Chapter 29 Painting North North’s Painting

“But… the mansions in the capital are very valuable. Wouldn’t it be too precious to bestow one on Qiu Shuzhi?” Yue Shen’s brows were furrowed with worry.

Qin Qing shook his head slightly: “Your Majesty, you also know that Qiu Shuzhi not only resolved the ore theft issue this time, but also helped us greatly. Emotionally and rationally, we should reward her. If Your Majesty is stingy with even these things, how will the officials submit to you in the future?”

These words seemed to touch Yue Shen’s soft spot. She frowned deeply and gritted her teeth: “Fine.”

Qin Qing’s phoenix eyes were gentle and calm, with a faint smile at the corners: “Then I will thank Your Majesty on behalf of Qiu Shuzhi.”

“By the way, there’s another matter.”

“What is it?”

“Your Majesty is already sixteen this year. Logically speaking, you should also open the harem widely and let the consorts bear heirs for you. But now the harem is empty, and you don’t even have someone to warm your bed. It’s really not acceptable.”

Yue Shen’s heart suddenly clenched, with a vague sense of foreboding: “I don’t want to take consorts for now.”

A faint smile curled at the corners of Qin Qing’s lips, every frown and smile full of charm: “Your Majesty doesn’t want to take consorts, that’s fine, but an Empress must be established.”

Yue Shen’s face was tense, showing no emotion.

This Qin Qing, she had just turned sixteen and was already arranging to establish an Empress, nothing more than wanting to push the Qin family’s son into the palace.

If she agreed to Qin Qing’s wishes and married a member of the Qin clan as Empress, giving birth to a princess of Qin blood, Da Qi would truly become the Qin family’s empire, with no chance of turning back.

How could the three hundred years of the Yue clan’s reign be lost in her hands?

Dark clouds gathered in Yue Shen’s eyes, her fists clenched tightly: “Father Empress speaks reasonably. Since we’re establishing an Empress, we should open the harem widely to extend the lineage. The Ministry of Revenue has just turned losses into profits, it’s the best time to hold a selection of consorts.”

A teasing curve slowly formed on Qin Qing’s thin lips: “Selection of consorts? That’s good too! If Your Majesty can have a princess soon, it would be a blessing for Da Qi. I also want to hold my granddaughter early.”

Yue Shen was slightly angry, with veins faintly bulging on her forehead.

How could the shrewd Qin Qing not understand Yue Shen’s thoughts? It was just that she didn’t want the Qin clan’s members to monopolize the position in the harem. She wanted to use the opportunity of the selection to draw in the power of other noble families to intervene. But she didn’t know that in the entire officialdom, which family would dare to go against the Qin clan?

An ant cannot shake a big tree. The little Empress was still naive after all.

On the second day after Qiu Shuzhi returned to the capital, an imperial edict suddenly descended on Shuntian Prefecture.

“By the mandate of heaven, the Empress decrees: Qiu Shuzhi, Deputy of Shuntian Prefecture, of noble character, has merits in managing the ore theft in Yanshun. Hereby bestow one mansion in the capital city. By imperial order!”

The kneeling crowd was immediately filled with envy. That was a mansion bestowed by Her Majesty herself, luxurious and grand like those of imperial relatives and nobles. They all thought Qiu Shuzhi had gone to sit on the cold bench, unable to return for ten or eight years.

Who knew that not only did she return gloriously in just a month or so, but she also turned misfortune into blessing, receiving such an honor. With Her Majesty’s favor evident, the people of Shuntian Prefecture immediately gathered around to congratulate Qiu Shuzhi, clamoring for her to treat them to drinks.

These were all social niceties that Qiu Shuzhi couldn’t refuse. She had to agree to host a banquet at her mansion another day to entertain everyone, and only then did they disperse.

“Official Qiu.”

Just as Qiu Shuzhi was about to return to the government office to continue her unfinished official duties, she heard a tall male figure standing by the majestic stone lions outside the office.

“Young Master Yu Ye?” Qiu Shuzhi was slightly shocked. Palace eunuchs were not easily allowed to leave the palace, how did he come here?

She hurriedly went to greet him: “Greetings, Young Master Yu Ye. Does the Empress Dowager have any instructions?”

Yu Ye’s clear and handsome eyes carefully examined her for a while, looking exactly like long-separated lovers meeting again, with a loving look in his eyes.

“This servant obeys the Empress Dowager’s order to summon you to the palace.”

“Now?” The Empress Dowager summoning her to the palace must be for something very important.

This time she was able to resolve the ore theft issue, all thanks to the Empress Dowager’s support behind her. She had wanted to enter the palace to express her gratitude, but she was no longer an imperial lecturer, and entering the palace had become difficult.

Yu Ye smiled faintly: “Now is just right. If it gets dark, officials cannot enter the palace.”

Qiu Shuzhi nodded: “This official understands.”

She followed Yu Ye into the palace. Yu Ye was the Empress Dowager’s personal palace attendant, his status and position even respected by court officials. Even the palace gate guards didn’t dare to question his carriage, and they entered the palace easily.

This was Qiu Shuzhi’s second time entering Qingning Palace. The bejeweled palace with gold windows and jade railings was like a fairyland.

Yu Ye stood quietly at the door, gesturing for Qiu Shuzhi to enter alone.

Inside the room, agarwood incense burned quietly, its subtle fragrance permeating the air, making one feel refreshed upon smelling it.

Qin Qing sat sideways on the grand chair. On the desk made of small-leaf zitan wood, high-quality writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone were casually arranged. On the fine paper, there were two messy ink blots, making one feel sorry for the high-quality masterpiece paper.

His arm rested on the window edge, the wide and heavy ink robe slightly wrinkled, revealing the snow-white clothes underneath and wrists as white as snow.

