A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 213

However, the best opportunity has already passed.

With a flick of her wrist, Tang Ling sent out several diamond-shaped darts, each aimed at one of her vital points.

Unexpectedly, Mo Yan neither dodged nor yielded, her sword thrusts unabated, displaying a desperate stance. Given Mo Yan's personality, she wasn't usually one to fight to the death, but firstly, Zhao Yu's feigned death was far too significant, and Tang Ling couldn't be allowed to live; secondly, she was already injured and no match for Tang Ling. Even if she didn't fight desperately, Tang Ling would eventually kill her anyway, so she might as well go all out.

The silver sword pierced Tang Ling's abdomen, while the diamond-shaped darts also entered Mo Yan's body.

Mo Yan collapsed to the ground, several vital points on her body struck. She didn't even have the strength to check if Tang Ling was dead; she could only gasp weakly. Blood flowed silently beneath her, staining a large patch of snow red.

However, Tang Ling did not die. Although Mo Yan had stabbed her with all her might, the sword was not fatal. She clutched her abdominal wound and knelt on the snow.

The silver sword fell into the snow. Tang Ling slowly picked it up, rose gently, walked to Mo Yan's side, and plunged the sword down fiercely...

Volume 3, Chapter 48

Just as the sword tip was only an inch away from Mo Yan, it was suddenly blocked by a strong force. Someone spun around in mid-air and kicked the silver sword away. As they landed, they swiftly struck her pressure points with lightning speed. Then they picked up Mo Yan from the ground and used acupressure to stop the bleeding.

Due to the spread of the poison, Mo Yan was already somewhat delirious. When she saw him, she opened her mouth but could not speak.

Tang Ling thought Yelü Pusa Nu had misunderstood, and shouted, "Deputy Envoy! So the princess faked her death, and she almost killed me!"

Zhan Zhao ignored her and briefly examined Mo Yan's wound, realizing she had been hit by a poisoned dart. He then turned to Tang Ling and asked urgently, "Where's the antidote?"

"You..." Tang Ling was a little puzzled.

At this moment, Mo Yan called out with difficulty, "Big brother, the coffin..."

"I know, everything has been arranged, you don't need to worry," Zhan Zhao said softly, knowing what she wanted to say.

Zhan Zhao was definitely not lying to her.

That night, he drank with Yelü Hongji in the tent. Eventually, Yelü Hongji himself became drunk and fell asleep in the tent. Ning Jin was carried back to the tent by Wu Zichu; only Zhan Zhao was able to walk out.

The snow was heavy. Zhan Zhao hesitated for a moment, but still felt uneasy, so he pretended to be patrolling the camp and slowly walked towards the location where the coffin was placed.

Before he even went inside, his foot touched something on the snow outside. He glanced down casually and was suddenly startled—Mo Yan's little jade comb was lying quietly on the snow.

He picked it up and quickly walked to the coffin. At first glance, there seemed to be no flaws, but he still noticed a chilling drop of blood where the curtain hung. Without hesitation, he lifted the curtain and pushed open the coffin lid. Inside, only the funeral garment remained. Upon closer inspection, he saw bloodstains on the garment as well, which made him even more alarmed.

He knew Mo Yan must be injured, but he didn't know how badly she was hurt or where she was. Although he was extremely anxious, he knew that the most important thing right now was not to leave any trace, so he had to suppress his emotions and go to find Zhao Yu first, so that Zhao Yu could change into funeral clothes and lie down in the coffin, and then close the coffin again.

After arranging everything properly, he followed the clues to find Mo Yan.

We were still too late! Looking at Mo Yan's condition, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but feel deeply guilty. If he had found her a little faster, perhaps she wouldn't have been so badly injured.

"Where is the antidote?" Zhan Zhao asked sternly.

Tang Ling seemed to understand something, and sneered, "So you're in cahoots with her! ... There's no cure." Her pressure points were sealed, rendering her unable to move, yet she still spoke coldly.

Before he could finish speaking, Zhan Zhao picked up the silver sword and pointed it sharply at her face: "If you don't hand it over, I'll cripple you!" Mo Yan's life hung in the balance, and he had no time to waste. These words were not just a threat.

The sword tip was right in front of her eye. Tang Ling swallowed hard. Even if he didn't cripple her, a cut on her face would be terrible. After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly said, "You've acupunctured my pressure points, how am I supposed to take it?"

