Chapter 53
He smirked and raised an eyebrow at Si Yanmo, "They all know that he has offended the Princess Consort, so there's no need to befriend him. What can an isolated and helpless official do besides obey me?"
For the first time, Si Yanmo truly grasped the extent of this man's cunning. No wonder it's said that those who can become monarchs are all shrewd and calculating. When Zhou Yanqing interacted with her on a daily basis, he seemed no different from other people his age, but once he entered the officialdom, he became a king who could strategize and plan.
Zhou Yanqing summoned Du Ruoshan again, and only after confirming that there were no other forces behind him did he feel at ease to arrange matters for the Ministry of Justice.
The sunlight, which had been hazy when they arrived, became scorching. As soon as the two stepped out of the Qin Palace, they bumped into Si Yunyun.
The man said he was just passing by, but Zhou Yanqing could tell from the hoofprints near the carriage that the man had obviously been waiting there for a long time.
Ever since the incident at the Shangsi Festival, he had been wary of the Third Prince and his wife. Although he had no direct evidence, his intuition was never wrong, especially considering Zhou Junsong's obvious expression at the time.
He wasn't sure if Si Yunyun knew about this, but he hoped she didn't.
Otherwise, what should Si Yanmo do?
Si Yunyun remained calm, asking Si Yanmo how her injury was, and then casually chatting about everyday matters.
This kind of everyday talk was not what Zhou Yanqing wanted to hear.
The two were talking about Si Yanmo's childhood with Zhong Zihe.
The two of them were inseparable since childhood, but later, when Si's parents were busy, Si Yanmo could be considered to have been raised by Zhong Zihe...
They made Si Yanmo sound like Zhong Zihe's child bride.
Zhou Yanqing quickly couldn't stand it anymore. These things, which he had never experienced with Si Yanmo, seemed to confirm that they should never have been acquainted.
Perhaps, if it weren't for him, would Si Yanmo really have married this childhood sweetheart?
He hurriedly bid farewell to the two of them and moved away from the noisy sounds.
Si Yunyun watched his departing figure, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips.
She deliberately talked about Zhong Zihe, making his past with Si Yanmo seem ambiguous, partly to get closer to him, and partly to test their relationship.
Just as she thought, although Si Yanmo talked about their deep love as a couple, she didn't care about her husband's feelings when talking about her childhood sweetheart. This confirmed that her sister did not like the Prince of Qin.
As for His Highness Prince Qin's jealousy, it will be the key to sowing discord between the two in the future.
She took her younger sister's hand. "Mo'er, are you not busy today? Why don't you come shopping with me? I'm so bored by myself."
Si Yanmo had just dealt with Lin Buqing and had also arranged things at the Si Academy. Thinking that there was really nothing else to do, she took her sister for a stroll in the market in Qin'an.
Previously, she had been busy with divination and witchcraft. She had been in Qin for almost three months, but she didn't know anything about the entertainment venues in Qin'an City. The place she went to most often was probably Yunjianxuan.
She clearly loves to play and have fun the most.
When she was little, she would pester her parents to take her to all kinds of lantern festivals and temple fairs. If her parents didn't have time, her older sister would take her. If her older sister didn't have time, then it would fall to the unlucky Zhong Zihe. In any case, they couldn't let her suffer.
Unfortunately, after marrying Zhou Junsong in her previous life, she was locked in the mansion all day and could not go out. Once, she mustered up the courage to ask Zhou Junsong if she could go to the temple fair, but he refused, saying that as a wife, she could no longer show her face in public.
Now, seeing her sister freely entering and leaving the mansion, she knew that there was nothing she couldn't show her face in public; she just didn't like it.
She was fortunate that when she married Zhou Yanqing in this life, she knew his thoughts. Without expectations or fantasies, she wouldn't be disappointed. Such a respectful and harmonious life was at least quite comfortable.
What she didn't know was that the man was no longer the same person she had been on her wedding day, and his feelings for her were no longer the same.
Zhou Yanqing then went to find Mo Wenzhong, who was the only one he knew who could answer the question.
"They've been through so much together, do you think I'm really... no match for my childhood sweetheart?"
Mo Wenzhong looked at the unusually sentimental young man before him and asked, "What's wrong? Didn't you say you didn't like him before?"
Seeing that she had been exposed, Zhou Yanqing shook her head in frustration. "Old man, can you stop making me angry? I admit it, okay? But what's the use? She doesn't like me."
As he spoke, he wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.
As Mo Wenzhong tidied the chessboard, he let out a long sigh. "Then what did you come here for? You want to hear me say this? Yes, you just can't beat me?"
If his mouth were poisonous, Zhou Yanqing would have been poisoned eight hundred times over.
"Can't you stop making me angry? Isn't there any way to make her like me? You have no idea, this woman is like a block of wood now. Last night I even..." Mentioning last night, Zhou Yanqing's face instantly turned red, "She even asked me if my legs were too hard... How am I supposed to answer that?"
He knew he hadn't had any intimate contact with that girl, but he at least understood some things.
But Si Yanmo seemed to know nothing at all.
