Chapter Thirty

"Si Yanmo!"

The heavy rain outside continued unabated, its pattering sound merging all the sounds inside the house into the earth, including Zhou Yanqing's call.

Lin Niang hurriedly took Si Yanmo's pulse, her hand trembling slightly as she did so, and a tear fell down her cheek.

Seeing this, Zhou Yanqing didn't dare to move, afraid of hearing some bad news.

He was wrong; he shouldn't have let Si Yanmo drink that bowl of medicine.

He didn't care why she wanted to be a shaman; all he wanted was for her to live, and for everyone around him to live well!

Even if she hates him, that's fine! Anyway, so many people hate him, and he's already lost a lot of people. He doesn't want Si Yanmo to leave too.

Fortunately, Lin Niang brought good news: "Some of the poisonous blood has been forced out, and the Gu worms are working."

After Lin Niang finished speaking, tears fell like rain outside.

Ah Yan, did you see that? I did it!

——

Seven days later, Sano received the news and rushed back from the military camp to see Si Yanmo.

In his memory, Sister Si, who had always been smiling, was now tormented by pain all over her body, with dark veins on her neck and cold sweat constantly pouring from her forehead.

"Sister Si..." He was both scared and anxious, and cautiously approached, only to be suddenly grabbed by Si Yanmo.

"Brother Zihe! Save me!" The woman's pale fingertips dug into the bloodstains on his hand.

Sano instinctively pulled his hand back, but fortunately, he practiced martial arts every day, so this minor injury was nothing to him.

He casually rubbed the back of his hand on his clothes, curious about the name the woman mentioned, and asked Zhou Yanqing, "Brother Yanqing, is what Sister Si called you... your nickname?"

Sano was unaware of the truth behind their marriage and still believed that his two older siblings were a loving couple.

This name must be Sister Si's pet name for Brother Yanqing! He thought to himself that it made perfect sense.

Zhou Yanqing's expression wasn't good. In the past few days, while he was with Si Yanmo, he had heard many different titles from the women: sister, mother, father...

It's normal for a sick girl to unconsciously seek comfort from her family.

Aside from this "Brother Zihe," he only remembered Si Yanmo mentioning it once during the interrogation of Chen Ludao, but in the past few days, he had heard Si Yanmo mutter this man's name in her sleep more than once.

Every time he heard it, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

He had never heard this woman call him by his name!

We've known each other for so long, doesn't he deserve this woman's trust at all?

Now, besides herself, there's no one to keep her company!

"Who knows which lover it is!" His tone was unfriendly, yet strangely, one could detect a hint of grievance.

Sano realized he might have said something wrong and quietly slipped away.

After he left, the room fell silent again. Zhou Yanqing sat down next to her and occasionally used a handkerchief to wipe away the beads of sweat that had seeped out from her in pain.

A giwu slowly flew over the roof. Today is the seventh day, but the person in bed is still tormented by pain, just like in the previous days.

The only certainty is that she is still alive, but when she will wake up is still unknown.

Zhou Yanqing was getting anxious. "Si Yanmo, aren't you going to wake up? Don't you want the divination skills you worked so hard to obtain?"

"Wei Lishi has been submitting memorials every day, saying that your assessment results are the same as Qi Muchen's. If you don't wake up, your position as a shaman will belong to someone else. Are you willing to accept that?"

He feigned ferocity: "Si Yanmo, you're not really going to take my fate with you, are you? If you do, I'll send people to kill everyone you've been calling for these past few days. Since we're all going to die anyway, I might as well take a few more down with me!"

...

After talking for a long time, the person on the bed didn't react at all.

Zhou Yanqing finally sighed, feeling somewhat ridiculous for trying to wake the woman up by threatening her.

He wiped the girl's hands with a damp cloth. "Threats won't work. You're not planning to wake up? Then I won't erect a tombstone for you. I'll make you a wandering ghost to be bullied. Do you believe me?"

"Master, how could you be so cruel?"

Si Yanmo's weak voice rang in his ears, and Zhou Yanqing abruptly raised his head. Only when he saw those beautiful peach blossom eyes smiling at him did he believe that this was not an illusion.

"Why do I feel like you've lost weight?" Si Yanmo opened her mouth, feeling a bit dry, and her voice came out hoarse.

He didn't reply, but quickly called Chen Wu to invite the witch doctor over.

"The princess is out of danger. She just needs to rest and recuperate, and take some medicine to replenish her qi and blood."

Hearing the witch doctor's words, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yanqing felt completely relaxed, but her vision suddenly went black.

He grabbed a pillar next to him, shook his head, trying to clear his head, but he was still dizzy.

He didn't know when he lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in bed, with Si Yanmo propping her head up with one hand and lying next to him.

When Si Yanmo saw him wake up, her furrowed brows relaxed, and she chuckled, "You scared me to death. Luckily, the witch doctor said you were just overworked."

"You haven't been watching over me these past few days... have you?" she asked tentatively.

This person had clearly lost a lot of weight, and their clothes were all wrinkled, indicating that they had been taking care of themselves closely for the past seven days.

