Chapter 8 Acting Out the Empress Dowager’s Goodwill
When Qiu Shuzhi returned home, Qiu Qiushuang was sitting in the main hall waiting for her.
Seeing the blood on her body, he was frightened and pale, nervously running to her side to examine her up and down.
He was mute and couldn’t speak words of concern, but that anxiety and worry were impossible to conceal.
Qiu Shuzhi held his hand: “Cousin, don’t worry, this isn’t my blood.”
Qiu Qiushuang gestured: “If it’s not your blood, whose is it?”
“It’s the Crown Prince’s. His wound reopened and I bandaged it for him. The blood just dripped onto me.” She answered truthfully.
Qiu Qiushuang was stunned, a hint of inexplicable hatred flashed quickly across his eyes before everything returned to normal.
“Take off your outer garment, I’ll wash it for you,” he gestured.
“No need, it’s just a little blood, I can wash it myself,” Qiu Shuzhi said while taking off her clothes.
But Qiu Qiushuang was very forceful, not letting her touch any of the rough work, let alone cold water and the like. In his eyes, Qiu Shuzhi’s task was to study and become an official to revitalize the Qiu family. All other dirty and tiring work was what he should do. This made her feel grateful yet guilty, only wanting to earn money quickly to buy him a big house in the capital to repay his kindness.
He took her dirty clothes and went to the backyard to fetch water and wash them. Seeing that Qiu Shuzhi didn’t follow, he lightly sniffed at the collar of her clothes. A faint cold fragrance mixed with a trace of rich sandalwood, which wasn’t Qiu Shuzhi’s usual body scent.
The clothes in his hands were tightly clenched.
Crown Prince, Yue Guanyi, you really are a lingering ghost!
Third year of Zhengde, April 1st
The imperial edict demoted the top scholar Qin Shu to Baiyue, putting an end to this shocking case.
On the day Qin Shu was sent out of the city, the Qin family’s all-powerful matriarch Qin Zheng personally saw her off.
Qin Zheng had a daughter in her old age and doted on Qin Shu extremely. If it weren’t for Qin Shu’s actions causing such a stir throughout the city this time, she wouldn’t have agreed to send Qin Shu to such a remote and harsh place.
“Shu’er, don’t worry. This trip to Baiyue is just to clear your name of this crime. When you return, your position in the cabinet will still be yours,” Qin Zheng said.
“Mother, that broken place is too far,” Qin Shu said with a bitter face. She had told her mother that she didn’t kill anyone, but Qin Zheng simply didn’t believe her. There was nothing she could do; who told her to be so unruly before, often abusing young male attendants. Qin Zheng only thought she was trying to evade responsibility this time.
“It is far, but only by going to Baiyue to receive the surrender ceremony can you rightfully return to the capital. By then, not to mention the cabinet, even the position of Prime Minister will be yours.”
Qin Shu was startled: “Mother!”
Qin Zheng smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkling, white hair at her temples: “I’m old now, and lack the strength for court affairs. When you return from this experience, I’ll let you officially take over.”
Even though Qin Shu had been spoiled rotten, she still had some self-awareness: “Mother, I’m afraid I’m not up to the task.”
Qin Zheng shook her head: “If you were alone in court fighting single-handedly, I naturally wouldn’t be at ease. But with your uncle in control in the palace, and my disciples in the court advising you, they will all help you soar. You needn’t worry.”
Qin Shu immediately felt relieved. With her mother standing behind her, and Qin Qing and the Qin family’s disciples protecting her left and right, what did she have to fear? By the time she returned next, the entire Great Qi empire would be in her grasp.
Qin Shu set off on her journey. Although nominally exiled, she traveled by carriage, with no shortage of servants and guards. She even carried countless gold and silver with her. The spectacle looked less like exile and more like a noble lady going out for leisure.
The spies monitoring their every move relayed the news back to the palace. Yue Shen coldly snorted in her heart.
This mother-daughter pair from the Qin family, just sent into exile, were already plotting how to seize her empire.
Did they really think she was still that young, ignorant orphan girl with no support?
A hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes. She was the emperor of Great Qi. If they treated her like a soft persimmon they could squeeze at will, then she would make sure Qin Shu had no way back, completely severing the roots of the Qin family.
In Qingning Palace, Qin Qing held a copy of “The Book of History”, picking up a red cherry and putting it in his mouth. The full juice burst open in his mouth, sweet throughout.
“Has Qin Shu set off yet?” Qin Qing asked lazily.
Yu Ye replied: “In response to the Empress Dowager, she has already set off.”
“Have guards been sent to accompany her?”
“Dozens of guards, all trusted by the Qin family. Don’t worry, they can protect the young lady well,” Yu Ye said, hearing the concern in his voice.
Qin Qing shook his head, his long hair cascading: “The journey to Baiyue is long and distant. With last year’s great drought in the countryside giving rise to many refugees, there must be no shortage of bandits and scoundrels along the way. Qin Shu is the Qin family’s legitimate daughter, her safety must be ensured. Not the slightest error can occur.”
His current position of ruling from behind the curtain was closely tied to the Qin family’s power. He rose and fell with the Qin family. Even though he really looked down on that fool Qin Shu, he still had to ensure her safety.
After pondering for a moment, he said: “Go tell the Crown Prince to send a few skilled Imperial Guards to protect her in secret.”
