Transmigrating Female Supreme: The Peerless Husband Depends on Me

Shen Yunyan's ears turned slightly red, and he silently took a few steps back to check the drying medicinal herbs.

"Because he's like a hedgehog." Su Yue chuckled, "But I know that the more prickly a person is, the softer their heart is."

Zhou Ziqian held the teacup, the heat blurred his vision.

He thought of the Persian cat in his father's palace - it seemed docile on the surface, but would scratch if provoked.

"Establishing authority is like cooking a fresh delicacy." Su Yue suddenly said, "Quick fire will burn it, slow fire will make it tasty. Seventh Prince, think about it, who will be the first person you want to deal with after returning to the palace?"

Zhou Ziqian was stunned.

He never thought about "dealing with" anyone, and he always tolerated those palace servants who neglected him.

"That... Li Dequan?" he asked tentatively.

Su Yue shook her head: "To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. Li Dequan dares to be so presumptuous, who is behind it?"

Zhou Ziqian was enlightened.

Yes, the reason why Li Dequan dared to use the wise emperor to suppress him was precisely because his father and concubine always treated him as a fragile object and protected him. Over time, even the servants dared to bully him.

“What should I do?”

"Showing weakness." Su Yue blinked. "The Seventh Prince is best at this, isn't he?"

In the afternoon after the dumpling banquet, the sun lazily shone into the flower hall.

Shangguan Haochen dug out a set of white jade mahjong tiles from somewhere and dumped them on the huanghuali wooden table.

"Seventh Prince, come and play for a few rounds?" He waved with a smile, his slightly protruding belly protruding. "We are short one!"

Zhou Ziqian stood awkwardly by the table.

Although there were card games in the palace, they were elegant games used by the emperor's concubines to please the empress dowager. No one had ever seen such a casual way of playing.

“I… can’t do this.”

"Easy!" Lin Yuxuan had already neatly arranged the cards. "Brother Ayan will teach you. I promise you'll learn it!"

Gu Qingyan had stood behind him at some point, his large, calloused hand resting on his shoulder. "Seventh Prince, sit here." He then pulled out the chair at the top. "Newbies are lucky, so let's eat at a rich table today."

Zhou Ziqian was forced to sit down, and a row of glossy jade tablets immediately appeared in front of him.

He carefully picked up one of the cards; it felt cold to the touch, and there was a pattern engraved on it that he didn't recognize.

"This is the Wan card." Gu Qingyan leaned over and instructed, his breath brushing his ears. "Remember the three formulas of 'Pong', 'Gang' and 'Chi'..."

When the game just started, Zhou Ziqian was still confused.

In the third round, he tentatively pushed down two cards: "Is this... called 'pong'?"

"Ouch!" Lin Yuxuan screamed, "The Seventh Prince is learning and applying it on the spot!"

Then the situation suddenly changed.

Zhou Ziqian seemed to be possessed by the God of Gamblers, winning three consecutive rounds with the same set of cards.

More and more notes were stuck on Lin Yuxuan's face, and in the end, only his eyes were left rolling around.

"That's unscientific!" He tore off the note in front of his forehead and slammed it on the table. "Brother Yan, did you secretly change the cards for the Seventh Prince?"

Gu Qingyan leaned back in his chair with his arms folded, smiling meaningfully: "This is called the novice protection period."

The silver coins in front of Zhou Ziqian had piled up into a small mountain.

He caught a glimpse of Lin Yuxuan's pitiful eyes, his heart softened, and he deliberately played a three-of-a-kind.

"Win!" Shangguan Haochen cheered and pushed the cards down. "The Seventh Prince is really my lucky star!"

Lin Yuxuan looked over suspiciously at Zhou Ziqian's cards, and suddenly his eyes widened: "You clearly heard the number 10,000!"

Zhou Ziqian's ears burned. Just as he was about to explain, Gu Qingyan suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, "A card game is like a battlefield. The Seventh Prince doesn't have to give in." He glanced at the other two and said, "Some people who can't afford to lose shouldn't play."

"Who can't afford to lose!" Lin Yuxuan jumped up, the paper on his face rustling. "Come again! I'm sure to win this time!"

Yaoyao had crawled onto Zhou Ziqian's lap at some point, and put her little hand on his jade token into her mouth.

Zhou Ziqian rushed to rescue, but the little girl took the opportunity to mess up the cards.

"Oh, this one doesn't count!" Shangguan Haochen said, "The Seventh Prince has to pay us a round!"

