Chapter Fourteen

At this moment, Wu Guan noticed that there was another person standing to the side. Seeing the two behaving intimately, he bowed to Si Yanmo and said, "Your Highness." He also received a return bow from the woman.

This left him completely baffled.

The letter from Consort Qin clearly stated that the Queen Consort was mentally unstable, like a five-year-old child, and that was why she wanted to find several concubines for the King of Qin to have children.

But now that I see Si Yanmo, this woman's words and actions, as well as her flirting with Zhou Yanqing just now, are no different from ordinary people. What is going on?

Wu Guan looked at Zhou Yanqing and tentatively asked, "Prince Qin, what about the Princess Consort...?"

Zhou Yanqing then remembered this matter and said, "It's a long story, I'll tell you in a bit. First, have the servants take my and my wife's luggage in and arrange a room for my wife alone."

Wu Guan said yes, and sent the luggage in as instructed. He also asked someone to prepare the small courtyard on the west side for Si Yanmo.

As for those women, they were dismissed after Zhou Yanqing explained the whole story. He also asked Wu Guan to write a letter to Consort Qin saying that he didn't need these women. Whether Consort Qin would comply with his wishes was another matter.

——

After nearly a month of arduous travel, Si Yanmo had never suffered like this before. When Wu Guan took her to the bedroom, she instructed him not to let anyone disturb her. Afterward, she lay down on the bed and slept until dawn.

Zhou Yanqing was also exhausted and went back to her room to rest early.

Meanwhile, far to the west of Qin, in the capital city of Qi—Suigu, a white dove drifted leisurely through the budding willows, flew into the red city wall, and landed on the arm guard of a red-clad guard.

The man calmly removed the note from the white dove's leg, put it in a cage, and turned to enter the palace behind him.

Inside the hall, a thin, middle-aged man dressed in a red round-necked robe stood behind a table, holding a calligraphy brush in his hand, slowly writing something.

Hearing the guard's footsteps, the man didn't look up, but simply uttered a single word: "Speak."

"Five Maple Pass, lost."

Upon hearing this, Qi Rongyu put down his pen, looked up at the guard, and asked, "Oh? So fast?"

He had just received news from Zhou Yanqing and his wife that they had arrived at Wufeng Pass a few days ago, but he didn't expect that he would find out so quickly. It seems that this Prince Qin must not be allowed to live.

His Highness's guard hesitated, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the prince saw through him and told him to continue.

"The letter also said that the King of Qin's new bride seemed to have psychic abilities, and that she could see through all the spies we had planted at a glance, without even needing to consult divination."

"Really?" Qi Rongyu's usually calm face showed curiosity upon hearing this. "Who is this Princess Qin?"

"She is Si Yanmo, the youngest daughter of Si Jianwen of the Nandu Chamber of Commerce's charitable hall. It is said that she and her sister Si Yunyun are twins, and there were strange phenomena at the time of their birth, which were regarded as auspicious omens. However, this girl has always been mentally challenged, like a five-year-old child, and it is unknown why she has such abilities."

"Interesting!" Qi Rongyu curled his lips and sat down in a chair. "Go investigate, and have the people from the Imperial Academy investigate thoroughly as well."

He wanted to see just who this Princess Qin was; anyone who stood in his way would only face death.

Watching the guards withdraw as ordered, Qi Rongyu's gaze slowly fell on the table in front of him. On the yellowed Xuan paper, a subtle yet elegant character for "loyalty" stood out...

The next morning, Si Yanmo, who was still sleeping in, was woken up by Zhou Yanqing banging on the door and pulled into the carriage.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?" She yawned, her tone full of impatience. "I haven't slept in even once since I married you!"

Si Yanmo wore a light green dress, her hair was simply tied up with a plain hairpin, and some stray hairs fell on both sides of her face.

She was strikingly beautiful; even without makeup, her face was undeniably aggressive. Normally, she wouldn't wear such plain clothes, as they could easily appear bland, but today, her attire was like green leaves setting off a red flower—perfectly complementing each other.

Zhou Yanqing pointed to her stray hairs, indicating that she should tuck them behind her ears.

“I’ll take you to the divination academy! There are only two months left until the divination exam, and you still don’t know anything! Don’t tell me you’re planning to give up?” He teased the other person on purpose. “Then you can only fulfill my mother’s wish to hold her grandson.”

"Stop!" Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo immediately sobered up and sat up straight. "Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, the coachman cracked his whip, and the horse's hooves propelled the cart forward.

However, when the carriage stopped, Si Yanmo lifted the curtain and found herself in front of a magnificent three-story restaurant, its decor far superior to Zhou Yanqing's "shabby" Qin Prince's mansion.

The plaque bore three imposing characters: Yun Jian Xuan.

"Aren't we going to the divination hall?" she frowned.

Zhou Yanqing raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Going to bribe someone, shouldn't you bring something with you?"

Is it really that... aboveboard?

Si Yanmo couldn't figure out what he was up to.

"You're not the King of Qin? You still want a bribe?"

"Do you think the King of Qin can control the Divination Bureau?"

The two walked inside, chatting amongst themselves.

The Cloud Pavilion looks magnificent from the outside, but inside it is an even more unique and secluded place.

There were singers, card players, storytellers—everything imaginable—making it even more lively than Hechunlou.

