Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 62

"Still talking back! Go back and rest, so we can get better and set off sooner."

Is she leaving? Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao didn't have time to think further and pushed open the window again... Mo Yan looked over upon hearing the sound, and immediately smiled, raising her foot to run over: "Lord Zhan, I knew you weren't asleep yet."

Xiao Chen seemed to have known he was there all along, and without any surprise, he reached out to support Mo Yan and said calmly, "What's the rush? Take your time."

Zhan Zhao put on his outer robe and welcomed them into the room. Before Mo Yan could even sit down, she hurriedly asked, "Is the injury on your leg any better?"

"It's much better now."

Zhan Zhao saw that she was recovering from her serious injuries. Although her face was pale, she was smiling and seemed to be in good spirits.

“Lord Zhan,” Xiao Chen helped Mo Yan sit down and stood beside her, then turned to him and said, “If it weren’t for your decisive action this time, Xiao Qi’s arm would have been crippled. I thank you on her behalf for your great kindness.”

"Zhan Zhao is unworthy of such praise. Miss Mo once saved my life. If anyone should be thanking me, it should be me."

Mo Yan immediately looked at Xiao Chen triumphantly: "Second brother, I told you I saved Zhan Zhao, but you didn't believe me. Now you believe me?"

Xiao Chen smiled faintly and remained silent.

"You're still not fully recovered, you should rest properly. It's cool at night, so it's not advisable to go out," Zhan Zhao said with concern.

"I'm almost fully recovered," Mo Yan said, shaking her head nonchalantly.

Zhan Zhao smiled: "Your fever has just subsided, be careful not to catch a cold. You were delirious with fever just two days ago."

"Did I talk nonsense?" Her eyes lit up with interest, and she asked curiously, "What did I say?"

"you……"

Just as Zhan Zhao was about to speak, Xiao Chen interrupted him: "Lord Zhan, when will my junior brother Li Xu be released from prison?"

"Lord Bao has already begun to hear this case, but because it involves too many aspects, it cannot be concluded in just a few days. Therefore, we will have to wait a while longer. When the truth comes out, if my junior brother is found innocent, Lord Bao will clear his name."

Xiao Chen nodded and said to Mo Yan, "You've been recuperating these days. Once Fifth Brother is released from prison, we'll go back together."

“Oh,” Mo Yanman replied.

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Brother Xiao, Miss Mo is already a constable of Kaifeng Prefecture. How can she abandon her post?"

Xiao Chen said calmly, "Now that I'm going back, I should naturally resign from my position as a constable."

"Resign from your position as a constable?"

Zhan Zhao frowned and looked at Mo Yan, who smiled at him and asked without a care in the world, "When I return to Shu, will you come to see me?"

"Are you really going back?" His heart sank.

Mo Yan shrugged, gave him a wink, and secretly pointed at Xiao Chen, indicating that he dared not disobey his senior brother's wishes.

"Lord Bao made an exception to recruit you into his household and entrusted you with important responsibilities. Now, you've left as soon as your senior brother's matter is settled. Aren't you letting Lord Bao down?" In his anxiety, Zhan Zhao's words already carried a hint of reproach.

Mo Yan lowered her head further and further as she listened, feeling ashamed that she hadn't been very loyal and had acted somewhat like a traitor who had crossed the river and then burned it.

Xiao Chen coldly replied, "Lord Zhan, your words are misleading. Xiao Qi is still young and a girl, so she shouldn't be involved in matters of the court. This time, she intervened in the investigation because Kaifeng Prefecture wrongly accused my fifth brother of murder. This matter was originally the fault of Kaifeng Prefecture, and Xiao Qi had no choice but to do it. How can it be said that it was Lord Bao's good intention, let alone 'betray' him?"

That sounded quite reasonable, and Mo Yan slowly raised her head again. Zhan Zhao was speechless for a moment. He was not a good talker to begin with, and he just happened to run into Xiao Chen, who was always right. Naturally, he was at a loss for words.

"This matter should be reported to Lord Bao," Zhan Zhao said after a long pause.

Before Mo Yan could speak, Xiao Chen replied without hesitation, "I will inform Lord Bao tomorrow."

A faint fragrance of osmanthus seeped in from outside the window, spreading silently. Mo Yan heard Zhan Zhao sigh almost inaudibly... Strangely, she had never heard him sigh like that before, or perhaps she had never noticed it, but this sigh in this place and at this moment made her inexplicably melancholy, as if she had really done something to wrong the person in front of her.

"Second brother, actually..." she stammered, "being a constable... is quite fun."

Xiao Chenhan's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Xiao Qi, go back to sleep."

"oh."

Having long been accustomed to following commands and performing actions, Mo Yan reluctantly and obediently got up, made an apologetic face at Zhan Zhao, and slowly went back to her room.

Xiao Chen did not leave. He listened carefully until Mo Yan's footsteps disappeared. After confirming that she could not hear him, he turned to Zhan Zhao and bowed slightly: "Lord Zhan, I have another request. I hope you will grant it."

"Brother Xiao, please speak."

"You must not tell Xiaoqi what she said while she was sick."

Zhan Zhao was stunned. Mo Yan had only said one sentence repeatedly during her illness, which was just four words. To others, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Why couldn't he tell her?

Father, save me!

Father, save me!

Father, save me!

...

Chapter Fifty

Mo Yan tossed and turned in bed, the image of her with a persistent high fever seemingly reappearing before him.

"The details are inconvenient to disclose," Xiao Chen said quickly, seemingly aware of Zhan Zhao's doubts. "Please forgive me, Lord Zhan." He only said that it was inconvenient to disclose, but it was entirely because he regarded Zhan Zhao as an outsider. As the saying goes, family matters are not for outsiders to know. In his opinion, Zhan Zhao had no need to know at all.

How could Zhan Zhao not understand? Although he was concerned, he was by nature cautious and would not do anything so tactless as to pry into the matter. He simply said, "Brother Xiao, please rest assured, I will be careful with my words."

"Thank you." Xiao Chen cupped his hands in farewell.

“Brother Xiao, please wait,” Zhan Zhao hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Miss Mo is intelligent and quick-witted. If she stays in Kaifeng Prefecture, she will definitely be able to help Lord Bao solve the case and seek justice for the people. Brother Xiao, you might as well think it over.”