“You’re finally here.” He smiled slightly, smiling with dignity and nobility, but the spring breeze just happened to brush past his profile, lifting his long hair flutteringly. Although he was simply dressed in ink-colored clothes with a white base, it surpassed all kinds of charm.

“This official greets the Empress Dowager.” Qiu Shuzhi respectfully knelt on the ground before him.

Qin Qing chuckled lightly: “Look at you, still being so formal with me. Are you satisfied with the newly bestowed mansion?”

Qiu Shuzhi bowed even lower: “This official is overwhelmed. This time being able to resolve the Yanshun affair was entirely due to the Empress Dowager’s grace. This official had wanted to enter the palace to thank the Empress Dowager for her great kindness, but this official’s rank is too low to enter the palace. Please punish this official, Empress Dowager.”

“You scholars are just too rigid.” Qin Qing scolded with a smile, without a trace of blame, but rather with a hint of coquettishness: “How could I punish you for such a small matter? Quickly get up.”

He bent slightly to pull up her arm, holding her slightly cool palm. Qiu Shuzhi’s arm immediately stiffened. Was the Empress Dowager’s distance to her too close?

She stood up following Qin Qing’s force, standing respectfully to the side: “May I ask why the Empress Dowager summoned this official?”

Qin Qing raised a fine eyebrow: “Can’t I summon you if I don’t have any matters?”

“This official didn’t mean that.” Qiu Shuzhi hurriedly explained. It’s just that as an outside official, if she was frequently summoned to the inner palace by the Empress Dowager, it would inevitably invite speculation.

“I heard that Official Qiu not only has outstanding literary talent but is also excellent at painting. Paint a picture for me.” Qin Qing’s eyes like ink jade stared straight at her.

“What does the Empress Dowager want to paint?” Qiu Shuzhi was outwardly respectful, but inwardly grumbling. All this trouble to summon her into the palace just to paint a picture?

“What do you think it should be?” A messy fan skeleton was placed on the table, the ink-based gold-sprinkled fan face torn. Qiu Shuzhi recognized at a glance that this was a fan that Qin Qing was particularly fond of.

She picked up the fan skeleton, its ebony-like luster emitting a dim cold light: “This official thinks it could be a monochrome landscape painting.”

Qin Qing shook his head slightly.

“Then what does the Empress Dowager think would be good to paint?”

Qin Qing looked up at her, memory flashing back to their first meeting at the Qionglin Banquet, with apricot blossoms tucked in her black hair.

He smiled, his eyes deep with a trace of bone-deep tenderness: “Let’s paint a picture of apricot blossoms in misty rain.”

Apricot blossoms in misty rain? This fan face seemed not quite in harmony with the black bone fan, but she could only follow the Empress Dowager’s order.

“Come, sit here.” Qin Qing stood up, pulling her to sit in his original position, the armrest still retaining his body heat.

“This official doesn’t dare.” She was a bit panicked. This was the Empress Dowager’s seat, how could she rashly sit on it.

She struggled to get up, but was pressed down on the shoulders by Qin Qing. His long, strong fingers seemed to unintentionally loosen the collar tightly bound around her neck, the delicate and cool fingertips gently caressing the softness of her neck.

“Don’t move.” A low, mature voice came from behind her ear, the warm breath almost touching her earlobe. Qiu Shuzhi’s face immediately reddened, frozen in the chair not daring to move.

Qin Qing chuckled lowly behind her ear, his long hair falling on her shoulders like flowing ink.

It was the first time Qin Qing laughed so freely. Born as the legitimate son of the Qin family, his every move was the model of the leader of the gentry’s sons. After coming of age, he was sent into the palace. Whether as Empress or Empress Dowager, he needed to be forever dignified and proper, like a emotionless chastity monument.

Even he himself had forgotten what true joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were. Only with Qiu Shuzhi could he truly be carefree.

He supported himself on the armrests of the grand chair from behind her, as if embracing her waist. Where she couldn’t see, he could put down the Empress Dowager’s noble and cold demeanor, truly being himself for once.

He lowered his head slightly, burying it lightly in her long hair, inhaling the faint cold fragrance of her black tresses.

“Just sit here, I’ll watch you paint. You can only leave when you finish.” He said hoarsely, the empty palace allowing him to be uninhibited.

“…Yes,” Qiu Shuzhi straightened her back forcefully, trying hard to adjust her mindset and ignore the strong presence of the Empress Dowager behind her.

She spread out the white-based fan face that had already been prepared, picked up the brush and carefully depicted the apricot blossoms in misty rain that the Empress Dowager wanted. Time passed bit by bit, and Qiu Shuzhi gradually immersed herself in painting, forgetting that the Empress Dowager who held real power over the empire was still standing behind her.

The vivid scene gradually blossomed under her brush, until the final stroke was completed, and a picture of apricot blossoms in misty rain was finally finished.

“Empress Dowager, what do you think?” Qiu Shuzhi put down the brush and asked softly.

Qin Qing picked up the painted fan and examined it carefully for a long time before finally saying: “Not bad.”

Qiu Shuzhi’s suspended heart finally settled. She was just about to stand up when she saw Qin Qing behind her leisurely put down the painted fan.

He was still standing behind her, not letting her see his expression clearly or discern his pleasure or anger.

His fingers with distinct knuckles hooked a strand of her black hair hanging behind her back, playing and admiring it in his palm, letting the soft and smooth black hair wind around his fingertips again and again. His clear eyes were full of tender affection and intense desire for possession.

One step away, yet worlds apart. A bone-deep emotion erupted in his eyes as he pressed tightly against her back: “Official Qiu, paint another one.”