After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

She was extremely anxious and resentful, so her tone was harsh, but it was not difficult to hear the grievance in it.

"Whoa--" Qin Zehai whistled at the oriole, raised his eyebrows and glared at it, but the bird ignored him and lay down listlessly.

He immediately frowned, impatiently put the bird cage on the stone table, turned around and looked at Nian Qiaoyue, and asked, "What explanation? I never need to explain anything to anyone, let alone you."

He showed a contemptuous smile and said sarcastically: "Miss Nian Er, recognize your identity, adjust your attitude, and don't think too highly of yourself."

Nian Qiaoyue was stung and her eyes widened in disbelief. She had some guesses in her mind but didn't dare to think too deeply about it. She didn't want to face that result, and she was even more unwilling to believe it.

She forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, you... aren't we partners?"

"We each get what we need. I have done what I promised you. I stole the letters between Nian Chengyun and the Crown Prince for you. Shouldn't you also fulfill your promise and protect our Nian Mansion from being implicated, and then let me make a marriage contract with Prince Qing?"

She went out of her way to emphasize the points that mattered to her most, but she was still deceiving herself.

Qin Zehai laughed several times, "Miss Nian Er, should I say you are naive or stupid? To this day, you are still dreaming of becoming the third imperial concubine?"

Nian Qiaoyue staggered a few steps, stood firmly on the stone table, and supported her hands on the cold stone surface. Her five fingers slowly tightened, and the friction between her nails and the stone made a harsh tearing sound.

"What do you mean? You lied to me?"

"You're using me?"

"This is all your plan, isn't it!" she screamed hysterically.

When Qin Zehai asked her to steal the letter, she was worried that it would implicate the Prime Minister's Mansion. She understood the principle of "when the city is on fire, the fish in the pond will be affected", so she did not agree immediately. It was only after Qin Zehai repeatedly assured her that the emperor would only punish Qin Junyu and not vent his anger on the Prime Minister's Mansion that she agreed to help.

When she heard the news that Nian Chengyun was beaten with a stick in the court this morning, she felt like the sky had fallen, and her mind was filled with the words Qin Zehai had promised her.

She was right to worry.

Qin Zehai will not only deal with Qin Junyu, but he will not let go of the Prime Minister's Mansion either.

Although she hated that home, she had no intention of destroying it.

Qin Zehai glanced at her coldly, "Now that you've realized it, you're not hopelessly stupid."

He sighed, lifted his robe and sat down, "Since you know everything, I will speak frankly." He opened the birdcage, took the oriole out, held it in his palm, and gently stroked its fur, "Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. You and I are now in the same boat. Either you work hard for me, or you wait to be driven out of the house by Nian Chengyun and end up on the streets."

"What do you mean?" Nian Qiaoyue frowned, "I work for you?"

"Yes." Qin Zehai smiled, "You are doing things for me. There is no cooperation, no exchange, and no benefits."

He raised his eyes, his eyes were sinister and cunning, he pointed at Nian Qiaoyue, "It's you." Then he turned his finger towards himself, "Be my chess piece."

Nian Qiaoyue felt as if struck by lightning. She took several steps back and tried to run away.

If she becomes Qin Zehai's pawn, wouldn't there be no hope for her to marry Qin Fengtian?

Besides... chess pieces never have a good ending. If the master says to abandon them, they will be abandoned. If they are discovered, they will be dead.

No, she couldn't agree to that!

She was trembling, and when she saw Qin Zehai looking at the bird in his hand with a vicious look, she was so scared that she turned around and ran away.

After running two steps, he heard Qin Zehai say, "Second Miss Nian, please think it through."

She subconsciously stopped walking. The faint voice behind her came up like a ghost and lingered around her neck, as if it would break her neck at any time.

"You caused Nian Chengyun to be beaten with a stick by the emperor, creating a rift between the emperor and his subjects. You also caused Qin Junyu to be beaten with fifty boards. Now he is lying in the East Palace half dead and breathing heavily."

Qin Zehai slowly grasped the oriole's neck, and with just a little force he could strangle it to death.

"Tell me, if the two of them knew that you did this... would they let you go?"

He suddenly laughed wildly, and his laughter was accompanied by two bird cries, like pain, like struggle, but only a few times, and soon there was no sound.

Nian Qiaoyue felt a chill on her back.

She now completely understood that when Qin Zehai asked her to steal the letter, he had already thought of how to make her work for him wholeheartedly.

She had caused great harm to Nian Chengyun and Qin Junyu. If they knew about it, she would definitely not have a good ending. In order to prevent the truth from being exposed, or to choose a big tree to rely on, she had to become Qin Zehai's pawn. She had no choice.

Qin Zehai threw the dead bird into the cage. He was so disgusted that he didn't want to look at it any more. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands slowly.

No need to ask, he already had the answer in his heart.

"Miss Nian Er, your first task is to bury this oriole." He knew she would not refuse.

Nian Qiaoyue took a deep breath and turned around. There was resentment in her eyes, but it gradually dissipated. Perhaps it would be better for her to join Qin Zehai than to be alone, powerless and directionless.

She lowered her eyes and walked over. Unable to bear looking at the innocent dead bird, she looked away and held the ring of the cage with her hand.

I tried to lift it up, but couldn't get it up.

She raised her eyes and saw Qin Zehai's hands on the cage, deliberately not letting her take his hands.

Nian Qiaoyue didn't understand and thought he didn't believe her, so she had to explain, her tone was very helpless: "Prince, you also said that I caused them to be like this. Without your protection, they would definitely not have a good ending. It's no good for me to go against you."

"No." Qin Zehai pulled his hand back and glared at her meaningfully, his eyes full of threats. "I just want to warn you, if you dare to disobey or betray me... then your fate will be the same as this bird, and I will strangle you to death."

Nian Qiaoyue was terrified. People outside said that Prince Ren was the most benevolent and virtuous. She now found it quite ironic.

"When I find the next chess piece, I will let him bury your body with his own hands, and then tell him that if you disobey me or betray me, then you will suffer the same fate as him." He smiled creepily.

Nian Qiaoyue felt nauseous and could no longer bear it, so she cursed "madman" and ran away with the birdcage.

Qin Zehai laughed again, and this laughter haunted Nian Qiaoyue all the time, becoming a nightmare for the rest of her life that she could never get rid of.

……

Towards evening, Qin Guanqing returned.

When Nian Susu asked the reason, she found out that he had gone to see Concubine Ning.

Concubine Ning was the emperor's favorite concubine and was deeply loved by him. As Qin Guanqing was an idle prince, the struggles in the court had never mattered to him, so it was not difficult to ask Concubine Ning to ask for a permit from the emperor to enter the Eastern Palace.

For the first time, Qin Guanqing felt that it was a good thing that his mother was a favorite concubine. At least there was room for maneuver if anything happened.

Holding the stamped document in his arms, he felt a burning sensation in his heart as he thought about how Qin Junyu's mother had passed away early and how it was not easy for him to work his way up to his current position.