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Глава 81

Mo Yan didn't want to talk anymore, so she buried her head in her porridge. Ning Jin didn't press her, and turned his gaze away, looking forlornly at the petals falling all over the garden...

After a long while, Mo Yan slowly raised her head, bit her lip, and asked in a low voice, "Then tell me, how can I find out his feelings?"

Ning Jin picked up a withered flower from the ground and said with a faint smile, "Do you know how the young ladies in the capital behave?"

She shook her head.

So he began to pluck petals from the withered flower. The first petal: "She likes me."

The second part: "She doesn't like me."

The third petal: "She likes me."

The fourth petal: "She doesn't like me."

"She likes me." The fifth petal fell to the ground, leaving only the bare stem in his palm. He smiled and looked up at Mo Yan.

The latter stared at him, bewildered: "...He likes me? This method makes no sense. Are all the young ladies in the capital fools?"

Ning Jin ignored her, looked at the flower stem again, a faint smile always on his lips, and said, "Why don't you just go and ask him directly?"

"Just ask?" Mo Yan was taken aback.

“Like this,” he suddenly stared at her intently, “do you like me?”

Mo Yan instinctively shook her head: "I don't like it."

"..."

A gust of cold wind swept by, and Ning Jin coughed several times, covering his mouth with his sleeve and turning to the side. Wu Zichu hurriedly picked up the mink coat next to him and put it on him, but Ning Jin refused, saying with a wry smile, "I'm not that delicate."

Mo Yan realized what was happening and quickly tried to make amends, laughing and saying, "Actually, you're a really nice person, and quite likable. You're a good person."

Ning Jin's cough worsened.

"Did you choke?" Mo Yan asked curiously, jumping up to pat his back, but Ning Jin dodged her.

"Girl, you...you shouldn't ask that." He said, recovering his composure.

"Why?"

Ning Jin said calmly, "If he says he doesn't like it, how can you stand it?"

Chapter Fifteen

Fine snowflakes drifted down, melting almost instantly upon hitting the ground. Zhao Yu, dressed in a silver-fox fur cloak, walked slowly down the main street of the capital. Fearing the princess would catch a cold, Zhan Zhao repeatedly urged her to get into the sedan chair, but she resolutely refused.

"The desolate and bitterly cold place I'm going to in the future will be a hundred times harsher than the capital. Who will care if I'm cold then?" she sighed softly.

Zhan Zhao could only remain silent.

Zhao Yu stole a glance at him, suppressing a smile. She knew this cat had the softest heart; as soon as the Khitan were mentioned, he couldn't bear to force her. Zhan Zhao stood beside her, radiating an aura of reassurance. If only she weren't a princess, and he weren't a fourth-rank bodyguard, but simply a pair of wandering heroes, how wonderful that would be… Zhao Yu's thoughts drifted hazily, and a rosy blush crept onto her cheeks without her realizing it.

"Princess, Sima Qin Residence is just ahead."

Zhan Zhao's words startled her awake. She looked up and saw that they had indeed arrived at the Qin House. Because she had casually mentioned yesterday that she loved the qin and wanted to find a fine ancient qin in the countryside to take to the Liao Kingdom, Zhan Zhao had brought her to the famous Sima Qin House in the capital today.

The room was decorated very elegantly, with a faint sandalwood fragrance lingering around dozens of guqin of various sizes and styles. Zhao Yu had been learning the guqin since childhood, and was naturally delighted to see so many guqin. He then chose a guqin made of paulownia wood with a Fuxi style and snake-belly crackle pattern, and asked the owner of the room to tune it so that he could try playing it.

Zhan Zhao only had a rudimentary understanding of music, and with something on his mind, he simply stood by the door with his sword, quietly watching the silent snow fall.

The subtle scent of sandalwood calmed the mind. Zhao Yu lightly plucked the strings a few times, and hearing the rich yet clear sound, she knew it was a fine instrument. She immediately played "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace," the music pure and ethereal, ethereal and ancient, truly beautiful. After she finished playing, the owner of the music shop praised her repeatedly. Zhao Yu's skill was naturally refined, having been taught by palace musicians and studied for many years. Hearing the owner's praise, she put down her instrument and looked at Zhan Zhao, a hint of pride in her eyes. He, however, was focused, his eyes lowered, seemingly undisturbed by the music, lost in thought…

At this very moment, in the teahouse opposite Sima Qinshe, three people are listening to the zither through a curtain.

"Is she playing very well?" Mo Yan didn't understand music. "I think she played better than you did in the plum grove that day."

Ning Jin glanced at her lazily, haughtily refusing to answer. Wu Zichu answered for him, "Your Highness began learning the zither at the age of three, and also spent three years studying diligently under the tutelage of the Ma family. Your zither skills are certainly not comparable to those of others."

Mo Yan laughed and said, "You really have a lot of free time."

Upon hearing this, Ning Jin couldn't help but open his mouth, but he felt that explaining to her would be a waste of effort, so he simply shut his mouth and ignored her.

Mo Yan took a piece of plum blossom cake, ate it while lifting the bamboo curtain and staring at the entrance of the zither room, muttering to herself, "Brother Zhan seems to be in a bad mood..."

“Of course he’s in a bad mood because he helped you lie to people,” Ning Jin said coolly.

“It can’t be called deception…” Mo Yan racked her brains and came up with a word, “It’s more like ‘deception’ at most.”

Is there a difference?

"Of course." Mo Yan couldn't really explain the difference, so she took a big bite of the plum blossom cake. Seeing that Zhan Zhao had returned to the zither room, she casually said, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Ning Jin was about to tease her when Mo Yan hurriedly whispered, "My senior sister and brother-in-law are here."

On the street, a carriage braved the light snow, its hooves clattering on the stone pavement as it steadily and lightly made its way towards the Qin House. Ning Jin glanced at it through the curtain and said nonchalantly, "Just an ordinary carriage. It can't possibly be your senior sister."

As they spoke, the carriage stopped right in front of the music house. The driver placed a high stool before lifting the curtain to let the people inside alight. A beautiful woman dressed as a married woman stepped down first, but instead of rushing into the music house, she carefully held the curtain closed and helped a pale, handsome young man down with her other hand. Once they were alighted, the two smiled at each other before entering the music house together.

Ning Jin had only briefly met Ning Wangshu once in Suzhou, and remembered her as a stunningly beautiful woman with an elegant and refined appearance. Now, seeing the couple, he couldn't help but sigh, "It's rare to find such a beautiful woman who is also so affectionate."

Mo Yan didn't reply, her eyes fixed on the entrance of the music room. She watched them enter the music room, but couldn't see anything after that, which made her anxious and restless.

Inside Sima Qin's residence.

Ning Wangshu was worried that Nangong Ruoxu would get tired, so as soon as they entered the music room, she helped him sit down on a chair. Fortunately, the music room was very well-appointed, and the chairs were covered with brocade cushions, so it wasn't too cold. After he was seated, she went back to the carriage to get a hand warmer and placed it in his hands to warm them.

"Don't rush," Nangong Ruoxu pulled her back and said with a warm smile, "Take a look and see which zither is good for me."