A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 17

"To be honest, we only arrived in Suzhou today."

“No wonder…” the old man lowered his voice and leaned forward, “We heard that the Imperial Textile Commissioner was murdered in the capital, but we don’t know if it’s true or not.”

“It’s true!” A man eating noodles nearby leaned over. “I delivered salt to the Imperial Textile Bureau yesterday, and I heard from the people there that the Imperial Textile Bureau was killed by a petty thief who broke into the house.”

Mo Yan paused in eating her noodles, then quickly glanced at the person.

"Is this true? That's something I never expected," Zhan Zhao sighed in agreement.

“Who says otherwise!” the man sighed. “It’s truly a case of the monkeys scattering when the tree falls. Plus, Miss Bai’s engagement has been broken off. Don’t be fooled by the facade that’s still up in the open; there’s practically nothing left inside. Those concubines are making excuses all the time, and there’s not even one person to come to the capital to help with the coffin.”

"Miss Bai was jilted?" Mo Yan asked in surprise. "What family would dare to break off an engagement with the prestigious Suzhou Textile Bureau?"

"Phew! With Lord Bai dead, who will still acknowledge him as the textile commissioner?" The man scoffed. "The Sima family of Luoyang isn't stupid. They had barely heard the news of Lord Bai's death when they sent someone to annul the engagement. Poor Miss Bai, she prepared her dowry for more than half a year, and now who knows how much she's crying in secret."

"What's there to cry about?" Mo Yan tapped her chopsticks and asked curiously, "If you ask me, she should be overjoyed. This behavior shows that the Sima family in Luoyang are snobbish and petty people. Marrying into such a family would be difficult. It's better not to marry into such a family."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao smiled slightly at her but said nothing.

“This young man makes it sound so easy. If you knew how much wealth the Sima family of Luoyang had, you wouldn’t say that.” The man smacked his lips, took a big gulp of noodle soup, and said in a mysterious tone, “I heard that they even have luminous pearls inlaid in their chamber pots.”

This caused not only Mo Yan to giggle, but Zhan Zhao also couldn't help but laugh.

"Indeed, the object reflects the person!" she laughed.

"How so?"

Mo Yan smiled mischievously: "A chamber pot is a chamber pot. Even if it's studded with luminous pearls, it's still a chamber pot. Can it be turned into a decorative pot?"

Upon realizing the implication of the words, everyone burst into laughter.

The man nodded repeatedly and laughed, "Young man, you're absolutely right! It seems there's nothing special about it."

"Judging from this brother's tone just now, it seems that the Imperial Textile Bureau doesn't even have a head steward anymore," Zhan Zhao said casually after laughing.

"That's not it! It's just that there are too many people who want to be in charge, which has made things a mess. Think about it, those three concubines, which one of them is easy to deal with? Which one of them doesn't have their eyes on the Bai family's wealth? If it weren't for saving face, it wouldn't be surprising if one of them were killed." The man clicked his tongue and shook his head. "So none of them are willing to go to the capital to escort the coffin. If they leave at this time, they're afraid they won't even get a scrap of dust when they come back."

"Where is Miss Bai? Isn't she going to help with the coffin?"

"Who can count on her! She's a sickly beauty, she'd be blown away by the wind. I heard that after the Sima family broke off the engagement, this young lady never left the small building again."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan and Zhan Zhao exchanged a glance, both secretly wondering: Who exactly would Bai Baozhen tell about the location of the account books? None of the Bai family members seemed to be people who could be entrusted with this important task.

Chapter Twelve

After finishing their meal and paying with some loose change, the two headed towards the textile factory's residence.

Upon hearing that they came from the Kaifeng government office, the servants hurriedly went inside to announce their arrival, and soon brought them to the main hall. Several concubines also came out to greet them. Mo Yan glanced at them, inwardly sighing; these women, some slender, some plump, each possessed a unique charm, and Bai Baozhen was truly fortunate to have them. Although they were dressed simply, their clothes were made of the finest white silk, and their hairpins, though simple, were adorned with perfectly round and evenly shaped pearls, clearly of considerable value.

"Lord Zhan, you must be tired from your journey!"

Zhan Zhao was politely invited to take the seat of honor, while Mo Yan sat down to his left. After a few polite words and pleasantries, tea and pastries were served, and only then did the second concubine cautiously inquire about their purpose.

"To be honest, there are still some doubts about Lord Bai's cause of death, which is why Lord Bao sent me here."

"There are still doubts?" Third Concubine Su Pa covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise.

"So my master... died unjustly!" another concubine said sorrowfully.

Seeing that the concubines were on the verge of tears, Mo Yan quickly asked, "Does Lord Bai have any enemies?"

“Enemies? My master never mentioned having any enemies when he was alive.”

"...Do any of you ladies know who are close associates of Lord Bai?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"I don't know." The three hairpins, each with a different shape, shook themselves blankly.

It seems these concubines only care about food, clothing, daily necessities, and vying for favor; they don't care about anything else. Mo Yan secretly rolled her eyes.

Zhan Zhao felt helpless and said, "Even so, we would like to visit Lord Bai's study."

Upon hearing this, the concubines hesitated, exchanging glances with each other in a rare manner, as if something was amiss.

“We must examine Lord Bai’s correspondence; perhaps we can find a clue there.” Seeing that they had not responded for a long time, Zhan Zhao added calmly, “I believe the ladies also hope to find out the truth as soon as possible.”

"Lord Zhan, of course we..."

The second concubine was about to explain, but Zhan Zhao's action of getting up interrupted her. He clearly didn't want to hear any more of their words and gently gestured: "Please lead the way."

Although Mo Yan had never quite liked Zhan Zhao, to be fair, she had rarely seen him put on airs. Even when he was reprimanding her, his tone wasn't like this. Now, seeing him coldly and succinctly command these people to obediently lead the way, she couldn't help but feel a strange sensation in her heart. It wasn't disgust, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

The Bai family's study was built next to a lotus pond, which was quite large. At this time, the lotus flowers had already withered, and only the lotus leaves were slightly damaged. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow by, and a refreshing fragrance would waft over, making people feel refreshed.

Mo Yan had no interest in the scenery; her gaze fell on several figures by the lotus pond… A young girl in plain linen clothes stood by the railing, staring at them expressionlessly, with two maids behind her.

As the group approached, the young woman's gaze swept over them one by one, finally landing on the concubines, and she said coldly, "Wasn't it enough that you turned the place upside down the other day? What are you doing here now?"

Upon hearing this, the concubines' faces immediately turned sour.

“Miss Yingyu, although the master doted on you when he was alive, we are still your elders. We don’t need your permission to enter or leave the master’s study. Besides, this is Lord Zhan, a fourth-rank imperial guard from the capital. You must not be presumptuous in front of him.” The third concubine clearly did not take Miss Bai seriously, and her tone was quite harsh.

"Lord Zhan?" Bai Yingyu's gaze shifted to him. She had heard of Zhan Zhao before and knew that he worked for the Kaifeng government.

Zhan Zhao bowed slightly: "I apologize for my presumption, but I am on official business. Please forgive me, Miss."

"What official business is this? Is it related to my father's murder?"

Zhan Zhao nodded.