Chapter Twenty-Seven

He wanted to rush in and arrest the person, but then he remembered what Si Yanmo had said earlier: the Bu Courtyard was full of gossips, and she didn't want to expose her identity as the Princess Consort of Qin.

If people start gossiping, even if she passes the divination exam, people won't believe it, so she doesn't want him to come to the divination academy to find her.

He didn't know why he listened to her, and waited for a whole hour without going in.

Just as he was about to rush in without a second thought, he saw Si Yanmo being helped out by a man, her face pale. An indescribable emotion welled up in his heart.

He strode quickly to the two of them, pushed the man aside, and pulled the other into his arms. "Didn't I tell you to come out earlier?"

His voice carried a hint of resentment, a touch of heartache, and a hint of jealousy that he himself couldn't even perceive.

To be honest, when Wu Zilan came out of the divination hall and saw the King of Qin, she almost believed the rumors that the divination hall had spread earlier.

When Zhou Yanqing pulled him into his arms, he was shocked and his eyes widened slowly, but he didn't notice the hostility of the person next to him at all.

Si Yanmo felt wronged after he said that, and pouted in a daze, "Don't say that about me!"

She would never normally speak to Zhou Yanqing in this tone, but she seemed to be more vulnerable because she was sick.

I was scolded by Qi Muchen again during class today.

When I was little, whenever I got sick, I could get all sorts of delicious food just by being affectionate with my parents and sister. Even Zhong Zihe would buy candied hawthorns to coax me, so I would never get scolded.

Now, when she's out in public, she has to act like an adult; she can't act spoiled or willful. In a foreign land, she can only survive by demonstrating her value.

But in reality, whether in her past or present life, she is more often a five-year-old child.

This world of scheming and manipulation doesn't seem to suit her.

Looking at the unusually gentle and soft person in his arms, Zhou Yanqing felt a surge of anger. Even her slightly sharp peach blossom eyes softened, and he immediately lost his temper, wanting only to smooth out the girl's furrowed brows.

He scooped the person up in his arms and carried them into the carriage, completely forgetting that there was someone else standing bewildered and disoriented in the wind behind him...

——

Back at the Prince of Qin's residence, Si Yanmo was carried to bed by him. Her little face was flushed from the fever, and even her hands were frighteningly hot.

"Cold..." She was delirious from the fever and instinctively rubbed against the only source of heat.

"Hey...you..."

Zhou Yanqing was startled by the woman's soft approach and almost pushed her away, but when she heard her say she was cold, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

He pulled the quilt over her and covered her with it, then pulled her into his arms and used a towel handed to him by a servant to wipe the sweat from Si Yanmo's forehead.

Wu Guan brought over the medicine he had prepared early in the morning. Just as Si Yanmo was about to feed it to him at his signal, she dodged away.

“Bitter…” The girl’s beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, and she looked up at the person holding the medicine bowl through her blurry vision.

Memories of childhood illness intertwine with the figure before my eyes today.

In a daze, she mistook the man for her mother who used to stay by her side. A wave of grievance washed over her, and tears fell with a thud.

"No, Xiaomo doesn't want to take her medicine..."

Zhou Yanqing didn't realize she had mistaken her for someone else. When she saw the girl's tears, she panicked and fumbled around for a while, only able to pat her back and say, "Don't cry! Can't we stop drinking for now?"

"Go get those candied fruits," he instructed Wu Guan. "And get a hand warmer to warm her up."

Wu Guan dared not delay and quickly brought everything over. He watched as his master personally placed the heater into the princess's quilt and covered her up tightly.

"Are you warmer now?" All he got in response was a muffled, nasal sound.

He sighed silently. "Then drink the medicine, and I'll give you some dried plums, okay?"

The voice was so soft it was unbelievable, making Wu Guan, who was standing to the side, wonder if this was Zhou Yanqing, whom he had watched grow up.

In the past, Zhou Yanqing was the kind of person who would take a red-hot knife and cut away the festering flesh when injured, and would say, "What's the point of applying medicine to such a small injury?" But now, he is comforting the princess with every word, without even a complaint.

Getting married really makes a difference!

Wu Guan silently retreated with a smile.

A gentle breeze was blowing outside, and he thoughtfully closed the doors and windows to keep the cold air out.

Inside the room, Zhou Yanqing helped the limp person up, let her lean on his shoulder, and fed her half a spoonful of medicine.

As soon as it entered her mouth, Si Yanmo sensed something was wrong and tried to spit it out, but the man covered her mouth.

"Don't spit it out, swallow it!" Zhou Yanqing pretended to be fierce. "How will you get better if you don't take your medicine? Listen to me!"

The girl cried even harder, "Ugh...you're mean to me...don't you like Xiaomo anymore?"

When she was little, whenever her mother got angry, she would whine like this, and her mother would feel sorry for her and would just coax her, "How could that be? Your mother's favorite is Xiao Mo..."

Zhou Yanqing was startled by her words, her voice trembling slightly, "You...you're really delirious with fever!"

Adhering to the principle of not arguing with patients, he sighed, hugged the girl tighter, and put a piece of dried plum into her mouth.

"Alright, alright, it's not bitter anymore. How about a mouthful of medicine and a piece of dried plum?"

Si Yanmo seemed to reluctantly agree, without saying anything.

