Chapter Sixty-One
"In the struggle for imperial power, no matter how generous you are, you are still a pawn and in great danger."
"Then how about the Third Prince? He's the chosen one, and he's also my brother-in-law. He shouldn't treat me too badly," she asked again.
"You really enjoy getting involved in these kinds of things?"
Zhou Yanqing finally couldn't hold back and exploded. Was this woman trying to say that she had many other places to go besides him?
Who among them can be as good to her and as sincere as I am to her?
Seeing the puppy looking so wronged and unable to speak, and rather exasperated, Si Yanmo tried her best to suppress the twitching corners of her mouth and not let herself laugh out loud.
She pouted, looking equally angry. "This won't work, that won't work. So tell me, what should I do after we get a divorce?"
The man was stunned by his question.
To live in anonymity? Then she might never be able to go home again, never see her parents again. That's definitely not what Si Yanmo wants.
Continue to play the fool? Then all her desperate efforts to pass the Wubu exam will have been in vain.
It seems that no answer is a good answer for someone as bright and dazzling as Si Yanmo.
He hoped she could continue doing what she wanted.
If you want to save people, then go and save them;
If you want to change the world, then go and change it;
If you want to climb higher, then just stay at a high place...
But... he wanted her to be safe more.
Outside the camp, the weather changed from sunny to cloudy. A drop of rain suddenly fell, seeping into the ground through the cracks in the sand and gravel, and quickly disappeared, nourishing everything silently.
The next second, countless raindrops pelted down, the ground became wet, and it exuded the fragrance of earth.
Si Yanmo put her hand on his shoulder as well, "I don't think you brought me into danger."
Her voice was as soft as raindrops, seeping into his heart, “No matter who I’m with now, whose fortune teller I am, or whether I’m just at home, still a carefree merchant’s daughter, occasionally telling fortunes for people, they will find me if they need me.”
“I am not in danger because of you, but because of myself. This ability is perhaps destined to be fought over in this world, and is destined to become a victim of struggle.”
"But Si Yanmo will never be a sacrifice, nor a deserter." Her voice was firm and strong, "and I will never abandon you."
“Zhou Yanqing, I said I would save you. Even if Di Gu wanted you dead, I would still save you. Besides, there are only a few people here. What are you afraid of?”
"Do you believe me?" She cupped his face in her hands, her gentle yet firm gaze captivating Zhou Yanqing.
This man, who is usually so capable and at ease with anyone and anything, always acts like a dazed little dog in front of her.
He nodded. "Yes."
“Then I believe you too,” Si Yanmo said with a smile, “I believe you can protect me. Zhou Yanqing, protect me, protect your Wu Bu, your… wife.”
She said...wife?
Zhou Yanqing could hardly believe what she had heard. A sweet look filled her eyes as she held the hand on her cheek and gently rubbed it against her palm.
"……good."
He would agree to whatever she said...
As the figure gradually moved eastward, Zhou Junsong had already gotten a fairly good grasp of the situation of the merchants in Qin'an City over the past few days.
The large influx of merchants from Nandu into Qin territory demonstrates their displeasure with the forced taxation; after all, no one wants to hand over hard-earned money for no reason.
He also observed that most of those who relocated were small vendors, and some were simply cunning individuals with multiple escape routes, indicating that taxes did not have a significant impact on them.
"Perhaps we can implement a tiered tax system in the future, treating small vendors and farmers the same way."
In the pavilion in the backyard, Zhou Junsong and his wife discussed this matter.
He would never hide such things from Si Yunyun; on the contrary, he was very willing to chat with her about them.
As the daughter of a charitable organization, Si Yunyun was always able to broaden his horizons, but today Si Yanmo was absent-minded, as if she hadn't heard what he said.
He took the other person's hand. "What's wrong?"
Si Yunyun then came to her senses and looked at him with hesitation in her eyes, "Husband and the King of Qin have really reached the point of no return?"
It was all for her younger sister, as expected.
“Madam,” Zhou Junsong sighed, “no one can trust the Prince of Qin’s identity. I know you are worried about your aunt. As long as she leaves him and comes to me, I promise I will protect her.”
The problem is that Si Yunyun can tell that her younger sister will not leave Zhou Yanqing.
"What if the King of Qin doesn't have that intention?"
Zhou Junsong laughed, "Madam shouldn't ask me this. Instead, she should ask the ladies in the inner palace, the emperor's brother, or even the ministers in the court. See if they'll believe it then?"
No one would believe that someone with the blood of the Southern Emperor, wielding immense power, capable of governing the country with civil administration and defending against foreign enemies, would have no ambition for the throne. Perhaps even the Southern Emperor himself wouldn't believe it.
Just as Si Yunyun was about to say something, Zhou Junsong's
The guard Guan Heng reported, "Your Highness, Madam, someone has delivered a letter outside the door, saying it's from the Princess Consort of Qin to you."
Si Yunyun suddenly looked up, her eyes falling on the envelope in the man's hand. She desperately wanted to know its contents, yet felt a vague unease.
She knew that this letter represented the outcome of the matter, but she was also afraid that the outcome would not be what she wanted.
