Chapter 91 Persuading the Empress Dowager

Qiu Shuzhi was stunned for a moment. She never imagined that Lan’er was actually Jiang Si, who was supposed to be dead.

But the order to execute Jiang Si was given by Qin Zheng. Why would she risk keeping Jiang Si alive and hiding him by her side?

“Why?” she asked.

Yue Guanyi’s eyelids were half-closed. After a moment of silence, he said, “Does Lady Qiu remember when you were chasing the assassin at the hunting grounds and your arm was cut by the assassin’s hidden weapon?”

Qiu Shuzhi nodded, “Of course I remember.”

Although the wound on her arm had healed, for some reason it would still occasionally feel itchy.

“He placed a gu poison in your body,” Yue Guanyi stared intently at Qiu Shuzhi’s reaction. “He is the only one who can remove the gu. If he dies, the gu poison in your body will activate. So he absolutely cannot die. I had to protect him no matter what.”

“……”

Her silence made Yue Guanyi extremely nervous. His fingers tightly clutched the hem of his clothes. “Is Lady Qiu upset that I didn’t tell you about this? I just didn’t want to worry you.”

“……No.” Qiu Shuzhi stroked his long hair. “You’ve already torn apart your relationship with Qin Zheng for my sake. How could I blame you? Has the gu poison in my body been removed?”

Yue Guanyi’s phoenix eyes darkened. “Not yet. No matter how much I interrogated and tortured him, he still refused to reveal the final ingredient to remove the gu. Without the final ingredient, this gu poison will remain buried in Lady Qiu’s body, and we don’t know when it might activate… Lady Qiu, I’m useless…”

Qiu Shuzhi placed a light kiss on the side of his face. “Jiang Si is no ordinary man. The gu poison in my body is his only leverage to stay alive in the capital. Of course he wouldn’t easily reveal the final ingredient. Severe interrogation won’t work on him. Sometimes, a roundabout approach is better than torture.”

Qiu Shuzhi furrowed her brows tightly. “Now the King of Dian is eyeing the Central Plains with hostility, intending to take control. There’s also friction between Gu Zheng and the Empress Dowager. These internal and external troubles really worry me.”

Yue Guanyi’s expression also became grave. “The Embroidered Uniform Guard told me that Qin Zheng is already critically ill and won’t live much longer. Gu Zheng is already making frequent moves. Once Qin Zheng dies, she will certainly become more unrestrained, extensively rallying the Qin family’s forces to compete with the Empress Dowager. Before, when the court was completely controlled by the Qin family, the King of Dian was wary. But if the Qin family falls apart internally, the King of Dian will have no more worries.”

“Gu Zheng’s calculations are indeed clever, but everything is subject to change,” Qiu Shuzhi said lightly. “After Qin Zheng’s death, except for those who have sided with Gu Zheng, the entire Qin clan will follow the Empress Dowager’s lead. This is our opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” Yue Guanyi frowned slightly.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded. “Although the Empress Dowager is from the Qin family, he’s not a fool. He is the Empress Dowager of the Great Qi Nation, the emperor’s father. No matter what, the emperor will respect and revere him. Rather than fighting with Gu Zheng to mutual destruction, it’s better to use the name of imperial power to brand Gu Zheng as a traitor and cut off her foundation before her forces are consolidated.”

“You want to win over the Empress Dowager to our side?” Yue Guanyi’s heart tightened.

“Yes.”

Yue Guanyi’s breath almost stopped. He took Qiu Shuzhi’s hand. “Lady Qiu, the Empress Dowager is not so easily persuaded.”

He said this with ulterior motives. Currently, the Empress Dowager stands in opposition to them, and to avoid suspicion, Lady Qiu has rarely had contact with the Empress Dowager. But if the Empress Dowager turns to their side, Lady Qiu will inevitably have more contact with him in the court in the future.

A burning fire rose in Yue Guanyi’s heart. He didn’t want that old widower to get close to his Lady Qiu.

“I know that, of course,” Qiu Shuzhi sighed softly, her eyes filled with deep concern. “But if we don’t maintain temporary stability in the court and gain a moment to catch our breath, I’m afraid the King of Dian’s army will already be at our borders.”

“Lady Qiu……” Yue Guanyi murmured, feeling guilty as he saw the weariness in Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes.

Lady Qiu was exhausting herself for the sake of the country, and he was hindering her out of jealousy and narrow-mindedness. His pale face lost even more color. A filthy thing like him – it was already a great blessing that Lady Qiu was willing to marry him. What right did he have to interfere with her choices?

Even if Lady Qiu really did have an affair with the Empress Dowager, so what? Women should naturally have three husbands and four attendants.

He nestled in Qiu Shuzhi’s embrace, his voice tinged with both fear and determination: “Although the Empress Dowager is shrewd, what you say is not without merit. If Lady Qiu wants to do this, then do it.”

In Qingning Palace, jade orchids fell in disarray like clouds and mist. Passing through layers of swirling clouds and lifting the swaying pearl curtains, Qiu Shuzhi saw a face of exquisite and mournful beauty.

Qin Qing looked much more haggard than before her marriage. His appearance was still as beautiful and peerless as ever, but there was always a faint sadness rising in his eyes. He still wore heavy, ink-black formal robes, but no longer looked as elegant and radiant as when they first met. A sense of desperate loneliness constantly emanated from him.