"Can't you? Didn't you kill that sorcerer before?" Si Yanmo asked in confusion. She had never seen in the other party's destiny that the King of Qin was afraid of the sorcerer.

“That was because he deserted in the face of battle,” Zhou Yanqing explained. “On the battlefield, even a shaman must obey the general’s orders. But elsewhere, a shaman and I are almost equals. He may not have real power, but that doesn’t mean I can do whatever I want with him.”

I see! Si Yanmo nodded to herself.

"If I become your shaman, will you still be unable to do anything to me?"

Upon hearing this tone, the man stopped in his tracks, turned around, and said with a playful tone, "Want to soar like a bird in the sky? Let's see if you can actually do it!"

After saying that, he turned around and continued upstairs.

Si Yanmo scoffed indignantly, "With His Highness Prince Qin working so diligently, I, this little bird, am sure to fly up to the top and become a phoenix!"

"That would be best!"

A smile followed as a light tap landed on her head, causing her to cry out in pain and pout at the man in dissatisfaction.

Just wait, she'll definitely become a shaman!

The two went up to the second floor.

Zhou Yanqing led her through a maze of turns until they arrived at a side room. They could faintly smell a fresh fragrance, indicating that someone was burning incense inside.

Moreover, having spent a lot of time with Zhong Zihe in the world of cosmetics, Si Yanmo could tell that this fragrance was one that women liked.

"Is this bribe some kind of honey trap?" she asked in a low voice.

Zhou Yanqing did not answer, but raised her hand and knocked lightly on the wooden door twice. A series of footsteps approached from afar, and the door to the room was slowly opened.

The woman who opened the door was made up with powder and rouge, a little shorter than her, wearing a light purple dress and holding a moon-white round fan in her hand.

It really was a honey trap!

When Si Yanmo saw the woman, she immediately felt that the talk about urging childbirth yesterday was probably not just an excuse from Zhou Yanqing.

This guy seems to have female confidantes everywhere.

The woman tapped Zhou Yanqing on the shoulder with her fan and said familiarly, "What are you doing here again, kid? Let me tell you, I'm very busy!"

Zhou Yanqing put on a fawning smile, "Lin Niang, I just returned from Nandu and came to pay my respects to you with my newlywed wife. Are you going to send me away like this?"

What? You're married?

Upon hearing this, Lin Niang's gaze shifted to Si Yanmo standing to the side. She smiled and took Si Yanmo's hand. "Oh my, this Southern Capital is truly blessed with good fortune. Look at this young lady, she's so beautiful! How lucky you are, lad?"

Although Si Yanmo was often praised for her beauty in Nandu, most of the time it was only because there was nothing else to praise her for, which made her seem extremely hypocritical.

This was the first time she had ever seen someone praise her with such admiration in their eyes, and she couldn't help but feel happy, leaning slightly towards Lin Niang.

"Since Lin Niang likes my wife so much, could you make some of your specialty pear cakes for my wife to try?" Zhou Yanqing said, giving her a wink.

Si Yanmo immediately realized what was happening and gave a fawning smile.

Lin Niang glanced between the two and immediately saw through Zhou Yanqing's little scheme.

She loosened her grip on Si Yanmo's hand and scoffed, "I bet you're not going to let your wife try it, but rather to give it to that old man, aren't you?"

Zhou Yanqing, exposed, chuckled awkwardly to cover it up: "How could that be, Lin Niang! It's really because I wanted to give Madam a taste."

"Do you think your mother is a fool?" Lin Niang turned her head and pretended to close the door. "Tell that old man that if he wants to eat, he can make it himself."

"If he could cook by himself, would he keep trying to sneak in and steal food?" Zhou Yanqing quickly reached out to stop him, and simply told the truth, "Good Lin Niang, you're the best! Help me! If I didn't need something from him, would I have bothered you like this?"

"Yes, Sister Lin, please help!" Si Yanmo joined in, looking at Lin Niang with starry eyes.

"What did you call me just now?" Lin Niang's eyes lit up.

"……elder sister?"

Si Yanmo felt that she hadn't said anything wrong.

"Okay, I'll go make it for you right away!" she said happily, and ran off to the kitchen.

Si Yanmo hadn't figured out what was going on yet, but she followed Zhou Yanqing into the side room and sat down.

"Who is this Lin Niang?"

Zhou Yanqing poured herself and her a cup of tea with practiced ease. "Didn't you look at her destiny?"

"You think I enjoy watching these kinds of things?"

“She’s the first teacher I found for you,” Zhou Yanqing said, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. “She’s also the owner of Yun Jian Xuan.”

"Teacher?" She thought he was just there to buy "bribe" gifts.

Zhou Yanqing explained, "In her early years, Lin Niang was a Gu master in the Divination Academy. She, along with Grand Tutor Mo and Witch Wang, whom you will meet later, were known as the Three Masters. They were in charge of the affairs of the three departments of Gu arts, divination, and witchcraft in the Divination Academy, respectively. In terms of Gu arts, which are required for the divination and witchcraft examinations, there is no one else in the entire Qin'an City who is more skilled than her."

"Back then? How old is she now..."

Zhou Yanqing smiled and said, "I'm forty-three."

Si Yanmo's mouth dropped open. Lin Niang was graceful and looked only a few years older than her, but she was actually over forty.

"If you are a Gu Master, why are you trading here?"