Qin Lixue's heart was filled with ripples as he was held by Wu Qing's soft hand.

"Plan for me? Qing'er, you are now in the palace, you have to be cautious at every step and can hardly protect yourself. How can I let you worry about me again?" Qin Lixue shook his head.

Wu Qing said firmly: "No, this is what I should do."

"Brother Li Xue, I also want to contribute to your career!"

"The emperor is quite fond of me now. This is undoubtedly a great opportunity for us... You know that I am the counselor of the princes now, right?" Wu Qing asked him.

Qin Lixue nodded.

Wu Qing continued, "Teaching the prince is a good job. I originally wanted you to teach the scriptures, but Master Xun has a lot of experience and no one can replace him."

"I only dared to offer my opinion to the Emperor, hoping that you could teach the princes how to paint. Unfortunately, you were unwell before and missed that rare opportunity."

It turned out that the job was obtained by Qing'er on his behalf?

Qin Lixue was somewhat touched. He said in a gentle voice, "Qing'er, I didn't expect you to plan so much for me."

"As long as Brother Li Xue is fine, I will be satisfied. Your happiness is my greatest pursuit in this life." Wu Qing looked back at him with an innocent smile, like a selfless white lotus.

She mentioned why she asked Qin Lixue to come today.

"Although I have been blessed by the Emperor and have been entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the princes, I always feel powerless when it comes to the actual task. Whenever I give the princes questions, I get overwhelmed and at a loss as to what to do."

"And I dare not disobey the order of the Emperor and the Empress. Even if I have to wait until dawn, I will help the princes to prepare the examination papers. As time goes by, I begin to think, is there anyone in this deep palace who can help me..."

Wu Qing's words inadvertently revealed her fear of the emperor's favor and her inner confusion. Negative emotions such as anxiety and melancholy were intertwined on her face.

Qin Lixue wanted to reach out and smooth her furrowed brows many times.

"Of all the people, the one I trust the most is of course Brother Li Xue."

Wu Qing complimented him softly, "You are a Jinshi, and you are well-educated. You were once a student of Master Zhao Rumo. If you were to set the questions for the princes, you would definitely be able to answer them easily, far better than me."

【This is called flattery. 】

Wu Qing added: "Although you are only an assistant teacher, this means you can get close to the princes and show up more often in front of the emperor. This will be of great benefit to your career."

[This is called drawing big cakes.]

After hearing Wu Qing's words, Qin Lixue was moved again.

He responded solemnly: "I will do my best to be a good teaching assistant and not make things difficult for Qing'er."

Wu Qing nodded slightly, with a trace of worry in his eyes: "Of course I believe in your ability. It's just..."

"You have a lot of work to do, including setting questions and marking papers every day, plus the responsibility of compiling for the Imperial Academy. I'm afraid you'll tire yourself out."

【This is called unpaid overtime.】

Qin Lixue smiled slightly, trying to comfort her: "The affairs of the Hanlin Academy are not heavy, I..."

Wu Qing interrupted him, frowning slightly, "Brother Li Xue, you once took a week off due to eating cold food. Isn't this a sign of worsening health?"

She said with some concern: "I know your mother is anxious to have a child, but you also have to take care of your body and not hurt your health because of your eagerness."

"If you're not in good health, I'd better find someone else."

What does his illness caused by eating cold food have to do with his marriage without children?

...Qing'er's words seemed to be a subtle mockery of his poor health?

If it were someone else, Qin Lixue might have turned against him long ago, but this was Wu Qing - the one who was planning for him even though she couldn't protect herself.

She has never been to school, so her words are naturally a little inconsiderate...

Qing'er is just simply concerned about my health and has no other intentions... Qin Lixue silently comforted himself in his heart.

"Qing'er, you worry too much. There's nothing wrong with my body. If you need anything, just tell me and I will do my best to help you." Qin Lixue said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Wu Qing immediately responded sweetly: "I know that you will always love me the most, Brother Li Xue."

She pointed to the mountain of books piled up in the corner of the room.

"Brother Li Xue, I'd like to trouble you to take a look at the thirty books there for me. The princes' test will begin in two hours, so time is running out. You'd better hurry up."

Qin Lixue stood up and walked to the desk, casually flipping through the titles of the books on the table.

The books were divided into two piles, one half was scriptures and the other half was a variety of miscellaneous books covering a wide range of fields, with no overlap between the two.

Even with Qin Lixue's knowledge and talent, it would take time to fully comprehend the essence of these books.

Seeing Qin Lixue's hesitation, Wu Qing's voice sounded quietly, with a hint of sadness: "It's all my fault. I was only thinking about the princes when choosing books. If Brother Lixue finds it difficult, I will write the test paper today."

Was he underestimated by the woman he loved? And he wanted her to take part in the game herself?

Qin Lixue couldn't bear it, he immediately said: "Don't worry, Qing'er, I will start watching it now, and I will definitely not make things difficult for you."

When Qin Lixue shifted his attention to the books, Wu Qing quickly pulled his hand back and vomited silently a few times.

【Silly bird.】

[After being sold by me, he still helped me count the money. 】

The two of them stayed in the side room for an hour and a half.

Reading should be a calming thing, but Wu Qing had no intention of letting Qin Lixue stop.

Wu Qing walked slowly to Qin Lixue's side: "Brother Lixue, have some tea... Oops! Are you okay? I didn't mean to fall on your paper!"

Qin Lixue said helplessly: "I know, I'll write it again."

After a while, Wu Qing came over with a plate of chestnut cakes.

"Brother Li Xue, this is freshly baked chestnut crisp, crispy and sweet, you should try it."

Just as Qin Lixue was about to reach out to take it, the chestnut crisp "accidentally" slipped from Wu Qing's fingers and fell to the ground.

Wu Qing exclaimed, annoyed: "Oops, I was so careless!"

She hurriedly bent down, carefully picked up the dusty chestnut cake, and pretended to put it into her mouth.

Qin Lixue became nervous, "Qing'er, what are you doing? It just fell to the ground, you can't eat it anymore."

Wu Qing held the chestnut cake tightly in her hands and looked back at him innocently: "I know, but the imperial concubine doesn't give me food or clothes normally. I begged for this chestnut cake for a long time, and I can't bear to throw it away."

She said resolutely: "Since it has accidentally fallen to the ground, I can't let it fall into Brother Li Xue's mouth again."

"It's okay, Brother Li Xue, you can continue reading. These chestnut crisps just fell to the ground not long ago, so I should be able to eat them without any problem."

Qin Lixue suddenly felt an impulse. Almost without thinking, he quickly snatched the chestnut cake from Wu Qing's hand and put it into his mouth while she was talking.

Wu Qing stared at him blankly: "Brother Li Xue...it fell to the ground..."

Qin Lixue swallowed the chestnut crisp whole and said with a forced smile: "How can I let you suffer for this? Thank you for your kindness, it tastes really good."

Wu Qing stared at his face, and then the corners of her lips slowly rose.

"Brother Li Xue, I'm so happy..." she said.