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Глава 27

"fine."

She stood up with a bitter face, dusted off her knees, and ignored Ning Jin's gloating face, which was completely out of character for a prince, and went straight out the door.

As they made their way into the city, Mo Yan was listless and just wanted to get back to the inn to sleep as soon as possible. She had spent the whole night curled up in a chair, and her whole body ached. She would feel much better if she could soak in hot water.

Having finally returned to the Ziyun Inn, Mo Yan had just stepped into her room when Zhan Zhao said from behind her, "Change your clothes, we still need to go to the Bai residence."

"We still have to go to the Bai residence?" Mo Yan asked, puzzled. She looked around and lowered her voice. "Um...didn't we already get it? Why do we still have to go?"

"We don't know what happened after we left last night, so let's go check on them to put our minds at ease."

On one hand, Zhan Zhao was worried that the two would destroy other items, and on the other hand, he was also worried that Wu Zichu and the others might be injured since the fight took place at the Bai residence.

"you……"

Mo Yan wanted to say that he didn't need to sleep but she did, but when she looked up and saw that he also looked tired, and considering that he seemed to have rested even less than she had, she had no choice but to swallow her words.

"At least eat something first," she said, refusing to believe he wasn't hungry.

Zhan Zhao didn't object, but looked at her strangely: "You can still eat?"

"Of course." Mo Yan was also puzzled, as she hadn't eaten anything besides lotus seed soup.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

After a short while, the two had changed out of their night clothes and were still wearing the same clothes they had worn the day before. They sat down at the same noodle stall they had visited the day before and ordered two bowls of wonton noodles. Mo Yan happily sprinkled some chopped scallions on top and ate with great relish. Zhan Zhao watched her and smiled slightly, secretly admiring her.

Just as they finished eating and paid the bill, five or six fully loaded carriages slowly turned the corner and headed towards the Bai residence. The large boxes piled on the carriages, though gold-plated and red-wrapped, were somewhat faded, indicating they had traveled a long distance. Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan exchanged a glance, both understanding: yesterday the girl had said that the Sima family had not yet returned the betrothal gifts and engagement money; it seemed these carriages were the ones that had come.

Mo Yan didn't think too much about it, only feeling that it was a good thing not to marry into such a family. Zhan Zhao, however, sighed inwardly. The Sima family could have concealed the engagement ceremony somewhat; to so openly and ostentatiously cancel the engagement, without any regard for the Bai family's daughter's reputation, was going too far. Bai Baozhen was already dead, and with such a public annulment, the Bai family's daughter's future days would likely be difficult.

"There's a lot of stuff... and it's all good stuff."

Mo Yan leaned against the wall not far from the Bai residence with her arms crossed. Zhan Zhao stood next to her, and the two of them listened attentively as the Sima family's messenger reported the gift list to the Bai residence so that the Bai residence could take inventory.

"...East China Sea red coral...how many feet long?" Mo Yan didn't hear clearly.

"Two feet and three inches."

Zhan Zhao answered casually, his expression gloomy. Judging from the gift list, Bai Baozhen had squeezed far more money out of him than he had imagined.

"Twenty bolts of Yunluo brocade? Isn't this kind of brocade only for tribute?..." The person reading the list spoke fluently, as if reciting a menu. Mo Yan listened with great interest. "The Sima family doesn't care about these good things at all. They really have wasted Bai Baozhen's efforts."

Seeing that Zhan Zhao remained silent, she asked with a smile, "How much difference is there between the salaries of a fourth-rank official and a third-rank official? How come his family is so wealthy while you are so poor?"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but glanced at her expressionlessly.

Mo Yan, oblivious to the situation, pressed on: "How much is your salary exactly? How come you're eating nothing but steamed buns, dumplings, and mushy noodles every day? Even a constable earning three taels a month shouldn't be this frugal. ... Could it be that you're heavily in debt, forcing you to cut back on food to pay it off? Or perhaps you've committed some offense, and Lord Bao has deducted your salary along with it. ... For how many months? Tell me! Are you even worse off than me?"

As her words became increasingly absurd, Zhan Zhao was both amused and exasperated. He could only explain, "Lord Bao did not deduct my salary. It's just that I feel that clothing is enough to cover the body and food is enough to fill the stomach, so there's no need to be overly particular."

"So you're just naturally stingy and miserly."

Mo Yan nodded, drawing a conclusion.

Chapter Twenty

Knowing that she was always outspoken, Zhan Zhao didn't mind such comments and didn't offer any explanation. He quietly watched as the Bai family moved the betrothal gifts inside, and after waiting for half a day, guessing that everything was settled inside, he and Mo Yan went up to knock on the door.

When the servants opened the door and saw them, knowing Zhan Zhao's identity, they looked embarrassed but still led them in.

Before they even reached the main hall, the sight before them made them stop in their tracks: all the large chests of betrothal gifts they had seen at the entrance had been opened, and the three concubines were directing their servants to pick through the items one by one—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say they were scrambling for them.

Zhan Zhao frowned and looked around. Unlike yesterday, almost no one paid any attention to the two of them. Turning his head again, he saw that Mo Yan had somehow joined the crowd and was enthusiastically admiring a jade carving, completely forgetting why she had come.

He was about to call her back when he saw a white shadow move behind the screen, and two maids helped Miss Bai Yingyu out.

Fortunately, Bai Yingyu was different from the other concubines. As soon as she came out, she saw Zhan Zhao. She glanced coldly at the other concubines, but still stepped forward and gracefully bowed to Zhan Zhao.

"Lord Zhan, please come inside to talk." The main hall was too noisy, so she ushered Zhan Zhao inside.

Zhan Zhao nodded and summoned Mo Yan back.

"It's quite lively at your residence!" Mo Yan said with a smile when she saw Bai Yingyu. Although "lively" wasn't quite the right word, it was her honest opinion.

Bai Yingyu looked embarrassed: "It's a misfortune for my family. I'm sorry to have made you two laugh at me."

Seeing her sorrowful expression, Mo Yan wanted to say something to comfort her, but Zhan Zhao stopped her with a look. She could only follow them into the inner hall, looking back every few steps. It was clear that she was reluctant to part with the dozen or so boxes of things.

As they sat down in the inner hall, they could still hear the growing noise coming from the outer hall. Zhan Zhao remained calm and ignored it, while Mo Yan listened intently with great interest.

A servant served tea and snacks. Bai Yingyu frowned, took a sip of tea, wiped her mouth with a plain handkerchief, and then asked softly, "If you two came today to examine the letters, I'm afraid it's not possible."

"how?"

"The study caught fire last night. By the time it was discovered and put out, eight or nine tenths of the study had been destroyed."

"Fire!?"

Zhan Zhao and Mo Yan were both slightly surprised and secretly annoyed, thinking that this would mean losing all the clues.

"But did someone deliberately set the fire?" Mo Yan asked.

"Arson on purpose?" Bai Yingyu frowned. "I don't understand either. Why would someone burn down the study?"

"Did anyone else get hurt?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yingyu shook her head: "There shouldn't be any, since it's the middle of the night and the servants have all gone to bed. No one is near the study."