A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 9

"Then how do you know he hid the wine jar under the bed?"

She chuckled and said, "I don't know, I'm just guessing. My master always hides wine jars under his bed."

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but sigh; she was quite lucky.

"By the way, Lord Zhan, can you release my senior brother now?" she asked happily, thinking that since this matter was related to Zhang Yaozuo, it had nothing to do with her senior brother.

He shook his head but remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, Mo Yan said urgently, "This matter is already very clear! There are two murderers, it can't be my senior brother..."

"Miss Mo!" Zhan Zhao called out to her, "This is a bustling marketplace!"

She asked curiously, "So what?"

He looked at her and said seriously, "Now that you are a member of the public service, you should understand the importance of this case. This case concerns officials of the imperial court, so do not discuss the case in public."

"Hmph..." Although Mo Yan knew there was some truth to what he said, she disliked the cat's lecturing manner and deliberately said, "No wonder people say that you officials always look down on people. Aren't all the people on the street citizens of the Great Song Dynasty? The people of the world should manage the affairs of the world. If the government and the court are honest and upright, what is there to complain about!"

Zhan Zhao was slightly annoyed by her unreasonable arguments, but he did not want to argue with her. He simply said, "Let's go to the morgue in the manor now."

Upon hearing the words "morgue," her legs went weak. She stole a glance at him, saw his cold expression, and had no choice but to follow him silently.

Chapter Six

It was now nearing the capital, and the streets were bustling with activity. Some shops that hadn't opened in the morning were now open, and there were many more people coming and going than when they arrived... Mo Yan had no heart to look around anymore. She only felt that the closer they got to Kaifeng Prefecture, the faster her heart pounded. After she and Zhan Zhao entered the west gate of Kaifeng Prefecture, her heart was pounding so hard that she couldn't control it.

The morgue was very close to the prison cells, in a separate courtyard. Zhan Zhao pushed open the courtyard gate and called out "Uncle Zhou" a few times, but there was no response. He figured the coroner had gone out on business, so he went straight inside.

Mo Yan hesitated for a long time at the courtyard gate before slowly stepping into the small courtyard. Zhan Zhao had already pushed open the door of the main house in the courtyard, and she could vaguely see several long tables inside. A stench hit her, and she stumbled and almost fell.

"Miss Mo, please come in." Zhan Zhao turned around and said, only then noticing that Mo Yan's face was as pale as paper, a stark contrast to her previous spirited demeanor. He couldn't help but ask, "Is there something troubling you, Miss?"

Mo Yan forced a smile and shook her head reluctantly, but didn't go in. Standing a foot away from the door, she hesitated and asked, "Are those two... inside?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, noticing her face turning pale and her gaze drifting.

"Are you... alright?" He still felt it was better to ask.

"Huh?" Her reaction seemed to be much slower, and after a long while, she suddenly looked up and said, "I'm fine! Is there anything wrong?"

"Then come in."

Since she said that, Zhan Zhao didn't say anything more and took the lead into the house.

The bodies of Bai Baozhen and the officials were placed at the west end of the house, covered with two pieces of white cloth. Although it was no longer the height of summer, the bodies, having been there for two days, had begun to emit a faint stench. Zhan Zhao, by nature a clean freak, though his sense of smell was not as keen as Mo Yan's, still felt his chest churn and he felt nauseous at the stench. But he merely frowned slightly and forced himself to endure it.

Mo Yan finally entered the room. Her gaze had barely touched the two white cloth figures of human figures when she hurriedly looked away. Her steps felt as heavy as a thousand pounds as she moved over with great difficulty.

Then, Zhan Zhao slowly unveiled a white cloth, revealing Bai Baozhen's corpse, with dark blue lividity on his pale skin...

A swollen and deformed face.

A lifeless body.

Bending, stiff fingers.

With a loud bang, Zhan Zhao turned around and saw that Mo Yan had disappeared. The door was shaking violently from the impact.

He had no choice but to cover it with a white cloth, sigh softly, and walk out of the house.

When he found Mo Yan, she had already run to the vicinity of the kitchen, having practically run through the entire Kaifeng Prefecture, and was sitting under a tree, lost in thought.

"Miss Mo! Are you alright?" Zhan Zhao asked with concern, seeing that she seemed quite frightened. Mo Yan slowly looked up at him, her gaze blank, but she didn't say anything.

Having handled cases for a long time, Zhan Zhao had seen some women who were afraid of seeing corpses, but they would only scream and cover their faces and run away, or in severe cases they would cry. But the fear she showed was so intense that it was incomprehensible.

Just then, the cook, Ma Da Sao, came out and saw the two of them. She smiled and said, "Master Zhan, what brings you here? Are you hungry? How about I make you some snacks to try?"

This Mrs. Ma was only twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Her maiden name was Fu, and her given name was Wei. Because of her excellent cooking skills, she was highly regarded by Madam Bao and had always followed Bao Zheng. Three years ago, through Madam Bao's matchmaking, she married Ma Han.

Lord Zhan addressed Ma Han as brothers, so he dared not treat her lightly and quickly bowed, saying, "Sister-in-law!"

Seeing Mo Yan sitting on the ground, blankly staring without any reaction, Aunt Ma asked curiously, "What's wrong with this little girl? Has someone bullied her? She looks so pitiful..."

"She... just went to the morgue." He quickly explained, as if she implied that he had bullied Mo Yan.

"The morgue!" Ma Da Sao squatted down and touched Mo Yan's face, scolding Zhan Zhao, "You have to be considerate when you're handling cases! How could you take a young lady to the morgue? No wonder she's so scared!"

Zhan Zhao gave an awkward smile, but didn't know what to say.

"Come in with me and have some hot soup to calm your nerves!" Aunt Ma pulled Mo Yan into the kitchen, and the latter obediently followed her.

"Lord Zhan, please come in too!" She turned and called out to Zhan Zhao, who was still standing there, and went in on her own without waiting for his reply.

Zhan Zhao had no choice but to obey and enter.

Mrs. Ma led them into the small kitchen next door and had them sit at a small table.

A pot of soup was simmering on a small stove in the kitchen, its rich aroma filling the air around them. The aroma seemed to make Mo Yan's eyes sparkle.

"Angelica and beef soup!" she said, smelling the aroma. "And it also has Gynostemma pentaphyllum."

"Girl, you have such a keen nose!" Sister-in-law Ma found a bowl, ladled a bowl of soup for each of them, and said with a smile, "Try it quickly, I simmered it for more than two hours, see if it's flavorful enough?"

Zhan Zhao blew on the steam, took a small sip, and savored the aroma of meat mixed with the flavor of angelica root. He smiled politely and said, "It's delicious. Thank you, sister-in-law."

Looking at Mo Yan, because the soup was still hot, she could only hold the bowl and drink it slowly, taking small sips, but she showed no intention of letting go.