A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 46
Ning Jin was speechless, choked by her words.
"By the way, neither Miss Bai nor I can swim. How did you manage to get us out?" Zhan Zhao asked. She was exhausted at the time, and it must have been extremely difficult for her to lead two people who couldn't swim to escape by water.
“That Miss Bai was indeed quite troublesome. The waterway wasn’t that long, but I had to give her air at least a dozen times,” Mo Yan recalled, shaking her head and sighing, “It was really tiring.”
Transfer the breath!
Zhan Zhao's mind went blank for a moment, and his originally pale face turned a suspiciously faint red.
"...Then how many times did you cross the river for Zhan Zhao?" Ning Jin asked with a strange expression.
Mo Yan noticed the strange expressions on the faces of the three people in front of her and immediately understood the reason.
"Lord Zhan can hold his breath; it's none of my business." She lied without batting an eye. Even if she was naive, she knew that it was extremely inappropriate for a man and woman to talk to each other. Anyway, Zhan Zhao was unconscious at the time, and no one else knew except her. She still had to travel the world in the future, and she couldn't let this matter ruin her reputation.
Zhan Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered that when he surfaced, Mo Yan told him to hold his breath, and he had no doubt about it.
"We really owe you a lot this time," he said sincerely.
For some reason, after he said that, Mo Yan, who should have been even more proud, stopped boasting and just smiled bitterly, then lowered her head and drank her tea.
Ning Jin had never practiced martial arts and didn't understand what breath-holding meant. Although he was puzzled, he didn't ask further. The others then began to discuss how to deal with the situation.
Given the current situation, they are being targeted by assassins, and Zhan Zhao is injured, so traveling by water is the best option. Although it will be slower, Bai Yingyu's safety must be ensured, so it's better to be cautious.
Mo Yan had no objection to traveling by water, but felt that the ship was too ornate and would attract too much attention, so she suggested changing ships.
Ning Jin believed that this ship was, after all, a royal vessel. Firstly, not to mention ordinary people, even the government would not dare to interfere. Secondly, he was, after all, a prince, and he was confident that even bandits would not dare to disrespect him.
The two argued for a while, and Zhan Zhao and Wu Zichu could only remain silent.
"I am a prince, and I make the decisions!" Ning Jin couldn't win against her, so he resorted to the worst tactic: putting on airs as a prince.
Mo Yan snorted coldly, turned around and sat down by Zhan Zhao's bedside. Her voice was clear and crisp: "Then let's get off the ship!...Oh?" The first half of her sentence was decisive, but the "oh" in the second half was directed at Zhan Zhao and carried a hint of questioning.
The "we" in this context naturally refers to her and Zhan Zhao, and most likely Bai Yingyu as well. Ning Jin certainly understood what she meant.
Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and gently shook his head at her, signaling her to calm down. Then he said to Ning Jin, "Your Highness, you are wise. Last night, Brother Wu fought with the Soul Chaser. They will soon find out that Brother Wu is Your Highness's subordinate. Assassins in the martial world do things for money, regardless of rank or status. Your Highness is in good health. I am afraid that this will implicate Your Highness."
"What a joke! If you were afraid of implicating me, you wouldn't have saved you." Ning Jin snorted. "Besides, you're injured right now. You can rest and recover properly on this ship. If you were on another ship, do you think you'd still have time to recover?"
Mo Yan interjected, "If we were on this ship, we'd die even faster; there would be no need to recover from our injuries."
"Your Highness is very kind, and I am deeply grateful. However, this matter is of great importance, and I cannot let my own body burden everyone." Zhan Zhao frowned. "I also think that changing ships would be more appropriate, but I am sorry to trouble Your Highness."
Mo Yan was naturally pleased to see Zhan Zhao helping her, and just smiled at him.
Ning Jin remained silent, then turned to look at Wu Zichu, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Unexpectedly, Wu Zichu nodded as well: "Your Highness, I have fought with them before, and they are indeed ruthless and desperate men. Your Highness, there is no need for you to put yourself in danger."
