A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 63

"Whether the case is solved or not, whether the injustice is redressed or not, what does it have to do with us?" Xiao Chen didn't even bother to turn his head. "The laws of nature, the law of cause and effect, and the law of retribution are all in the hands of the Buddha, who will uphold justice. How dare we, mere mediocre people, interfere?" With that, he went out and left.

Zhan Zhao stood there, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. According to Xiao Chen's logic, wouldn't even the law be abolished? He used to think Mo Yan's personality was strange and eccentric, but now, seeing Xiao Chen like this, it wasn't surprising that Mo Yan, who had grown up with him since childhood, had developed such a temperament.

After extinguishing the candle, Zhan Zhao lay on the couch, the quilt covering his chest. He listened to the wind rustling the laurel leaves outside, feeling melancholy, and finally fell asleep after a long while.

I slept without any dreams.

More than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the trial of the Jiangnan corruption case is nearing its end. Mo Yan and Zhan Zhao's injuries have also almost healed.

Mo Yan and Xiao Chen had been trying to visit Li Xu in prison, but unfortunately, anyone involved in the case was not allowed to visit. Mo Yan spent half a day trying to persuade Wang Chao at the prison gate, but ultimately returned empty-handed.

The trial had reached a critical juncture, with all the evidence pointing to Zhang Yaozuo, the current Minister of the Three Departments, as the mastermind behind the embezzlement case. Bao Zheng submitted a memorial to Emperor Renzong, impeaching Zhang Yaozuo and pointing out that at a time of national difficulty, appointing such a greedy and incompetent person as Zhang Yaozuo would have unimaginable consequences. Discussions raged throughout the court and the public. Seeing this, Emperor Renzong, in an effort to quell the unrest, had no choice but to appoint Zhang Yaozuo as the Military Governor of Huaikang.

Just then, someone suddenly turned himself in, confessing to murdering Bai Baozhen, claiming he was only after money. Although Bao Zheng guessed that this person was a scapegoat arranged by Zhang Yaozuo to quickly close the Bai Baozhen case, he couldn't find any other evidence to prove that Zhang Yaozuo was the real culprit.

Although Zhang Yaozuo had already been demoted, Bao Zheng was still relentless and impeached Zhang Yaozuo again.

Emperor Renzong was annoyed by Bao Zheng's stubbornness and said, "The military governor is a lowly official, so what?"

Bao Zheng replied, "The position of Jiedushi (military governor) was held by both Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong; it is probably not a lowly official post!"

Emperor Renzong had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea. However, he appointed Zhang Yaozuo as the Southern Envoy of the Xuanhui Academy. Bao Zheng submitted a memorial for the third time, requesting that Zhang Yaozuo be sent to guard Heyang and not be allowed to return to the capital to serve, let alone serve as an envoy or prime minister.

Emperor Renzong had no choice but to give up.

The case was quickly concluded, and Bao Zheng, due to his repeated impeachments of Zhang Yaozuo, earned the nickname "Bao the Impeacher" among the court and the public. When Mo Yan heard Ning Jin mention this nickname in the outer hall, she laughed so hard she almost fell over.

Knowing that his elder brother was troubled, Ning Jin had stayed in the palace these days, occasionally offering advice to Bao Zheng. Only after everything had settled down did he slip out of the palace, and the first thing he did was to visit Mo Yan.

"Are your injuries fully healed?" He asked, noticing that Mo Yan had stopped smiling, was slightly out of breath, and still looked a little pale.

"Of course, this little injury is nothing to worry about."

Ning Jin glanced at her again. That day, he and Mo Yan were forced to jump into the Bian River by assassins, and the two were separated. He was exhausted and collapsed in the reeds by the river after reaching the shore. He never expected that Mo Yan would be so seriously injured. After returning to the palace, he specially sent an imperial physician to Kaifeng to treat Mo Yan. After the physician returned, he reported back to Master Gongsun that he had already prescribed the right medicine and that the injured woman was fine. Only then was he relieved.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I need to tell you." He smiled and said, "I put in a good word for you with my brother, and he's planning to appoint you as the head constable of Kaifeng Prefecture."

"Head Constable?" Mo Yan showed no surprise what Ning Jin had expected. Instead, she looked annoyed. "I'm going back to Shu. I'm not even going to be a constable anymore. How can I be a head constable?"

