Chapter 100

"Buy more if you like." He handed her the largest skewer. "Try the winter ones, they taste better than usual."

Si Yanmo didn't understand the meaning of his words and looked at him with disbelief. "It's just candied hawthorn, what's so different about it?"

As she spoke, she bit off the topmost fruit, her eyes instantly lighting up with surprise.

Unlike the sour and astringent fruit of summer, this fruit has a slightly grainy texture, combined with a crispy sugar coating, creating a perfectly balanced sweet and sour flavor that is surprisingly delicious.

"Really!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Why?"

Just as the stall owner was about to explain, Zhou Yanqing secretly waved him off.

He put his arm around her waist with a haughty air. "It's a secret. If you stay here, you can eat it often in Qin."

Seeing that he didn't answer her, Si Yanmo stubbornly said, "Then can't I go to Sak?"

“Sak doesn’t have these red berries, so you can’t eat them.”

Zhou Yanqing deliberately manipulated her, her only purpose being to hear her say that she would stay and never leave.

Si Yanmo, however, insisted on going against him, saying, "Then I'll come to Qin to eat in the winter, and then go back."

"Amo!" The puppy was truly anxious; he could never win an argument with her on matters like this. "Are you really going to abandon me?"

Seeing his pitiful look, Si Yanmo couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I... probably won't be leaving for the time being."

She blushed as she spoke.

She was the one who said she wanted to resolve everything and leave as soon as possible, and now it's her who can't bear to part with her, but when it comes to Zhou Yanqing... she thinks she really is willing.

Zhou Yanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and took her hand. "Then I'll let you stay a little longer, so long that you'll never want to leave me again."

As the sunlight faded, the two finally returned to the Qin Prince's residence.

As soon as she got home, Si Yanmo couldn't help but throw herself onto the bed, sprawling out like a pancake. "Waaah, I haven't been back in so long, I missed you so much, my bed."

Zhou Yanqing was amused by her appearance and sat down next to her. "It's clearly my bed."

Si Yanmo retorted without backing down, "Isn't what's yours mine?"

The man chuckled, his eyes full of doting affection. "Alright, alright, they're all yours, and I'm yours too."

He touched the woman's forehead. "Rest a little longer. I'll go check on dinner. Would you like some mutton?"

The person in his arms exclaimed, "Eat, eat, eat! This kind of weather is perfect for eating mutton!"

"Okay." He lovingly covered her with the blanket and went out the door.

Finally back home, the two felt much more at ease. To their surprise, after dinner, Zhou Junsong brought Si Yunyun to visit.

"Shouldn't the Third Prince be on Lanyu Island?" Si Yanmo's eyes widened. Zhou Junsong had clearly said he was going to Lanyu Island when they said goodbye in Sak.

Zhou Junsong explained with a smile that he was already on his way, but Si Yunyun wrote to say that she might give birth in less than two months. After all, this was their first child, and they both valued it very much. Zhou Junsong would never let her give birth alone, so he rushed back as fast as he could.

Because he didn't get delayed on the way, he returned earlier than Si Yanmo and the others.

Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo finally noticed her sister's belly. Si Yunyun was thin, and even though she was seven months pregnant, it wasn't very obvious. Her clothes covered it up, but one could still vaguely sense that she was gaining weight.

She quickly helped her sister sit down and asked about her condition.

Perhaps because of the little life that was about to be born, the atmosphere among them was no longer tentative, but rather warm and cozy.

Zhou Junsong's brows also lost their usual coldness, showing more concern for his wife.

But soon, Zhou Yanqing realized that this was not a good thing.

Because... Si Yanmo moved in with her older sister.

She said she wanted to stay with her sister, since they were each other's only family in Qin. With their parents not around, she wouldn't feel at ease no matter how meticulously Zhou Junsong took care of her if she didn't stay with her.

Zhou Yanqing was in a terrible situation. Just when things were starting to look promising between the two of them, his wife refused to come home, leaving him to spend his days alone in an empty room.

No, he has to find a way to "seduce" his wife back.

Let's do it! First move: play the victim!

He held the two puppies, one black and one white, and squatted in front of the Third Prince's residence, not going in himself but having the guards announce his arrival.

When Si Yanmo came out, she pouted and forced out two tears, "Amo, the puppy is sick. They look for you every night, and I can't sleep well."

To his surprise, Si Yanmo saw through his trick at a glance. "Puppies can't talk, how do you know they're looking for me?"

"They're looking for you. See, they stopped barking when they saw you!" He even deliberately moved the two dogs closer to Si Yanmo.

"But I didn't hear any dogs barking in the yard just now? The front yard isn't far from the gate, is it?"

“That’s…that’s…” Zhou Yanqing knew she was in the wrong, but she still continued to act, “That’s because the puppy was sick and had no strength, so it was barking softly.”

Si Yanmo couldn't help but chuckle, exaggerating, "You're so sick."

Seeing a glimmer of hope, he quickly echoed her words, "Yes, they're all so sick, you can't just abandon them."

Si Yanmo looked troubled and held his shoulder, "Since that's the case..."

Under Zhou Yanqing's expectant gaze, she turned him around with her hand, "Then hurry up and take them to see a vet! I don't know how to treat puppies, Your Highness, why don't you go find someone?"

After saying that, she ran back quickly and had the guard close the door behind her.

First attempt, failed.

Zhou Yanqing then employed her second tactic—catering to his preferences.

Asking Si Yunyun what Si Yanmo likes is unrealistic and would expose his own shortcomings, but he has another option...

He went to Zhong Zihe's restaurant, but couldn't find him anywhere. Then the manager told him that he had been going out with that young master Tan every day for the past few days.

Without even thinking, I knew it was Tan Muhe.

After learning where the two often went, he rode his horse to the outskirts.

