Chapter Seventy-Nine
Zhou Yanqing was indeed amused by her, and raised her other hand to tap the tip of her nose, "You, you can argue even when you're wrong."
Seeing a glimmer of hope, she grabbed Zhou Yanqing's hand and shook it back and forth, saying coquettishly, "That means I'm amazing! Even if we confront that person, we'll definitely win!"
Zhou Yanqing finally sighed, "Are you really determined?"
“I want you to agree, but if you say this might hurt you or put Qin in danger, then I won’t do it.” Si Yanmo intertwined her fingers with his, every word she spoke was sincere, and the light in her eyes made Zhou Yanqing unable to refuse.
"I'm scared of you." He nodded, and Si Yanmo was about to cheer when she heard him say again, "But I must go with you, and this matter needs to be carefully considered. We can't act impulsively."
Fearing she might think he was holding her back, Zhou Yanqing added, "As the Prince of Qin, I cannot enter the capital at will without summons, and you, as the Princess Consort of Qin, cannot either."
"You're the best!" Si Yanmo jumped up. "Don't worry, I'll listen to whatever you say!"
Seeing her happy, Zhou Yanqing felt pleased too. He picked up the bell and hung it on her again, then casually put his arm around her waist. "Will I get any reward?"
Si Yanmo's smile froze when she didn't expect him to ask that. "What reward do you want?"
"Um……"
Going outside... you might run into uninvited guests.
Staying at home... is boring.
Zhou Yanqing didn't know what reward to ask for for a moment, but then a thought struck her: "The Sak frost disaster brought a lot of cattle and sheep in exchange for grain, and Lin Niang also gave me two jars of aged wine..."
"So you just want me to have dinner with you?" This person is too easily satisfied.
“That’s definitely not enough.” He pulled her into his arms, picking up a strand of her hair and playing with it. “I heard you can sing? I’d like to hear you sing.”
"Who told you that?"
"secret."
Even without him saying it, Si Yanmo could guess that it was either Zhong Zihe or her sister. Judging from their thoughtfulness, the sister was more likely.
She's now more than just dedicated to bringing them together!
It wasn't an unreasonable reason, so Si Yanmo had no reason to refuse.
"That Tan Muhe?"
Zhou Yanqing was a little annoyed that she had brought up other men again, and bit her ear, "Why are you always thinking about other people?"
"When did I ever care about anyone else?" Si Yanmo really couldn't handle this jealous guy, so she simply cupped his face and coaxed him, "Isn't it because I'm worried about you? Didn't you say you wanted to prevent this from reaching the ears of the Southern Emperor? If you release Tan Muhe, won't you be the one who suffers?"
Zhou Yanqing was quite pleased with her words, her tone rising slightly, "If he's going to die, he'll certainly be burned at the Imperial Ancient Temple according to the old rules. We can just find any corpse to take his place. We won't drag this out for too long. It's just..."
"Just what?" Si Yanmo became nervous again as he spoke.
"But we can't just send him back to Lin Niang's place, since Qiu He's identity has already been exposed."
Upon hearing this, a figure flashed through Si Yanmo's mind. "Don't worry, I have someone in mind."
A sly smile curved her lips, which turned into someone else's embarrassment two days later in the firelight.
Zhong Zihe stood at the entrance of his own restaurant, looking at the man who should have been burned to death this morning standing in front of him. He only wanted to escape, but Chen Wu stopped him.
"Oh, don't go, Young Master Zhong." He chuckled and pushed Tan Muhe forward. "This is what our Princess said. You're the one she trusts the most."
"Bullshit!"
She's not just trusting herself; she's stirring up trouble!
Did she not know how long she had cried because Qiuhe was a man?
She had finally managed to calm down a bit these past two days, and now she's brought people right to her again.
Should he call him Sister Qiuhe or Brother?
The two looked at each other in surprise, and it was Tan Muhe who spoke first, "I'm sorry to bother you, Young Master Zhong."
Zhong Zihe chuckled. Why did these people still have this "since we're here, we might as well make the best of it" attitude?
There was no way he could simply refuse the request Si Yanmo had made to him.
He sighed, led Tan Muhe inside, had someone prepare a room next to his own, settled this ancestor in, and then quickly ran away.
Tan Muhe knew that he would be in danger no matter where he was, so it was normal for Zhong Zihe to avoid him.
He took out his box, took out the few hairpins used by men, and handed them to the shop assistant.
"Please deliver this to your employer for me. I've been a bother here a lot; consider it payment for this month's room."
This hairpin was made of the finest white jade from Qi Gu. It cost him thirty taels of silver, enough to bury a house elsewhere. He thought Zhong Zihe wouldn't mind as rent.
He didn't know that Zhong Zihe was avoiding him not because of any evil spirits or danger, but because she didn't know how to face this former "goddess".
He gripped the jade pendant tightly in his hand. It was the only time that Yun Jian Xuan allowed guests to go up to the second floor to watch Qiu He's performance without a screen.
He spent a fortune to acquire the jade pendant that granted him entry, and it was on that occasion that he truly saw his "soulmate" behind the screen.
