A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 35

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao frowned slightly.

Mo Yan ignored it and looked at the account books for nearly three days. The more she looked, the angrier she became. She stood up and prepared to go back to her room to copy them.

Ning Wangshu knew her junior sister's temperament well, so she pulled her down to sit and said gently, "There's no rush. I'll help you copy it after we eat."

"Let's eat, let's eat..." Han Zhang hurriedly said, "If you don't mind my terrible handwriting, I can copy some of it."

Just as they were about to call the waiter to serve the food, they heard someone knocking on the door from outside: "Excuse me, is Second Master Han Zhang here?"

Han Zhang was slightly taken aback, then got up and opened the door: "Who are you?"

The man first bowed to Han Zhang, then noticed Ning Wangshu inside and said with a smile, "Miss, you've been hard to find."

"Manager Zou?"

The visitor was none other than Zou Manguan, the steward of the Nangong family. Ning Wangshu asked in surprise, "You've come to see me?"

Steward Zou bowed again, causing Ning Wangshu to quickly stand up and say, "You can say whatever you want, but you mustn't do this."

"I know I'm being presumptuous and shouldn't have bothered you, young lady." As she helped him up, Steward Zou said with a smile, "But I wonder if you have an appointment with my young master today?"

Ning Wangshu was taken aback: "There was no agreement."

"Then why does it seem like my young master is waiting for the young lady? He still won't eat dinner at this hour."

Mo Yan and Han Zhang both turned to look at her, and Ning Wangshu blushed immediately.

"As you know, young master usually eats around 5:45 PM because he is not in good health and is afraid of indigestion if he eats too late. It is rare for him to not have eaten until 7:00 PM today. Although young master is usually very good-natured, he is the most stubborn one who does not listen to advice."

"Why hasn't he eaten yet...?"

Ning Wangshu lowered her head and muttered to herself. Mo Yan, standing beside her, craned her neck but couldn't see her expression.

"Could I trouble you to come with me? I'm afraid he might listen to what you have to say."

"Alright, I'll go with you right away." Without further thought, Ning Wangshu immediately replied.

"Wait a minute..." Mo Yan suddenly remembered something and looked at Steward Zou with a smile, "Let me ask you, with such a large family business as the Nangong family, does your eldest young master manage it?"

“Of course I’ll take care of it,” Steward Zou replied vaguely, not understanding her intention.

"There are dozens of banks of all sizes here, and they reconcile accounts every year. How could a sickly young master like him possibly understand all that? I don't believe it!"

"Although my eldest young master is in poor health, he is exceptionally intelligent. Last month, my second young master went to Kaifeng, and he managed to settle the accounts of eight money shops in just one day. This is something that even an ordinary person could not do," Steward Zou said loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Yan tilted her head and smiled at Zhan Zhao: "What does Lord Zhan think?"

Although Zhan Zhao understood her meaning, he still hesitated.

“I’ve met that person. He’s very steady and reliable, not a gossip. Hehe! This girl has good taste!” Han Zhang patted Zhan Zhao on the shoulder. “Fifth Brother was right. The people in your yamen are suspicious all the time, and they don’t think anyone is a good person.”

Hearing this, Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment and looked at Ning Wangshu: "Miss Ning, this matter concerns the life and death of your junior brother. You may wish to consider whether this person is trustworthy."

Ning Wangshu said calmly, "I can entrust my life and death to him. Lord Zhan can rest assured."

Seeing that her senior sister seemed slightly annoyed, Mo Yan secretly rolled her eyes at Zhan Zhao, took a coarse cloth, wrapped the account book, threw it over her shoulder, and said coldly, "Lord Zhan, can we leave now?"

"Thank you for your introduction, Miss Ning." Zhan Zhao nodded slightly.

The author has something to say: Some content overlaps with "The Moon", but there's nothing I can do about it; it's part of the plot that had to be explained.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Upon arriving at the Nangong family residence, Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan waited only a short while in the side hall before Steward Zou led them to the inner flower hall. Inside, a table of food and wine had been prepared, and the eldest son of the Nangong family, Nangong Ruoxu, was sitting there waiting for them.

"I am Zhan Zhao from Kaifeng Prefecture. I apologize for disturbing you, Young Master Nangong."

Seeing that Nangong Ruoxu was having some difficulty moving, Zhan Zhao was somewhat surprised, but he did not show it and still bowed.

"The Southern Hero is renowned throughout the land; it is truly an honor to meet him today," Nangong Ruoxu returned the greeting with a faint smile.

Seeing that Nangong Ruoxu looked much better than he had on the ship that day, Mo Yan didn't bother with the formalities and said with a grin, "Brother-in-law! If you're thinking of my senior sister, go find her. Why are you starving yourself? If you starve yourself, my senior sister will be heartbroken!"

Although she knew that her junior sister was always outspoken, Ning Wangshu was still very embarrassed and stopped her, saying, "Little Seven, what are you calling me... what brother-in-law? That's not a proper way to address someone!"

"What, you don't like it when I call him brother-in-law?" Mo Yan was secretly delighted to see that both of them had blushed slightly. She hid behind Nangong Ruoxu at the other end of the table, patted his shoulder, and laughed, "Or... you don't like it?"

"Please sit down, Miss Mo." Nangong Ruoxu was slightly embarrassed, so he said, "I heard that you two are having trouble with the account books. Why don't you let me take a look?"

Mo Yan did as instructed, untied the bundle, and took out the account book, but Ning Wangshu stopped her.

"What's the rush? Let's eat first and then we can look at it." She frowned and said, "Everyone's hungry too."

Mo Yan tilted her head and smiled, "Sister, are you worried about me, or about him?"

Ning Wangshu casually tapped her on the head and pressed her down to the table: "Eat up, you still can't shut your mouth."

Everyone took their seats, bowls and chopsticks scattered about. They chatted briefly about the local customs and culture of Kaifeng, a very polite and superficial conversation. Zhan Zhao, being reserved and steady by nature, was not one for idle chatter; Mo Yan buried her head in her rice, already filling a second bowl before the others had even finished theirs, barely touching any of the other dishes.

Ning Wangshu served her junior sister food several times, then couldn't help but chuckle and exclaim, "How come you're eating even more than you do at home?"

"There's nothing I can do," Mo Yan said helplessly, looking up. "Being a constable is hard work, I only just found out. By the way... brother-in-law, when are you planning to propose?"

Nangong Ruoxu was drinking fish soup when he heard this and paused, unsure how to respond. Ning Wangshu also remained silent, only staring at the food in her bowl.

Seeing the two's awkward situation, Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly as usual.

“I’ve thought about proposing marriage, but I’m afraid it would be a burden to her…” Nangong Ruoxu said slowly after a long while.