Chapter 52
A sour feeling welled up inside him, tinged with a sense of grievance.
He disliked Si Yanmo's indifferent attitude, as if she didn't care about him either.
He hadn't thought of it before, only that it was better for the two of them to get along cleanly and efficiently.
Now, however, he keeps remembering Mo Wenzhong's words: "She doesn't like you."
I guess I don't care because I don't like it.
All he knew was that his heart had already raced the first time he saw the beauty mark under that straw hat, and every time Si Yanmo got close to him afterward, he was at a loss for what to do.
She, however, seemed to have never felt that way, always treating him with indifference.
In Si Yanmo's eyes, he was no different from Mo Wenzhong and Lin Niang, and even less trusted than Zhong Zihe.
Even in public, she usually asks others to call her Mo Li.
Who knows what Zhou Yanqing felt when she heard Zhao Wan say that the princess asked her to call her Mo Li?
The people in the brothel called her that, the old man and Lin Niang called her that, and her family also had their own way of addressing her, except for the title "Princess Qin"... it was as if that title didn't exist.
Apart from Wu Guan and Chen Wu, no one has ever insisted on calling her that, as if she had never been his wife.
Zhou Yanqing sank deeper and deeper into her resentment, gripping the reins tighter and tighter.
Until Si Yanmo cried out in pain, "Zhou Yanqing... let go, it hurts!"
He snapped out of his daze, a look of panic flashing in his eyes. He released her hand and lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, I lost my composure."
Si Yanmo wasn't angry; she thought he just didn't want to sleep in the same bed with her. "Um... have you taken a fancy to any girl lately?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanqing was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized the meaning behind her words, and felt even more bitterness welling up in her heart.
She really doesn't care at all!
He shook his head and absentmindedly went to change his clothes.
The two had been sleeping in the same room for two or three months, and they had long ago come up with a strategy for the important matter of changing clothes between men and women—to change clothes, they would go behind the screen next to them.
But actually, the paintings hanging in the middle of the screen are just thin paper paintings, so the shadows can't be blocked.
Si Yanmo habitually turned her head away from looking, but then she heard the man's slightly hoarse voice: "Amo, do I know what we mean to you?"
The girl lowered her eyes, not understanding why he suddenly asked such a question, but still answered truthfully: "Ruler and subject..."
As she spoke, she seemed a little cold, and added, "We're friends on a regular basis."
The words "ruler and subject" and "friends" seemed to pierce Zhou Yanqing's heart, causing a dense, persistent pain.
"But we still got married," he asked again, unwilling to give up.
"Aren't they all fake?" Si Yanmo smiled, seemingly not understanding what he meant.
“Then what if…” The man stepped out from behind the screen, his handsome brows furrowed, and upon closer inspection, he looked somewhat aggrieved, like an abandoned puppy.
He desperately wanted to say that he wanted to make all of this a reality.
He couldn't say the words he was about to say.
The girl's smiling eyes revealed innocence, but also cruel proof—she didn't like him.
"If what?"
Zhou Yanqing's gaze fell on the beauty mark that twitched as she spoke, the beauty mark that had stirred his heartstrings when they first met.
never mind……
He suddenly gave in.
She doesn't like him, but he can still pursue her. After all, he is Zhou Yanqing, a man who ascended to the throne of Qin at the age of seventeen.
He didn't believe there was anything he couldn't have, including the heart of this slow-witted, silly girl in front of him.
"It's nothing." He shook his head, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Would you like to sleep inside or outside?"
Although Si Yanmo didn't know why his attitude had suddenly changed, she still said, "Let's go inside."
It was late at night, and the two of them were inside and outside, respectively.
At this time, the temperature in Qin was unstable. It was relatively warm outside during the day, but cold and damp inside, and even colder at night.
Since there was only one quilt left, Zhou Yanqing gave it to her and lay outside wearing only her undergarments.
Si Yanmo couldn't bear it, so she reached out and poked the man's shoulder; it was rock hard. She didn't realize the man was tense at that moment and assumed it was just muscles from years of martial arts training.
"It's too cold, why don't you come in?"
At this moment, Zhou Yanqing's heart was already racing because he was lying on the same bed with her. Her soft question made him even more flustered. He felt an inexplicable fire burning inside him, so how could he feel cold?
"No...no need."
He stammered his refusal, and to calm himself down, he could only turn away.
Si Yanmo thought he was unhappy and didn't know what to say or what the source of his unhappiness was.
After thinking about it for a long time, it might be because of his initial question: "If it were another man, could you accept it?"
Having learned her lesson from the last Shangsi Festival, Si Yanmo felt she shouldn't let the issue linger overnight, so she simply said, "I've been thinking about what you asked me before, and actually, not all of them are acceptable."
Her soft voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet night: "After I was kidnapped when I was little, I became afraid of strangers. I didn't like being touched or hugged, and almost no one could get close to me except my family. But after I recovered, I had to interact with other people, and at first I couldn't accept it..."
As Si Yanmo spoke, her thoughts drifted back to the time when she had just married Zhou Junsong in her previous life.
