A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 11

“He arrested my senior brother based solely on a letter from an unknown source. Isn’t that reckless?” She glared at Zhan Zhao with annoyance. “If it weren’t for him, my senior brother wouldn’t have ended up in prison, let alone in danger of losing his life.”

Although the girl was intelligent, she knew nothing about the affairs of the imperial court, Bao Zheng sighed inwardly. Since Li Xu was framed by someone and the evidence was conclusive, if he was not arrested, he would soon be accused of incompetence or bending the law for personal gain.

“Miss Mo, you should accompany Guard Zhan on his trip to Jiangnan! Follow his orders.” Bao Zheng said in a deep voice.

"I'll do whatever he says!" she said reluctantly.

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "Guard Zhan is a fourth-rank official, so you should listen to him."

Seeing that Bao Zheng still made the same arrangement, Zhan Zhao said no more, bowed and said, "Your subordinate obeys the order and will set off early tomorrow morning."

Mo Yan remained silent, clearly unwilling but helpless.

Chapter Seven

Hearing that Zhan Zhao was going out again, Wang Chao and Ma Han were not surprised, as they themselves spent half the year traveling. However, when they heard that Mo Yan was going to accompany him, both of them couldn't help but show surprise.

Ma Han was pragmatic. He went back inside to look at the old almanac, then came out and patted Zhan Zhao on the shoulder, saying, "If you're going to leave, leave tonight. Tomorrow the Black Bird returns, which clashes with the Horse and is unfavorable to the East, so it's not a good time to travel."

Zhan Zhao smiled and asked, "Then what's auspicious for tomorrow?"

"Suitable for marriage and opening of granaries."

Before Zhan Zhao could speak, Wang Chao punched Ma Han hard and said with dissatisfaction, "If you don't let him travel, do you expect him to get married?"

"That's what it says in the almanac, what can I do?"

"If everyone were as honest as you and followed the old ways every day, we wouldn't have to do anything all day."

"Brother Ma meant well," Zhan Zhao said with a smile.

“Brother Zhan, don’t speak up for him. Last year, he tried to scare me with a copy of the ‘Jade Box Records.’ He said that from the first to the ninth day of the lunar month, it was the day when the Nine Emperors of the Big Dipper descended to earth, and people should fast. He forced me to be vegetarian, saying that this day was better than other days and had immeasurable merit. On the eighth day, I was so hungry that my legs were shaking. He still insisted on dragging me to release animals, saying that this day was the day of Nirvana, and releasing one animal would have ten million more merits than other days. In the end, I fell into the river in the dead of winter and got sick as soon as I got back.”

Ma Han said dejectedly, "How can you blame me! Even if there are some discrepancies in the 'Jade Box Records,' the old almanac should still be correct, right?"

As the three were talking, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu came in. Seeing Zhan Zhao there, Zhang Long asked with a smile, "Brother Zhan, are you going to travel with that Miss Mo tomorrow?"

Zhan Zhao nodded.

“I just saw her at the prison gate,” Zhao Hu laughed. “She’s the first female constable in Kaifeng Prefecture. Your idea is quite clever, sir.”

"At the prison gate?" Zhan Zhao asked, frowning. Mo Yan's personality was eccentric, so he wouldn't be too surprised if she was planning to break out of the prison.

"Yes, she was calling the guards brothers and talking very warmly. I overheard from a distance that she seemed to be begging them to take good care of her senior brother and was even giving them money to bribe them, saying she just wanted them to add some dishes for Li Xu."

"That's how it is." Zhan Zhao was relieved.

Wang Chao smiled and sighed, "I didn't realize that girl was so cunning and eccentric, but she's quite nice to her senior brother."

“If it weren’t for her senior brother, how could she have entered the public service?” Zhan Zhao smiled slightly. “It’s clear that she is a person of loyalty and righteousness.” He knew that although she had no ill intentions, her words and actions still carried the habits of the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), and she had no taboos. He was only worried that she would offend everyone in Kaifeng Prefecture and it would be difficult for her to stay in the prefecture. Wouldn’t that be a waste of Lord Bao’s good intentions?

Upon hearing this, everyone thought about it carefully and nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Mo Yan was in the stable giving the groom many instructions, asking him to take good care of her chestnut horse with an injured leg, completely unaware that she owed Zhan Zhao a favor.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, the two set off from Kaifeng, speeding along the official road leading from Kaifeng to Jiangning. At noon, they only bought a few steamed buns and dumplings in a small town to fill their stomachs before continuing their journey. In the evening, they missed their lodging due to their haste, and after traveling for half a day under the cover of darkness, they finally found a place to spend the night.

Mo Yan gathered some branches, started a fire, took out a steamed bun from her bundle, roasted it by the fire, and happily began to eat it.

"Lord Zhan, at this rate, how many days will it take to reach Suzhou?" she asked, gnawing on her food as she looked up.

"It should arrive in about four or five days."

Zhan Zhao was also eating steamed buns. These buns were bought at noon and were already cold and hard, so they couldn't taste anything. Fortunately, he was used to it because he was away from home all year round.

Seeing him eating a steamed bun just like her, Mo Yan tilted her head and laughed, "To be honest, I didn't expect that a fourth-rank official like you would be willing to eat cold steamed buns in this desolate place. Aren't all officials supposed to be served with luxurious beds, soft pillows, fine clothes, and sumptuous food?"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, and instead of answering, asked, "Is that why you look down on officials?"

“Of course not!” She shook her head. “If they truly cared about the people, it would be understandable if they lived a better life. Unfortunately, most of them only think about how to exploit the people and don’t care about their lives.” She forcefully broke off a large piece of steamed bun and stuffed it into her mouth.

“Young lady, your words are biased. Corrupt officials may exist, but they cannot stop this land of justice.” Zhan Zhao’s tone was gentle, the firelight reflecting on his face as a soft, warm orange-red. “I hope that in the future, there will be fewer and fewer of them…”

Mo Yan continued breaking open the steamed bun, unconvinced, thinking to herself: This person has been in the public service for many years and has experienced a lot, how can he still be so naive.

Her expression was undisguised, and Zhan Zhao naturally knew what she was thinking. But how could she understand now? Perhaps she would gradually come to her senses in the future.

The two were speechless for a moment. Mo Yan finished the steamed bun in a few bites, spread the cloak on the ground, and lay down fully clothed.

Zhan Zhao added some more firewood to the fire before leaning against a tree and closing his eyes to rest.

All was quiet except for the occasional crackling of the fire and the chirping of cicadas. Although it was early autumn, the chill of the night was not to be underestimated; it crept in from the soles of my feet, seeping into my body like silk threads.

After an unknown amount of time, Mo Yan shrugged and whispered, "Lord Zhan, Lord Zhan... are you asleep?"

"……No……"

Zhan Zhao had just drifted off to sleep when he heard her calling him, so he had no choice but to open his eyes again.

Did you hear the cicadas chirping?

"I heard you."

Her voice was soft and low, as if she were a thief in someone else's house: "Have you ever heard that cicadas are actually the transformed souls of wronged people, and their chirping is a cry for justice?"

"No."

After she said that, he also vaguely felt that the cicada's chirping had a somewhat sinister quality.