Chapter Twenty-Two

The next morning, Si Yanmo did feel some pain in her body, just as Zhou Yanqing had said, but fortunately it didn't affect her work.

As soon as she stepped into the divination hall, she heard a mocking voice: "Oh, isn't this what we got as 'divine calculators' with only a C grade rating!"

Before Si Yanmo could figure out what was going on, Wu Yanchen came over, swaying with his orchid charm.

"You made such a boast yesterday, and you've already slapped yourself in the face today!"

Ignoring the noisy chatter, she went to the list and found that her ranking had dropped from the top three to dozens of places.

Si Yanmo couldn't help but wonder, she hadn't been lazy lately, and even if she had dropped in rank, it wouldn't have dropped this much all at once.

Just as she was wondering, someone approached and hesitantly said to her, "I saw your exam paper at Qi Shibao's place yesterday. Everything on it was correct, but you only got a C grade..."

Si Yanmo turned around and realized that the person looked familiar. After thinking about it carefully, she remembered that he seemed to be the male fortune teller with a feminine appearance who had spoken up for her yesterday.

Before he could finish speaking, he looked around guiltily and whispered, "Did you offend Master Qi? He is the successor handpicked by Grand Tutor Mo. If you offend him, things won't be easy for you in the future."

The man spoke earnestly, and it was clear he genuinely wanted to remind her.

Looking back on the past few days of classes at the astrology academy, Qi Muchen was indeed unfriendly to her, but she hadn't provoked him, and she had assumed he was just naturally cold-faced.

Before Si Yanmo could figure it out, the diviner said again, "Recently, everyone has been saying that you entered the Divination Academy because of your connection with the Prince of Qin. Could Master Qi have heard about this too?"

Si Yanmo thought about it for a while and realized that it was not impossible. If it was really because of this, she should explain it to Master Qi to avoid any trouble in the future.

Thinking of this, Si Yanmo prepared to go find Qi Muchen. Before leaving, she bowed to the fortune teller and said, "Thank you for informing me, brother. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Wu Zilan, I'm a bit older than you, you can call me Brother Zilan if you like." Wu Zilan scratched his head and chuckled.

"Brother Zilan, thank you for speaking up for me yesterday." Si Yanmo nodded slightly in greeting. "How about I invite you for tea another day?"

Wu Zilan was about to say "no need," but Si Yanmo stopped her with "don't refuse," so she could only agree.

Si Yanmo bid farewell to Wu Zilan and entered the Astrology Institute, arriving at Qi Muchen's study.

Seeing that he was reading a book, Si Yanmo knocked on the door and entered the study after receiving permission.

"Master Qi." Si Yanmo spoke, which made Qi Muchen look up at her, but he only glanced at her briefly before returning to the book in his hands.

"What's up?"

"I have a question that I don't understand, so I dare to ask Master Qi why my assessment was graded as C?" she asked directly.

"What, you want to judge this?" Qi Muchen sneered, putting down the book in his hand, his icy gaze shifting back to Si Yanmo. "Important as an egomaniac?"

"No, I just want the truth," Si Yanmo said calmly. "Since all my answers were correct, why was it grade C?"

Who told you that?

"Isn't that my exam paper lying here?" she chuckled, pointing to Qi Muchen's desk, where her exam paper was spread out.

Qi Muchen, however, was not embarrassed by being discovered and calmly said, "I have my own reasons."

“Of course, I respect that. But…” Si Yanmo’s eyes were thoughtful, “I just hope that your considerations won’t be influenced by a few words from outsiders. I will enter the divination academy with dignity.”

Qi Muchen scoffed, "Is that so? Then Miss Mo is truly a young talent."

"I dare not accept such praise; I am certainly not as good as Master Qi," Si Yanmo said with a respectful smile. "But I am sure I have not broken any rules."

"Is that so?" Qi Muchen's words were tinged with disdain.

The two, one tall and one short, met each other's gazes, neither willing to yield.

Si Yanmo knew that as Qi Muchen was the mentor of the Astrology Institute, Mo Wenzhong couldn't have failed to inform him of her situation. However, he still insisted that those outsiders were right, which meant that he wasn't listening to slander, but rather believing what he wanted to believe.

Since that's the case, she doesn't need to waste any more words; she can just let her abilities speak for themselves.

"Master Qi doesn't believe me? Then let's go..."

"Do you want me to ask Grand Tutor Mo or His Highness Prince Qin?" Before she could finish speaking, Qi Muchen interrupted her, "Don't try to pressure me with people. I've been in the Divination Academy for many years. If I were afraid of these things, I wouldn't be able to act as your guardian."

"Then how does Master Qi want me to prove it?"

Qi Muchen put down his book, stood up, walked around the table to the woman, and looked her up and down with his fine-lined eyes. Suddenly, he said something strange: "A dark face indicates impending disaster."

Si Yanmo chuckled inwardly, secretly making hand seals. Only then did she realize that Qi Muchen was also a candidate for the divination.

She found it even more ridiculous, "If it's for the divination test, Qi Shibao really isn't a respectable opponent."

Qi Muchen frowned upon hearing this, seemingly pondering how she had learned of it.

Si Yanmo pressed her advantage, "It must have been difficult for Qi Shibao to come to Qin. He is corrupt himself, so he thinks others are corrupt as well. It seems that he is not suitable to be a shaman or diviner, is it?"

