A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 167
Volume 3, Chapter 13
The next day was the day we set off for Guangpingdian.
Mo Yan rode on her horse. Now that she was better, she naturally didn't want to stay cooped up in the carriage anymore, especially since the weather, though cold, was still quite sunny.
A few white clouds drifted lazily by, creating a picturesque scene against the backdrop of snow on the ground. In the distance, herds of cattle and sheep could be seen leisurely strolling across the snow-covered grassland, their calls punctuated by occasional mooing.
Mo Yan pulled her leather collar tighter around her neck, then looked away from her darting gaze and glanced at Yelü Pusa Nu in front of the procession.
Although Zhan Zhao was walking in the group, his mind was entirely on Mo Yan, who was not far behind him. Instinctively, he knew that she was staring at him.
This made him feel like he had thorns in his back, fearing that he might reveal even the slightest flaw and be seen through by her. He was confident that he could deceive everyone else, but not Mo Yan... She was the person he was least wary of, but now she had become the person he should deceive the most. This helplessness truly caused him unbearable pain.
After looking at it for a while, Mo Yan sighed softly.
For some reason, ever since last night, even though she knew she had mistaken him for her elder brother, Yelü Pusa Nu, she still couldn't shake the illusion when she saw him again. In fact, the more she looked at him, the more he seemed to resemble her. The more she tried to see him clearly to convince herself, the more familiar his figure and build seemed to become, even though he was indeed Yelü Pusa Nu.
"If this keeps up, I'll go crazy!" She scratched her ear in frustration, but thankfully urged her horse forward.
Zhan Zhao heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves approaching from behind, and his heart tightened. Naturally, he thought of Mo Yan. Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Mo Yan was already beside him.
"Lord Yelü, how many days will it take us to reach Guangpingdian?"
Mo Yan slowed her horse and rode alongside him, making conversation as she went. This was also a way for her to cure her overthinking. It was simple: to dispel illusions, one had to see the truth. She believed that the more familiar she became with Yelü Pusa Nu, the more clearly she would be able to distinguish him from Yelü Pusa Nu, and she would no longer imagine him as her elder brother.
"Three or four days, I guess."
Zhan Zhao didn't even turn his head, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.
"Is Guangpingdian fun?" I still couldn't find a topic to talk about.
Zhan Zhao did not answer, but turned to the other side and called over the civil official Xi He in a deep voice: "Miss Mo asked if Guangpingdian is fun, why don't you tell her?"
"Mo..." Wen Guan Xihe rode over and smiled at Mo Yan. Seeing her expression, he quickly changed his words, "No, Madam Zhan, it's quite a coincidence that you want to know about Guangpingdian. I grew up there..."
Mo Yanman responded and glared at Yelü Pusa Nu, who seemed not to notice.
“There, sand dunes are blown into mountains, large and small, deep enough to reach above knee-deep. Where carriages and horses pass, no trace is left,” Xihe still reminisces.
"Why does it sound like the desert?" Mo Yan asked curiously.
Xihe smiled and said, "I knew that you, Miss... cough cough... Madam Zhan would ask this question. It is not quite the same as the desert. There are large bodies of water with plump and fresh fish in them, and there are many plants and trees around the water. It is an excellent place."
"In this weather, the water should be frozen solid by now, right?"
Although Mo Yan seemed to be listening with great interest, she never let Yelü Pusa Nu fall behind by even half a body as she rode, always staying right beside him. Zhan Zhao could hear her voice clearly, feeling both pleased and troubled, finding every word and action of hers precious to him.
“It should be frozen solid, but the ice layer won’t be thick, just a thin layer. In your spare time, you can chisel a small hole in the ice, and when the fish come up to breathe, you can hook them up.” Xi He explained in detail, with a hint of pride in his expression. “His Majesty and His Highness, even the Prince of the Southern Court, like this thing. Although you can also chisel ice and fish in the Duck River in spring, it’s different from fishing in Guangping Lake.” He deliberately paused, waiting for Mo Yan to ask why it was different.
