A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 54

The driver opened his mouth but couldn't speak, not knowing who this person in front of him was.

“It’s five qian of silver,” Mo Yan shook his head and sighed. “Five taels is enough for you to buy the horse and the cart.”

"What I mean is that I want to buy it." Saving face was paramount, Ning Jin said firmly.

Mo Yan thought for a moment and said, "That works too."

After a short while, Ning Jin and Bai Yingyu sat inside the carriage, while Mo Yan stood outside, holding a whip, and drove the carriage onto the official road to Yangzhou.

The carriage bumped along, and Bai Yingyu leaned against it, silent, letting her body rise and fall with the carriage, lost in her own thoughts. Ning Jin regretted mentioning buying a carriage; otherwise, Mo Yan wouldn't have had to drive herself through such hardship. Although this girl could sometimes be quite sharp-tongued, if she were in the carriage, at least there would be some laughter and conversation, unlike the dull atmosphere now.

Mo Yan happily stroked the whip. The horse she had bought was an old, thin one, and she couldn't bear to hit it, so she hummed a little tune to it, hoping it would run faster.

"Lotus blossoms open on the water, oh dear, a fragrant breeze fills the air, oh dear, a woman stands under the willow tree, her skirt creaking softly, a woman in a skirt, carrying flower shoes to sell, oh dear, if you want to buy shoes, please come into the embroidery room, oh dear, creaking softly, buying flower shoes, it's just a way to make a signboard, oh dear..."

This was originally a short duet, with Mo Yan's voice varying in pitch as she portrayed two different people, which made it quite interesting to listen to.

Author's note: I'm so excited to tell you all: My computer is finally fixed!

My advice: It's best not to buy an ultra-thin laptop. All the components are external, and you have to borrow a USB optical drive every time you need to assemble a computer, which is a real hassle.

Chapter Forty-Two

Ning Jin found the little tune amusing inside, so he climbed out of the car and sat in front of it with Mo Yan. Mo Yan stopped talking in surprise, and he quickly said casually, "It's too stuffy inside, so I came out for some fresh air."

Mo Yan shrugged and remained silent.

"You..." Ning Jin glanced at her furtively, trying to keep his voice calm, afraid that he might accidentally start arguing with her again. "The little tune you sang just now was quite interesting. Is it a tune from your hometown?"

"No, it's a folk song from my fifth brother's hometown. He sings it whenever he has free time, and I've learned it from listening to it."

"So where are you from?"

Mo Yan shook her head: "I don't know either. I don't remember anything before my master adopted me."

Ning Jin was taken aback: "How could you not remember?"

"I just can't remember, there's nothing I can do about it." She thought for a moment, then tilted her head and smiled. "When I was little, I asked my master where I came from. My master said that a crane laid an egg when it flew over his head and landed in his arms. When he peeled the eggshell, he saw me inside."

“That egg is quite big,” Ning Jin said with a smile.

Mo Yan chuckled: "I think so too. When we were little, Master would always play with us. He said that my second brother was a big red fruit growing on a tree on the mountaintop. He picked it and took a bite, only to find that my second brother was curled up inside sleeping."

Ning Jin laughed, and couldn't help but think of himself: "When I was a child, I wasn't as lucky as you. I had seventeen or eighteen teachers, and they took turns teaching me. If I couldn't recite the book, I would be punished by kneeling before the statue of the Master."

"You can't even recite a book?" Mo Yan asked curiously. "I thought you royal children were born with the ability to recite texts fluently."

“Aren’t we human?” Ning Jin’s head ached when he thought about it. “Once, they taught me thirty or forty pages of a book in one day and ordered me to memorize it all that day. Later, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I pretended to be sick. When I went back three days later, those old guys actually said they had to make up for all the lessons I had missed. They taught me most of the book in one go and told me to go back and memorize it properly. I was so exhausted that I almost vomited blood. I never dared to pretend to be sick again after that.”

"This is what they call trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead." Mo Yan laughed gleefully.

Seeing her laughing so happily, Ning Jin decided not to hold it against her. He laughed self-deprecatingly, thinking that it wasn't so bad to make a fool of himself occasionally and make her laugh.

“Oh, right,” Mo Yan suddenly remembered something, “Now that we’re disguised, we should change how we address each other. We can’t call you Your Highness anymore, and we can’t call you Miss Bai either.”

“That’s true.” Ning Jin nodded. Actually, this was common sense, but the three of them combined had very little experience in the martial world, so they only thought of this now.

“Then what should I be called?” he asked.

Mo Yan conveniently said, "Xiao Zhao, Xiao Ning, Xiao Jin... just pick one."

"That's too casual."

"Then let's have Xiao Zhao, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Jin."

"That sounds like a eunuch's name." Ning Jin frowned, racking his brains. "I need to come up with a more elegant name; it might come in handy sometime in the future... What's your name?"

"Just call me Xiao Qi."

"Xiao Qi?"

"Yes, I'm the seventh child in my family, that's what everyone calls me," Mo Yan said, shaking the reins casually.

Family members… Ning Jin was slightly taken aback, then looked at her again, feeling a strange sense of joy in his heart. At least this girl wasn't so distant with him anymore.

Mo Yan, oblivious to his expression, lifted the carriage curtain and said to Bai Yingyu inside, "Miss Bai, we should change our way of addressing you on the road. What would you like us to call you?"

"Change the way you address me?" Bai Yingyu thought for a moment, "Then you can call me Abi." Abi was originally her personal maid, who was killed by the Soul Chaser that night. She used this name because she also had feelings of remembrance for the deceased in her heart.

Ning Jin also had an idea: "I'll call myself Zi Jin."

"Green are your robes, long is my longing." Mo Yan knew the origin of the poem and shook her head. "No, it's too literary and doesn't suit your outfit."

"...Then what do you think this outfit should be called? -- Stop calling it Little Ningzi or Little Jinzi!"

"Um... how heavy did you weigh when you landed?" she asked abruptly.

"Six catties and four ounces."

"Forget about the four ounces of meat," Mo Yan decided, "Let's just call it six jin."

Ning Jin looked disgusted: "It's too thick and straight."

"That's exactly what I want—a bold and straightforward person. That way, no one would guess you're a prince." She patiently and tirelessly guided him.

Ning Jin thought to himself: That makes some sense... Oh well, it's only for a few days anyway, we won't need it again later. With that thought, he readily agreed: "Six jin it is."

The three exchanged greetings, and the carriage traveled for a while longer. Around midday, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.