"Shut up!"

These words seemed to have touched a nerve with Qi Muchen. He suddenly grabbed Si Yanmo by the collar, his palms covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Wasn't it Qi Shibao who started it? What? Did I calculate too accurately and now you want to kill him to silence him?" Si Yanmo was unhurried, raising an eyebrow and mocking the man in front of her.

The man tried to calm his breathing, released his grip, and pretended to be calm as he straightened his sleeves. "I just think you're talking nonsense."

"Is that so?" Si Yanmo gave him the same contemptuous smile, silently left the room, leaving only the words, "No matter how much Master Qi deceives himself, the position of Qin Di Wu Bu will never be yours."

After leaving Qi Muchen's study, Si Yanmo saw Wu Yanchen again.

"Oh, what? You still have the nerve to go and demand an explanation from Qi Shibao? If you ask me, no means no. You'd better go back and serve the King of Qin properly; maybe you can even get an official position!"

Laughter erupted around them, and Si Yanmo simply rolled up her sleeves. "You care so much about His Highness Prince Qin? I bet you're the one who most wants to climb into His Highness's bed, right? But too bad, His Highness probably doesn't want to do that kind of thing to this man's ass!"

"How about this? I know a restaurant owner, I'll introduce you there! Don't worry, it's full of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and quite a few of them have unusual tastes. I guarantee you'll get what you want!"

Wu Yanchen had never been insulted like this before. He was so angry that he jumped up and down, his voice like a ruffled duck: "You... are vulgar!"

"Aren't you vulgar? How come your mind is full of obscenity?" Si Yanmo didn't give in to him at all.

She had been exposed to the world of He Chunlou since childhood, and when it came to cursing, no one except Zhong Zihe could use more vulgar and offensive language than her.

“Master Wu, if you are truly jealous, why not ask Master Qi if he is willing to accompany you? After all, you admire Master Qi so much, he would be willing to be subordinate to you!”

"You...you...you..." Wu Yanchen's face turned red from the scolding, but he couldn't think of a single retort.

"Speechless now?" Si Yanmo pouted. "Then I'm leaving. Come back and tell me jokes again next time, make sure you've thought it through!"

She turned around humming a little tune, only to see Chen Wu, and her anger turned to embarrassment.

Did he hear everything I said just now? Wouldn't Zhou Yanqing laugh at me to death?

Chen Wu didn't know what expression he should make so as not to be silenced, so he could only pretend that nothing had happened and said to Si Yanmo, "The carriage is already waiting outside, Your Majesty... Master Mobu."

——

Si Yanmo only noticed Zhou Yanqing was there after she got into the carriage. "What are you doing here?"

“Yesterday I said I would go to the Ning residence to apologize in person. If you come with me, it will show more sincerity.” Zhou Yanqing said naturally, gesturing for the driver to move forward.

"If the King of Qin really cares so much, why not marry Miss Ning? I'll leave right away!" Si Yanmo joked with him.

Zhou Yanqing turned around and leaned closer to her, saying, "Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?" the woman pushed him away. "I'd love for my master to find me a mistress!"

After exchanging a few words, Zhou Yanqing quickly regained his composure and said, "When we get to the Ning residence, I need you to do something for me."

"To see Ning Shi's fate?"

How did you know?

Si Yanmo snorted lightly, "I'm only of this use to you, don't worry, I've got your back."

The Ning residence's decor looked far more opulent than the Qin Prince's mansion, even the gate tower was several levels higher. Si Yanmo couldn't help but wonder, who looked more like the Qin Prince?

Upon seeing that it was Prince Qin himself, the guards of the Ning residence quickly led the two to the main hall and sent someone to inform Old Master Ning and Ning He.

The two waited in the front hall, and Si Yanmo looked around the Ning residence with boredom.

Through the main gate of the Ning residence, she caught a glimpse of a woman with a maid by the long corridor. The woman had her head slightly bowed, and was wiping her face with a handkerchief, as if she were crying.

Before she could think further, she saw Ning He walking towards her with a smile. As he approached Zhou Yanqing, he quickly bowed and greeted her, "King Qin,"

He then looked at Si Yanmo, who was standing to the side, and said, "This must be Princess Qin. I apologize for my rudeness."

She smiled and returned the greeting. Zhou Yanqing had instructed her in the carriage before they arrived that Ning He was a veteran of Qin, and that he had inevitably been offended yesterday. Since they were there to apologize, they should be more polite.

She didn't say much, but silently sat down next to Zhou Yanqing and listened to their conversation. Her fingers made hand gestures in her sleeves, but her expression gradually turned to fear...

Zhou Yanqing: "Ning Shi, this is something I didn't have time to explain to my mother, which led to this misunderstanding. I hope you won't blame me."

Ning He was not one to fail to see the situation clearly. Although he was older and considered Zhou Yanqing's elder, Zhou Yanqing was, after all, the King of Qin. Since he had personally come to apologize, Ning He could not possibly push his luck.

He responded repeatedly, "Not at all, not at all. My daughter was also at fault for coming to the King of Qin's door to discuss marriage so abruptly. I hope the Queen Consort of Qin will forgive her."

"Princess Consort of Qin, Princess Consort of Qin..."

Seeing that Si Yanmo remained silent, Ning He felt that he had offended her with something he said, so he carefully called her name a few more times.