Qu Linglong’s expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of panic. She only said very politely, “Linglong has been discourteous.”

Mu Tianxiang raised an eyebrow and said to Zhou Qin, “Your Highness, look at this child—what a capable little mouth she has. She broke such a precious item without even furrowing her brow. This bearing of hers is not something ordinary people can compare to.”

Zhou Qin only smiled without speaking.

Before the Mu family’s downfall, when Imperial Concubine Mother summoned him to speak, her implied meaning was to find a way to suppress Qin Shuying and then take the wealth in Qin Shuying’s hands for their own use.

But with Liang Zhe standing in front, Zhou Qin and Lianpin had no way to accomplish this.

Lianpin felt displeased, so she had jabbed at Qin Shuying several times at the ice sculpture banquet.

After the Mu family’s downfall, Lianpin’s attitude toward Qin Shuying changed instantly, and Zhou Qin naturally changed his attitude as well.

This Qin Shuying was eerily fortunate!

Since there was a relationship of broken bones still connected by tendons, of course it was best to quickly repair their relationship.

Actually, ever since Qin Shuying was granted marriage to Liang Zhe, Zhou Qin had always advocated maintaining good relations with Qin Shuying. But Lianpin was, after all, a woman with limited vision, which led her to develop wavering thoughts.

Ultimately, it was still the wealth in Qin Shuying’s hands that had moved Lianpin’s heart.

Now, she probably had no less than three hundred thousand taels of silver in her possession…

Qin Shuying smiled and said, “Princess Consort, our Earl’s residence may lack other things, but we have plenty of jewelry and ornaments. I usually give Linglong stacks of them to play with. If she breaks them, so be it; if she loses them, so be it—we’ve never made a fuss about it. So when you dropped this jade pendant, Princess Consort, she simply thought you were like her uncle, finding it fun to drop jade pendants. After all, we’re family. I know the Prince’s residence is financially tight, and with your natal family’s downfall, you probably don’t have much on hand. Don’t worry, Princess Consort—our Linglong will just randomly pick something to compensate you with later, something even better than this piece. I guarantee you won’t suffer any loss.”

Mu Tianxiang’s eyes narrowed slightly. This Qin Shuying still had the same temperament—sharp-tongued and capable of infuriating people with her words.

Mu Tianxiang smiled and said, “The Heir Apparent’s wife is still so considerate, unlike those who lack discernment and think this Princess Consort will have to live according to their moods from now on.”

Qin Shuying smiled. “The Princess Consort speaks truly. With such a virtuous wife as the Princess Consort, His Highness will surely succeed in everything, and Imperial Concubine Lian will surely be able to rest easy.”

Knowing Lianpin’s thoughts, yet Qin Shuying was mocking her like this—Mu Tianxiang secretly resented Qin Shuying’s cunning, but smiled faintly: “The Heir Apparent’s wife flatters me.”

Then, she looked at Liang Zhen with a beaming smile: “No wonder all the ladies in the capital say that Miss Liang has extraordinary bearing. Seeing her today, she truly lives up to her reputation.”

Liang Zhen smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Liang Zhe sat to the side drinking tea with Zhou Qin, seemingly paying no attention to everything before him.

Seeing that Liang Zhen had a dignified demeanor and simply smiled it off without being easily bullied, Mu Tianxiang didn’t pursue the matter further and instead began making small talk.

Seeing that the women had settled down, Zhou Qin began conversing with Liang Zhe.

“Lord Liang, this spring has brought favorable weather, and everyone says this year’s harvest will surely be good. To have such a bountiful year after the earthquake—it seems Heaven protects Great Zhou. What fortune for us all!”

Liang Zhe nodded. “It’s all due to His Majesty’s great virtue—a blessing for all the people of Great Zhou.”

“Lord Liang speaks truly. Now the northwest is peaceful, the south prosperous, the east wealthy, with clear seas and calm rivers. This is precisely the time for righteous warriors with great ambitions like Deputy Commissioner Liang to display their talents!”

Liang Zhe said, “Zhe is but a simple military man who only knows how to march and fight. Though the Western Nation has calmed down considerably, we must still guard against their wolfish ambitions. If the borders are threatened, Zhe will go to the frontier at any time, willing to die ten thousand deaths. Beyond this, Zhe has no other talents and dare not accept Your Highness’s praise of being a righteous warrior.”

