A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 68

The man clearly hadn't expected her to see through him so quickly. After a moment's hesitation, he mumbled, "...Looking closely, it doesn't seem to be my purse. I guess I've mistaken it for something else." With that, he hurriedly turned and left.

Mo Yan was still squinting at the ring when she turned around. The person from before was gone, and even the little boy she had grabbed earlier had slipped away.

Where are they?

She looked around in confusion, but there were many people around, and she couldn't find it anywhere. "They just ran away without their purse? ...It seems like it was probably stolen." She put the purse in her pocket and slowly continued walking.

After midnight, the night stalls on Ma Xing Street began to close, and the bustling street returned to its quiet state, with only a few scattered tea vendors still standing under the eaves. Huddled with them was Mo Yan, shivering as she slowly ate her tea. The wind and snow, however, grew even heavier, and the snow on the rooftops had already accumulated to a foot or so.

"Thump—thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!"

It was freezing cold, and the distant sound of the night watchman's gong could be faintly heard. Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief: Finally, it's dawn, time to change shifts!

She jumped up and down excitedly, her legs stiff from wandering all night, feeling like they didn't even belong to her anymore. Mo Yan returned the teacup, hunched her shoulders, wrapped her cloak tighter, and headed back towards Kaifeng Prefecture.

The wind, carrying snow, lashed at her face, stinging her cheeks. She was walking forward with her eyes almost closed.

"Xiao Qi!" It seemed someone was calling her.

Mo Yan pried her eyes open a crack, looked in the direction of the sound, then suddenly opened them wide and exclaimed with delight, "Brother Zhan!"

Not far away, Zhan Zhao, dressed in red, stood in the snow, looking at her with a smile. His calm expression seemed to ease the blizzard.

Chapter Two

"Brother Zhan! When did you get back? What are you doing here?" She hadn't seen Zhan Zhao for quite a while, and she practically jumped and skipped to him.

"Just got back... just happened to be passing by here."

Zhan Zhao smiled. After Mo Yan ran away to become a constable, she patrolled the streets for three months as usual. He had been worried about whether she could adapt, and then he had to go out on official business, only returning today. He was about to go back to the manor when he happened to meet Wang Chao on the way. Wang Chao mentioned that Mo Yan was riding in the streets, and feeling concerned, he couldn't help but turn back to see her first.

Mo Yan, unsuspecting, smiled happily and said, "What a coincidence! I was just about to return to the manor to hand over my duties... Where did you go this time? I missed you so much, but I waited and waited and you didn't come back." Alone in the capital, Mo Yan naturally considered Zhan Zhao as someone very close to her. Her girlish naiveté was evident in her words. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't have been so frank, and Zhan Zhao would likely have been quite embarrassed. But Mo Yan spoke so naturally, and Zhan Zhao listened with a smile that unconsciously crept onto his lips, without feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

"Have you gotten used to patrolling the streets these days?" Zhan Zhao asked, walking slowly forward with her.

“I’m not used to it at all. Being a soldier is much more tiring than being a thief,” Mo Yan said dejectedly. “It’s also incredibly boring, full of trivial family matters. They come to me when a chicken goes missing, when neighbors have a fight, even when couples are arguing—is this what a constable is supposed to do?”

Zhan Zhao was speechless. Since entering the public service, he had been a fourth-rank imperial bodyguard with a sword, but he had never patrolled the streets, so he didn't know what the constables who patrolled the streets were responsible for. Mo Yan was a free-spirited and unconventional person, and it was really difficult for her to deal with these trivial matters every day.

"Last time, there was a bookworm who failed the imperial examination and locked himself in his room, refusing to eat. His mother cried so hard she almost went blind, begging me to save her son. I had no choice but to pry open the window and go in, hoping to persuade him to eat. But that bookworm pointed his finger at me and said that a man and a woman shouldn't be alone in a room together, and that I had ruined his reputation. Can you believe it!"

Zhan Zhao suppressed a laugh and nodded in agreement: "That was indeed infuriating. But what happened afterward?"

Mo Yan felt dejected as she recalled what happened next. "Since he said we couldn't be alone in a room, I had no choice but to take him to the rooftop to talk, and I even pulled him through my sleeve. But then he said I touched his hand, that men and women shouldn't touch each other, and that he would be ashamed to face anyone for the rest of his life. I didn't even hold it against him, and I kindly tried to persuade him with a lot of words..."