Mo Yan simply said "Oh" and didn't ask anything, which made him quite bored. He had no choice but to ask himself, "Do you know what the difference is?"
“That must be because there are too many ducks in the Duck River, and they’ve eaten almost all the fish, so you can’t catch any fish with a hook.” Mo Yan said matter-of-factly.
Upon hearing this answer, Zhan Zhao smiled inwardly, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.
The civil official Xi He was also at a loss for words, and after a long while he said, "Actually, there aren't many ducks in the Duck River. The real reason is that, according to legend, a kind of five-colored divine turtle lives in the waters of Guangping Lake."
"The Five-Colored Divine Turtle?" Mo Yan frowned.
Xihe nodded repeatedly: "Yes, according to legend, this five-colored divine tortoise is in this Guangping Lake. Almost no one can see it, but anyone who has seen the divine tortoise can live a long and healthy life."
Mo Yan's expression was clearly one of disdain: "There's a waterfall near my house. When I was little, I always heard people say that there were golden salamanders at the bottom of the waterfall. They said that if you could touch the salamander, all your illnesses would be cured, and if you made a wish to the salamander, you would be rich and promoted. I waited for half a year before I finally caught the salamanders, and even a pair of them. But it was no use. My second brother's eyes were still blind, and he didn't get any better. The salamanders were also annoying because they cried all day long, so I eventually released them. I think that five-colored divine turtle is probably not even as good as those fish."
“The Five-Colored Divine Turtle is a sacred object of our Liao Kingdom. How can it be compared to that giant salamander?” Xi He hurriedly said.
"You've never seen it, how do you know it actually exists? It's probably just a made-up story to fool people."
“Although I have never seen a living creature, I have seen a tortoise shell,” Xihe said earnestly. “There is still a five-colored tortoise shell in the palace, so it must really exist.”
Mo Yan frowned: "Turtle shell?"
Zhan Zhao, listening to her tone, knew she was about to say something unpleasant. Sure enough, he heard her chuckle and say, "If it's a tortoise shell, then the tortoise must be dead. It can't even save its own life, so how can it prolong your lives? You can't believe what I'm saying."
Hearing this, Xi He, usually so good-natured, felt a little embarrassed, but unable to argue with her, she said awkwardly, "Madam Zhan, please don't talk nonsense, this is of course true..."
Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly, fearing that Mo Yan might spout more nonsense and offend the Liao people, so he said calmly, "That divine tortoise naturally shed its mortal body and ascended to immortality. Xi He, the Song people don't understand these things, so it's fine if you don't say anything."
Yes, yes, yes.
It was rare for Yelü Pusa Nu to come to his rescue, so Xihe readily agreed and subtly slowed down his horse, gradually falling behind the two of them.
Hearing him speak, Mo Yan naturally turned to him again, smiling as she asked, "Lord Yelü, how do you know that tortoise has ascended to heaven?"
How could he answer that question? Zhan Zhao smiled bitterly to himself, and could only pretend not to hear, staring straight ahead without saying a word.
"Lord Yelü, Lord Yelü?!"
Seeing that he didn't answer, Mo Yan loosened the reins and shook them violently in front of him, tilting her body so much that she almost fell headfirst into his arms.
In this situation, pretending not to see or hear is no easy task. Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly, brushed her hand away, and said coldly, "Miss Mo, please have some self-respect."
“It’s Madam Zhan,” Mo Yan corrected him, her tone much gentler than before.
He glanced at her and remained silent.
Not far from them, inside the carriage, Ning Jin had been leaning against the curtain for a while with his head down and neck tilted. He saw Mo Yan and Yelü Pusa Nu walking side by side, seemingly having a pleasant conversation, and his brows furrowed even more.
"Your Highness, the wind is blowing hard. Be careful not to catch a cold," Wu Zichu couldn't help but advise, actually worried that he might twist his neck.