Chapter 74
Zhou Yanqing wouldn't listen. He grabbed her shoulder with his large hand and pulled her into his arms, not letting her try to escape.
"Zhou Yanqing!" She struggled desperately, but to no avail.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her neck, and she couldn't help but hiss. Tears finally streamed down her face, and her initial refusal turned into a sob: "Zhou Yanqing, I beg you, I'm scared..."
The man finally stopped, and a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes when he caught sight of her tears.
He raised his hand, cupped the woman's face, and gently kissed away her tears.
"Why are you crying? Didn't you say I could do it? Didn't you say you could accept it?"
"This is not what I can accept."
Si Yanmo sobbed and moved away from him.
This action stung the man. He gripped the back of her head, forcing her to look him in the eye. "So what can you accept?"
"yes……"
What was it? Si Yanmo herself couldn't say for a moment.
All she knew was that she was afraid of Zhou Yanqing at this moment.
This is not the person she knows.
She really wanted to ask the person in front of her if they could give her back the Zhou Yanqing she knew before. She wanted to give her back the gentle Zhou Yanqing who would argue and bicker with her, but would never imprison her or treat her as a "plaything".
Zhou Yanqing looked at her hesitant and frightened expression and sneered.
"Let me tell you what you can accept?" He leaned closer, his breath spraying onto her cheek, filled with resentful hatred.
"What you can accept is a tool, a tool that won't develop feelings for you, a tool that can help you solve all your problems."
"What you can accept is a monarch who can listen to your advice and support your reforms."
"Accept a friend with whom you can go your separate ways in six months and not interfere with each other!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and Si Yanmo even vaguely saw tears in his eyes, a kind of sorrow that wanted to hate but couldn't bear to part with.
Zhou Yanqing tucked his stray hairs behind his ear, her voice hoarse, "Is that right, Amo?"
"I……"
Si Yanmo wanted to say that she didn't, but when the words reached her lips, she found that she couldn't bring herself to say them honestly.
Zhou Yanqing described the relationship as extremely cold, yet it was the truth.
She had to admit that whether at the beginning she just wanted an ally she could go her separate ways with at any time, or later she wanted Zhou Yanqing who would support and help her, it all confirmed the cruel truth.
She didn't want to mix emotions into this relationship, or rather, even if she had to, it could only be as allies, as ruler and subject, or as friends.
Just as she never considered them to be married, it was more like a contract, a contract with terms outlining the interests of each party.
When everything is satisfied, the contract is automatically terminated.
They, or rather she, remained free, as if none of this had ever happened.
She suddenly realized that she seemed to have become the person she hated most in her past life—Zhou Junsong.
They put themselves at the center of everything, and even emotions can be turned into interests. They want to maintain a proper distance from others so that everyone can get what they need.
Thinking of this, Si Yanmo stopped sobbing, her eyes filled with bewilderment at realizing her own despicable state.
She didn't know how she had become like this, nor did she know how to tell Zhou Yanqing.
Just then, a sharp pain shot through her earlobe—Zhou Yanqing had bitten the base of her ear.
"What? Can't answer? Then think about it here."
Who told you not to want me!
He didn't say the second half of his sentence out of spite. He just looked at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes, took a few steps back, glanced at her again with lingering affection, and then turned and walked out, locking the cage door behind him. He still stubbornly insisted, "You shouldn't have spoiled the mood like that."
"where did you go?"
Si Yanmo spoke, her voice trembling.
She was afraid, but not of Zhou Yanqing; to be precise, she didn't even know what she was afraid of.
She just didn't want the person in front of her to leave, even though she knew he was the one who kidnapped and imprisoned her. She still felt safe wherever he was.
Unbeknownst to her, her trust in Zhou Yanqing had exceeded her own expectations.
Zhou Yanqing originally wanted to walk away, but when she turned around and saw her nervous look, she immediately lost her temper and despised herself in her heart: What a spineless person!
He sighed, "I'll go get you something to eat."
After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.
Si Yanmo stayed alone in the room, observing the surrounding furnishings.
The tables, chairs, vases, and other items here all looked brand new, but Si Yanmo could tell from the thick layer of dust accumulated around the mouth of one of the vases that these things must have been around for a long time.
The bed beneath her seemed to confirm this view, as it creaked and groaned with every movement she made.
However, the quilt on the bed is clearly this year's style, and the cotton filling is very soft, so it must have been newly added.
The red cloth binding her was sturdy, yet made of fine, smooth silk. It wasn't too tight, just enough to restrict her movement without chafing her skin.
It is clear that this "kidnapper" only created a seemingly ruthless cage, and actually had no intention of harming him at all.
Upon realizing this, Si Yanmo smiled.
He was still the Zhou Yanqing he knew, only... the puppy had been provoked by him.
