A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 2

"You have a grudge against him?" the waiter asked cautiously.

"Hmm...I guess so." She nodded vaguely.

"Don't worry, I heard that this person was arrested last night and is probably in the Kaifeng Prefecture jail now."

Mo Yan was startled: "No way? How did he get caught? What did he do wrong?"

The waiter shook his head: "I don't know much about what he did, but I heard that the man was very skilled in martial arts, and it was only Lord Zhan who subdued him."

"Master Zhan?"

"That's Lord Zhan Zhao from Kaifeng Prefecture, a fourth-rank imperial bodyguard with a sword. His martial arts skills are amazing..." The waiter gave a thumbs up and praised him, but he didn't notice the expression on the face of the customer next to him.

“...It’s just a cat!” Mo Yan muttered to herself, and quickly returned to the inn.

Although the food at the inn tasted good, it didn't quite suit her palate. Mo Yan quickly ate a few mouthfuls and went back to her room to rest. After sitting in her room for only a short while, she still felt uneasy and decided to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to check things out.

It was afternoon, and two yamen runners at the main gate of Kaifeng Prefecture were feeling drowsy, yawning one after another, but not daring to be too obvious, so they opened their mouths slightly, exhaling more air from their noses.

Mo Yan stood at a distance and watched for a long time before deciding to go around to the side gate.

There was only one yamen runner guarding the side gate, and he seemed quite amiable.

"Brother! Is Li Xu, who was arrested yesterday, being held here?"

The constable looked her up and down before asking, "Who... are you to him?"

"He is my senior brother."

"What is your surname, young lady...?" The constable looked up and suddenly saw the person behind her, becoming respectful immediately: "Lord Zhan."

Mo Yan turned around and saw a man behind her, dressed in a blue robe, elegant and handsome, with a three-foot-three-inch green sword in his hand and a seven-inch-long handle, its light flowing. It was Ju Que.

Zhan Zhao! There can be no one else in Kaifeng Prefecture who wields the Giant Sword.

"What brings you here, young lady?" Zhan Zhao asked, noticing that Mo Yan's travel-worn appearance made her seem unlike someone from the capital.

She said Li Xu was her senior.

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao frowned slightly: "You are Li Xu's junior sister?"

"Did you arrest my senior brother?" Mo Yan raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What crime has my senior brother committed? May I visit him?"

“Brother Ling…” He hesitated for a moment, “Please come with me, Miss.” He nodded slightly to the yamen runner to indicate that it was alright, and then led Mo Yan into the Kaifeng Prefecture.

After a winding journey through several courtyards, Zhan Zhao led her directly to Bao Zheng's outer study, asking her to wait outside before lifting his robe and entering.

Mo Yan looked around and found that this courtyard was even more elegant than the ones she had just passed. Not far away, there was an osmanthus tree with its flowers just beginning to bloom. The small, pale yellow petals unfurled, filling the air with fragrance, adding a touch of soft elegance to the quiet and solemn Kaifeng Prefecture...

A moment later, Zhan Zhao lifted the curtain and called her inside.

Besides Zhan Zhao, there were two other people in the room. One sat behind the table, his face slightly dark, exuding an imposing aura without anger; he was clearly Bao Zheng. The other was a pale-faced clerk beside him, presumably Gongsun Ce.

"Please sit down, young lady."

Mo Yan picked a chair and sat down, saying politely, "Lord Bao, I have just arrived in the capital and heard that my senior brother was captured by Lord Zhan. May I ask what crime my senior brother committed?"

"On the third day of this month, Bai Baozhen, the textile commissioner of Suzhou, was stabbed through the heart. In addition, a government official also died in the post station. Are you aware of this, young lady?"

She was startled and shook her head: "...I don't know." Then she quickly added, "It wasn't me!"

Bao Zheng remained serious and said, "Two thousand taels of silver were found in your senior brother Li Xu's bundle, along with Lord Bai's jade pendant."

"You mean, my senior brother killed him!" Mo Yan frowned and said urgently, "My senior brother wouldn't kill anyone."

"The evidence is conclusive."

Mo Yan disagreed, shaking her head and saying, "What do you mean by 'conclusive evidence'? Did you personally witness my senior brother committing murder? Perhaps someone deliberately framed him."

Bao Zheng remained silent, slightly disappointed. He had been ordered to thoroughly investigate corruption in Jiangnan, and when he reached the Suzhou Textile Bureau, he found numerous suspicious points. Just as he was beginning to make progress, Bai Baozhen died under mysterious circumstances. He found it hard to believe that it was merely a coincidence.

He had already suspected that Li Xu had been framed, and had hoped that his junior sister might have some evidence to consult, but seeing that the girl in front of him was only fifteen or sixteen years old and looked innocent and naive, it seemed that she could not be of any help.

“Lord Bao is known for his upright character and integrity; he would not wrongfully kill an innocent person.” Mo Yan stood up and bowed, saying, “My senior brother would not kill anyone; please release him.”

Bao Zheng slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Miss, you should know that without evidence, this prefecture cannot release the person."

Mo Yan remained silent for a while, then looked up and said, "Lord Bao, may I go to the scene of the crime? Also, I would like to see my senior brother."

“I understand your feelings, young lady, but you are not a member of our public service... Besides, this government has already sent Guard Zhan to carefully examine the scene of the crime.”

"Lord Zhan has seen it..." She smiled slightly, turned to look at Zhan Zhao who was standing to the side with his sword, and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Lord Zhan, you must have entered and exited this room no less than a hundred times, right?"

Zhan Zhao paused slightly, then nodded and said, "That's right."

"Alright, do you know how many trees there are in this yard? What kinds of flowers and plants are there? And which ones are in bloom right now?"

Everyone was stunned. Not to mention Zhan Zhao, even Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, who entered and exited this place several times a day, would not dare to say that they remembered these everyday things clearly.

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment before saying, “There are three trees: one osmanthus tree and two pine trees. The flowers and plants include iris, canna lily, wisteria... the flowering ones seem to be osmanthus and canna lily.”

Mo Yan nodded with a smile: "Almost, but you missed a few things: there's also Golden Dragon Grass, Tuberose, and two Green Tea Trees under the wall, but they're not being taken care of properly and are probably going to wither. There's also Green Amaranth Vine, but its flowers are small and it twines around the pine tree, so I guess you didn't see it."

With just a few words, everyone felt ashamed in their hearts. They never expected that she would take in the entire scenery in just a short while in the outer room.

"You have a good memory, young lady. I am ashamed," Zhan Zhao said, looking at her with a smile. Only then did he notice that although the young lady was not particularly beautiful, her eyes were as bright as black lacquer.

“Lord Zhan, you are mistaken. This is not about memory, but simply a matter of whether you pay attention. For example…” she smiled at him gently, “I also know that you just returned from the Eighth Prince’s residence and haven’t eaten yet. You’ve been thinking about this case the whole time, and you even went to look around the area where the crime occurred on your way back. Am I right?”