Chapter Ninety-Two

"Nothing much." He smiled slightly. "My aunt knows what I want to ask."

Si Yanmo took a few seconds to react, "Destiny?"

Seeing him nod, Si Yanmo had no choice but to say, "I've already said, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

"But you told the King of Qin, didn't you?"

Zhou Junsong had a vague feeling that Zhou Yanqing's willingness to ally with him was definitely not because of the sisterly relationship between Si Yanmo and Si Yunyun.

He didn't believe that a monarch would give up the throne he could have for just one woman.

The Southern Emperor had few heirs, and he possessed a foundation that others lacked, making it easy for him to seize the throne.

He initially thought it was a delaying tactic, but when he arrived in Sak, he saw that the Wu brothers had also fought fiercely for the throne. It was because the celestial signs on the day Wu Zhao was born indicated that he was destined to become king, so even though Wu Lan had many complaints, he could only let him ascend to the throne of Sak.

This made Zhou Junsong think of Mo Li, who had risen to fame in Nandu and was said to never make a mistake. If he had cast a divination for him, would he have gotten the answer he wanted?

Perhaps... his scheme will actually succeed, which is why they are helping him.

As he suspected, Si Yanmo saw that he was relentlessly pursuing the matter and thought that this might be a way to dispel his doubts. So she told him, "Your Highness's wishes will come true. My husband and I will also lend Your Highness a hand. We only hope that Your Highness will have more trust in us."

After she finished speaking, taking advantage of Zhou Junsong's joy, she snatched her bell from his hand, tied it back around her waist, and left with the beauty.

Zhou Junsong stood still, a triumphant smile playing on his lips.

The snow was still falling, and as soon as Si Yanmo stepped out, a blast of cold air enveloped her. Fortunately, she had a fox fur coat with her, so she wasn't freezing.

The beauty next to her was less fortunate. To cater to Wu Zhao's perverse aesthetic, she was still mostly naked in the already cold winter.

She quickly pulled the man and wrapped her in the fox fur coat as well. The beautiful woman was terrified and dared not share the same clothes with the Princess of Qin. She tried to push her away, but the woman pretended to scold her and obediently complied, getting into the sedan chair with her.

Zhou Yanqing was still drunk inside the sedan chair, so Si Yanmo had to help him up and let him rest his head on her lap, while handing her hand warmer to the beauty.

As she brushed Zhou Yanqing's stray hairs aside, she asked, "What does King Sak want you to do?"

Upon hearing this, the beauty tried to kneel down in the sedan chair, but the swaying prevented her from doing so.

Her voice was panicked, "Your Highness, this really has nothing to do with me!"

Si Yanmo's expression was unusually cold, truly displaying the demeanor of a princess. "I know it's none of your business, but what I need to know is what he asked you to do?"

The beauty wasn't stupid. The Princess Consort of Qin had just helped her escape the wrath of the King of Sak, making her her benefactor. Naturally, she spoke her mind.

It turns out that King Sak wasn't as foolish as he seemed. He outwardly agreed to Zhou Yanqing's conditions, but secretly planned to kill him through a honey trap.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yanqing, whose heart and eyes were completely devoted to Si Yanmo, didn't realize his scheme and didn't fall for it.

Si Yanmo smiled and returned to their residence. She asked Chen Wu to help the beauty make arrangements and found her a thick coat, telling her to stay there while she went to look after Zhou Yanqing, that little drunkard.

This was the second time he had gotten drunk at Si Yanmo's. Compared to the last time when he was just slightly tipsy from a small drink, this time he was truly drunk by that old bastard Wu Zhao. His whole face was red, and even his fingertips were flushed.

"You're just lucky!" Si Yanmo tapped his reddened nose, finding him incredibly adorable.

Zhou Yanqing seemed to notice the mischievous hand as well, and shook her head, "Um... Amo..."

"I'm here." She answered as if possessed, her eyes smiling, her index finger tracing his outline—from his forehead and eyes to the tip of his nose, all the way down to his chin, and inexplicably returning to his lips, her thumb gently caressing them.

She remembered what they had said that morning. Since he had drunk too much, then it wouldn't count, right?

"Zhou Yanqing?" She leaned close to his ear, her voice very soft, "Zhou Yanqing?"

Having failed to wake the person, she smiled, half triumphant and half indulgent, "It's because you didn't wake up, so don't blame me!"

As she said this, her eyes grew darker and darker, fixing on the man's lips.

A familiar feeling flooded her mind again, and she mistook it for Ye Shengge, following her desire to kiss him.

As their soft, warm lips touched, Zhou Yanqing seemed to sober up, holding the back of her head and deepening the kiss.

She was frightened and tried to break free, but gradually became intoxicated by the man's alcohol smell and soon forgot herself. They only separated when she could no longer breathe.

“Amo…”

She raised her slightly moist eyes and heard the man call her name.

She had called him that many times before, but at this moment, the sound stirred something inexplicable within her.

"You...you're awake?" she asked tentatively, but received no reply. She only heard Zhou Yanqing calling her name again and again.

