Chapter 108 Finale: Dedicating Everything to Her

Ever since discovering that Yue Guanyi started to like sweets, every time after court, she would bring back some candies from the market. Sometimes it was ordinary sweet fruits, sometimes just the most common osmanthus cakes.

Yue Guanyi always loved these simple sweet treats from the common people, finishing them all every time. Yet he wouldn’t touch the exquisite pastries made by the pastry chefs specially assigned from the palace, which only made her laugh and cry.

On the first snow of winter, a thin layer of white covered the world. After court, Qiu Shuzhi walked through the light snow underfoot. Passing by the market, she heard the calls of the tanghulu vendor. Round and red hawthorn fruits were strung together, wrapped in transparent syrup, glistening in the winter sunlight.

She casually bought a stick of tanghulu from the market vendor to bring back.

Yue Guanyi was sitting at the table, his needle and thread moving back and forth.

The main door was half open, fine winter snow drifting past the doorway, beautiful like a silhouette painting.

During this time, Yue Guanyi’s body had mostly recovered, his lower abdomen no longer frequently aching. In his leisure time, he had even started to play with needlework.

His thick, soft long hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin, a few strands of dark hair falling in front of his forehead. The hem of his deep blue robe was near a charcoal brazier at his feet, occasionally emitting crackling burning sounds. Beside his hand was an incense burner, the daily incense permeating his body with a lingering agarwood scent.

Qiu Shuzhi held the tanghulu in front of Yue Guanyi. His eyes suddenly lit up as he looked up at her: “Wife-master, you’re back!”

He happily brushed off the thin snow on her collar. At that moment, it seemed even the winter wind had been warmed.

Qiu Shuzhi took off her heavy cloak and put the tanghulu in his hand: “Try it. Haven’t you been loving sour-sweet fruits lately?”

Yue Guanyi put down his needlework and slightly opened his mouth to bite one, holding it in his mouth. His lips and teeth lightly touched, the sweet and slightly sour taste making him squint his eyes in satisfaction.

“Is it good?” she asked with a smile, watching him.

Yue Guanyi nodded, his eyes bright and shining. He held the candied hawthorn to her lips: “Wife-master, you try some too.”

Qiu Shuzhi took a bite and her face contorted from the sourness. She swallowed with difficulty and said: “This vendor actually used such sour hawthorn to cut corners. Even that much syrup can’t cover the sour taste. Next time we won’t buy from her.”

Yue Guanyi took another bite: “How can that be? It’s not sour at all.”

“Then perhaps the only tooth-achingly sour fruit was the one I ate,” Qiu Shuzhi didn’t pay it much mind.

Yue Guanyi stuck the tanghulu into a white porcelain vase with a slender neck nearby. He got up mysteriously and took out a piece of clothing he had already embroidered from the wardrobe.

“Wife-master, this is the winter clothing I made for you. Try it on and see if it fits,” Yue Guanyi said, as if seeking praise.

Qiu Shuzhi looked at the clothes in his hands. The stitching was dense and the embroidery patterns were exquisite: “No wonder you’ve been so secretive lately, and your hands always had needle marks. When I asked, you wouldn’t say. So you were secretly making clothes.”

She took Yue Guanyi’s hand and spread it open. That perfect porcelain-like hand was covered with tiny needle marks. She felt grateful yet pained: “There are embroiderers in the household to make clothes. You’re the eldest prince, why do these tiring things? Look at your hands… Don’t do this next time.”

Yue Guanyi bit his lip lightly, full of grievance and jealousy: “Does wife-master not like the clothes I made? That day I saw cousin sewing clothes for wife-master, and wife-master was so happy. I thought wife-master liked it. But of course, my needlework can’t compare to cousin’s.”

Qiu Shuzhi helplessly squeezed his palm: “Not at all. I think your craftsmanship is much better than cousin’s. These stitches and embroidery patterns are all to my liking.”

“Really?” Yue Guanyi’s eyes were hopeful.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded and took the initiative to put on the clothes he had made. With the charcoal fire burning in the room, the thick winter clothes wrapped around her body made her face show a slight flush. She praised: “Not bad, it fits well.”

Yue Guanyi smiled, pressing his lips together.

Qiu Shuzhi stroked his smooth long hair and teased: “…Look at you just now, the whole room filled with jealousy. How can you even be jealous of cousin?”

“……” Yue Guanyi lowered his head. He was indeed jealous.

He and Qiu Qiushuang were in the same manor, seeing each other all the time. Yet they both had their hearts set on this one woman.

Because of the blood relationship between Qiu Qiushuang and his wife-master, he couldn’t do anything to Qiu Qiushuang.

Qiu Qiushuang also relied on this relationship, occasionally calling Qiu Shuzhi to his room to deliberately irritate Yue Guanyi. He was like a fly that couldn’t be killed, just annoying.

Men are just jealous, love to compete for favor, love to be envious.

Even if he had everything, as long as his wife-master’s gaze lingered on another man for a second, he felt like he had lost the whole world, surrounded by enemies, without any sense of security.

Which woman’s back courtyard in the Great Qi wasn’t a mess of infighting, openly and secretly?

On the surface, brothers were friendly, but it was all a facade. Everyone in their hearts just wanted to finish off the others. The primary husband wanted to ruin the looks of those young cheap hooves to gain the wife-master’s pity alone, while the small attendants racked their brains trying to drag the haughty primary husband down into the mud.

If it were before, when Yue Guanyi still held the position of Commander of the Jinyiwei, he might have found some underhanded methods to make that eyesore Qiu Qiushuang pass away without anyone knowing.

But since pacifying the Dian King’s rebellion, he had retracted his claws, shed his armor, and offered up everything he had to Qiu Shuzhi, becoming her stepping stone to climb to the peak of power. He himself contentedly entered the back courtyard, to be an ordinary man.

After all, women should handle external affairs while men internal ones. Men should stay away from the court and focus on bearing and raising children for their wife-masters. It wasn’t proper for a man from a good family to show his face outside.

But thinking of bearing and raising children, Yue Guanyi lowered his head dejectedly, his expression becoming dazed and lost. He had taken so much medicinal soup, yet his belly still showed no signs of movement.