As promised, Zhou Yanqing took a mouthful of medicine, ate a small piece of dried plum, and then poured the rest of the medicine down her throat.

He felt a little relieved after seeing the girl fall into a drowsy sleep after taking the medicine. He then put her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

Zhou Yanqing was amazed by her own patience.

It seems that he has changed since the day the two of them plotted to take down Ning He.

In the past, if he saw Si Yanmo sick, he would at most call a witch doctor, just like he did at Wufeng Pass, and then have a few words exchanged.

But now, if he's not by Si Yanmo's side watching over her, if he doesn't see her doing well with his own eyes, he won't feel at ease. Even when he's handling government affairs, he'll be distracted thinking about whether she's feeling unwell.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warmly bathing the two of them.

Zhou Yanqing changed the cold towel for her from time to time, but Si Yanmo still seemed to feel cold and kept snuggling into his arms.

"Hug me, I'm cold..." she said, tugging at the man's sleeve.

Zhou Yanqing pulled back forcefully, a blush of embarrassment rising on her cheeks. "Don't...don't push your luck!"

However, the sick person was persistent and reached out randomly, eventually grabbing his hand.

"hug……"

"You'd better remember what happened when you wake up!"

Zhou Yanqing reluctantly lay down next to her. Although he spoke fiercely, he still held her tightly with his hands and wrapped her up in the quilt.

When the girl was asleep, the tip of her nose and the corners of her eyes were red, her eyelashes were long and black, and the beauty mark under her eye made Zhou Yanqing stare in a daze.

It was this beauty mark that made him remember her when they first met, and every time he looked at Si Yanmo afterward, his gaze would unconsciously fall on that beauty mark.

He reached out and touched the beauty mark, which perfectly complemented the woman, making her look stunning and unforgettable at first glance.

But he didn't like Si Yanmo the way she was now.

He preferred the sickly and fragile Si Yanmo to the Si Yanmo who only knew how to study and focused all her attention on the divination exam.

Although in front of Si Yanmo, he, the dignified Prince of Qin, was like a servant, at her beck and call, and even had to be coerced and bribed to hear her call him "Master".

But it's much better than being sick and forcing yourself to stay healthy like this.

"Get well soon," he said, gently stroking the girl's hair with his well-defined hands and pulling her into his arms.

Zhou Yanqing smiled faintly, "Like a child."

However, the illness did not seem to be easy to cure. Si Yanmo had a fever for two days before she finally regained consciousness.

Now Zhou Yanqing absolutely forbade her to go to the divination academy. But she insisted on studying, so she sent someone to the academy to bring the books over.

Sunlight streamed into the kitchen, and wisps of white smoke rose from the small stove in front of Si Yanmo.

She held a book in one hand and added medicinal herbs into the clay pot with the other, seemingly studying something.

"My ancestor, His Highness instructed you to rest well, so why are you here again?"

Wu Guan originally came to check if the medicine he had prepared for her was working, but when he saw his princess squatting next to the medicine stove, he was scared half to death.

Before leaving, Zhou Yanqing repeatedly told her not to overwork herself, and that she should rest even if she read for more than two hours.

If anything happens to him, he'll probably be sent to a military camp on the outskirts of the city for hard labor.

Si Yanmo waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing, cough cough, I was just studying the medicine book that Lin Niang gave me."

"You still have time to study these things?" A familiar cold snort came from the kitchen doorway. "I think you've lived too long."

Zhou Yanqing strode forward and helped the woman up. She didn't react in time, lost her grip, and the book in her hand fell to the ground.

This fall, however, drew Zhou Yanqing's attention to the contents of the book, and he immediately tightened his grip on Si Yanmo's arm.

"You're researching Fuqi Decoction? Are you crazy? Is that something you can use?"

The so-called Fuqi Decoction is a forbidden medicine in Lanyu. It is generally used only when a patient is on the verge of death to temporarily revive them. It can be made into a decoction or a pill.

Most of the people in Lanyu refined it into elixirs and distributed them to soldiers for emergency use in the army. To put it simply, it was to allow soldiers to fight for their country with their last bit of strength.

He had heard his master say on the battlefield that taking this medicine was a matter of fate; if you were lucky, you might survive, but you would suffer excruciating pain in your meridians, making you wish you were dead.

Si Yanmo winced in pain as he gripped her hand, silently pushing it away slightly and explaining, "I'm just doing some research; controlling the drug's effects shouldn't be a problem."

She pursed her lips. "There are only two or three days left until the assessment, and my cold still hasn't gotten better. I can manage the written test, but the martial arts test requires strength, and I..."

"That won't do either!" Zhou Yanqing raised his hand and knocked over the medicine furnace. The scalding medicine splashed onto his hand, instantly turning it bright red.

He didn't seem to care and pulled Si Yanmo towards the bedroom in the east courtyard.

He "threw" the person onto the bed, sat to one side, and it took him a long time to catch his breath. He glanced at Si Yanmo out of the corner of his eye.

The woman's face was sickly pale, and she looked at him with a hint of helplessness.

"Are you really determined to become this shaman? Didn't I say I wouldn't kill you?" He sighed. "You really don't need to risk your life for an assessment."

Although this Qi-restoring soup is less potent than elixirs, it still offers a slim chance of survival.

Si Yanmo shook her head firmly and said, "No, I didn't take the divination exam to survive in your hands."

"What was the purpose of that?"

What was the reason for that...?