A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 143
"Princess, it doesn't matter who set it, the most important thing is to set the bone properly." Mo Yan said with a smile, and before she could ask any more questions, she slipped out.
Actually, there was no need to ask anymore; Zhao Yu already understood. Besides her calf, she also had a fracture in her chest, which had been set by that person. Thinking about how he had seen her body during the setting, her face flushed red and then turned pale. She quickly forced herself to forget about it and dared not think about it any further.
Outside, Yelü Pusa Nu whispered to Mo Yan, "Once you leave the town, the main camp is to the northwest. Just go straight in that direction. If you don't know the way, just walk around the foot of the mountain; you won't go wrong."
"oh."
"Furthermore," he lowered his voice even further, "the poison in Zhan Zhao's body has already gathered in one place. You must not let him circulate his qi or use martial arts, otherwise the poison will enter his heart meridian..."
Mo Yan stiffened upon hearing this: "I understand."
Yelü Pusa Nu glanced at the carriage again. Although the carriage was full of people he was worried about, the matter at hand was of greater importance, and he could not hesitate any longer. He nodded to Mo Yan, signaling her to hurry up.
With a soft shout from Mo Yan, the carriage slowly began to move. Because there were injured people inside, she drove very carefully and dared not urge them on with the whip. The carriage simply moved slowly.
Zhao Yu had assumed the man would board the carriage, but after waiting for a long time, until the wheels began to bump against the stones, indicating they had reached the outskirts of town, she still hadn't seen him get in. She tried her best to suppress the urge to ask, but finally couldn't help but ask Zhan Zhao, "Where is Lord Yelü? Why isn't he here?"
It was inconvenient for Yelü Pusa Nu to tell Zhao Yuming about his other identity, and naturally he couldn't tell him about his pursuit of those Song Dynasty soldiers either. Zhan Zhao only said, "Lord Yelü felt it would be inconvenient for him to return to the camp with us, so he went ahead."
"He's gone..."
Zhao Yu was slightly surprised, and lowered her eyes sadly, feeling a mix of disappointment and anger: he had left without even saying goodbye.
Seeing Zhao Yu's expression, Zhan Zhao assumed she was dissatisfied and explained, "The Southern King Yelü Chongguang originally ordered him to guard the northern bear den, but Lord Yelü has been delayed for several days for us. Please forgive him, Princess."
"Then...why did he tell us to leave immediately when Song Dynasty soldiers came to town?"
Zhan Zhao had a plan for answering her question and replied fluently, "Those people are disguised and have come to Liao territory for unknown reasons. If they cause trouble and people find out that the princess happens to be in town, I'm afraid they will be implicated. Lord Yelü is also thinking of the princess."
Although Zhao Yu felt that what he said made sense, she still seemed unable to convince him. After thinking for a moment, she wanted to ask again, but then she saw Zhan Zhao cough a few times, sit cross-legged, close his eyes and regulate his breathing, so she had no choice but to stop asking.
The carriage traveled straight for a day and a night. Mo Yan dared not let the carriage speed up, but she wanted to reach the camp as soon as possible so that her elder brother and the princess could get a proper rest. Therefore, she did not rest at night and kept traveling.
She stopped to rest as dawn broke, and everyone ate some water and dry rations in the light of day.
"How much longer until we reach the main camp?"
Zhao Yu asked Mo Yan to help her up and look out of the carriage curtain. The morning mist drifted in and out, and in the hazy light, one could vaguely see the dark boulders on the western cliff of Fuhu Forest, standing out conspicuously in the lush, dense forest.
“I remember that rock,” Mo Yan recalled. “I saw it when we came. It shouldn’t be far. We should be able to reach the camp in about half a day.”
Zhao Yu breathed a sigh of relief: They were almost there. Although it was the Liao Kingdom's camp, at least there were Song Dynasty maids and guards inside. Seeing them was a comfort to her at this moment. But one thing she couldn't help but wonder was whether that person had already returned to the camp.
Mo Yan took a big gulp of water, casually wiped her mouth, and prepared to go outside to continue driving, but was stopped by Zhan Zhao. He handed her an outer robe and said softly, "The morning mist is damp, so wear this for now, and you can take it off when the sun comes out."
"Okay." Mo Yan took the clothes, smiled at him, and then lifted the curtain to go out.
Zhao Yu took in this scene, and suddenly recalled the time she saw the two of them in the capital. At that time, she felt that Zhan Zhao was very intimate with Mo Yan. Now that they were indeed married, she couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Having experienced so much herself, and having survived life and death, she knew the fragility of status and power and the preciousness of mutual love.
