Chapter 81

At first, they thought Sano had just run off to play, but when he didn't return by nightfall, they found out that the soldiers in the camp hadn't seen him for a long time either, and that's when they started to panic.

Coincidentally, the Sak envoy who had been trading for the past few days had not yet left.

Whether or not they discovered that Sano had secretly joined the army, as long as they found out that the hostage was missing, they would have another excuse to target the Qin region.

Zhou Yanqing had no choice but to go out and find people himself. At least if they wanted to cause trouble, it would show that the King of Qin was sincere. Now that the two sides still needed to make a deal, they wouldn't make things too tense.

After hearing Wu Guan's explanation, Si Yanmo felt even more confused. At first, she thought that Sak's people had hidden Sano or injured him, intending to frame Qin.

But now Sak himself is deeply mired in the frost disaster. If he wants to survive this autumn, he either has to wait for the disaster relief grain from the Southern Capital, or he has to find a way on his own.

The closest place to them now is Qin, which is located further south than them. Only the border area between the two sides may be affected, which is easy to resolve, and they can even trade with them.

At this critical moment, they no longer need to target the Qin region.

Where did Sano go?

Si Yanmo had lived under the same roof with him for three or four months, and had long regarded him as her younger brother.

Now that Sano is missing, it would be a lie to say she isn't worried.

She can't really stay here and wait for news.

"Wu Guan, did you come by horse-drawn carriage?"

Wu Guan nodded, realizing what she was about to do, and tried to stop her, "You mustn't, Your Highness. If His Highness finds out, I'll cripple myself if I let you out!"

"Don't worry, I'll plead for you then. Besides, isn't this the most urgent thing right now?" she said, striding out the door and getting into the carriage.

Seeing that Wu Guan showed no sign of moving, she shouted, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Where are you going?" Wu Guan stood there, looking like he was about to cry.

Yeah, where are we going?

Sano doesn't know many people here, and Zhou Yanqing is definitely already investigating at the military camp. She should think about other places.

Do you know where he usually likes to go?

"How would I know that!" Wu Guan sat on the front of the carriage, requesting to see the crabapple tree in front, when he suddenly remembered something. "But I did hear the hostage mention it once. A soldier told him that there was a shop run by a Sak person in the suburbs, and that their crabapple cakes were very authentic. He wanted to go and taste the flavor of his hometown."

Begonia cakes...

Si Yanmo recalled that day on the Flower Festival, when Sano mentioned that his mother always made crabapples for him, and that the crabapples must have originated from Sak. This homesick child certainly wouldn't miss the chance to go and taste them.

"Then go ask the boss if he has seen him."

Having obtained the directions, Wu Guan instructed the driver to raise his whip and guide him to the shop he had mentioned.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they went down, two or three Qin soldiers were guarding the entrance.

Si Yanmo immediately realized that someone had already gotten there first.

She got out of the car and went into the house, where she indeed saw Zhou Yanqing.

At this moment, the man was wearing a long robe of dark gold, with the familiar long sword at his waist, as if he had returned to the time when they first met, his eyes full of sharpness.

He also noticed the unusual gaze, turned around and met it. He frowned slightly, still listening to what the boss was saying, but mouthed to Si Yanmo, "Naughty."

If it were in the past, even three days ago, Si Yanmo would have been scared, but now, she just thinks it's like a puppy getting angry.

After Zhou Yanqing finished negotiating with the boss, she leaned over and secretly hooked her arm around his, coaxing him, "How was it?"

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask Madam first?" Zhou Yanqing grabbed her hand and wrapped it around hers. "I guess I still have to tie you up, otherwise you'll run around."

"I didn't run around. I was waiting for you at home, okay? Didn't I hear about the accident in Sano?"

The word "home" in her words pleased Zhou Yanqing, and her mood improved slightly. Her tone became a bit more childish, "You're not allowed to care about other men."

"Zhou Yanqing!" Si Yanmo was truly exasperated with him. "How can you be jealous of everyone?"

After exchanging a few words, the two returned to their business.

Zhou Yanqing just learned from the boss that Sano had indeed been here some time ago, and had come many times. He had even spoken to a man with a Sawa accent, and the two seemed to know each other.

"Sawa people?" Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo's doubts deepened, and she was somewhat confused. She simply asked Zhou Yanqing, "What do you think is going on?"

Zhou Yanqing couldn't figure out the whole story at first, but at least she had a clue.

Thinking of something, Si Yanmo asked the shopkeeper again, "Has that man come here again?"

The shopkeeper nodded. "I've been here several times. Each time I buy the cheapest pancakes, and I always make sure to come right before closing time."

It was almost the hottest time of the year, and most shopkeepers, fearing their food would spoil, would sell off their remaining stock at low prices when they closed.

Since this person has made a decision, he probably doesn't have much money on him at this point.

Si Yanmo couldn't help but think of how her own shop often encountered this situation during droughts. Some disaster victims from outside Nandu had nowhere to live, so they would gather together according to their household registration to look after each other.

