A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 196

"You do it?" Ning Jin raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, what kind do you want? Grilled, braised, stewed, or roasted? Anything is fine. Or you could have one of each." Mo Yan said shamelessly.

Ning Jin couldn't help but laugh: "You should rest. You've only just recovered from your illness, and you're still eating so much meat. We'll eat wild game ourselves, you should have some porridge with Xiao Yu'er."

The two chatted and talked, and before they knew it, they had made their way back to the camp.

Volume 3, Chapter 35

Zhao Yu had always thought that Yelü Hongji's words about returning to visit her were just polite talk, but to her surprise, Yelü Hongji actually came the following afternoon.

When Zhao Yu heard the announcement inside the tent, he was taken aback. His arrival was so sudden that there was no time to do a proper make-up, and any slight touch-up would not be enough to hide his sickly appearance.

"What should I do..." she thought anxiously. Yelü Hongji was chatting with his young uncle in the tent hall. She certainly couldn't keep him waiting. She had to come up with a solution quickly.

"Go and find Xiao Qi quickly."

Zhao Yu sent someone to fetch Mo Yan. She first had a maid help her change her clothes. When Mo Yan hurriedly entered the tent, she had already made up her mind. She then had Mo Yan come close to her ear and told her everything.

"Have you remembered everything clearly? Don't say anything wrong later," she instructed.

Mo Yan nodded confidently: "Don't worry."

Zhao Yu took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. She had lightly applied rouge to her cheeks, but her eyes still showed signs of fatigue and illness.

"how?"

After the maidservant had placed the pearl hairpin in her hair, she turned around and asked Mo Yan.

Mo Yan frowned and looked at her for a moment before saying, "Anyway, the point is to let him know you're sick, that's enough. If you walk a little crookedly, it'll probably look even more like it."

Zhao Yu rolled her eyes at her, stood up, and had a maid put an outer robe on her. She then tightened her collar and said, "Let's go."

The two passed through the tent corridor and headed towards the tent hall. Before they even arrived, Mo Yan had already spotted several of Yelü Hongji's personal guards outside the tent hall. After looking them over, she didn't see Tang Ling, so she guessed that Yelü Hongji hadn't brought her along on this trip.

A maid was already waiting outside the tent, holding up the curtain. When she saw Zhao Yu coming, she bowed and announced inside, "The princess has arrived."

Zhao Yu took a deep breath, smiled sweetly, and then stepped into the tent.

Inside the tent, Yelü Hongji was chatting and laughing with Ning Jin when he saw Zhao Yu arrive. Yelü Hongji quickly got up to greet him.

"Your Highness."

Seeing Zhao Yu gracefully bow, Yelü Hongji reached out to help her up. After examining her closely, he asked in surprise, "Is the princess unwell?"

Zhao Yu shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It's probably because the hot water bottle was too hot when I was sleeping last night, and I kicked off the blanket to cool off, so I caught a bit of a chill. It's nothing serious."

"You're such a grown-up, why are you still acting like a child, kicking off the covers to keep cool?" Ning Jinsu was used to this kind of scene and was very quick-witted, so she joined in the teasing.

Zhao Yu smiled shyly, which added to her charm, making Yelü Hongji both amused and pitying.

"Little Yu'er, guess what His Highness Yelü sent you?" Ning Jin asked with a smile.

"Give it to me?" Zhao Yu asked curiously, turning to Yelü Hongji, "Your Highness, what is it?"

Yelü Hongji smiled smugly, clearly very satisfied with his gift. He took Zhao Yu's hand and led her out of the tent, pointing with his hand: "Do you like it?"

Where he pointed, a lively little pony was standing in the snow, all white, and it was quite a sight to behold.

"What a beautiful horse!" Zhao Yu exclaimed, unable to resist stepping forward to stroke it. Its fur was smooth and supple. "Your Highness, is this... really a gift for me?!"

"certainly."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhao Yu smiled and bowed to him again, then turned around and stroked the little horse with great affection.

Seeing that Zhao Yu liked the horse so much, Yelü Hongji was naturally very happy. He stepped forward and stroked the horse, saying, "I'm glad you like it. Take good care of it. One day you can ride it and go hunting with me, okay?"

"Your Highness, this is also my wish."

Zhao Yu smiled.

Seeing the princess so obsequious, Mo Yan felt uneasy. She knew she could never do such a thing, and thus she admired Zhao Yu even more.

The wind was strong outside the tent. Ning Jin was about to invite the two of them into the tent when he heard the sound of horses' hooves, and another small group of people entered the camp.

"Your Highness." Yelü Pusa Nu dismounted and bowed to Yelü Hongji.

Yelü Hongji nodded slightly, glanced at the object held by the guard behind Yelü Pusa Nu, and smiled at Ning Jin, saying, "It seems that my uncle has brought you some good wine."

Yelü Pusa Nu bowed to Ning Jin and said, "I am here on the orders of the Southern Court King to present ten jars of aged wine for Your Highness Ning to enjoy."

"Thank you very much," Ning Jin said with a smile.

Mo Yan, upon seeing Zhan Zhao disguised as Yelü Pusa Nu, felt an indescribable surge of joy. Although she knew she mustn't reveal her disguise, she couldn't help but steal a few more glances at him. Zhan Zhao, however, kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, his expression indifferent.

Ning Jin waved for someone to take the wine, and then gestured to him, saying, "Since the Vice Envoy has arrived, please come in and have a seat."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I have official business to attend to and cannot stay any longer."

Zhan Zhao declined indifferently, cupped his hands and was about to leave when he heard Yelü Hongji snort with a half-smile, saying, "Vice Envoy Yelü, are you unwilling to stay because I am here?"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to stop in his tracks: "Your Highness is overthinking it. There is no such thing. I do indeed have..."

“Then stay and sit for a while,” Yelü Hongji interrupted him, then suddenly smiled easily, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “My uncle is old, and there are some things I won’t argue with him about. Besides, he is him, and you are you. You don’t need to hide from me like you’ve seen a cat.”

"Come on, come on, come inside and talk," Ning Jin called out. "It's my fault for standing outside in the wind."

Yelü Hongji said no more and went into his tent. Zhan Zhao hesitated for a moment. From Yelü Hongji's words, he also sensed that Yelü Hongji intended to win him over, so he followed. Bringing up the rear were Mo Yan and Zhao Yu. They exchanged a glance, each with their own unspoken thoughts.