A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 168
Ning Jin glared at him, then slammed down the carriage curtain. After a short while, he lifted the curtain again and called out to Wu Zichu, "Zichu, come up here. I have something to say to you."
Wu Zichu boarded the carriage as instructed: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
"You said..." Ning Jin seemed to have not yet figured out how to say it, and hesitated for a long time before saying, "You said, has that girl taken a fancy to that Yelü Bodhisattva slave again?"
Wu Zichu hadn't expected Ning Jin to ask him this, and he didn't know how to answer. Looking at Ning Jin's expression, it seemed that he was indeed very troubled by this matter.
“…I think it probably isn’t,” he said.
Ning Jin visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned after a moment's thought. "But, it seems like she's trying to get close to him. Could it be... that she sees that guy as a substitute for Zhan Zhao? Zichu, think back to last night, isn't that right?"
“Last night, she was drunk, that’s why she admitted her mistake,” Wu Zichu comforted him with a smile. “Now she’s not drinking, and it’s broad daylight, so she’ll naturally understand.”
“Is that so…” Ning Jin hesitated, then glanced out the window again.
"You've always praised Xiaoqi for being smart, so of course she won't admit her mistake again."
Ning Jin sighed: "You know that girl. She's very smart, but when it comes to anything related to Zhan Zhao, she becomes incredibly stupid."
Wu Zichu smiled in accompaniment, but sighed inwardly, thinking to himself, "Aren't you the same way?"
"By the way, how is Xiao Yu'er? She's still sick. Is she used to this bumpy ride? Go and ask her. If she needs anything, just tell her. Her royal uncle is here. Tell her not to be so timid." Ning Jin said, a little annoyed. "After all, the grand ceremony hasn't been held yet. She's not considered a member of the Yelü family yet. Don't act like a submissive wife."
"Yes." Wu Zichu accepted the order and prepared to get out of the car.
"Wait a minute," Ning Jin suddenly remembered something, a half-smile on his face, "If the princess is bored, call that girl over to keep her company and chat. Don't forget."
Wu Zichu naturally understood, smiled and nodded, then turned and left.
When Wu Zichu came to summon Mo Yan, she was still chatting animatedly with Yelü Pusa Nu. However, in this lively conversation, only she was talking about interesting things from her hometown when she was a child, while Yelü Pusa Nu was only responsible for listening, and occasionally he would be forced to say "hmm".
"Xiao Qi," Wu Zichu called to Mo Yan as he rushed to her side, "The princess is feeling very depressed all alone in the carriage. Go and keep her company."
"Princess?" Mo Yan was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt a pang of longing for her chattering beside him, and a sense of loss crept in.
Mo Yan turned to him regretfully and said, "I have to go keep my princess company. I can stop here about stealing the wine for now."
Just as Zhan Zhao was about to say "hmm," he heard her laugh and say, "I'll tell you the rest when we eat, or I can tell you in your tent tonight."
He tightened his grip on the reins slightly, sighed inwardly, and thought, "Please, don't come."
Mo Yan, naturally unable to hear his thoughts, turned her horse around and headed towards the princess's carriage.
Volume 3, Chapter 14
The journey had been bumpy and arduous. Zhao Yu was still ill, and her mood was already depressed, so she was quite exhausted. She knew perfectly well that Yelü Pusa Nu was not far ahead, but she didn't speak to him. Even if she could, she wouldn't know what to say. He would most likely still treat her coldly, so why bother making a fool of herself?
Mo Yan climbed into the carriage, lifted the curtain, and gently called out to her, "Princess, would you like me to keep you company for a while?" Though she was asking the question, she had already entered the carriage and was looking at Zhao Yu with a slight smile.
"Did the young imperial uncle send you?" Zhao Yu guessed immediately.
Mo Yan smiled and glanced down at the embroidered items beside Zhao Yu. They were all made of plain red brocade, embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water and lotus flowers reflecting the sun. They were probably embroidered items to be used for grand ceremonies. However, it seemed that the mandarin ducks on the brocade were not in pairs, and the lotus flowers were still incomplete, so it should not have been finished.
Zhao Yu followed her gaze and smiled wearily, "I embroidered these in my spare time. Although I had prepared these things beforehand, if I didn't embroider some myself, wouldn't others think that the women of the Song Dynasty couldn't even do needlework? It would just make them laugh at me for no reason."
“Why bother with them!” Mo Yan said, looking at Zhao Yu’s hand, which was so thin it was just skin and bones, pity and anger welling up inside her. “You’re so sick, and no one cares about you. Why bother with them? I… I really wish Yelü Hongji would just die right now and take you back to our Great Song Dynasty. Why are you stuck here…”
"Shh...don't talk nonsense, be careful someone hears us." Zhao Yu quickly stopped her.
Mo Yan sighed dejectedly, picked up a piece of embroidery and examined it. The festive colors were so overwhelming that they made her feel increasingly annoyed.
"Since you're here to keep me company, talk about happy things and don't make me think about those troubling things." Zhao Yu snatched the embroidery from her hands, gathered it up along with the rest beside her, and threw it into a small lacquered willow box, out of sight, out of mind.
"Something happy..."
Mo Yan scratched her ear, unable to think of anything happy for the moment. However, she clearly remembered what the civil official Xi He had just mentioned about the five-colored divine tortoise, so she recounted it to Zhao Yu in the same way. She originally thought that Zhao Yu would be impatient after listening, but to her surprise, Zhao Yu not only listened very attentively, but also frowned in thought, as if there was something mysterious or mysterious about the five-colored divine tortoise.
"Princess? Princess?" Seeing her lost in thought, Mo Yan asked curiously, "Do you perhaps recognize this tortoise?"
Zhao Yu snapped out of her reverie, shook her head, and said, "How could I recognize him? I was just thinking..."
What are you thinking about?
"It would be great if we could raise one of these rare creatures," Zhao Yu said calmly.
"Why keep this?" Mo Yan looked at her, puzzled. "A thousand-year-old tortoise or a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, Princess, do you want to keep one to play with? That's not fun."
Zhao Yu shook her head and said calmly, "No." She only said no, but was unwilling to explain why. Mo Yan looked at her for a long time, still unable to understand why Zhao Yu wanted the Five-Colored Divine Turtle. Could it be that she also believed in that nonsense about prolonging life?
"I don't even know if this thing really exists. If it does, I'll go catch one for you to play with." She chuckled. "Let's catch a pair. It'll be fun to watch two turtles fight."
"Alright... By the way, what were you and Lord Yelü talking about outside just now? You two seemed to be having quite a lively conversation," Zhao Yu asked, feigning indifference.
Mo Yan waved her hand in annoyance: "It was all just idle chatter, nothing to worry about."
Little did she know that her words only made Zhao Yu more curious: "Lord Yelü would chat with people? He doesn't seem like that kind of person."
“I’m the one doing all the talking; he’s lucky if he listens to even a word or two.” Mo Yan scratched her ear, hesitated for a long time, and then leaned closer to Zhao Yu to ask, “Princess, have you spent any time with Lord Yelü in the past few years?”
Unexpectedly, she asked this question, and Zhao Yu was stunned. She couldn't help but think of that night, but said, "I rarely have the opportunity to see him."
"Oh..." Mo Yan sighed regretfully.
"What's wrong?"
Frustrated, Mo Yan scratched her ear with the other hand, hesitated several times before finally biting her lip and saying, "Princess, don't you think Lord Yelü seems a little different than before?"