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Глава 121

Zhan Zhao didn't argue, only sighed inwardly. In any case, if something went wrong, he would be held responsible, and since it was Mo Yan's fault, he would bear the consequences without complaint.

Hai Dongqing then chuckled easily, "This is a risky move, you've got guts! But this way, she probably won't suspect you. Because if you were wary of her, you would never have let the princess into her shop. You know, she's a master of poisons!"

"A master of poison!" Zhan Zhao's hand tightened around the cup. Mo Yan's guess was right; the woman had indeed used poison.

“Indeed, this woman is skilled in using poison. I have suffered at her hands before, so we must be careful.” Hai Dongqing’s tone grew serious. “I have been investigating Yelü Chongguang for many years, trying to find out who is the person in the Song Dynasty who is passing on military intelligence to him. After a long investigation, I discovered by chance that this embroidery shop sends embroidery patterns to the mansion every few months, and the political and military intelligence of the Song Dynasty is passed on to Yelü Chongguang in the embroidery patterns.”

“This woman returned to the Song Dynasty twice a year. I once sent people to follow her, but they never returned, and her remains have never been found. Later, I finally found an opportunity to follow her myself, and I fell into her trap.”

He spoke of it casually, but to Zhan Zhao, it was clear that given the previous experience, Hai Dongqing must have been extremely cautious. Even with his skills, he had fallen for it, so the situation must have been incredibly dangerous.

"So we don't have many days left," Hai Dongqing said with a smile, but his voice seemed to carry a lingering bitterness.

Zhan Zhao did not understand his meaning.

"In short, we need to find out who this woman is contacting as soon as possible. Based on my observations over the years, she will be at the border to buy silk by next month at the latest. We must find out who she is contacting this time, no matter what."

"Does Big Brother mean we should follow her?"

Hai Dongqing slowly raised his head and stared at him: "It's not us, it's you!" After saying that, he looked at Zhan Zhao quietly, waiting for Zhan Zhao to ask him why.

Zhan Zhao was never one to explain himself, nor was he used to asking for explanations. Especially when facing someone he respected so much, he wouldn't press for an explanation. So he simply nodded and said, "Okay."

Clearly surprised by his decisiveness, Hai Dongqing paused for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you going to ask me if I'm afraid of death and that's why I don't dare to go?"

“My brother wouldn’t be that kind of person,” Zhan Zhao said with a faint smile.

The gyrfalcon seemed to smile, then crossed its left leg, bent down to take off its boot, and rolled up its trouser leg...

In the dim, pale moonlight, the leg that appeared before Zhan Zhao's eyes startled him. From the knee down, the entire leg was black, clearly indicating that he had been deeply poisoned.

"I'll use my internal energy to force the poison out for you," Zhan Zhao immediately responded.

Hai Dongqing stopped him, saying, "It's too late; the poison has already seeped into your bones."

"The antidote! We can force her to hand over the antidote."

“There is no cure for this poison.” Hai Dongqing slowly put on his shoes, looked at the silent Zhan Zhao, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: “There’s no need to look so worried. I’m lucky, brother. I managed to force the poison to my left leg, otherwise I would be dead.”

Zhan Zhao understood everything, and he understood why Zhan Zhao had said, "Our days are numbered." It was already remarkable that he had managed to hold on this long by forcing the poison to his leg, but he couldn't hold on much longer. Sooner or later, the poison would spread, and he would either lose his left leg or die. Both of these outcomes would expose his identity.

Their days are numbered.

"As for the specifics of the tracking, we still need to plan it out carefully. There's no time for today; I have to rush back. It would be terrible if someone found out I sneaked out in the middle of the night. I'll find another time to come find you." Hai Dongqing got up and stretched. "I'm exhausted. I haven't talked this much in three years."

"Brother, be careful."

He patted Zhan Zhao on the shoulder one last time. Zhan Zhao nodded and watched him leave. He lightly leaped out of the door and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only the cold moonlight and the silence all around.

Despite being so deeply poisoned, he could still display such agility. If he hadn't been hiding in the Liao Kingdom under an assumed name, he would surely have become famous throughout the martial arts world. Zhan Zhao thought to himself, feeling both admiration and a touch of shame.

