Chapter Forty-Four
"So you're saying that you have absolutely no feelings for the King of Qin, and that he's been testing you lately?"
Yun Jian Xuan.
Zhong Zihe crossed his legs and casually picked up a piece of candied fruit from the table and threw it into his mouth.
Just a few days ago, he was afraid that Zhou Yanqing would chop off his hands and feet, but now, after hearing Si Yanmo's explanation, he finally felt relieved.
“It’s not like we have absolutely no feelings for each other. We’re at least…” Si Yanmo also picked up a piece of candied fruit, but hesitated to put it in her mouth because she was thinking.
"I'd call it an alliance. After all, I helped him catch the spy and punish a nobleman, so we've been through thick and thin together."
"But... I don't quite understand. After going through so much, how come there's still not even a shred of basic trust?"
She angrily chewed the candied fruit in her mouth.
"Is it possible that you've misunderstood?"
"Misunderstanding?" she exclaimed, agitated. "Finger bone, dagger, poison—these are the three essential elements for a fatal stabbing in a play. How could it be a misunderstanding?"
"Didn't you also say that he cares about your daily life?"
"That's the problem. Do you think there's anyone in the world more contradictory than him?"
Si Yanmo tapped the table frantically with her finger, almost poking a hole in it.
"He doesn't like me, he doesn't hate me, he cares about me, but he doubts me?"
Is this correct?
Looking at his younger sister's exasperated expression, Zhong Zihe licked his lips and smiled mysteriously, "You know what? There's a saying that when you start to worry about a man, you've already fallen in love with him."
Si Yanmo grabbed a fan from the side and threw it at her, saying, "Can't you be serious for once?"
"I'm so serious..."
Zhong Zihe laughed loudly, and just then the door to the side room was pushed open, revealing Wu Zi'ang.
"Brother Wu, you've arrived! Please, have a seat!"
In the past two days, he and Wu Zi'ang have become friends.
Wu Zi'ang didn't have much of a salary, so he rarely had the chance to listen to Qiu He's zither playing. Coincidentally, Zhong Zihe was generous and always invited him along.
The two shared similar tastes and could be considered close friends.
Si Yanmo knew immediately that the two were about to get carried away, so she quickly made her escape. Before leaving, she reminded Zhong Zihe, "Think about the official position I mentioned to you before!"
"I know, I know!" Zhong Zihe replied casually.
Xiao Mo'er has told him about this more than once, and he doesn't want to suffer that pain.
Si Yanmo knew he wouldn't go anytime soon, so she didn't force him. After all, there was still plenty of time before the calamity in his destiny.
She stepped out of Yunjian Pavilion, accompanied by Qiuhe's melodious zither music, and the leaping hooves of her horse carried her back to the Qin Prince's Mansion.
As soon as she entered, she saw that the front yard was full of all kinds of portraits, probably a hundred or so at a glance.
Si Yanmo walked closer to take a look.
Good heavens! All sorts of beauties, gentle, flamboyant, radiant, ladylike... No need to guess, it's obviously the work of Consort Qin.
Just as she was about to walk inside, she saw Consort Qin holding two portraits and asking Wu Guan, "This one from the Zhang family and this one from the Li family both look quite good, but the mole between the eyebrows of the Li family girl is bad; she's said to bring misfortune to her husband."
She tossed aside the portrait on her right, saying, "Forget it, I'll choose the Zhang family girl instead." As she spoke, she happened to turn around and see Si Yanmo.
Si Yanmo didn't want to deal with her, but when their eyes met, she had no choice but to bow and say, "Mother."
Consort Qin forced a smile, a fake one. Even if Si Yanmo regained her senses, she was still not a competent daughter-in-law in her eyes.
Whose wife goes out in public every day? She's obviously not proper!
“Yanmo, don’t blame your mother. I heard Yanqing say yesterday that you have a blood disorder and she can’t bear to let you have a child. But the bloodline can’t be broken, right? Besides, which man doesn’t have three wives and four concubines? As the legal wife, you should be more magnanimous.”
Si Yanmo smiled gently, "Of course, I'll listen to Mother."
Anyway, it has nothing to do with her.
Once she helps Zhou Yanqing escape that disaster, the two will definitely get a divorce.
Whether he finds a wife, and how many wives he has, is his business.
However... as an ally, she was still willing to lend a hand.
“Mother, let me help you choose.” She stepped forward enthusiastically and took the portrait from Consort Qin’s hands.
If Qin's concubines were to choose, who knows what strange and unusual people they would pick.
This is all she can do to save Zhou Yanqing.
Consort Qin was stunned by what she saw. She watched as her "daughter-in-law" not only showed no jealousy at her husband taking a concubine, but also began to analyze the situation logically.
"Hmm...this girl is nice. Look how pretty she is."
Si Yanmo sat down on the stone bench, picked out a couplet from the stone table, and analyzed it carefully, "Qian Liguan's daughter? It might be a bit of a disservice to her to make her a concubine..."
When Zhou Yanqing returned, he saw a scene that was both "harmonious" and bizarre—his wife and mother were choosing a concubine for him.
