Los bandidos de montaña están en movimiento

Capítulo 99

Ning Jin noticed it too, squinted and stared for a while, then hesitated and said, "Zichu, why do I feel like these two people look so familiar? Especially the one who's thin and small?"

Wu Zichu smiled and said, "I think the way that person walks is somewhat similar to Miss Mo from Kaifeng Prefecture."

Ning Jin shook his head: "It's not just a slight resemblance, it's completely that girl!" With that, he stood up, a smile finally appearing on his face, as if he had become interested. He dusted off his robes and stepped downstairs, "Come on, let's go down and see what new tricks this girl has up her sleeve this time." Wu Zichu naturally followed without hesitation.

Mo Yan was pulling Zhan Zhao, desperately squeezing into the crowd watching the water swings. The water swings, as the name suggests, were water-based acrobatic performances. Two large boats were moored head-on in Jinming Pond, about three zhang apart. Each boat had a swing mounted on its bow, with people standing, sitting, or hanging upside down on them. As the swings swung, someone on one side would suddenly be thrown off, and someone on the other would skillfully swing over to catch them, so the two would hang together on the same swing like candied hawthorns. After a few more swings, the two would leap off the swings, doing several somersaults in the air, before jumping into the water one after the other. If there was no splash upon entering the water, enthusiastic cheers and applause would erupt from the shore; if the splash was too large, the applause would be sparse, accompanied by a few sighs of regret.

As Mo Yan squeezed in, she saw the person perform three or four somersaults in the air, their movements graceful. Unfortunately, their entry into the water was too off-center; they practically went in sideways, creating a large splash. Inevitably, some on the shore booed. Mo Yan, seeing this water swing for the first time and not knowing the proper technique, clapped loudly and cheered repeatedly, drawing stares from those around her who assumed she was deliberately jeering. Zhan Zhao, seeing her enjoying the spectacle and seemingly having forgotten about her toothache, was secretly relieved and didn't remind her.

But a voice behind her said coldly, "If you don't understand, don't cheer. Anyone who hears you will know you're a silly country bumpkin."

The voice was familiar, but the words were somewhat harsh. Mo Yan turned around abruptly and saw Ning Jin and Wu Zichu. The one who spoke was naturally Ning Jin.

“Zhan Zhao…”

Zhan Zhao hurriedly removed his mask, intending to greet Ning Jin, but Ning Jin repeatedly waved his hand to interrupt him: "There are so many people here, don't make me lose face."

Mo Yan had long forgotten the unpleasantness between her and Ning Jin a few days ago, but she hadn't forgotten her swollen face. Naturally, she refused to take off her mask and just asked Ning Jin with a grin, "You've come to see the lanterns too?"

Still angry, Ning Jin ignored her when she didn't remove her mask. He reached out and picked up the mask Zhan Zhao had taken off, looked it over from left to right, and frowned, saying, "Don't tell me you're wearing this thing to investigate a case."

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and shook his head.

"Why is that?" Wu Zichu asked curiously.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Mo Yan, smiled but did not answer.

“This is a custom in our hometown. We wear masks during the Lantern Festival,” Mo Yan began to talk nonsense, but she did so with great seriousness. “In my hometown, everyone on the street wears masks at this time. It’s quite interesting.”

Ning Jin was taken aback, then turned to look at Wu Zichu: "Is there such a custom in Shu? How come I didn't know?"

"I've never heard of it either," Wu Zichu said honestly.

"This custom only exists in our mountain town; it's not something found throughout Sichuan," she quickly added.

Ning Jin glanced at Zhan Zhao, who lowered her eyes, pretending not to have heard anything. Although he found it strange, he couldn't tell what was true or false at the moment, so Ning Jin had no choice but to give up and believe her for the time being. However, he glanced at her sideways and said slowly, "This is the capital. Your random cheering on the water swing just now will only make you a laughing stock, don't you understand?" He then turned to Zhan Zhao, "Why didn't you tell her?"

Mo Yan raised her head dismissively: "Brother Zhan doesn't care about these things. Let others laugh if they want, it has nothing to do with me."

Ning Jin glared at her, then realized that staring at her with the mask on was not enough to show the majesty of the Prince of Ning, so he simply said, "Take off the mask before you speak."

Mo Yan shook her head.

"Hurry up!" he said impatiently.

Mo Yan shook her head again, then suddenly pulled Zhan Zhao away and turned to leave.

This sudden change in his life surprised not only Ning Jin, but also Zhan Zhao, who allowed her to pull him out of the crowd.

Ning Jin stood there, furious: "That girl! I'm not going to eat her, why is she running away! Zichu, bring her back to me right now!"

