Liang Zhe turned his head away and looked at Luo Meixiang with a half-smile, “So much nonsense! Shuying, let’s go.”
Qin Shuying smiled gracefully and followed behind Liang Zhe, heading all the way toward Songtao Residence.
Luo Meixiang’s face turned livid with anger, but she was helpless.
She refused to consider who had first disregarded familial bonds and who had first become the villain.
Songtao Residence.
Upon entering the house and going into the bedroom, Ziteng and Lu Ye stood guard in the outer room, preventing anyone from entering.
Liang Zhe turned over, wanting to sit up, when suddenly—”Ah yo!”
“Ziyu!”
Liang Zhe quickly lay back down properly, his face contorted in pain, grimacing: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
“How can it be nothing? Today I saw so much blood with my own eyes.”
“A lot of blood? No wonder it hurts somewhat.”
Qin Shuying said: “You were beaten seventeen times, of course it hurts! Ziyu, today’s matter wasn’t worth it, but at that moment I truly had no other choice. This revenge must be paid back.”
“Madam has already taken revenge today. Otherwise, do you think I would have obediently let him beat me?”
Qin Shuying was slightly stunned.
“Liang Jie fainted, Liang Yuan can’t walk properly—that was the revenge.”
“That was all Ziteng’s doing.”
“What Ziteng did was what you did. You gave him the weapon.”
Qin Shuying didn’t argue with him, instead saying: “Ziyu, where is the prescription the imperial physician from the palace prescribed? How should the medicine be used next?”
“I’ve memorized it all. I’ll speak, and you write it down.”
Qin Shuying went to find ink and brush. Liang Zhe continued speaking: “Besides, after taking this beating, he can never interfere with me again. I have far fewer constraints now—this was extremely worthwhile.”
Qin Shuying couldn’t argue with him either, and knew he was speaking the truth.
How certain Liang Yunshan had been at the time, firmly believing Liang Zhe was lying.
Yet reality had slapped Liang Yunshan hard across the face.
Liang Zhe’s talk of severing the father-son relationship was merely an excuse to prevent Liang Yunshan from interfering with him. In this patriarchal era, it was absolutely impossible.
From now on, if Liang Yunshan wanted to interfere with Liang Zhe, it wouldn’t be so easy. As long as Liang Yunshan still had some backbone, still had face, and was still a man.
“Fine, whatever you say, you’re right. The imperial physician said how long must you recover?”
Nanny Fu stood in the outer room, extremely nervous, almost straining her ears to listen to the sounds from the inner room.
Though indistinct, she could sense the inner room was completely peaceful and warm.
Shouldn’t the first madam be tearfully recounting today’s ordeal, with the young master offering comfort, or flying into a rage?
After all, Qin Shuying had suffered humiliation today. In an ordinary household, this would mean loss of chastity.
But why was the atmosphere so peaceful?
Could it be they were both just forcing smiles, deliberately not mentioning the matter?
Was the young master afraid the first madam would be sad and feel guilty, so he was intentionally joking around? Then, would he actually mind in his heart? Would he use this to neglect the first madam in the future?
While Nanny Fu was frantically overthinking like dumplings frying in a hot pot, Qin Shuying and Liang Zhe weren’t following Nanny Fu’s imagined script at all.
Qin Shuying had already made up her mind to seek divorce in the future—for now they were just allies. Why should she worry about such things?
Having spent time on the frontier, Liang Zhe had long grown accustomed to straightforward young women who would hold hands and spend nights with their lovers—nothing particularly scandalous about it. If two people’s relationship soured and love was no more, they would bid farewell and seek new romance—perfectly ordinary.
Qin Shuying had merely been pulled and tugged a few times by Liang Jie and Liang Yuan. So what of it?
Liang Zhe hadn’t even thought about this matter.
What angered him was that Liang Jie and Liang Yuan had dared to lay hands on Qin Shuying. How to make them get their just desserts—that’s what he, Liang Zhe, should be considering.
“Just need to recover for a few days. Come, I’ll speak and you write.”
Liang Zhe slowly recited the prescription while Qin Shuying carefully wrote it down.
After finishing writing, Qin Shuying blew on the prescription and said: “Luo Meixiang has said plenty about your unruliness. Uncle probably also thinks you’re just a crude warrior, lacking in literary talent. Today at the imperial audience you displayed your extensive knowledge and perfect memory—wasn’t Uncle surprised?”
Liang Zhe smiled, “She who knows me is Shuying.”
Without him saying so, Qin Shuying already knew he had thoroughly enjoyed showing off today. Having memorized the imperial physician’s prescription after hearing it once must have shocked Liang Yunshan to death.
Qin Shuying conveniently flattered him: “Liang Yanjun once said you have perfect memory, exceptional eloquence, and handle military strategy with ease.”
Liang Zhe laughed heartily, but the laughter aggravated his wounds, causing another bout of crying out: “Ah yo yo!”
He wasn’t normally this delicate—in the past, he hadn’t made a sound even when nearly dying. But now was different—Qin Shuying was right there, and he liked seeing her worry about him.
Sure enough, Qin Shuying quickly set down the prescription: “Ziyu! Where does it hurt?”
“Many places hurt. Madam, please help me look.”
“Mm.”
Qin Shuying didn’t catch the teasing tone in his voice. She reached out to lift his short garment, about to lift his pants when she suddenly froze and stopped.
Her expression was somewhat strange.
Liang Zhe remained lying on the bed: “Madam, what’s wrong?”
Qin Shuying thought for a moment, smiled, shook her head, and said: “I can’t look at that part of you.”
If I look, I’ll have to take responsibility for you, and I’m planning to divorce.
Liang Zhe couldn’t see her expression and thought she was embarrassed, so he teased her: “Which part can’t you look at?”
Qin Shuying set aside her worries and, faced with Liang Zhe’s question, appeared quite composed: “Your buttocks.”
Now it was Liang Zhe’s turn to feel embarrassed.
Buttocks…
A young lady speaking such words without shame.
Liang Zhe fell silent.
Such a mighty warrior as himself, actually lying here having someone look at his buttocks…
Both stopped talking, and the atmosphere gradually became somewhat awkward.
Liang Zhe disliked silence when with Qin Shuying. Remembering she liked discussing serious matters, he coughed and said: “Do you know how His Majesty demoted the noble rank today?”
Qin Shuying hadn’t asked about this yet.
However, she had some understanding in her heart, so she said: “His Majesty probably wanted to demote the rank long ago, just lacked a suitable pretext and excuse. Now that you’ve delivered this pretext to him, His Majesty will be grateful.”
Liang Zhe was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: “Shuying, you’ve said everything there is to say. You’re truly formidable.”
“How am I more formidable than Ziyu? In just half an hour, Ziyu devised such a good method, laid such a trap—solving His Majesty’s long-standing headache, greatly dampening the arrogant spirit of Luo Meixiang and others, and making Uncle wary of acting rashly against us in the future. Ziyu’s strategic planning—how could I compare?”
“Shuying, you never leave your quarters, and what I’ve told you is limited. Though this matter involved some calculation, I never discussed it with you beforehand. How could you deduce so accurately?”
Qin Shuying said casually: “By putting myself in others’ shoes! Court politics and inner residence struggles are extremely similar. For Luo Meixiang, my marriage into the family posed a great threat to her. If someone helped her find many faults with me, she would certainly seize the opportunity to suppress me thoroughly. However, she wouldn’t necessarily like the person who found my faults, unless that person was her confidant, completely under her control. Ziyu, are you that person to His Majesty?”