Chapter 105
"What are you saying?" Si Yanmo frowned, really wanting to see if this person was a jealous person beyond belief.
"Didn't I say that my relationship with her is just like that of brother and sister? Why do you always bring that up?"
The puppy looked aggrieved and hugged her, saying, "I thought you were jealous because you seemed unhappy."
Si Yanmo was both annoyed and amused. "I think you're the one who's jealous!"
She poked his forehead as a warning.
After the laughter subsided, her sorrow returned. She leaned closer to him, "I just felt that his original destiny was quite good. As long as he avoided the Zhong family's bankruptcy, he would have a smooth life. But now he's gone astray, and I'm afraid..."
"Are you afraid that the same thing will happen again, like what happened to your sister?" Zhou Yanqing seemed to understand something.
She was worried that the people around her would get into danger because of her.
He rubbed her shoulder to comfort her, "Silly girl, no, he just likes someone different now, nothing else will change."
"I hope so." Si Yanmo sighed heavily.
Seeing that she was still unhappy, Zhou Yanqing changed the subject, "I originally planned to take you here again to see the maple leaves, but I didn't expect to come so late and the leaves have all fallen."
"Maple leaves? Are they pretty?" She had only heard Zhong Zihe mention them before. Unlike the Southern Capital, where the leaves are almost always green, the leaves in Qin turn yellow in autumn, and the maple leaves turn red, creating a unique landscape.
She hadn't seen it. All her imagination about the outside world came from other people's accounts.
If she hadn't married Zhou Yanqing, she couldn't even imagine that one day she would see snow again.
The man nodded. "It'll be beautiful, especially here. The whole mountain will be ablaze with red, like... a sunset."
Is it the sunset?
The sunsets in Qin always resemble the blood flowing from a wounded golden crow, staining half the sky crimson. They possess a unique beauty, yet seem tinged with a touch of melancholy.
She leaned on Zhou Yanqing's shoulder, "Then bring me here again next time, and we'll watch it together."
"Then..." Zhou Yanqing extended her little finger, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Pinky promise?"
Si Yanmo was finally amused by him, "So childish?"
As she said this, she reached out her hand and made a pinky promise with the other person.
"Whoever turns into a puppy becomes a puppy? But you're already a puppy, what are you going to do?" she teased him.
Zhou Yanqing wasn't annoyed and hugged her tightly. "Then turning me into a puppy and never being able to hug or kiss you again would be torture."
"What about the Qin region?"
"How about letting Madam manage it?" He whispered in her ear, coaxing, "I'll just be responsible for keeping Madam company."
"Wouldn't I be at a huge loss?" Si Yanmo said with a calculating expression. "I'll have no choice but to sell you."
"That won't do!" Zhou Yanqing took her hand and gently kissed her fingertips. "What will happen if Madam is bullied all by herself without me?"
"But you're a puppy, and even a puppy can't protect me."
"Then I don't want to become a puppy," he started to whine. "Let's stay human, so that Madam won't run away."
The two of them actually chatted idly about random things, and Si Yanmo's mood improved a lot.
"Zhou Yanqing, why are you always so good to me?"
Zhou Yanqing didn't answer immediately, but instead touched her hair and asked, "Then why didn't you leave?"
"Hmm..." Si Yanmo refused to express her true feelings directly, and said arrogantly, "Who said I'm not leaving? I just said I won't leave for now. If you make me angry, I will still leave."
"Then I'll try not to make you angry," he chuckled softly, "so you can love me more."
He said it so directly, and Si Yanmo instantly blushed, stubbornly turning her head away, "Who...who said I love you?"
"You said it!"
"When?!"
Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but laugh; this person was just too adorable.
"Just now."
She was both embarrassed and confused. "What did I just say?"
Zhou Yanqing chuckled triumphantly, "Oh? Didn't you just say I love you?"
"I didn't..." she said, then realized halfway through, "Who was it that said 'I love you'?"
"Huh?" The man made an exaggerated expression. "Why are you saying you love me again?"
He feigned innocence, "Oh dear, why is my hearing not very good? I can only hear 'I love you,' I can't hear any other words."
Si Yanmo knew this guy was trying to trick her again, and slapped him hard, "Zhou Yanqing, you're getting more and more... glib."
She simply ignored him and turned her head away.
Zhou Yanqing quickly hugged her and coaxed, "Madam, I was wrong. I just wanted to hear you say you love me!"
"You've already missed your chance," she said haughtily.
"No, madam!"
The two bickered and argued all the way back to Nandu.
Unlike Si Yanmo and Zhong Zihe, who used to live here frequently, Tan Muhe didn't even come here as often as Zhou Yanqing.
His memories of Nandu are still from his childhood, when his parents were still alive. He vaguely remembers that he liked to go to an old man at the end of the alley to buy candied fruit.
Now, when I come back, I see many renovated houses around me, many of which are different from the fashionable styles of his time.
