Once he stood before the Ministry of Rites to refute the rumors, those spreading rumors behind the scenes could bring up the matter of Xu Shi becoming pregnant during Old Madam Qin’s mourning period.

Then the question arose: whose child was in Xu Shi’s belly during that time?

If the child in Xu Shi’s belly was Qin Yongtao’s, then Qin Yongtao had actually done such a thing during the mourning period. Not only would Qin Yongtao’s future career be in jeopardy, but it would also greatly implicate Zhou Qin and Concubine Lian’s reputations.

If the child in Xu Shi’s belly was not Qin Yongtao’s, then the outside rumors could be confirmed, and Concubine Lian could very well be a bastard child born from Xu Shi’s affair with someone else. In this case, both Concubine Lian and Zhou Qin’s reputations would still be ruined.

Zhou Qin immediately understood Qin Yongtao’s meaning and was dumbfounded.

After working so hard for so long, was he going to be defeated by his grandfather and grandmother’s romantic escapades?!

Was this actually a dead end?

No, no, if that physician died…

A cold glint appeared in Zhou Qin’s eyes, but he immediately dismissed this thought. Since the other party already knew about Xu Shi’s affair, that physician was likely already in their hands.

In his rage and anxiety, Zhou Qin swept his arm across, sending all the writing implements on Qin Yongtao’s desk crashing to the floor with a clatter.

Qin Yongtao was so frightened he trembled and quickly knelt on the ground: “Your Highness, please calm your anger! It’s all our fault, we were too careless…”

Zhou Qin stared coldly at Qin Yongtao and spat out four words: “Utterly shameless!”

After cursing, Zhou Qin still wasn’t satisfied. He kicked over Qin Yongtao’s chair, then angrily sat in another chair, his voice cold: “Lord Qin, you created this mess, so you think carefully about how exactly to solve this matter!”

“Yes, yes, Your Highness…”

Qin Yongtao knelt on the ground, silently lamenting his bitter fate.

Who exactly was trying to harm them? This morning’s joy hadn’t even been savored before it had to turn into pain?

Who else could help him?

A pair of cold eyes suddenly flashed through his mind—Qin Shuying!

Right, that dead girl Qin Shuying had the most devious schemes. Don’t think he didn’t know that both Old Madam Liang and Luo Meixiang had fallen into her hands. Some time ago, even Fifth Prince’s consort had fallen to her.

Thinking of Qin Shuying reminded him of that black iron box. A flash of inspiration struck Qin Yongtao, and he immediately told Zhou Qin about it.

Zhou Qin’s expression grew even colder as he stared fiercely at Qin Yongtao, as if he wanted to bore a hole through him.

Where was even half the dignity Qin Yongtao should have as a grandfather?

He wiped away sweat and immediately had someone call the servant over, instructing the servant to hurry to the Liang residence to get the key.

The servant rushed to the Liang residence without stopping and soon delivered the key to Qin Yongtao.

Qin Yongtao opened the box with trembling hands. Inside was indeed a letter, though it was rather thick—calling it a small booklet would be more appropriate.

Qin Yongtao picked up the letter booklet to flip through it. Strangely, he didn’t know what kind of paper it was made from, but the pages were stuck together. He tried several times with his fingers but couldn’t turn the pages.

The more anxious he became, the less he could turn the pages.

Zhou Qin walked to Qin Yongtao’s side, and Qin Yongtao immediately handed the letter to Zhou Qin. Zhou Qin cast a disgusted glance at Qin Yongtao, who sheepishly squeezed the corners of his eyes.

Zhou Qin put his finger to his lips to wet it with saliva before turning the letter page.

Blank paper?

Zhou Qin tried to turn the second page but still couldn’t open it. So he wet his finger with saliva again.

This time, it was still blank paper?

Zhou Qin was furious and glanced at Qin Yongtao.

Qin Yongtao quickly took the letter booklet back from Zhou Qin and tried to flip through it himself.

Strange—after flipping through it all, he didn’t see a single word?

Seeing Zhou Qin’s face growing darker, Qin Yongtao quickly said angrily: “This, this Qin Shuying is simply causing trouble!”

