Chapter 123
A mocking voice came from behind the railing. She turned around and said, "Why should I be afraid of baseless accusations?"
"Mo Wubu is really stubborn," the Southern Emperor scoffed. "Do you think you can fool me?"
Si Yanmo remained completely calm. He had no evidence and wouldn't kill her easily; the initiative was still in her hands.
"Your Majesty, please do not listen to the slander of treacherous officials. His Highness the Prince of Qin is loyal and upright, as clear as day. If he truly intended to rebel, why would he leave me here?"
"Then we'll have to ask Junsong, right?" The Southern Emperor smiled mysteriously, looking at Zhou Junsong, whom he had been blocking.
The other person remained silent and lowered their head.
Si Yanmo instantly realized that everything that was happening now was obvious without even needing to calculate it; Zhou Junsong had betrayed them in order to protect himself.
Seeing her expression change from calm to confusion, and then to understanding, the Southern Emperor knew that she already knew everything.
“Don’t rush, this is just the beginning. Soon you will see your husband. Oh no,” he sneered, “his corpse.”
Si Yanmo's eyes widened, a ripple appearing in her calm gaze, which she quickly concealed. "Does Your Majesty really think you can win?"
"These are the words I should be saying to you." He leaned closer to the railing. "Does the Mo Wubu believe that Consort Qin was rescued by you?"
"What do you mean?" Si Yanmo stood up and walked quickly to the railing.
The Southern Emperor looked at her flustered expression with satisfaction and laughed, "Isn't Mo Wubu good at divination? Try it yourself."
Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo disregarded everything else and did some calculations, only to discover that her original fate had changed again. This time, it was Consort Qin who poisoned Zhou Yanqing.
She was immediately enraged, "You madman! You made your mother poison your child, are you even human?"
The Southern Emperor burst into laughter; he finally saw anger and panic in this woman's eyes.
This was an expression he never showed when he forced her to stay and perform divination for him.
"Yan Qing, you've really married a wonderful wife!"
Unfortunately, the more this happens, the greater his chances of winning become.
Si Yanmo couldn't stand his smug look and angrily rebuked him, "Do you think you're sure to succeed? Consort Qin is the King of Qin's mother. How could she possibly poison her own child?"
The Southern Emperor, however, didn't seem to care, saying, "Didn't I keep you here?"
Regardless of whether Consort Qin would poison him or not, Zhou Yanqing would come back for her sake. No matter what, he was destined to win.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you too soon. I want you to see how he dies by my hand." After saying that, he left Si Yanmo with only his back.
No matter how much she cursed, all she could hear was the man's triumphant laughter.
Si Yanmo was seething with hatred; she had to escape and tell Zhou Yanqing about it.
But now...
She tried to call out to Zhou Junsong, who was about to leave, but he only glanced at her before hurrying away.
"Coward!" she roared at the thin figure.
The man paused, but eventually walked out, leaving her alone in the empty prison, where there was no light.
——
Zhou Yanqing was rushing towards Wufeng Pass at breakneck speed, only to find that there were more and more checkpoints, and people were being checked out one by one.
He had a bad feeling in his heart, worried that the Southern Emperor might have discovered something.
He ordered his guards to go back and inquire about Si Yanmo's situation, while he himself chose to take a detour outside the city. What would normally be a seven-day journey at full speed now took an extra day.
As night fell, to avoid being investigated, he couldn't stay at an inn, so he and Consort Qin set up a tent in the wilderness.
The mother and son looked at each other, but didn't know what to say.
Consort Qin was also tired from the journey. She secretly took out the bottle of poison from her bag. Looking at his equally exhausted expression, and remembering the Southern Emperor's instructions, she struggled with her feelings.
After a while, she came over with a kettle and handed it to Zhou Yanqing, who was starting a fire, saying, "Have some water and rest for a while."
Zhou Yanqing took the water bottle but didn't drink it right away, still worried about Si Yanmo's safety.
He shouldn't have risked leaving her there. He didn't need any inside help; all he wanted was for his Amo to be safe.
Consort Qin seemed to sense his worry and comforted him, "Although I don't like that girl, I can tell she's smart and nothing will happen to her."
He was somewhat surprised to hear his mother's words. "I thought Mother would always hate Amo."
“I don’t like her, but ultimately I still want you to marry a girl from a wealthy family, not a merchant’s daughter.” Consort Qin sighed and sat down with him. “But I can also see that you really like her. After this matter is over, I will hold a wedding ceremony for you two. We will be in Qin, and I will watch you get married.”
This was the first time she had ever called herself "Mother," and Zhou Yanqing was deeply moved, her anxiety lessening somewhat. "Okay."
As he was speaking, just as he was about to drink some water, a sudden thud shoved the lid off the kettle and stomped out the flame.
"Quickly hide, someone's coming." With that, he pulled Consort Qin into the woods.
As the sound of horses' hooves drew closer, he secretly peeked at the approaching figure from behind a tree.
Seeing the other person walk towards the place where they had just lived and touch the charcoal fire to check its temperature, his heart jumped into his throat. He placed his hand on the longsword at his waist, ready for a big battle at any moment.
The man slowly turned around, and he also slowly drew his sword. Just as the other man's full face was revealed, he breathed a sigh of relief and put the sword back.
"Zhao Wan, what are you doing here?" He led Consort Qin out.
Upon seeing the two, Zhao Wan quickly stepped forward, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort has been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison by His Majesty."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing turned to turn back, but Zhao Wan quickly stopped him.
