Chapter Thirty-Six

It wasn't noticeable before the body was put down; it was only discovered afterward that the chest was soaked, with a reddish tinge beneath the deep purple knitwear.

Zhou Yanqing raised her hand and flipped open her collar, revealing a scarlet blood hole.

The coroner, Zhang, immediately noticed, "His heart and liver have been removed."

"Just like in one's destiny."

Si Yanmo stared at the bloody hole in front of her, and the fate she had seen before floated into her mind—"Betraying faith and righteousness, indulging in human desires, abandoning one's heart and liver, and sacrificing oneself to the withered and dying."

Since the manner of death matches, the focus should be on "betrayal of faith".

"Say what you want to say." Zhou Yanqing could tell that she seemed to have something to say. "You're a shaman now, so these things are your responsibility."

Si Yanmo told him what her destiny said, "I should go to the Ministry of Revenue."

A gentle evening breeze rustled the leaves of the Bodhi tree, disturbing the shadow of the full moon.

“It’s late, let’s do it tomorrow.” Zhou Yanqing helped her up and instructed the staff of the Imperial Household Department to take the body back to the department. The two then returned to the Prince of Qin’s residence together.

The candles had gone out, and the room was pitch black, with only faint moonlight filtering in.

Si Yanmo hadn't realized it before, but now that things were quiet, it was indeed as Zhou Yanqing had said—she was probably going to have nightmares.

In the past, whenever she watched a horrifying play, her older sister would come and sleep with her, holding and comforting her until she fell asleep in her sister's warmth. But now, without her sister's company, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

After a long while, she peeked out from behind the bed curtains and whispered to Zhou Yanqing, who was sleeping on the floor, "Master, are you... asleep?"

She would call him "Master" every time she asked for something.

The man didn't open his eyes, but he smiled and said, "Thanks to my little apprentice, I wasn't asleep."

Zhou Yanqing sat up and met her gaze. The moonlight streaming through the window reflected on their eyes as they looked at each other, creating a serene and gentle scene.

"I told you not to look, can't you sleep now?" The man's deep laughter reached Si Yanmo's ears, actually dispelling some of her fear.

Si Yanmo tilted her head and pouted, looking just like a little rabbit peeking out of its hole to scout for danger.

"I've seen it all, what can I do?"

Looking at the girl's adorable appearance, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair. It was so fluffy, like a little bunny's hair. How could she be so cute?

"So now you want me to suffer from insomnia with you?"

Si Yanmo hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Could you... come up and keep me company?"

"Bang bang"

Zhou Yanqing seemed to hear her own heartbeat quickening, which was particularly noticeable in the quiet darkness.

"You...I..." He didn't know what to say for a moment, but then the girl in front of him grabbed his hand and started to whine, "Please, I'm really scared!"

Her soft, tender fingertips melted the calluses on his palms. Si Yanmo frowned and pleaded, her charming appearance accentuated by the pale moonlight.

He should be thankful it was late at night, otherwise she would have laughed at his embarrassing blushing.

Zhou Yanqing took a deep breath, seemingly having made a great decision, then parted the bed curtains and got into bed.

This bed originally belonged to him, but now that he was asleep, he felt uncomfortable all over, probably because there was a sweet and soft girl nestled in his arms.

Zhou Yanqing didn't even know what to do with his hands. An inexplicable fire surged within him, and his heaving chest seemed to testify to the man's restraint and forbearance.

He's the one who can't sleep now.

"Um...you still have something to say." He tried to break the awkward atmosphere, but his nose couldn't help but get close to the hair of the person in his arms, breathing in her fragrance.

"What?" Si Yanmo didn't understand.

"That... your fatal calamity."

"Oh, you mean this?" She then remembered the conversation that had been interrupted earlier. "It's nothing."

Seeing that she wanted to rush through things again, Zhou Yanqing felt a little aggrieved, "Si Yanmo! Am I some kind of untrustworthy person? Why don't you tell me anything?"

"I...I didn't."

Realizing the man seemed genuinely angry, Si Yanmo sighed.

Oh well, I can't sleep anyway, and there's nothing I can't say.

"It's really nothing, I've already escaped it. It's just that in my destiny, I was supposed to marry the Third Prince, but I was killed by his concubine, but now I'm fine."

She concealed the fact that she had been reborn. It was too fantastical; she hadn't even told Zhong Zihe, nor did she expect Zhou Yanqing to believe it.

"So you were pretending to be crazy the whole time at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet?" Zhou Yanqing seemed to have made a connection. "So, were you just pretending to be crazy, or...?"

He knew about the rumors surrounding Si Yanmo and her sister Si Yunyun, but after seeing Si Yanmo at Hechun Tower that day, he began to doubt the truth of the rumors.

“Of course it’s true,” Si Yanmo said with a smile. “Do you remember me telling you that when I was a child, I was tied to a horse by bandits? I fell off the horse and injured my head, so my mental age has remained that of a five-year-old ever since. More than a year ago, I accidentally fell into the lake with my friends in the suburbs and that’s when I recovered.”

"You mean, you've only been back to normal for a year?"

"How about that? I can do divination now, isn't that amazing?" Si Yanmo listened to his incredulous tone, and felt a little smug.

"Amazing..." It is indeed amazing.

Zhou Yanqing, unusually, did not retort, but her mind was filled with the girl's words, "only one year."

So she was sick, that's why she acted like a child, right?

You've only been an adult for a short time...

How could he bring such a young girl into such a dangerous world?

