Chapter Sixty-Seven

As the sunlight faded, the once golden bricks and green tiles softened, and the girl revealed to someone for the first time everything that had happened in her past life.

Despite her seemingly casual tone, Zhou Yanqing's hands unconsciously tightened, as if her own feelings had been stabbed in the heart.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

Si Yanmo couldn't bear to see him worry, so she said hastily, "It's alright, I don't remember anymore."

Zhou Yanqing was well aware of her concealment. She was most afraid of pain, to have her heart ripped out while she was still alive, to feel her blood flowing down her body from her chest to her toes, to feel her life being pulled away.

How could it not hurt? And how could I forget it?

The more he listened, the redder his eyes became.

It was already quite an achievement for Si Yanmo to transform herself from an innocent child into Mo Li in just one year.

Hearing all this now, he felt that God was being unfair, why should so much suffering befall his Amo?

His nose tingled with emotion, and he buried his head in his lover's neck. "Amo, I should have found you in my past life."

Seeing him like this, Si Yanmo could only jokingly comfort him, "That's not right. According to our fates, you and I should have died on the same day in our past lives. Even if I had married you back then, I wouldn't have known anything. If you had died, I would still have been buried with you."

"You mean we're all going to die anyway?" Zhou Yanqing released her from his embrace, flicked her nose, and smiled.

"That was in the past life, it won't happen in this one." The woman's voice was firm and hopeful. "We must live well in this life."

"Yes, live well." Zhou Yanqing gently squeezed her hand, and when she looked up, the tenderness in her eyes was almost overflowing.

His eyes are quite beautiful...

Thinking this, Si Yanmo inexplicably raised her hand and touched the man's eyebrows and eyes.

Zhou Yanqing was taken aback by her sudden action, gently grasped her wrist, and leaned down in the girl's slightly surprised gaze...

Just as their lips were about to touch, a dart suddenly flew towards them. Zhou Yanqing reacted quickly, grabbing Si Yanmo's waist and dodging it.

However, this seemed to be just a warning, as a group of masked men leaped down from the eaves on both sides and surrounded the two.

"In broad daylight, you really have a death wish." Zhou Yanqing quickly drew his long sword from his waist, shielding Si Yanmo with his other hand, and glanced at her, instructing, "Stay with me."

Si Yanmo pulled a dagger from under her skirt. "Master, now I know what the martial arts test is for."

As soon as he finished speaking, the masked men wasted no more time and rushed forward one after another, like arrows released from a bow.

Although it was just the two of them on Si Yanmo's side, fortunately, Zhou Yanqing was a veteran who used offense as defense, so Si Yanmo only needed to make sure she didn't hold them back.

Unexpectedly, it seems there are more than just this one group of masked men; the more they are fought, the more they seem to multiply.

The noise in the courtyard grew louder and louder. Lin Niang, who was inside the restaurant, also heard the commotion. She opened the window and saw the scene before her. She quickly called her guards to help and grabbed a sword, leaping down from the window to join in.

Soon, the masked men were subdued one by one. Just as Zhou Yanqing grabbed one to interrogate him, the man foamed at the mouth, and the people around him died one by one.

"What exactly is going on?"

Si Yanmo's hand holding the dagger trembled slightly. She had encountered too much trouble these past few days. She had just captured Tan Muhe, and now someone was trying to kill them. Just how many people were involved in all of this...

At this moment, Lin Niang grabbed the masked man's hand and found a small amount of poison between his fingernails.

“Brownish-brown,” she sniffed, “it has a hint of roti, probably a common drug the royal family gave to their assassins to help them commit suicide.”

"The royal family?" Si Yanmo immediately sensed something was wrong. Could it be Zhou Junsong again? But hadn't they already agreed on the terms?

Large swaths of dark clouds chased a black horse all the way to the Third Prince's residence. Si Yunyun, who was pruning flowers in the front yard, looked up when she heard the noise.

Seeing the two of them rush in, she asked, "What happened?"

"Sister, where is the Third Prince?"

"You've already set off for Sakhstan?"

Si Yunyun was a little confused by her question. Didn't she say that day that the situation of the merchants in Qin had been investigated almost completely, and Zhou Junsong had left with his guards early this morning?

Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing exchanged a glance, both completely bewildered by the current situation.

Logically speaking, since the group had already discussed things openly that day, even if Zhou Junsong still had doubts, he wouldn't have sent someone to assassinate him in broad daylight.

This is not Zhou Junsong's style.

Si Yanmo hesitated for a moment, then brought up the matter with her sister, "Sister, you must have had dealings with those princes and princesses before. Who do you think it could be?"

Speaking of this, Si Yunyun also recalled the days after she married Zhou Junsong.

Like Si Yanmo in her previous life, she was targeted by the concubines and ridiculed by the Fifth Princess from time to time.

However, Si Yunyun is different from her sister. She will never let anyone bully her and always manages to retaliate at the right time.

Lin Jiao'er is now behaving herself and dares not overstep her bounds. Even the Fifth Princess, Zhou Xiru, was punished with a month of confinement for saying the wrong thing.