Even Zichu turned against him, leaving Ning Jin with no choice but to say, "Alright, alright... I'm too lazy to argue with you. Let's change boats once we're out of Taihu Lake."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Zhan Zhao said with a smile.
Wu Zichu gave Ning Jin plenty of face, saying, "Your Highness is very receptive to advice, and I admire you greatly."
“Smart people know how to change boats,” Mo Yan said with a smile, continuing to praise him.
Ning Jin kept a straight face, lowered his head to sip his tea, and ignored everyone.
Chapter Thirty-Five
At an inconspicuous ferry crossing at the mouth of Taihu Lake, Zhan Zhao and his party disembarked. Ning Jin then ordered the boat to sail back to Taihu Lake, where they circled around.
There were very few boats to choose from at the ferry crossing, so they had almost no choice but to hire a small boat. The boat had only two cabins: one for them to rest and live in, and the other for the boatman and his wife, who also used it for cooking.
The small boat set sail upstream, and although it was against the current, fortunately the wind was favorable, so it traveled quite fast.
Inside the cabin, Zhan Zhao and Ning Jin were playing chess, with Wu Zichu watching from the sidelines; Bai Yingyu was alone, propping her elbows up, staring blankly at the misty water outside the boat window; Mo Yan, impatient to stay in the cabin, went to help the boatman cook since she had nothing to do.
After the game ended, Ning Jin was about to count the pieces when he looked up and saw a faint smile on Zhan Zhao's lips. He decided to stop counting and sighed, "This is so boring. You're not happy when you win, and you're not worried when you lose. Playing chess with you is really boring."
"Please forgive me, Your Highness," Zhan Zhao said with a smile.
Just then, Mo Yan walked in cheerfully, carrying a small wooden bucket. The steaming contents and fragrant aroma were so enticing that they made one's mouth water. Behind her, the boatwoman carried a stack of wooden bowls and bamboo chopsticks, and said with a smile, "The boat is simple, please make do with these."
Ning Jin leaned closer to look inside the wooden bucket. It smelled delicious, but it was just a bucket of porridge. Seeing the woman put down her chopsticks and leave, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Not even any side dishes? Just porridge?"
"This fish porridge tastes very good." Mo Yan had already ladled out a bowl and handed it to Zhan Zhao.
Wu Zichu also handed the fish porridge to Ning Jin, smiling and saying, "Your Highness, please make do with this while you're traveling." Ning Jin had no choice but to accept it, as he would go hungry if he didn't eat. He took a few bites and found the fish porridge to be thick, smooth, and fragrant. Not only was it cooked to perfection, but the fishy smell was completely removed, leaving only the fresh flavor.
"I never imagined that a country boatwoman could have such excellent cooking skills," Ning Jin exclaimed, turning to Wu Zichu and saying, "We should really hire her as our cook."
Mo Yan had just filled her own bowl when she heard this and shook her head, saying, "It's so carefree on the river. What's so fun about the homes of you kings and generals? ...Aren't you hungry?" The last part of her sentence was directed at Bai Yingyu. She saw that this Miss Bai was still leaning against the window, seemingly having no intention of coming over to get more porridge.
Bai Yingyu was slightly taken aback, looking at the rough bowls and chopsticks. Normally, her maids would set out the meals and invite her to the table. Even on the large ship, servants would wait on her. She had never served herself a bowl of rice. On this small boat, Mo Yan served Zhan Zhao because he was injured, and she naturally felt it was her duty to take care of him; Wu Zichu served Ning Jin because of the hierarchy between master and servant. No one thought to serve Bai Yingyu a bowl of porridge as well.
“This place is not like your residence, Miss. You should have some snacks. There are no snacks on the boat. If you don’t eat now, you may go hungry until tomorrow,” Zhan Zhao advised kindly.
Bai Yingyu hesitated for a moment. With her family so ruined, it would be ridiculous to still consider herself a young lady. So she stepped forward to serve the porridge. Fortunately, the porridge tasted really good, and she didn't find it hard to eat at all.
"How many more days until we reach the capital?" She was unsure of what to do as it was her first time in the capital.
Zhan Zhao replied, "If things go quickly, it will take about five or six days."
"What if it's slow?"