Chapter Forty-Three

"How did you figure that out?" She still thought she and Zhou Yanqing acted quite well.

“You don’t like any of the things he gave me…”

Before Sano could finish speaking, the wooden door was opened from the outside, revealing Wu Guan.

He brought in several plates of food. "I noticed that the Princess and the hostage hadn't eaten much, so I was worried you might be hungry and brought some more food from the kitchen."

He is always so considerate.

Si Yanmo couldn't help but recall her conversation with her sister during the day, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Wu Guan. I didn't realize it before. If it weren't for your thoughtfulness, always asking the kitchen to cook dishes with Nandu flavors, I probably wouldn't have been able to adapt to life in Qin long ago."

Wu Guan was taken aback upon hearing this. "These were all instructions His Highness gave you on your first day here. You didn't know?"

This time, Si Yanmo was stunned.

Watching Wu Guan put down the food, each dish a taste of southern China, she suddenly felt a dense, itchy sensation in her heart.

My sister's words, "It seems that the King of Qin really likes you," inexplicably popped into my mind.

Sano's voice came through, "Although your mother-in-law isn't very nice, Yanqing is really good to you."

Why do you keep changing your mind?

——

The two of them ate their meal together in the west courtyard. Si Yanmo knew that she could hide for a while, but not forever, and she had to go out and see what was going on.

She returned to the east courtyard and saw Wu Guan again, then secretly asked, "That...Mother Qin, has she left?"

"How could she leave? As His Highness's mother, Madam Zhou should naturally stay at the Prince of Qin's residence!"

"Didn't you already have nowhere to stay?"

Wu Guan suddenly remembered the lie he had made up to matchmake the Prince of Qin and the Princess, and awkwardly scratched his head, "Well... I just remembered a couple of days ago that there is actually a small courtyard behind the East Courtyard. It's not big, and no one lived there before, but I've cleaned it up, and it's just right for Madam Zhou to live in."

"Wu Guan!"

She knew that although the Prince of Qin's mansion was not comparable to the palace, it shouldn't only have two habitable rooms.

It's all her fault for not shopping properly before!

And Zhou Yanqing! He doesn't even understand his own residence!

"Are there any other rooms?" That would be good for her to stay separately from Zhou Yanqing.

For the past two months, Zhou Yanqing has been sleeping on the floor, and she feels somewhat guilty about it.

“This time it’s really gone, Your Highness!” Fearing she wouldn’t believe him, Wu Guan added, “If you don’t believe me, you can check. The Prince’s mansion isn’t big; there really aren’t many rooms.”

Oh well, I've gotten used to it over the past two months anyway.

Si Yanmo returned to her room, walked around the screen, and saw a man sitting on the bed in the candlelight, wearing a dark red gauze robe. His long hair was draped over his shoulders, and the ends of his hair revealed his abdominal muscles, which were faintly visible under the gauze robe, making her gasp.

Perhaps because Zhou Yanqing had just finished showering, a wisp of steam entered her nostrils, and her delicate skin seemed to feel the dampness as well, causing the surrounding temperature to rise with the moisture.

She had to admit that, putting aside the rumors of Zhou Yanqing being a jinx, this person was indeed extremely handsome.

She's been following Zhong Zihe, so what beauties and handsome men haven't she seen?

Compared to Zhou Yanqing, they are all slightly inferior.

The chilling aura emanating from someone who had been through countless battles blended with the bright and cheerful demeanor typical of his age, creating a completely different Zhou Yanqing.

My sister's words came to mind again...

She approached cautiously, only to discover that amidst this seemingly beautiful scene, the man was actually struggling with his own hair—

The wooden comb was tangled with the knotted hair, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't smooth it out, causing her beautiful eyebrows to furrow tightly into a "川" (river) shape.

Si Yanmo couldn't help but laugh. She was never good at taking care of herself, but she never expected this person to be even worse.

A woman's slender, pale hands pierced through the dim light and rested on the wooden comb. "Let me do it."

Hearing the sound, Zhou Yanqing looked up. In the dim candlelight, the woman's features appeared hazy.

Yet, he could still discern the man's smile in the pulsating beauty mark.

He knew that it wasn't mockery.

For some reason, only two words remained in his mind—"So beautiful."

Even though Si Yanmo looked no different than usual, he still thought she was beautiful.

He blankly handed the wooden comb to Si Yanmo, their fingertips accidentally touching, and his heart skipped a beat.

Si Yanmo took the comb and slowly combed his hair, her fingers moving gently through his strands.

"If it's tangled, take your time and untangle it one strand at a time, otherwise your hair will fall out."

Zhou Yanqing didn't speak, and even forgot to breathe, feeling that everything at this moment should not be disturbed.

He has never liked his long hair; it's too difficult to manage and it gets tangled. He gets angry every time he combs his hair and feels like he could pull it all out.

But the girl's hands seemed to possess magical powers, easily untangling the knotted hair with just two gentle strokes.

Zhou Yanqing had never experienced this feeling; even his mother had never combed his hair.

He didn't think it was nice to ask others to do this for him; he just felt embarrassed.

Now, however, it has become a source of enjoyment.

Si Yanmo touched his hair. Unlike the ruthlessness he exuded, his hair was soft, like the silk her father brought back from Qi Valley, smooth and shiny.

Her sister and Wu Guan's words reminded her that the person in front of her only looked scary, but his heart was as soft as his hair.

I haven't said thank you yet.

"Thank me... what?" Zhou Yanqing didn't understand the reason behind her words for a moment.

"Your Highness has always taken good care of me. Knowing that I am from Nandu, you even instructed people to take care of my daily life according to the customs of Nandu."

