A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 165

Just then, Ning Jin casually said to him, "That girl Xiao Qi said she wants to treat you to dinner tonight to thank you for saving Zhan Zhao back then."

Zhan Zhao was taken aback; he hadn't expected this.

"She said she was afraid you wouldn't come, so she asked me to find an excuse to invite you." Ning Jin said lazily, with a hint of sourness in his voice. Mo Yan had asked him about this before he left, and then he saw her busy in the kitchen. He then realized that her so-called banquet to thank him was actually made by herself, and not just paid someone to make it.

Over the years, he had never eaten a single meal cooked by her, not even the simplest one. He, on the other hand, had treated her to meals many times, but she had never shown any gratitude for it.

"I..." Zhan Zhao knew he should refuse; he seriously doubted whether he had enough willpower to eat this meal.

Before he could speak, he heard footsteps coming from behind the screen in the hall. Turning his head, he saw Zhao Yu, dressed in a white fox fur coat, looking sickly, walking out slenderly. When she saw him, she paused, lowered her eyes slightly, and said to him, "So it's Lord Yelü. Please have a seat."

Zhan Zhao still remembered what happened at the beginning of the year, and didn't look at Zhao Yu much. He simply bowed and said, "It's been a long time. Is the princess's illness any better?"

"It's much better now."

Hearing these words of concern, Zhao Yu couldn't help but look at him again, but all she saw was that cold, indifferent face, exactly the same as before, which made her heart sink.

Seeing Zhao Yu's expression, Ning Jin became suspicious. He secretly glanced at Yelü Pusa Nu a couple more times, but couldn't see anything amiss, which puzzled him.

Zhan Zhao really wanted to leave, but when he thought of Mo Yan, he couldn't help but want to look at her one more time, and he couldn't move his feet.

Zhao Yu was tormenting herself. She thought of him when she couldn't see him, but even if she did see him now, what could she do? It would have been better if she hadn't seen him at all.

Ning Jin was puzzled by Zhao Yu's expression, but at the same time, he couldn't help but let his mind wander: Would Mo Yan invite him to join her dinner? If she did, would he agree or not? If she didn't invite him, what could he do to get a free meal?

The three stood in the hall, and for a moment no one spoke; the silence was somewhat eerie.

When Wu Zichu returned from the kitchen earlier, he found himself in this situation, standing there awkwardly, unsure of what was going on or whether he should speak. It wasn't until Ning Jin gave him a strange look that he quickly said, "The banquet has been prepared. Xiao Qi invites everyone to the small flower hall in the back garden."

"Everyone?" Ning Jin raised an eyebrow and pointed to himself.

Wu Zichu was taken aback before he understood Ning Jin's meaning: "Yes, she also invited you and the princess."

Ning Jin gave a slight hum, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He stood up and said to the other two, "Let's go, let's try that girl's cooking."

Zhan Zhao stood there, unable to move. Thinking of Mo Yan's good intentions, he found it incredibly difficult to say "no." After hesitating for a moment, he finally followed the others, winding his way to the small flower hall in the back garden.

It was already getting dark. Even from a distance, through the branches of the trees, one could see the bright candlelight in the flower hall. One could also vaguely make out a figure moving among the tables and chairs, seemingly setting out bowls and chopsticks.

As they stepped inside, Mo Yan had already set out the bowls and chopsticks. She stepped forward and smiled at Zhan Zhao, saying, "I was worried that you wouldn't come, Lord Yelü, and then all these dishes would have been made for nothing."

Zhan Zhao stared at her smiling face under the lamp, and was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. Looking at the seven or eight dishes on the table, which were very plentiful, he thought that she must have put a lot of thought into it.

Ning Jin had already been circling the table, looking at it with a smug look on his face. "Girl, I never knew you could cook so well. If I had known, I shouldn't have recommended you to be the head constable. I should have made you the imperial chef instead."

"Imperial chef?" Mo Yan was clearly dismissive. "That depends on whether I'm willing or not. ... Lord Yelü, you are a guest, please take the seat of honor."

"Actually, Miss Mo, there's no need to be so polite," Zhan Zhao said, trying his best to remain calm. Only then did he realize that all the dishes on the table had been prepared by Mo Yan herself, and he felt a deep sense of warmth in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan's expression changed slightly, and she looked at him with displeasure: "Lord Yelü, you know that I have already married Brother Zhan, so why do you still call me Miss Mo?" She clearly remembered that back in Yanxie Town, he had already changed his way of addressing her to Madam Zhan.

