Chapter Seventy-Three

Wei Jingzhong realized he was about to ruin things, so he kicked him to the ground and slapped him several more times. "Nonsense! How dare you slander me! You are a truly depraved person!"

People say that wolves and jackals collude, and now that their scheme has been exposed, the wolf and the jackal are fighting each other in a very lively manner.

Si Yanmo just watched quietly, but she was not happy inside.

She disliked teasing people, which made her feel like Zhou Junsong—emotionless, as if everything in the world could become his plaything.

But his moves were indeed effective against these people.

Si Yanmo realized that the longer she lived, the more lucid she became, and the further away the rights and wrongs of the past seemed from her.

She once overheard her sister say that no one is a friend forever, and no one is an enemy forever.

At that time, she thought this statement was absurd. She felt that someone like Zhong Zihe would be her friend forever, while those who would secretly bully her and call her a fool would always be her enemies.

Now, she finally understands the meaning of those words.

She actually went to such lengths to help Zhao Wan and Wei Jingzhong. If it were before, she would have definitely cursed back just like she cursed Zhou Xiru.

After they had calmed down, Si Yanmo finally spoke up: "It seems there are quite a few grudges within the Ministry of Rites. I should write a memorial to His Highness Prince Qin, perhaps we should investigate this thoroughly?"

After she finished speaking, without listening to Wei Jingzhong's explanations or attempts to stop her, she directly instructed Du Ruoshan to execute Wang Tianchuan, and then went to find Zhao Wan. If she was alright, it would be safer for her to go back and recuperate.

She entered the room, and before she could speak, she heard Zhao Wan say, "Your Highness, may I see him again?"

“You…” Si Yanmo was worried that she would be deceived by someone again with just a few words.

Zhao Wan shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not hung up on him. I just want to ask him what he was thinking and how he could be so heartless as to kill a woman who loved him."

Zhao Wan sympathized with that woman. She may have been jealous at times, but she could see the same love in that woman's eyes as she herself.

She couldn't believe that a man could be so heartless as to treat two women who loved him so much.

Doesn't he have a heart at all?

Si Yanmo felt sorry for Zhao Wan. Although she had never experienced such a complete betrayal, she knew what it felt like to have one's sincere heart thrown to the ground.

Moreover, Zhao Wan's feelings were more numerous and deeper than hers.

"I'll have someone bring him in." She sighed, but still ordered someone to bring Wang Tianchuan over first.

At this moment, Wang Tianchuan's face was covered in bruises from his recent dogfight with Wei Jingzhong, making him look quite comical.

Zhao Wan couldn't laugh. "Why did you kill her?"

"I didn't!" Wang Tianchuan still stubbornly insisted, "I didn't! It was all Wei Jingzhong's fault! It was him! He killed him!"

Still making excuses!

Zhao Wan turned her head away with tears in her eyes, unable to believe that she had been deceived by this kind of person twice and loved him twice.

She drew her longsword and thrust it forcefully into the man's shoulder. Because she was also injured, the thrust wasn't deep, but it still caused Wang Tianchuan to cry out in pain.

"At a time like this, you're still being stubborn? Wang Tianchuan, I really don't understand you! I thought you didn't want me anymore because you didn't want to offend Wei Jingzhong, or because you had someone new. But now it seems you've been a selfish and petty person from beginning to end! You've never loved anyone!"

Her tearful accusations annoyed Wang Tianchuan, who roared at her, "Then what do you want me to do? I'm just a farmer's child, and a year's worth of grain isn't enough to feed my whole family! My father is dead, my mother is sick, and my younger brother needs to go to school—all of that costs money! So tell me, besides currying favor with those high-ranking officials to climb the ranks, what else can I do?"

"Love?" he sneered. "Can love put food on the table? Or will it bring me promotions and titles?"

Wang Tianchuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and poured out all his complaints, while also revealing the truth.

The story was even more cruel than Si Yanmo had imagined.

There was no coercion, no argument, only one person's wolfish ambition.

Wang Tianchuan's relationship with Zhao Wan wasn't based on love, but simply because he discovered she was Wei Jingzhong's bodyguard and wanted to use her to get closer to Wei Jingzhong.

Just then, Zhao Wan wanted to elope with him, while Wei Jingzhong wanted to silence her. So he sacrificed a woman who deeply loved him. Then he turned around and seduced a merchant's daughter.

With the same lack of emotion and the same show of weakness to elicit sympathy, he successfully gained entry into the inner circle, even willingly becoming a son-in-law.

At first, the merchant disagreed with marrying his daughter to him, but when he heard that the official in charge of the rites was willing to be a son-in-law of the merchant, he couldn't help but feel proud and agreed to the marriage.

What he didn't know was that Wang Tianchuan's intention from the very beginning wasn't to marry into the family and get some money, but to take all of their family's assets.

He had already planned to kill the woman and her family, and then eat their blood. Just then, Wei Jingzhong came to him again, saying he wanted to set a trap for Zhao Wan, and thus, this farce was born.

