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.

***

Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation (Female-dominant)

One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.

Intro:

To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.

But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.

It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.

This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.

Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.

Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.

“Let’s divorce!”

***

Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.

Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?

But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.

Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.

Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.

In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.

Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”

Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.

He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”

***

Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.

But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.

“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”

Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?

Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?

[Reading Guide]

1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.

2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.

Link to read

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