On her wedding day, she experienced the same humiliation that Si Yunyun had faced. She didn't have Si Yunyun's abilities, and Zhou Junsong didn't side with her either.
That night, the meeting ended on a very unpleasant note.
She hid under the covers and cried all by herself.
At that time, she hoped more than anyone else that marrying a prince was just a dream. When the dream ended, she was still at home, still the beloved little girl of her parents.
Perhaps it was the trauma left from the first day, but even when Zhou Junsong took the initiative, she couldn't accept his touch and was even afraid to sleep in the same bed with him.
Perhaps Zhou Junsong didn't like her either, so he didn't force himself on her.
They had been married for a year, but had not consummated their marriage and had no children.
This meant that when she died, she didn't even have the means to plead for her life.
She remembered that she had begged Consort Shu to save her, but the noblewoman just stood at the palace gate, teasing her birds, and said, "No offspring, no reputation, who would believe you're not a witch?"
Yeah, who would believe that?
Even in her destiny, she was not auspicious.
Therefore, in this life, she didn't want to say anything or resist Qin's arrangements for the household.
Even if she were to have a child with Zhou Yanqing, she wouldn't mind.
Nothing is more important than herself.
But perhaps because she knew Zhou Yanqing wasn't that kind of person, she felt more at ease than compromising at that moment.
As it turned out, Zhou Yanqing really didn't; he didn't even try to take the blanket from her.
Thinking of this, Si Yanmo smiled, "Because it's you, I trust you, so... it's okay."
One sentence, like sunlight piercing through the darkness, and Zhou Yanqing turned around, her voice trembling slightly: "Really?"
"Really." The girl nodded firmly and gave him half of the blanket. "So, it's okay this way."
The man's eyes were now fixed on the girl's smiling face. When he heard her say, "Because it's you, it's okay," nothing else seemed to matter.
He reached out and pulled the girl into his arms, a spark seemingly dancing in the depths of his eyes. "This way... it's warmer."
Si Yanmo didn't refuse. The night was indeed cold, and embracing for warmth wasn't a bad thing, so she snuggled into his arms, but...
"Are your legs this hard too? They're a bit uncomfortable."
Zhou Yanqing's expression turned slightly unnatural, and a blush quickly crept up to the tips of his ears. He coughed lightly and said, "Maybe we should just forget about it."
As he was about to pull away, Si Yanmo, unaware of what had happened, pressed him down, saying, "It's nothing, go to sleep."
As he listened to the girl's even breathing, he grew increasingly hot; tonight was destined to be a sleepless night...
The next day, Si Yanmo took the opportunity during Zhou Yanqing's meeting with the ministers to mention that the Si Academy should handle Qi Muchen's case alone. Apart from Wei Jingzhong and Lin Buqing, no one else objected. In any case, it was just a case, and in their eyes, it wouldn't cause any major trouble.
Only they knew that this time, they were going to change the world.
However, at this moment, Lin Buqing, who had just been utterly defeated by Si Yanmo the day before, stepped forward.
To be honest, he truly lived up to his name—Lin Buqing, he was clueless.
He actually complained about the princess in front of everyone: "Your Highness, this Mo Wubu has no respect for the law. Yesterday, he disregarded the rules of the Ministry of Revenue and beat me up. If everyone did this, what would be the point of the Ministry of Revenue? What would be the point of Your Highness's authority?"
Zhou Yanqing sneered inwardly, and was about to speak when she saw her little madwoman step forward.
"Hey, don't bring up His Highness. His Highness is a man of both literary and military prowess, and he is benevolent to the people. He is admired by all. But Lin Shi..." She paused deliberately, looked at Lin Buqing, and said sharply, "I also want to ask you, what is the purpose of His Highness establishing the Ministry of Revenue?"
"Isn't this supposed to be for the benefit of the people and to make things convenient for them? How come I went to the Ministry of Revenue twice and didn't see any convenience at all? All I saw were fat, lazy, and disorganized officials who even verbally abused people who came to register their households?"
"As a diviner, what wrong have I done in helping you reflect on your actions?"
Zhou Yanqing sat in the seat of honor and listened to her rambling on for a long time, unable to help but chuckle to himself.
Sure enough, the little madman could curse without needing his help at all.
Lin Buqing was rendered speechless by her rebuttal and was also reprimanded by the King of Qin for his inhumane governance. He was fined half a year's salary and the Ministry of Revenue was reorganized.
After everything was settled and everyone had dispersed, Si Yanmo curiously stepped forward and asked Zhou Yanqing, "Why wasn't he relieved of his duties?"
“There’s no need. He’s different from Ning He. Although he’s not exactly a good official, he doesn’t have many entanglements with these officials behind the scenes. He’s also newly appointed, so he’s easy to keep in check and control.”
Zhou Yanqing raised her eyes and looked at the place that had just been filled with ministers. "Look, just now, not a single person spoke up for him. That shows that in their eyes, this person is still a junior, someone they need to curry favor with. But now..."
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