Since this woman is a member of the Tang Clan, she probably has many more tricks up her sleeve. Under normal circumstances, Zhan Zhao would naturally release her pressure points and make her produce the antidote, but this situation is different from usual. If releasing her pressure points leads to further complications, Mo Yan might not be able to afford the delay.

Tell me where it is.

"In the pouch at my waist."

Zhan Zhao took her purse, poured out several pills of different colors, and asked, "Which one is the antidote?"

"First, let her eat half of the bright red one, then crush the brown one and apply it to her wound," Tang Ling replied.

As he picked up the pill, Zhan Zhao paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over Tang Ling like a sharp blade: "If you lie, do you know what will happen to you?"

Tang Ling felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze, bit her lip, and said, "Let her eat the dark red one, the brown one as usual."

Only then did Zhan Zhao feed the dark red pill to Mo Yan, making her swallow it, before crushing the brown pill. Mo Yan had been stabbed in the chest, so to apply the medicine, her clothes had to be removed first. Although they had been married for a long time, they were husband and wife in name only, not in reality. Zhan Zhao hesitated slightly, but knowing Mo Yan wouldn't blame him, he quickly removed her clothes, removed the poisoned darts, applied the medicine, and then put her clothes back on.

Fearing that she might be seriously injured and cold, Zhan Zhao took off his fox fur robe and wrapped it tightly around her.

Tang Ling took it all in, thinking she understood everything without asking, and sneered, "So it was you who had an affair with the princess."

“Brother…she, she is Madam Fang’s sister.” Mo Yan said weakly in Zhan Zhao’s arms. “Those people actually lied to her, saying that you killed Madam Fang. I just told her the truth, but she probably still doesn’t believe it.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Ling stared at Zhan Zhao in disbelief: "You're Zhan Zhao?!"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but instead asked, "Is that Madam Fang really your sister?"

Tang Ling sneered: "What, are you going to try to fool me again like she did?"

"Killing you now would be as easy as turning my hand, why would I need to lie to you?" Zhan Zhao said coldly, gently placing Mo Yan against the tree. Then he rolled up his sleeve, revealing several dark red spots on his arm. "Do you recognize this kind of wound?"

Upon seeing the color and distribution of the red dots, Tang Ling was horrified: "Rain of Pear Blossom Needles? How could you still be alive?"

“Because most of the injections were given to your sister,” Zhan Zhao said calmly. “It happened so suddenly that we didn’t collude beforehand. Don’t you believe me?” He glanced at Tang Ling’s pale face and decided to deliver a powerful blow. “The Pang family is powerful and influential, yet they would do something like this to take advantage of someone’s kindness. They are truly despicable.”

"Your sister married Fang Yizhong, who was originally the Vice Minister of Revenue. In the fourth year of the Qingli era, he was imprisoned for the theft of treasury silver. Later, thanks to Grand Tutor Pang's intercession, he was spared the death penalty but demoted three ranks and sent to guard the border. Later, he was also executed for framing your brother-in-law. Unfortunately, your brother-in-law died of illness on his way back to the capital. It sounds like Grand Tutor Pang was indeed kind to your sister, but do you know that the mastermind behind the theft of the treasury silver was none other than Grand Tutor Pang himself?" Zhan Zhao spoke with such certainty that no one could disbelieve him.

This is the content of the secret letter he received from Su Zui today. Since learning from Mo Yan that this matter was related to Grand Tutor Pang, he secretly wrote to Bao Zheng requesting him to investigate any connection between Grand Tutor Pang and the Tang Clan. Su Zui received Bao Zheng's reply as soon as he arrived in town, knowing that this matter could not be delayed. Seeing the coffin procession enter the town, he hurriedly delivered it to Zhan Zhao.

His words left Tang Ling speechless: "How did you know?"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but lowered his sleeves and continued, "Killing you now would be easy for me. But your sister has already died unjustly, and now you, unaware of the truth, continue to act as an accomplice. Your Tang Clan has a certain status in the martial arts world, yet you are now being manipulated like puppets. Are you content with this? You may not believe me now, but you can return to the capital and thoroughly investigate the people who guarded the warehouse back then, to see what the real truth is."

Tang Ling paused for a moment, then asked, "They told me that Zhan Zhao killed my sister, and that they have already killed Zhan Zhao to avenge me."

Zhan Zhao said calmly, "They are lying to you. Not only am I not dead, but I also did not kill your sister."