These two are really in high spirits, playing music by the river in the dead of winter. If it weren't for the bright sunshine today, they probably would have frozen to death.

Zhou Yanqing wasn't in the mood to listen to the zither; instead, she asked Zhong Zihe what Si Yanmo liked.

"She likes candied hawthorns, but as for other things, she likes flowers, all kinds of flowers."

After hearing Zhong Zihe's words, he vaguely recalled that he had asked Si Yanmo about flowers when he was drunk that day, and the other party's answer was also flowers.

It seems Zhong Zihe wasn't lying to him.

The only problem is where to find flowers in the dead of winter.

He turned to leave, when he suddenly heard the person behind him say awkwardly, "Um... Your Highness, could you please not tell Xiao Mo'er about this?"

He frowned, glanced at Tan Muhe beside him, and then realized, "You guys..."

Zhong Zihe chuckled awkwardly, clasped his hands together, and said, "Please, Your Highness."

"Alright..." he said, but he was already overjoyed inside.

He had thought that Zhong Zihe would pose some threat to him, but it turned out that he was gay, so he was relieved.

He wouldn't care about anything else as long as no one was competing with him for Amo.

For him, the most important thing now was to find some flowers for his Amo. But even with winter plum blossoms, it wasn't enough, especially in the dead of winter.

On a whim, he went to a shop that made lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival and learned how to make them from the shopkeeper. It took him a whole month to finish. When he went to find Si Yanmo, she didn't even look up. Instead, she and Zhou Junsong were helping Si Yunyun pick out children's bibs.

This really infuriated Zhou Yanqing, so she had no choice but to resort to her last resort—if she couldn't beat them, she would join them.

He simply moved into the Third Prince's residence as well, insisting on sticking to Si Yanmo, which left her both amused and exasperated.

"Does Your Highness, the King of Qin, have nothing else to do?"

He pretended nothing had happened and hugged Si Yanmo tightly. "Yes, I did. Since you never spend time with me, I had no choice but to come to you. Aren't you afraid Ye Shengge will have a fit?"

As he spoke, he lowered his head and gently bit her neck.

Startled, Si Yanmo quickly turned around to look, thankfully there was no one in the backyard.

"Are you crazy? This isn't the Prince of Qin's residence!"

"But I just miss you, what should I do?"

The man put on that pitiful look again, which softened her heart.

"Alright, alright, just bear with it for a few more days. After your sister gives birth, I'll take you somewhere, okay?"

This puppy is easy to coax; one sentence and its eyes lit up instantly, "Really?"

Having received her promise, Zhou Yanqing finally felt relieved.

However, sometimes you just can't be happy too soon.

That day, after finishing his affairs at court, he returned to the Third Prince's residence and saw his wife chatting and laughing with his husband from his previous life.

Although Zhou Junsong is now Si Yanmo's brother-in-law, Zhou Yanqing still doesn't like him.

Besides, it's not like he hasn't tried to seduce his Amo!

He walked over, stood in front of Si Yanmo, roughly separated the two of them, and pulled her away by the arm.

"What's wrong with you? I haven't finished speaking yet!" Si Yanmo followed him for a long distance before stopping.

The man looked jealous and said, "Don't get too close to him!"

She said helplessly, "Your Highness, should I remind you that we are allies with him? He is also my sister's husband. Are you jealous of that?"

"But he was your husband in your past life," the puppy pouted. "I'm afraid you two will rekindle your old flame."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Si Yanmo was amused by his antics. The two bickered for a while before Zhou Yanqing finally got down to business.

Less than a month after Si Yunyun gave birth, it was New Year's Eve, and soon the Lantern Festival banquet would be held, and Zhou Yanqing would be entering the palace.

He planned to take this opportunity to bring Tan Muhe to the palace to meet the emperor, but how to explain the matter became a problem.

Since there's no evidence, as long as Chen Tingyu stubbornly refuses to admit it, the Southern Emperor has no reason to abolish divination for the sake of an unrelated person.

Si Yanmo frowned as well. "You're right. Why don't we lure them out?"

How to lure the snake out of its hole?

Before Si Yanmo could answer, a voice came from behind the artificial hill, "Let him confess on his own. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. As long as we set a trap, he will naturally confess."

The owner of the voice approached, and it turned out to be Zhou Junsong.

He cleared his throat twice, smiled, and looked at Si Yanmo, "Does Auntie think what I said is right?"

Si Yanmo nodded. "That's what I thought too."

Seeing the two interacting so harmoniously, Zhou Yanqing felt extremely jealous, but she couldn't show it at this moment.

This matter requires some help from Zhou Junsong.

After discussing it for a while, the three of them came up with a plan, but Zhou Yanqing's expression changed as she looked at the two of them.

His previous hostility towards Zhou Junsong stemmed partly from the possibility that the other party might be the one to kill him, and partly from Si Yanmo's earlier statement that she had considered spending her life with him.

He knew that Si Yanmo had been married to this man, and he also knew that she had truly fallen in love with him.

Later, he discovered that Si Yanmo herself didn't know what love was at all. Perhaps her desire at the time was simply that once she got married, she had to stay with this person forever.

Only then did he let go of some of his resentment.

But just now, he realized something was wrong—they were too in sync, so in sync that they could express each other's thoughts at every step of the plan.

This caused Zhou Yanqing to panic for no reason.

He couldn't help but start to have wild thoughts. If everything Si Yanmo said about their past life was their original destiny, then they should be husband and wife. He hadn't even really seen Si Yanmo's face.

Their tacit understanding was innate, and now, due to the changes in this life, they have begun to appreciate each other.

Does that mean...?

Just then, Si Yanmo's call interrupted his thoughts, "Zhou Yanqing? Why are you spacing out?"