Chapter Twenty-Six

She has become neurotic, afraid of everyone, and when Ning Qingzi is mentioned, she can only kneel down and beg for mercy.

Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing realized that she must have suffered inhumane treatment.

A madman cannot be a witness, but a madman plus an oracle is irrefutable evidence.

Therefore, Zhou Yanqing specifically instructed Chen Wu to bring Zhang Yao over at the right time to put on a good show.

"Ning He, what else do you have to say?" Zhou Yanqing stood with his hands behind his back, calmly ordering his men to seize Ning He.

Ning He lowered his head, and out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a beautiful figure behind the screen.

At that moment, he guessed what was going on, but it was too late.

Everyone watched this scene unfold; his carefully cultivated reputation and family business were destroyed in an instant.

When Zhou Yanqing succeeded as King of Qin, Ning He was dissatisfied.

He's just a young upstart, yet he still has to address me respectfully as Ning Shi.

But he soon discovered that Zhou Yanqing had been secretly monitoring him, attempting to weaken his position.

He could only avoid direct confrontation and adopt an indifferent attitude to reduce Zhou Yanqing's attention to him.

After receiving the letter from Consort Qin, he saw a glimmer of hope to solidify his position, so he hurriedly sent Ning Qingzi over.

Unexpectedly, Ning Qingzi returned and said that the Prince of Qin and his wife were in love and that he did not want to take a concubine; it was all a misunderstanding.

He didn't believe such nonsense and immediately beat Ning Qingzi up.

He was still angry after that meal, but he knew that there were Qin Wang's spies in the Ning family. If Zhou Yanqing found out, he would probably use this as an excuse to demote him.

So he locked Ning Qingzi and her daughter in a small courtyard in the west of the city, and would beat them up from time to time to vent his anger.

In his eyes, Ning Qingzi had the same seductive looks as her mother, and he himself had been seduced by Zhang Shi, which led to the birth of Ning Qingzi, a useless daughter.

These two eat his food and use his things every day, and now he sent Ning Qingzi out to seduce the Prince of Qin, but she failed, wasting so many years of his "nurturing".

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. When he attacked Ning Qingzi that day, he grabbed her by the neck and didn't let go until she stopped breathing.

He was somewhat flustered. He usually had a good reputation among the people, and if people found out what he had done, it would definitely affect his reputation, and Zhou Yanqing might even take the opportunity to remove him from office.

So he bribed Chen Ludao to burn Ning Qingzi's body under the guise of exorcising evil spirits, and took the opportunity to publicize his righteous act.

He suddenly became a loyal minister who loved his daughter dearly, but had to sacrifice his family for the sake of the common people.

Unexpectedly, the plot was exposed. He first killed Chen Ludao's entire family to silence them, and then burned down the small courtyard in the west of the city, intending to kill Zhang Yao inside.

Unfortunately, it rained heavily that day, and the fire spread very slowly. The maid risked her life to rescue Zhang Yao, but Chen Wu discovered the incident.

Perhaps it was fate that was against him; this time, he suffered a crushing defeat.

After learning the truth, Zhou Yanqing ordered Ning He to be taken away. A few days later, he burned himself at the Digu Temple to atone for his sins. He also ordered Ning's mother to be taken away and comforted. Afterwards, the sacrificial ceremony was performed again.

This time, the divination only showed a simple auspicious sign.

After everyone else had left, the most audacious person slowly emerged from behind the screen.

Mo Wenzhong glanced at her, his face darkening: "Tell me, whose idea was this?"

The two were slightly taken aback. Zhou Yanqing asked, "Old man, you figured it out?"

Of course I could tell!

Having performed divination for so many years, what kind of hexagrams hasn't he seen? How could he not distinguish between a hand-carved hexagram and one that has cracked from being burned?

However, he also knew Ning He's intentions, so he was both repenting in his heart and covering for the two of them.

Zhou Yanqing chuckled and secretly pulled Si Yanmo behind him: "It's me! It's me!"

Si Yanmo didn't go along with his attempt to cover for her. Instead, she peeked out and said cautiously, "Master, it's actually me. Don't be angry!"

Zhou Yanqing turned around and tapped the woman on the head.

Honestly! I already took the blame for her, why did this idiot still rush in?

"Are you stupid! You're not a shaman yet, or the old man won't let you participate in the assessment!"

"I forgot," Si Yanmo pouted, looking aggrieved.

Watching the two whispering behind his back, Mo Wenzhong sighed helplessly.

"You two are both incredibly audacious! You dare to do anything in front of the Emperor God Statue!"

He raised his fan and poked Si Yanmo's forehead. "What if you really became a sorcerer?"

Zhou Yanqing quickly defended her, saying, "She was just trying to clear Ning Qingzi's name! Old man, please don't be angry. Don't prevent her from participating in the assessment!"

Mo Wenzhong shook his head. "Just keep spoiling her!" he said, then turned and left.

Zhou Yanqing turned to look at Si Yanmo, breathed a sigh of relief, and mimicked Mo Wenzhong's tone: "So audacious!"

Si Yanmo knew he was teasing her, and she laughed.

"Weren't you the same just now?" She leaned down, mimicking Zhou Yanqing's interrogation of Ning He, and said fiercely, "Then tell me, who is slandering you? Was it me, Grand Tutor Mo, or Emperor Gu?"

