A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 127

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will explain this matter to my father."

"Thank you, Princess."

"Your Highness, there's no need for you to be so polite."

Seeing that Zhao Yu readily agreed, Yelü Hongji breathed a sigh of relief, having settled one matter on his mind. He then chatted about local customs and traditions before making an excuse that he still had official business to attend to and leaving to return to the city.

Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan stepped forward again and saw that Zhao Yu's gentle smile had turned into a cold sneer.

"So that's why you suddenly sent these horses out of kindness. It turns out you wanted to postpone the wedding and were afraid my father would be angry and reduce the annual tribute, so you came here to curry favor with me," Zhao Yu said coldly.

"How long will it be delayed?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Three years."

Everyone remained silent for a long while before Mo Yan shrugged and said, "Anyway, the wedding date is going to be postponed, so why not take these horses?"

"Perhaps in his eyes right now, I'm also a villain who can be easily appeased with a little something." Zhao Yu bit her lip lightly, suddenly realizing that she was growing to hate Yelü Hongji more and more.

Chapter 59

Zhan Zhao frowned, his face ashen: "It seems inappropriate for the princess to agree to postpone the grand ceremony so easily." Compared to usual, his words were rather harsh when speaking to the princess.

The next three years unfolded before her, filled with countless unknown and known dangers. Zhao Yu was well aware of this, so she simply remained silent, turned back to her horse, mounted, and shot off like an arrow.

Seeing this, Zhan Zhao sighed softly.

“Brother, the princess doesn’t like Yelü Hongji, so naturally she’s hoping it’s delayed as long as possible. Let alone three years of mourning, even ten years, I’m afraid the princess would agree.” Mo Yan gently took his hand and comforted him, “…She is really pitiful, don’t blame her.”

"If we don't perform a grand ceremony, our status will remain undetermined, and the future will likely be difficult."

"What's there to be afraid of? We'll be there for her. We can't let anyone bully her."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao smiled slightly. Since things had come to this point, further worrying would be futile; all they could do was take it one step at a time.

“You’re right,” he said.

Mo Yan chuckled, but then suddenly remembered something. Her smile faded, and she nervously grabbed Zhan Zhao, saying seriously, "Brother, what about our marriage? You're not going to have to wait three years, are you?"

Zhan Zhao was stunned...

Seeing his expression, Mo Yan immediately said dejectedly, "Are you really going to wait three years before you're willing to marry me?"

Zhan Zhao couldn't bear to see her disappointed, so he smiled and said, "We don't need to wait that long. We'll get married when I return from the Iron Cavalry Camp, okay?"

"Really?" Mo Yan asked happily.

"Of course it is true. ... But we are in a foreign land, and none of our relatives and friends can attend, so the wedding will inevitably be a bit simple. Will you blame me?"

Mo Yan waved her hand dismissively: "What's the harm? In the past, when my second brother saw people having a big wedding with drums and gongs and a grand banquet, he would shake his head and say that marriage is a matter between two people, and they should stay together quietly. Those who make a lot of noise and are annoying are just fools."

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly: "Although your second brother's words are somewhat biased, upon closer examination, they are not entirely without reason."

“Of course, my second brother is very smart, and what he says makes perfect sense.” Mo Yan nodded and said happily, “When the time comes, I will ask someone to send a letter to them. If they know that I have married you, they will be very happy.”

"It's us."

"Um?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "It should be 'we' who sent the message through someone."

Mo Yan paused for a moment, then smiled brightly, a rare hint of shyness in her smile.

Late at night, Mo Yan was still diligently sewing a robe under the lamp, stitch by stitch.

Zhan Zhao's words from earlier in the day still echoed in her ears, making her want to laugh with joy every now and then. Unable to sleep, she simply stopped sleeping and devoted herself to sewing the robe.

Perhaps it was because people were happy that the needle and thread, which were usually difficult to work with, became exceptionally obedient. What was originally thought to be a two or three-night sewing job was actually almost finished before we knew it.

After sewing the last stitch and tying a knot, she brought the thread to her lips and bit it off. She happily unfolded the robe to admire it, feeling quite satisfied: although the stitches were a bit rough, as long as you didn't look closely, you couldn't find any faults at first glance.

"I wonder if my elder brother likes it?"

She clutched her robe, lost in thought, then opened the window and peered out. The moon was already setting in the west; it must have been past midnight.

"Why don't I secretly put the robe by his bedside? He'll see it as soon as he wakes up tomorrow, wouldn't that be great!" The more she thought about it, the better it seemed, especially when she imagined Zhan Zhao's expression when he saw the robe. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. So she folded the robe, hugged it to her chest, turned off the light, and quietly left the room, slipping into Zhan Zhao's room in the back wing.

The guards on patrol naturally recognized her, and since she wasn't going to the princess's place, they didn't approach her to ask any questions, but simply smiled politely and let her pass.

Zhan Zhao's room was dark, so he was obviously already asleep.

Mo Yan was secretly delighted. She reached for the door, took out a silver hairpin from her bosom, and tried to unscrew it. She tried once, twice, three times, but each time she found nothing. Curious, she gently pushed the door and realized that it wasn't bolted at all; it was only slightly ajar.

"Huh? Isn't my older brother home in the middle of the night?"

Full of doubts, she quietly slipped into the room and looked around. The bed curtains were half-drawn, and she could vaguely see Zhan Zhao's figure on them.

Mo Yan smiled, thinking to herself, "So, Brother forgot to lock the door." She tiptoed to the bedside and saw Zhan Zhao with his eyes closed, breathing shallowly, clearly fast asleep. In the faint, bright moonlight outside the window, his features appeared even more striking, handsome and refined. She tilted her head and traced his eyebrows and eyes with her finger. Afraid of waking him, she didn't linger. She watched him with a smile for a while, then quietly placed the newly made robe beside his pillow before closing the door again and leaving.

Hearing her footsteps fade away, Zhan Zhao, who should have been fast asleep, opened his eyes, slowly sat up, and reached for the robe beside his pillow...

Another person flipped down from the beam, moving as gracefully as a swallow, and silently sat down at the table, laughing, "Your little wife is quite something, coming to see you in the middle of the night. She probably can't sleep because she misses you so much."

The two were discussing something when they suddenly heard Mo Yan's footsteps. Hai Dongqing didn't have time to leave and immediately jumped onto the beam to hide, while Zhan Zhao pretended to be asleep. Because Hai Dongqing had internal energy, his breathing was extremely light, so Mo Yan didn't notice that there was a third person in the room.

Faced with Hai Dongqing's teasing, Zhan Zhao only smiled faintly, his hand stroking the new robe. The rough feel of the stitches at the seams brushed against his fingertips, and he couldn't help but smile... Mo Yan was not good at needlework, so she must have put a lot of effort into making this robe. No wonder she always seemed to be sleepy. During this period, he had been forcing her to practice her skills every day, so she probably only had time to make clothes at night.

"Ah! How wonderful, you even have a young wife to make clothes for you." Hai Dongqing said sourly, "Poor me, all alone, I don't even know if my wife has been born yet... Such a good young wife, when are you planning to marry her?"