A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 214

"You are Zhan Zhao?"

"good."

"But you..."

"I won't hide it from you, I disguised myself to obtain evidence of Grand Tutor Pang's collusion with the Liao Kingdom," Zhan Zhao said in a deep voice.

Tang Ling thought for a long time: "I'm going to ask her tomorrow! To see if what you said is true or false."

"You mean Pang Long?"

"Yes, she told me all of this, and I need to ask her for clarification."

"I can go with you to confront her face to face." In fact, Zhan Zhao was afraid that if she saw Pang Long, she would not return alive, as Tang Ling was an important witness in this matter.

"OK!"

Only then did Zhan Zhao release her pressure points.

Tang Ling wasn't seriously injured. She glanced at the unconscious Mo Yan and said with a half-smile, "I can leave the matter of the princess for now. You all should take care of yourselves. We'll meet at Wuliting in Song territory tomorrow." With that, she staggered away, knowing she wouldn't be returning to camp that night.

Zhan Zhao bent down and picked up Mo Yan, feeling both heartache and pity, and quickly walked back.

The next day, the seriously injured Mo Yan was hidden in Ning Jin's carriage.

At the border, Yelü Hongji saw Ning Jin and the others off and breathed a sigh of relief. He then prepared to go hunting in the nearby mountains with great enthusiasm. Zhan Zhao, however, made an excuse that he wanted to buy some things at the town's market in two days and stay in town for a couple more days, so he did not accompany him.

Yelü Hongji led his large army away in high spirits. Meanwhile, Zhan Zhao sneaked into the courtyard, changed out of Yelü Pusa Nu's disguise, and returned to being Zhan Zhao.

Su Zui picked up Yelü Pusa Nu's clothes, smiled slightly, and said, "Now that we've found Tang Ling as a witness, it's finally time to get rid of it."

Zhan Zhao was also disgusted by the outfit and didn't want to look at it any longer. He said, "This matter is not yet fully settled, so let's keep it for now. I need to go and meet up with Tang Ling now. Brother, wait for my news."

"Yes, be careful in everything."

Su Zui gave his instructions, and seeing Zhan Zhao leave, glancing at his Southern Court Deputy Envoy attire, he already had other plans. In any case, even if this matter failed, he did not want Zhan Zhao to remain in Liao.

Inside the carriage, Mo Yan remained unconscious, in a daze. Although the poison in her body had been neutralized, the injuries were to vital organs; even without the poison, they would have been fatal. Now, she had developed a high fever and kept muttering, "Big brother, big brother..."

Ning Jin was extremely anxious but helpless, and annoyed that Zhan Zhao was not catching up quickly.

"Big brother, big brother..." Mo Yan's forehead was burning hot, and she whispered.

Having exhausted all other options, Ning Jin sighed and could only reach out and grasp her hand, saying, "I'm here, I'm here..."

Mo Yan immediately grabbed him tightly and wouldn't let go. Although she was unconscious, she seemed much more at ease and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

"That silly girl!"

Even though he knew he could only act as a substitute, Ning Jin had no choice but to accept it. Seeing that she wasn't in so much pain made him feel much better.

Throughout the journey, Mo Yan held his hand tightly, and Ning Jin even ate with only one hand.

It wasn't until nearly dusk that Zhan Zhao caught up with them and jumped onto the carriage from behind.

His sudden entrance caught Ning Jin off guard, his hand still being held by Mo Yan...

“She mistook me for you,” Ning Jin said awkwardly.

Zhan Zhao showed no annoyance, but instead thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness!" His words were sincere and without any falsehood.

Ning Jin said calmly, "It's good that you've come."

He withdrew his hand, watching as Zhan Zhao took his place and grasped Mo Yan's hand again. A pang of unease gripped him. He turned his face slightly away and asked, "How did things go?"

Zhan Zhao sighed and said, "Tang Ling is dead... However, she gave me the letters between Yelü Hongji and Grand Tutor Pang."

Today, he and Tang Ling rode swiftly to Hejian Prefecture to find Pang Long. Knowing there were skilled fighters in the prefecture, he wanted to find a way to lure Pang Long out, but Tang Ling kept dissuading him and stormed into the residence, demanding a face-to-face confrontation with Pang Long. He had no choice but to accompany her. After a few words, Pang Long indeed couldn't answer, revealing a flaw. Tang Ling was furious and tried to attack Pang Long, but the two were surrounded by the prefecture's guards. Knowing she was no match for them, Tang Ling first handed a secret letter to Zhan Zhao. Zhan Zhao fought his way through, but couldn't manage to escape with Tang Ling. Only after Tang Ling was stabbed several times and died did he manage to break free alone.

"So, the case is finally solved." Ning Jin was happy for him and for Mo Yan. This meant that Zhan Zhao no longer needed to infiltrate the Liao Kingdom and could stay with Mo Yan.

"yes."

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, thinking the same thing to himself, and looked down at Mo Yan, his eyes full of warmth.

How is she?

"Oh no, it's burning hot." Ning Jin sighed softly. "The wound is probably infected. We left in a hurry and there's no medicine in the car, so we need to get to the town ahead as soon as possible."

Zhan Zhao saw that Mo Yan's cheeks were flushed red from the fever, and he reached out to touch her forehead. Mo Yan seemed to sense something and slowly opened her eyes: "Big brother..."

"You're awake?" Zhan Zhao asked softly.

Mo Yan stared at Zhan Zhao's face. She hadn't seen Zhan Zhao's true face in a long time, and she couldn't help but stare at him for a long time before she smiled dreamily and said, "Big brother, I just dreamed about you."

"Really? Where is it?"

"When we first met, you were wearing a blue robe, standing outside the side gate of Kaifeng Prefecture... Do you remember?"

"Of course I remember." Zhan Zhao helped her up and asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Would you like some water?"

Mo Yan nodded, but her eyes closed wearily. Zhan Zhao took the water Ning Jin poured and brought it to her lips. Just then, the carriage hit a large stone and jumped, splashing some water onto Mo Yan's cheek.

"It's raining, it's raining again..." Mo Yan sighed softly, satisfied.

Both of them realized that she was already delirious.

Zhan Zhao frantically wiped away the water droplets for her. At this moment, the quilt wrapped around her slipped down, revealing several large, bright red patches on her chest—blood seeping from her wounds. Ning Jin was horrified; he had no experience in caring for people and hadn't even noticed she was bleeding the whole way.