Chapter Eighty

Si Yanmo hurriedly pushed the person away, "Um... it's going to burn."

She turned her head away, trying to calm her breathing, but the flush on her ears betrayed her troubled mind.

With reason returning, Zhou Yanqing released her impulsive hand and turned her gaze back to the lamb leg.

"Um... is it good?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.

The atmosphere just now was so good that he almost thought Si Yanmo had fallen for him, but she still pushed him away.

To be honest, there was a moment when he felt lost.

But for some reason, this sense of loss was different from before; it seemed to be tinged with a hint of sweetness.

Si Yanmo hummed in agreement, not daring to turn around, feeling a pang of melancholy, as if she were hoping the events of the previous conversation would continue.

The two remained silent for a long time, letting the sunset turn into moonlight, and they ate most of the lamb leg piece by piece.

Zhou Yanqing took out the two jars of wine that Lin Niang had given him. "Would you like to try some?"

"Didn't you want me to sing you a song?"

“It won’t take any time.” He picked up two wine cups and poured a little into each one.

Si Yanmo felt a little cold, so she rubbed her shoulders with both hands before taking the wine.

The liquor was clear, with a faint pink hue and a hint of peach blossom fragrance. She took a cautious sip; thankfully, the alcohol content wasn't high, and it wasn't spicy.

Upon seeing her actions, Zhou Yanqing reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Are you cold?" The voice beside my ear was deep and magnetic, with a touch of tender concern.

Si Yanmo leaned closer to him after hearing this, and said, "Mmm."

What do you want me to sing?

"Anything is fine." Zhou Yanqing unconsciously nuzzled her cheek, and when she looked down, she could just see the eye-catching beauty mark under her eyelashes.

How can his Amo be so cute?

He thought about it and drank another glass, his breath seemingly carrying a hint of alcohol.

“Amo.”

"Um?"

"Have you ever felt, even slightly, that I'm different from other people?"

Si Yanmo turned to look at him. His phoenix eyes seemed to hold a lot of emotions, but what they couldn't hide was his longing for her.

"Yes." She raised her hand and touched the man's cheek, humming softly, "Jinjiang River, Wujiu Pass, when will my beloved return..."

"The Golden Crow's Wedding" is a folk song that has been circulating in Golden Crow City for many years. She learned it from the musician sister of He Chunlou.

They had told themselves that story: a girl who had grown up with her beloved and was supposed to marry him when she came of age, but because Qi Gu had not yet submitted to Nandu and there were frequent wars on the border, her lover was conscripted to fight.

At that time, women could not leave the city at will. She could only stand in front of Wujiu Pass and on the banks of the Jinjiang River to bid farewell to her lover.

As the war drums sounded, she hummed this melody, hoping her beloved would return safely.

"But he didn't come back, so the girl jumped into the river." Si Yanmo didn't know why she told Zhou Yanqing this story.

She used to be indifferent to this story.

She didn't understand why, since the dead cannot be brought back to life, one shouldn't try to live a good life.

They haven't seen each other for so long, how much love can still remain?

But now, when she sings this little tune again, she can feel the sadness in it.

"If..." Zhou Yanqing tightened his grip on her, his voice filled with uncertainty, "If I were to die on the battlefield someday, would you be sad?"

"No." Si Yanmo shook her head firmly.

His hand froze, and he mocked himself inwardly: Zhou Yanqing, what are you thinking? She never liked you, did she?

But to his surprise, Si Yanmo spoke again the next second: "I won't let you die."

"Didn't I say I would save you? Even if Digu wanted you dead, I would still save you."

She gently lifted the puppy's drooping head and spoke earnestly, word by word.

She is not the kind of person who can only watch helplessly as the people around her leave. Now that she has the ability, she will protect everyone she cares about.

"Zhou Yanqing, we won't do that."

Zhou Yanqing raised her head, her eyes brightening slightly, unable to hide her joy.

“Since you’re going to save me, you can’t just leave, and you’re not allowed to…” He rested his chin on Si Yanmo’s shoulder, his warm breath gently brushing against her neck, “and you’re not allowed to talk about divorce casually.”

Seeing how concerned the puppy was, Si Yanmo picked up the wine cup in front of her and lightly clinked it against his, "Okay."

Zhou Yanqing could no longer hide her joy. The two of them drank one cup after another, and before long, a whole jar of wine was gone.

Interestingly, although Si Yanmo hadn't drunk much alcohol, she was a heavy drinker who could drink a lot without getting drunk. After drinking so much, her face only became a little rosy, but she remained perfectly sober.

Zhou Yanqing was different. In the end, he could only lie dizzily on her lap, tugging at her sleeve, muttering something unintelligible.

"What did you say?"

Si Yanmo had no choice but to lean closer to hear his words clearly: "Amo, don't like him, okay? Don't like him..."

"Who do you not like?" Si Yanmo didn't understand what he meant and assumed that he was drunk and not thinking clearly, and was probably hallucinating.

She struggled to straighten him up, gripped his shoulders, and said with difficulty, "Let's go back to the room. Can you stand up by yourself? I don't have the strength."