Si Yanmo felt a pang of sadness in her heart, and a strange emotion welled up inside her.

Zhou Yanqing looked as if her secret had been discovered and turned her head away: "No, you're overthinking it. I just... didn't have breakfast."

He said this, but the blush on the tips of his ears betrayed him.

The girl laughed; he was still the same guy who was all bark and no bite.

Seemingly noticing that the woman's gaze hadn't left him, he turned around and said, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, "Don't...don't look..."

Before the word "了" was finished, his gaze met those smiling eyes, and in an instant, the blush on the tips of his ears spread to the roots of his ears, turning both ears bright red.

Zhou Yanqing quickly looked away, desperately searching for a new topic to talk about in order to cover up the frantic pounding of her heart.

"Um, do you...do you still feel pain?"

Si Yanmo shook her head. "It's alright now. The witch doctor just removed the Gu worms from my body." As she spoke, she showed him the scar on her wrist from removing the Gu worms, which had already been bandaged.

She had also heard from the witch doctor that it was Lin Niang who came up with the idea.

Zhou Yanqing turned around, her gaze fixed on the girl's bandaged wrist. She subconsciously raised her hand, but then immediately pulled it back after realizing something.

"...It must hurt a lot, right?"

He remembered that she was afraid of pain.

Si Yanmo smiled and said, "There is a little, but it's alright. The witch doctor used medicine on me, so it shouldn't leave a scar."

She's lying. She had a small cut on her finger during our wedding, and I scolded her for a long time. How could it be just a tiny cut?

Seeing the hint of guilt in his expression, Si Yanmo tapped his shoulder with her fingertip. "Thank you."

Zhou Yanqing was stunned for a moment before realizing her sudden gratitude. Her gaze, flushed with embarrassment, drifted towards the door. "Thank...thank you for what? I promised to save you, and I will. When have I ever been one to go back on my word..."

He was about to say something when he was interrupted by a series of "gurgling" sounds.

Si Yanmo was stunned, and so was he. For a long while, the air was so quiet that you could hear the wind outside.

Zhou Yanqing wanted to speak up to save face, but before she could say anything, she made another "gurgle" sound.

Si Yanmo laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at!" The man sat up, both embarrassed and annoyed, but the girl next to him just wouldn't stop laughing.

The woman's radiant smile made him unable to keep a straight face, a smile slipping from his lips before he quickly suppressed it, "Alright! Let's eat!"

Soon Chen Wu brought over some light snacks.

During the meal, Si Yanmo unconsciously recalled the promise they made on their wedding day, "Now that the King of Qin has saved my life twice, I'm indebted to you."

"Two lives?" Zhou Yanqing ladled a bowl of porridge for her. "Why two lives?"

"And what about last time at Wufeng Pass?" She smiled as she accepted the gift, showing great respect. "You saved me from that spy's knife."

“That time doesn’t count. I would have saved anyone, no matter who it was.”

"You mean you wouldn't have saved me if it weren't for me this time?" Si Yanmo leaned closer to him, her bright eyes meeting his.

Zhou Yanqing's eyelashes trembled, and she subconsciously turned her head away, trying to hide her panic. "Eating... one should not speak while eating or sleeping."

The warm sunlight streamed into the room through the open door, falling on the man's ears and bringing warmth.

After the meal, the two took a bath and changed clothes. Sano, upon hearing that Si Yanmo had woken up, disregarded the fact that he was still training and hurriedly grabbed his weapon and ran back to the Qin Prince's mansion.

"Sister Si!" He put down the spear he was holding as he entered the room and ran to Si Yanmo's side to hug her, without even glancing at Zhou Yanqing who was standing to the side.

When Zhou Yanqing saw him holding Si Yanmo, she felt uneasy for some reason and frowned as she pulled the two apart.

"Your sister is just recovering, so don't let her catch a chill."

Sano then realized he was still wearing armor. Although it was springtime in Qin, it was still quite chilly outside. He hadn't felt it while practicing martial arts outside, but the armor he was wearing was rather cold.

He had no choice but to let go of Si Yanmo's arms.

Si Yanmo had been preparing for the divination exam and hadn't paid much attention to him.

Looking at him now, it seems that Sano has grown taller and stronger, unlike when he first appeared so thin. It must be because Zhou Yanqing has taken good care of him.

The two sat and chatted for a while, during which Zhou Yanqing occasionally cast several "pleasant glances" at him, but they were all ignored. Finally, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but tell Sano to hurry up and go out to train, thus interrupting the two.

After Sano left, only the two of them remained in the tent. Si Yanmo asked him, "Sano just told me that he's adapting well to the army. What do you think of him?"

"Are you asking if he can become the Sakfan Khan?"

Si Yanmo nodded.

“He has the ability and ambition, but he’s definitely not qualified yet,” Zhou Yanqing said. “I was already in the military when I was younger than him, and my abilities are no less than his, but now a lot of people still think I’m not good enough. He’s the same; he’s too young and will be schemed against by those old guys.”