Chapter Eight
Zhou Junsong ignored her and instead looked at Si Yunyun, "Madam must do a lot of these things at home, right? My household accounts aren't many, and I imagine you're eager to learn, so it won't be tiring for you."
The man's face was very close to hers, his eyelashes were clearly visible, and his complexion was still worse than that of an average person, but Si Yunyun still blushed at the sight.
"It won't be tiring. I've looked at the accounts tomorrow, so I should be able to do it."
“In that case, I’ll leave it to Madam.” Zhou Junsong chuckled. “After Lin Niang has served the tea, she can leave. Today is my wedding day with Madam, and it’s not appropriate for Lin Niang to be here.”
Lin Jiao'er never expected Zhou Junsong to treat her like this, and fearing that saying more would anger him, she could only bow and leave. After she left, Cuizhu also slowly withdrew and closed the door for the two of them.
Only Zhou Junsong and Si Yunyun remained in the room, sitting together on the same bed.
“Lin Niang was chosen for me by my mother when I came of age. At that time, I was about to establish my own residence and needed a wife to manage all the affairs, so I entrusted them to her. There was no marital relationship between us,” Zhou Junsong suddenly said.
Is this what he's trying to say?
Si Yunyun was flattered and overwhelmed.
It's normal for someone like Zhou Junsong, living in a southern capital, to have one or two concubines. As an imperial concubine, I certainly wouldn't be so petty. What I did to Lin Jiao'er just now was merely to give her a warning, to let her know who the master is.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Junsong not only sided with her in every way, but also made a special effort to explain things to her.
"I understand from my own experience," she whispered, head bowed.
“When I was born, the imperial physician said that my body was weaker than others, and after many years of recuperation, it did not improve.” Zhou Junsong’s voice was hoarse, and he coughed a few times. “It’s just that my wife has had to suffer the hardship of being with me.”
Upon hearing this, Si Yunyun shook her head in a panic, "This concubine...this concubine, I have never thought of such a thing."
The flickering candlelight beside her made her face appear even whiter and more radiant.
The man reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, softly calling her name: "Yun'er".
She nodded slightly in response.
"The sound of the clouds is gentle and melodious. It truly sounds like the lady."
Zhou Junsong met her almond-shaped eyes, leaned down and kissed her cheek.
In the dead of night, deep in spring, two koi carp in the pond mate and swim together among the water plants.
The next morning, Zhou Junsong covered the sleeping Si Yunyun with a blanket, reminded Cuizhu not to disturb the madam, and then changed his clothes and went to the study.
He summoned his guard, Guan Heng: "Have you found that person?"
Guan Heng bowed and said, "I went to look for him after the Lantern Festival, but the owner of Hechunlou said that Mo Li had gone traveling. I hope we can meet again someday."
"Wandering?" Zhou Junsong coughed a few more times, his expression full of doubt. "Are you sure?"
"That's what the owner of Hechunlou said. However, I heard that Mo Li left in a hurry a few days before the Lantern Festival after telling the fortune of a man in black, and has not returned since."
A man in black?
Zhou Junsong lowered his eyes. In Nandu, only the rich and noble could afford to wear black robes. Could it be that someone else beat him to it?
"Keep searching."
"yes."
——
To accompany Si Yanmo to her sister's wedding, Zhou Yanqing postponed his trip to Qin by two days, and now it was time for him to leave. Before departing, he took Si Yanmo into the palace.
At Jianjia Palace, a middle-aged woman sat under the pavilion, embroidering a dark undergarment. Her lotus-colored gauze dress seemed a bit chilly even in the early spring of the southern capital.
Zhou Yanqing watched from the palace gate and sighed softly. He straightened his clothes, took Si Yanmo's hand, and walked towards the woman.
"Mother!"
Consort Qin raised her head upon hearing this, and her gaze brightened with joy when it met his eyes.
"Yanqing!" She stood up and took Zhou Yanqing's hand. "Let your mother see, you've lost weight again!"
“Leading troops into battle naturally won’t make you fat.” Zhou Yanqing frowned as she looked at her mother’s thin clothes. “It’s still chilly in the mornings and evenings, Mother should wear more clothes.”
"It's alright, your father is pleased."
It's him again...
Zhou Yanqing doesn't visit Jianjia Palace very often, and each time her mother talks about it, it's mostly about that man.
Twenty years ago, Consort Qin was just a lowly dancer in the Qin King's palace, known only by the pseudonym Alan.
At that time, the Southern Emperor, who was still a prince, came to Qin to discuss matters. He took a liking to her in the time it took to pour a cup of wine, and they made love all night before he returned to the Southern Capital. Unexpectedly, she became pregnant.
People from the South place great importance on their reputation, and even the Southern Emperor is no exception.
Falling for a dancer and fathering an illegitimate prince is ultimately a shameful thing. In addition, the Southern Emperor at that time had not yet ascended the throne, and he was arranging a marriage between his wife and the Princess of Qigu in order to seize the throne.
The princess had agreed with him that he could not take a concubine within three years. If she were to bring back a dancer at this time, wouldn't that be a slap in his face?
The Southern Emperor never acknowledged Zhou Yanqing and her son.
It wasn't until the Southern Emperor ascended the throne that Zhou Yanqing succeeded to the throne as a disciple after the death of the former King of Qin. Only then did the Southern Emperor bring Qin's concubine into the palace and make her a concubine, but he did not acknowledge Zhou Yanqing as his son.
