A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 41
"Perhaps things will turn around."
He took the steaming hot noodle soup and gently blew on it.
"What turning point?" Her eyes lit up, and she forgot all about eating. "You mean maybe he'll help my senior brother?"
Mo Yan's mind was solely focused on her senior brother's case, completely ignoring other matters such as cleaning up the officialdom and understanding the common people. Zhan Zhao naturally knew this, but could only sigh inwardly, hoping that she would gradually understand in the future.
“I don’t know,” he said calmly, “but I think at least he won’t get in our way anymore.”
"It's enough that he doesn't get in the way; otherwise, given his status, he would be a real problem."
Mo Yan wasn't disappointed and contentedly ate her second bowl of noodles.
After finishing their noodle soup and paying the bill, the two headed towards the Bai residence.
Just as they arrived at the entrance of the Bai residence, Mo Yan suddenly remembered something and pulled Zhan Zhao back, saying, "Wait a moment."
"how……"
Before Zhan Zhao could finish speaking, he saw her stand on tiptoe, tilt her head, and reach her hand towards his head. He instinctively wanted to dodge...
"Don't move, don't move, I need to pick the pine needles out of your hair." She placed one hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving, while the other hand was rummaging through his hair.
Zhan Zhao stood still helplessly, his head slightly lowered.
"Lower your head a little more."
He had no choice but to lower it further.
Although he knew this was inappropriate, especially since it was at the entrance of the Bai residence, he couldn't bear to refuse Mo Yan's good intentions, knowing that she was upright and honest.
"It's just picking a few pine needles," Zhan Zhao comforted himself, then realized: she probably only knew he had been to Hanshan Temple because she saw the pine needles.
"Alright! Look..."
She held out her hand for him to see, with five or six dark green pine needles lying quietly in her palm. She shook her head and sighed, "Even someone as clean as you didn't notice. You must be exhausted. I thought you had secretly gone to sleep."
Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and raised his hand to knock on the door.
After last night, Bai Yingyu clearly did not want her family to know, so she directly invited the two of them to the small building.
After serving tea and dismissing the maids, she sat down opposite them.
The three faced each other, their gazes darting around, but all remained silent.
Since entering the Bai residence, Zhan Zhao has adopted a cold and aloof demeanor. Bai Yingyu remained silent, and he sat quietly with an expressionless face, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
Seeing that Zhan Zhao wasn't in a hurry, Mo Yan just leisurely drank her tea. Since she had been waiting since last night, she didn't mind waiting a little longer.
The beaded curtains were not in motion, and it seemed as if even the wind inside was frozen.
After a long silence, Bai Yingyu said softly, "My father did give me some instructions before he left."
She paused, and seeing Zhan Zhao holding a teacup, she remained silent.
“My father said that if the Kaifeng Prefecture imprisoned him, he would send me to find Lord Zhang, the Minister of the Three Departments in the capital, and that even if I ended up with my property confiscated and being exiled, Lord Zhang would do his best to protect me.” Thinking of her father’s words, she couldn’t help but feel sorrow.
Upon hearing this, Mo Yan couldn't help but sneer: "Your father really trusts him."
"So, does Lord Zhang have some kind of leverage over your father?" Zhan Zhao asked.
"Probably." Bai Yingyu frowned. "My father once gave me a package and told me to hide it carefully."
As expected! Mo Yan was overjoyed.
Zhan Zhao, however, remained indifferent and asked calmly, "May I ask what this is?"
"They look like a few account books, but unfortunately I can't understand them," Bai Yingyu said truthfully.
At this moment, Zhan Zhao put down his teacup and said in a deep voice, "May I take a look?"
At this point, Bai Yingyu looked troubled.
"Miss, do you perhaps not trust me?"
“No,” she said hesitantly, “it’s not that I don’t trust Lord Zhan, it’s just… it’s just…”
"Just what exactly is it?"
Seeing that she hesitated for a long time without saying anything further, Mo Yan was so anxious that she almost jumped up.
“But…” Bai Yingyu hesitated for a long time after looking at their expressions before saying, “But I threw it away.”
Mo Yan could no longer bear it. She jumped up and pointed at her, saying, "You, you..." Before she could finish speaking, Zhan Zhao pressed her back into her chair.
"Why did you throw it away, Miss?" Zhan Zhao asked.
Bai Yingyu bit her lip lightly and said softly, "That day you said you were coming to look for something, and I was afraid you would find out, so..."
"Where should I throw it?" Mo Yan squeezed out the question through gritted teeth.
Miss Bai gently pointed her delicate hand out the window...
"You threw it into the pool!"
Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan exclaimed in unison, both feeling a pang of disappointment. If it were anywhere else, it wouldn't be so bad, but it was thrown into the water. The account books were probably already ruined; even if they were retrieved, they would be useless.
A gentle breeze blows, the fragrance of lotus blossoms fills the air, the water glistens, and fish frolic among the water—what a beautiful autumn lotus pond scene! Mo Yan lies on the windowsill, on the verge of tears.