“Yes,” Yu Ye instructed a palace maid to quickly go notify Yue Guanyi.
Qin Qing then put his mind at ease and continued reading, his fingertips lightly turning the pages. When he turned to “The Command to Cai Zhong”,
A faint smile unconsciously spilled from his eyes, and even his voice unconsciously softened: “How is Official Qiu today?”
Yu Ye sighed softly: “Don’t mention it. Official Qiu has been summoned daily by Her Majesty these days to be scolded. She often calls her to the Imperial Study to punish her by copying scriptures. I heard from Yu Zhi that Official Qiu’s hands are all blistered. Not only that, Her Majesty often belittles her in front of Minister Wang, who is her subordinate. After being tormented like this by Her Majesty, her whole person has become melancholy and thin. What a pity for such a divine figure.”
“Her hands are blistered?” Qin Qing recalled seeing Qiu Shuzhi in the Imperial Study that day, those slender fingers clean and flawless like snow and plum blossoms, not daring to harm them in the slightest.
“Send the soft jade ointment from my room to Official Qiu,” he said.
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If you’re like me…
Too tired of reading stories where the female lead is often foolish, weak, feeble both physically and mentally, usually in a subservient and oppressed role in society such as a maid, secretary, concubine… or to put it bluntly, typically the one who has to serve and please the male lead, always needing protection and rescue from male leads, while the male lead is often described as talented, strikingly handsome, powerful,…
Then please continue reading.
Hi there, girls!
I’m Yuushi L.
Every day, movies and comics continuously reinforce the notion that women are weak, that they can only handle trivial matters in the background, that women are petty-minded and constantly jealous, mocking, and laughing at other women, while men are strong, wealthy, and solely focused on conquering the world, with countless mindless women ready to fall into their arms.
Believe me, once you read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels, your mindset will change significantly.
I am deeply inspired by strong, independent, and rational women who have the power to take control of their lives, and I am fascinated by the way society’s gender roles are reversed in this genre compared to real life.
So I have created this web with the noble purpose of promoting the “Female-dominant (FEDO)” genre of novels.
In my country, there was a rare renowned female poet in ancient times who wrote the following about the fate of women in that era:
“Damn this life of sharing a husband,
One wrapped in warmth, the other left cold.
I’d rather have stayed single from the start,
Than to endure a life so torn apart.”
Perhaps my penchant for reading female-dominant stories is partly a way of rebelling against the realities of life.
On my site, there will be stories that are not only female-dominant novels, as long as they align with my taste, featuring strong female protagonists and fresh, captivating storylines. Usually, they will be modern or fantasy novels.
I rarely read ancient novels that aren’t female-dominant because they often contain details that easily trigger me. These include the portrayal of men having multiple wives and concubines, which was considered utterly normal in ancient society, and the frequent disdain towards women.
I cannot change the world, as the societal structure that discriminates against women and elevates men has existed for thousands of years. Changing it to truly give women an equal role in society is not something that can happen overnight. If you want gender equality now, it’s laughable. It will never happen when over 90% of national and business leaders are men.
But I can start by changing the mindset of women, sisters, and young girls. Don’t just read dull slogans urging women to be strong and independent; it’s hard to imagine. Read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels to see clearly what true female empowerment looks like.
I believe there will be more and more independent and strong women who prioritize their careers and personal stability over seeking a man to rely on.
In the future, there will be more successful female entrepreneurs, politicians, and thought leaders.
As for me, I will start by making this website grow stronger day by day.
I especially like the concept of “the male lead falls in love first, the female lead is the cold-hearted and rational one, and the male lead suffers because the female lead doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.”
Therefore, you’ll see that most of the novels on my website will belong to this trope. Of course, there will be exceptions.
In the future, I also plan to write my own novels following this concept, where the female lead in my stories will never be the weaker party. I hope I can do it soon.
The novels I highly recommend will be listed under the category:
There will be exceptionally brilliant stories, but there will also be mediocre ones. As the Female-dominant (FEDO) genre has fewer authors and readers, the number of high-quality novels is limited.
Therefore, I want to promote this genre to reach a wider audience, which will encourage more talented authors to choose to write in this style, leading to the birth of more outstanding Female-dominant (FEDO) novels.
The Chinese versions of the novels I use for translation are all sourced from various websites on the internet. You know, I don’t have much budget to purchase so many novels.
Therefore, if your financial situation allows, please support the authors by purchasing the original works. You can find the original works using the Chinese titles of the novels.
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WARNING:
In some novels, there are certain unhealthy ideologies and illegal actions held by the main characters (for example, treating human lives as worthless, or casually deciding to kill someone, forcing others to do things they don’t want to do, arbitrarily imprisoning others, plotting to harm others, using violence to retaliate against violence,…).
This may be because the authors are still young and inexperienced, unaware that what they’re writing goes beyond moral standards and can negatively influence young readers.
It’s important that readers under 18 years old need to recognize these are illegal actions, not permitted to be carried out in real life, always keep a clear head while reading, treat these works only as entertainment, and don’t let yourself be influenced by those plot points.
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If you want to join me, support me, recommend novels, or simply want to connect with me privately, please contact me via email: yuushi.l.me@gmail.com
Or join my Discord to connect with others who share the same taste for novels:
With love and appreciation,
YUUSHI L
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*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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