Chapter 51

“That child had a mole behind his ear, and I still remember it to this day,” Du Ruoshan said, his eyes filled with sorrow.

He was only in his early twenties at the time, and he had a younger brother who was about the same age as Tan Yin's child.

When the child hugged him and cried, he couldn't bear it and comforted him for a long time. He almost secretly let him go, but was caught by the steward.

The steward rebuked him, saying that if he showed mercy and let the people go, they would be the ones to die.

The steward covered up the truth for him, and he also went there on the day the child was burned to death.

"The king of the pre-Qin period gave him medicine in advance so that he could at least pass away more comfortably."

Such a small child, held in his mother's arms, was left to be consumed by the flames.

At that time, Du Ruoshan knew that fortune tellers, diviners' offices, and diviners were all people that a nobody like him couldn't afford to offend.

He spent half his life working in this department, rising from Minister of Justice to Minister of Personnel, always remembering one thing: listen to the shamans and diviners, listen to the divination institute, and be cautious in your conduct.

Even if one lives a life of inaction, it is better than dying without knowing how one died.

As Si Yanmo listened, memories of her past life, when she was falsely accused of being a city witch, kept popping into her mind.

She didn't know Tan Yin, nor had she seen his birth chart, so she had no idea what kind of person he was.

But she thought that no one should be arbitrarily executed with a fabricated charge of "major misfortune," let alone have their family members and even their servants implicated.

The existence of diviners, shamans, and fortune tellers was clearly meant to communicate with the gods, to pray for blessings, and to bring good fortune to the people. Now, however, they have become man-eating beasts that even the gods cannot interfere with. Does the god still have any meaning in his existence?

She took Zhao Wan back to the Prince of Qin's mansion and locked her in the study for two hours. When Zhou Yanqing returned, Wu Guan rushed over to her.

"Your Highness, please go and see! The Princess Consort has been in the study for more than two hours, and she hasn't come out or let anyone in."

Zhou Yanqing was also a little worried when he heard this. He asked Zhao Wan, who said that Si Yanmo had been like this since she returned from the Si Academy, and told him everything that had happened at the Si Academy.

Nothing seems wrong...

The more this happened, the more worried he became. He gently knocked on the study door and, sure enough, heard a voice say, "Don't come in, I have something to do!"

He said helplessly, "It's me."

After a while, the door was opened, and the girl's face was gloomy.

"Your lips are so pouty you could hang an oil bottle on them!"

She looks so cute like this!

If it weren't for the timing and the situation, Zhou Yanqing really wanted to ruffle her hair.

He went inside, closed the door, and pulled Si Yanmo to sit down. "What's wrong? Tell me about it."

"It's nothing." Si Yanmo handed him the folded paper on the table.

Anyway, it's written for him to see.

Zhou Yanqing raised an eyebrow, obediently took the document, and opened it to find that it was about the reform of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Divination.

In her memorial, Si Yanmo advocated weakening the influence of the Imperial Censorate on the Imperial Censorate and allowing the Imperial Censorate to handle cases independently.

Why do you think that?

"Don't you think the current approach is unreasonable? The Director of the Court of Judicial Review is like a subordinate of the Divination Bureau. Let me ask you, if the Director of the Court of Judicial Review can only act when the diviner calculates the divination, not to mention how long this case will drag on, what if the diviner is the one who committed the crime? Wouldn't that be like throwing lambs to the slaughter?"

Si Yanmo always manages to say things that defy common sense.

If Zhou Yanqing felt panicked before, after experiencing the abolition of human sacrifice last time, hearing these things again made him feel more excited.

Zhou Yanqing was never one to fear difficulties; however, sitting in his master's position, he always hoped not to tarnish all the efforts his master had made.

But Lin Niang's words that day also awakened him; he was already the king of this land.

To be a king who is timid and hesitant, who only follows the middle way and inherits the legacy of his predecessors, would truly be a disgrace to the title of King of Qin.

Seeing that he remained silent, Si Yanmo assumed he disagreed and advised, "Although I don't understand the intricacies between ruler and subject, I've noticed one thing: the officials in Qin don't want to serve you."

"Oh?" Zhou Yanqing's eyes lit up, seemingly expecting the girl to say more that would surprise him.

His expectation also brought Si Yanmo back to her senses. "Yes!"

She used the merchants she knew best as an example: "When Brother Zihe first opened his restaurant, the manager and staff that Uncle Zhong sent him were all elders from his family, but they didn't listen to him at all. In their eyes, he was just a playboy. When Uncle Zhong wasn't around, they just went along with him."

"Later, Brother Zihe chose to find a new manager and new employees, and even raised their wages. These people have been following him for many years now."

"Do you really have to use him as an example?" Zhou Yanqing was annoyed just hearing that name.

Even if Si Yanmo says she doesn't like him, it's hard to guarantee that the playboy doesn't have feelings for her.

How dare such a scoundrel like Amo?

Pooh!

Si Yanmo ignored his mutterings and continued, "The officials in Qin now are like those old buddies. Whether they're good or bad, your master, not you, truly understands their character. That's why the Wufeng Pass incident happened."

