Chapter 122: This Is Calling a Stag a Horse!

“I only wish you would be a little quieter!” Qin Zhiyi glanced at her. “Can’t you find something to do each day? Is it really that fun to pester me with endless questions?”

Shen Fuyu fell into thought.

“Well... it’s hard to say if it’s fun or not,” she murmured, mostly because his anger was quite high. It was like money—not everyone adored it, but no one outright hated it either.

“I’m truly at my wit’s end with you,” Qin Zhiyi grumbled, clearly irritated. He was already burdened with the troubles involving Cui Yingsu, and now someone was relentlessly nagging him—wasn’t that just adding insult to injury?

“Let alone the usual arts like music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and embroidery, can’t you find something else to occupy yourself?” With Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, there was plenty to do, and Qin Zhiyi simply had no time to entertain her. “Read a storybook, chat with someone about gossip, or if you must, chase chickens, herd dogs, or battle crickets. Play dice with the palace maids and eunuchs if you like—just don’t add to my burdens!”

“Your Majesty, do you really see me as such an unbearable person?” Shen Fuyu placed her hands on her hips. “I can play word couplets and riddles with people!”

Qin Zhiyi replied, “I don’t believe it.”

Shen Fuyu proudly challenged, “Then how about we play?”

“Feel free to pose the riddles. I bet I can solve them all!”

After dinner, Qin Zhiyi was skeptical but prepared some very simple riddles—those typically meant for children. Whether they were picture riddles or character puzzles, they seemed no different from what Shen Fuyu remembered.

She picked one from a small basket and opened it. It was a picture: a deer, but someone was pointing at it and calling it a horse. Qin Zhiyi stared at her. Even a three-year-old should be able to guess this one, right?

“This is easy!” Shen Fuyu smiled, clearly finding it child’s play.

“So, what’s your answer?” Qin Zhiyi asked.

Pointing at the image with mock seriousness, Shen Fuyu said, “It means you’re calling a deer a horse!”

...

“Can’t you handle the game?” Qin Zhiyi took the riddle back and pointed at the picture. “It means ‘calling a deer a horse’—that’s the phrase!”

“Well... more or less,” Shen Fuyu replied, gazing afar. She hadn’t deliberately chosen the wrong answer; it was just that Qin Zhiyi’s reaction was so amusingly furious!

He was so angry—hee hee!

“When Zhaoxi’s child is born, it will still be raised among the princes,” Qin Zhiyi stated bluntly. “Don’t let yourself affect the child.”

Shen Fuyu was annoyed. How had she affected the child? She had always treated the little fourteenth of the Shen family well, hadn’t she?

Feeling restless and unable to sleep late at night, Shen Fuyu sat up and looked at Qin Zhiyi, who was already fast asleep. She then tucked Qin Shihuang, who was sleeping on the floor, into Qin Zhiyi’s arms.

“Sleep with the dog, then! I’m going out to have some fun elsewhere!”

Dressed in two layers for the chilly night, Shen Fuyu climbed over the wall and slipped out again.

Though it was pitch dark and a little disorienting, by some stroke of luck, she ended up right at the gate of Jingrou Palace. Well, she couldn’t help it—Consort Shu lived nearby!

Peering inside, it seemed Consort Shu had just fallen asleep. Over the past few days, striving for a good impression with the Empress Dowager, she had been rising early and working late, and apparently, her hair was falling out even more!

Shen Fuyu crouched beside Consort Shu’s bed, observing her peaceful face. She touched her chin, retrieved a pill from her space, and mixed it into the leftover tea Consort Shu had drunk. The tea instantly turned pitch black.

Carefully dipping a fingertip into the potion and confirming Consort Shu was fast asleep, she applied the liquid along Consort Shu’s hairline.

She climbed down and slipped out the same way. A few breezes drifted in through the window, causing Consort Shu to curl further under the covers. In the moonlight, strands of black hair fluttered.

...

A scream pierced the dawn, louder than the morning roosters. As the palace servants rubbed their sleepy eyes and began their chores, the shrill cry startled a young eunuch so much that he dropped his broom!

“When did the palace start waking up to roosters crowing?” Qin Zhiyi frowned as he prepared to attend court.

Chang Fu was equally puzzled. “Maybe it’s from the kitchen’s ingredients.”

Several strands of black hair lay on the ground. Consort Shu could hardly believe what she saw. Grabbing a mirror, she looked at her reflection—her forehead was shining and bare! The hair on her scalp had begun falling out right from the front, leaving a patch nearly two fingers wide. Consort Shu screamed repeatedly, clutching her forehead and collapsing to the floor.

“How could this happen? How could this happen?”

Staggering down, her hand pressed onto a piece of paper. She picked it up and tore it apart in a frenzy. “Shen Fuyu! It’s you again! It’s always you!”

Looking at her shiny bald forehead, she realized the hair hadn’t been simply shaved—it was gone without a trace of roots. Her bare scalp almost matched the color of her face!

Qiu Ying and Qiu Xi hurried over upon hearing the commotion. They were shocked to see Consort Shu’s bald patch. She had once been a delicate beauty with a small face. Although her hairline had been receding over recent days, this sudden loss of two more fingers’ width left her hardly recognizable.

Consort Shu could bear it no longer. Gazing at her reflection, she sobbed uncontrollably, gasping for breath.

“Your Highness, perhaps we could cut some bangs to cover it?” Qiu Ying suggested. “The Virtuous Consort was too brazen to leave such evidence. We can present this to someone in authority.”

“Authority?” Consort Shu’s heart sank. “With my condition, how can I seek justice? The Empress Dowager likely won’t even want to intervene in such a scandalous matter.”

“Don’t lose hope, Your Highness,” Qiu Xi encouraged. “This time, we have evidence. When His Majesty finishes court, we can appeal to him. He won’t ignore your grievances against the Virtuous Consort.”

Consort Shu hesitated. She had seen clearly enough where the emperor’s favor lay—toward Shen Fuyu. Even with ironclad proof, she feared his bias.

Yet she was unwilling to give up. The emperor was the light of her life. She forever remembered the day they first met—when the children from various families went hunting and she, forbidden to join, was almost attacked by a small beast. An arrow flew to save her life, and from that day, her heart quietly belonged to him. She hoped that one day he would remember that moment and return her affection.

“Don’t lose heart,” Qiu Ying urged again. “After all, the Virtuous Consort is now pregnant. If you retreat now, His Majesty will forget you. The Empress Dowager has accepted the Cui family’s daughter into the palace—if you give in, where will you find a place to stand here?”

“You’re right,” Consort Shu said, staring at her reflection, suddenly filled with panic. “Bring me scissors. I must cover this up first.”