Chapter 119
He didn't answer, but opened the wine jar and gulped it down.
The two of them, one playing the piano upstairs and the other drinking downstairs, didn't ask each other too much, each grappling with their own sorrow until dawn.
On the other side, at the Si residence.
Si Yanmo has not spoken since she returned, locking herself in her room and refusing to see anyone.
Si Jianwen and Zhao Shuyun were extremely worried.
These days, they could naturally see how good their daughter's relationship with the King of Qin was, and they were secretly pleased, thinking that it was fortunate that the girl had married the King of Qin and had not suffered.
But now, everything has changed.
Just as they had worried about whether their daughter would be mistreated after marriage, they were now equally worried about how devastating it would be for Si Yanmo to separate from Zhou Yanqing.
Fortunately, Si Yunyun, who was also present yesterday, was worried about her younger sister and rushed over early this morning. Even though her parents told her that her sister refused to see anyone, she stubbornly went to knock on the door anyway.
"Mo'er, it's me. Please let your sister in, okay?"
There was no response from inside the room. After some time, she heard a series of footsteps, and the door was opened.
Only one night had passed, but she felt that Si Yanmo seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and her eyes had lost their sparkle.
She reached out and hugged her younger sister with heartache, saying, "It's okay, cry if you're upset."
Si Yanmo smiled, "Sisters, you don't need to worry about me. I'm really fine. This is a good ending."
Everyone will be fine, very fine.
Si Yunyun didn't believe her at all. "What's so good about it? Silly girl, why would you give up your husband if you like him? You can always fight her for him. So what if she marries into the family? You are the legal wife, she has to listen to you!"
If Si Yanmo can't win, then she, as the older sister, will help her amuse herself. Anyway, no one can make her sister unhappy or steal her sister's man.
Seeing how much she stood up for her, Si Yanmo felt a sense of comfort.
She held her sister's hand. "It's really okay, sister. I want him to be happy, and I want him to be safe. As for whether he has me or not afterward, it doesn't matter."
At that moment, her gaze drifted towards the corridor, and a smile played on her lips. "I think," she thought, "someone is coming."
Just like in the play, as soon as she finished speaking, someone came to report that Steward Yu had arrived and invited Mo Wubu to the palace to meet the Emperor.
Suspicion flashed in Si Yunyun's eyes. She didn't know why His Majesty wanted to see Si Yanmo, nor did she know how Si Yanmo could guess that someone would come to see her.
"Do you want your sister to come with you?" she asked, a little worried.
Si Yanmo shook her head. "No need. His Majesty definitely only wants to see me."
After all, he had a lot to say to me, didn't he?
She followed the steward into the carriage and entered the palace, where she met the Southern Emperor.
This time, she got straight to the point: "What does Your Majesty want me to do?"
The Southern Emperor was surprised by her boldness, which was also the reason why she had always admired her.
"The divination master Mo Wu is surely aware of this." The man sat on his high seat, grinding the beads on his bracelet one by one. "Your marriage to Yan Qing was bestowed by me. Now that you are separated, do you think... the position of divination master is enough to compensate you?"
"Of course," Si Yanmo replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
She already knew what he wanted to do.
Last night, even though she had witnessed the other party's outburst, it wasn't to find Zhou Changning a suitable husband, nor was it to deliberately annoy them; rather, she wanted to make her stay willingly.
Three days ago, the matter between Zhou Changning and Consort Zhen was reported to the Southern Emperor by a palace maid working in Consort Zhen's palace. He was immediately furious and wanted to execute the two, but then he remembered what the Southern Empress had said to him earlier.
At that time, the Empress Nan overheard what Si Yanmo and Zhou Changning were saying in the pavilion on New Year's Eve and jokingly told it to the Emperor Nan. He then focused on the sentence: "She can never do anything like sharing her husband with others."
Sometimes, you might need to use some emotion to win over a woman.
He instantly came up with a plan to kill two birds with one stone—to marry Zhou Changning to Zhou Yanqing.
If Si Yanmo and Zhou Yanqing were separated, it would be perfectly logical for him to have the other party perform divination; if not, he would have Zhou Changning find an opportunity to poison them both. Whether they discovered it or not didn't matter, as he would have achieved his goal regardless of who died.
What he didn't know was that Si Yanmo had calculated all of this. She originally wanted to expose the other party's conspiracy, but she saw a scene—Zhou Yanqing and Zhou Changning were together, he would live and enjoy his old age.
They had tried for so long, trying to avoid all sorts of people and methods, but to no avail. If it could be done simply because he was with Zhou Changning, then she would rather he be safe.
When she thought of all this, Si Yanmo was stunned.
She would actually give up everything she has now, even..., just so he could be safe and sound.
"For me, the position of divination is extremely rare, and I know that I am unworthy of it. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."
She didn't even want to do any divination; she wasn't asking the Southern Emperor, but simply wanted her lover to be safe.
At this moment, Si Yanmo truly realized that she had really fallen in love with Zhou Yanqing.
It was a completely different feeling from my previous life, a feeling completely different from my feelings for anyone.
