A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 80

She clearly breathed a sigh of relief before lowering her head to pour the wine. Zhan Zhao reached out to stop her, gently advising, "Don't drink anymore; it's not good for a young lady to drink too much."

Mo Yan obediently put down the wine pot without uttering a single word of rebuttal.

"Eat more vegetables," Zhan Zhao said again.

She obediently picked up some food and ate it.

Ning Jin shook his head and sighed, then turned to Wu Zichu and asked out of the blue, "What exactly is it about me that makes me inferior to Zhan Zhao?"

"..." Wu Zichu didn't know how to answer.

He then turned to Zhan Zhao and asked again, "What is it about me that I lack compared to you?"

Zhan Zhao smiled wryly, but his gaze remained fixed on Mo Yan. The latter had picked up some food and put it in her bowl, but before she could eat, she had already succumbed to her drunkenness and fallen asleep.

Chapter Fourteen

"Girl, girl..."

Ning Jin called to her, but when Mo Yan didn't respond, he tapped the bowl with his chopsticks, making a tinkling sound. The latter didn't even lift her eyelids.

"Really asleep?" He squinted, displeased. "She collapsed after only drinking so little." He had no choice but to call a maid to help Mo Yan down to rest.

Zhan Zhao stood up and said apologetically, "Your Highness, it is getting late. Please forgive me, Zhan Zhao has official duties to attend to and cannot stay any longer." Considering that the princess was still outside the palace, and that things might change if he stayed too long, he dared not stay away from the city for too long.

Ning Jin nodded. He knew that Zhan Zhao always prioritized official duties and hadn't drunk much wine.

"Zhan Zhao, that girl..." He paused for a moment, then smiled with some difficulty, "It's really hard to bear seeing her so heartbroken. If you don't mind, it's best not to let her be sad."

Zhan Zhao could only smile wryly, then turned to Wu Zichu and said, "If she wakes up, please tell her that I have returned to the city on official business." He drew his sword, gave a slight bow, and turned to leave.

The next morning, Mo Yan woke up feeling unbearably thirsty and with a splitting headache, and struggled to get out of bed. A maid brought in water to help her wash up and told her that Prince Ning was waiting for her in the plum grove.

Mo Yan frowned, tapped her head, and then remembered that her senior sister's matter was still unresolved. She hurriedly washed up and rushed to hear what Ning Jin had in mind.

Upon arriving at the plum grove, she only saw Ning Jin and Wu Zichu. She asked in surprise, "Where is Brother Zhan?"

"Zhan Zhao left last night." Ning Jin slowly stirred the porridge in front of him, deliberately looking up at her. "What, you don't remember?"

Mo Yan was stunned by what he said. She frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head. A maidservant had already served her porridge and then left.

"Why didn't he wait for me to leave together?" she asked while blowing on the porridge.

"How would I know?" Ning Jin smiled faintly. "Probably, you scared him away."

Mo Yan stopped what she was doing and asked in surprise, "When did I ever scare him?"

Ning Jin glanced at her sideways and said in a strange tone, "How much do you remember about what happened last night?"

“I remember everything,” Mo Yan said, taking a sip of her porridge and looking at him with a puzzled expression. “Did you drink too much and forget everything?”

"Do you remember what you said to Zhan Zhao?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan's face immediately fell with a faint melancholy, clearly recalling the words: "Of course I remember."

"Do you remember what I said?"

"...What did you say? Was it about my senior sister?"

Ning Jin stared at her for a long time, then finally let out a long, drawn-out sigh and turned his face away... Mo Yan was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant, and asked nervously, "What? Can't you think of a way to solve my senior sister's problem?"

Too lazy to pay attention to her, Ning Jin buried his head in eating porridge, not caring whether it was hot or not, and swallowed the steaming bowl of porridge in a few mouthfuls, making Wu Zichu next to him smack his lips as if he was the one who was burned.

Mo Yan could only watch him eat. After he finished, she pushed her own bowl over to him and said with a fawning smile, "If it's not enough, eat from my bowl."

Ning Jin was furious and stared at her without saying a word.

"Eat up, I haven't touched it yet... Do you have any ideas about my senior sister's situation?" Although she could tell he seemed to be in a bad mood, she couldn't help but ask because she was worried about her senior sister.

Ning Jin remained silent, still staring at her.

"……Um?"

Ning Jin remained silent.

"..." Mo Yan finally couldn't help but say, "Then I'll figure something out myself. You can take your time using it. I'm leaving now." She jumped up, turned around, and left.

"Girl! What's the rush? Sit down and listen to me slowly."

Mo Yan was clueless and didn't know what trouble she would cause if she went there. Ning Jin couldn't do anything about her, so he finally called her back. He then turned to Wu Zichu and ordered the others to leave before saying, "This matter is not difficult. As long as the right time, place, and people are in place, and the princess is moved to sympathy, we will be halfway to success."

"The right time, the right place, and the right people?" Mo Yan scratched her ear, puzzled, not quite understanding what he meant.

Ning Jin patiently taught her: "Telling her directly may not be very effective. The best way is to let her naturally sympathize with them and want to help them."

Mo Yan still didn't understand: "How can I make her naturally sympathize with them?"

“He usually seems quite clever, so why is he acting so foolish now?” Ning Jin shook his head repeatedly. “To put it bluntly, he’s putting on a half-real, half-fake show to make Xiao Yu’er sympathize with your brother-in-law. Zhan Zhao could be of use for this, but that cat is too stubborn. I don’t know if he’ll agree.”

“Brother Zhan isn’t old-fashioned at all,” Mo Yan said quickly.

Ning Jin snorted: "If he weren't so old-fashioned, why would he treat you like a younger sister?"

“He…” Mo Yan was clearly upset, but she still spoke up for Zhan Zhao, “I think he naturally has someone he likes, and if he meets that person, he won’t act this way.”

How do you know he doesn't like you?

"I……"