A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 166
Ning Jin was not annoyed by her words. He smiled slightly and said, "These things, these years... do you really think I don't understand anything?" The wine in Liao Kingdom was much stronger than that in the Central Plains. He was not a good drinker to begin with, and his words were already tinged with drunkenness.
Wu Zichu stood beside him, watching him with concern, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
Ning Jin picked up the cup, and the moment his lips touched it, it was ice-cold. He sighed, drank it all in one gulp, and then said softly, "Even the wine is cold."
"A warm heart drinks cold wine, every drop lingers in the heart." Zhan Zhao said softly. For some reason, he remembered that back in Qingyun Manor, the four of them sat around the table just like this.
"I'm not exactly a warm-hearted person; I'm just more prone to sorrow than to drinking," Ning Jin muttered.
Mo Yan looked at Zhan Zhao with a grin and asked in surprise, "So you Khitans also know this saying." Before Zhan Zhao could answer, she tilted her head and thought for a moment, "That's right. You Khitans ride horses and hunt all day long, practice martial arts and archery, so you're pretty much like people in the martial arts world. No wonder you have such a chivalrous spirit."
Ning Jin glanced at her sideways and asked irritably, "So, are you going to say again that I wouldn't understand this kind of chivalrous spirit?"
"Do you know?" Mo Yan asked, amused.
“If you think I don’t understand, then even if I do understand, it’s all in vain. If you think I understand, then whether I understand or not, what does it matter?” Ning Jin recited a tongue twister-like passage fluently.
Mo Yan scratched her ear, clearly not understanding what he was trying to say.
Zhan Zhao understood, or rather, he had already understood.
“Miss Mo,” he said with difficulty, ignoring Mo Yan’s frown upon hearing the address, and continued calmly, “Speaking of which, Zhan Zhao has been dead for more than three years. You really don’t need to keep guarding him any longer.”
Mo Yan quietly turned her head to look at him. After a long while, she slowly said, "Lord Yelü, you saved my elder brother, and you are a guest today. Logically speaking, I shouldn't offend you. However..." She paused, her tone slightly cold, "You're meddling too much."
She had assumed that, given Yelü Pusa Nu's temperament, he would have stormed off upon hearing such words. But instead, he stared at her intently and slowly said, "Do you think that doing this will make Zhan Zhao happy?"
“That’s right…” Ning Jin was still nodding slowly and deliberately, feeling relieved that someone had finally said what he wanted to say but had never dared to say before.
Mo Yan bit her lip lightly, staring intently at Zhan Zhao.
"Your marriage that day was so hasty, it doesn't really count. Besides, you haven't consummated your marriage. Wouldn't it be better for you to continue being Miss Mo, happy and carefree? I believe this is also Zhan Zhao's wish." Zhan Zhao's tone was calm, seemingly speaking lightly, but in reality, his heart was burning like ice, filled with unspeakable pain. Mo Yan's stay in Liao wouldn't be long, and perhaps after she returned to Song, the two would never see each other again. Given his status, opportunities to spend time together like tonight would be rare, so although it was incredibly difficult for him to say these words, he had no choice but to.
"No marital relations?" Ning Jin was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes widening as he stared at Mo Yan. He had always believed...
It looked like Mo Yan was about to grind her teeth to pieces.
After a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "How do you know we haven't consummated our marriage?"
"At that time, Zhan Zhao was still injured, and I don't think he was a reckless person." Zhan Zhao knew that these words would hurt her, but he still forced himself to say them calmly.
Even Mo Yan felt extremely embarrassed that this matter had been explained so clearly.
"You're meddling too much, Lord Yelü! What business is it of yours what my brother and I have?" She stood up abruptly, her face full of anger. "I'm sorry I can't keep you company. Please finish this meal and leave." Her head was throbbing with rage, and she was only thinking of getting away quickly. She wasn't paying attention as she walked, and after taking just one step, she tripped over the leg of her chair and nearly fell...
Zhan Zhao, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and reached out to support her.
His hand was holding hers.
At that moment, Mo Yan froze, rooted to the spot.
She was all too familiar with that warm touch.
It was a feeling so familiar that it almost brought her to tears.
She slowly, very slowly, raised her eyes, tears welling up in them, hoping to see the face she had longed for day and night...
Yelü Pusa Nu gazed at her.
Her hand gripped his tightly, almost embedding itself into his.
She stared at him blankly, then blinked, and tears welled up and dripped down her face.
Was it because of the Khitan wine? She wondered blankly: that's why she had this illusion, actually mistaking the man in front of her for her elder brother.
But his hands were clearly...
Even though she can see his face now, she still doesn't want to let go of his hand.
"Girl, what's wrong? Where are you hurt?" Ning Jin jumped up and saw that Mo Yan's expression was not right. He thought she had twisted her ankle, and guessed it was quite serious, otherwise why would she be crying?
Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao was the first to come to his senses, realizing his lapse in composure. He hurriedly tried to pull his hand back, only to find that Mo Yan was gripping it extremely tightly. He had to pull harder, but he couldn't get it out no matter what he did.
"Big brother, big brother..." she murmured softly, then used both hands to hold his hands tightly.
Those incredibly affectionate whispers were like sharp blades piercing Zhan Zhao's heart, causing him so much pain that he wanted to scream, yet he couldn't show it at all.
"Oh no, this girl has probably drunk too much again and is going crazy like that other day."
Seeing that Yelü Pusa Nu seemed to be stunned by Mo Yan and just stood there motionless, Ning Jin had no choice but to give Wu Zichu a look, signaling him to pull Mo Yan's hand away.
The hand was held very tightly, and Wu Zichu couldn't pull it away, so he tried to pry it open with his fingers instead.
One, two, three, four, ...
Even though Wu Zichu was quite skilled in martial arts, it still took him considerable effort to pry open Mo Yan's ten fingers without hurting her. It took him the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to finally finish. Ning Jin quickly ordered someone to take Mo Yan back to rest.
Several bright red marks were clearly visible on Zhan Zhao's hands, which were swollen high, but he was unaware of them.
Ning Jin, however, gasped when he saw his hand, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, "Lord Yelü, please don't be offended. This girl has always been like this, she's always been a bit crazy. She even caused a scene the other night. Come, come, let's eat some more food."
Zhan Zhao sat down blankly, his gaze still fixed on the spot where Mo Yan had left.
Ning Jin kept urging him to eat.
"Since you like her, why haven't you married her all these years?" Zhan Zhao suddenly said angrily to Ning Jin.
“I’d like to, but…” Ning Jin sighed, “These things have to be based on mutual consent, don’t they?”