Chapter Nineteen
Sano didn't like being patted on the head, but for some reason, he gave in when he heard the woman's gentle voice.
He whispered, "When I celebrate the Flower Festival at home, my mother makes me desserts with crabapples..."
So she was homesick! Si Yanmo smiled.
After all, he's just a child, and it's understandable that he'd miss home on his first long trip.
Do you miss your parents?
Sano looked at her with his bright eyes, but the light in them seemed somewhat dim at this moment.
Do you miss your parents?
Si Yanmo paused.
Of course I want to!
Although Qin is not far from Nandu, it still took her a month to travel there. She doesn't know if she will ever see her parents again.
But what could she do? She had married Zhou Yanqing and was destined to stay in Qin.
"I do want to," Si Yanmo replied honestly, "but I know that I can only go back to see them when I am able to."
Sano seemed to understand the implication in her words and asked, "You too... are you not in control of your own destiny?"
"Yes and no." Si Yanmo smiled faintly. "I stayed here because the things I want to do can only be accomplished here."
Only here can she have the opportunity to become a witch doctor, and she can carve out her own niche based on her own abilities.
This is what she wanted.
Thinking of this, she looked at Sano: "You can do whatever you want here. When you have the ability, you can go back and rescue them. At that time, you will no longer be trapped by the words 'not in control of your own destiny'."
The boy seemed to understand her words and nodded.
He exhaled, stood up as if making a firm decision, picked up the longsword beside him, and wanted to continue practicing his skills.
The sooner he becomes strong, the sooner he can go home.
Si Yanmo watched the little boy's lonely figure and suddenly said, "How do you make crabapple dessert? I'll make it for you."
A gust of wind blew by, scattering leaves from the trees and rustling them around him.
Sano turned around abruptly, and the woman's smile melted in the wind, adorned by the sunlight, warming his heart.
“I know you miss home, but you can treat this place as your home for now,” Si Yanmo continued. “We may not be able to replace your parents, brothers, and sisters. But you can treat this place as your second home, and us as your new family.”
She walked over to the boy and gently pinched his nose. "Little one, now tell me how to make that dessert? I'll try."
Sano nodded as if possessed. For some reason, he felt an overwhelming longing for Si Yanmo's words.
He began to believe when women said they were fairies.
Perhaps only a fairy could make people feel so warm.
Si Yanmo really followed his instructions and went to the kitchen to make crabapple desserts.
Although she had never cooked before, her family owned a restaurant, and she often went to play in the kitchen when she was a child. After watching a lot, she learned a little bit, so she wouldn't blow up the kitchen when she cooked.
However, she couldn't guarantee whether it would taste good.
She carefully handed the prepared snacks to Sano.
After gaining the other party's approval, she breathed a sigh of relief, then took him to the front yard to have a meal together, entrusted him to Wu Guan and the others, and went to find Zhou Yanqing and Mo Wenzhong.
She briefly told him what had just happened, and only when she turned around did she realize that Lin Niang and Grand Tutor Mo had been arguing about this disciple for several rounds.
Lin Niang: "Your rote learning is so easy, you can pass the test if you can just memorize it. If I hadn't taught her witchcraft, would she have been able to pass Old Wang's test?"
Mo Wenzhong: "You think getting past Qi Muchen is easy? Without my textbook-based approach, it's all for nothing!"
...
Si Yanmo quickly poured a cup of tea for each of them.
"Masters! Masters!" she cried out. "I cannot enter the Divination Academy this time without either of you. Your disciple thanks you both and hopes that you will help me in the future divination assessments."
"You still want to be a shaman?" Lin Niang's voice carried a hint of surprise, yet also a subtle appreciation.
“Being a diviner is easy, but being a shaman is difficult. With your abilities, the written test is no problem, but the martial test…” Mo Wenzhong looked troubled.
At this moment, Zhou Yanqing, who had been silent all along, coughed lightly and sat up straight like a proud cat.
Si Yanmo couldn't help but look at him, then clapped her hands excitedly, "That's right! Quickly find me a guard who knows martial arts. That way he can protect me and also teach me martial arts!"
"You..." Zhou Yanqing was almost furious at her reaction, gritting her teeth, "Do you think I'm just a decoration?"
Si Yanmo paused for a second before realizing: Oh right, isn't this guy ready-made?
She fawned over Zhou Yanqing, massaging his shoulders, "Hehe, Your Highness, I'd like to ask for your guidance!"
Zhou Yanqing crossed his legs smugly.
Ever since Si Yanmo started preparing for the divination exam, she has focused all her attention on entering the divination academy. She spends all her time either at Mo Wenzhong's place or studying with the young master, so I, sitting opposite her, am practically invisible.
Sometimes Zhou Yanqing couldn't even hear her when she spoke to him.
What happened to our supposed allies?
He reasonably suspected that the other party intended to use him and then run away!
No, absolutely not!
It's time to make our presence felt!
He cleared his throat and gave a sly smile: "Teaching you...okay! But shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
"What?"
“You’ve already called Lin Niang and the others ‘Master,’ so I want to too.” The man’s voice had a slightly childish quality.
Si Yanmo was taken aback.