Zhou Qin snorted: “This Qin Shuying is full of schemes—who knows what she’s really trying to do. Forget it, I’ll settle accounts with her later! Liang Zhe is said to be waking up soon, though who knows what will happen in the future! This prince wants to see if, now that this prince holds great power, Liang Zhe will still dare to give this prince attitude! Lord Qin, what other methods do you have to quell these rumors?”

Qin Yongtao wiped away sweat: “Your, Your Highness… I, I… we find the mastermind behind this, make a deal, and suppress this matter…”

“Do you think this prince hasn’t thought of that? Since they’ve already exposed everything, they never intended to make a deal!”

That was exactly the reasoning—the other party had no intention of resolving this matter privately. The other party wanted to place Zhou Qin in the whirlwind of public opinion, wanted Zhou Qin to panic!

Before coming to the Qin residence, Zhou Qin had already consulted with his advisors, discussing every aspect in detail.

After pacing around irritably several times, Zhou Qin asked: “Lord Qin, who do you think could have done this?”

“This…”

It wasn’t that Qin Yongtao hadn’t thought about it, but he really couldn’t figure out who could know the Qin family’s affairs so clearly and have such a tight grip on his weakness.

Moreover, since they knew about the shameful acts of Qin Yongtao and Xu Shi, why didn’t they speak up earlier or later, but chose to speak up today?

After discussing for a while longer, Zhou Qin began to feel short of breath. He thought it was just from being so angry and didn’t pay attention. Since they couldn’t come up with any solutions, he angrily berated Qin Yongtao again before leaving.

As soon as Zhou Qin left, Qin Yongtao collapsed onto the ground.

My goodness, why was his chest so tight and his breathing so short? It was so uncomfortable.

Could it be from anger?

That was understandable—he had indeed been quite angry today. Who was this damned person who had done such a thing!

Qin Yongtao rested for a while, but his chest felt even tighter. Without thinking much about it, he lay down on the bed in his study for a short rest.

When dinner time came and the servant still didn’t see Qin Yongtao come out of his study, he knocked on the door several times with no response. The servant was puzzled and went to ask the steward for instructions.

When the steward pushed open the door and looked inside, Qin Yongtao’s entire body was stiff—he was dead!

The steward was shocked and ran out screaming.

When Steward Qin learned the news and rushed over, he nearly stumbled—the master was really dead!

Soon, Dong Shi learned the news and immediately sent someone to call Qin Kaiyu back while tears flowed. She also sent people to report to Qin Kaile in the south, and to Concubine Lian in the palace, as well as to the young mistresses.

That night the Qin residence was brightly lit, with people changing lanterns and delivering mourning materials, bustling with activity.

Steward Qin rubbed his hands and paced anxiously outside the study. Why hadn’t Second Master returned yet? The male heir in the family was Second Master, and without Second Master back, many things couldn’t be done.

Just as he was worrying, the steward who had discovered Qin Yongtao’s death came stumbling in: “Head, Head Steward, Sixth Prince, Sixth Prince is seriously ill…”

“What did you say?!”

“I went to the prince’s mansion to report the death, and the head steward of the prince’s mansion told me that His Highness was seriously ill and unconscious, and that Second Master was at the prince’s mansion. I told the prince’s mansion’s head steward and came back first. Second Master should return soon.”

Indeed, before long, Qin Kaiyu rushed in. Qin Yongtao had been cleaned up but not yet placed in the coffin, waiting for Qin Kaiyu.

Qin Kaiyu rushed to the bedside and stared wide-eyed at Qin Yongtao.

Steward Qin thought Qin Kaiyu couldn’t believe Qin Yongtao’s sudden death, so he offered a few words of comfort.

After a while, Qin Kaiyu’s expression still hadn’t changed, his eyes still staring straight at Qin Yongtao. Steward Qin was afraid that young Qin Kaiyu was frightened by Qin Yongtao’s death, which would be problematic.

Steward Qin went to pull Qin Kaiyu, who finally came to his senses and said to Steward Qin: “Have everyone else leave. I have something to ask you.”

This was quite normal, and all the unrelated people in the room immediately left completely.