Chapter Thirteen

“Yes, you did very well. They are judging others by their own petty standards. They say it's for the sake of Qin, but it's really just for themselves. Even if you weren't the Southern Emperor's son, they would still do the same. These are just excuses they make for their power struggles and personal gain,” Si Yanmo said earnestly, word by word.

"Although I don't know what a King of Qin should do or what conditions he should meet, I believe that the most important thing for a leader is to protect his subjects. When Sak invaded before, you personally led the troops to repel the enemy, and you did a great job..."

Zhou Yanqing leaned on her shoulder, the faint scent of jasmine emanating from her lingering in his nostrils. As he listened to her recount her "achievements," it felt as if he had returned to the time when he first joined the army as a child.

Back then, he often made mistakes on the battlefield, sometimes even causing his master to get injured. When he returned to the military camp, his master comforted him, who was blaming himself, and hugged him, saying how amazing and brave he was that day.

He listened, and gradually his sadness subsided, replaced by anticipation for the next time he could accompany his master to the battlefield and earn military merit.

The woman in front of him was the second person, besides his master, who would comfort him in this way.

Hearing her firm yet gentle voice, Zhou Yanqing seemed to feel less uncomfortable.

He slowly released his grip on the woman. The warmth and fragrance of the flowers in his arms were quickly swept away by the cold wind, and he realized then how ambiguous his actions had been, his ears instantly turning red.

He tried to cover it up, then blurted out, "Nobody has ever said that."

"What?" Si Yanmo didn't react.

"cute."

"So that's what you were talking about," she chuckled. This guy actually remembered!

That means nobody really understands you.

"What do I have to know?" Zhou Yanqing looked up at the dark night sky, a smile on her lips tinged with self-mockery and loneliness.

Si Yanmo raised her hand and pinched his chin, forcing him to look at her, and said seriously, "Why isn't it worth it? Everyone is worth it."

Zhou Yanqing's gaze was abruptly drawn to her, and she couldn't help but fall on the pulsating beauty mark again. Suddenly, she laughed, "You're quite good at comforting people."

"I'm serious, everyone deserves it, and so do you."

Si Yanmo smiled as well, "But I do want to get to know the King of Qin better. You seem to have a different idea from mine."

"Really? It's different from destiny?"

Si Yanmo glanced sideways at his words, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, she seemed to have figured it out and nodded. "I think it's different, or perhaps people can change."

The woman's movements were reflected in Zhou Yanqing's eyes, shining brightly in the dark night.

"I've discovered that you're quite adorable, and not quite what I expected."

"Then the King of Qin should get to know his wife better in the future."

"Then I would also like to ask my wife to get to know her husband better."

The two exchanged a smile. All their grievances and resentment seemed to have vanished like dust in the night sky after a few jokes, never to be found again. All that remained were the sound of the wind, the owl's hoot, and the person before them...

——

The spy has been caught, and the two no longer waste time at Wufeng Pass.

Zhou Yanqing reappointed Li Hu as the new vanguard general of Wufeng Pass, and ordered Liu Ziwei to be escorted to Qin'an, the capital of Qin. The two set off again.

The carriage traveled northeast into the city, and Si Yanmo wrapped her cloak tighter around herself.

Since entering the Qin territory, she has been wearing more and more clothes. The cloak that she used to wear at night is now worn during the day, and Zhou Yanqing has also been wearing a fox fur coat for a long time.

Even so, upon hearing the hawkers' cries outside the carriage, she couldn't help but lift the curtain and look around. The breath she exhaled from her nose instantly turned into white mist, leaving the carriage behind her.

Although both are capital cities, Qin'an differs from Jinwu, the capital of Nandu. It has a more down-to-earth atmosphere. Among the vendors hawking their wares on the streets are not only men, but also many young women or married women. Such a scene is rarely seen, not only in Jinjiang, but also in the entire Nandu.

The Si family has been in business for many years. Si Yunyun and her mother mostly only receive guests from Lanyu or Qindi. If the locals of Nandu saw them, they would think that the woman in charge of the family is unreliable.

In this light, it seems she made the right choice to come to Qin.

Seeing the smile on her face, Zhou Yanqing asked, "What's wrong? Did you see something delicious?"

"Am I that greedy?" Si Yanmo didn't turn around, but he could hear the dissatisfaction in the woman's tone.

These days, the two of them eat and live together in this carriage. When they get bored, they can only talk to each other. Their relationship is not as stiff as before, but they still like to bicker and neither of them will give in.

Zhou Yanqing smiled and didn't say anything until he heard a horse neigh, and the swaying carriage returned to calm.

"arrive?"

Through the carriage curtains, Si Yanmo could only see a courtyard wall made of bluestone, and the gate in the middle looked like ordinary pear wood. The entire courtyard was hidden in the bustling city.

If it weren't for the three characters "Qin Wang Fu" (Qin Prince's Mansion) engraved on the plaque above, she would never have believed that Zhou Yanqing would live in such a place.

