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Глава 61

"It's not 'read on,' it's 'read off.'" Her voice was already barely audible, yet she still knew to correct him, and slowly said, "Read off, a thousand miles of misty waves, the twilight deepens and the Chu sky is vast."

Almost simultaneously with the word "kuo," Zhan Zhao frowned, exerted his strength, and swiftly pulled out the arrow.

Crimson blood gushed from the wound, splashing onto his blue shirt and blooming.

Mo Yan groaned and collapsed.

As noon approached, the autumn sunlight streamed in through the window, bringing a touch of warmth as it fell upon the person sitting at the table. That person sat quietly, their gaze fixed on a distant, unseen place. Not far from them, on the bed, another person breathed softly, lazily trying to turn over…

"Ouch!"

Turning over aggravated her wound, and Mo Yan cried out in pain, waking up instantly. Upon seeing the person in the room, she exclaimed joyfully, "Second Brother!"

Xiao Chen walked to the bedside, gently pressed her forehead. The frightening fever from yesterday had subsided, and he breathed a sigh of relief, saying softly, "It's good that you're awake. Are you hungry?"

"Hmm." Mo Yan looked around in surprise. "Where are we?"

"This is Kaifeng Prefecture."

Mo Yan was stunned for a long time before finally remembering what had happened. She shouted angrily, "Zhan Zhao actually lied to me!"

"He lied to you?"

"He clearly promised me he wouldn't pull out the arrow, but he actually did it when I wasn't looking..."

"Don't talk nonsense. If he hadn't pulled the arrow out in time, or if it had been any later, your arm would have been useless." Xiao Chen scolded her in a deep voice, "When you see Zhan Zhao, remember to thank him properly."

Mo Yan was resentful, but dared not disobey her senior brother, so she could only say dejectedly, "...Oh, I understand."

The door creaked open, and the cook, Ma Dasao, entered, carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of medicine on it. Seeing that Mo Yan was awake, she smiled and said, "You're finally awake. I managed to prepare this medicine just in time."

"Sister-in-law Ma." Mo Yan remembered her and called out affectionately.

Aunt Ma put down the tray, stepped forward, and gently touched Mo Yan's forehead with her rough hands. The fever had subsided: "You little rascal, you slept for three whole days, that was really scary!"

Mo Yan was also stunned: "I slept for three days?"

"Yes! I had a fever for two days and had to take several bowls of medicine. The fever finally subsided last night."

"You've been the one who prepared all the medicine, haven't you? Thank you so much."

"Nonsense, getting better is better than anything else." Ma's wife put down the medicine. "Drink the medicine while it's hot, and I'll tell Lord Zhan that you've woken up so he won't worry."

Mo Yan gritted her teeth upon hearing Zhan Zhao's name: "Lord Zhan, why doesn't he come to see me?" At the same time, she thought to herself: He must be feeling guilty and doesn't dare to come to see her.

"Master Zhan's leg injury hasn't healed yet, and Mr. Gongsun has ordered him to rest in bed. He visited you several times in the past two days, and he even asked about you this morning." With a smile, Ma Da Sao turned and left.

Mo Yan was somewhat taken aback: So his leg injury hadn't healed yet...

Xiao Chen reached for the medicine on the table, brought it to her bedside, helped her sit up, and said softly, "Take your medicine."

"Second brother, was Zhan Zhao injured when he came to see me that day?" Mo Yan asked softly.

“…Yes.” Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment before truthfully saying, “He did insist on going to find Prince Ning and you despite his injuries.” He emphasized the words “Prince Ning” intentionally or unintentionally.

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan fell silent again and finished her medicine in one gulp. Because she was absent-minded, she could hardly detect the bitterness of the medicine, unlike before when she would complain about it incessantly at home. Given this unusual behavior, how could Xiao Chen not notice?

"By the way, where is Prince Ning? Have you found him?" She finally realized that someone else was missing.

"Found it, in the reeds."

"Is he alright?"

"I heard he caught a chill, but it's nothing serious. His Majesty has already brought him to the palace to recuperate."

Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, everyone is safe and sound."

Chapter Forty-Nine

The ink on the paper on the table was just beginning to dry. Zhan Zhao put down his pen wearily, gently pinched the bridge of his nose, and then carefully arranged the stack of small characters as supplementary evidence. He had written down everything he had investigated during his trip to Jiangnan.

Before he knew it, the moon was high in the sky, and the medicine beside him had long since gone cold.

He picked it up carelessly, drank it all, and found that the cold medicine was even more bitter than when it was hot. The astringent bitterness lingered on the back of his tongue for a long time.

The lamplight flickered, and he stretched slightly. Suddenly, he heard a "pop" and a small, sparkling candle flame burst out of the flame, quite beautiful. He smiled slightly, got up and closed the window.

Just as the window was about to close, Zhan Zhao saw a figure moving behind the osmanthus tree not far away. He looked closely and saw a person sneaking in through the crescent gate. The moon was bright and the wind was gentle, and the fragrance of osmanthus wafted in the air. The shadow of the tree moved across her face, and her eyes were as bright as stars. It was Mo Yan.

"This girl, why isn't she resting properly after getting injured? What is she doing running out here?" Zhan Zhao frowned, about to call her, when he saw someone enter through the crescent gate and block Mo Yan's path.

"Second brother..." Mo Yan's voice sounded as if she had done something wrong.

Xiao Chen's tone was unfriendly: "Why are you running around instead of taking care of your injuries?"

"I'd like to visit Lord Zhan; I wonder if his leg injury has healed?"

Her voice was very soft, but Zhan Zhao heard it very clearly and was stunned: her own injuries had not yet healed, so why was she still thinking about him?

"Nonsense! What kind of young lady goes into a man's room in the middle of the night? Go back now."

Mo Yan smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Didn't you say that if it weren't for him, my arm would have been ruined long ago, and that I should go and thank him?"

Did I ask you to come here in the middle of the night to thank someone?

Xiao Chen seemed annoyed by her sophistry and casually tapped her on the head, causing her to cry out softly.

"But you didn't say what time we should choose. Besides, it's only the beginning of Hai Shi (9-11 PM), which isn't exactly the middle of the night." Mo Yan's voice was tinged with grievance.