Yu Ye was slightly surprised: “Empress Dowager, that’s your treasured item. It can heal wounds and nourish the skin when applied. Even you only have one bottle. Are you really going to send it to Official Qiu?”

Qin Qing raised a fine eyebrow, the light in his eyes speaking volumes.

He placed Qiu Shuzhi by Yue Shen’s side, waiting for exactly this result. When she had worn away all her loyalty to this emperor, he would show a little goodwill, and then Qiu Shuzhi could be used for his own purposes.

But Qin Qing never expected that his well-laid plans would be completely ineffective with Yue Shen.

While Qiu Shuzhi appeared to be having a hard time on the surface, in reality she couldn’t be more comfortable.

Every day, the young emperor summoned her to the Imperial Study, dismissed the little spy Yu Zhi, and the two of them acted as ordinary teacher and student in the Imperial Study. Qiu Shuzhi explained the Four Books and Five Classics and the history of Great Qi to her. When the young emperor got tired of listening, she would tell her about interesting folk customs and stories.

Occasionally, to avoid arousing Yu Zhi’s suspicions, the young emperor would suddenly shout and scold her a couple of times, then continue their quiet activities.

In front of her, the young emperor was an obedient and well-behaved student, reminding her of her time as a tutor in her previous life.

How to put it, Qiu Shuzhi felt she was doing pretty well with her top boss.

“Is Your Majesty tired?” Qiu Shuzhi put down the book and asked, looking at Yue Shen whose eyelids were drooping.

Yue Shen covered her mouth and yawned, looking somewhat weary.

She closed the book: “If Your Majesty is tired, then this subject will take her leave.”

“Don’t go!” Yue Shen grabbed her hand: “Qiu darling, stay with me a little longer.”

In this deep and lonely palace, she had no one to rely on and no one to trust. Only when by Qiu Shuzhi’s side did she feel some comfort, making her feel at ease.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded, thinking that this young emperor must be quite lonely, having to deal with the Empress Dowager and ministers everywhere in the palace.

“Qiu darling, I heard them say that not only is your poetry exceptional, but your painting is also superb?”

Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly: “That’s just people’s exaggerated praise.”

Yue Shen rested her head on the table, her round eyes looking at her sideways: “You literati are always so modest. I know you must paint very well. Will you paint something for me?”

Her tone rarely contained a hint of childlike pleading. The young emperor was only fifteen years old, still a middle school student in modern times, yet had to face such a complex situation. At an age that should have been brilliant and pure, she was already prematurely old. She probably hadn’t enjoyed any childish fun.

Qiu Shuzhi didn’t want to disappoint her and nodded in agreement.

But she had no painting colors now, only a brush, an inkstone, and a sheet of rough paper.

A landscape painting was out of the question, as the ink would easily blur into a mess on the thin paper.

Qiu Shuzhi had an idea after a moment’s thought.

She picked up the brush and lightly sketched a few strokes on the rough paper with the finest brush tip, and a simple pattern appeared on the paper.

The young emperor’s eyes widened in surprise: “What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

She looked curiously at the drawing on the paper, momentarily forgetting even the imperial form of address.

“This is Aladdin’s magic lamp.”

Qiu Shuzhi had drawn a rough sketch of the magic lamp and genie on the rough paper, in a style similar to modern simple line drawings. She had originally wanted to draw Calabash Brothers, but thinking that those seven bare-chested little boys appearing in a female-dominated country might not be appropriate, she changed it to this.

“Aladdin’s magic lamp?” the young emperor asked curiously. “Is this another legendary story?”

Qiu Shuzhi told her the legend of the magic lamp, which was both interesting and educational. She truly treated herself as a real teacher in her teaching.

The young emperor listened intently, murmuring: “If only I had such a magic lamp, I wouldn’t be greedy. Three wishes would suffice. First, to eliminate treacherous officials and make Great Qi prosper forever; second, for my subjects to live in peace and contentment; third…”

When it came to the third wish, she glanced inadvertently at Qiu Shuzhi, probably feeling it was too childish and didn’t continue.

The movements of Yu Zhi guarding outside gradually became louder. Qiu Shuzhi tidied up the paper and brush, silently kneeling at Yue Shen’s feet: “Your Majesty, let’s end here for today!”

The young emperor was somewhat disappointed, looking at the setting sun in the west. Time always passed so quickly when she was with Qiu Shuzhi.

She carefully folded the paper with the magic lamp drawing and put it in her bosom, then scattered a large pile of neatly copied scriptures that Qiu Shuzhi had prepared earlier on the ground.

Yu Zhi’s footsteps were getting closer, and Yue Shen also composed herself, sitting back as the high and mighty emperor.

When Yu Zhi pushed open the door and entered, he saw copied scriptures scattered all over the ground like snowflakes. Qiu Shuzhi was kneeling at Her Majesty’s feet, her straight back rising like a pine or cypress.

Yue Shen frowned, using her toe to press against Qiu Shuzhi’s shoulder and pushing hard: “I told you to copy ‘The Book of History’ one hundred times, and in an afternoon you’ve only copied fifty times. Qiu Shuzhi, I see you don’t take me seriously at all.”

Yu Zhi’s heart ached seeing Qiu Shuzhi fall to the ground like a fallen leaf.

In reality, Yue Shen had very cleverly controlled her strength. The seemingly forceful push actually didn’t hurt much, it just looked frightening. They were both skilled actors, and their superb performances successfully deceived Yu Zhi’s eyes.

Qiu Shuzhi fell to the ground: “This humble servant knows her mistake. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Yue Shen snorted coldly, turning her back and waving her hand coldly: “Get out now. If you don’t hand in 100 copies tomorrow, I’ll chop off your head.”

Yu Zhi hurriedly helped her up and supported her out of the Imperial Study.

“Official Qiu, you’ve suffered,” Yu Zhi said softly, his gentle voice tinged with heartache as it sounded by her ear. “You are the dignified third-ranking scholar. How could Her Majesty treat you like this? Even I, a mere servant, really can’t bear to watch.”

Qiu Shuzhi knew Yu Zhi was Qin Qing’s person, and understood that all the words he was saying now contained hidden probes.

She again recalled what Yue Guanyi had said to her that day in the villa.

She sighed and said: “Who told Her Majesty to be the ruler and me to be the subject? Besides serving Her Majesty, I have nowhere else to go. Nevertheless, thank you for your kindness, Young Master Yu Zhi. This humble official will remember it in her heart.”

Yu Zhi had been seeing Qiu Shuzhi daily during this period. She was beautiful and had a good personality. Even though Yu Zhi approached her with a purpose, he couldn’t help but develop a hint of fondness for Qiu Shuzhi. The more he liked Qiu Shuzhi, the more he worried about her situation, hoping she could completely stand on the Empress Dowager’s side.

He took out the soft jade ointment sent by the Empress Dowager and quietly placed it in her hand: “The Empress Dowager knows about Her Majesty deliberately making things difficult for you, and ordered this servant to make sure to deliver this to you. Apply this soft jade ointment on your hands, and they will heal.”

Qiu Shuzhi held the small porcelain bottle in her hand, gratefully saying: “The Empress Dowager is benevolent and loving. This humble official is deeply grateful.”

Yu Zhi smiled, pressing his lips together: “The Empress Dowager doesn’t need your gratitude. You just need to remember that even if Her Majesty doesn’t like you, the Empress Dowager cares about you. For a talented scholar like you, only by standing on the right side can you soar with the wind.”

Qiu Shuzhi slowly nodded: “Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Yu Zhi. This humble official understands.”