"That's really...wonderful, huh." After listening, Zhao Wan felt as if countless needles were pricking her heart, causing her to frown in pain.

She thought she had wasted her sincere heart, but it turns out, they never even saw her sincerity. Both she and that other woman were merely stepping stones for him to rise above others.

Even so, Wang Tianchuan remained confident in himself. Ignoring his shoulder injury, he crawled to Zhao Wan's bedside, took her hand, and said, "Wanwan, I know you want to see me because you can't forget me. I'm willing to start over with you. As long as you plead with Mo Wubu to let me go, I'll marry you immediately and spend my whole life with you!"

His voice was pleading, and his words unconsciously revealed a condescending condescension, as if it were an honor for Zhao Wan to save him.

Zhao Wan was both amused and exasperated. At this moment, all the charm of this man in her heart had vanished.

She shook her head, no longer looking at him. "Take him away."

Upon hearing this, the steward immediately pulled the person away, and no matter how much the person cried and screamed, it was to no avail.

She lay in bed, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto the pillow. Wang Tianchuan's voice still echoed in her ears, from pleading to cursing:

"Wanwan, I was wrong, please save me, I beg you!"

"Zhao Wan, you can't do this to me! I've been so good to you before!"

"Zhao Wan, may you die a horrible death!"

How fickle!

Just then, a hand reached out and gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, patting her back.

"It's all in the past. You deserve better."

She finally couldn't hold back anymore, turned around and hugged Si Yanmo, bursting into tears, "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong, the one who was wrong was that scumbag."

It's not that people's hearts are fickle; it's that the heart has never beaten for you.

Si Yanmo comforted her, but couldn't help thinking about someone else.

What about him?

Will things change someday?

Or rather, is all the kindness he shows me now genuine?

She didn't know. She was never as good at understanding people's hearts as her sister, and even if someone's fate was right in front of her, she couldn't see through it.

She brought Zhao Wan back to the Prince of Qin's residence and settled her in. Her first instinct was to find Zhou Yanqing to talk about Wei Jingzhong, but after looking around and not seeing him, she realized that they had quarreled.

A sense of loss enveloped her, and for the first time, she regretted what she had said.

Just as she was wondering what to do, she heard a series of footsteps behind her. She turned around in surprise, and sure enough, it was him.

"Zhou Yanqing, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, the man struck her with his palm, plunging her into darkness in shock.

After an unknown amount of time, Si Yanmo vaguely felt as if there was light shining in front of her.

She opened her eyes and vaguely saw flickering candlelight. She felt a slight headache and tried to rub it, but her wrist seemed to be bound by something.

When she looked again, she discovered that her hands and feet were bound with a sturdy red cloth, the other end of which was tied to a golden railing.

She looked up and saw that it wasn't a railing, but a cage. It was not only large enough to fit her and her bed inside, but it was also exquisitely carved, with beautiful patterns on every pillar.

Si Yanmo was somewhat bewildered.

She clearly remembered seeing Zhou Yanqing before she lost consciousness.

Why is it in the cage now?

She didn't believe Zhou Yanqing would kidnap her. Who was it then? And why would they impersonate Zhou Yanqing?

She tried to break free of the red cloth.

At that moment, the wooden door was pushed open with a creak.

She noticed a pair of black and gold boots, and as the man walked in, her gaze moved upwards.

A red dress, black and gold accessories, and a familiar face.

But she absolutely refused to believe that this person could be Zhou Yanqing.

"Who exactly are you? Impersonating the King of Qin is a capital offense, do you know that?"

The man laughed.

"Amo, you trust me that much?"

Si Yanmo's eyes widened. The familiar voice, the familiar address... it was Zhou Yanqing!

She suddenly remembered what the man had said during the day—was he serious?

Seeing that she remained silent, Zhou Yanqing quietly sat down in front of the cage, poured herself a cup of tea, and asked, "Are you thirsty?"

His voice was gentle, as if it were no different from usual, but Si Yanmo sensed danger in it.

"You..." She didn't know what to say for a moment, "So what do you want to do?"

The situation was already quite clear, but she still wanted to ask, to know what this person was thinking.

Zhou Yanqing remained calm, took the cup of tea, opened the cage door, sat down on the edge of her bed, and brought the cup to her lips.

"You must be thirsty after sleeping for so long, have a drink."

Si Yanmo wasn't exactly a chaste and virtuous woman, and besides, there was no need for her to do these things with Zhou Yanqing.

She drank it willingly, and then asked again, "Can you tell me now?"

Since it was someone else who fed her, it wasn't very smooth when she drank it. A few drops of tea slid down her lips and into her clothes.

This scene was witnessed by Zhou Yanqing. The water streaks that ran down her fair neck made her heart flutter.

This time, he didn't hold back, bending down to kiss the watermarks, again and again.

Si Yanmo hurriedly tried to push him away, but her hands and feet were bound and she could not move.

She could only try to bring the person in front of her back to her senses with her voice, "Zhou Yanqing, stop!"