and Qiu Shuzhi slowly rode back to the small courtyard she rented in the capital.

Qiu Shuzhi was originally the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan. Later, her family fell on hard times and her parents passed away in depression, leaving her and her cousin to rely on each other. Fortunately, the family still had some silver notes left for them to live and study.

Although she was now a fifth-rank official, the housing prices in the capital were high. With her salary, she couldn’t afford to buy a house at all and could only rent a small courtyard.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she smelled the fragrance of delicious food.

“Brother, what delicious food are you making?” She entered the kitchen, the smoke and fire outlined a slender figure, the gentle side profile even more gentle and graceful in the misty smoke and fire.

Seeing her enter the kitchen, Qiu Qiushuang hurriedly put down what he was holding and shooed her out, his slender fingers gestured.

He was saying: A gentleman stays far from the kitchen.

Her cousin had fled to the Qiu family during a great upheaval in his childhood. At that time, the Qiu family was wealthy and took him in.

It was said that his voice was like an oriole, but unfortunately, due to childhood trauma, he lost his voice and could no longer speak.

Qiu Shuzhi smiled: “You never let me in the kitchen, you work hard doing housework every day, I want to help you too.”

Qiu Qiushuang shook his head and set the food on the table. Being able to serve Qiu Shuzhi was his good fortune.

After dinner, Qiu Shuzhi took Qiu Qiushuang to stroll the night market. The night markets of ancient times were already extraordinarily lively. The moonlight and lanterns illuminated the entire capital’s night, song and dance, puppet shows, drunkenness and extravagance. Street vendors hawked various foods and trinkets.

Qiu Shuzhi bought Qiu Qiushuang a big pile of little things like sweet candied fruits, seasonal fruits, and unique fans.

The two walked east and west, not knowing where they had walked to, when they smelled a strange fragrance.

Qiu Qiushuang grabbed her. Qiu Shuzhi looked up and realized they had actually walked to Flower Alley. Inside the brothels, the music was lewd and indulgent.

There were also old, faded male prostitutes who set up small tents on the roadside to take customers. Their cries were more wanton than the last, and their voices even reached them.

Qiu Qiushuang had a thin face, and the wanton voices of the male prostitutes made his earlobes turn scarlet.

Suddenly, a piercing scream came from the Drunken Heart House next door.

The crowd instantly gathered in front of the Drunken Heart House. The panicked old madam stumbled out, yelling in a fluster, “Murder! Murder!”

Seeing that things weren’t right, Qiu Shuzhi quickly pulled Qiu Qiushuang to leave. As she turned around, she saw a large group of people coming with a fierce momentum, completely surrounding Flower Street.

The leading woman glared, “From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave.”

Qiu Qiushuang was quite frightened when he saw the woman, clutching Qiu Shuzhi’s sleeve with half his face almost buried in her arms.

Qiu Shuzhi patted his back, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

The panicked crowd crowded together. Qiu Qiushuang hid in her arms, his back trembling. Suddenly, there was movement from the Drunken Heart House. A woman cursing was pressed out by the soldiers, “How dare you! Do you know who I am? You actually dare to arrest me!”

“Behave yourself. You killed the top courtesan Meng Lang. The evidence is conclusive. Come with me to the government office immediately.”

Qiu Shuzhi took a closer look. It was actually Qin Shu!

Many people recognized Qin Shu from the parade of the new scholars today and couldn’t help but shout, “It’s the Number One Scholar! The Number One Scholar committed murder!”

The controversy surged in waves, the crowd was in an uproar.

Qin Shu’s eyes were bloodshot as she struggled, “Let me go. When my mother finds out, she will definitely seize your whole family!”

“The Number One Scholar has quite the official’s arrogance!”

The low voice was majestic with a hint of coldness. The crowd that had just been in chaos instantly fell silent like cicadas in winter when they saw the newcomer’s face.

Qin Shu’s eyes were bloodshot, “So it’s you. You had planned to frame me long ago, right?”

Yue Guanyi’s face was as cold as a snowy mountain, even his eyes revealing a chilling coldness, “The Number One Scholar committing murder is a big deal. Take her into custody and let Her Majesty decide.”

Hearing about custody, Qin Shu roared, “I didn’t kill anyone! Yue Guanyi, if you dare to put me in custody, my mother will definitely not let you off.”

Yue Guanyi lifted his cold eyes, his sinister gaze seemingly merging with the ferocious beast embroidered on his official robes.

Qin Shu instantly felt like she had fallen into an icy cave, her blood turning cold.

“Why haven’t you taken the criminal away yet!” shouted his assistant Chang’an from the side.

Unsatisfied, Qin Shu struggled free from the soldiers restraining her and rushed in front of Yue Guanyi, her nails digging deep into her flesh as her eyes bulged, “You lowly man, your current position is only from fawning on my mother. If you dare arrest me, my mother will definitely ruin you!”

“Outrageous!” Chang’an kicked her to the ground.

The nails she dug into Yue Guanyi’s palm left a bloody gash.

Everyone worked together to shackle Qin Shu and took her back to the prison through the watching crowd.

“Let’s go!” Yue Guanyi stared at his injured hand and leaped onto the carriage with a wave of his sleeve. The skin was torn open, oozing fresh blood. The place Qin Shu had touched disgusted him to the extreme.

