A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 67

Cao Ying's eyes were also filled with tears. Although Zhao Yu was the daughter of the deceased Consort Zhaoxian and not her biological child, she had raised her. Hearing that Emperor Renzong wanted to marry her off to the Liao Kingdom, how could she not feel heartache?

"Get up, child."

Cao Ying helped Zhao Yu up and led her to sit on the couch. He then gently stroked her hand and advised, "You should also understand your father; he is also feeling bad."

Outside the door, Emperor Renzong stood quietly, listening to the sobs of the two women inside.

"Your Majesty..." The eunuch asked softly, unsure whether he should open the door for him.

Emperor Renzong waved his hand, signaling not to disturb the people in the room. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Zhao Yu, but rather that he didn't know how to explain things to her. Since the late emperor signed the Treaty of Chanyuan with the Liao Dynasty, although there had been no war between the Song and Liao, the Song Dynasty still had to supply the Liao with 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk annually. Now, news had arrived that Yelü Zongzhen of Liao seemed to have some complaints about the annual tribute, saying that while the Song Dynasty's annual revenue was 100 million taels, Liao only received 300,000, which was a drop in the ocean. Moreover, the Liao Dynasty had already formed a marriage alliance with the Western Xia, with Yelü Zongzhen marrying his daughter, Princess Xingping, to Li Yuanhao, the son of King Li Dezhao of Western Xia. The relationship between the two countries was delicate, and Emperor Renzong couldn't bear to see his people suffer from the ravages of war any longer. Therefore, he decided to form a marriage alliance with the Liao Dynasty to temporarily ease the situation.

Inside the room, Cao Ying continued to persuade, "Yelü Hongji is young and strong, and I've heard that he is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and extremely knowledgeable in Han studies. He must be no less capable than our Han youths."

Zhao Yu's sobs gradually subsided, but were replaced by even more chilling words: "Mother, I would rather die than marry into a foreign land. Please do not blame me for being unfilial and unable to serve you."

Cao Ying was shocked and hurriedly grabbed her, saying, "Child, don't do anything foolish!"

Emperor Renzong was also startled upon hearing this. He didn't bother to call the eunuchs and pushed open the door himself, striding towards Zhao Yu.

"Father..."

When Zhao Yu saw Emperor Renzong suddenly enter, he was not surprised and did not say much. He knelt down straight and kowtowed three times.

Looking at his daughter bowing to the ground, Emperor Renzong sighed and helped her up: "No matter what the fault is, blame me. I shouldn't have given birth to you in this imperial family. I have no choice. Since you are a princess, you must do your best for me and for the Song Dynasty."

Seeing his daughter staring at him silently, her eyes swollen like peaches, Emperor Renzong hardened his heart and said, "See if there's anything else you like in the palace, you can take it with you; or if you want anything else, just have someone take care of it..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu felt a chill in his heart, knowing that his father's mind was made up and there was no turning back.

"...I'll go back and think about it."

Dragging her feet, Zhao Yu walked out dejectedly.

Chapter 1

The winter night in the capital was not diminished in the slightest by the wind and snow. On Ma Xing Street, the night market stalls lined up one after another, closing at midnight and reopening at dawn. For northern food, there were Li Si's family in Louqian and Shi Fengbazi, while for southern food, there were Jin's family in Siqiao and Zhou's family in Jiuquzi.

Foods like pig pancreas flatbread, vegetable flatbread, wild fox meat, fruitwood soup, fragrant candy, crystal stew, and glutinous rice cake are so tempting that just the aroma alone is enough to make one's mouth water. There are also tea vendors who sell tea from bottles, and on a cold winter night, drinking a bowl of hot, fragrant tea brings indescribable warmth.

This lively scene was delightful for the diners, but it was a different story for the constables patrolling the streets. They patrolled from dusk till midnight. Even though she was wearing a cotton-padded jacket underneath, Mo Yan was still shivering from the cold. She couldn't help but secretly buy a "sheep purse," and then hid in a corner to devour it.

Suddenly, someone gently patted her shoulder from behind, startling her so much that she choked and coughed uncontrollably as she turned away. The person, also caught off guard, quickly patted her back to help her catch her breath.