However, when it came to who might be interested in "Mo Li," who was thousands of miles away, she was at a loss for words.

"All I know is that something happened before I came here."

Zhou Yanqing quickly pressed, "What is it?"

"It's the Sixth Prince and the Ninth Prince..."

A month ago, the sixth prince Zhou Cong and the ninth prince Zhou Qizhen had a dispute in the school. It was not a big deal. At most, the two of them would be scolded and made to kneel in front of the Emperor's statue for a few hours.

Unfortunately, the Sixth Prince heard a rumor that the Ninth Prince's mother did not die from illness, but rather from being poisoned by the Empress Dowager after offending her.

The Ninth Prince was also a bit dim-witted; he believed whatever people said and even went to confront the Empress himself.

"As a result, he was naturally scolded by the Queen."

"But what does this have to do with the assassin?" Si Yanmo didn't understand the details.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say!” Si Yunyun pursed her lips and continued, “I thought she would either scold him or give up raising the Ninth Prince. But the next day, Chen Xiangbu predicted that the Ninth Prince intended to rebel and even found a villain in the Ninth Prince’s palace.”

Si Yanmo: "That little man is..."

"The Southern Emperor".

Si Yanmo gasped upon hearing this, and couldn't help but connect it to the existing events.

"That fortune teller again?" She looked at Zhou Yanqing. "Who do you think is behind him? The Queen of the South?"

“No.” Zhou Yanqing decisively denied her idea. “I said that he was already the confidant of the current Southern Emperor before he ascended the throne. The only person behind him could be the Southern Emperor.”

“But if that’s the case, then the Ninth Prince’s affair doesn’t make sense. There’s no reason for the divination to frame the heir.”

"Have you ever considered that since the Empress has no children of her own and the Ninth Prince is being raised by her, she still has a chance to compete for the title of Empress? But if the Ninth Prince is deposed, she will have nothing left. Why would she do that?"

"Then who do you think it is?"

Zhou Yanqing pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know."

There's no need for the Southern Emperor and the divination master to both work, and there's even less chance for the Southern Queen.

At this moment, Si Yunyun suddenly spoke up, "Is it possible that it is the Sixth Prince?"

"But why would Chen Xiangbu help him?" Si Yanmo frowned.

The question was raised, and silence returned.

This matter seems unremarkable, yet it is intricately connected to every other event.

Whether it's a group of princes vying for the throne or the opportunistic fortune teller Chen Tingyu, everything is baffling and seems more complex than it appears.

“He doesn’t need to help Zhou Cong.” After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yanqing’s voice broke the silence. “He just needs to make him feel that there is something to gain, after all, everyone’s life or death is up to him.”

"So, you think the third group is the Sixth Prince?" Si Yanmo asked.

“Based on the people we know, it’s very likely.” Zhou Yanqing raised his eyes. “At first, he wanted to win you over, just like Zhou Junsong. Later, he discovered the flaws in Chen Tingyu’s methods and chose to use him. Then you were naturally useless.”

"You're useless now, so you still want to kill me..."

Si Yanmo pouted. Why was she so unlucky?

Do all people with the surname Zhou share the same brain?

If I can't have it, I'll destroy it.

What kind of strange principle is this?

Looking at the woman's angry little face, Zhou Yanqing's eyes were full of doting. He took her hand and said, "I told you that you are in danger right now, so promise me you won't get involved in everything."

"I know, I know, even your mother doesn't worry as much as you do..." Si Yanmo glanced at him helplessly and somewhat resentfully.

Si Yunyun was both happy and a little envious of the two's adorable interactions.

She and Zhou Junsong may never have such a carefree time, even in bed, she has to be careful not to say the wrong thing.

Zhou Junsong would spoil her, but that spoiling always seemed to be conditional, either when he was in a good mood or when she was useful.

In short, they will never be able to trust each other completely and without reservations like Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing.

——

Dark clouds obscured the view, and even before dusk, people were barely visible on the road.

Si Yanmo chatted with her sister for a while before Zhou Yanqing pulled her back.

"It's going to rain, and we didn't bring an umbrella..." As soon as he finished speaking, it started to drizzle as if the sky was cooperating with him.

Wearing so little in the summer heat, and without even a cloak to keep out the rain, Zhou Yanqing had no choice but to pull the person along and run into the carriage.

But the two were different heights, and Si Yanmo couldn't keep up with his pace at all, running like a child who had just learned to walk.

"Zhou Yanqing, wait for me! You're running too fast!"

Upon hearing this, he turned around and scooped her up in his arms. Rain fell on his head, running down his hair and dripping onto Si Yanmo's beauty mark, leaving a blush.

Zhou Yanqing momentarily forgot to move her feet.

"Let's go... let's go!" Si Yanmo felt a little uncomfortable with his tone, so she patted him and turned her head away.

He then seemed to wake from a dream and carried the person onto the carriage.

Once inside the carriage, both of them were half-soaked, but Zhou Yanqing seemed oblivious, refusing to let go of the woman's arms.