This wasn't an excessive request, but for some reason, the thought of calling Zhou Yanqing "Master" felt strange, and it gave her goosebumps all over her body.
"Do you... really have to do this?"
"Hmm~" The kitten squinted its eyes and nodded slowly with a smug look on its face.
She exhaled, looking resigned to her fate, and after a long pause, finally squeezed out the words through gritted teeth: "Wet axe."
"I didn't hear you clearly." The man pressed his advantage.
"You!" Si Yanmo glared at him. "Actually... I don't necessarily have to learn from you, do I?"
Zhou Yanqing simply snorted. "I am the chief examiner for the martial arts test."
"master!"
It was powerful and decisive.
A person should be able to bend and stretch!
"Ah, that's more like it!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing crossed her arms, leaned back, leisurely swung her raised leg, reached onto the table, grabbed a piece of rice cake, and popped it into her mouth.
"Tomorrow, after class at the academy, I'll have the driver take you directly to the horse farm on the outskirts of the city."
What are you going to the horse farm for?
Whether it was Zhou Yanqing's imagination or not, Si Yanmo's eyes showed a hint of panic when she heard the words "horse farm".
“The shaman must know how to ride a horse.”
He remembered that Si Yanmo had told him on the way back from Nandu that she couldn't ride a horse, but as a shaman, she would have to follow the army into battle, and riding a horse was an essential skill.
Si Yanmo's expression became somewhat unnatural, and her face even turned a little pale. She replied in a low voice, "Okay."
——
The next day, Si Yanmo changed into plain clothes and went to the divination hall early in the morning, even earlier than Zhou Yanqing.
Wu Guan watched her retreating figure as she boarded the carriage and couldn't help but sigh.
The princess is now completely focused on the divination exam, and she doesn't even treat the prince with the same respect she showed a few days ago.
He turned to look at his prince. He was quite handsome, so why was he so unpopular with women? Did even his wife ignore him?
We should ask Grand Tutor Mo another day to see if Zhou Yanqing's marriage is not going to happen.
Si Yanmo was unaware that Wu Guan was preoccupied with Consort Qin's orders; she was currently focused entirely on the divination assessment.
With only one month left until the assessment date, she now has to make the most of every second, wishing she could split herself into three parts to study everything required for the assessment.
So, as soon as she entered the divination institute, she went straight to the astrology department to take classes.
This divination academy is divided into four departments: astrology, divination, witchcraft and medicine, and witchcraft. Different departments have different teachers and mentors to teach new diviners.
Originally, it wasn't necessary to study them all, but since Si Yanmo was going to take the divination exam, she had no choice but to learn them all.
Fortunately, for shamans, witch doctors and witchcraft are not used much, and only the basics are needed, while astrology must be fully mastered.
But for someone who only started learning to read a year ago, the astrology lessons, which were full of ancient texts and incredibly boring, were simply torture.
Si Yanmo had fallen asleep in class more than once. Finally, just as her face was about to make intimate contact with the table again, she was pulled up by a large hand by the collar.
She turned around abruptly and saw a man in purple standing behind her with an unfriendly expression.
"Qi, Master Qi." She bowed hastily and apologized repeatedly.
Qi Muchen's expression was indifferent, with a hint of disdain, "If you're sleepy, don't come to class."
He flicked his sleeve and added, "If you don't want to learn, why bother coming in? You might as well go back and get married."
Si Yanmo knew it was her fault, so she didn't dare to speak and just lowered her head to admit her mistake.
Soon, another busy day came to an end. She finally got into the carriage and called the coachman to return to the manor, only to hear the coachman ask, "Didn't the princess say this morning that she was going to the horse farm?"
She then remembered what she had agreed to with Zhou Yanqing yesterday and suddenly felt miserable.
"Let's go to the horse farm."
The Bu Yuan was in the west of the city, but the horse farm was in the east. It took Si Yanmo a full half hour to get there.
As dusk approached and the sunlight became less glaring, she got out of the car and saw Zhou Yanqing walking towards her, accompanied by Hongxia, leading a black horse.
Zhou Yanqing gestured with her chin and pointed to the horse in front of her, saying, "This is Xiao Hei. It's been with me for six years. It has a great temperament. Want to give it a try?"
When horses were mentioned, the light in Zhou Yanqing's eyes dimmed.
The first time he rode a horse was taught by Liu Ziwei, and now when he thinks back to that man, he recalls a stinging phrase: "You are not worthy."
Si Yanmo didn't notice his emotions as keenly as before, but instead looked at the black horse in front of her.
From this angle, she could see her trembling hands reflected in the black horse's dark eyes.
She pursed her lips, hesitating to reach for the reins.
Zhou Yanqing assumed it was her first time riding a horse and that it was normal for her to be a little scared.
He directed Si Yanmo to stand to Xiao Hei's right, and the girl stiffly obeyed, following his instructions to help herself onto the horse with the saddle.
As soon as I went up there, I heard a long hiss, followed by violent shaking.
Si Yanmo was so frightened that she didn't dare to open her eyes. She held the reins tightly, her palms turning red.
Unexpectedly, the horse moved even more violently, shaking its body wildly.
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