“Your Highness…” Chang’an suddenly said.

“What else?” Yue Guanyi said in a deep, cold voice, his eyes deep and gloomy.

“Official Qiu is here,” Chang’an indicated with his eyes.

“Qiu-”

Among all the civil and military officials, none had the surname Qiu, except…

Yue Guanyi’s knees trembled and he almost fell off the carriage.

Seeing Qiu Shuzhi holding a man, squeezed together with the noisy crowd, he couldn’t help but clench his robes tightly, “Hurry and invite Official Qiu in, don’t let those lowly commoners offend Official Qiu.”

He leaped off the carriage, his footsteps nervous and weak. He rubbed the dirty blood on his hands on his official robes again and again, afraid that the filthy blood would dirty Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes.

Seeing Yue Guanyi’s nervous appearance, Chang’an understood that this “Third Place Scholar” was definitely someone special in His Highness’s heart.

He quickly followed Yue Guanyi. At this time, Ma Qin still hadn’t noticed Yue Guanyi’s increasingly gloomy gaze.

Chang’an angrily shouted, “You blind fool, how dare you block even His Majesty’s tutor Official Qiu!”

Ma Qin turned her head and was startled by Yue Guanyi’s vicious gaze. She instinctively knelt on the ground and kowtowed, “This lowly official was ignorant, please forgive me, Your Highness!”

Yue Guanyi didn’t even give Ma Qin half a glance, his eyes tightly locked on Qiu Shuzhi. He silently walked to her and was about to bow, “This lowly one was ignorant and disturbed you, please forgive me.”

Qiu Shuzhi was startled and hurriedly held his wrist. The moment their skin touched, Qiu Shuzhi felt as if she was holding a piece of ice.

His hand was very cold, his bones very light, as if they would be crushed with a touch, making her have no choice but to be careful.

“Your Highness is too serious, you are of noble birth, how can you bow to a lowly official like me.”

Not to mention Yue Guanyi’s extremely noble identity, men and women should keep their distance. Qiu Shuzhi lightly held him for a moment before quickly withdrawing her hand. However, she didn’t know that after she let go, Yue Guanyi’s tense wrist trembled as if it had been scalded by boiling water.

Qiu Shuzhi’s indifferent tone made Yue Guanyi’s already weak complexion turn a shade paler. When he arrested Qin Shu just now, Qiu Shuzhi must have seen his vicious and ruthless eyes.

Being the eldest imperial prince or the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in front of Qiu Shuzhi, Yue Guanyi was just an ordinary man. His only extravagant desire was to please her.

But a man who showed his face in public all day long and was as vicious and evil as a ghost would be avoided by any woman.

Qiu Shuzhi must also see him this way.

Thinking that Qiu Shuzhi despised him from the bottom of her heart, he felt like his heart was being torn apart by swords, leaving him bloody, and even the strength to stand was being drained from him.

Qiu Shuzhi watched helplessly as Yue Guanyi’s pale face became even weaker, his lowered long lashes trembling slightly, as if he was a little afraid of her, or as if he was enduring something.

Her sharp eyes noticed a trace of blood seeping from Yue Guanyi’s tightly clenched sleeve, dripping onto the ground drop by drop.

He must be enduring this.

Qiu Shuzhi took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to him, “Your Highness was injured by Qin Shu, it’s better to bandage the wound first.”

A desolate orchid was embroidered on the pure white handkerchief that was unstained by dust, blooming in his eyes. He was instantly stunned on the spot, his cold and aloof face showing such a helpless expression for the first time.

His hand tightened and tightened again, his heartbeat pounding like a war drum in his chest, almost making him breathless, “This is for me?”

Qiu Shuzhi smiled lightly, “Of course.”

Yue Guanyi’s mind went dizzy, as if thousands of fireworks were blooming. The tips of his ears were so red they were almost dripping blood. If it weren’t for the cover of night, no one would have imagined that the feared eldest imperial prince also had such a shy and boyish side.

He hesitated and reached out his hand. That white handkerchief was in that person’s jade-like fair hand, the lights of a thousand homes shining on her wrist, like a piece of warm jade emanating a cold glow, like an immortal. Just being looked at by him was a kind of desecration.

Seeing him hesitating, Qiu Shuzhi simply placed the handkerchief directly in his hand, their fingertips tightly separated by half a finger’s distance.

The soft silk landed lightly in his palm. Yue Guanyi’s eyes narrowed abruptly, his hand holding the handkerchief now as stiff as if frozen by ice, his blood cold, not even daring to move.

Fortunately!

Fortunately, he didn’t reach out with his injured hand, his dirty blood didn’t stain Qiu Shuzhi’s handkerchief.

“Your Highness toils for the country, please take care of your health. This lowly official will take my leave first.” After saying that, Qiu Shuzhi left this place of right and wrong with Qiu Qiushuang.

Yue Guanyi looked at the white handkerchief lying quietly in his palm, the faint fragrance of orchids carrying her light scent, slowly entering his nostrils bit by bit.

Yue Guanyi’s breathing was heavy, the fragrance intoxicating him until his heart almost stopped beating.

He folded the handkerchief carefully like a treasure and placed it in his bosom, closest to his heart, so that he could feel Qiu Shuzhi’s warmth with every heartbeat. Just thinking about it made him feel invigorated.