“Rest assured, brother. Your royal sister will naturally assist you in your lifelong event,” Yue Shen said hoarsely after taking a deep breath.

“Brother’s lifelong event? Could it be that brother has his eye on some talented young man?” Qin Zhengya walked in with a bowl of bird’s nest soup, a smile on his face.

Ever since he was reminded by Cai Er to put on airs as a noble young master of the Qin clan in front of Yue Shen, although Yue Shen still disliked him, she no longer dared to directly reprimand him.

On the other hand, Qin Zhengya gradually learned how to be an empress. Especially after Concubine Jing’s death sounded the alarm for him, he was no longer the little white rabbit that anyone could bully. Even the Empress Dowager was very satisfied with him and had him keep a close eye on Yue Shen’s every move. Just now, he used the excuse of delivering bird’s nest soup to check on Yue Shen.

Who knew that as soon as he reached the door, he vaguely heard about Yue Guanyi’s lifelong event and couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman could conquer this venomous living Yama in front of him.

Yue Shen suppressed a bitter smile: “You know that person, Qiu Shuzhi.”

“Crash—” The bird’s nest bowl spilled, flowing all over the table, and the porcelain bowl even rolled to the ground, making a clear shattering sound.

Qin Zhengya hurriedly cleaned it up with a handkerchief, an unnatural smile on his face: “Sorry, I accidentally spilled the bird’s nest.”

Yue Guanyi smiled faintly, his eyes deep and dark: “It’s nothing. The Empress still remembers to think of Her Majesty at this time. Truly a harmonious couple, a blessing for Daming.”

A harmonious couple?

Qin Zhengya smiled bitterly. He squatted on the ground, picking up the sharp broken porcelain pieces, but his mind was full of Qiu Shuzhi’s cold and gentle face, his heart filled with indescribable sourness and complexity.

“Brother likes Madam Qiu. Does Madam Qiu reciprocate your feelings?” He asked with a dry voice, as if harboring a hidden fluke, hoping to get a negative answer.

Hoping that this was all just Yue Guanyi’s one-sided wishful thinking, that Madam Qiu definitely didn’t like him and even wished to stay far away from this fierce and evil man.

Yue Guanyi smiled, watching his reaction with even deeper eyes, his voice cold: “Of course. Madam Qiu even personally proposed in front of the Empress Dowager.”

Madam Qiu? How intimate!

Qin Zhengya unconsciously clenched the porcelain pieces, his heart feeling like it was brutally scalded by a branding iron, an intense burning pain surging through his body.

“Brother and Madam Qiu are a talented woman and a handsome man, a match made in heaven. We plan to announce their marriage at the Mid-Autumn Banquet. Oh right, the Empress is in charge of hosting this banquet, right?”

The darkness in Qin Zhengya’s eyes grew deeper and heavier: “Yes.”

Yue Shen slowly smiled: “Then the Empress better do a good job.”

At the banquet he hosted, announcing Yue Guanyi’s marriage, making him tailor Yue Guanyi’s wedding clothes, and even matchmaking his marriage with Madam Qiu.

Why!

Why could this man!

Qin Zhengya’s eyes were filled with a darkness thicker and more intense than the night, raging flames burning wildly in his heart, burning the last bit of softness into scorched earth.

He had always been kind-hearted, so timid that he didn’t dare to hurt even a bug since childhood. But Yue Guanyi committed all sorts of evil deeds, his hands stained with who knows how much blood. Why could such a person obtain a good match like Madam Qiu? Why could he attain the happiness he didn’t even dare to dream of?

Why was he trapped in this palace that devoured people without spitting out their bones, burying his love that he could never speak of, until his old age and death!

Why!

Countless voices screamed and wailed in his eardrums, crazily slamming against them. Even if he tried his hardest to endure, those mad shrieks still kept surging forth.

Qin Zhengya had already forgotten how he walked out of the Imperial Study. He only knew that when he came to his senses, he had walked in a daze the whole way, the porcelain pieces clutched in his hand cutting into his palm, blood flowing along the way.