Ning Jin was clearly surprised: "You want to go back to Shu?"

"Yes, my second brother said he'll be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest." Mo Yan was also helpless. She looked up and saw Zhan Zhao enter the hall with a solemn expression, as if he had something on his mind.

Upon seeing Ning Jin there, he bowed and said, "Zhan Zhao greets Your Highness, Prince Ning."

"What? What happened up ahead?" Ning Jin asked curiously. He knew that Bao Zheng was dealing with corrupt officials in the Kaifeng court. Nine officials from Jiangnan, led by Bai Baozhen, had been dismissed and their homes confiscated, but they all deserved their punishment. Zhan Zhao's expression was rather strange.

"It's nothing," Zhan Zhao said with a faint smile.

Mo Yan looked at him inquisitively, then suddenly remembered someone and hurriedly asked, "Where is Miss Bai? Her house was raided, what will happen to her?"

Zhan Zhao was troubled by this matter. He had pleaded with Judge Bao for Bai Yingyu's fate, but Judge Bao was acting in accordance with the law and could not bend the law for personal reasons. Moreover, Bai Yingyu should have been forced into prostitution, but because she was willing to testify in court, her sentence was reduced by one degree and she was given a lighter punishment.

Seeing that Zhan Zhao did not answer, Mo Yan had a whimsical idea: "She has nowhere to go. If she is willing, she can come back to Shu with us." Having traveled with Bai Yingyu all the way and being grateful that she was willing to hand over the account books, Mo Yan could not bear to see her miserable and helpless.

“She…was exiled to the frontier,” Zhan Zhao said slowly.

Almost immediately, Mo Yan jumped up and said angrily, "Lord Bao has become senile! She contributed to this case, so why is she being exiled to the frontier!"

"Don't be rude." Zhan Zhao gently stopped her. "Lord Bao has already given her a lenient sentence, and he has even granted her permission to go to the border after burying her father."

"But she has come with us thousands of miles, enduring hardships along the way, and she testified in court. Are we just going to stand by and watch her end up being exiled to the frontier?"

Ning Jin remained silent, which was exactly what he had expected.

Mo Yan had never understood court affairs, and now she was so angry that she paced back and forth. Fearing that her wound would reopen, Ning Jin was about to ask her to sit down when Zhan Zhao pulled her back and made her sit properly before saying, "Do you think she didn't know about this outcome?"

"She knew?" Mo Yan was surprised.

Zhan Zhao nodded: "She is a daughter of an official, so she naturally understands the consequences. Perhaps being exiled to the frontier is better than she originally thought."

Mo Yan was greatly puzzled and asked, "Then why would she still..."

"She did it to atone for her father's sins," Zhan Zhao said softly.

After a long silence, Mo Yan finally looked up and said loudly, "No matter what, she ended up in this state because she was trying to save my senior brother. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

Zhan Zhao sighed softly: "I pleaded with Lord Bao, but the law is hard to violate, and how could Lord Bao bear to do so?"

Mo Yan was stunned for a moment, then her eyes darted to Ning Jin: "Go and plead with your brother, it will definitely work!"

Ning Jin waved his hands repeatedly: "These days, my imperial brother has been bothered by Bao Zheng to no end, and he's furious. He doesn't want to deal with anything related to Kaifeng Prefecture at all."

It seems we have to find another way. Mo Yan stared blankly at her toes.

Chapter 51

With noon approaching, Mo Yan was hungry and couldn't come up with a good plan after thinking for a long time. Although he could try to rescue the prisoners on the way, it was a last resort and should only be used as a last resort.

"Why haven't you gone back to the palace yet?" She turned to Ning Jin and asked curiously, "It's lunchtime."

Ning Jin retorted angrily, "What? I can't even get a free meal at the Kaifeng Prefecture?"

He knew that Mo Yan didn't mean to send him away; it was just a thoughtless, casual question, but it still sounded uncomfortable to him.

"If you want to eat here, then you'll have to go to the small flower hall." Mo Yan said to Ning Jin, but her eyes had already glanced at Zhan Zhao, her mind racing.

Zhan Zhao was also about to have a meal when he saw Ning Jin wanting to stay, so he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, this way please."