“Guard Zhan,” she said softly, “if I had known that you and Xiao Qi were so deeply in love, I shouldn’t have insisted that you come to Liao with me.”
“Princess…” Zhan Zhao was unsure why she suddenly brought this up and didn’t know how to respond.
"After I return, I will write to my father and ask him to allow you to return to your post in Kaifeng. Once you have recovered, take Xiao Qi with you and go back together," Zhao Yu said with a faint smile.
“Why do you say that, Princess?” Zhan Zhao hurriedly replied, “I will protect you for life and have no regrets.”
“I know, I’m only thinking of Xiao Qi.” Zhao Yu smiled slightly. “Now that you’re married, you’ll have children in the future. Do you want your child to grow up in Liao Kingdom?”
Zhan Zhao was taken aback: "Did my wife say something?"
Zhao Yu shook his head and said, "How could Xiao Qi say such things? I think she's happy as long as she can be with you, she wouldn't care about anything else."
Zhan Zhao lowered his eyes and gave a bitter smile. He only heard Zhao Yu sigh softly, and neither of them spoke again.
Chapter Seventy-Five
As the sun grew stronger and the dew on the grass disappeared, Mo Yan sat on the carriage shaft, watching the dark, massive rocks on the distant mountaintop draw ever closer, her mood becoming increasingly relaxed. She thought to herself, "My elder brother has been poisoned; his body must be severely damaged. I must give him plenty of nourishment." She added, "Yelü Zongzhen must have brought back many rare medicinal herbs on this trip. Once we return to the camp, I'll find a way to obtain some, whether by stealing or tricking him."
As the morning mist dissipated, a group of Liao people on horseback came to greet them. Mo Yan looked closely and saw that the Liao person in the lead was none other than Xiao Xin, who had been injured earlier.
It turned out that Xiao Xin was sent back to the main camp for treatment. Because his injury was to the head, the Liao imperial physicians examined him for a long time but couldn't find a cause. Xiao Xin himself, on the other hand, was eating and drinking energetically, and apart from not remembering things from the past two years clearly, he showed no other abnormalities. The imperial physicians could only guess that after being struck on the head by the tiger's claws, there might be blood stasis in his brain, causing temporary amnesia. Given time, the blood stasis would dissipate, and he would naturally remember.
Seeing that her brother was alright, Xiao Guanyin let him rest in the camp, repeatedly instructing him not to go up the mountain again. She herself took some guards and went to look for Yelü Hongji along the original route. However, Xiao Xin was not one to sit idly by. Although he did not go up the mountain, he led a group of people to wander around the area, happily chasing wild rabbits.
Who are you?
Seeing Mo Yan and her carriage approaching, Xiao Xin immediately blocked the way and glanced at her, asking a question. Although he didn't recognize these people, the camp had been deserted these past few days, and he was bored out of his mind. Seeing that they seemed to be heading towards the camp and didn't look like nobles, he decided to stop them and make things difficult for them first.
To avoid attracting attention, Mo Yan and her group were dressed in ordinary Liao-style coarse cloth robes bought in the town. Even if Xiao Xin remembered her, he probably wouldn't recognize her at first glance. The guards Xiao Xin brought were all recently transferred from the Prince's residence and had never met Mo Yan and her companions before.
"Prince Qi!" Mo Yan jumped off the carriage. "We are here to escort the princess back."
Seeing that this unassuming Khitan commoner girl actually recognized him, Xiao Xin turned his head to look at her suspiciously: "You said... what princess?"
"The princess of the Great Song Dynasty has fallen down the mountain and is seriously injured. She is lying in the carriage."
“Princess of the Great Song Dynasty…” Xiao Xin had heard Xiao Guanyin complain more than once that Zhao Yu had disappeared in the mountains when he was attacked by a tiger. He thought something was wrong. If the princess was injured, she should have come out of the mountains. But the person in front of him was dressed in brand new clothes, which obviously did not seem to be from the mountains.
"Lift the curtain and let me see." Xiao Xin's suspicions grew.
Having no other choice, Mo Yan lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, allowing him to see Zhan Zhao and Zhao Yu inside. Zhao Yu was lying on the soft mattress, unable to get up. Seeing Xiao Xin peeking in and looking around, she was annoyed by his rudeness and pretended to close her eyes to rest.
"Who is that man?" Xiao Xin asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly, endured the pain from his chest wound, lifted the curtain, and stepped down from the carriage. Mo Yan wanted to go forward to support him, but he stopped her with a look.
"Zhan Zhao pays his respects to Prince Qi." He bowed calmly.