Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 19

Mo Yan was so anxious she was jumping up and down, whispering, "You...you're not taking it with you?"

"Would you put it on your person? Can you fit it in your sleeve?" Zhan Zhao asked her back.

"...It seems a bit too thick."

Mo Yan began to regret entering empty-handed. She should have brought a small bag so she could easily steal something. However, she hadn't expected the account book to be so thick; it was practically as thick as a brick. She had thought it would be a thin volume.

When the maid brought in tea, the two had already returned to their original state, each examining their letters with identical blank expressions.

"Please enjoy your tea and snacks, gentlemen." The maidservant served the tea and snacks and then stepped aside.

Zhan Zhao indeed sat down leisurely, picked up the tea, blew on it a few times, and smelled the fragrance. He smiled and said, "What a fragrant tea. May I ask what it is called?"

When the maid saw Zhan Zhao asking her, she couldn't help but smile and said, "This is Biluochun tea, also known as 'frighteningly fragrant tea'."

“Biluochun, a famous tea from Suzhou.” Zhan Zhao nodded with a smile. “With such thoughtful hospitality, you must often have distinguished guests visiting.”

"There are indeed many people who come to see the master, but only guests invited to the study by the master can drink this Biluochun tea. Although the master is no longer here, I will still serve you two tea according to the old custom."

Although Zhan Zhao was dressed in casual clothes and not in his official robes, the maid knew he was no ordinary person because he was personally led in by the three concubines. She also noticed his handsome and refined appearance, gentle manner, and mild speech, which was quite different from the guests she usually saw, so she couldn't help but become talkative.

Zhan Zhao laughed and said, "So, only those invited to this study are considered distinguished guests. Your master is a third-rank official, so these distinguished guests are probably all in high positions as well. They come and go in this study. No wonder you are so knowledgeable and experienced, unlike the ordinary maids in the mansion."

Hearing his praise, the maid smiled shyly and said, "You flatter me, sir. I am too kind and knowledgeable. But my master said that most guests like you who come from the capital love to drink this tea. He said that only the spring water of Suzhou is worthy of this tea, and you can't taste this flavor in the capital."

"Oh...so you often have guests coming to the capital?" he asked casually as he sipped his tea. "I might even recognize some of them."

The maid frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "A Lord Yan from the capital has come several times, but his name is... My master doesn't allow us servants to be present when he talks business, so I'm not very clear about it." Her expression was full of apology.

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly: "It's alright, it's alright, it's nothing serious."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan, who had been looking down at the letter, frowned slightly: Lord Yan from the capital? Could he be someone sent by Zhang Yaozuo to contact Bai Baozhen?

The two spent another half a day reading letters before taking their leave. As soon as they stepped out of the mansion, they encountered Han Zhang, who had been waiting for them for a long time.

"I found your senior sister, she's listening to storytelling at the teahouse!" Han Zhang said with a smile. In order to get Mo Yan to go to Trap Island, he had to do everything he could to please her.

"Really!" Mo Yan exclaimed happily, "Take me there quickly!"

As expected, the three of them found Mo Yan's senior sister, Ning Wangshu, at the teahouse. They happened to witness her fighting with Yu Qing, the young lady of Taihu Water Village. Mo Yan joined in and caused another scene. Only after Yu Qing left did the four of them leave the teahouse.

Since Li Xu had stated that he had been traveling with Ning Wangshu before arriving in Kaifeng, Zhan Zhao, following custom, asked Ning Wangshu some questions about Li Xu, to which Ning Wangshu truthfully replied. Comparing this to Li Xu's previous statement, there were no discrepancies, indicating that Li Xu had not lied.

Mo Yan and Ning Wangshu hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the two were very affectionate. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhan Zhao simply let the sisters meet alone, agreeing to meet at the Ziyun Inn the next morning, and then he and Han Zhang bid farewell and left.

Watching the two figures, one tall and one short, disappear into the twilight, Mo Yan let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground: "They're finally gone, like vengeful ghosts."

