“Then…” Qin Qing’s face suddenly reddened, even his fingers curling nervously: “Then in your eyes, between this grieving one and the Crown Prince, who is more beautiful?”

A flash of surprise passed through Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes. How could a stepfather and stepson be compared?

But the Empress Dowager before her was not like Yue Guanyi, a soft and obedient little puppy she could bully. She still had to flatter him.

“Naturally, the Empress Dowager is more beautiful.”

Qin Qing’s ears heated up, his eyes bashful, exuding a bewitching charm: “How am I more beautiful than him? The common people all say he’s the number one beauty in the capital.”

To be fair, Qin Qing’s looks were on par with Yue Guanyi’s. Yue Guanyi was a cold and aloof beauty, while Qin Qing was a graceful ink lotus. It’s just that he was a bit older, and already the Empress Dowager, so he didn’t need such a title.

“The Empress Dowager’s beauty is heavenly, unattainable. The comparisons of beauty among commoners are not worth mentioning before the Empress Dowager.”

“Of course.” Qin Qing pursed his lips, unable to hide the joy in his eyes.

Even the noble and aloof Empress Dowager wanted to receive praise from the one he loved. All men were like this. If he hadn’t been born into power and status, how he would have liked to be a virtuous husband, teaching his wife and children.

He gently released the hair tie wound around his hand, lightly brushing back his ink-black hair. Inadvertently, his fingertips caught on his collar, fully exposing the red virgin mark hidden in the pale snow of his skin.

Qiu Shuzhi hurriedly averted her gaze.

Qin Qing, however, acted as if he hadn’t noticed, softly reclining on the couch, his expression slightly smug: “Although the Crown Prince is young, he has experienced much. In his youth, he encountered great misfortune and lost his purity. At least the reputation of being the capital’s number one beauty can help him find a good marriage. What do you think?”

“The Empress Dowager speaks truly.” Words that seemed like a father worrying about his son’s marriage prospects, yet subtly mocked Yue Guanyi for losing his purity, making him unmarriageable. But considering the tense relationship between the Qin clan and Yue Guanyi, it was understandable.

Qin Qing was finally satisfied. Earlier, seeing her speak up for Yue Guanyi had made his heart ache like cat scratches. He just couldn’t stand Qiu Shuzhi showing even a bit of kindness towards any man.

Especially Yue Guanyi, who was younger and more beautiful than him. Qiu Shuzhi now led the Imperial Guards and often interacted with him. He feared that scoundrel trained in brothels would bewitch Qiu Shuzhi’s soul.

Thus, he deliberately mentioned in front of her that Yue Guanyi’s body was no longer pure.

A prince could never be someone’s consort, and Qiu Shuzhi surely wouldn’t want to marry a man who had lost his virginity.

Hah, Qin Qing sneered in his heart. Forget about being a consort, Yue Guanyi wasn’t even fit to be a bedwarmer.

“Here!” Qin Qing placed a candy in her hand.

Qiu Shuzhi looked at him in surprise: “This is?”

Qin Qing lazily leaned back on the couch, his three thousand strands of dark hair falling over his shoulders, the spreading scent of deep incense seemingly softening even his bones: “This grieving one has no strength in his hands. Unwrap it for me.”

“Yes.” Qiu Shuzhi chuckled silently, lowering her head to quietly unwrap the candy.

Qin Qing rested his head on his hand, unabashedly gazing at her with deep affection. His fingertips lightly caressed the virgin mark on his collarbone, his face slightly flushed.

He wondered if she had noticed his virgin mark earlier?

He was much purer than Yue Guanyi.

She must not have expected the current Empress Dowager to still be a virgin.

For the first time, Qin Qing felt grateful to the late Emperor, grateful that her nearly decrepit body hadn’t defiled his purity, allowing him to preserve the most important thing for a man.

Qiu Shuzhi was still focused on unwrapping the candy, her rosy fingertips stained with a bit of reddish syrup, the sweet scent of the candy spreading.