“Empress, what happened to you? Quick, someone come bandage the Empress’s wound!” Cai Er saw him come out in a trance and thought Yue Shen had bullied him again. He hurriedly held his hand and called for palace servants to bandage him.

“The Empress is a precious body. You lowly slaves better be careful, or watch out, I’ll send you all to the Punishment Bureau!” Cai Er shouted sternly.

“No need!” Qin Zhengya opened his mouth hoarsely, his eyes hollow and lifeless.

“Aiya, how can that be! Consort Rong has been sent to the Cold Palace. You finally gained power after so much difficulty. This is the time you must curry favor with Her Majesty…” Cai Er schemed.

“Enough!” For the first time, Qin Zhengya angrily berated the servant who had accompanied him since entering the palace.

Who knew Cai Er didn’t hear the displeasure in Qin Zhengya’s words, still thinking Qin Zhengya was the same master as before who could be easily manipulated by him. His sharp-tongued mouth kept nagging on and on: “Empress, you can’t keep being willful. You must quickly conceive an heir. Otherwise, if some lowly concubine steals Her Majesty’s favor, becoming the second Consort Rong, your position as Empress won’t be stable—”

“Slap—” He viciously slapped Cai Er’s face twice with his bloody hand. Hatred surged in his chest like tides, devouring his reason and weakness, tearing apart his remaining kindness.

Cai Er covered his bloody face, unable to speak for a long time.

“They’re lowly, but how are you not lowly to the bone? You treat me as your chess piece to throw your weight around in the palace. Always saying it’s for my own good, but isn’t it just because you’re afraid of becoming a lowly palace slave that anyone can bully!” Qin Zhengya gritted his teeth as if gone mad, all his pent-up grievances exploding out at this moment.

There wasn’t a single person in this palace who was truly good to him. They would constantly use him, humiliate him, treat him as a pawn until squeezing out his last drop of blood.

There was only one person who would treat him well with sincere intentions, who would smile at him gently, who would protect him and cherish him.

There would never be another person like her again!

But she would soon be someone else’s wife-master, embracing another man, giving all her gentleness and care to someone else.

They would have children and grandchildren filling their home, while he could only hide in the cold depths of the palace, repeatedly calling her name in the unknowing night to relieve his uncontrollable longing.

Qin Zhengya tightly shut his eyes, tears of agony rolling down from the corners.

“Empress Dowager…” Yu Ye cautiously walked in after hearing no movement inside the hall for a long time.

The mess inside the hall was simply indescribable. After Yue Guanyi and Qiu Shuzhi left, Qin Qing threw another big fit. There was simply no place to set foot on the ground.

He inched his way in. The Empress Dowager Qin Qing leaned against the chair in decadence, his long hair disheveled, his face still bearing traces of blood, his eyes even more desolate and down-and-out, looking exactly like an abandoned husband.

There wasn’t a single intact object around him, except for the folding fan in his hand, which was completely undamaged.

Yu Ye sighed inwardly.

He had heard everything that happened inside just now loud and clear. Even in this situation, even when he was so furious that he lost his reason, the Empress Dowager still couldn’t bear to damage the things Madam Qiu gave him.

“Empress Dowager?” Yu Ye called his name again in a low voice.

Qin Qing’s lowered eyes finally moved, a dead stillness in his originally gentle eyes.

“…Do you really intend to bestow marriage to His Highness and Madam Qiu at the Mid-Autumn Banquet?” He asked, trembling with fear.

Qin Qing lowered his head, his disheveled long hair sliding off his shoulders. His eyes moved, carrying deep hidden meaning: “Why not?”

Yu Ye felt a burst of pleasant surprise in his heart: “You mean you’re preparing to let go of Madam Qiu?”

“Let go?” Qin Qing didn’t answer, the corners of his mouth curling into a hint of a cold smile instead.

How could he possibly let go.