A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 173

The guard beside him answered for him: "The new coachman is very hard of hearing. He can't hear you if you talk to him like that."

"The groom? How can he walk the horse when he's limping?"

"He may be lame, but he's a pretty good horseman. Besides, in this area, where fathers and mothers don't care for each other, having a lame groom is quite a sight." The guard was rather easygoing.

"What's his surname? Where is he from? Who else is in his family?" After three years as a constable, Mo Yan had gotten used to it.

"The person who brought him here calls him Old Hu. He doesn't know where he's from, and he certainly doesn't know his family. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Mo Yan glanced at Lao Hu's legs with suspicion. One side of his leg was empty under his dirty robe, and the shape of his wooden leg could be vaguely seen when the wind blew.

"It'll be ready to eat soon." Old Hu finished brushing on the honey, turned to Mo Yan and said in a voice so loud it was almost a roar, shaking her ears.

Afraid he would yell again, Mo Yan nodded repeatedly to indicate that she understood. Just then, a gust of wind swept by, and since she was sitting downwind, the smoke hit her directly, forcing her to turn her head away and cough.

When she turned around again, Old Hu was gone. She stood up and looked around, and through the thin snow, she saw him limping towards the stables. For some reason, looking at Old Hu, Mo Yan felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. As she was cutting meat and pondering this, someone suddenly whispered in her ear, startling her so much that she almost cut her finger.

That's exactly what the person said: "What are you daydreaming about? Be careful not to cut your hand!"

Mo Yan forcefully cut off a piece of meat before turning to look at the person who had come. Behind her, Ning Jin was wearing a sable fur hat, a type of hat often worn by Liao people when hunting in winter. He looked somewhat comical, and was looking at her with a half-smile.

Those around the fire rose and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Ning."

"Sit down, sit down, go about your business, don't mind me." Ning Jin waved his hand casually, signaling them to sit down. He then took the roasted meat from Mo Yan's hand, pulled her out, and said to her, "Girl, come and see what good stuff I've caught."

"Your Highness, didn't you go hunting? Why are you back so soon?"

Ning Jin had only been gone for five days; Mo Yan had originally thought he would be gone for at least ten days or half a month.

"It's cold and tiring, and quite boring. Besides, Xiao Yu'er is still sick, and I'm worried about her." Ning Jin turned his head and asked her, "How has Xiao Yu'er been feeling these past few days?"

Mo Yan shook her head and sighed: "The princess has become obsessed with turtle fishing and spends all her time outside in the wind. I think if this continues, it will be a blessing if her illness doesn't worsen; it will be very difficult for her to get better."

"A turtle?" Ning Jin asked, puzzled.

Mo Yan had no choice but to tell him the origin of the Five-Colored Divine Turtle in detail. After she finished speaking, she realized that Ning Jin had led her to the main hall of the tent. The lights on both sides were bright, and a huge, black creature was lying on the ground.

"What...what is this?"

The thing in front of her was so enormous that Mo Yan was taken aback and involuntarily took a few steps back.

Ning Jin laughed triumphantly, "A bear! You didn't expect that, did you? I went out with them and actually managed to hunt a bear! Zichu, turn it over so this girl can see it." He called to Wu Zichu, who had been standing beside him with a smile.

“No need, no need,” Mo Yan quickly stopped her. “It’s enough for me to see it like this… This… did you really hunt it?” She looked at Ning Jin suspiciously. She knew that bears were much harder to hunt than tigers and leopards. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were someone else, but it was Ning Jin, who was used to a life of luxury, who could bring back a bear on his first hunt. It was hard to believe.

"certainly."

Ning Jin was extremely pleased with himself and kicked the bear on the ground: "Zichu, turn this bear upside down and show it to her. I shot all three arrows. How could it be fake?"

Wu Zichu stepped forward as instructed, and Mo Yan took a quick look. Sure enough, there were three bloody holes on the bear's body. The blood had dried, and the surrounding fur had scabbed over.

"But none of these places are vital?" Mo Yan frowned, puzzled.

Seeing that she still didn't believe him, Ning Jin couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "He was hit by three arrows. Even if they weren't in vital areas, the blood loss alone would be enough to kill him."

"Is that so?"

Mo Yan remained skeptical, but she didn't know much about bears and couldn't explain it clearly. Seeing her expression, Ning Jin became anxious. He was already extremely proud of his bear hunt and had rushed back to show off to Mo Yan, but he hadn't expected her to question him like this, which greatly hurt his pride.

"Zichu, you go and talk to her!" he said angrily. He paced around the hall for a few steps, then suddenly caught sight of Yelü Pusa Nu patrolling the camp not far away. He quickly called out to him, "Lord Yelü, come here! Come over here and see the good stuff I hunted."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao paused briefly, glancing at the people in the hall. Seeing Mo Yan among them, he hesitated, no longer wishing to enter. Unexpectedly, Ning Jin strode out and, without a word, pulled him inside.

Volume 3, Chapter 18

"Lord Yelü," Mo Yan said with a smile as she saw him enter, "How is your injury? Is the medicine from last time working well?"

Zhan Zhao nodded: "Thank you for your jade ointment, I feel much better now."

Upon hearing this, Ning Jin abruptly turned to stare at Mo Yan: "Green Jade Ointment?"

"Yes, it's the box you gave me at the beginning of the year, you forgot?" Mo Yan said naturally.

"How could I forget? That box was something I went through a lot of trouble to get from my brother, the Emperor. You..." Ning Jin glared at her. It's no wonder he was angry. He had even given away several of his beloved calligraphy and paintings to get that box of jade ointment, just in case this girl might get into a minor accident while investigating cases. After all, she was a young lady, and it wouldn't look good if she had bruises on her body. He never expected her to give it to Yelü Pusa Nu so casually; all his efforts had been wasted.

Before Mo Yan could speak, Zhan Zhao said, "If that's the case, I'll return it to Miss Mo."

"It's alright, you can use it for now. You can return it to me when you're fully healed," Mo Yan said, turning back to roll her eyes at Ning Jin and muttering, "You're so stingy. You've already given me the things, and you're still being so reluctant to let me use them." She thought Ning Jin thought the things were too precious to let others use them.

"I……"

Ning Jin wanted to explain, but felt he had lost his dignity, so he kept silent. Zhan Zhao, however, knew what he was thinking, so he looked away slightly and deliberately changed the subject, saying to the ground, "A bear this big is not easy to hunt."

“Lord Yelü, you also said it’s not easy!” Ning Jin immediately smiled.

Mo Yan scratched her ear, as if remembering something: "How come I remember that bears usually hide in their dens to sleep in the winter?"

Ning Jin was speechless; he had heard of this before.

“It’s also hungry and came out of its den to forage for food. And I’ve never seen a bear this big before,” Zhan Zhao said casually, trying to help Ning Jin out of the predicament. In fact, he knew at a glance that Yelü Zongzhen had deliberately arranged for the bear to be drugged to please Ning Jin, so that he could easily shoot it.

“That’s right, girl, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand.” Ning Jin turned to Mo Yan, his expression suddenly becoming a little strange, and asked out of the blue, “So, you were carrying that Green Jade Ointment with you all along?”

"Of course, this kind of medicine should be carried with you at all times. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if you couldn't find it when you needed it," Mo Yan replied matter-of-factly.

Ning Jin pursed his lips slightly, a warm smile spreading across his face, and said with a sense of relief, "Since you've already given it, don't ask for it back. I'll find a way to get you another box when we get back."

"Great!" Mo Yan said happily, "I should thank you first."