Zhou Yanqing, however, felt that there was nothing wrong with it; he had promised her that he would treat her well.

Before Si Yanmo meets the person she wants to marry, he should fulfill his duties as a husband.

etc!

Husband?

Zhou Yanqing was startled by her own thoughts.

Is that really what he was thinking?

Si Yanmo's mind was filled with her sister's words. Although she didn't have any other thoughts about the person in front of her, the two of them were, after all, married.

To outsiders, they are a married couple.

It seems normal that Zhou Yanqing might have feelings for her.

It was just that this was the first time she had faced such a problem, and she didn't know how to handle it.

It's okay, we can just not get a divorce!

Anyway, she hadn't thought about marriage, nor had she secretly fallen for that man.

It seems like we can just make do like this.

Zhou Yanqing was at least a competent husband and a wise ruler...

Aside from being a bit paranoid and having a habit of threatening her, there's nothing wrong with him.

Thinking this through, she felt she should be frank with him, "Um...do you...like me?"

Zhou Yanqing, who was already startled by the thoughts in her mind, jumped up on the spot upon hearing this, causing Si Yanmo to drop the wooden comb from her hand.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could that be? I...I..." He desperately tried to control his absurdly racing heartbeat and retorted, "I could like anyone but you!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Zhou Yanqing felt that her heartbeat was erratic and abnormal!

How could his mind be in such turmoil because of just one sentence from this woman?

Seeing his excitement, Si Yanmo was stunned but also relieved.

Thank goodness he doesn't like me!

Otherwise, if she were to continue living with him, wouldn't Consort Qin, with her abilities, have to have children?

The thought of the fire-avoidance diagram she had found in Zhong Zihe's "collection" made her feel disgusted, utterly disgusted!

Si Yanmo let out a breath and bent down to pick up the wooden comb.

"If you don't like it, you don't like it. Why are you getting so worked up?" She almost broke the wooden comb.

She muttered with a hint of heartache.

The pattern on this wooden comb is a rare golden crow pattern, which is priceless. It would be such a pity if it were broken!

Seeing her expression, Zhou Yanqing wondered if she had spoken too harshly.

That girl must have feelings for you. How hurtful are you to say such things?

A pang of guilt gripped his heart. He sat down and carefully placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Um... I didn't mean to say you were bad, it's just..."

"It's okay, no need to say anything, I understand. Go to sleep early!"

As long as it's not a difficult love or romantic matter, it's fine!

Si Yanmo felt relieved, put the comb back in the wooden box, took off her outer garment, and lay down on the bed.

All of this came to Zhou Yanqing's attention as he concluded that he must have hurt the girl's feelings.

Looking at Si Yanmo's lonely and forlorn figure lying on the bed, his heart was in turmoil again.

She won't cry secretly, will she?

Actually, she's a good person, pretty and cute, but she always has strange ideas popping into her head; she's practically a little madwoman.

Wasn't he also called crazy?

They're quite a good match...

"Pah, pah, pah! What do you mean by 'perfect match'?!"

Zhou Yanqing slapped her mouth twice, then, fearing Si Yanmo would notice, she secretly peeked out from under the covers to look at the person on the bed.

Why is there no reaction at all?

Did she really cry?

He tentatively asked, "Si Yanmo... are you... alright?"

No one answered. He seemed to hear soft sobbing and quickly got up to check.

result……

The girl was curled up, her legs tucked under the blanket, fast asleep. The so-called "sobbing" was just her soft snoring…

——

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the willow branches and into the glass window. The couple had just finished bathing, and the husband fed his wife medicine that the servant had brought, after testing its temperature.

"Yun'er, are you saying that your aunt is now practicing divination in the Qin region?"

After listening to his wife's conversation with Si Yanmo, Zhou Junsong recalled that the person he had sent earlier had told him that Mo Li was now a shaman in Qin.

His aunt is getting more and more interesting.

Si Yunyun, however, did not understand the deeper meaning in his words and smiled, "Perhaps it is a blessing from heaven! Mo'er has suffered so many grievances, it's time for things to go more smoothly for her."

"But not just anyone can become a shaman, right? Auntie is really amazing."

This time, Si Yunyun understood.

He suspects his sister!

Earlier in Nandu, Si Yunyun took over the household's account books from Lin Jiao'er, but gradually discovered that something was amiss.

As the daughter of a merchant, she had seen a hundred times more accounts than the average person since childhood.

Whether there's a problem or not, you can tell at a glance.

At that time, she could tell that with Zhou Junsong's salary, the household's food, clothing and daily expenses should not have such large accounts, and there were several entries that had clearly been manipulated.

But as a wife and imperial concubine, these were not matters for her to concern herself with.

All she had to do was manage these things for her husband.

So the next day, she found Zhou Junsong and asked him if he needed two sets of accounts, which was very simple for a merchant's daughter.

To her surprise, Zhou Junsong did not hide anything from her, but directly stated his ambition—the throne of the Southern Emperor.

While Si Yunyun was surprised by her husband's honesty, she was even more excited. The merchant's "might makes right" mentality seemed to be clamoring within them.

Will she be a virtuous and capable wife to the prince?

She seemed more interested in trying out the position of Mother of the World.

But no matter how much she yearned for power and how much she supported her husband, her family remained her bottom line.

Si Yunyun's smile faded. "Husband, Mo'er is an innocent child. She poses no threat whatsoever."

Zhou Junsong paused as he put down the medicine bowl, then smiled and said, "Of course, Auntie is family."

As he spoke, he helped Si Yunyun lie down, took the medicine bowl in his hand to the servant outside the door, but his eyes were fixed on the shadows.

He should probably meet his aunt.