A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 177

Upon hearing the words "I can't," Su Zui suppressed his mockery and gave a wry smile: "I know."

“Actually, you should have told Prince Ning tonight, not me.” Zhan Zhao sat down on the ground opposite him and said wistfully, “He could have treated her better than I did.”

"I won't say it, but you can go and say it. Why don't you summon Prince Ning?"

Zhan Zhao was taken aback: "I...I forgot about her after I saw her."

“You haven’t forgotten, you just can’t bear to let her go.” Su Zui lazily pointed out, “She is the one you love, how could you bear to push her to another man? Besides, you also know very well that all she wants is you.”

Zhan Zhao remained silent, staring intently at the candlelight.

“You are different from me; it is I who cannot. But you still have a chance. As long as this matter is resolved, you and she can still be together. It has been three years, and she has never forgotten you. Do you want her to live like this for the rest of her life?” Su Zui advised him.

Zhan Zhao seemed moved, and after a long while, he said in a low voice, "If she knew the truth, she would definitely hate me for treating him this way."

Su Zui smiled and sighed, "I really want to see what that girl will be like when she hates you."

Zhan Zhao glanced at him and suddenly asked, "I heard that the princess went missing today. Did you find her?"

"Just a coincidence," Su Zui said calmly.

"happen?"

"Um."

He was clearly unwilling to bring it up. Although Zhan Zhao did not believe it was a coincidence, he did not want to force him, so he kept quiet and did not ask any further questions.

Su Zui sat quietly for a while, feeling waves of pain, like needle pricks, coming from his broken leg. He simply removed the wooden leg and slowly applied the green jade ointment to the broken leg.

As the coolness seeped into his body, the scene from that morning flashed through his mind: the misty marshland, her thin and lonely figure, her startled and bewildered face.

He desperately wanted to go up and take her hand, to tell her that he was right beside her. But he couldn't; all he could do was hide himself completely behind Lao Hu's mask.

Then, Old Hu led the horse by the hand, leading her out of the marshland.

After last night, a thick layer of snow fell on the ice, and when the sun came out, it was dazzlingly white.

Mo Yan spent a lot of effort to find the hole in the ice from yesterday, which had been filled with snow and frozen over. She took out her dagger, leaned out, and dug frantically until she finally reached the water flowing under the ice.

"This water is so cold!"

The snow was icy cold, and the water beneath the ice was even colder to the bone. She withdrew her hand, put away the dagger, and rubbed her hands together.

"Come closer, be careful not to fall." Zhao Yu cautiously peeked over from behind her.

Mo Yan was lowering the fishing line into the hole when she stood up, clapped her hands, and said, "Alright, it's just that this hole is a bit smaller than yesterday. If that turtle is a big one, it will really take some effort to pull it up. But it doesn't matter, if you really catch one, I'll jump in and grab it for you."

Zhao Yu smiled slightly, said nothing more, and quietly stared at the buoy.

Mo Yan leaned against a tree and took out a flatbread from her pocket, chewing it slowly. Because she was drunk last night, she got up late this morning and didn't even have time to eat breakfast before following Zhao Yu out.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Volume 3, Chapter 21

Suddenly, several crows took flight in the distance, seemingly startled by something. Mo Yan looked in the direction of the sound and could vaguely make out a staggering figure among the branches of the trees.

"It must be Lao Hu; he's out riding his horses again," Zhao Yu said casually.

Mo Yan frowned, somewhat puzzled, and said, "Shouldn't we take the horse to an open area? Why do I always see him heading into the woods?"

“I heard from the guard yesterday that several horses had diarrhea, so he led them into the woods to look for herbs.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan fell silent, lowered her head to continue eating her pancake, and then yawned a few more times.

Zhao Yu glanced at her sideways and noticed that she looked tired and unusual, so he asked, "What did you do last night? You're so sleepy?"

"It's nothing, just a dream," Mo Yan said with a smile, adding, "It felt so real."

Seeing her smile, Zhao Yu knew without a doubt: "Did you dream about Zhan Zhao?"

"Princess, you're becoming more and more amazing!"

Zhao Yu shook his head and sighed, "If only you could dream of my little imperial uncle someday."

"There's nothing I can do about it; it's not up to me." Mo Yan's smile hadn't faded.

Seeing her sweet smile, Zhao Yu asked curiously, "What wonderful dream made you so happy? Tell me about it."

Mo Yan said decisively, "I dreamt that Brother Zhan and I almost consummated our marriage."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Yu almost lost her balance and fell down, but luckily Mo Yan was there to catch her.

“You…” Zhao Yu pointed at her, laughing so hard he couldn’t stand up straight: “You shameless girl, you have the nerve to say that you had a wet dream, be careful someone hears you.”

“Why can’t I say this? Brother Zhan and I are husband and wife. Isn’t it only natural for me to consummate our marriage? What if you hear about it? If husband and wife don’t consummate their marriage, where will the baby come from?”

Hearing her confident and self-assured manner, Zhao Yu nodded repeatedly and smiled, "You're right, but this kind of thing is a private matter between women, and it's ultimately indecent to talk about it."

Mo Yan shrugged and continued eating her pancake.

Being young, Zhao Yu couldn't resist his curiosity and asked again, "Then tell me, how come it was just a little bit short? Anyway, it's just the two of us here, so it won't hurt to talk about it."

Mo Yan scratched her ear and thought back carefully: "I only remember that he carried me to the bed and then took off my clothes... no... I can't remember whether I took off my clothes myself or my older brother took them off for me." She couldn't help but blush when she talked about these details.

Zhao Yu blushed and her heart pounded as she listened, but she still had to ask, "And then?"

"Then, I helped him take off his clothes, I remember that; but I can't remember if I actually took them off... Later, my older brother said he would pour me some water, so he got out of bed... And then, that was it." Mo Yan said with endless regret.