"..." Zhan Zhao was speechless, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Fortunately, Ning Jin snorted coldly from the side: "See, this girl is acting up again. You..." He pointed at Zhan Zhao with his chopsticks, "Don't pay any attention to her, just call her Xiao Qi, that's what we all call her."

Mo Yan gave him a strange look, then turned around, picked up the wine pot, and poured wine for everyone except Zhao Yu before sitting down to Zhan Zhao's right.

Zhao Yu was still ill and had a poor appetite. She picked up a few pieces of vegetables and put them in her bowl. When she tasted them, she found them to be sweet and sour and very appetizing. She smiled and said, "Xiao Qi, your cooking skills are really good. They are even better than those of the chefs at Datong Restaurant."

"Princess, if you like it, please eat more," Mo Yan said with a smile.

“This salad is especially good,” Zhao Yu said with a slight smile, then sighed softly, “If Zhan Zhao were still alive, he would be a blessed man.”

These words caused Zhan Zhao a sharp pain in his heart. He could barely hold his chopsticks, and his gaze was fixed on Mo Yan.

Mo Yan didn't seem sad at all. Instead, she smiled and said, "My elder brother once said that my cooking is even better than the food at Zuixianlou in our capital. ... Lord Yelü, try this. This stir-fried yam and bamboo shoots with lamb liver is cooked over high heat, which is different from how you cook it here."

Before Zhan Zhao could even pick one up, Ning Jin took a piece and put it in his mouth. After tasting it, he shook his head and said, "Not bad, but the wine isn't right. If it were made with yellow wine from the Central Plains, it would taste even better."

“Who says otherwise?” Mo Yan also said with some annoyance, “It’s a pity we can’t find yellow wine here.”

Zhan Zhao took a bite and said softly, "I think it tastes very good."

Hearing him say that, Mo Yan was naturally delighted and pointed out several dishes for him to try. Zhao Yu, on the other hand, felt that he seemed much gentler than usual, but when she glanced at him, she couldn't tell anything.

Ning Jin had never heard Mo Yan mention the incident in Yanxie Town, but he was actually very curious about the details. After a few drinks, he took advantage of his drunken state and asked Zhan Zhao, "How did you save Zhan Zhao in Yanxie Town? And how did Xiao Qi later marry Zhan Zhao? Brother Yelü, why don't you tell me?"

Upon hearing this, the people at the table all changed color, either secretly or slightly on their faces, for different reasons.

Although it wouldn't be a problem for Zhan Zhao, disguised as Yelü Pusa Nu, to tell Ning Jin about this matter, for Zhan Zhao himself, to bring up the events of that year again, especially in front of Mo Yan, was something he couldn't bring himself to say.

Zhao Yu herself had been saved by Yelü Pusa Nu back then, but to protect her reputation, no one except Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan knew about it; others only said that Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan had saved her. Even with Ning Jin, she remained silent, and even less would she mention Yelü Pusa Nu's special identity. Now, when Ning Jin asked Yelü Pusa Nu to talk about what happened back then, she couldn't help but think of him setting her bones and changing her dressings, and how he had picked her up and gently placed her on the ground that rainy night. She wondered if he would still remember these things, and her face flushed red. She even picked up the wine pot next to her and poured herself a small cup of wine.

Mo Yan was displeased upon hearing this. She never liked her affairs becoming the subject of gossip, and besides, Ning Jin's tone was somewhat frivolous. For something so important to her, she naturally disliked his pretentious manner, as if he were preparing to listen to a storyteller.

Although Wu Zichu was the least relevant person, he also had a worried look on his face, fearing that Ning Jin had drunk too much wine and would start talking nonsense again.

Volume 3, Chapter 12

There was a moment of silence at the table; no one spoke.

Ning Jin asked curiously, "What, can't I tell you?"

Zhan Zhao pursed his lips slightly, tilted his head back and drank the wine, then said lightly, "It's just a small matter, not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu's heart sank. She thought to herself, in a daze, that the days she had spent in Yanxie Town, which she had cherished so much, were nothing but trivial matters to him. She let out a long sigh, stopped looking at Yelü Pusa Nu, stood up, and said that she was not feeling well and could not sit for long, so she left the table.

Watching Zhao Yu leave, Mo Yan turned and glared at Ning Jin, saying, "Look, even the princess doesn't want to listen and wants to go back to rest. You wouldn't understand how we martial artists heal ourselves by circulating our internal energy."