“Empress Dowager.” Qiu Shuzhi knelt before him, speaking softly.

Qin Qing slightly raised his eyes, his gentle features filled with melancholy. “You’ve finally deigned to leave your beloved husband to see me? How come… this time you’re not calling me Father Dowager?”

Qiu Shuzhi’s thin lips pressed tightly together, not saying a word.

But suddenly Qin Qing’s expression became agitated. He gripped her shoulders, his eyes, previously like dead water, now churning with endless waves. The emotions he had been holding back were all released in this moment: “Back then, you protected him so much in front of everyone. Do you really like him that much? Willing to do anything to marry him. What kind of love potion did that slut give you? Making you disregard my true feelings and hurt me like this?”

“I never meant to hurt the Empress Dowager,” Qiu Shuzhi looked at Qin Qing’s frenzied expression. “If the Empress Dowager feels that I have hurt you, I am willing to accept punishment.”

Qin Qing’s expression froze. The fingers gripping her shoulders seemed about to sink into her flesh, his knuckles cracking.

He gritted his teeth and said fiercely, “Very well, then I shall punish you properly.”

He leaned forward, his arms tightly encircling her waist, and sealed her lips with his own.

Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes widened. They were committing an act of incest. She wanted to retreat, but Qin Qing clung to her desperately, pressing her backwards.

Qin Qing’s body was burning hot, his eyes full of greed, anger, and surging, unrestrained desire.

Like a drowning man, he desperately sought life from her mouth. The air was filled with the sound of their mingling breaths.

This was the warmth he had longed for for so long. On their wedding night, he had sat at the bedside, staring at her portrait all night.

The thought of Qiu Shuzhi and Yue Guanyi being intimate in the bridal chamber made his heart feel as if it had been drained of blood, pierced by needles. But now it was different. Qiu Shuzhi was by his side, kissing him, embracing him. All that he had lost before, he could now reclaim.

“Empress Dowager… what we’re doing goes against human ethics,” Qiu Shuzhi lay silently on the ground, her eyes like ice, but her tone extremely calm.

No matter how he tried to please her, her eyes remained devoid of any trace of desire.

Qin Qing suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him to the bone.

“Against human ethics?” A hint of madness flashed in his eyes. He leaned over her, vindictively biting her mouth.

Warm blood immediately flowed out. He obsessively licked and sucked in her mouth. With crimson blood on his lips, his beautiful features appeared even more bewitching and enchanting, like a succubus.

He swallowed the fresh blood in his mouth, a trace of blood remaining at the corner of his lips. He raised a smile of vindictive satisfaction, though there was also a hint of sorrow in that smile.

“What does it matter if it’s against human ethics? Qiu Shuzhi, you were the one who provoked me first. In this life, don’t even think about leaving me. With my current status, who can restrain me?” Beneath his luxurious robes, his eyes were filled with infinite madness and uncontrollable violence.

Qiu Shuzhi slowly sat up, wiping away the blood from the corner of her mouth. She met his gaze and smiled, “Does the Empress Dowager really think that no one can do anything to you now?”

She stood up, looking down at the man she once had to look up to and flatter: “Elder Qin is not long for this world. Gu Zheng’s forces, which once served at your beck and call, are gradually growing stronger, about to be in a position to compete with you.”

Qin Qing scoffed, “So what? Even so, Gu Zheng can’t keep me in check.”

Qiu Shuzhi smiled slightly, “Gu Zheng, as a married-in wife, has endured for so many years. Once she gains power, the Qin family will be the first to suffer, and the court will no longer be your domain.”

Qin Qing raised his head, something seemed to be surging in the undercurrents of his eyes, revealing a twisted hatred: “You came today just to talk to me about Gu Zheng? Qiu Shuzhi, did you ever care about me at all?”

Qiu Shuzhi looked at him calmly, “It’s precisely because I care about the Empress Dowager that I’ve come to you. You’ve looked after me for so long, I really can’t bear to see you worrying yourself to death over Gu Zheng’s affairs.”

Qin Qing’s emotions finally calmed down: “What else can I do? Back then, Qin Zheng and I misjudged her, elevating that ungrateful wolf to a high position. Now, even if I want to stop her, I don’t have the power.”

“Empress Dowager, you still have one chance,” Qiu Shuzhi pulled him up from the cold floor, her warm palm touching his slightly cool hand. “If you could join forces with the Crown Prince, using imperial authority, naturally you wouldn’t fear not being able to suppress her.”

Qin Qing seemed to suddenly withdraw from her gentleness, laughing self-mockingly, his voice desolate and resolute: “I thought you really cared about me, but it turns out you’re also calculating. You’re all calculating against me.”

“Empress Dowager.” Qiu Shuzhi cupped his face, her gaze directly meeting his eyes: “This is not calculation. You only have this one way out right now. If the court isn’t stabilized quickly, the King of Dian will come crashing down on us. Now is not the time for personal sentiments.”

Qin Qing was jolted awake by her words: “But I… If I join forces with the Crown Prince, it means joining forces with the Emperor. But you know the things the Qin family has done before. Once the Emperor gains real power, it will be hard for me and the Qin family to escape disaster in the future.”

Qiu Shuzhi’s gaze was gentle and calm, as if all his concerns were within her expectations: “Don’t forget, you are the current Empress Dowager, you are the Emperor’s father. Even if that day really comes, the fire won’t reach your head.”