A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 70

"Lord Bao would like to ask you about the owner of this money bag."

"Ah...oh..." Mo Yan hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Did the palace find out? Is she a palace maid who ran away?"

Instead of answering, Bao Zheng asked, "Tell me what the girl looked like?"

"The girl was wearing a leather robe, the material was brand new, she must have just bought it. She was wearing deerskin boots, which seemed to have originally been decorated with pearls, but they had been torn off, leaving some marks on the leather. She had a faint scent of perfume on her, unlike the ordinary perfumes sold on the street, and even the hair oil she used was not the kind used by ordinary people, it was probably used in the palace."

"What does the girl look like?"

"Appearance..." Mo Yan didn't know how to describe it, "Just two eyes and a nose, nothing special."

Upon hearing this, Bao Zheng frowned: "Do you remember whether your eyes are big or small, whether your nose is straight or flat?"

“I didn’t notice that.” She shook her head, but added, “Anyway, even though she was dressed as a man, she’s still not as handsome as Brother Zhan.”

Despite the seriousness of the matter, Bao Zheng couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at Zhan Zhao, whose handsome face was slightly flushed, also showing his helplessness.

“According to her, this person should be the princess of Yu Kingdom.” Zhan Zhao returned to the main topic.

Bao Zheng nodded, then shook his head and sighed, "A princess of such high status, wandering among the common people, even disguised as a man, what kind of decorum is this?"

Zhan Zhao stood up and said to Bao Zheng, "There's no time to lose, I'll go find the princess now."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan quickly jumped up and grabbed him, whispering in his ear, "Did you mention the street patrol?"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but patted her shoulder and smiled, "You haven't slept all night, you should go back and rest early." After saying that, he hurried out the door before Mo Yan could speak.

"..."

Helpless, Mo Yan turned to Bao Zheng and asked, "Did Brother Zhan mention the street patrol to you?"

“He mentioned it a few times…” Bao Zheng covered for Zhan Zhao, pointing to the money bag on the table, “You have been very gratified by your dedication to your duties while patrolling the streets. In a little over a month, thanks to the Emperor’s great favor, you will be promoted to head constable. You must not slack off at this time.”

Mo Yan struggled to process his words again in her mind: "You mean: I still have to continue patrolling the streets?"

Bao Zheng nodded: "That's exactly what I meant."

"...If there's nothing else, sir, then I'll head back."

She walked out dejectedly, muttering to herself in dissatisfaction. Bao Zheng could only vaguely hear her muttering something about steamed buns, which he suspected wasn't a nice thing, but he couldn't quite make out what she meant.

Chapter Four

As dusk approached, Zhan Zhao arranged for Princess Zhao Yu of Yu Kingdom to stay at the official post station in the city. All the idlers at the post station left, and imperial guards were sent to guard the area.

Finding the princess wasn't difficult, but Zhao Yu was willful by nature and viewed the Khitans as a monstrous threat. She refused to return to the palace, threatening to bite her tongue and commit suicide if anyone dared to speak ill of her. It took Zhan Zhao half a day to persuade Zhao Yu not to leave the capital for the time being. He was also glad that Mo Yan had confiscated her purse the night before. At this point, Zhao Yu was penniless, and leaving the capital would not be easy for her.

Zhan Zhao hurriedly returned to his residence, intending to report the princess's whereabouts to Bao Zheng. Before he even entered the residence, he saw Wang Chao approaching from afar, carrying someone on his back...

Upon seeing the person's appearance clearly, Zhan Zhao's heart sank. He quickly stepped forward and asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Xiao Qi?"

Wang Chao frowned, took a few deep breaths, and seeing Zhan Zhao's anxious face, hurriedly said, "It's nothing serious, he just fainted."

Mo Yan leaned her head to the side, a bruise on her forehead clearly visible. She frowned and closed her eyes, a few strands of black hair on her forehead making her face look even paler.

"Why did you faint? Did your old injury flare up again?"

"No, no... I was just scared."