Zhou Ziqian looked down at Yaoyao who was giggling in his arms, and suddenly felt that winning or losing didn't matter.

He took out a jade pendant and teased her: "Yaoyao, can you help your brother draw a card?"

The little girl randomly grabbed a card and slapped it on the table - it was a red card.

"God damn!" Gu Qingyan suddenly laughed, "The Seventh Prince is so lucky..."

Lin Yuxuan slumped in his chair, wailing, "I don't want to play anymore! I'm going to complain to Yue'er!"

The card game ended when the sun set.

Zhou Ziqian counted and found that he had won quite a lot.

He was about to return the silver coins when Gu Qingyan shook his head: "Win is win, lose is lose. The quality of the cards reveals the character of the person."

These words shocked Zhou Ziqian's heart.

In the palace, every game was played by someone else trying to trick him into winning. There had never been a real fight like this.

"Brother Yan..." He hesitated for a moment, "If you were so straightforward in the palace..."

Gu Qingyan was clearing the card table when he heard this and stopped. "Seventh Prince, do you know how I was able to rise from a young boy to the head of Shadow Pavilion?" He twisted his fingertips, and the white jade card stood upright on the table. "Because in the martial arts world, no one will give in to you."

Zhou Ziqian looked at the jade token that stood tall and unshakable, and suddenly understood what Su Yue meant by "showing weakness".

A truly strong person does not try to show off his strength everywhere, but knows when to hide his edge.

"Another round?" he offered, a rare glint in his eyes.

Gu Qingyan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Aren't you afraid of losing?"

"I'm afraid," Zhou Ziqian admitted honestly, "but I'm even more afraid...that I'll never learn."

The sound of shuffling cards could be heard again in the flower hall.

Outside the window, Su Yue passed by holding the sleeping Xinxin in her arms. When she heard the laughter coming from inside, the corners of her mouth unconsciously rose.

She patted the baby in her arms gently and hummed a tuneless ballad.

Before the morning dew, Liang Junze was burning incense and playing the piano in the pavilion.

Zhou Ziqian walked over following the sound of "Youlan Cao" and saw the pair of hands playing the piano as slender as jade, moving smoothly across the strings.

"Does the Seventh Prince understand music?" Liang Junze paused, the lingering sound lingering.

Zhou Ziqian shook his head in shame: "I only know the basics."

"The way of the zither is like the way of government." Liang Junze gently plucked the strings. "Too hard will break easily, too soft will be silent." He suddenly pressed down on the vibrating strings. "It's like the slap the Seventh Prince gave yesterday—the force was there, but the lingering sound was lacking."

Zhou Ziqian was stunned.

Liang Junze stood up and unfolded a landscape painting. "Look at this blank space. In court politics, sometimes silence is more powerful than words."

In the painting, the distant mountains are hazy, and in the near distance a small boat is about to approach the shore, but there is no boatman.

Zhou Ziqian suddenly understood - this was teaching him how to "hide".

Just like his father's wife, who seemed weak but was able to enjoy the emperor's favor for twenty years.

Deep in the bamboo forest, Gu Qingyan, dressed in black, was wiping an ebony short crossbow.

"The Shadow Pavilion has three principles for doing business." He suddenly raised his hand, and a crossbow arrow pierced a bamboo leaf ten steps away. "Don't kill honest officials, don't harm women and children, and don't interfere in government affairs."

Zhou Ziqian touched the crossbow curiously: "Then Brother Yan's main purpose is..."

"Check the news." Gu Qingyan raised his lips. "For example, a batch of tribute tea was recently lost from the Third Prince's residence. Actually, he secretly sent it to please the Minister of the Imperial Household."

Seeing Zhou Ziqian's surprise, Gu Qingyan lowered his voice and asked, "Seventh Prince, do you know why no one dares to touch the Su Mansion?" He turned his fingertips, and the short crossbow disappeared like magic. "Because everyone is afraid that their secrets will appear on the Empress's desk tomorrow."

Zhou Ziqian gasped. Gu Qingyan patted him on the shoulder: "You don't have to do it yourself to establish your authority. Sometimes, keeping people 'guessing' is more effective than making them 'scared'."

The bamboo leaves rustled, and Zhou Ziqian touched the whistle that Gu Qingyan had just given him in his sleeve - it was said that after it was blown, people from the Shadow Pavilion would appear.

He suddenly felt that this was more reassuring than any guard.