"Haha," she couldn't help but laugh after only imitating one sentence, "I thought it really was the Divine Decree of the Ancient Emperor! How come you're not nervous at all!"

Zhou Yanqing was amused by her and pulled her hand to walk outside. "I was just afraid he would discover something and turn the tables on me. I was sweating bullets!"

It was the first time they had ever lied to someone in front of a deity, and both of them were terrified, but fortunately everything went smoothly.

They chatted and laughed as they walked out of the Digu Temple together.

The statue of Emperor Gu behind him was illuminated by the sunlight, creating a scene of half-shade and half-light.

His once dignified expression softened, blending into the sunlight as he looked down at the clasped hands...

——

After Ning He confessed, the court handled the division of his property. Zhou Yanqing specially reserved a property for Ning's mother and found someone to bury Ning Qingzi. He and Si Yanmo also attended her funeral.

Having resolved these issues, Si Yanmo's attention returned to the divination assessment.

The peach blossoms in Qin have already bloomed once, and there are less than half a month left until the shaman divination assessment.

Si Yanmo excelled academically, ranking among the top students even under Qi Muchen's repeated suppression, and her martial arts skills improved day by day under Zhou Yanqing's tutelage.

Everything was going smoothly until today, when Si Yanmo returned from the divination house and fainted as soon as she entered the house.

In a panic, Wu Guan hurriedly went out to find a witch doctor and sent someone to inform Zhou Yanqing, who was still handling government affairs outside.

When Zhou Yanqing returned, he saw Si Yanmo lying on the bed, coughing incessantly, as if she were seriously ill.

Fortunately, the witch doctor told him that the Princess Qin had simply overworked herself and, coupled with her recent unpredictable weather, had caught a cold and needed to rest for some time.

He felt a little relieved and walked closer.

Seeing that Si Yanmo was still coughing, as if she was coughing up her heart and lungs, Zhou Yanqing felt uneasy.

He sat down next to the woman. "How did you catch a cold? Did you get chilly and not wear a padded jacket?"

Si Yanmo clutched her chest, her face flushed from coughing. "I...cough cough...I don't know...cough...I was wearing a lot of clothes!"

The more she spoke, the worse her cough became. Zhou Yanqing wanted to raise her hand to pat her back, but she quickly withdrew it as soon as she touched the warm fabric and instead asked a servant to pour some water for her to soothe her throat.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Here's what we'll do: you stay here at home for the next few days and don't go to the fortune-telling academy."

Si Yanmo quickly shook her head, "That won't do, cough cough, there are only ten days left for the divination assessment. What if I slack off and don't get selected?"

"You've already fainted, what could be more important than your own health? Don't push yourself!" Zhou Yanqing said sternly, her voice hoarse.

"I'm not trying to be brave, I really can! I..." Before she could finish speaking, a tickling sensation rose in her throat, and she coughed several times.

Zhou Yanqing disregarded etiquette and hurriedly patted her back, pulling the blanket over her legs. "Alright, even if you don't become a shaman, I won't kill you. If you want... a divorce, then let's get a divorce."

When he talked about divorce, it felt like a stone had dropped on his heart, making him feel uneasy.

Si Yanmo pressed down on his hand, "I know, but it's not for this, cough cough cough..."

The woman's palms were burning hot, making him want to pull his hand away, but for some reason he didn't move. He just couldn't take his eyes off their clasped hands.

"What was it for?" His voice was somewhat hoarse.

Si Yanmo was slightly taken aback, unsure of where to begin, so she simply said, "It's nothing."

Seeing that she was unwilling to talk about it, Zhou Yanqing did not ask any further questions.

At this moment, a servant brought in the medicine that had been brewed.

The brown, bitter medicine was steaming, and even the celadon bowl was hot.

Zhou Yanqing ignored it, picked it up, stirred the medicine with a spoon, scooped up half a spoonful and blew on it to cool it down. Just as he was about to feed her, he suddenly realized something and put the spoon down helplessly.

"Why don't you do it yourself..."

Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo raised her hand to take the medicine bowl, but the heat from the bowl scalded her back.

An awkward silence fell over the room. One hand held the medicine bowl, unsure what to do, while the other hung limply to the side, unsure of what to do with it.

In the end, Zhou Yanqing said, "How about... I take it, and you... drink it yourself?"

She nodded quickly, "...Okay."

The servants opened the window, and the sunlight streaming into the room made it much warmer.

Looking at the girl's eyes, which were reddened by illness, Zhou Yanqing finally sighed, "Go if you want, but remember to wear warm clothes and come back after class."

The next day, Si Yanmo still went to the divination hall.

Despite taking the medicine prescribed by the witch doctor, her health did not improve. After a day of classes in a daze, she felt increasingly dizzy.

Wu Zilan noticed her condition and came to her side after class, carefully reaching out to support her. "Mo Li, are you alright? You're sick, why did you come to class?"

Si Yanmo didn't explain, thanked him for his help, and let him lead her towards the main gate.

Outside the Bu Courtyard, Zhou Yanqing had been waiting in the carriage for a full hour, but Si Yanmo still hadn't appeared.

Didn't we agree to come out early today so we could go back and rest? Why aren't we out yet?

Zhou Yanqing jumped off the carriage and looked towards the entrance.