It seems he's still drunk.

Si Yanmo smiled and touched his cheek, muttering with a hint of sourness, "So easy to seduce when you're drunk?"

Although she said that, hearing him call her name still filled her heart with a sweet feeling. She helped him undress and lie down on the bed, and then lay down next to him.

Zhou Yanqing seemed to sense something, turned around and hugged her. She didn't flinch, and just lay in his arms, a slight smile on her lips, "Sleep well, little puppy."

——

The liquor in this sack was very strong, and Zhou Yanqing slept straight through until the afternoon of the following day.

At this moment, Si Yanmo had already changed her clothes and was sitting at the table fiddling with her bell.

He sat up and saw his wife behind the thin veil, wearing a light green robe, with a silver bell jingling in her hand, like a fairy descending to earth.

Zhou Yanqing was stunned for a moment. When she looked at her, she coughed lightly to cover her infatuation, "Did I sleep for a long time?"

He stood up and realized that his undergarments had been changed. He instantly realized something and his ears turned red.

"You changed it for me?"

When Si Yanmo heard him say that, she remembered her impulsive actions last night and felt a little embarrassed. "No... it was Chen Wu."

"Oh." Zhou Yanqing nodded, still somewhat disappointed.

He parted the veil and sat down next to her, creating an awkward atmosphere for a moment.

"that……"

"I……"

The two spoke in unison.

Si Yanmo felt a pang of guilt and spoke faster than he could, "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Zhou Yanqing nodded, which made her even more nervous. She wanted to defend herself, "Last night I..."

Before she could finish speaking, she heard the other person say, "Didn't Wu Zhao fall for the trap last night? Do you think we should just wait and see, or..."

He didn't even notice the evasive look in the eyes of the person next to him, which turned into a relaxed expression halfway through his speech.

You mean this?

Si Yanmo visibly exhaled and quickly said, "Yes, that guy has taken the bait. We should just wait and see!"

Zhou Yanqing then realized that she seemed to have been acting strangely ever since he woke up, and a look of suspicion flashed in her eyes. "What else happened last night?"

"N-nothing!" Si Yanmo waved her hands frantically, as if she had been caught stealing flowers.

This made Zhou Yanqing even more suspicious. He narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the woman, "Really nothing?"

It would have been better if he hadn't come closer. The moment his face got so close, the scenes from last night became even clearer in Si Yanmo's mind. She instinctively looked away, refusing to look at him.

But then, that warm breath brushed against her ear, almost imperceptibly.

Her chest heaved, and in the end she could only tell half the story, "It's that beauty that Wu Zhao wanted to give you last night, he planned to use her to assassinate you."

"Oh? Anything else?" Zhou Yanqing didn't believe that these were enough to make her avoid him.

"Madam, you can't hide anything from me. What if something goes wrong if you miss something?" He rested his chin on one hand and deliberately leaned closer.

They're really not easy to fool!

Si Yanmo then told Zhou Junsong about it, which successfully diverted Zhou Yanqing's attention.

"Oh? He doesn't have a crush on you?"

Although their marriage was a matter from a previous life, in Zhou Yanqing's eyes this person was even more dangerous than Zhong Zihe.

Zhong Zihe has a bottom line, but he doesn't. Even if he doesn't like someone, he can still seduce them with his good looks. If he does like someone, that would be terrible.

Si Yanmo was speechless at his guess. "How could that be? He's the kind of person who likes to do things he's sure of. He probably realized that we're helping him because he thinks he can seize the throne. If that's the case, it's better to tell him that having our interests aligned might make him feel more at ease with us."

Zhou Yanqing's focus wasn't on that, "Did he take the bell I gave you?"

"What's wrong?" Si Yanmo looked at him with confusion as he snatched the bell from her hand, asked someone to bring in a basin of water, and childishly washed it several times.

"I find anything he touched dirty!" Zhou Yanqing bared his teeth like a puppy, making Si Yanmo both laugh and cry. "You're still laughing? He touched it, and you still took it?"

"Didn't you give it to me? If it weren't for getting it back from him, I wouldn't have bothered with him."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing paused in washing the bell, then raised her chin with a touch of arrogance, "So... you did this for me?"

“Yes, for you…” She stepped closer, her smiling eyes close to his, while secretly taking the bell from his hand and gently wiping it with a handkerchief, “The bell!”

After saying that, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhou Yanqing immediately realized what was happening, grabbed her waist, and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, you've gone bad!"

Si Yanmo was still smiling, her hand naturally resting on his chest, tilting her head playfully and asking, "So what?"

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yanqing raised an eyebrow and told someone to pick him up. "You're definitely going to be punished by me!"

She remained calm and naturally wrapped her arms around his neck, the bells jingling crisply as they swayed behind his neck.

"How do you want to punish me?"

"How about..." Just as she thought Zhou Yanqing was about to say something inappropriate, the puppy simply buried its head in his neck and gently rubbed against him, "...come with me for a walk?"

Si Yanmo narrowed her eyes, "This is all you want from such a great opportunity?"