"Wang Tou," she said with a forced smile, finally managing to swallow her words, "why did you come out in person again?"

The "Wang Tou" she mentioned was Wang Chao, the head constable of Kaifeng Prefecture, who had always severely punished his subordinates for dereliction of duty. Mo Yan was unsure whether eating something while patrolling the streets counted as dereliction of duty, but seeing Wang Chao's unfriendly expression, she knew something was wrong.

Wang Chao looked at her with a hint of helplessness and asked in a stern voice, "Why are you stealing food again? You must be vigilant at all times while patrolling the streets and cannot be negligent in the slightest."

“Constables are human too, not made of bronze or iron. In this cold weather…” Mo Yan complained. She only got to patrol the streets every five days, and the streets were freezing cold with food everywhere. How could she resist eating? Snowflakes were still falling from the sky, and the wind blew them around. She frowned and wrapped her cloak tighter.

After all, she was still just a young girl, and Wang Chao couldn't do anything about her. He could only admonish her, saying, "No pain, no gain."

“That’s not right. The Emperor is a superior person, so why don’t we see him suffering like this?” Mo Yan shook her head. “If you say that as long as I’m willing to suffer, I can become a superior person, does that mean I can become the Emperor? That doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make any sense at all.”

"You always think you're right!"

"That statement is incorrect in the first place."

"Did I say that? It was passed down from our ancestors, and that's the truth."

“Then the ancestors were wrong, so why pass it down?” Mo Yan said matter-of-factly.

Wang Chao was furious; he could never win an argument with her, and she always had a bunch of fallacies to argue back with.

"Is there anything else, Chief Wang? If not, I'll go back to patrolling the streets." Mo Yan's feet were already numb from the cold. She stomped her feet a few times to try and regain some feeling.

He was too tired to even speak anymore. Wang Chao waved his hand, signaling her to hurry up and leave. Watching the little girl slowly merge into the crowd, he shook his head repeatedly. He had heard that the emperor had even appointed her as the head constable. With her appearance, how could she possibly win over the people as the head constable?

Mo Yan was also quite unhappy. The "sheep's purse" she had just swallowed warmed her up, but her throat was terribly dry. She wanted to buy a bowl of tea, but she was afraid that Wang Tou was still watching her. The aroma wafted from both sides of the road, but she could only watch helplessly. She sighed heavily: If she had known that being a constable was so boring, she would have gone back to Sichuan with her second brother instead of sneaking back.

As he was strolling along, swaying unsteadily, he suddenly heard someone exclaim, "My purse! Where's my purse?"

Before Mo Yan could even look in the direction of the sound, a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old darted over and bumped right into her. Without thinking, she grabbed his collar.

"Where did this woman come from, daring to block your grandfather's way!" the boy shouted angrily.

Mo Yan chuckled, "How old are you? You haven't even married a wife yet, and you're already thinking about being a grandfather."

The boy struggled desperately, but having never practiced martial arts, his movements, though agile, lacked structure and he could not break free from Mo Yan.

At this moment, the man who had shouted earlier also arrived. He was handsome and dressed like a young master. He grabbed the boy, took the black money bag with gold thread from his hand, and said angrily, "Stealing things at such a young age, be careful or I'll send you to see the authorities."

“Wait,” Mo Yan reached out and took the money pouch, “How can you say this money pouch is yours?”

"You!" the man exclaimed angrily, "Who do you think you are, to dare ask me such a question!"

Mo Yan slowly took out a warrant from his pocket: "I am a constable from Kaifeng Prefecture. If you have any grievances, you can go to the Kaifeng Prefecture government office and beat the drum to appeal for justice."

"You..." The man was stunned. "How did you know I was a girl?"

With a rather helpless glance, Mo Yan's expression clearly said: Even a fool could see you're a woman. Then she lowered her head, untied her purse, and glanced at it briefly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes…

"Is this purse really yours?"

"Um."

"These are all imperial items. Where did you get them?" Mo Yan picked up a cat's eye ring, held it up to the light, and praised, "Honey yellow, top-quality, such a precious thing."