Zhou Qin laughed heartily. “Lord Liang is too modest.”

“These are words from the heart—I dare not deceive Your Highness.”

“Lord Liang can speak truthfully to Fourth Brother, so why can’t you speak truthfully to this Prince?”

Liang Zhe’s serene expression remained unchanged, as if he couldn’t understand Zhou Qin’s implied meaning at all. He leisurely drank a cup of tea before saying, “Since Your Highness doesn’t trust this official, this official has nothing more to say.”

Zhou Qin secretly resented Liang Zhe’s consistent attitude of being like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

He had hinted many times in front of Liang Zhe that he wanted Liang Zhe’s assistance, but Liang Zhe always just smiled, neither agreeing to help nor refusing. Zhou Qin had also tried to create obstacles for Liang Zhe and then step forward to help, but Liang Zhe was very cunning and always skirted around the edges, never falling into the trap.

However, as long as Liang Zhe didn’t help others, Zhou Qin was happy to see it.

But Liang Zhe and Fourth Imperial Brother had a life-and-death friendship from the northwest, and Fourth Imperial Brother seemed to have no intention of competing for the throne, appearing quite neutral, yet Fourth Imperial Brother showed great respect for the Crown Prince.

Going around in circles, it meant that Liang Zhe was on the Crown Prince’s side.

Liang Zhe being on the Crown Prince’s side seemed fine. The Crown Prince was legitimate, and barring any accidents, the empire would surely belong to the Crown Prince in the future.

Otherwise, why would Emperor Delong establish a Crown Prince?

But…

But their father wasn’t dead yet, was he?

As long as Emperor Delong was still alive, nothing was certain, and future matters were hard to predict.

Looking at previous dynasties, after establishing a crown prince, wasn’t the transfer of imperial power still a matter of a single thought?

So the Fifth Prince wanted to compete, and he, Zhou Qin, also wanted to fight. Previously there was a Seventh Imperial Brother, but now that Seventh Imperial Brother had withdrawn, Fifth Imperial Brother and himself certainly couldn’t slack off.

From four competing for one to three competing for one—how could this be described as cause for celebration?

At this point, without speaking plainly, if Liang Zhe continued helping the Crown Prince, it would be very disadvantageous to himself.

Zhou Qin said, “Lord Liang, this Prince has always believed that since Lady Liang and Imperial Concubine Mother come from the same family, emotionally they should be closer than others. But upon careful consideration, Lord Liang seems to have considerable prejudice against this Prince and Imperial Concubine Mother. I wonder where these prejudices come from?”

A flash of light appeared in Liang Zhe’s eyes. Where did the prejudices come from?

The first time he saw Qin Shuying was in the palace, where he personally heard how Qin Shuying cleverly escaped from Lianpin’s hands. If Lianpin had succeeded that time, if Qin Shuying had been beaten by Imperial Concubine De and her reputation ruined, she wouldn’t have been able to appear before everyone afterward, and he, Liang Zhe, wouldn’t have been able to marry such a good wife as Qin Shuying.

You almost made him, Liang Zhe, remain a bachelor, and you still ask where the prejudices come from?

Add to that Zhou Qin’s conspiracy with Qin Yongtao before the imperial marriage decree to marry Qin Shuying to Chang Daocheng, plus Lianpin’s pressure at the traveling palace and all the incidents at the ice sculpture banquet—Zhou Qin still had the face to ask where the prejudices came from?

Since Zhou Qin had the face to turn a blind eye to such matters and offered his face to be slapped, if he, Liang Zhe, didn’t slap back, wouldn’t he be failing to appreciate Sixth Prince’s kind intentions?

So Liang Zhe said, “Your Highness says that Imperial Concubine Lian and my wife are emotionally closer than others—I wonder where this statement comes from? As far as I know, when my father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away, Imperial Concubine Lian never showed concern for my wife, but instead took all of my wife’s jewelry and ornaments for her own use. Could it be that Imperial Concubine Lian’s concern is somehow different from others’? Speaking of prejudices, Your Highness seems to have some misunderstanding. My wife cannot bear Imperial Concubine Lian’s concern, but she has never embarrassed Imperial Concubine Lian in front of outsiders.”