Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan - Chapitre 154
"I want you."
Mo Yan was stunned upon hearing this. She hadn't expected that Ning Jin had come to Kaifeng Prefecture specifically for this matter, and she couldn't help but look up at Bao Zheng. Ning Jin smiled slightly at Mo Yan and then said, "You will come with me to the Liao Kingdom."
Before she could refuse, Bao Zheng said, "The Kaifeng government office is very busy lately, and Constable Mo is a capable person. Besides, in a few days, I will have to send her to Jiangnan to investigate an important case. I'm afraid she won't be able to accompany Your Highness to Liao. I hope Your Highness will understand." He paused, then smiled and said, "By the way, I remember that the Imperial Guard Officer Kong Ning has accompanied the escort of the annual tribute several times. He is quite skilled in martial arts. If Your Highness takes him along, I believe he can be of some help."
Ning Jin was displeased that Bao Zheng would not even lend a person, but he still smiled and said, "Since Kong Ning is so capable, why not transfer him to Kaifeng Prefecture and let Xiao Qi come with me?"
"Your Highness is joking." Bao Zheng smiled and brushed it off without responding, clearly still unwilling to agree.
Seeing that Bao Zheng had already refused on her behalf, Mo Yan saved herself the trouble of arguing. She stood up, bowed, and prepared to take her leave.
"Wait, I'll go with you," Ning Jin called urgently, and she had no choice but to stop.
Ning Jin looked at Bao Zheng again and said helplessly, "Since Kaifeng Prefecture won't even give you this much face, then I dare not force you. I'll take my leave now."
"This old minister is ashamed and respectfully sees Your Highness off." Bao Zheng bowed apologetically.
After leaving Bao Zheng's study, they escorted Ning Jin through a winding path to the side gate, where Wu Zichu could be seen waiting by the carriage. Mo Yan was about to bid farewell to Ning Jin when he stopped and stood upright on the stone steps…
“Because I’m worried it will be difficult to travel after snow, I’m setting off earlier this year. I’ll be leaving after the Frost’s Descent. Are you really not coming?” he asked.
Mo Yan shook her head in silence.
Ning Jin paused, then suddenly shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I didn't expect even Bao Zheng to help you like this. I never imagined that the Kaifeng government office would be so dependent on you."
Hearing him mention it now, Mo Yan was also somewhat puzzled. Just now in the study, she had only been grateful to Bao Zheng for making an excuse for her, without considering why he had made the same mistake. Logically speaking, although she was a head constable, she wasn't indispensable. Given Ning Jin's status as the Prince of Ning, and his lack of malicious intent, why would Bao Zheng so readily refuse to borrow a mere head constable from Kaifeng Prefecture?
Thinking about it this way, she frowned and became very suspicious.
"What's wrong?" Ning Jin asked with concern when he saw her expression change.
"Tell me... why is Judge Bao unwilling to agree to your request?"
“I have some relationship with Bao Heizi, and I haven’t offended him over the years. Logically, he has no reason not to do me this favor.” Ning Jin was also a little annoyed. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I think either your Kaifeng Prefecture is really too busy, or he doesn’t want you to go to Liao.”
"...He doesn't want me to go to Liao..." Mo Yan murmured to herself, lowering her head to think carefully, "Then tell me, why doesn't he want me to go to Liao?"
"I'm afraid you'll cause trouble if you go!" Ning Jin answered without hesitation.
Mo Yan shook her head decisively: "No, I'm not the same as I was three years ago. He's not afraid I'll cause trouble." She suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Ning Jin. "He doesn't want me to go. There must be something there that he doesn't want me to know."
"What could it be?" Ning Jin asked curiously.
"I'm afraid we'll only know once we get there," Mo Yan said, biting her lip.
Even in the stillness of the night, the light in Bao Zheng's study remained on.
Gongsun Ce knocked on the door and entered, laughing, "It's almost midnight, and the night air is quite chilly. You should rest early, sir."
Bao Zheng raised his head from his desk, furrowed his brow, and a faint sorrow lingered between his brows.
"What is troubling you, sir? Why don't you tell me?"
"Sir, I am unaware that I have not considered things carefully today, and I am afraid I have made a mistake."
Gongsun Ce asked with slight surprise, "What is it?"
Bao Zheng then recounted in detail to him the visit of Ning Jin earlier that day. Upon hearing this, Gongsun Ce frowned and said uncertainly, "Judging from what you've said, it seems that Constable Mo didn't suspect anything at the time."
Bao Zheng shook his head and sighed, "That girl is no longer the little girl she was three years ago. Now she's incredibly shrewd. If she goes back and thinks about it for a moment, she'll become suspicious, and then..."
"Zhan..." Gongsun Ce only managed to utter one word before quickly correcting himself, "It's not the time for them to meet yet. If she goes, it might cause him great distress, which is extremely dangerous."
"I am also worried about this. Do you have any good ideas, sir?"
Gongsun Ce pondered for a moment: "Whether she will become suspicious or not, we have no way to deal with it. The only thing we can do now is to really send her on a long business trip, hoping that she will be too busy with official business to think too much. You don't need to worry too much, sir. Even if she becomes suspicious, she will never think it's him, and she may not even go to Liao."
Bao Zheng sighed and nodded, saying, "I hope so."
Volume 3, Chapter 4
In fact, both Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce greatly underestimated Mo Yan's curiosity. They were not Zhan Zhao. If Zhan Zhao was unwilling to tell Mo Yan something, she could even refrain from asking, because she didn't want to put him in a difficult position. But Bao Zheng, despite his high position and power, was useless to her. The more Bao Zheng tried to hide things from her, the more she wanted to find out the truth.
While Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce both thought Mo Yan was investigating a case in Jiangnan, she was actually already on her way to Hejian Prefecture with Ning Jin.
The further north they went, the colder the weather became. The sky was overcast that day, and the north wind was strong, gusting in one after another, stinging their faces with a cold, sharp pain. Ning Jin felt a chill just listening to the wind from inside the carriage, and he thought that the people riding with him on horseback outside must be suffering even more.
He lifted the carriage curtain and peered forward, where he could see Mo Yan's figure beside a large cart of goods. Compared to the other guards around her, she looked so thin and frail in the wind that it was hard to bear to look at her.
"Zichu, call that girl to the carriage." He turned back and said to Wu Zichu.
Wu Zichu hesitated, "Your Highness, it might not be appropriate for her to get on your carriage. Besides... that girl is very stubborn, she might not be willing to get on."
Ning Jin glared at him: "What's wrong with that? Why have you become so sly and venomous?"
“Your Highness, I didn’t mean to…” Wu Zichu had never been able to do anything with Ning Jin, so he could only nod and say, “I’ll go and call her, but if she refuses to come up, there’s nothing I can do.”
“What’s so difficult about it? Just tell her I have something to discuss with her, and she’ll definitely come.”
"oh."
Wu Zichu had no choice but to obey. A short while later, Mo Yan arrived, but instead of boarding the carriage, she peered out and asked, "What brings you here, Your Highness?"
"You've come up here because it's important," Ning Jin said impatiently. "Judging from your appearance, it's as if there are poisonous snakes or ferocious beasts in this carriage."
Hearing him say that, Mo Yan had no choice but to get in the car and sit down opposite him.
"What is it?" she asked casually.