A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 116

Xiao Guanyin hesitated and asked, "Could there be poison in this wine?"

"I didn't poison her," Xiao Xin said urgently, then, realizing something was amiss, added, "She hasn't even drunk it yet, how could she be poisoned?"

Seeing that the two of them didn't move, Yelü Pusa Nu had no choice but to get up and say calmly, "She's afraid of blood." He first helped Zhao Yu up, then ordered a maid to bring water to wipe her face. He took her right hand and pinched her tiger's mouth hard...

Amid the pain, Zhao Yu slowly awoke, opening her eyes to find Yelü Pusa Nu holding her. She hurriedly struggled to sit up. Yelü Pusa Nu didn't force her, immediately letting go and expressionlessly returning to her seat.

"Thank you." She knew it was him who had saved her, and Zhao Yu said softly to him. However, as a princess, she had never been so intimate with a man before. Today, she had been touched by this man twice in a row, which was unprecedented in her life, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"Princess, you needn't be so polite."

Yelü Pusa Nu said calmly, and lowered his head to drink his wine.

Chapter Forty-Nine

In the back room of the Datong Hall in Zhongjing, it was time to light the lamps.

On the bed, fabric lay scattered in pieces, the result of a day's work; on the chair, Mo Yan sat upright, holding a pair of scissors, staring thoughtfully at the fabric... She had been in this position for a long time.

She had thought embroidery was difficult enough, but now she realized that making clothes was also extremely difficult. Even more tragically, she only discovered this after the fabric had been cut into pieces. Back in Shu, she had spent her days either practicing martial arts or cooking, leaving needlework and thread to her senior sister. She should have learned those skills too. Now, even making a garment for her elder brother was so difficult.

She instinctively reached for a scratch on her ear, forgetting she was still holding the scissors. She was lightly poked and immediately dropped the scissors in frustration. Getting up to tidy the fabric on the bed, she figured she'd probably need to find one of Zhan Zhao's clothes to measure out before cutting it.

Suddenly she heard a commotion ahead. It must be the funeral procession returning. Afraid of being seen and laughed at, she quickly put the fabric back into her trunk and closed it before hurrying forward.

"Big brother!"

No matter how many people were around, the first person she saw was always Zhan Zhao. She was already beside him, smiling broadly. Beside them, a maid was helping Zhao Yu, who had just alighted from the carriage, back to his room to rest.

After the princess turned into the inner hall, Zhan Zhao lowered his head and smiled warmly at Mo Yan. Without any hesitation, he took her hand and walked towards the inner courtyard, saying softly, "The princess is not feeling well, so we came back first."

"Oh! Princess, are you feeling unwell? Have you fainted?"

Zhan Zhao asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

“This was my idea for her,” Mo Yan said smugly. “I was afraid that the Xiao family would cause trouble for the princess, so I taught her to keep crying and crying until she fainted. Once she fainted, she would naturally be fearless.”

Zhan Zhao was both amused and exasperated, but he had to admit that although it was a terrible idea, it was very effective: "Your method... is quite ingenious. However, the princess didn't faint from crying, but from fainting at the sight of blood."

"Shocked by blood?" Mo Yan stared in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly. "Another person has died?"

“It’s camel blood,” Zhan Zhao squeezed her hand tighter as if to comfort her, and smiled. “Yelü Hongji gave the princess the blood of the Tianshan snow camels, but the princess fainted as soon as she saw it.”

"..." Mo Yan scratched her ear, hesitated for a moment, and then sighed, "Being a princess is really pitiful, big brother. If only we could think of a way to make a princess not be a princess."

Having arrived at the house, Zhan Zhao pushed open the door and entered, laughing as he said, "Don't talk nonsense. A princess is a princess from birth, so how could she not be? As members of the royal family, while they enjoy wealth and honor, they also have their own responsibilities and helplessness, which are not things they can choose."

"But... if only we could have a choice."

Mo Yan followed him into the house, then suddenly remembered something important. Her expression turned solemn as she whispered, "By the way, elder brother. I went to the market today and asked the silk shop owner. I found out that the strip of cloth on the arrow that day was very likely from an embroidery shop. And the shop owner is a Song woman. A woman running an embroidery shop in Zhongjing, and business isn't good. Isn't that strange?"

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment: Could it be that the gyrfalcon is actually a woman?

"Little Seven, did you see whether the archer was a man or a woman that day?"

“I couldn’t see his face, but he’s definitely a man,” Mo Yan said definitively.

Mo Yan's observational skills far surpassed those of ordinary people; if she said so, she must be right. Zhan Zhao frowned slightly. If it wasn't a gyrfalcon, then what was the purpose of the person trying to draw his attention to the embroidery shop with this strip of cloth?

Mo Yan muttered to herself, "Could it be that the proprietress of this embroidery shop wants to get to know us and attract business, so she sent her shop assistant to shoot this arrow?" She looked up at him and said with a grin, "The Liao Kingdom's methods of attracting business are quite interesting."

Zhan Zhao smiled helplessly, knowing that she was deliberately teasing him, and didn't respond. After a while, he said, "Let's put the matter of the arrow aside for now, and don't try to find out what the proprietress is thinking."

"Oh, but..."

"This matter must not be revealed in the slightest, no matter who it is," he said solemnly. "You must remember this."

"oh……"

Seeing his solemn expression, Mo Yan had no choice but to reply.

Zhan Zhao slowly sat down at the table, watching her take out a flint and light the lamp with a crackling sound...

"Brother, your nails are getting a bit long." She lit the lamp, covered it with the lampshade, and looked at his hands clasped together on the table.

Zhan Zhao snapped out of his reverie and looked down; his fingernails were indeed quite long. Being a clean person by nature, he immediately took out a small knife to trim them.

"We can't fix it now, the sun has already set. Let's wait until tomorrow," Mo Yan said, stopping his hand.

Zhan Zhao asked curiously, "Why can't it be repaired now?"

Mo Yan said seriously, "Haven't you heard that once the sun sets, a person's three souls and seven spirits hide in their fingernails? If you trim your nails at this time, not only will they move around in your nails, but what if you hurt them?"

"Where did you hear that from?" Zhan Zhao found it amusing, not understanding how she could have so many strange and unusual sayings.

“That’s what everyone in my hometown says.” She clearly believed it. “Brother, you can’t disbelieve me. If your soul is damaged, it’ll be a terrible thing. I’ll come and fix it for you tomorrow, okay?”

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "I'll fix it myself tomorrow."

"Then you should get some rest." Seeing his tired face and heavy heart, Mo Yan didn't want to disturb him. She stood up, then suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Brother, could you lend me a clean robe for a few days?"

"Of course."

He got up, took something from his trunk, handed it to her, and asked with a smile, "What are you going to do with this?"

You'll find out in a few days.

She chuckled and turned to leave.