A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 16

"Lord Zhan, this is a matter between my fellow disciples. Please do not interfere!"

Before Xiao Chen could speak, Mo Yan interrupted Zhan Zhao and pushed Xiao Chen into the room.

The door slammed shut. Han Zhang shrugged, patted Zhan Zhao on the back, and laughed, "Doesn't that sound familiar?"

"..."

"You often say this yourself, don't you remember?" Han Zhang cleared his throat and, mimicking Zhan Zhao's serious demeanor, said, "This is a matter of the imperial court, please do not interfere!"

Zhan Zhao paused for a moment, smiled slightly, and turned to go into his room.

Chapter Eleven

Seeing that no one paid any attention to him, Han Zhang shrugged, touched his nose, and had no choice but to go back to his room, feeling bored.

Nothing happened that night. As dawn broke, Zhan Zhao got ready and stepped out of his room. He immediately saw Mo Yan outside Xiao Chen's room.

The latter was slightly taken aback when he saw him come out, seemingly not expecting him to get up so early.

"Get ready, let's set off early, we should arrive in Suzhou by noon." Zhan Zhao clearly saw that her eyes were slightly red, obviously she had just been crying. He didn't want to ask, so he pretended not to notice: "Hasn't your senior brother gotten up yet?"

"He's already gone," Mo Yan said softly.

"They've left?"

“I think he went to Kaifeng.” She glanced at him quickly and looked away. “You don’t need to ask me, I don’t know what he’s doing in Kaifeng.”

Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly. Judging from Xiao Chen's tone yesterday, this trip to the capital alone was bound to bring nothing good, and he wondered how much trouble he would cause Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Get ready to hit the road," he said calmly.

Where to?

"Gusu".

"...But my second brother..." Mo Yan felt uneasy thinking about Xiao Chen's blindness and his journey to the capital alone.

"Business is important," Zhan Zhao interrupted her briefly.

The other door was pushed open, and Han Zhang yawned, stretched, and slowly walked out. He saw Mo Yan glaring at Zhan Zhao and laughed, "Little Qi, why are you so angry so early in the morning?"

When Mo Yan saw him come out, her eyes lit up, and she jumped up and grabbed him, saying, "Second Brother Han, why don't you go with my senior brother to Kaifeng?"

Han Zhang was slightly taken aback, and when he came to his senses, he immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"Why not?" She hadn't expected the groundhog to be so disloyal.

Han Zhang didn't dare say that Xiao Chen was aloof and difficult to get along with, so he could only smile and say, "Your second brother is so capable, what? Are you afraid that he will be bullied by others?"

"Although he is skilled in martial arts, he is blind after all."

"Don't worry! He had already been walking alone for seven or eight days before I met him, and he was still perfectly fine." Han Zhang chuckled, racking his brains for an excuse. "Besides, with your senior brother's temper, if he knew you had someone follow him, he would be furious."

Second Brother was proud and arrogant and hated being looked down upon. Mo Yan thought about it and agreed, so she gave up. She glared at Zhan Zhao again before rushing back to her room to pack her things.

The three of them quickly ate breakfast, then mounted their horses and galloped away. Sure enough, before noon, they could see the city gates of Suzhou in the distance.

After entering the city, they first found an inn to put their luggage away. Mo Yan was busy visiting Bai Baozhen's textile factory with Zhan Zhao and had no time to spare, so she asked Han Zhang to inquire about her senior sister's whereabouts.

"Who else is in Bai Baozhen's family?"

On the way to the textile factory's residence, Mo Yan looked up and asked Zhan Zhao. At this time, she had changed into men's clothing for convenience, making her look younger, just like Zhan Zhao's companion.

"Lord Bai's first wife passed away three years ago. She had only one daughter, who is 16 years old. He also has three concubines, none of whom have given birth to children."

Which concubine did he favor the most?

"I am unaware of this."

"...Guess who he'll tell about the location of this ledger?"

"How can this be based on guesswork?" Zhan Zhao replied calmly.

"Then you just can't guess it," Mo Yan said with a grin.

Zhan Zhao ignored her, but stopped and stared at the distance ahead.

Mo Yan followed his gaze and saw that the textile factory's residence in front of her was covered in black cloth. Apart from a few servants dressed in mourning clothes at the gate, it was deserted and no one could be seen paying their respects.

She was about to step forward when Zhan Zhao stopped her...

"No rush, are you hungry? Have a bowl of wonton noodles here first." After saying that, he took the lead and walked towards the small noodle stall by the roadside.

"Noodles?!"

Mo Yan followed him, completely bewildered. Although she hadn't eaten since morning, this suggestion didn't seem like it came from Zhan Zhao at all.

The noodle stall was a small, rudimentary business by the roadside, yet it was surprisingly popular; all three tables were occupied. While Mo Yan was still carefully examining which table had fewer oil stains, Zhan Zhao had already casually sat down next to someone else.

"Two bowls of wonton noodles."

"Add more chopped green onions," Mo Yan quickly added before sitting down.

The noodle stall owner was an old man nearing sixty, but he was very quick and efficient. He wrapped wontons and cooked noodles with practiced and fast movements. In no time, two steaming bowls of wonton noodles were served on the table, with a fragrant aroma.

"Boss, may I ask, with such a grand display at the textile factory up ahead, has someone passed away?" Zhan Zhao asked, feigning indifference.

"Sir, are you from out of town?" the old man asked.