As Wang Chao spoke, he walked inside, with Zhan Zhao following behind, escorting Mo Yan back to her room. Since she was a young woman, it would be inconvenient for her to live with other constables, so he had specially arranged for her to have a small courtyard to herself. The courtyard was right next to the east corner gate, not far away. After settling her into bed, Wang Chao let out a long sigh and shook his head helplessly, saying, "This girl, I knew she'd get herself into trouble sooner or later."

"Are you injured?" Mo Yan was, after all, a young woman, and Zhan Zhao was afraid that she had more than one injury on her forehead, but he was troubled because he could not examine her. "Why don't we call Mr. Gongsun to take a look?"

"Brother Zhan, don't worry. She just tripped and fell, hitting her head on the threshold. She should be fine."

"You just said she was frightened?"

"The story is..." Wang Chao shook his head in annoyance. He didn't want to talk about it, but seeing Zhan Zhao's great worry, he had no choice but to say, "The couple who ran the tofu shop on Qishengyuan Street were arguing and almost came to blows. This girl had to go and mediate. She finally managed to separate them, and the woman turned and went back to her inner room. After a while, she heard a rustling of a table and chair in the inner room. She pushed the door open to see what was going on, and found the woman hanging from the beam. The girl immediately fell over. Now, the woman who was hanging has been rescued, but she hasn't woken up yet... Girls are so timid. I told Lord Bao long ago that this kind of job is not something a girl can do."

Zhan Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Mo Yan was timid, and this fright must have been quite severe. His gaze fell on the bed; Mo Yan's hair and clothes were soaked with snow. He turned to leave…

"Brother Zhan?"

“I’ll trouble Sister Ma to change her clothes. She’s lying here fully clothed, and I’m afraid it will upset her.”

"I'll go, I'll go," Wang Chao said hurriedly. "Brother Ma just asked me to pass on a message to my sister-in-law." He was an impatient man, and he was already outside the door before he finished speaking.

Zhan Zhao turned back, hesitated for a moment, covered Mo Yan with the quilt, looked at her quietly for a while, then sighed almost imperceptibly, closed the door and left, heading towards Bao Zheng's study.

Zhan Zhao recounted the entire process of searching for the princess to Bao Zheng. After a moment's thought, Bao Zheng realized that the princess's safety was of utmost importance and beyond the capacity of Kaifeng Prefecture to handle. He then ordered Zhan Zhao to accompany him to the palace. By the time Zhan Zhao returned from the palace with the imperial decree, it was nearly 9 PM. Without even having a meal, Zhan Zhao hurriedly went to Mo Yan's room to see if she was feeling better. Just then, he encountered Ma Han accompanying Gongsun Ce into the room.

Upon entering the room, Zhan Zhao saw Ma Da Sao applying a towel soaked in cold water to Mo Yan's forehead. The latter was still unconscious. Zhan Zhao asked worriedly, "Has she not woken up yet?"

“Indeed, it’s burning again…” Ma Han said, shaking his head as he moved a chair to the bedside for Gongsun Ce. “My family says he might have lost his soul. They were going to call him back, but I think we should invite Mr. Gongsun to come and take a look first.”

Ma Da Sao took Mo Yan's hand out from under the covers and let Gongsun Ce take her pulse... After a while, Gongsun Ce withdrew his hand and said with a smile, "It's nothing serious. She was originally frail and was frightened. The wind and cold entered her body, which is why she has a fever."

"She bumped her head and got a bump, is it serious?" Aunt Ma brushed aside Mo Yan's hair, revealing the bruise on her forehead, and asked worriedly, "Did she get brain damage from the fall?"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "We'll have to wait until she wakes up to find out, but in theory, it shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing his explanation, Zhan Zhao, who had been standing to the side, relaxed slightly. Ma Da Sao covered Mo Yan up again and said with relief, "Then please write the prescription quickly, sir, so I can decoct the medicine for her." Mo Yan was very close to her, and since she had no relatives or friends in the capital, she already regarded this girl as her own niece.

Gongsun Ce nodded and stood up, straightened his sleeves, took the pen and ink from the table, and wrote out a prescription: "Take this prescription for two days and see. If the fever subsides, you'll be fine."

Before Ma's wife could speak, Ma Han took the prescription and hurried out the door, saying, "I'm going to get the medicine."

"Go quickly and come back quickly!"