Chapter 134

uncle?

Si Yanmo reacted instantly.

Although her uncle had always lived in Qigu, he had a very good relationship with her mother and took good care of the two sisters. Every year during his vacation, he would come to Nandu to visit them.

At that time, Si Yanmo's mind had not yet recovered, so her uncle treated her like a child and brought her strange and unusual things.

He was also the one who inspired Si Yanmo to want to become a shaman.

In her past life, she introduced Zhou Junsong to him. He only agreed to introduce him to the Prince of Qi because the other was his nephew-in-law, which led to the Prince of Qi appreciating him and the two forming an alliance.

Although Zhou Junsong knew of this person because of Si Yunyun, he had not yet gone to Qi Valley, and the two had not yet met.

"You also want to be the one who catches the cicada?" Si Yanmo understood his meaning and couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips.

He tilted his head slightly. "Who wouldn't want to be the one to suffer the consequences? It just depends on who has the ability."

"I'm going to write a letter to my uncle." She was about to leave when Zhou Yanqing stopped her. "Wait, there's one more person..."

——

Night fell, in Qigu and Buyuan.

The man stood on the astrological table, observing the celestial phenomena.

A diviner walked in and handed him an envelope. "Sir, a letter has arrived from Qin. It is said to be from your nephew."

Zhao Xiangxun's eyebrows twitched, and he took the envelope. "Don't let His Highness know about this."

"yes."

He picked up the envelope, saw Si Yanmo's name, hesitated, unsure whether to open it.

Now that the two armies are at war, he knows without even opening the letter that it won't be some small talk.

He has always doted on this little girl, but given the current situation, even if he wanted to help, he was powerless to do so.

But he eventually opened it; after all, she was his niece, and he couldn't just ignore her.

Sure enough, the first two paragraphs of the letter were filled with pleasantries, but the real purpose was revealed later.

Interestingly, instead of expecting Qi Gu's assistance as he had hoped, he sought peace, saying that the King of Qin requested an audience with the King of Qi.

He couldn't understand the King of Qin's meaning, and his hand holding the letter unconsciously tightened.

Worried that something might go wrong, he decided to write back first to inquire about the purpose of the letter.

Si Yanmo's reply to him was also quite interesting, saying that the King of Qi would need them.

He was even more confused now.

If that's the case, then it's beyond his control...

The gates of Wufeng Pass, which had already been occupied by the Qi army, were wide open at this time. However, the visitors were not ostentatious. There was only a group of people riding horses and wearing straw hats, so their appearances could not be seen.

Feng Jiang respectfully welcomed the man down and led him to his tent.

"Your Highness, the King of Qin has arrived. Would you like to see him?" he asked.

The man in the lead took off his straw hat, revealing a gaunt face.

His skin was yellowish, his cheekbones were sharply defined, his cheeks were so thin they were sunken, and his eyes were squinting, as if he was calculating every second.

"Please let him in." His voice was old and hoarse; if one did not know his identity, one would surely mistake him for an old man.

A short while later, Feng led Zhou Yanqing and Si Yanmo in.

Neither of them wore armor, which showed their sincerity.

Qi Rongyu stopped tapping on the table and did not stand up as required by etiquette. "Sit."

Si Yanmo thought to herself, "This person really doesn't even bother to hide his ambition anymore."

Logically speaking, although Zhou Yanqing is younger than him, he is also the Prince of Qin. Neither of them is of higher rank than the other, so such a meeting should be one in which they show mutual respect.

But he's already putting on airs, acting like the emperor of the south.

This is exactly what they want.

Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing sat down together, nodded slightly to Qi Rongyu's uncle next to her, and then pretended to know nothing, sitting obediently and listening to the two talk.

Qi Rongyu ordered someone to make a cup of tea for the two of them, but when it was time to pour the tea, no one moved for a long time.

Seeing this, Zhou Yanqing reached for the teapot, poured half a cup for himself, and lowered his posture.

Qi Rongyu's lips curled up in a smile. "The King of Qin is quite different now than before."

In the past, when they met, Zhou Yanqing always had an arrogant air about him, which Zhou Yanqing couldn't stand.

Zhou Yanqing knew what he was talking about, and smiled slightly, "Married people should naturally be more composed."

"Indeed, Mo Wubu is renowned and will surely be a virtuous wife."

The group chatted casually, as if they were just having a casual conversation. Zhao Xiangxun, watching from the side, broke out in a cold sweat, wondering what this group was up to.

Finally, Qi Rongyu got to the point, "I've heard that the King of Qin has suffered a great deal this time."

Zhou Yanqing didn't reply, but just smiled.

It would be better if Si Yanmo said such a thing.

"Your Highness, you are unaware of this, but my husband and I have a very good relationship. His Majesty, however, wanted to force me to stay and work as a fortune teller. I do not seek high office or great wealth; I only wish to be with my husband. Yet now things have come to this." She looked aggrieved, and as she spoke, she wiped away tears with her handkerchief.

Zhou Yanqing also took her hand in a gesture of reassurance.

Qi Rongyu watched the two perform and was well aware of their purpose, which happened to be exactly what he wanted, so he went along with them.

