Chapter 12 Returning the Jade Intact to Zhao I don't know what title I'm giving...
Chang'an raised his voice slightly: "How so? Does Official Qiu not fancy these charming young men?"
Qiu Shuzhi said in a low voice: "This official has no interest in such matters."
Chang'an smiled with satisfaction, happy for Yue Guanyi, and said: "In that case, please get in the carriage, Official Qiu."
After giving Qiu Qiushuang a few instructions, Qiu Shuzhi boarded the carriage. Chang'an cracked his long whip, and the carriage slowly drove off, carrying Qiu Shuzhi into the private garden.
Once inside the garden, Chang'an arranged for her to wait alone in a side hall. In the quiet room, the silk curtains swayed gently in the breeze, soft and ethereal. A pot of orchids was placed by the table, cool and serene.
She didn't know how long she had been waiting in the side hall. As the sun gradually set in the west, warm orange light slanted in, casting her shadow long and hazy.
Yue Guanyi had just finished interrogating prisoners and came out of the prison covered in blood. His official robe was stained with blood splattered from the prisoners' bodies, and the smell of blood all over him was nauseating.
He was about to return to the palace to change into clean clothes and remove the smell from his body.
Just as he was about to leave, a young attendant came running. He frowned slightly: "What's the matter?"
The attendant hurriedly said: "Lady Chang'an just asked me to inform you that Official Qiu is waiting for you in the private garden."
Yue Guanyi's eyes widened instantly, and he nearly tripped over the threshold, not watching his step.
"Be careful, Your Highness." The attendant hurried to support him.
Yue Guanyi pushed him away, his mind buzzing with the news that Qiu Shuzhi was waiting for him in the private garden.
Why had she come back?
Could it be that she was dissatisfied with the men he had chosen?
Yue Guanyi, anxious and worried, said urgently: "Quickly prepare the carriage."
Even with a fast horse, news from the private garden would take some time to reach the palace. He was afraid Qiu Shuzhi would grow impatient waiting, and also worried that Chang'an's clumsy servants wouldn't attend to Qiu Shuzhi properly, making her feel neglected.
He hurriedly left the palace, wishing he could appear before Qiu Shuzhi in the next second by whipping the horses to shreds.
By the time Yue Guanyi arrived at the private garden, it had grown darker. Lamps had been lit in the garden, their flames flickering.
As soon as he entered, he saw Qiu Shuzhi sitting alone in the side hall. The antique furniture cast a cool hue on her, while the lantern light from outside the window warmly illuminated her gentle profile. Her long hair fell casually over her shoulders, beneath which was skin as smooth and white as mutton-fat jade.
The orchids bloomed beside her, seeming to borrow her radiance. The wind stirred, she remained still, flower shadows dancing all over her body.
His nervous, wild heartbeat calmed the moment he saw her. His footsteps unconsciously became light and slow, afraid of disturbing her.
"Your Highness." Yue Guanyi's shadow fell diagonally at her feet. She looked up and saw Yue Guanyi standing outside the door, light and shadow enveloping him from behind, his hair slightly disheveled, his chest heaving slightly as if he had rushed here.
"I didn't know Official Qiu was waiting in the private garden. Please forgive me." Yue Guanyi was full of self-reproach, his beautiful jade-like eyes fixed intently. Even the current Emperor and Empress Dowager didn't receive such respectful treatment.
Qiu Shuzhi hurriedly said: "Your Highness is an important minister of the state. It is only right for me to wait for you. Please, have a seat."
Yue Guanyi lowered his head slightly, his body as tense as a fully drawn bowstring. He sat stiffly beside her, resisting the faint fragrance emanating from her body as he struggled to speak: "In the future, if Official Qiu wishes to see me again, just have the servants inform me directly. No matter where I am, I will come immediately."
Qiu Shuzhi's eyebrows raised in surprise: "You are busy with state affairs and manage countless matters daily. Even high-ranking officials must submit a visiting card to see you. I am merely a fifth-rank minor official. It was already improper for me to visit abruptly today. How could I trouble you specially in the future?"
Yue Guanyi shook his head firmly, though his voice was barely a whisper: "You are different from them."
Those old hands steeped in officialdom, each sucking the flesh and blood of the Great Qi nation, gorging themselves on the people's fat and marrow, their eyes clouded and muddled, minds full of calculations for profit with no trace of clarity.
But Qiu Shuzhi was different.
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