At this moment, Zhou Junsong beckoned to Guan Heng and took the envelope from his hand. "Madam, would you mind if I opened it and took a look?"
He spoke politely, but a dangerous glint lurked in his eyes.
He liked to be "frank and honest" with Si Yunyun, and naturally he also liked Si Yunyun to be "frank and honest" with him.
His candor was limited to occasional discussions of politics, while Si Yunyun's candor inevitably involved exposing everything to him.
He wouldn't allow anyone around him to become uncontrollable, including his beloved wife.
Si Yunyun knew this about him, but unfortunately there was no room for maneuver at this moment. She could only watch silently as Zhou Junsong opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.
The paper was folded into four sections and slowly unfolded, but even those few seconds felt like an eternity of torture. She could only silently pray that everything would go smoothly.
The letter was opened, and the handwriting on it was slightly childish, clearly from Si Yanmo.
She didn't learn to write for very long. Half of it was before she recovered, her mother felt she shouldn't be so confused and taught her word by word. The other half was in the year or so that she learned to write, but she didn't have any special teacher to teach her, so her handwriting was always crooked.
However, the letter didn't mention anything about the King of Qin. Instead, it invited his sister and brother-in-law to go on a spring outing in the countryside, saying it would be a good opportunity for the whole family to go together.
Si Yunyun breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help wondering: Why would Mo'er go on a spring outing at this crucial moment?
Unbeknownst to her, Si Yanmo, as the former wife of the Third Prince, knew Zhou Junsong's temperament better than she did.
There's no way Si Yunyun could ever see this letter herself. Once Zhou Junsong sees it, no matter what she writes, and no matter whether he believes it or not, he'll verify it himself using his own methods.
Instead of doing that, it would be better to talk to him in person and let him verify it himself; then everything will become clear.
Just now, she and Zhou Yanqing re-analyzed the current situation based on the spy's words.
Zhou Yanqing believed that Zhou Junsong's expression on the Shangsi Festival indicated that he definitely wanted to kill Si Yanmo, but since the spy was not sent by him, it meant that he had been intercepted.
This can also be seen from Si Yunyun's appearance afterward. He probably didn't know who that person was, but this person disrupted his plans, making him abandon the idea of killing Si Yanmo and instead try to win her over.
"Do you think if we simply told him that the man was sent by the King of Qi, it would dissuade him from cooperating with the King of Qi?" Si Yanmo asked.
"That depends on whether you or the King of Qi are of greater benefit to him."
“Wrong!” She waved her finger mysteriously. “It’s about who is more beneficial to King Qi, you or me.”
“I can’t do it alone, but with you, with the same power and status, plus a shaman who never makes a mistake, our chances of winning are not small!”
Seeing the person in front of him tilting their head back like a proud kitten, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but smile, his eyes filled with tenderness. He teased her on purpose, "Don't forget, there's still this big bomb about me!"
“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Si Yanmo rested her chin on her hand, her tone carrying a touch of cute helplessness. “You can’t decide who your parents are. If they absolutely refuse to believe it, then so be it.”
Zhou Yanqing was taken aback by her words, and her heart skipped a beat, but she still asked, "If he really doesn't believe me, are you still planning to stand by my side?"
"certainly!"
"Didn't you say he's the chosen one? What if we can't beat him?"
Si Yanmo frowned. "Why are you always so insecure? We're not trying to steal the throne from him, so what are we afraid of?"
Hearing her words, Zhou Yanqing couldn't help but greedily wonder if she didn't want to leave him either.
He leaned closer to Si Yanmo, his breathing becoming cautious, "Amo, why don't you divorce me?"
Si Yanmo didn't expect him to ask that question; to be precise, she herself didn't know why.
"It hasn't even been a year yet..."
She could only attribute it all to the fact that the agreed deadline had not yet arrived, and that she was not the kind of person who would break her promise.
Zhou Yanqing, however, was not going to let her go. He leaned closer to her, his thin lips brushing against her ear, his voice low and deep, "That's one answer, but I want to hear another."
Si Yanmo felt her earlobes itchy and hot from his breath, and soon her body also became hot.
Reason told her that Ye Shengge seemed to be influencing them again, and she should leave, but her body simply wouldn't obey her.
"I...I don't know."
A hand with distinct knuckles took her hand and intertwined their fingers. The man's voice seemed to become seductive, "You know... it's in your heart... isn't it?"
The two drew closer and closer, their breaths almost mingling.
Si Yanmo tried her best to stay awake, raising her hand to stop the man from getting closer, "Zhou Yanqing, we're not sober right now..."
She wanted to remind the other person that they were both under the influence of drugs.
Zhou Yanqing seemed not to hear anything. He pulled her into his arms with one hand and raised the other to stroke her cheek. His slightly rough fingertips traced her skin, and his voice was deep, "I know, it's okay. Don't we have a way to get the antidote?"
His seduction worked; Si Yanmo's reason teetered on the edge of desire, letting his breath get closer and closer, his thin lips almost touching hers.
She instinctively closed her eyes.
Just then, there was a knock on the bedroom door, which startled both of them, and they stopped what they were doing.
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