"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.
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.
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