She felt much more at ease and simply lay down.
Anyway, it was Zhou Yanqing who kidnapped her, so nothing serious will happen. It also saves her the trouble of trying to contact the outside world.
A short while later, Zhou Yanqing came in carrying a food box. Seeing her lying there obediently, he felt a little uneasy.
Did she really have no intention of running away at all?
He opened the cage door, as if afraid she would run away, and locked it from the inside, the key tucked into his waistband.
Si Yanmo caught him doing this out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but chuckle. The puppy really didn't know how to imprison people.
Zhou Yanqing picked up a small table from the ground and placed it on the bed. She opened the food box and laid out the dishes inside, all of which were her favorite foods.
Si Yanmo couldn't help but recall what her sister had said when she first came to Qin.
In her past life, when she was with Zhou Junsong, she couldn't even eat her favorite dishes. She had to follow the rules every time she ate, such as not being able to eat before her husband arrived, not being allowed to take food from a plate more than three times, and not being allowed to stand up to take food...
She was exhausted after eating a meal, and that period was the thinnest she had ever been in her past life, and perhaps even this life.
But ever since the first day she got together with Zhou Yanqing, none of this seemed to have bothered her.
Sometimes, when she remembered the rules from her past life and didn't pick up any food, Zhou Yanqing would thoughtfully signal Wu Guan with his eyes to move the dishes in front of him to his side, and he would also secretly pick up some food for her.
She never felt any royal or royal majesty from him; it was as if they were just an ordinary couple having dinner together.
Si Yanmo lowered her head. How come she hadn't noticed these things before?
Perhaps Zhou Yanqing was right to accuse her.
For so long, she had almost never noticed Zhou Yanqing's good qualities; the only times she did so were through other people's words.
She always seemed to see the bad side of that person, just like the last time she misunderstood that he was giving her something as a way of putting her down.
In her eyes, there was never a Zhou Yanqing who was considerate and always took care of others; all she seemed to see was the rumor.
Seeing her staring blankly at the food, Zhou Yanqing assumed she was unhappy. "Is it uncomfortable being tied up?"
After saying that, he felt he had been too gentle, so he coldly added, "Then I won't loosen the rope either."
His threats held no persuasive power in Si Yanmo's eyes, but she still obediently played the role of "kidnapper" and asked, "Then how am I supposed to eat?"
Zhou Yanqing coughed lightly, a faint blush rising to her ears. She picked up her chopsticks, added a bite of food, and held it to her lips. "I'll feed you."
Seeing this, something seemed to be quietly sprouting in Si Yanmo's heart. She opened her mouth and ate the food that the man fed her. The taste on her tongue was somewhat unfamiliar to her.
This was not made by Wu Guan, nor by the chef of Yun Jian Xuan.
A bold guess popped into my head.
"Did you make this?" she asked, her tone calm yet seemingly tinged with surprise.
His eyes darted away, and he arrogantly turned his head away. "How could that be? Do you think I would cook for you?"
"Yes, I think you can." Si Yanmo's eyes held a smile as she caught a hint of guilt in his gaze. She smiled and said softly, "Thank you."
Zhou Yanqing's eyes widened suddenly. "You're thanking the kidnappers?"
He really didn't understand. This woman had just looked scared, but now she was acting all comfortable as if she were at home while he went out to cook a meal.
“You can hardly be considered a kidnapper.” Si Yanmo smiled. “If you were a kidnapper, you should be sending someone to contact His Highness Prince Qin and tell him that his princess is in his hands and he won’t release her without a thousand taels of gold.”
"Why do you think all kidnappers are after money?" Zhou Yanqing pinched her chin, but not too hard.
"So what are they after?"
The man's fingers gently traced the outline of her lips, "For example... the beauty of the Princess Consort of Qin."
"Is the King of Qin after the Queen Consort's beauty? That doesn't sound like a threatening statement." Si Yanmo raised an eyebrow.
“But to others, to you…” Zhou Yanqing leaned close to her ear, her voice carrying a hint of intimidation, “you should be very threatening.”
"Are you saying that you tied me up and threw me into this cage so you could do what you didn't do on your wedding day?"
“Not only that.” Zhou Yanqing pretended to be fierce. “I want you to look at me, to feel what I’m doing to you, to listen to me, and to have only me in your world.”
"You want me to love you?" Si Yanmo bluntly exposed his pretense.
This sentence truly caught Zhou Yanqing off guard.
He frowned. This woman seemed to be forever beyond his control; even now, tied up here, she could easily turn the tables and catch him off guard.
He could only retort defiantly, "Who said that? What would I do with your love? What use would it be? What qualifications do you think you have? Do you know how many women outside want to be the Princess Consort of Qin?"
"I know, didn't I say that I would get a divorce once everything is over..."
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