He didn't speak for a long time, and Si Yanmo slowly fell asleep in his arms, the faint scent of jasmine wafting into his nostrils.

Zhou Yanqing silently tightened his grip on the girl, his heart pounding faster and faster. He couldn't help but recall that Lantern Festival banquet—Si Yanmo was hiding beside him. It was a bit cold that day, and she seemed to be wearing too little. He should have draped a cloak over her shoulders…

Si Yanmo slept soundly despite not sleeping a wink all night, while Zhou Yanqing, sporting dark circles under his eyes, pushed open the door.

Wu Guan witnessed this scene and immediately realized something.

"Your Highness, you should... take care of your health."

"roll."

——

After the two washed up, Zhou Yanqing took Si Yanmo to the Qin Palace.

"I thought you didn't have a palace."

Si Yanmo was somewhat surprised. She had thought that since Zhou Yanqing did not live in the palace, there was no Qin Palace.

The heavy, dark gold palace gates were opened by the guards, revealing a magnificent hall with golden bricks and green tiles.

As you walk inside, you see lifelike carvings of the Jiwu pattern on the pillars.

"Without a palace, am I supposed to receive ministers in such a small place as the Prince of Qin's residence?"

Zhou Yanqing was amused by her and led her to the divination hall.

This place is much smaller than the main hall we just saw; it's more like the study of the Prince of Qin's residence, and it's filled with divination and sacrificial items.

"This place will belong to you from now on, Mo Wubu." He picked up an official seal from the mahogany table and handed it to Si Yanmo.

The official seal was carved from jadeite and featured a ram's horn, a common sacrificial symbol used in the Southern Dynasties.

Si Yanmo took the official seal, which was about the size of her palm, and began to examine it with curiosity. "I thought I was going to stay in the divination institute forever."

"The Divination Hall is managed by Grand Tutor Mo, and the shamans and diviners spend more time with me. Therefore, the Qin Palace will have a separate Hall for shamans and diviners."

"It's quite impressive!" She walked to the chair in the middle and sat down with satisfaction. She had to admit, it felt pretty good.

Seeing the girl looking around curiously, Zhou Yanqing inexplicably felt happy as well.

"Um... It's a day off today, and there's no one at the Ministry of Revenue. Do you want to go to the horse farm? Xiao Hei must miss you."

Perhaps fearing the girl would refuse, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll stay with you and won't let you fall."

"Is today a day off?" Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo seemed to remember something and suddenly stood up. "Oh no! Not today, I have something to do. Maybe next time!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly ran outside, muttering repeatedly, "It's too late, it's too late!"

Zhou Yanqing was left standing there, stunned.

The man couldn't help but mutter, "What's the rush? I don't even want to ride horses with you!"

——

After leaving the palace, Si Yanmo quickly instructed the coachman to head towards Yunjianxuan.

Fortunately, the Qin Palace was located in the city center, not far from Yun Jian Xuan. When she got out of the carriage, she saw that Wu Zi'ang had been waiting for a long time.

Previously, Si Yanmo had invited Wu Ziang to tea to thank him for informing her about being targeted by Qi Muchen, and they had arranged to meet today.

It's all because she's been so busy lately that she almost forgot about it.

Wu Zi'ang looked at his classmate who hurriedly dismounted and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Mo Li? Mo Wubu? Or... the Princess Consort of Qin?

Ever since the martial arts test for the shamanic examination ended, almost all the officials in Qin'an City knew that Si Yanmo was the princess consort bestowed by the King of Qin in Nandu, and he was no exception.

No wonder he saw the two of them being so intimate earlier; thankfully, he wasn't silenced.

“Princess Qin…Princess Qin…” he tentatively began.

Si Yanmo immediately understood his restraint and smiled, "Brother Zi'ang, there's no need to be so reserved, and you don't need to call me Princess Consort. If I really wanted to use this Princess Consort title for something, I would have already publicized it before entering the Divination Academy."

“Then… Mo Wubu?” Wu Ziang remembered her other identity.

Regardless, they are no longer classmates, but rather superiors and subordinates, and he doesn't want to say anything wrong.

Perhaps Si Yanmo is not so scary, but is the King of Qin someone to be trifled with?

Si Yanmo felt somewhat helpless; she genuinely disliked this distant relationship.

"Brother Zi'ang! Just call me Mo Li!" She led her people into Yun Jian Xuan. "Today is a day off. I am neither the Princess Consort of Qin nor a shaman, but simply Mo Li. Just act as you did when you were in the divination academy."

"this……"

Seeing that he was still hesitant, Si Yanmo could only put on a stern face, "If you keep being so polite, I'll get angry!"

"Brother Zi'ang! I don't want to become a shaman and have no friends!"

She chuckled and complained, as vibrant as when they first met, which made Wu Zi'ang relax a lot.

He changed the subject and inquired about Cheese Yanmo's health.

The two chatted idly as they followed Lin Niang upstairs.

The second floor of Yunjianxuan is mostly private rooms, occupied by high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and even these seats are in high demand.

If Si Yanmo hadn't asked Lin Niang to reserve seats for them beforehand, there probably wouldn't have been enough seats for the two of them downstairs.

"Boss, another pot of tea, please!"

Just as Si Yanmo and Wu Zi'ang were about to enter the pavilion, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

She glanced sideways at the pavilion next to her, and the gaudy decorations peeking through the crack in the door immediately made her realize who the person was.

She let Wu Zi'ang go in first, then pushed open the door next door, leaned against the door frame, and coughed, "Zhong-Zi-He".