"Si Yanmo, what are you doing?" He pulled the woman up from the stone bench.
The woman replied calmly, "I'll help you choose a concubine."
She leaned close to his ear and said, "Otherwise, Consort Qin would only choose women with big butts who are good at bearing children. Don't worry, as long as you like her, I will definitely explain our relationship to the girl. If you get married, we will divorce immediately. I will never let the girl suffer any injustice."
Zhou Yanqing watched as the woman handed him several portraits of beautiful women and began to introduce them earnestly, "Look, this is Miss Qian, well-educated and reasonable, she will surely be a perfect match for you in the future. And this is Miss Wang, she knows martial arts! How suitable she is for you!"
...
He laughed in anger, "Si Yanmo, you want me to take a concubine?"
"No!" Si Yanmo explained in a low voice to Consort Qin, "But you will have to get married sooner or later. As your advisor, am I not helping you choose the future Queen of Qin?"
The woman's serious demeanor ignited a nameless fire within him, burning him with irritation.
He didn't understand where this anger and resentment came from, which made him both angry and unsure how to vent it, so he simply turned and left.
Watching the man turn and leave, Si Yanmo was puzzled.
"Don't you like any of them? What wonderful girls they are!" she muttered. "I like them all."
Zhou Yanqing went out the door and led a horse directly to the outskirts.
He wanted to shake off this emotion, this feeling weighing on his heart, making him want nothing more than to pin that woman against the wall and demand:
Why do we have to do this?
Why can he so openly find other women for himself?
Why can he remain completely unaffected by anything?
If Zhou Yanqing had only felt that something was wrong with him before, now he felt like he was going crazy, being driven mad by this uncontrollable feeling.
Ever since before the Wu Bu assessment, when Si Yanmo was sick, this emotion had been surrounding him, growing stronger and stronger, and now he didn't know what was wrong with him.
Before he knew it, he rode his horse to the divination hall, went inside, and walked around the front hall to the back mountain.
Mo Wenzhong was indeed here.
It was the same familiar chess game, and there was only one person playing, with a plate of pear cakes placed next to him.
He sat down opposite him without any hesitation, picked up a piece of pastry and threw it into his mouth. "Old man, have you ever felt really, really angry?"
“Yes.” Mo Wenzhong stared intently at his chewing lips. “Like right now!”
These past two days, Lin Niang and he had finally managed to improve their relationship, and she even sent someone to deliver a plate of pear cakes to him.
Although the man said it was something the customer didn't want, he knew that Yun Jian Xuan didn't sell pear cakes at all.
Zhou Yanqing, however, did not notice his gaze at all, nor did she notice the uniqueness of the pastry. Instead, she talked incessantly to the old man in front of her about her inexplicable emotions in recent days.
"It's Si Yanmo. Something's wrong with her, really wrong! Do you know what she's going to do today? She's actually going to take me a concubine."
"She was asking me if I liked her last night, but now she's acting like nothing happened!"
"And how could she and that Zhong Zihe be so close? What brother and sister? What kind of brother and sister would be so close?"
"She doesn't like the gifts I give her, but she's overjoyed when that other man gives her something!"
...
The spring breeze was restless, rustling the leaves.
Mo Wenzhong listened to every word, and his white piece landed on the chessboard, instantly swallowing up countless black pieces.
"Something seems off; it doesn't seem to be my little apprentice."
"You mean I'm acting strange too, right?" Zhou Yanqing stood up abruptly, leaning on the stone table. "I think so too!"
His lips trembled, a hint of panic in his voice. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just...very angry, extremely angry. And..."
He suddenly approached, "As soon as she got close to me, I seemed to forget everything! Do you think she's cast a spell on me?"
Mo Wenzhong finally smiled, but said nothing.
"What are you laughing at? She really used a curse on me? What kind of curse? I knew it! This woman must have secretly practiced on me when she was researching curse poison!"
Mo Wenzhong laughed even harder, "She didn't use a curse on you, it was you..."
What's wrong with me?
"You've fallen in love with her."
Zhou Yanqing froze for a moment, took two steps back, and after processing what she had said, frantically waved her hands, "Old man, you've misunderstood. I know that in your eyes we are husband and wife, but we're not. She and I... in short, we're not!"
"You've fallen in love with her."
"Don't talk nonsense! Just because you're old doesn't mean you can say whatever you want!"
Seeing that he was unwilling to admit it, Mo Wenzhong continued, "I've had that feeling too. Do you know who it was for?"
"who?"
"Your master." The old man, now with white hair, looked fondly at his eyes, as if recalling his youth.
"I felt the same way back then, very panicked. I didn't know why I was so focused on a man; his joys and sorrows affected everything I did."
"Until one day I realized that I wanted to kiss him, to be with him, to be together every moment, and never be apart."
The old man looked up at the man before him, who still couldn't see his own heart clearly.
How wonderful, just like when he was young, he was deeply concerned about his lover's every move.
Unfortunately... he can never do it again.
"So you've fallen in love with her, you can't live without her, and once she leaves you, it's no different from being dead."
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