"Wait, Your Highness, the Third Prince's Consort asked me to inform you of this. She said that you must not be anxious and should proceed according to the original plan." Although Zhao Wan did not understand these people's schemes, she still told them in detail how Si Yunyun had come to find her.
She was present when Si Yanmo was arrested. She wanted to step forward, but was stopped by Si Yunyun.
Si Yunyun told her that everything was going according to plan and asked her to inform Zhou Yanqing not to panic because of this.
Hearing this, Zhou Yanqing calmed down, but she was still worried about Si Yanmo's safety. She told Zhao Wan to go back and tell her as soon as possible if there was anything else.
Zhao Wan received the order to return to the Southern Capital.
He had no desire to rest and ordered his men to protect Consort Qin. They split into two groups and proceeded together.
He mounted Xiao Hei, hoping to reach Wufeng Pass as quickly as possible and reunite with his troops.
And so, after five days and nights of tireless work, he finally arrived at Wufeng Pass, where he quickly deployed his troops.
Meanwhile, Si Yanmo was locked up for five days straight, only able to eat leftovers, with no hope of escaping.
She knew she couldn't just sit and wait for her fate any longer. What would she do if something really happened to Zhou Yanqing?
Even if they were to die, they would die together.
She stood up and shouted at the guards, "I want to see His Majesty and tell him I have something very important to tell him!"
At the other end of the palace, the Southern Emperor was playing chess with the Southern Empress. This was the third round the Southern Empress had lost.
"I remember you used to be the best at chess, always beating me. Why do you seem to have regressed now?"
The Empress smiled gently, "I only learned the basics. Back then, Your Majesty didn't know how to play, so I could naturally win. Now that Your Majesty's chess skills have improved day by day, I naturally can't compare to Your Majesty."
She silently removed her captured piece.
At this moment, the steward came to report, "Your Majesty, the one in the imperial prison says he has something to say to you."
The man put down the chess piece with satisfaction. "Looks like I've figured it out."
He stood up and said, "I will come to play chess with the Empress another day." With that, he ordered his sedan chair to be carried to the imperial prison.
After he left, the Queen silently placed another piece, and this piece cleverly resolved the endgame, turning defeat into victory.
She curled her lips into a smile and ordered the palace attendant, "Xi'er, go and call some people over. It's time to get ready."
——
When the Southern Emperor arrived at the Heavenly Prison, after several days of absence, Si Yanmo's hair had lost its former elegance and looked rather disheveled, and her light green clothes also appeared somewhat dirty.
She sat there, still looking completely calm and collected, which was exactly the kind of person he hated most.
"Princess Consort Qin, didn't you have something to say to me?" Why do you seem so unhurried?
Si Yanmo opened her eyes when she heard his voice, stood up, walked to the railing, and didn't say anything, as if waiting for him to ask.
The Southern Emperor frowned, his patience nearly exhausted. "What? Are you tired of living and want a quick and painless death?"
Just waiting for him to say that, Si Yanmo smiled and said, "Your Majesty won't kill me, right?"
Having his thoughts exposed, the Southern Emperor narrowed his eyes, refusing to admit it, "You're far too confident in yourself."
The more he acted this way, the more confident Si Yanmo felt about winning.
“It’s not that I’m confident, it’s that Your Majesty still needs me.” She met the Southern Emperor’s gaze, not giving an inch. “Your Majesty spared my life, surely not so that I could witness the Prince of Qin’s defeat?”
The Southern Emperor had lost all patience to deal with her. "Now your life is in my hands. Do you believe I can kill you right now?"
“I don’t believe it.” Si Yanmo’s voice was firm and loud. “Your Majesty’s reputation among the people is not what it used to be. If you kill me first, the Prince of Qin can use the pretext that the Queen Consort was killed and suffered all kinds of humiliation to storm the palace. Perhaps some indignant people in Nandu will be willing to join the Qin army.”
She leaned closer to the railing, pressing her face against the gap between the two wooden bars, and whispered, "Especially those people from the Chamber of Commerce."
The Chamber of Commerce is a place where the strong are respected, and the election of charitable organizations has always been based on merit and strength.
These people were already dissatisfied with the Southern Emperor because of the taxes. If even the daughter of the Chamber of Commerce and Charity Hall were to die for no reason, they would no longer be loyal to the Southern Capital.
As Zhong Zihe often says, it doesn't matter where you do business.
Who becomes the Southern Emperor has nothing to do with them.
On the contrary, this group has a lot of money and supplies in their hands, and they would be a huge help no matter which side they stand on.
Moreover, once Si Yanmo gets into trouble, it won't just be the Si family and the Zhong family who will take sides; there will be many more people.
The Southern Emperor's reluctance to take action against Si Yanmo stemmed from this concern.
Normally, he wouldn't worry.
But now that Tan Muhe's affair has just happened, the Chamber of Commerce's affairs have been exposed by some bastard.
His popularity among the people is not what it used to be, and if it really comes down to a confrontation, he may not have the upper hand.
So many days have passed, and there's still no news from Consort Qin. Perhaps she really was too soft-hearted to drug her own son.
He also wrote to Qi Gu and Lan Yu, ordering them to send troops to protect the Southern Capital, but neither the King of Qi nor the Lord of Lan Yu replied.
They really couldn't suppress their rebellious thoughts.
Si Yanmo really has him completely under her thumb.
"So you think I'll let you go?"
“Of course not.” Si Yanmo straightened up. “I want to make a deal with Your Majesty.”
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