“Uncle, how exactly did you obtain the Empress’s portrait?”

A flash of coldness passed through Qin Yongtao’s eyes, yet he smiled and said, “The Empress is a young lady from the Wen family. Naturally, the Wen family would have people who resemble her.”

Vague and evasive, he refused to speak plainly.

Qin Shuying guessed his intention.

He wanted to court death, but he couldn’t drag the entire Qin family down with him. Although she no longer had much affection for the Qin family, Grandmother’s remains were buried in the Qin family cemetery, and Qin Yongzhou and his wife’s remains were also buried in the Qin family tomb.

There was also Second Uncle’s family. Although they had split off after Grandmother’s death, they were still members of the Qin family after all. If something happened, they would inevitably be implicated. They lived honest, upright lives—why should they be dragged into this mess?

After thinking it over, Qin Shuying said, “Uncle, has Big Aunt seen this painting?”

Qin Yongtao was startled and gave a vague “Hmm.”

Qin Shuying’s heart was clear as a mirror—this couple had been bewitched by Lianpin and the Sixth Prince and had begun courting death.

It didn’t matter if the few of them wanted to court death, but Qin Yongtao couldn’t.

Protecting Qin Yongtao was equivalent to protecting the Qin family.

As for Lianpin, the Sixth Prince, and Xu Shi…

Qin Shuying said, “Uncle, Big Sister has seemed very prestigious in the palace all these years, but Big Sister deeply understands His Majesty’s thoughts and doesn’t dare help Uncle with anything. I’ve heard that Big Sister needs a lot of silver in the palace, and most of it is sent by Big Aunt.”

Qin Yongtao was stunned for a moment.

This was saying that Lianpin hadn’t helped Qin Yongtao at all, but rather Qin Yongtao had been subsidizing Lianpin with a pile of money.

Qin Yongtao said, “Those who achieve great things don’t concern themselves with trivial matters. Your aunt prioritizes the bigger picture—she’s a model among women. Your big sister prioritizes palace etiquette, which is how she achieved her current honored position. Shuying, you should learn from this too.”

Since Qin Yongtao was so determined and certain, Qin Shuying had nothing more to say to him.

After expressing her thanks, she went to chat with Dong Shi for a few words and took the opportunity to visit Xu Shi.

Xu Shi’s spirits looked much better. After Qin Shuying probed with a few sentences, she became even more certain that Xu Shi was preparing to cause trouble with Lianpin.

Emperor Delong’s warning had only passed a few days ago, yet Lianpin had already developed inappropriate thoughts.

This painting had actually been obtained through Xu Shi’s efforts. What nonsense about the Wen family having descendants who resembled Empress Wen… This was clearly a portrait of a Lin family descendant.

Not only did they want to cause trouble, they also wanted to drag her down with them—showing her this painting wasn’t that exactly dragging her into the mess?

Today it was looking at paintings, tomorrow who knew what they’d want her to see.

Zhou Qin had tried several times to get her involved, and when she refused, they decided to force the issue.

They truly deserved to die!

Afterward, Qin Shuying returned home.

Qin Yongtao’s words had given her something to worry about. She absolutely couldn’t watch the Qin family get into trouble, but Xu Shi and Lianpin had to pay the price for their death-seeking behavior.

She had let Xu Shi live well for so long that she was truly unwilling to accept it. This incident was the perfect opportunity to completely ensure Xu Shi would die without a burial place.

When Liang Zhe returned that evening, Qin Shuying told him about her plans.

Upon hearing Qin Shuying’s plans, Liang Zhe immediately beamed with joy, “Shuying, it’s been so long since we’ve schemed against anyone, I’ve been so idle it hurts.”

What a thing to say…

Qin Shuying immediately blushed and spat, “I’m talking to you about serious matters.”

Liang Zhe took her hand, “What I’m saying is also serious! Otherwise, what do you think I rushed back a whole quarter-hour earlier than usual for? It hurts!”

Even more improper—could they properly scheme against people or not?

Then came the moment of relieving the pain.

After the relief, Qin Shuying lay in bed with her eyes glowing green—Liang Zhe was too ruthless.

But she actually quite enjoyed this feeling. What to do about that?

After resting for a moment, Qin Shuying brought up the topic again, “Ziyu, we hadn’t finished talking earlier when you… ah, what are you doing with your hands…”

Liang Zhe said, “It’s fine, just keep talking.”

Qin Shuying moved his hand away, but when she moved it, he put it back. Qin Shuying couldn’t do anything about him and had to endure his wandering hands while saying, “This matter needs help… oh… Concubine Liu can be used. When Xu Shi killed Fourth Sister back then, Concubine Liu has always… ah… harbored resentment, but had no way to take revenge… ah…”

Liang Zhe’s breathing was somewhat unsteady as he said intermittently, “That’s one thing… second, if Xu Shi became pregnant… tell me, wouldn’t that be… ah… an interesting show?”

Before he could finish speaking, Liang Zhe mounted his horse once again.

Forget it, how could they discuss business like this?

Qin Shuying had no choice but to battle the demon with him again.

The next day, Qin Shuying’s legs were shaking. When Lin Zilan saw her, she burst out laughing, “Hahaha, Shuying, that wolf in your house is too ruthless.”

Qin Shuying’s face turned as red as a cooked shrimp from her laughter, and she couldn’t help but punch her.

Lin Zilan had set out many delicious foods in the garden, with no one else around—just the two of them.

As the two chatted and laughed, a seductive woman approached—one of the Fourth Prince’s wives who was quite favored.

The woman first paid her respects to Qin Shuying, then said to Lin Zilan, “Princess Consort, this servant asked the kitchen for some cordyceps soup, but the kitchen said there was no such precedent in the manor. This servant isn’t asking for herself, but the Prince is so vigorous that this servant must serve the Prince well…”

As she spoke, she became as seductive as a water snake, her voice sickeningly sweet.

Qin Shuying clicked her tongue—this woman really was something.

Lin Zilan put away the relaxed, comfortable attitude she had when with Qin Shuying and glanced at the woman casually, saying, “Mm, this palace understands. You may withdraw first. This palace still has matters to discuss with the Crown Prince’s wife.”

The woman acknowledged and withdrew.

Qin Shuying watched the woman’s retreating figure and was lost in thought for a while. In her previous life, Lu Changxuan had also had concubines, and the concubines had even become pregnant. At that time, she hadn’t cared—it was all too normal for men to have concubines.

In this life, Liang Zhe also had concubines—three of them, in fact. But Liang Zhe had never once visited their rooms. At first, they would still come out and show themselves, but later, who knew what Liang Zhe had done—they stopped even showing themselves.

After moving to the new manor, he had shut them away in courtyards, and Qin Shuying hadn’t seen them for a long time.

But Liang Zhe did have concubines after all, so in the future…

Seeing her lost in thought, Lin Zilan asked, “Shuying, what are you thinking about?”

Qin Shuying smiled, “Our manor also has three of them, and I still don’t know how to deal with them.”

“What’s so difficult about that? When you’re bored, drag them out to look at, and the rest of the time have them stay put obediently. Take her, for example—I acknowledged her request, but how I handle it is up to me. Actually, if they behaved themselves, I wouldn’t mind playing with them. After all, this residence is so vast and spacious—how boring it would be for one person to always maintain dignity alone!”

All being women, how could they possibly just behave themselves?

“Ah, if they would just behave, I’d really like to grab a few people to play leaf cards with me. Whoever wins gets to serve the Prince—wouldn’t that be much more interesting?”

Qin Shuying: …

The Fourth Prince, who had just arrived: …