He still remembered that it was a spring day, the willow trees had just sprouted tender buds, and the spring breeze blew in through the window, bringing with it the fragrance of the "woman"—a scent of sandalwood.
It is gentle and lingering, yet it brings a quiet sense of detachment, like a statue in a temple that can only be admired from afar, as if getting too close would be a desecration.
Those slender, pale fingers gently plucked the strings, and the melodious music made one feel as if they were entering a fairyland with him.
Zhong Zihe was lucky; he was sitting directly opposite him and could see the only thing visible behind the mask: his affectionate eyes.
His heart skipped a beat, and he could never forget it.
That night, my dreams were filled with the sound of his zither, his eyes, and the sandalwood scent lingering on his sleeves.
After that, no matter what method he used, even if he had to spend money to buy Yunjianxuan, Linniang still refused to let him see Qiuhe again.
No one knows how many times he has traveled to Qin over the years, but he has never been able to see his beloved.
If he had known this person was a man, he certainly wouldn't have shamelessly begged Si Yanmo that day. Now look what happened, he's lost face, and his sweetheart has become a buddy.
This Qin region is indeed full of freaks!
He irritably opened his fan, carelessly fanning away the words "Enjoy Yourself" until only a blurry image remained.
Meanwhile, in a courtyard on the outskirts of the city, Chen Wu was also fanning the newly lit charcoal with a fan.
Two servants carried a sheep weighing at least 100 pounds into the yard. The sheepskin had already been removed, and even the internal organs had been taken out and pickled, making Si Yanmo's mouth water just looking at it.
She was temporarily "freed," but Zhou Yanqing still held her hand tightly, as if afraid she would run away if she wasn't careful.
She shook their clasped hands and teased, "You don't trust me that much?"
“Madam is too cunning,” Zhou Yanqing leaned down to her ear and flicked her nose with his other hand. “Of course I have to be careful.”
Si Yanmo sniffled.
Why is this guy so vengeful?
She watched as Chen Wu prepared the charcoal, and then someone else put the sheep on the trellis.
"This is huge?" Her eyes widened. "We can't finish it, can we? Aren't you going to call Sano and the others over?"
Zhou Yanqing frowned and squeezed her hand. "Don't mention other men."
Jealousy!
Si Yanmo realized that he was no longer hiding his true feelings at all, and there was really nothing she could do about it.
"I'm serious, the two of us really can't finish this, can we?"
Zhou Yanqing pulled her to sit down, "I just wanted you to try them all, didn't I?"
"But we can't waste it."
At her repeated requests, Zhou Yanqing kept only one lamb leg, and asked Chen Wu to take the rest to the military camp, where they would slaughter two more lambs to distribute to the soldiers.
"Now can you spend some quality time with me?" Zhou Yanqing looked at her, resting his chin on his hand, while occasionally rubbing her fingers with his other hand.
Si Yanmo felt embarrassed by his gaze and pushed his face away, saying, "Watch the fire! I don't know how to grill!"
Zhou Yanqing was even more pleased by her shyness and obediently went to grill the meat.
The lamb leg needs to be turned from time to time to prevent one part from being undercooked while another part is overcooked.
Zhou Yanqing was used to being in the military camp and didn't have much patience when grilling. Once the outside was cooked, he would cut off a few slices with a knife, sprinkle them with salt and spices, and then use chopsticks to serve them to Si Yanmo.
"Want to try some?"
Si Yanmo was also shocked by his rough way of eating and was hesitant to take a bite.
"Don't worry, I didn't poison you." Zhou Yanqing ruffled her hair. "Little fox, are you so afraid I'll harm you? Haven't I been good to you?"
Si Yanmo pouted, refusing to eat. "Who knows, Mr. Kidnapper? What if you want to kill the hostage?"
Zhou Yanqing cooperated by picking up the knife in her hand and waving it around her face, pretending to be fierce, "You guessed right, it's because your husband is so slow to bring the ransom."
"I have a feeling that the kidnapper didn't tell my husband at all?"
"You trust him that much?" Zhou Yanqing raised an eyebrow, casually twirling the lamb leg again. "How do you know it's not that he's unwilling to save you?"
The fat on the lamb leg melted and dripped onto the charcoal, making a crackling sound. The two men's eyes met in the flickering flames.
Si Yanmo took a bite of the spiced mutton with his chopsticks, chewed it gently, and had to admit that Zhou Yanqing's cooking skills were indeed quite good.
She could tell from the food they had been eating these past few days.
She laughed and said, "Who said that? My husband would never do that!"
Zhou Yanqing's heart raced at her actions and words, and she lingered, unable to put down her chopsticks.
She was using his chopsticks just now...
The man unconsciously swallowed, cupped the back of the woman's head, and pressed his forehead against hers. "My wife is right, here I am."
Although the two of them would tease each other like this on ordinary days, now that his face was so close to hers, and their breaths were mingling, Si Yanmo's heart couldn't help but beat faster, and she lost the desire to continue teasing him.
The two drew closer and closer, their lips seemingly about to touch.
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