Although Zhou Yanqing had drunk too much, she still retained a sliver of sobriety. She obediently supported herself with her hand to stand up, and then grabbed her hand, grinning foolishly, "Hehe."

Si Yanmo really didn't know what this person was laughing about, and she didn't care to know now.

The night grew deeper, with only the faint moonlight and the chirping of cicadas keeping them company.

She gently helped the person into the room, but by the time she reached the bedside, she was too weak to do anything else and simply threw the person off.

"Ouch!" Zhou Yanqing cried out in pain, rolled over, and vaguely saw her figure. He mumbled, "Amo, does it hurt? Did you fall?"

Si Yanmo was both touched and amused. She sat down next to him and brushed his stray hairs aside. "It doesn't hurt. It's late, go to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing quickly grabbed her hand, "Then you can't leave, and you can't take this opportunity to run away... Stay with me... Don't leave me..."

When Zhou Yanqing was drunk, she became a bit more childlike, and her voice was soft, making it difficult for her to refuse.

She had no choice but to help him take off his coat. "Then you'd better behave tonight."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the man became unruly, grabbing her hand and flipping her over to pin her down.

"Amo..." He gently stroked the woman's cheek, the faint smell of alcohol in his breath seeming to make them both drunk again.

"You...are drunk." Si Yanmo's heart pounded as he looked at her. She wanted to push him away, but she underestimated Zhou Yanqing's strength when he was drunk.

He shook his head, as if trying to shake off the slurred thoughts, "I'm not drunk..."

The puppy buried its head in her neck, sniffing its owner's scent. "Amo, what do you like?"

Why are you asking this?

"I want to...make you happy," he said, each word spoken with childlike sincerity.

Si Yanmo felt her eyes sting for no reason. She was about to push his hand away, but instead quietly wrapped her arms around his waist.

"When I was little, I liked to put flowers in my hair. I liked all kinds of flowers."

"Let me give you lots and lots of flowers, okay?" Zhou Yanqing tightened his arms around her and nuzzled her neck like a puppy.

"Okay, okay." Si Yanmo gently patted his back. "Anything you give me is fine. Can we go to sleep now? It's very late."

The puppy raised its head and obediently grunted. But as soon as it moved away, it vomited with a loud "whoosh."

"Zhou Yanqing!"

Looking at the mess on the ground, Si Yanmo knew that tonight was destined to be a sleepless night...

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Si Yanmo, exhausted from the night before, yawned and opened her eyes to find Zhou Yanqing gone.

In the past, she would not have thought much of it, but after last night, for some reason, she felt a little empty when she didn't see anyone.

She sat up and found that the cage door was already open; it seemed this guy really didn't intend to lock her up anymore. But she didn't make any rash moves.

The puppy is still too insecure. Don't scare him or make him angry again, or she'll be the one who suffers.

She simply asked someone outside to boil a bucket of hot water for her.

Yesterday, she was so busy taking care of the drunken puppy that she got all sweaty, but she was too tired to wash up before going to sleep. If she doesn't wash up now, she'll start to smell bad!

She called out for a long time, but there was no response from outside.

Si Yanmo had no choice but to come out, only to find that the huge house was completely empty.

As she was wondering what was going on, she saw the door being pushed open and a familiar figure running in.

"Wu Guan? Why are you here?" She had never seen Wu Guan since she was "tied" here by Zhou Yanqing.

Zhou Yanqing said that Wu Guan and Zhao Wan would not come, fearing that they would soften their hearts and let her go.

Si Yanmo was both annoyed and amused, but dared not say anything. Now, seeing Wu Guan, she had a bad feeling.

Wu Guan stammered and didn't tell the truth, only saying, "His Highness said he has something to do today and can't come back, so he asked me to bring you some food."

Si Yanmo could not possibly believe it. "Nonsense. Even if he really wanted someone to bring me food, it would be Chen Wu. It's impossible for him to send you all the way from the Prince of Qin's residence."

Over the past few days, she had gleaned from Zhou Yanqing's words that the residence in front of her was located to the east and west of the Prince of Qin's mansion, respectively, and that traveling back and forth by horseback would take at least an hour. On the contrary, it was very close to Zhou Yanqing's military camp.

If it's about delivering food, it would be faster for Chen Wu to come over.

Wu Guan was also someone who couldn't keep secrets. As soon as she said one sentence, he surrendered and confessed everything.

It turns out that Sano has disappeared.

"How could she have disappeared?" Si Yanmo was shocked.

Since Sano heard what they said, he has been running between the military camp and the Prince of Qin's residence every day. Only when he is tired will he simply stay at the military camp. He is very obedient and would never do anything like sneaking away again.

That might be...

"Did Sak find something?" She grabbed Wu Guan's hand, her eyes filled with anxiety.

Wu Guan didn't know either. "These past two days, the hostage said he would stay in the military camp, so I didn't think much of it. But yesterday, His Highness sent someone to deliver sheep. I thought I'd go and ask the hostage if he needed any new clothes, but I didn't see him at all..."