Zhou Yanqing seemed to have seen through her thoughts, raising one eyebrow. "What, you don't believe that the residence of the dignified Prince of Qin is inferior to your home?"

Si Yanmo straightened up and nodded, then leaned closer to the man suspiciously and asked, "Zhou Yanqing, is this another one of your tricks to test me?"

"You're thinking a bit too much!" Zhou Yanqing chuckled lightly, lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage. "Get out of the carriage quickly."

Si Yanmo had no choice but to get off the carriage with Chen Wu's help, still in shock.

Seeing that she still didn't believe him, Zhou Yanqing had no choice but to explain: "When Master was alive, this was the Qin Prince's Mansion. Master was upright and honest throughout his life and didn't like living in the palace. He only chose a place to build a small courtyard and would only go to the palace for meetings. I lived here with Master when I was a child and got used to it."

She hadn't seen the Qin Prince's Mansion in Zhou Yanqing's destiny, and had imagined it to be as ornate and luxurious as the Southern Emperor's palace, but it turned out to be so simple. She increasingly felt that Qin was an "interesting" place, and Zhou Yanqing was also an "interesting" person.

As the two approached the door, Chen Wu slowly opened it, and in the next second, five or six young and beautiful women dressed in colorful dresses rushed out to greet them.

They ignored Si Yanmo and rushed towards Zhou Yanqing, their voices increasingly seductive—

"Your Highness, you're back!"

"Your Highness must be tired from the journey. Let me massage your shoulders!"

"Your Highness, I've made some pastries for you. Please come in and have a taste!"

...

Si Yanmo stood there dumbfounded, watching as the beautiful women in front of her were about to pounce on Zhou Yanqing. She silently took a few steps back.

Zhong Zihe was the most charming man she knew, and she had never seen anything like this in all these years.

In fact, Zhou Yanqing didn't understand what was going on with this erotic scene either. He was at a loss and tried to push away the group of women in front of him, but they kept coming forward one after another and he couldn't do anything about it.

He dared not exert himself too much, after all, he was someone who often charged into battle, and he was bound to be a little reckless when he struck, and it would be bad if he hurt someone.

Just as he was at a loss, Si Yanmo's teasing voice squeezed in from the vying voices of a group of women: "Does Your Highness Prince Qin usually play this big?"

"No, don't misunderstand, I... um... I don't know what happened..." Zhou Yanqing tried to explain, but her voice was drowned out by the women's movements.

"It's alright, I understand, I understand." Si Yanmo nodded and smiled, appearing understanding. "Your Highness, please don't worry about me, continue, continue."

"What do you understand? I didn't... I... they..." Zhou Yanqing was speechless with frustration. Finally, she lost her temper and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Old Wu! Old Wu! Come out and save me!"

A loud voice cut through the group of women and entered the inner courtyard.

A middle-aged man dressed in plain indigo blue robes hurried out and bowed respectfully to Zhou Yanqing and his group, who were still "dancing" with the beauties, saying, "Your Highness."

"Old Wu, save me!" Zhou Yanqing's voice was already a little hoarse from shouting. When she saw him come out, she seemed to have grasped a lifeline and struggled to reach out a hand to him.

Upon hearing this, Wu Guan waved his hand at the group of women and said, "You can all go down first."

Upon hearing this, the group of women immediately abandoned their previous "fierce and aggressive" demeanor, and as if nothing had happened, they composed themselves, bowed, and withdrew one by one.

Having finally escaped the Spider Cave, Zhou Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his sleeves, and asked, "Old Wu, who are these people? What were you doing while I was away?"

Wu Guan looked embarrassed. Three days ago, he received a letter from Consort Qin, sent by fast horse, asking him to find several young and beautiful girls to be his concubines, so that they could have more children.

"These are all Consort Qin..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yanqing raised her hand to interrupt him, "No need to say anything, I understand."

He never expected that his mother had acted first and informed him later in order to force him to have a child; the letter arrived even before he returned.

"Old Wu, she told you to look for her, so you actually did? Whose housekeeper are you?" he accused.

"The concubine said she only hopes that you will have a son soon, and she doesn't care about anything else."

"Then you don't need to find so many people, do you?"

"Pfft!" Si Yanmo finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, "Hahahaha!"

"Are you gloating, Madam?" Zhou Yanqing deliberately emphasized these two words, as if to remind the other party of their current role.

Si Yanmo had just become a little more serious, but she still couldn't stop laughing. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it, hahaha..."

Seeing that she showed no sign of stopping, Zhou Yanqing pulled her close and whispered through gritted teeth in her ear, "Don't forget, it's because of you that I'm in this situation today. If you keep laughing, you'll be the one to fulfill my mother's wish to have a grandson!"

After saying that, he mischievously squeezed her hand, his expression just like when she underwent circumcision on their wedding day.

Si Yanmo quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth and shook her head frantically, "Stop laughing, stop laughing!"