"His Majesty's actions are indeed inappropriate, but he is still His Majesty. My brother, how can you do something foolish just because of this?"

His address of "brother" helped to bridge the gap between them.

Zhou Yanqing knew that the fish had taken the bait.

He continued his act, "I'm sure the King of Qi heard that my wife and I fell in love at first sight, and that I only wanted to spend my life with her. That was indeed rash... and not what I wanted. The current situation is indeed my own doing, but does His Majesty really just want to give me a warning? Or does he want to eliminate me completely?"

He became increasingly indignant as he spoke, “His Majesty is now targeting more than just Qin. Even the Sak region failed to receive assistance from the Southern Capital during the famine, and Lanyu has not been invited to palace banquets in recent years. Brother Qi, what has your sister, Qi Gu, received as the Empress of the South?”

Qi Rongyu also feigned concern, saying, "Brother, you are still too young and impetuous. But what you said is also true. However, His Majesty is His Majesty. Even if we have grievances, we can only endure them."

Zhou Yanqing saw that he was still pretending and knew that he wanted others to give him a way out and didn't want to be the bad guy.

Just as hypocritical as the Southern Emperor!

Then he'll give him that way out.

“Brother Qi can be tolerant, but I can’t. To be honest, Brother Qi, I don’t want to be the Southern Emperor. I just want to live a peaceful life with my wife in this place. But if anyone is willing to overthrow the tyrant, I will definitely help them.”

Seeing that he had said enough, Qi Rongyu knew that there was no point in being reserved any longer, so he simply stood up and said, “Brother, your words have struck me like thunder. In the current situation, we should not be blindly loyal. It is urgent to punish the tyrant.”

He looked at the general beside him and said, “By my order, Qi Valley and Qin Land shall unite against the tyrannical ruler.”

“But such a hasty action would be illegitimate and lack legitimacy,” Zhao Xiangxun, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but speak up.

They need another excuse.

Qi Rongyu's thin lips gradually turned upwards upon hearing this, eventually bursting into laughter, "Who said there isn't?"

Snowflakes danced in the air, blowing southward for countless days until they reached the Southern Palace.

There had been no good news from the front for a long time, and there was also no news from Qi Valley, which made the Southern Emperor feel uneasy.

Something's not right. Something's extremely wrong.

After finding Nan, he angrily asked, "What exactly are you planning?"

Qi Tingyun had long lost her former respect for him and now acted as if she were the master.

"Is Your Majesty in such a hurry because you fear the King of Qin will win and that the prophecy will come true?"

The Southern Emperor couldn't stand her arrogant attitude, yet he was powerless to do anything about her. He was filled with impotent rage, "Of course he has no chance of winning! I'm talking about you all!"

Qi Tingyun laughed, lazily playing with the incense burner in front of her, lighting the incense powder, "What nonsense is Your Majesty talking about? My brother and I are absolutely loyal to Your Majesty."

"Ha." He sneered, "You think I'd believe you?"

"Whether His Majesty believes it or not is His Majesty's business." She then turned to look at the man, her eyes playful. "It's just a pity that His Majesty doesn't have the right to disbelieve right now."

The Southern Emperor was speechless, and wanted to leave, but she stopped him again. "Your Majesty, wait. What do you think about what I told you before, about making the Third Prince the Crown Prince and adopting him into my family?"

The Southern Emperor had his back to her; she could see he was taking deep breaths, struggling. But he had no choice, and sighed deeply, "As you wish."

"Then I thank Your Majesty." She bowed respectfully, but the Southern Emperor didn't even turn around to look at her before turning and leaving.

Three days later was the grand ceremony for the investiture of the crown prince. The Southern Emperor, the Southern Empress, and Zhou Junsong, who seemed to be lost in thought, came to the Digu Temple to cast their divination sticks.

He picked up the Holy Grail, stood before the statue of Emperor Gu, and muttered something. Just as he threw it down, a guard with a sword rushed in, panicking, "Your Majesty! The King of Qi and the King of Qin have formed an alliance, and their armies are now gathered outside Jiangwan City!"

This statement drew everyone's attention, and no one looked at the result of the divination. The Southern Emperor was furious, "What?"

He slapped the Empress across the face, "So, you dare to lie to me! Guards, lock the Empress in the imperial prison!"

Qi Tingyun clearly hadn't expected this to happen, and angrily rebuked the approaching guards, "Let's see who dares!"

She looked at the guard and hurriedly walked to his side. "What nonsense are you spouting? How could I not know if my brother is allied with the King of Qin?"

The guard couldn't afford to offend anyone, so he could only stammer, "It was indeed news from the vanguard of Jiangwan City that the Qin and Qi armies were already standing outside the city, but for some reason, they haven't moved their troops yet."

"What else is there to say?" the Southern Emperor glared angrily. "Take the Southern Empress away!"

Qi Tingyun was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, which, coincidentally, was the same prison cell that Guan Siyanmo had been in.

She glanced at the damp ground with disgust; her gorgeous clothes seemed completely out of place.

Just then, a figure approached and handed a gold ingot to the jailer beside him, saying, "Please make an exception for me, so I can bring some food to the Empress."