Qin Shuying looked toward this legendary Crown Prince who was said to have lackluster political achievements, a weak constitution, and was even described as spineless.

He was thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, of above-average height, and though his appearance couldn’t compare to his outstanding younger brothers, he was still gentle as jade, emanating the aura of a modest gentleman throughout his being.

His complexion was ruddy, his steps steady, not at all like the weakness described in the rumors. His smile was warm and gentle, yet having long been the heir apparent, he naturally possessed a dignity that could not be ignored.

If one didn’t know him, they would probably mistake him for the dean of some famous academy. Refined and scholarly, with a distinctly literary temperament, yet quite dignified.

Following closely behind him was the Fourth Prince. He was tall and well-built, with skin darker than the other three princes, and his features appeared more resolute and decisive—clearly a military man. After all, he was a general who had been on battlefields and killed enemies; the heroic aura about him was something the Crown Prince and the other three princes lacked.

With the Crown Prince present, the Fifth Prince would certainly restrain his aura, but that sharp and shrewd feeling was still impossible to dispel.

The Sixth Prince was different from what Qin Shuying had seen before. His smile made people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze, very much displaying the demeanor of a leisurely prince.

The Seventh Prince was devastatingly handsome, and his smile easily gave people a sense of harmlessness. However, whether he was truly harmless or shrewdly reserved was impossible to say.

Everyone stood aside, divided into two groups, to let the imperial family pass through.

When passing by Yun Jingshu, Princess Fu’an had sharp eyes and saw the book in her hands. At this moment, Yun Jingshu seemed to have forgotten to close the book, so Princess Fu’an suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” and said, “Miss Yun, what is that thing in your hands? Why are these people not wearing clothes? How unseemly!”

Yun Jingshu seemed startled, stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing, saying, “Your Highness, it’s, it’s…” Yun Jingshu looked at the title page, “It’s ‘Ingenious Brush Chronicles.’ Your Highness, this book doesn’t belong to this subject, it’s, it’s… it belongs to Seventh Miss Qin and Miss Lin who were reading it. This subject also found it harmful to moral conduct and was about to counsel them.”

The corners of Qin Shuying’s lips curved up slightly.

Bringing this book was just something she and Lin Zilan had thought of on the spur of the moment, yet Yun Jingshu and Princess Fu’an could utilize it so well, cooperating quite nicely with excellent performances—they truly had remarkable talent for acting.

Princess Fu’an gestured, and Yun Jingshu handed the book to a eunuch beside Princess Fu’an.

Princess Fu’an turned to the Crown Prince and said, “Crown Prince brother, you usually enjoy reading books, and Father Emperor has also put you in charge of academies throughout the realm. What do you say—nowadays women are so lacking in feminine virtue, actually reading such morally corrupting books, truly bringing shame to the women of our Great Zhou! Crown Prince brother, your sister suggests, shouldn’t we revise the ‘Women’s Virtues’ and ‘Women’s Precepts’ to let women throughout the realm know what is permissible and what is not?”

The hall fell deathly silent.

There was also the undisguisable gloating in the eyes of Luo Jinniang, Mu Tianxiang, Yun Jingshu, and Liu Sujiang.

The Crown Prince’s face still wore that warm spring breeze-like smile as he said to the eunuch, “Present it.”

A eunuch beside the Crown Prince hurriedly went to present the book. The Crown Prince took the book and flipped through it. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to be attracted by something, showing a strange light.

However, that was only for a moment. Then he laughed heartily and handed the book to the Fourth Prince. “Fourth brother, you understand these things. Take a look.”

The Fourth Prince opened it and looked at several pages, and his face actually showed great delight. He laughed heartily several times, particularly jarring in this vast and silent hall.

“Crown Prince big brother, good book, what a good book!”

Then the Fourth Prince stepped forward and stood beside the Crown Prince, asking Yun Jingshu, “You just said, whose book is this?”

That eager expression left everyone in the hall confused for a moment. However, everyone understood one thing clearly—both the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince considered it a good book.

A book with images of unclothed figures was actually a good book?

This…

Yun Jingshu forgot even the etiquette of responding, mechanically looking toward Lin Zilan. The Crown Prince and Fourth Prince both looked toward Lin Zilan. Lin Zilan curtsied and said, “In response to Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Fourth Prince, this book belongs to Seventh Miss Qin. This subject heard about this book and was quite fond of it, so I implored Seventh Miss Qin to bring it today for this subject to examine.”

The Crown Prince and Fourth Prince both looked toward Qin Shuying. Qin Shuying also curtsied and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Fourth Prince, this book belonged to this subject’s late father. This subject has always kept it in the study and today is the first time bringing it out.”

The Crown Prince nodded slowly and suddenly asked, “Your surname is Qin? What relation are you to Salt Inspector Qin?”

Qin Shuying replied, “He was my late father.”

The Crown Prince looked thoughtful, pondering for a moment before saying, “I see. It’s not surprising that you have this book.”

Qin Shuying paused slightly. The Salt Inspector was responsible for overseeing salt taxes—could it be that this adoptive father of hers also had great achievements in mechanical devices? Even the Crown Prince knew about it?

Although she had read many of Qin Yongzhou’s notes and knew he was naturally intelligent with an excellent memory, still…

Before she could think further, she heard the Crown Prince say, “This book now belongs to you. Could you lend it to me to read?”

Qin Shuying was stunned before saying, “If Your Highness the Crown Prince wishes to read the book, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit. This subject has already promised to lend it to Sister Lin. Sister Lin hasn’t had a chance to read it yet. If this subject were to lend it to Your Highness now, I’m afraid this subject would be breaking faith with someone.”

As soon as these words were spoken, those who had been watching were even more shocked. Was this Qin Shuying a fool? The person asking to borrow her book was His Highness the Crown Prince! Although the Crown Prince’s prestige seemed less prominent now under the impact of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Princes, he was still the legitimate heir to the throne.

Princess Fu’an hadn’t expected things to develop this way. She had been wanting to interrupt, but being in the Crown Prince’s presence, no matter how anxious she was, it wasn’t appropriate to interrupt. Now she finally caught her chance and hastily scolded, “Insolent! Crown Prince brother honors you by wanting to borrow the book, yet you dare to be so presumptuous!”

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince glanced at the Fourth Prince and actually burst into laughter, saying, “Fu’an, you’re wrong about this. Seventh Miss Qin values keeping her word so much—she’s truly a model among women! Since the book is now in Miss Lin’s hands, I’ll simply borrow it from Miss Lin. I wonder if Miss Lin would be willing to lend it to me?”

Lin Zilan looked somewhat troubled, thought for a moment, then said, “This subject had only read about ten pages and was just getting interested when Miss Yun snatched it away, saying the book this subject was reading was harmful to moral conduct. Your Highness, this subject is reading a book that’s harmful to moral conduct—aren’t you afraid Miss Yun will say…”

As she spoke, Lin Zilan glanced at Yun Jingshu. Yun Jingshu’s expression immediately changed dramatically, her face turning pale. The Crown Prince had said this was a good book, yet she had called it harmful to moral conduct. This…

Yun Jingshu hurriedly knelt down. “Your Highness, please forgive this subject! This subject is ignorant and mistook pearls for fish eyes!”

Lin Zilan smiled and said, “With Miss Yun’s words, this subject dares to lend the book to Your Highness. Your Highness, this subject has an unreasonable request—when Your Highness finishes reading, could you return it to this subject as soon as possible?”