She would be sad and upset, but if it would make him alright, she would be willing to do it.
The Southern Emperor hadn't expected such a reply. "So, do you still want to go back to be a diviner for the Prince of Qin? Do you really want to see Chang Ning with him every day?"
He really couldn't understand this woman.
"yes."
"What if I forcibly keep you here?"
"There seems to be no point in keeping a diviner who cannot do anything for you. Your Majesty might as well just execute me."
The Southern Emperor snorted coldly, "You really dare to be so bold!"
Si Yanmo sneered, "A person like me will die sooner or later, so I might as well just die like this and take His Majesty's secret with me."
Upon hearing her secret, the Southern Emperor's eyes sharpened. "What did you say? What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, don't you want to know who the prince is who is prophesied to usurp the throne?"
This woman really knew!
He knew he hadn't chosen the wrong person.
"Speak! Who is it?" he demanded urgently.
Si Yanmo seemed to be doing it on purpose, remaining silent, which angered the Southern Emperor so much that he ordered her to be arrested.
"I have a hundred ways to make you say it! Don't you believe I can kill everyone around you?"
“If Your Majesty really does that, all the reputation you’ve worked so hard to build over the years will be wasted.” Si Yanmo was certain that he still wanted her reputation. “Even if you still want to pin the blame on some kind of demon or evil spirit, you don’t have a single obedient diviner by your side right now.”
The Southern Emperor gritted his teeth in anger, "What exactly do you want?"
"I don't want anything. Your Majesty just needs to promise me that you will let me leave. I won't stay here. As for anything else you want to know, I will tell you."
Si Yanmo wanted to fight against fate one last time. She was willing to give up this relationship for Zhou Yanqing, but she would never allow herself to be submissive and would never allow herself to become a victim of imperial power again.
With her arms pinned down by the guards, she silently stared at the man on the platform, her face turning pale and then flushed, before finally letting out a sigh: "Fine, I agree."
He ordered Si Yanmo to be released and eagerly asked who the person was.
Just as Si Yanmo was about to utter Zhou Junsong's name, Yu Siguan suddenly came to report: "Your Majesty, Fengyang Palace is on fire!"
This is Consort Zhen's palace!
The Southern Emperor was startled. If anything happened to Zhou Changning, all his painstaking plans would be in vain.
He quickly pressed on, "Where's the princess? How is she?"
Yu Siguan replied tremblingly, "His life... his fate is unknown."
The Southern Emperor was furious. "Take me there."
Si Yanmo was also surprised to hear this, and followed along.
After walking only a few steps, they could see thick black smoke rising from the direction of Fengyang Palace. Guards and palace maids were running in that direction, carrying buckets of water.
As they got closer, they discovered that the fire had spread throughout the entire palace, with flames constantly engulfing everything inside. All the buckets of water that were poured out were in vain.
Si Yanmo frowned, worried about Consort Zhen and Zhou Changning's safety. Who exactly wanted to kill them?
The person the Southern Emperor wanted to keep was actually someone who wanted to kill her.
Could it be Zhou Yanqing?
Impossible, she rejected the idea in her heart. No matter what, Zhou Yanqing would not do such a thing.
So who exactly is it?
Just then, a guard carrying a bucket of water rushed toward Fengyang Palace and accidentally bumped into her. She felt as if something had been stuffed into her belt, and upon closer inspection, she found a note.
She avoided the Southern Emperor's gaze, opened the note, and read in strong, powerful handwriting: "This is my apology to you. Do you like it?"
She suddenly raised her head and saw the guard's back clearly; it was Guan Heng, who often followed Zhou Junsong.
He's insane! Who gave him permission to make decisions on his own?
After an unknown amount of time, the fire was finally extinguished. Fengyang Palace was in complete disarray, and not a single living person could be seen.
The guards found two charred bodies inside, and could vaguely identify Consort Zhen and Zhou Changning by the jade bracelets on their wrists.
The Southern Emperor was furious and turned to Si Yanmo: "Arrest this woman!"
In an instant, a group of guards surrounded Si Yanmo.
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?"
The Southern Emperor sneered: "Don't think I don't know it was you who did this! Murdering a princess and an imperial concubine is a crime punishable by death!"
Si Yanmo was speechless. This person usually schemes so much, but now he thinks so simply.
"What evidence does Your Majesty have? When the fire broke out, I was speaking with you in your main hall. How could I possibly set fire to this vast Fengyang Palace?"
"You can naturally bribe others."
She gave a mocking smile, "This humble woman does not know how a Qin princess who has lived in Qin for a long time could bribe the palace guards and maids to kill the imperial concubine and princess for me?"
"Your Majesty just said that his crime deserves death! How could I possibly have such power to make people go through fire and water for me?"
The Southern Emperor was speechless after being rebuked by her, but he didn't want to think too much about it. "That's the matter of the Directorate. Now, take her down!"
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten what I said before?"
Seeing that the guards were about to grab her, Si Yanmo threatened in a cold voice, which made the Southern Emperor raise his hand and stop the guards' actions.
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