Zhan Zhao knew her skill in persuasion, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Later, I don't know why, he got so angry that he started trembling all over, and then he trembled so much that he fell off the roof."

Zhan Zhao asked in surprise, "Why didn't you stop him?"

“At first I wanted to stop him, but I was afraid he would say something that would damage his reputation, so I hesitated for a moment…” Mo Yan felt very wronged, “…Besides, that roof wasn’t that high, who knew he would break his leg.”

"That man broke his leg!" Zhan Zhao was slightly surprised and stopped in his tracks.

"I saw a doctor, who said it was nothing serious and I'd be able to walk and jump again in two or three months. I paid for the consultation and medicine myself, and it cost me an extra ten taels of silver." Mo Yan sighed helplessly, "...If I continued working as a constable, I would have starved to death. If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to go back to Sichuan."

It was rare to see her so dejected; she must have really been having a rough time lately. Zhan Zhao glanced at her for a moment. He knew that Mo Yan's talents lay elsewhere, and that patrolling the streets as usual was a waste of her abilities; it was truly a bit of a disservice to her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked with a smile, not wanting to see her disappointed.

Mo Yan nodded, then frowned and complained, "On a snowy night, I only managed to eat a sheep's purse, and Wang Tou caught me red-handed."

"I'm a little hungry too." He thought for a moment, but since he didn't usually pay much attention to it, he really couldn't think of where to get something to eat at this hour.

Mo Yan turned to look at him. Although his smile was as warm as a spring breeze, he couldn't hide his weariness, suggesting he must have traveled all night to get back. "At this hour, there really isn't anything good to eat..." She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly thought of a place, her face lighting up with joy. She pulled Zhan Zhao along, saying, "Brother Zhan, come with me!"

The wind and snow blanketed the sky, and it was still early; the streets were almost deserted. Mo Yan, oblivious to the danger, pulled him along by the hand. Zhan Zhao initially felt uneasy, but her hands had been frozen all night, icy cold. He hesitated for a moment, then tightened his grip…

After a short while, Mo Yan led Zhan Zhao into the kitchen of the Kaifeng government office with a smile. When she had free time, she often came here to help Ma Da Sao, and she knew the location of everything in the kitchen like the back of her hand. She sat Zhan Zhao down at the small table, lit the lamp on the wall, and expertly rummaged through the gauze cupboard and large pots, saying happily, "I knew there would be leftovers."

"Is that so?" Zhan Zhao laughed. He never cared much about food and thought that having leftovers to fill his stomach was fine.

Mo Yan's hands moved swiftly, carrying out several bowls and plates filled with food. She said happily, "There's also some stir-fried goose meat, glutinous rice cakes, and pickled gourd strips." She picked up a small strip of pickled gourd and put it in her mouth, praising, "Sister-in-law Ma's pickling skills are truly excellent; I can never match them. You should try some..."

She picked up another small piece and waved it at him, but Zhan Zhao shook his head. She still put it in her own mouth.

"These leftovers are enough to eat if we just heat them up," he said with a smile, looking at the various bowls and plates in front of him.

“There are leftovers, leftover rice,” Mo Yan said, pulling two more eggs from the basket. “Shall we have a Golden Jade Feast?”

"A house full of gold and jade?"

"It's just mixed fried rice."

"You'll do it?"

Can you do it?

Zhan Zhao honestly replied, "I don't know how."

"Then I'll do it." Mo Yan took off her cloak, rolled up her sleeves, and poked the stove while laughing, "At home, I'm always the one who cooks. My second brother is the pickiest eater; if the taste is even slightly off, he'd rather not eat it..."

Zhan Zhao smiled: "I still remember the fish porridge you cooked on the boat, it tasted very good."

Hearing this, Mo Yan was both delighted and proud, saying, "Of course, Sister-in-law Ma says my cooking skills are no worse than hers." The fire in the stove rose, and the firelight reflected on her face, making her smile radiant. Seeing her cheerful mood again, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but share her joy.

Just now, when Mo Yan rolled up her sleeves, she took out something from her sleeves, which was now scattered on the small table. Zhan Zhao saw that one of the money pouches was bulging, and couldn't help but laugh and say, "With such a bulging money pouch, how can you say that you're going to starve to death sooner or later?"