A pure heart in a jade pot

Chapter 221

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao felt both embarrassed and amused, and asked, "Who exactly did Xiao Qi tell? How did it become known throughout the city?"

"...I reckon she tells everyone she meets," Gongsun Ce sighed.

Zhan Zhao was speechless for a long time before comforting him, "I'll go home now. Don't worry, sir. Since this was caused by Xiao Qi, I will make sure she handles it properly."

Gongsun Ce smiled awkwardly: "Now that you're back, I'm much more relieved. Don't blame her; after all, she's pregnant."

Zhan Zhao could only nod, then watched Gongsun Ce leave, sighed deeply, and headed home.

"Big brother! You're back!"

He had just pushed open the courtyard gate when Mo Yan rushed out of the house upon hearing the noise, throwing herself at his side and chattering incessantly: "You're several days late this time, did you run into some trouble? Are you hurt?" She looked him up and down with a hint of nervousness, but couldn't see any signs of injury. She then examined his face closely and asked worriedly, "You're not hurt, and you haven't been poisoned, have you?"

"No, I'm fine." Zhan Zhao took her hand and walked into the house. "I just encountered some trouble while collecting evidence, so it took a few more days. I didn't fight anyone."

"really?"

Mo Yan took his bundle and placed it on the table, but she was still worried. She kept pinching his arms and legs, anxiously afraid of touching his injuries.

Zhan Zhao took her hand and put it down, smiling slightly, "I'm really fine."

"But you don't look well."

"..."

After their brief separation, Zhan Zhao couldn't very well start by blaming her, especially since Mo Yan was worried about him.

Mo Yan frowned and stared at him, still unable to fully believe him, so she simply said, "Why don't you take a shower first? I'll scrub your back for you!" As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves to prepare to boil water.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Zhan Zhao pulled her to sit down beside him and asked softly, "How have you been these past few days?"

"fine."

Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly and gently put his arm around her: "So what have you been doing all this time?"

Hearing his question, Mo Yan immediately perked up, hugging his neck and laughing, "Big brother, it's a pity you weren't here. These past few days have been so much fun. You know, do you remember that book I was reading before you left? The remedies in it were actually true! When Mr. Gongsun had a snake problem in his yard, I followed the book's instructions and put up talismans in the corner of his wall, and the snakes really disappeared! Isn't that fun? Later, I told a lot of people, and they all went back and tried it, and it actually worked..."

Zhan Zhao interrupted her: "Mr. Gongsun hasn't looked well these past few days, did you know?"

Mo Yan shook her head, puzzled, "I don't know, is he sick? Maybe I should look for some more remedies that I can give him..."

"He's not sick, you're the one who's caused him trouble."

"..." Mo Yan looked at him, puzzled. "I didn't do anything!"

"When you tell others, do you say that Master Gongsun has also tried these prescriptions and guarantees their effectiveness?"

Mo Yan scratched her ear, bit her lip, and thought for a while: "That seems to be about right."

"But in fact, Master Gongsun only tried one of the snake-repelling remedies. Whether the other remedies were effective, you don't know, and Master Gongsun knew even less. If you tell others this, it will spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and everyone will assume that these remedies came from Master Gongsun. If not all remedies are effective, then if nothing goes wrong after they spread, that's fine, but if something goes wrong, won't it be blamed on Master Gongsun?" Zhan Zhao's tone grew serious.

“I will explain for him,” Mo Yan said hurriedly.

Zhan Zhao ignored him and continued, "Besides, although nothing has happened yet, we have already caused trouble for Mr. Gongsun."

"What trouble?"

"Among those prescriptions, is there one for having a boy?"

"Hmm." Mo Yan smiled, "Many people are eager to get this prescription, but we can't know how effective it will be for a while."

"When Lady Gongsun heard that Mr. Fang had tried both, she mistakenly thought that he had another mistress outside the marriage and had a son with her."

"..."

Mo Yan was stunned; this was something she hadn't expected.

Extra Chapter Six: Anecdotes of Kaifeng

"Should I go and explain to Lady Gongsun?"

Zhan Zhao countered with, "And then?"

"And then..." Mo Yanran was stunned, "and then what?"

"Have you tried all those talismans?"

Mo Yan shook her head: "No, but I've tried a few, and they seem to work quite well!" Her eyes lit up, "Big brother, are you feeling unwell anywhere? I have a remedy for you to try."

Zhan Zhao remained silent, only staring at her.

After a while, Mo Yan gave in and muttered, "Okay, okay, I won't do these things to you again."

Zhan Zhao sighed: "When I came back, I saw people selling these talismans all over Kaifeng. What do you think we should do to resolve this?"

“Selling is a way to make money, why stop us?” Mo Yan asked curiously.

Zhan Zhao remained silent and continued to look at her.

Mo Yan had no choice but to say, "Alright, this is not difficult. Just tell others that you, Master Zhan, tried this prescription and it didn't work at all. I estimate that within five days, no one will buy it anymore."

"I?"

“If you don’t want to, then you can say Lord Bao,” Mo Yan said quickly. “In the capital, both of you are household names with excellent reputations.” Zhan Zhao sighed helplessly, “Fine, I’ll say it.”

"OK."

Mo Yan chuckled and stood up, saying, "What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."