He involuntarily swallowed, wishing he could become the candy in her hands right now, carefully cradled by her, no longer having to agonize every day, scheming various ways for brief moments together.

He wished that at this moment, he could give himself completely to her.

What propriety, what shame, what court politics – he didn’t want to care about any of it anymore. He just wanted to lie in her arms and indulge himself once, to receive her love.

“Empress Dowager, it’s unwrapped.” The calm voice broke his fantasy.

The candy wrapper quietly bloomed open, the red candy crystalline and transparent in her hand. The remnants of crimson syrup on her fingertips made her hand appear even more flawless.

Qin Qing picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The sweet taste swirled on his tongue, yet somehow tasted bitter. It seemed there was always a void in his heart that could never be filled.

He wanted to be closer to her, pressed tighter against her, until they fit together seamlessly, until no one could come between them. He wanted to belong to her completely.

This feeling grew stronger and stronger, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

“Official Qiu.” His voice was warm and husky as he unwrapped the last remaining candy. He held the alluringly red candy to her lips: “You eat too.”

“This humble official wouldn’t dare.” Qiu Shuzhi felt only trepidation. How could she be worthy of the Empress Dowager personally unwrapping candy for her to eat? Moreover, hadn’t Qin Qing just said he had no strength in his hands?

“There’s no need for daring or not daring. This is this grieving one’s order.” He said, seeming determined to feed her personally.

Qiu Shuzhi’s thin lips pressed tightly together, but she helplessly opened her mouth. The light, sweet fragrance spread in her mouth.

She bit down on the candy and asked solemnly: “Earlier, the Empress Dowager said he had something to ask this humble official. May I inquire what it is?”

Qin Qing pulled her to sit side by side on the edge of the soft couch. The charm revealed in his demeanor was intoxicating. He seemed completely satisfied just watching her eat the candy. Though it was a normal question, his voice was as alluring as a siren’s.

“Do you think Noble Consort Jing is really the one behind the assassin?”

Qiu Shuzhi was silent for a moment, then said frankly: “This humble official thinks Noble Consort Jing is just a scapegoat.”

“Official Qiu is indeed clever. This grieving one hasn’t misjudged you. Then who do you suspect is the mastermind?” Qin Qing’s body lazily leaned against her, the scent of high-quality agarwood quietly lingering and dispersing around them.

“Without evidence, this humble official dares not make reckless conjectures,” Qiu Shuzhi said.

The court’s conspiracies were intricate and unpredictable. She couldn’t fully trust even the Empress Dowager.

But what could be certain was that not only was Noble Consort Jing a scapegoat, but even that assassin was a scapegoat.

Qiu Shuzhi clearly remembered that she had wounded the assassin’s back, but the wound on the assassin’s back in the Cool Spring Pool had moved down two inches. This meant that someone could imitate her sword wound.

Not only that, but that assassin had been intent on throwing himself onto her sword, determined to seek death.

From this, it could be deduced that not only was Noble Consort Jing a scapegoat, but that assassin was also a scapegoat.

However, she had searched the entire hunting grounds and found nothing unusual. All investigations had come up empty.

Besides these, Qiu Shuzhi felt that the young Emperor’s reaction was also very strange.

Based on the young Emperor’s usual personality, she would certainly have ordered a thorough investigation. Yet tonight, she had directly concluded that Noble Consort Jing was the culprit, which was uncharacteristically arbitrary for her.

At first, she had thought this incident was related to the Qin clan, and that the young Emperor had chosen to let the matter rest under pressure.

But seeing Qin Qing’s reaction, it seemed this matter was unrelated to the Qin clan. But if not the Qin clan, who could it be?

Qin Qing was silent for a moment, grasping her sleeve, and whispered in her ear, “This grieving one feels there’s something odd about this matter. Although the situation has calmed for now, you need to investigate more in secret, especially regarding Jiang Si. You must not overlook any clues.”

Lady Jiang? Qiu Shuzhi recalled the scene of Lady Jiang calmly facing her undressing earlier.