The days passed quickly. Except for the occasional invitation to banquets by Yelü Hongji, the princess stayed obediently in her residence every day. In fact, if she could, she wouldn't even want to go to the banquets. The Liao people were habitually drunk, and by the end of every banquet, most of them were completely drunk and behaving in an unsightly manner, which was really detrimental to the ceremony.

Mo Yan became much more obedient. Zhan Zhao thought that she was just idling around anyway, and being too idle would only make her more prone to causing trouble. Practicing martial arts would strengthen her body and prepare her for any eventuality, so it was all beneficial. Therefore, he forced her to get up at dawn every day to practice martial arts. Only after practicing could she have breakfast, and after breakfast, she would have to continue practicing. Lightness skill, internal energy cultivation, and swordsmanship were all practiced in turn. By the end of the day, she was so tired that all she could think about was eating and sleeping, and she was absolutely unable to have any other thoughts.

That day, Zhao Yu was enjoying the cool air under the eaves when he looked at Mo Yan, who was diligently practicing her swordplay under the scorching sun, sweating profusely. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Angering Zhan Zhao was definitely not a good thing.

Mo Yan finally sheathed her sword, returned to the corridor to rest for a while, wiped her sweat, and drank several cups of tea before her breathing calmed down a bit.

"Zhan Zhao isn't here, you don't need to work so hard."

Mo Yan looked helpless: "I have no choice but to fight hard. If I can't withstand ten of his moves tomorrow morning, I probably won't even be able to eat."

"Zhan Zhao is too ruthless." Zhao Yu genuinely sympathized with her.

"Who says...it's not true?"

Mo Yan scratched her ear in frustration. She hadn't expected Zhan Zhao to not only keep his word but also go even further, as if he intended to train her into a grandmaster.

"After he treats you like this, you still want to make clothes for him?" Zhao Yu asked, shaking her head.

"Of course." Mo Yan tilted her head back. "The clothes will still need to be made."

Just then, someone announced that someone was outside the building requesting to see Zhao Yu.

This person was Xiao Xin. Although Mo Yan had never met him, the invitation he brought immediately made her feel good about him.

He came to invite Zhao Yu to go hunting in Fuhu Forest.

Chapter 54

The original plan was for a maid to greet Xiao Xin in the main hall, but Xiao Xin, being an impatient man, brazenly followed the maid into the inner courtyard and went straight to Zhao Yu. If it weren't for the large number of guards around, Zhao Yu would have been quite startled by him.

When he explained his purpose, Zhao Yu's natural reaction was to refuse.

"I know nothing about hunting... and I haven't been feeling too well lately..." Zhao Yu coughed twice, pretending to be serious. She clearly didn't want to go hunting with the Xiao clan unless she was an idiot.

"But both the Emperor and His Highness are going."

"They're all going?" Zhao Yu was slightly surprised. "Wouldn't that mean there's no one left in Zhongjing?"

Xiao Xin replied nonchalantly, "Yes, that's common. The Emperor and His Highness are almost always away from home throughout the year, rarely staying in Zhongjing." The Khitans have always relied on hunting for a living, so even after the establishment of the Liao Dynasty, the Liao emperors still couldn't do without fishing and hunting. In spring, they would set up tents at the Duck River, chisel through the ice to fish until the ice thawed; in summer, they would often be at Tu'er Mountain, discussing state affairs with their northern and southern officials, and hunting in their spare time; in autumn, they would set up tents at the Fuhu Forest, a place for cooling off, and go into the mountains to hunt deer and tigers; in winter, they would meet with officials at Guangping Lake to discuss state affairs, and occasionally go hunting and military exercises. Therefore, it was common for them to not return to Zhongjing throughout the year.

Zhao Yu and Mo Yan exchanged glances for a moment, both feeling that compared to the Song Dynasty, the Liao emperor was quite carefree and at ease.

Xiao Xin assumed Zhao Yu was just timid and was only thinking of encouraging her: "If the princess is afraid, just follow me. I'm a renowned expert at hunting, and I guarantee you'll be amazed."

Seeing Xiao Xin's inexplicable enthusiasm for him, Zhao Yu was really overwhelmed, but he had no choice but to appease him, so he could only say, "Thank you, Prince Qi."