Ning Wangshu sat down next to her and said with a smile, "I never expected you to be hanging out with people from the government."

Mo Yan shook her head, finding it unbelievable even now. A glint of light flashed in her eyes at the thought of that ledger. Although she was currently a constable, she could still occasionally act as a thief when the cat wasn't around. She had clearly seen Zhan Zhao return the ledger, and she knew the approximate layout of the buildings in the textile factory. Since she couldn't retrieve it during the day in front of everyone, she might as well sneak off at night.

"Sis, can I borrow your night clothes tonight?"

After having dinner with her senior sister Ning Wangshu, they returned to their room together, Mo Yan said with a grin. Her own night clothes were still at the Ziyun Inn. Although going back to get them wouldn't be a big deal, it would be troublesome if she disturbed the cat.

Ning Wangshu gently tapped her on the head: "Where are you thinking about causing trouble again?"

"I have important business to attend to! Really!" Mo Yan lowered her head and smiled.

"Be careful in everything!" Ning Wangshu took out his night clothes and handed them to Mo Yan, instructing her, "Unless absolutely necessary, you are not allowed to hurt anyone..."

"Okay, don't worry!"

"What time are you planning to go?"

Mo Yan glanced at the sky outside the window and said calmly, "No rush, let's wait until after midnight."

“Then you can take a nap,” Ning Wangshu said with a slight smile, looking at her slightly dark circles. “Judging from your appearance, I know you haven’t slept well these past few days of traveling.”

"Sigh..." Mo Yan rubbed her eyes, obediently lay down on the bed fully clothed, and muttered, "That cat gets up earlier than the chickens every day, how can I sleep well..."

Ning Wangshu smiled and shook her head, tucked the thin blanket around her, and then sat down at the table.

Senior Sister seemed thinner than when they were on the mountain. Mo Yan stared at her, lost in thought… The room was dimly lit, the orange light reflecting on Ning Wangshu's face, which clearly carried a hint of desolation, but it wasn't the expression Mo Yan was used to seeing. She remembered the young master Nangong that Ning Wangshu had mentioned before. Could it be that Senior Sister was doing this for him?

No wonder they say love hurts people. Mo Yan sighed inwardly, but still couldn't understand: her senior sister was originally a cheerful person, but now she was worrying alone for someone who didn't even know kung fu.

She had previously heard Han Zhang mention that the young master Nangong not only lacked martial arts skills but was also sickly. In her eyes, such a person was utterly worthless, yet her senior sister favored him, praising him as having "so many merits that words cannot describe them all." This shows how truly strange love can be.

Unable to understand it no matter how hard she tried, Mo Yan helplessly turned over, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. In her hazy state, she seemed to hear Ning Wangshu sigh softly...

Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: The little lion has been born!

So Lion is very, very, very busy right now~~~ When she woke up again, the clapper had already struck twice outside, and the room was empty. It seems that her senior sister was also very busy at night. Mo Yan changed into her night clothes, quietly pushed open the window, and found the outside world completely silent. A thin mist enveloped the entire city of Suzhou, and the air was cool.

The light mist provided excellent cover, even though the roof tiles would be a bit slippery.

She lightly leaped out of the window and silently landed on the green tiles of the building next door. She then nimbly hopped and leaped along the high and low roof ridges, making her way to the back garden of the textile factory.

The lotus pond at night lacked its daytime elegance; when the wind rose, the dark, withered lotus leaves swayed gently, giving it a somewhat eerie atmosphere. The small building to the south was Miss Bai Yingyu's boudoir, while to the west was Bai Baozhen's study. Mo Yan carefully discerned her location, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and glided across the lotus leaves, bending low outside the study window.

There was no light or sound coming from the study, so it should be empty. Mo Yan spotted the spot, took out a silver hairpin, opened the window, and slid in like a fish, landing on the soft couch by the window.

The ledger was in a small drawer on the lower right side of the bookshelf. She slipped to the bookshelf, opened the drawer, reached in, and was shocked to find it empty!

Could it be that the Bai family realized something was wrong and moved the account books elsewhere?