“But if we find new ‘guys,’ we can keep them in check, and the new ‘guys’ will be loyal to you because you gave them jobs.”

Zhou Yanqing took her words seriously. He had been wondering why he couldn't be loved like his master, and why he could only be feared by these people.

Now, his queen and his shaman are paving a new path for him.

"You mean the Director is that new 'buddy'?"

“Yes!” Si Yanmo nodded vigorously.

I talked to Du Ruoshan today and let her know that the people in the Siyuan are not completely unambitious. It's just that they are constrained by the power of the Buyuan and have no real power. What else can they do but slack off?

However, if the judicial court no longer needs to go through the judicial branch in handling cases in the future, and has real power, then not only will the handling of cases be twice as efficient, but it can also break the judicial branch's one-handed control.

"As a diviner, you don't want more power from the diviner's office?"

Si Yanmo shook her head. "This kind of power is meaningless to me, and it is also meaningless to other upright diviners. It is only meaningful to those who are greedy and petty people who have gained power."

“Zhou Yanqing,” she leaned closer to the man, “what I want is not power, but fairness, and that no one will… will die like Ning Qingzi.”

She almost revealed her past life, but fortunately she managed to hold back in time so the other person wouldn't notice.

Zhou Yanqing's breath hitched the moment she approached, and the emotion in his eyes softened from approval to deep affection.

He spoke, his voice becoming somewhat hoarse: "Do you remember the first time we met at the palace banquet?"

Si Yanmo didn't understand why he suddenly brought this up, but she still answered, "I remember, what's wrong?"

“You said back then that you hadn’t studied strategy, but… I think you’re very smart.” The man smiled, his smile revealing tenderness. “Amo, stay my shaman. You’ll be a very good shaman.”

Stay by my side and don't leave me.

The last rays of the setting sun added a touch of warmth to the study and cast a golden glow on the girl's hair.

"Of course!" Si Yanmo shook her head smugly, completely unaware that the man's gaze was becoming increasingly intense.

Finally, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but swallow hard and raised her hand, "Amo, your hair is a mess."

"What?" Si Yanmo instinctively tried to do it herself, but her hand was grabbed.

Taking advantage of the moment, he finally touched the girl's hair. The lingering scent of jasmine followed his fingertips, swirling around his wrists and elbows, and finally opening his heart.

He couldn't control himself and grabbed the girl by the back of her head, pulling her into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Si Yanmo was confused and tried to break free, but was tightly held by those hands that had been holding guns for years.

"Hold me for a little while, Mom is watching from the window."

"Why is your mother again..." Si Yanmo was speechless, when a finger was pressed against her lips. "Shh, don't talk."

"Be careful not to be overheard." The man's serious words carried a coaxing tone, and she had no choice but to let him hold her.

If we don't act like a loving couple in front of Consort Qin, she might cause some trouble again.

Unbeknownst to her, the man beside her smiled and his gaze fell on the window, where there was no one...

As night fell, the two discussed the matter and decided to start with Qi Muchen's case, delegating authority to the Director of the Department. Once the Director of the Department produced results, they could formally restrain these "old buddies."

"Feeling better now?"

Seeing the woman relax and already sitting in the chair swinging her legs, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but feel happy.

The two returned to their bedroom in the east courtyard and were about to rest when they realized something seemed to be missing.

"How come there's only one quilt left?" Si Yanmo muttered.

The room was completely empty; whether it was the storage cabinet where luggage had been placed or the bed, only a blanket remained.

Zhou Yanqing understood. Who else could it be but his mother, who was so eager to have a grandson?

He summoned Wu Guan, and sure enough, it was Consort Qin's order.

"Take it back quickly!" he said helplessly.

"Why did you bring it back?" Consort Qin's voice came from the doorway, not loud, but with a sense of oppression. "You're already married, yet you still sleep in separate beds. Do you think I don't know?"

Zhou Yanqing knew that her mother had always been like this; she had her reasons, and no one could change her mind except for that man.

"Mother, we've been sleeping in separate beds for a long time. It's not easy for us to sleep together all of a sudden."

He didn't mind at all, and even hoped so, but Si Yanmo would definitely not agree.

Although Zhou Yanqing liked her, he was unwilling to share a bed with her when she didn't want to.

Consort Qin, however, was adamant: "If you're not used to it, then start getting used to it now."

With that, he led Wu Guan out, leaving the young couple looking at each other in bewilderment.

Si Yanmo accepted it quickly, "Forget it, didn't we do it last time... Anyway, it's half for each of us, it's no big deal."

Zhou Yanqing's first reaction upon hearing this was not happiness, "If it were another man, could you accept it?"

She accepted things too quickly, making him feel as if she could accept anyone.

As expected, Si Yanmo replied nonchalantly, "Otherwise what? Are you going to reason with your mother? Or take the blanket back? It's pointless, it's just sleeping, it's all the same."

Having experienced life and death in her past life, she didn't like to waste her energy on such things.

But Zhou Yanqing didn't think so. He grabbed her forearm and said in a somewhat anxious tone, "It's different!"