Chapter Thirty-Two

When Wu Zichu chased after him, he had only gone three or four zhang when he saw Zhan Zhao grab Mo Yan and whisper something to her. The latter shook her head like a rattle drum, clearly unwilling to comply with him.

"What exactly happened?" Wu Zichu stepped forward, both amused and exasperated. "You running away like this is extremely disrespectful. Aren't you afraid of being punished by Prince Ning? Is it so hard to remove a mask? Come on, come on, come back with me and apologize. Don't make any more trouble."

Mo Yan lowered her head, her toes tracing patterns on the ground. She knew that Ning Jin would definitely make her remove her mask when they returned, and she was naturally unwilling. Seeing her expression, Zhan Zhao gave Wu Zichu a wry smile, but still pulled her up and tried to walk back. At this moment, they suddenly heard a loud cheer from the crowd, presumably because the people on the water swing had given a very good performance.

In a moment of inspiration, Mo Yan quickly shook off Zhan Zhao's hand and said with a smile, "Brother Zhan, you go back with Granny Wu. I'll show off my skills on the water swing as an apology to Prince Ning!" By the time she finished speaking, she was already far away. Fortunately, Zhan Zhao and Wu Zichu had excellent hearing and were able to hear her clearly.

"She...she's really going to jump on some water swing?" Wu Zichu asked incredulously.

Zhan Zhao sighed inwardly and slowly walked back. He still had to apologize to Prince Ning on her behalf.

Seeing that only the two of them had returned, Ning Jin asked with dissatisfaction, "Where is that girl?"

"Your Highness, please calm down. Xiao Qi is suffering from a severe toothache and her cheek is swollen. She is afraid of being disrespectful in front of Your Highness, so she is unwilling to remove her mask. Please do not blame her," Zhan Zhao explained on her behalf.

Upon hearing this, Ning Jin was taken aback, a faint smile appearing on his face. "I knew it! All that nonsense about hometown customs, turns out your face is swollen." After a long pause, he finally couldn't help but laugh. "This girl is usually so carefree, turns out she knows how to be shy. Does it hurt badly? Why don't you see a doctor and get some medicine?"

"It's a wisdom tooth coming in, and even Mr. Gongsun couldn't do anything about it, saying that we can only endure it."

“…Wisdom teeth…” Ning Jin had experienced the same pain three years ago. He couldn’t help but touch his cheek and sighed, “She really has a lot on her plate. Let her come back. I’ll let her take that thing with her. Why is she running away?” He gestured to Wu Zichu.

"Your Highness, well... she just said she was going to show off her skills on the water swing as an apology to you."

A water swing?!

Ning Jin was taken aback and hurriedly looked towards Jinming Pond, but the crowd was so dense that he couldn't see anything clearly. He turned and headed towards the nearest restaurant: "Let's go upstairs and take a look!"

Zhan Zhao and Wu Zichu followed closely behind.

They found a great spot to view the swings over the water, and the three of them sat or leaned against the railing, gazing for a long time, but still did not see Mo Yan appear.

"We were probably tricked by that girl," Ning Jin said with a faint smile, not annoyed.

Although Mo Yan was a good swimmer, jumping into the water in this freezing weather wasn't a pleasant experience. Zhan Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on the water swing boat, not daring to look away for a moment. Wu Zichu was also skeptical of Mo Yan's words. He withdrew his gaze and was about to turn back when he suddenly saw Zhan Zhao stand up abruptly, gripping the railing tightly with both hands—

On the tall swing set, a slender figure stood, the mask still on her face.

Zhan Zhao watched her from afar, sighing repeatedly in his heart. He didn't know how she had persuaded the jugglers, but she was already standing on it, wearing a water-colored outfit that she had somehow gotten her hands on, though she still had the mask on her face.

He never imagined that Mo Yan was using her prestigious position as a constable from Kaifeng Prefecture to persuade the troupe leader of the acrobatic troupe. Her reasoning was that a suspect was mixed in with the crowd, and she needed a high vantage point to observe the situation; the mask was to conceal her identity. The troupe leader was completely bewildered by her explanation and, fearing accusations of opposing the imperial court, had no choice but to agree. To be on the safe side, he had her practice catching people with flying acrobatics, and only after seeing that she was indeed quite skilled did he allow her to ride on the water swing.

It was probably the first time they had seen someone wearing a mask playing on a water swing. The crowd on the shore assumed that this person was the star of the acrobatic troupe and that there would be an amazing performance to come. They all fell silent. Mo Yan, still a child at heart and playing on a water swing for the first time, was extremely proud of herself when she saw so many people staring at her. She became even more reserved, standing on the swing looking around, and did not make any move for a long time.

Her face finally stopped looking in Zhan Zhao's direction, and she raised her hand and waved vigorously in his direction. Although he could only see the mask, Zhan Zhao seemed to be able to see her smiling face under the mask, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.