Only then did he realize what it meant for things to have changed beyond recognition.
Zhong Zihe noticed his dejection and took his hand. "After we clear your parents' names, we'll buy the place you used to live and keep it in Nandu. What do you say?"
He neither spoke nor nodded.
He had no idea whether he could clear his parents' names.
He didn't even know if he would survive.
He dared not have any hope for the future.
This time they traveled faster, and the group returned to Jinwu City in just half a month.
Exhausted from their journey, the group decided to get a good night's rest before making any further plans.
Zhong Zihe arranged for Tan Muhe to stay at Hechunlou, while Zhou Yanqing and Si Yanmo... naturally, they had to go back to their parents' home.
The carriage swayed and rocked along the same road that Zhou Yanqing had used to pick up his bride.
Little did he know then that he would fall hopelessly in love with that little charlatan.
He watched the street scene recede into the distance, his hands unconsciously clenching tightly on his legs, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Si Yanmo noticed and couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you... nervous?"
"Who, who said that? How could that be? I am the King of Qin!"
He stammered as soon as he opened his mouth, lacking any confidence, which only made the laughter around him grow louder.
Si Yanmo's laughter only made him more flustered. A blush spread from her ears to her neck, and he reached out to cover her mouth. "No, stop laughing!"
He told the driver to stop the car and pulled Si Yanmo out.
"Hey! Are you going to run away at the last minute?" Si Yanmo quickly grabbed him, afraid that he would run away. "My parents aren't scary, what are you afraid of?"
Her parents weren't scary, but the way he picked her up for the wedding was terrifying!
At that time, he still acted like the King of Qin, completely unaware that he was someone else's son-in-law.
Now that I think about it, how could his father-in-law and mother-in-law possibly have a good impression of him?
Si Yanmo had just started to like him. If she went home and her in-laws persuaded her to leave, he would have nowhere to cry.
Zhou Yanqing had completely lost the King of Qin's confidence. "I...I didn't say I was going to run away."
He lowered his head shyly and murmured softly, "I'm just afraid they won't like me..."
Si Yanmo wanted to laugh even more, but she held it back, afraid that she would anger the person in front of her so much that he would not dare to come again. She could only hold his hand and comfort him, "You're overthinking it. My parents are not those kinds of people!"
“But I… have bad rumors, and… I even offended my father-in-law…” Zhou Yanqing was like a child who had done something wrong, waiting for the elders to criticize him.
So that's what you were worried about!
Si Yanmo finally understood.
Indeed, back then, who wouldn't be scared when they saw him with that stern face?
She thought this person would come after her!
The result was an adorable puppy.
"Well then, since we're already down here, why don't we go buy some things for my parents and you properly apologize?"
Zhou Yanqing thought for a moment, then nodded, realizing it didn't make sense, and took her hand as they walked towards the market. "What do your father-in-law and mother-in-law like?"
Under the warm sunlight, two figures blended into the crowd.
The girl said, "My father likes jade, and my mother... likes fruit, especially from Qigu. My mother is from Qigu."
The man asked, "And you, what do you like?"
"I like a lot of things, like the lanterns from last time, which I really liked."
"Then I'll show you more often, okay?"
"good."
The jingling of bells mingled with the hawkers' cries, and the shadows of men and women were stretched long by the sunlight.
Even so, their shadows never separated.
Before long, the two had bought gifts for Si's parents. This time, when Zhou Yanqing got into the carriage, he seemed much more confident, but he still kept his eyes closed and muttered something to himself.
"What are you muttering about?" Si Yanmo asked with a smile.
"No...it's nothing."
He couldn't possibly tell his wife that he was praying that his in-laws would forget his unreasonable behavior back then, could he?
The two traveled together to the Si residence. Si Jianwen and Zhao Shuyun had received a letter from Si Yanmo early in the morning and were waiting outside. Sure enough, they saw the two's carriage.
Si Yanmo had previously mentioned in her letter that she had recovered, so they were not too surprised to see their daughter coming down with Zhou Yanqing to greet them; they were more delighted.
Even in their joy, they could not forget that they were now subjects. Instead of speaking to their daughter first, they bowed and greeted her, "King Qin, Queen Qin."
Zhou Yanqing seized the opportunity and quickly tried to curry favor, holding the arms of the two as they bowed, saying, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, there's no need for such formalities. We're all family."
He spoke as he tried to soften his tone, but this only earned him an even more apprehensive expression from Si Jianwen.
The last time he saw this King of Qin was when he was welcoming his daughter to the wedding. At that time, he was worried that his daughter would suffer after marrying into the family.
He was grateful to Di Gu for being able to see Si Yanmo standing safely in front of him. How could he dare to be disrespectful to this Prince Qin?
As Zhou Yanqing watched her father-in-law distantly withdraw his arm, her heart shattered into two pieces.
He's doomed! He knew he hadn't made a good impression on his father-in-law!
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