Chapter Six

The next morning, the cool sunlight shone on the roof, and a flock of birds landed on the eaves, chirping away.

Just then, a large group of old women walked in from afar, their voices so loud that the birds scattered from their nests.

Si Yanmo was still fast asleep, one hand slipping outside the blanket, showing no signs of being a well-bred young lady.

With a bang, the door was flung open, and the head palace envoy approached her bedside and directly pulled back her blanket.

"ah!"

Before Si Yanmo could react, she was about to curse when she remembered that she was still playing the fool. She could only shrink into the corner of the bed, watching helplessly as the palace envoy tossed and turned over in front of her sheets.

The ferocity of the force made her wonder: Could it be that Zhou Yanqing had gone back on his word and sent someone to kill her?

She was puzzled, but then she saw the palace envoy shake his head in disappointment and say to the people behind him, "No."

there is nothing?

Si Yanmo gripped the bed railing tightly with one hand, her fingertips turning white from the force.

"Ha, what good could a merchant's daughter be?"

The palace envoy looked displeased, his gaze towards her filled with disdain.

"I don't know how the King of Qin became so infatuated with this little girl."

"It seems she's just like Consort Shu, using all the seductive tricks of merchants."

The old women exchanged glances and whispered amongst themselves, completely disregarding Si Yanmo on the bed and speaking ill of her in front of her.

Si Yanmo wanted to refute, but because of her public persona, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of someone coming in from outside the door.

"Who let you in?"

A man's cold voice rang out from behind the door, startling the old women who turned around and knelt on the ground.

Only the head palace attendant managed to stand firm, bowing respectfully as he stammered, "It was...it was Consort Qin who sent us here to see...to see..."

"What are you looking at?" Zhou Yanqing shouted impatiently.

After talking things out with Si Yanmo last night, when it was time to go to bed, the two looked at each other in bewilderment. In the end... he was too embarrassed to fight with the woman for the bed, so he went to the study.

Although Nandu is spring-like all year round, it is cold at midnight. Since there is no bedding in the study, he slept dressed for the night.

When I woke up in the morning, I felt groggy and disoriented.

I wanted to practice martial arts to clear my head, but when I passed by the bedroom I saw this scene, and all the anger I had been holding in all night was now there.

Unfortunately, the palace envoy dawdled and couldn't give a coherent explanation, which only fueled his anger.

The palace envoy was rendered speechless by his shout.

Although she was sent by Consort Qin, she was ultimately just a maid. If the King of Qin were to be enraged, she would only be beaten.

If he were to hear the insults directed at Princess Qin from the crowd again, wouldn't he lose his head?

"Speak quickly," Zhou Yanqing lowered her voice.

"It was Consort Qin who ordered this servant to check if the Princess had... any bleeding."

Consort Qin? Zhou Yanqing's birth mother?

Si Yanmo finally understood the visitor's purpose, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease. She released her grip on the bed railing.

Zhou Yanqing's ears turned red, and he coughed lightly, saying, "My wife and I did not consummate our marriage last night."

"Go back and tell your mother that this matter... is not urgent."

At this point, the palace officials dared not say anything else, and repeatedly agreed, quickening their pace as they retreated.

Seeing her relax, the man's lips curled into a smile: "You were so sharp-tongued yesterday, why were you acting like a mouse seeing a cat just now?"

Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo sat up straight and retorted, "Your Highness was all smiles and laughter yesterday when you wanted to make love. Why are you blushing now?"

The two argued like five-year-olds, neither willing to give in.

The only problem was Chen Wu, who was outside holding a huge pile of books and scrolls. He couldn't go in, and he couldn't go back... he couldn't move back at all!

The stack of bamboo slips in his hand are all from a hundred years ago. The craftsmanship back then wasn't as good as it is now, so the bamboo slips were relatively thick. Several of them together were almost as big as a young child.

Seeing that the two inside were arguing endlessly, Chen Wu risked being scolded by his angry master and knocked on the door.

Si Yanmo looked warily toward the door and saw Chen Wu holding a large stack of books. She asked in confusion, "What's this?"

Zhou Yanqing looked back and recalled the instructions she had given Chen Wu the night before.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be my diviner? This is a rare historical document about astrology that I had someone find for you at the Southern Capital Divination Institute. The diviner assessment is in three months, and the first written test is on astrology. You must memorize all of this, Madam."

"So many, and you want to finish reading them all within three months?"

Si Yanmo glanced at the books and roughly counted them. There were probably more than twenty books. Memorizing all of this in three months? And there were other exams too. Was this even fair?

"Of course not."

"That's good, that's good." Si Yanmo patted her chest, calming her frightened heart.

“Yes, three days.” Zhou Yanqing smiled slyly. “These books were borrowed from the Nandu Buyuan. They cannot be taken back to Qin. They must be read before leaving Nandu. And you and I will be leaving Nandu in three days.”

What? !

"Zhou Yanqing, are you deliberately messing with me?" Si Yanmo finally exploded, pointing an angry finger at him. "You expect me to finish reading all this in three days?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Didn't Madam herself say she wanted to become a sorcerer? I've been doing everything in my power to help Madam."

After saying that, he innocently shrugged.

