A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 55

"The fine rain wets clothes unseen, the fallen flowers land unheard." Ning Jin recited softly, watching the light rain disappear on his clothes. He was clearly in high spirits and showed no intention of seeking shelter from the rain.

"I really should find him a set of scholar's clothes," Mo Yan thought to herself, then interrupted him: "Your poetic inspiration is waning. Go inside and take shelter from the rain first. If you catch a cold later, I won't be able to explain it to your nanny, Wu. ... Oh, and hand me the straw hat and raincoat from the back of the carriage."

Ning Jin didn't go in, but pointed to a teahouse not far away and said, "We've been traveling for half a day, let's go and rest for a bit, and take shelter from the rain."

The carriage stopped beside the teahouse. Mo Yan glanced at it indifferently. There were two burly men resting inside the teahouse. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be members of the Salt Gang. They should be fine.

"Abi, come down and have something to eat."

Mo Yan called Bai Yingyu to get out of the carriage, ordered tea, and took out some dry rations from her bundle. The three of them ate their rations with the tea. Outside the teahouse, however, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, pounding against the roof of the teahouse.

After the two burly men finished their tea, seeing that they couldn't leave anytime soon, they simply sat down and chatted. During their conversation, they even started talking about the Bai family in Suzhou.

No wonder they say good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast, Mo Yan thought to herself as she chewed on her steamed bun, glancing sympathetically at Bai Yingyu. The latter lowered her head and quietly sipped her tea, her face expressionless.

"The Sima family broke off the engagement with great fanfare, even returning the betrothal gifts. It's clear they look down on the Bai family. Tell me, how can a woman who's been rejected by the Sima family find a husband?" the tall, thin man laughed. "Who would dare marry her? That would be blatantly going against the Sima family."

"Why can't she get married..." the short, stout man laughed. "She can marry you or me. If we marry her, the Sima family probably won't even bother with us. That's why they say a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken. I wonder what that young lady looks like. If she's not good-looking, I won't even look at her, hahaha!"

Bai Yingyu kept her head down, a single tear silently sliding into the teacup in front of her. She hadn't expected that she had become the subject of gossip, and that the words spoken of her were so unpleasant.

Chapter Forty-Three

Seeing her pitiful appearance with tears streaming down her face, Mo Yan couldn't help but feel indignant. She glared at the two men and said coldly, "The affairs of the Bai family have nothing to do with you two. You should watch your words."

Seeing that she was a girl and Ning Jin beside her was delicate and fair-skinned, the two burly men slammed their fists on the table and roared, "Who do you think you are, meddling in my business!"

You're no good either!

Mo Yan quickly jumped up and retorted, but Ning Jin pulled and dragged her down, then smiled apologetically at the two men, saying, "My sister was rash, please forgive her. Actually, there's more to the story about the Bai family, I wonder if you two have heard about it?"

The two burly men were about to attack, but upon hearing the second half of his sentence, they suppressed their anger and asked in surprise, "Is there anything I don't know?"

Not to mention the two burly men, even Mo Yan and Bai Yingyu were puzzled when they heard him say that.

"So you two didn't know!" Ning Jin rubbed his hands together awkwardly, as if he was considering whether or not to say it. "Well... I'd better not say it."

Seeing his reaction, the burly man grew even more curious: "What exactly is it?"

"If I tell you, please don't mention it to anyone else."

"Enough with the nonsense, just tell me what's up!"

Ning Jin lowered his voice: "Do you two know that there is another reason why the Sima family broke off the engagement? Their third young master has developed a hidden illness because he frequents brothels. I'm afraid he won't even be able to consummate the marriage..." He glanced at Mo Yan and Bai Yingyu, chuckled twice, and didn't continue.

"Hehehe... I understand, I understand." The big man chuckled slyly, his face full of knowing.

Mo Yan and Bai Yingyu exchanged a glance, both filled with doubt.

Ning Jin continued, "After the Bai family learned of this, they naturally wanted to break off the engagement. However, out of consideration for the Sima family's reputation, they secretly sent someone to try to get the betrothal gifts back. Unexpectedly, the Sima family became enraged and, taking advantage of Bai Baozhen's accident, returned the betrothal gifts in a grand manner, taking the opportunity to humiliate the Bai family and create the illusion that the Bai family had been jilted."

The two burly men suddenly realized: "I see... How did you know, brother?"

"To be honest, a distant relative of mine works as the cook in the Sima family, so naturally he knows these details. He came back to visit relatives these past few days and happened to mention this matter. ...Alas, I've been too talkative, so please don't spread this around." After saying this, he hastily took his leave and then beckoned Mo Yan and Bai Yingyu to get into the carriage.

Once the teahouse was far away, Mo Yan couldn't wait to lift the carriage curtain and ask Ning Jin, "Is everything you said true?"

"What do you think?" Ning Jin raised an eyebrow.

Bai Yingyu frowned slightly and said, "If my family had broken off the engagement first, why have I never heard my father mention it?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan exclaimed happily, "You're lying to them! Brilliant, brilliant!"

Seeing her beaming smile, Ning Jin said smugly, "Of course. If everyone fought like you, not to mention whether you would suffer a loss, it would be a waste of energy and wouldn't stop people from talking."

“That makes sense.” Mo Yan nodded in agreement. “I didn’t expect you to be able to spout such nonsense so easily. I can’t compare to you.”

"What do you mean by lying! This is called guiding the situation, do you understand? It's easier to stop people from talking than to stop a river from flowing. If you don't let them talk, that won't work. So let's see what you let them say."

"How do you know that others will believe it?"

Ning Jin said calmly, "Do you understand what 'three men can make a tiger' means?"

“Three men can make a tiger…” Mo Yan thought for a moment, then understood and clapped her hands and laughed, “That’s right, we can say that everywhere, and with everyone talking about it, in a few days, the reputation of the third young master of the Sima family will probably be ruined.” She turned to Bai Yingyu and said, “This is a good idea. The Sima family humiliated you so much, so we can teach them a lesson.”

Bai Yingyu was silent for a moment, then said, "I appreciate your kindness, but everything is fate. Since things have come to this, I have already accepted my fate. Whether the Sima family is good or bad, I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"...Fine, it's your family's business, you decide."

Mo Yan looked at Ning Jin with a hint of regret, her gaze complicated: "So it turns out that you people from imperial families spend your days figuring out how to deceive others. It seems that your words really can't be trusted."

"I was only trying to help her!" Ning Jin was furious at her words. He thought that this action would at least make Mo Yan look at him differently, but he didn't expect her to look at him differently like this. He was speechless with anger.

Mo Yan was still shaking her head and sighing: "It's clear he has wicked intentions..."

"You little rascal!"

Ning Jin gritted his teeth, wishing he could throw her off the carriage. Just then, the carriage suddenly shook violently, and Mo Yan actually flew out of his sight just as he had hoped.

Bai Yingyu's head slammed against the carriage wall, immediately swelling and turning red. She cried out in alarm, "What happened? What happened? Is someone chasing us?"

No one answered her. Ning Jin hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and helped Mo Yan, who had fallen half a meter away, to her feet. The latter was covered in mud and water, and stood up in a disheveled state. She looked at the carriage in the rain with annoyance and found that the front wheel of the carriage had hit a hard rock.

"This girl is so unreliable even when driving a carriage," Ning Jin said, wiping the rain off his face. "Look at you, you're only focused on talking and you don't even look at the road while driving..." His words trailed off when he saw Mo Yan frowning and supporting her arm.

"Are you alright?"

He asked anxiously, having long forgotten his earlier dissatisfaction. Mo Yan said with a worried expression after a long while, "If only Lord Zhan were here."