A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 39
After hearing his words, Bai Yingyu lowered her head in thought: Zhan Zhao's analysis was reasonable and logical, leaving her no choice but to believe it, but she still remembered Bai Baozhen's instructions to her before he left...
After a long while, she looked up and said, "What Lord Zhan said makes sense, but it is ultimately one-sided. Please forgive my dullness, I cannot make a decision for the time being."
"Indeed quite dull."
Mo Yan nodded in agreement, but when Zhan Zhao gave her a disapproving look, she had no choice but to shut her mouth.
"I understand, Miss. I hope you will consider this carefully," Zhan Zhao said calmly. "I will come again tomorrow afternoon."
"There's no need for all that trouble tomorrow afternoon," Mo Yan interjected, clearly feeling that he was giving her too much time. "I can sit here and wait until Miss Bai has figured it out."
Zhan Zhao ignored her.
Bai Yingyu initially thought it was too short, but after looking at Mo Yan, she could only nod in agreement.
"I'll take my leave."
Zhan Zhao gestured to Mo Yan, who had no choice but to follow him downstairs.
"My acupoints!" Bai Yingyu shouted from behind them.
"I applied it lightly, it will be fine in half an hour." Mo Yan didn't even bother to turn her head.
As soon as they left the Bai residence, Mo Yan stopped and said with dissatisfaction, "Why wait until tomorrow afternoon? Since she's already found out, why not just turn the place upside down and find the thing?"
"Wouldn't it be better if she were willing to give us the things?" Zhan Zhao turned to look at her, then asked softly, "Does your face still hurt?"
Mo Yan was startled by his gaze, and the side of her face that had been hit suddenly felt like it was on fire.
"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked again.
She shook her head.
"That's good."
Zhan Zhao smiled, and her other cheek inexplicably began to burn.
"Don't go back tonight, just keep an eye on the Bai residence." He continued, "We need to be wary of Miss Bai. If she doesn't understand something and tries to move her things or run away from home, we'll know."
"……oh."
The author has something to say: I recommend two songs I've been listening to a lot lately. One is Qi Qin's old song "Until the End of the World," which is still so powerful even after all this time. The other is Zhang Jie's "Journey." I'm not a fan, but I really like this song; the melody and lyrics are both great.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
She paused for a moment, then turned and walked away. After a few steps, she turned back and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I have another place to go."
Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, bid her farewell, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the night.
Mo Yan was still standing there in a daze. After a long while, she realized that Zhan Zhao's words were as good as nothing. She glared angrily at the direction in which he disappeared into the darkness, and then shook her head, trying to shake off the image of Zhan Zhao's smiling face from her mind.
Zhan Zhao left the Bai residence and traveled swiftly towards Hanshan Temple.
Jiangnan's corruption involved far-reaching consequences, something Lord Bao had foreseen beforehand. Zhan Zhao knew that the biggest obstacle at present was not the account books, but Ning Jin, who had come on behalf of the Emperor.
There is no doubt that the Emperor wanted to cover up the matter to save face. But if the Emperor's personal interests were to prevent a thorough investigation of the corruption case in Jiangnan, not only would Lord Bao's previous efforts be wasted, but how could he face the people of the world?
The fact that a small textile manufacturing bureau could embezzle so much silver was astonishing, something Zhan Zhao had not anticipated. He subconsciously gripped the giant sword in his hand. No matter what, he had to take a gamble: although he hadn't spent much time with Ning Jin, he knew that Ning Jin was a man of principle. Now he only hoped that Ning Jin would think of the common people and stop trying to protect him.
"Zhan Zhao requests an audience with Prince Ning."
Although it was past midnight, Zhan Zhao respectfully knocked on the mountain gate and asked the young novice monk to announce his arrival.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wu Zichu came out to welcome him inside.
In the side room, Ning Jin, wearing an outer robe, leaned lazily against the couch, looking sleepily at Zhan Zhao, who was clear-headed and bright-eyed, and thought helplessly: A cat is a cat, it doesn't need to sleep at night.
"Zhan Zhao has been presumptuous in disturbing Your Highness's rest."
"What time is it now?" Ning Jin asked Wu Zichu, tilting his head.
Wu Zichu slumped his shoulders: "It's just past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)."
"It's the perfect time to sleep," Ning Jin thought, scratching his head in annoyance. He glanced at Zhan Zhao and said, "You really know how to pick your time. What could possibly have to wake me up in the middle of the night?"
Zhan Zhao untied the bundle from his back, placed it on the table, and spread it out. Inside, a thick account book lay quietly.
"These are the account books that Zhan took from the Bai residence."
Ning Jin glanced at it casually, showing no surprise whatsoever: "Is it fake?"
Zhan Zhao nodded.
Ning Jin and Wu Zichu exchanged glances: "I knew it all along. If it were true, why would you have brought it here?"
Zhan Zhao remained unmoved: "A fake account is not necessarily worthless. I have learned a great deal from this fake account tonight."
"oh?"
"Zhan consulted local merchants and found that the amount of silver falsely reported in this ledger exceeded one million."
Ning Jin remained silent upon hearing this, tapping his fingers lightly on the table a few times before smiling faintly and saying, "Bai Baozhen has quite an appetite."
"Adding the annual tributes from merchants, and the layers of exploitation, a single textile bureau would embezzle nearly five million taels a year," Zhan Zhao said, staring intently at him as he continued slowly.
"..."