That's true. According to Si Yanmo, she has only been conscious for a year. She probably spent that time learning divination and fortune telling. She didn't have time to think about matters between men and women. She's still just a child.
But the more he did this, the more guilty he felt.
The other person is like a child who doesn't understand anything in this regard, while I have already begun to lose control.
He didn't want it to be like this; what he wanted was for Si Yanmo to fall in love with him and feel the same way he did.
He wanted mutual affection, for her to truly accept him, instead of the current situation where it all seemed like this was just a pretense of being a married couple.
He doesn't have Zhong Zihe's past with her, nor can he attract her with his appearance, so what can he do?
For the first time, Zhou Yanqing felt like such a failure, so utterly unattractive.
He couldn't seem to gain any confidence in front of Si Yanmo.
To make matters worse, Mo Wenzhong added insult to injury: "I have no choice. Your master and I grew up together. How would I know how two people who don't know each other well can think about love?"
A flock of crows flew over the temple, cawing, and headed into the city.
Meanwhile, Si Yanmo and her sister were also tired from shopping in the city, so she took her sister to Yunjianxuan to have a cup of tea and rest.
Seeing that she had relaxed, Si Yunyun began to get down to business, "I think I heard someone say a few days ago that His Highness the Prince of Qin has abolished human sacrifice within the Qin territory, is that true?"
Si Yanmo knew that this matter would be known sooner or later. What worried her was not others, but that if this matter were reported to the Southern Emperor, Zhou Yanqing's suppressed sharpness would probably be revealed in the court again.
As expected, the elder sister asked, "Human sacrifice has existed since ancient times, but now His Highness Prince Qin hastily abolished it. I'm afraid His Majesty will..."
"Mo'er is also troubled by this matter. It's all my fault. I insisted on saving that girl, which is why my husband simply abolished human sacrifice. Now I don't know what to do."
She grasped her sister's hand, trying to gauge Zhou Junsong's intentions, "I wonder... if my brother-in-law could put in a good word for me with His Majesty? If anything happens to my husband because of my mistake, I would be a sinner."
Si Yunyun never expected that the cause of this matter was her own younger sister. She originally wanted to use this matter to persuade Si Yanmo to leave Zhou Yanqing, but if it were like this, it would be difficult to persuade her.
She had no choice but to change her tune, "My husband can certainly help, but His Majesty has always disliked princes having too much contact with feudal lords. How about this, Mo'er, come with me to talk to my husband about this matter and see if there's any way?"
She was ready to play the good cop and the bad cop with Zhou Junsong.
Si Yanmo naturally knew that her sister was intelligent enough to have a solution. Even if she didn't, she wouldn't be so blatant as to ask her to beg Zhou Junsong. After all, the principle of "a wife should forget her own family and take her husband as the head of the household" was something her sister had taught her in her previous life.
There's only one possibility now: "Sister, are you trying to win me over on behalf of the Third Prince?"
She decided to be blunt. Since her sister was already on Zhou Junsong's side, there was no point in saying anything more. It was better to put things out in the open.
Si Yunyun was stunned by her straightforward words, and it took her a long time to react before she said, "My husband told me that Mo'er is very smart. I was thinking that you have always been naive and ignorant of the ways of the world. How do you know that?"
She let out a deep breath, "Mo'er, you've grown a lot during your time in Qin."
Si Yanmo smiled helplessly, "If my sister knew what I've been through, she would know that the price of growing up is too high." It takes one's own life to pay for it.
Inside the Cloud Pavilion, Qiu He's zither music rose, as grand and melancholic as ever.
Si Yunyun could also see that her younger sister was completely different from before. "That's why I want you to be able to do whatever you want, just like before."
"Does being the Third Prince's advisor really make you that way?" Si Yanmo's eyes sharpened, as if she could see right through her. "Can you do whatever you want now, sister?"
Silence, a long silence.
Si Yunyun, who prided herself on being intelligent, was stumped by this question.
"And what about Mo'er now?"
She didn't think Si Yanmo was more free than her.
"At least I don't have to live in fear."
No need to be on edge...
Si Yunyun felt a sense of irony for the first time upon hearing these words. When she first learned that her younger sister was going to marry that ruthless and vicious Prince Qin, her biggest worry was that her sister would have to live in constant fear and compromise in the future.
Now, she is the one living in constant fear, and she is the one compromising and yielding.
What tormented her most was Zhou Junsong's love for her. That love was like a venomous snake—when you looked into his eyes, he was quiet and elegant, not even moving his body. But if you dared to run away, he would bite you, release his venom, and then watch you die slowly and savoringly before swallowing you whole.
She thought she could persuade Si Yanmo, but this one sentence left her speechless.
Not wanting her sister to get caught up in this mess, she asked, "Is he really good to you?"
Si Yanmo was stunned, her memories surging. "Very good."
"That's good..." Si Yunyun murmured, getting up to leave.
Perhaps, the one she should persuade is not Si Yanmo.
Qiu He's piano playing stopped abruptly once again. Looking at her sister's back, Si Yanmo suddenly had another idea.
"Sister! What if I told you that His Highness the Prince of Qin never cared about his status as a prince, nor about that position?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com