Anyone with eyes can see that this is just the Southern Emperor being wary.
Consort Qin was merely kept in the palace and rarely even saw the Southern Emperor, yet she was deeply in love with him.
Zhou Yanqing had never been able to do anything about her mother and rarely said anything.
“Mother, this is Si Yanmo, my… wife.” He took Si Yanmo’s hand.
Although marriage was a temporary measure, Zhou Yanqing felt that no matter what, the elders should be introduced to Si Yanmo.
Upon hearing this, Consort Qin turned her gaze to her, looked her up and down, and her expression was displeased.
"Yan Qing, I heard from Palace Envoy Qi that you and she did not consummate your marriage?"
Si Yanmo noticed her disdain but didn't care. It was all fake anyway, and she didn't care whether her mother-in-law liked her or not. It was as if Zhou Yanqing liked her!
She just played the fool on the sidelines.
Zhou Yanqing glanced guiltily at Si Yanmo, realizing her mother would ask this, but the woman seemed not to have heard her at all.
He nodded helplessly: "Yes."
“Mother, you don’t know this, but she has been mentally challenged since she was a child. If I were to have marital relations with her, it would be taking advantage of her vulnerability.”
When he said the word "foolish," he deliberately emphasized it, and his eyes remained fixed on Si Yanmo.
The woman who heard the voice glanced at him, tilted her head, and acted as if she "knew nothing," showing no sign of being an ally.
Yesterday's wound medicine was a complete waste!
"You were the one who cried and begged to marry her, forcing your father to give the order," Consort Qin scolded in a low voice. "Tell me, you rejected so many girls from good families and with good temperaments, but insisted on marrying such a fool. And now you're saying you took advantage of her in her vulnerable state?"
"When did I cry and shout?" Zhou Yanqing pursed her lips and pounded her head, only daring to complain in a low voice.
“Mother, no matter what, I would never lay a hand on a girl whose mind is only that of a five-year-old.”
Consort Qin clicked her tongue and glared at him with disappointment.
She was eager to have a big, healthy grandson as soon as possible, and would often ask Steward Wu to find her portraits of noble ladies to look at.
Although the Southern Emperor had many children, the eldest prince was exiled to the frontier, the second prince died young, and most of the rest were unmarried. If his son could give the Southern Emperor a grandson soon, the Southern Emperor might recognize the father and son as soon as possible, and he would be able to fulfill a wish.
This young man, however, was completely naive and unmoved by any girl, no matter how beautiful or tender she was.
I finally heard that he likes that girl from the Si family. Even if she's mentally challenged, she's still a woman and can have children!
So now he's telling himself he can't bring himself to do it?
She's so angry!
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she tugged at Zhou Yanqing's sleeve, whispering, "How about this, Mother will help you take a concubine. She'll just be a concubine, and she'll only have to have a child."
Zhou Yanqing was startled by her mother's words and quickly pulled her arm away.
"Mother, what are you saying?" He glanced at Si Yanmo with a hint of guilt.
The other person sat to the side with a spectator's expression, completely oblivious to the impending crisis of being cheated on as a wife.
“In our Great South, it’s not uncommon for a man to have a concubine. You are the Prince of Qin, so it’s not like you can’t afford to support a few more concubines,” Consort Qin said matter-of-factly.
“Mother!” Zhou Yanqing said solemnly, “Now that I have married her, I must treat her well. How can I think of taking her as a concubine just because she is mentally challenged?”
"What's wrong with that? She's a normal person. She can't stop her husband from taking a concubine, can she?" Consort Qin glanced at Si Yanmo. "Besides, I meant finding a concubine and having a child, not that you should favor the concubine over your wife. You can have the child adopted by her later."
"Then what do you regard other women as? Tools for bearing children?" Zhou Yanqing could not accept her mother's words, so she stood up, bowed, and prepared to take her leave.
"Zhou Yanqing!" Consort Qin shouted sternly.
Zhou Yanqing ultimately didn't want to argue with her mother. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and suppressed her anger. "Let's discuss this matter again."
He pulled the still-unresponsive Si Yanmo away from Jianjia Palace.
Si Yanmo was dragged by him and staggered out of the palace gate before she managed to shake off his hand.
She shook her wrist, which was being gripped so hard, and glanced furtively at Zhou Yanqing, whose face was filled with an unyielding gloom.
She didn't understand why the man was angry.
Although Consort Qin's words were not pleasant to hear, they did not warrant such indignation.
"Actually, Consort Qin didn't mean anything by it, right? She... was thinking of you too," Si Yanmo asked tentatively.
"Thinking of me?" Zhou Yanqing's anger, which he had just suppressed, flared up again. He turned around and growled, almost colliding with her.
"Is it possible for her to allow other women to become concubines, just like her, unloved by their husbands, and wasting their lives in the inner courtyards of a secluded mansion? Has she ever considered those women?"
Si Yanmo didn't expect him to say that, and muttered softly, "When you wanted me to be the Princess Consort of Qin, you didn't even consider me."
Upon hearing this, the man paused, "Sometimes I really don't know if you're pretending to be stupid, or if you really are!"
Having said that, he flicked his sleeve and got into the carriage himself.
Chen Wu, who was standing by the carriage, was extremely anxious. He walked over to Si Yanmo and said with exasperation, "Your Highness, do you not know that His Majesty requested the marriage for your sake?"
"For...me?" Si Yanmo's eyes widened, then she shook her head. "Don't tease me, he clearly wants to..."
Murder to silence witnesses...
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