They would send different people to different shops to buy the cheapest food to make a living, and sometimes they would also work together for shops that were short-staffed.

Considering the recent freezing weather in Sak, Si Yanmo thought of a possibility, "Do you think that person could be a disaster victim from Sak?"

Zhou Yanqing frowned slightly. He had considered this possibility, but Qin'an City was far from the Sak border. The situation of the disaster victims near the border was not that serious. How could there be disaster victims flowing into Qin'an?

“Sometimes they aren’t necessarily disaster victims. I remember when there was a drought on the border of Nandu, my father’s cousins ​​would travel a longer distance to come to our house. After all, in areas severely affected by drought, the surrounding areas also don’t have enough food. If they still have food stored up, they might as well save it and go to their relatives so they won’t have to worry about food in the future.”

"You mean Sano is that relative?" Zhou Yanqing realized what she meant.

Si Yanmo nodded, "With a Sak accent, it's hard not to recognize Sano.

With this clue, Si Yanmo gave him a suggestion, "We can stake out here; they'll come for food sooner or later."

Zhou Yanqing thought what she said made sense, and raised an eyebrow, "Add fuel to the fire."

A sparrow, drawn by the aroma, flew down from a tree and hopped onto a sign next to the pancake stall. The sign read, "Ten pancakes for one coin."

“They’ll definitely come if it’s this cheap,” Zhou Yanqing said confidently.

The two sat inside, each with a cup of tea, waiting. Bored, Si Yanmo asked him again, "Are you going to keep me locked up?"

"Isn't this better? You don't have to do anything. I'll do anything for you." Zhou Yanqing took a sip of tea, revealing a slightly disgusted expression. This tea was indeed inferior to the tea in his residence.

“It looks good, but I’m a sorcerer, I can’t just disappear every day, can I?” She rested her chin on her hand. “I don’t believe you really plan to switch sorcerers.”

Zhou Yanqing leaned closer to her, "You trust me that much?"

"I have always believed in it."

"Really? Before, I thought I was just trying to take responsibility for you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Si Yanmo suddenly grabbed his hand.

"What, feeling guilty?" He looked at their hands with a smug expression, feeling sweet inside.

Si Yanmo patted him on the shoulder, "What? That person is here?"

Hearing this, he turned around and saw a man dressed simply, even somewhat tattered, walking towards the shop.

How can you be sure it's this person?

“He has frostbite on his hands. Although he is very thin, he is tall. Usually only Sak people are that tall. With those frostbite, it must be him.”

Si Yanmo was analyzing the situation seriously when the shopkeeper signaled to the two of them. The soldiers nearby surrounded them instantly, and by the time the man realized what was happening, it was too late to run away.

Zhou Yanqing then slowly took her hand and led her over, "Tell me, where is Sano?"

Upon hearing the name Sano and seeing their luxurious attire, the man guessed their identities and obediently knelt down to pay his respects: "King Qin, Princess Qin."

Zhou Yanqing liked dealing with intelligent people, and the other party did not disappoint her, telling the two of Sano's location without much struggle.

The worried older brother and sister soon arrived at an abandoned temple in a carriage, where Yun Ji was still enshrined.

Sure enough, as soon as the two entered, they saw Sano distributing porridge to the disaster victims.

Si Yanmo was the first to run over, her voice full of worry and anxiety, "Sano! Look at you, why did you come here all by yourself without telling us? Do you know how worried we were? We almost thought something had happened to you."

When Sano saw her, he looked somewhat guilty, but when he saw Zhou Yanqing, his expression turned to fear.

“Brother Yanqing…I was wrong…” He lowered his head, not daring to look into the man’s angry eyes.

Zhou Yanqing was quite straightforward, saying, "I'll go back to the barracks later and collect ten strokes of the military rod myself."

Si Yanmo wanted to help persuade him, but before she could even open her mouth, she was scared away by a look from him.

Alright, alright, ten lashes isn't too much, little Sano, you'll have to take it.

She looked up and realized that there were quite a few disaster victims here. Some were still wearing relatively neat clothes, while others were dressed in tattered clothes. There were also some children who had to squeeze together with their parents.

She couldn't bear it, and since she had just bought some crabapple cakes from the shop on her way there, she went to the child's side.

The little girl's face was dirty, a stark contrast to the boy next to her. Although the boy's mother wasn't dressed well, her face was clean, clearly indicating that she had been well cared for by her parents.

Si Yanmo sighed; some deeply ingrained ideas wouldn't change even at this point.

She squatted down, took out a pancake from her bundle, and handed it to the little girl. The girl hesitated for a moment but didn't dare to take it. She only took it after her mother next to her nodded.

However, the next second, the girl did not wolf down the pancake as she had imagined, nor did she share it with her parents or younger brother. Instead, she took the pancake and placed it in front of the Yunji statue, which had lost an arm due to being abandoned.