Knowing she was living under someone else's roof and had to ask for help, Si Yanmo could only grit her teeth and nod, "Fine, you're amazing! I'll see, I'll see, okay?"

"Chen Wu, give the book to Madam." Zhou Yanqing waved his hand. "I hope Madam will study it carefully. I am very much looking forward to seeing the results of your studies."

Si Yanmo took the book from Chen Wu's hand with a resentful expression, almost unable to hold it.

Zhou Yanqing, however, was quite pleased with himself. He strode out and, once outside, instructed Chen Wu to keep a close eye on Si Yanmo.

This woman seems easy to manipulate, but she's actually quite cunning. She said she was willing to help me, but if anything really happened to me, she'd probably run away faster than anyone else.

Since it involves the throne of the Southern Emperor, it's not impossible for her to be a fence-sitter.

——

After Zhou Yanqing left, Si Yanmo changed into a plain light green dress and picked out a book from the collection Chen Wu had given her to read.

After reading only a few words, she felt that her literacy level was probably not up to par.

She had previously been mentally challenged, so her parents never hired a tutor for her to learn to read or write. After falling into the water, she continued to feign mental incapacity and didn't read any books.

The only books she had ever read were a few play scripts she had found at Zhong Zihe's place. Now, if she were asked to read ancient books, she would never understand them.

Si Yanmo threw the book aside, spread it on the table, and cried out in despair, "Three days, three days, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish reading it even in three hundred days!"

After a moment, she glanced at the book and sighed helplessly, "You reap what you sow. That bastard was right. I chose to be a sorcerer myself."

She picked up the book again and began to read it word by word, asking Chen Wu to look up any unfamiliar words she encountered.

A day and a night passed, and neither of them had slept a wink.

The next morning, when Zhou Yanqing came in, he saw his guard lying crookedly on the ground, clutching a dictionary in his hand, drool dripping from his mouth.

Si Yanmo, on the other hand, was lying face down on the mahogany table, her hair unadorned, strands falling loosely around her. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window, casting soft, warm lines on her hair.

A kitten dozing off.

This was Zhou Yanqing's first reaction.

The corners of the man's lips unconsciously curled up.

He walked over to Si Yanmo, a mischievous thought creeping onto his face, and picked up a calligraphy brush from the table. The brush tip brushed across the corner of the girl's eye, causing her eyelashes to tremble.

When Chen Wu woke up and saw this scene, he didn't dare to breathe loudly. He sat quietly, not daring to interrupt His Highness and the Princess's flirting.

"Hmm..."

Si Yanmo felt an itch at the corner of her eye and protested aloud, which made the man chuckle and break her dream.

His sleepy eyes snapped open the moment he saw who it was, and he yelled, "What are you doing!"

That's boring!

A hint of helplessness flashed across Zhou Yanqing's eyes.

I want to play a little longer!

He straightened up, acting as if nothing had happened, and took out an invitation from his sleeve, handing it to the other person: "Your sister's invitation. The Ministry of Rites has already chosen a date, in three days."

Three days later?

"But didn't you say we were going back to Qin in three days?" Si Yanmo pursed her lips, somewhat disappointed.

She still wanted to see her sister get married! She didn't get to see it in her previous life.

Zhou Yanqing couldn't stand seeing girls with that expression. He lost all interest in teasing her and said directly, "Then I'll stay a day longer. I'm not that heartless."

"Really?" Si Yanmo suddenly looked up and grabbed the other person's arm. "Thank you, Your Highness, you are such a kind person!"

When her arm was embraced by that slender arm, Zhou Yanqing was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she quickly pushed the woman away.

"Ahem, men and women should not touch each other."

——

Three days later, Si Yanmo followed Zhou Yanqing to the royal ancestral hall. Looking around, the memorial tablets of the past monarchs of the Great Nan were neatly arranged.

In front of the ancestral hall, three sticks of incense were lit by the priest. The Southern Emperor and Consort Shu sat on either side, while the Father and Mother of the Temple could only sit in the guest seats.

Southerners have a strong preference for sons over daughters, and since this was a royal marriage, the bride's parents could only attend but could not accept toasts.

Si Yanmo recalled her wedding to Zhou Yanqing the day before yesterday. This guy had put his parents in the main position, which made others envious.

If she hadn't seen Zhou Yanqing's birth chart, she would have truly believed that he was deeply in love with her.

Zhou Yanqing sat with her in the guest seat, but his eyes were fixed on the Southern Emperor in the main seat, and his five fingers under the table unconsciously tightened.

It's the same wedding, but others can easily enter this ancestral hall and have their parents sit in the main seats, while he can't.

He's just a... bastard.

"Won't you try some?"

A warm little hand covered his clenched fist, and his gaze was interrupted by the candied fruit the woman offered him.

His gaze returned to the woman in front of him, her hair tied up and wearing a red dress, which, along with the warm sunlight, caught his eye. The hand that handed him the candied fruit was still wrapped in white cloth.

He knew in his heart that Si Yanmo knew everything, but she didn't say anything. She just asked him if he wanted to try the candied fruit in his hand, and held his hand, melting away its hardness.

"Thanks……"

Before he could speak, a sharp voice shattered the unspoken understanding between the two.

"Hey, a bastard and an idiot, all lovey-dovey here, they're quite a perfect match!"