He wished he could flay Liangchun alive, break his limbs and sell him to a brothel, to make him as low as dirt, never to appear before Qiu Niang again, never to seduce Qiu Niang, never to steal Qiu Niang’s affection for him, to make him suffer torment day and night, forever in pain.

“If Qiu Niang likes him, this servant thinks… perhaps make him a… concubine.”

The words “concubine” were uttered with almost all the strength Yue Guanyi had left in his chest. His inner self was rotting, consumed by jealousy. He was nearly driven mad with envy.

Before getting married, he thought he could be a good primary husband to Qiu Niang, without jealousy or resentment. But now that the day had come, he suddenly realized how absurd his previous thoughts were. He had just become her husband, and already he couldn’t tolerate her cousin and a mere Liangchun in her back courtyard.

Wild jealousy tore and shredded his heart. Possessiveness took root in the crevices of his bones, feeding on his blood. Sharp rootlets soaked in his fresh blood, piercing his heart, expanding wantonly in the shattered pieces of his [censored]. Dark possessiveness blotted out the sky, devouring all wavering reason.

He wanted Qiu Niang to love him.

An almost absurd thought suddenly sprang up in his mind.

In the past, he would have been overjoyed if Qiu Niang could give him just a little bit of affection, even if that insignificant liking was like teasing a cat or dog, just looking at him as a pet to play with and admire. He would have knelt at Qiu Niang’s feet in gratitude.

But now he had changed.

Qiu Niang’s gentleness towards him had magnified his greed.

Greed soared upward, constantly amplifying his heinous thoughts that had long been hidden in dark corners, enlarging them again and again until they twisted into a burning flame, igniting blood and scorching bones. His befuddled reason was refined into vapor by the extreme heat…

“Is that really what you think?” Qiu Shuzhi tilted up his chin.

Yue Guanyi raised his head, phoenix eyes gradually filling with tears, his nails turning a pale blue from twisted curling.

“I… I…” His thin lips drained of all color, fragile and pale as thin paper.

His whole body trembled as the devouring, expanding greed and possessiveness and his instinctive desire to please Qiu Niang crawled out from between his bones. The fierce flames intertwined, tearing and slashing his sanity, finally turning him into a twisted monster, a monster that could only be sustained by Qiu Niang’s love.

“Qiu Niang—” He let out a cry like the wail of a young beast.

No longer able to endure the torment tearing at his heart, he threw himself into her arms, inhaling her addictive scent.

He clutched her waist tightly, like constantly squeezing vines, wishing he could meld himself into her body. The tighter they pressed together, the more he couldn’t breathe, only then could his nearly suffocating heart get a breath of salvation.

He didn’t want to, he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to—Qiu Niang was his wife-master, his alone. What right did those covetous people have to share his wife-master’s favor?

His inner self screamed madly.

But Qiu Shuzhi couldn’t hear any of this. The torment, suffering, sinking, madness—it was all his ordeal alone.

Qiu Shuzhi felt her waist was about to be broken by his grip. His hands were like dodder clinging to a big tree, fitting tightly without a gap.

“I know you don’t want to,” Qiu Shuzhi gently embraced his overly fragile shoulders, softly stroking his hair. “After the situation stabilizes, I’ll send him away.”

In an instant, all the roaring waves stopped.

Yue Guanyi looked up blankly, his reddened eyes full of disbelief.

Qiu Shuzhi smiled faintly, kissing his slightly upturned eye corners, her thin lips slowly brushing to his ear to softly tell him about that night.

The most plain tone, yet to Yue Guanyi’s ears it was the most beautiful love song in the world, each word seeming to strike the tip of his heart.

Qiu Niang would send Liangchun away—Qiu Niang didn’t like Liangchun—

His calmed heart suddenly rippled, the ripples spreading layer by layer, converging into a world-destroying tidal wave, extinguishing the raging fire, yet carrying every melted scrap of flesh and blood to form a vortex.

At this moment, all words and emotions became shallow decorations. Yue Guanyi’s heart was filled with thousands of inexpressible loves, wishing he could open his heart to her right now.

He threw himself at her recklessly, not caring about male virtues and etiquette. At this moment, he cared for nothing. His twisted greed could not be released; only Qiu Niang… Qiu Niang…

He licked her lips, her tongue, swallowing them into his mouth like a devout believer.

Not enough, not enough, still far from enough… Qiu Niang belonged to him alone, him alone.

He called Qiu Shuzhi’s name over and over again, his mouth full and sticky.

Yesterday’s wedding joy still lingered faintly today. He took advantage of this remnant heat to indulge himself one more time. The confidential letters on the table were carelessly pushed to the ground, the fluttering pages falling like snowflakes, scattered messily to one side.

Inside Qingning Palace, a gloomy atmosphere loomed like dark clouds pressing down on the city, destroying everything in its path.

Qin Qing held a brush in his hand, its tip dyed with red ink, poised to make notations on the pile of memorials. But the red remained suspended in mid-air, unwilling to fall.

Finally, the red ink congealed on the brush tip could no longer support itself and dripped a drop of red ink onto the memorial, blurring into a vague red plum blossom.

Qin Qing stared intently at that red plum stain, his calm gaze gradually surging with waves, his chest heaving more and more, gripping the brush tighter and tighter in his hand, until—

Snap—

The brush was forcefully broken, the crisp sound seeming to explode in the silent room.

Yu Ye hesitantly stepped forward, prepared to give him another brush, but unexpectedly Qin Qing suddenly went mad, sweeping all the memorials before him to the ground, even smashing the priceless Huimo ink stick and Duan inkstone.

Yu Ye shrank his shoulders in fright.

“That slut Yue Guanyi still hasn’t attended court today.” Qin Qing slammed heavily on the table, gritting his teeth in hatred.

Yu Ye carefully picked up the memorials from the ground: “Today is the third day after the Crown Prince’s wedding. By the calendar, he should come to court tomorrow… But tomorrow Madam Qiu can return home with His Highness to pay respects to you… You’ll be able to see him then.”

Qin Qing’s dark eyes were bone-chillingly cold, his voice almost bursting through clenched teeth: “Three days without attending morning court, that slut is really living comfortably.”

“Indeed he is, His Highness has now gotten his wish,” Yu Ye smiled, pursing his lips. “According to reports from the servant we sent, on the wedding night, the Crown Prince’s voice was so… wanton! His Highness kept begging for more, the bed creaking until late into the night. Even the married palace servants guarding outside blushed red to their ears hearing it.”

“Not only that, this servant also heard that on the first day of marriage, His Highness pulled Madam Qiu into broad daylight lovemaking, truly losing face for the royal family.”

Qin Qing curled his lips in a cold sneer: “Yue Guanyi is a product trained in brothels. He may have no other skills, but his bedroom abilities are naturally first-rate. Otherwise, how could he have stayed in brothels for so many years…”

And how else could he have seduced Qiu Shuzhi, making her lose her mind and marry such damaged goods, even doting on him so preciously.

Qin Qing’s meticulously manicured nails dug deeply into the edge of the table, his eyes filled with jealousy and hatred like festering poison.