Chapter 66: Very open!

“Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll take you to find Ma Sao. She should be in the kitchen right now.”

Zhang Agui continued walking forward, leading the way for Xiao Hua and Liu Yao behind him.

Along the way, Zhang Agui kept introducing everything about the horse gang. The two of them looked around in the direction he pointed.

Xiao Hua, who had never been to other places, was drawn in by Zhang Agui’s glib tongue. She had long lost her original wariness.

As she walked, she stared wide-eyed at scenes she had never seen before, full of girlish curiosity.

As for Liu Yao, she was also taking in her surroundings.

Though she had come here before and even had the entire layout of the horse gang memorized, in the past she had mostly gone straight to Zhao Yi’an’s small broken house. Along the way, she never really had a chance to look around.

Later, every time she came, she climbed over the wall, sneaked in, and drank and fooled around with her apprentice.

Though later on, she did make him angry…

Liu Yao walked with her head tilted, wryly smiling to herself.

‘Come to think of it, this really is my fault. If our roles were reversed, and Zhao Yi’an kept brushing off every promise he made with a laugh, I’d be angry too.’

‘Mm, sorry… I’ll definitely make it up to you later!’

In her heart, the girl apologized to her apprentice for what happened before.

Sunlight spilled down, but it was blocked by layer upon layer of eaves. The remaining light fell on stone walls, and with the occasional passing figures, it gave off a sense of peaceful days.

The two followed Zhang Agui through several small courtyards, bypassing a few disciples who were moving things, and finally arrived at the kitchen door.

But before they could knock, they heard Ma Sao’s loud voice from inside.

“Oh my god! My pot!”

Then came the sound of pots and pans clattering to the floor and people shouting.

Hearing this commotion, Xiao Hua and Liu Yao outside the door exchanged glances. Zhang Agui held his head and shook it, looking helpless.

“Ahem… Ma Sao, we have guests!”

Since keeping the guests waiting wasn’t an option, Zhang Agui finally chose to knock and call out.

Hearing the knock, the commotion inside stopped abruptly. After a while, a voice came.

“Ah? Oh, oh! Coming, coming!”

With the reply, the familiar clanging of pots and pans resumed.

“Why now of all times… My new recipe isn’t even done yet,” Ma Sao muttered softly.

Of course, through the door, Xiao Hua and Zhang Agui didn’t hear it. But Liu Yao, with her sharp ears, caught every word of the complaint.

‘Hey, hey, I heard all that…’

The girl twitched the corner of her mouth, but still kept a smile on her face.

Ma Sao pulled open the door, poked her head out first, and swept her gaze over the three.

But when her eyes landed on Liu Yao, they lit up immediately.

Then, in the next second, her smile faltered slightly. Her brows furrowed lightly, and a hint of doubt flickered in her eyes. “This… young gentleman, you are?”

Seeing Ma Sao’s hesitant expression, the girl suddenly felt terrible.

‘Your eyes are too sharp, right?!’

‘I’m done for, I’m going to be found out!’

‘Don’t recognize me, don’t recognize me…’

Liu Yao prayed inwardly.

Ever since her first cross-dressing attempt almost got exposed because of her chest binding, Liu Yao had been especially careful about that.

After that incident, she not only disguised her clothing but also altered her appearance.

As for the reason…

‘I’m doing this entirely to reclaim my male dignity that’s gone who knows where!’

‘If I keep being mistaken for a girl, what was the point of my eighteen years of life before this?!’

‘Ah! My lost youth…’

While the girl was lost in thought, Xiao Hua spoke up to explain for her:

“This is Master Lu. He is an honored guest of our Wang family.

I heard that he was coming this way for Young Lady’s matter, so we traveled together.”

Hearing Xiao Hua’s words, Liu Yao snapped back to reality.

She frantically cheered herself on inside, but kept a warm and polite smile on her face. She cupped her hands and spoke with neither servility nor arrogance.

“I am Lu Yao. I’ve just arrived. Please take care of me!”

“The Wang family… Ah, maybe I was mistaken.” Ma Sao didn’t press further. She waved her hand and stepped aside. “Come, come, come inside and talk. Don’t stand outside.”

Through the gap left by Ma Sao’s movement, the three outside saw the disastrous scene inside—

As soon as the door opened, a wave of burnt smell mixed with kitchen smoke hit them.

On the stove, three pots were piled crookedly, one of them still belching black smoke. The lid had flown off to some unknown corner.

On the cutting board, vegetable leaves were scattered everywhere. The floor was a complete mess.

The firewood in the stove hadn’t gone out yet. Sparks crackled and popped, some already jumping onto the rag beside the stove, its corner already curled with black edges.

The air was filled with a mix of burnt sugar and scorched vegetable leaves—hard to say if it smelled good or bad, but it certainly made people frown just by smelling it.

Ma Sao stood amidst the chaos, still holding a spatula in her hand, her apron stained with soy sauce and flour.

She looked at the three stunned people at the door, coughed dryly, and said, “Ahem! Maybe… we should just… forget it?”

Before anyone could react, the kitchen door slammed shut with a bang.

“Sorry about that. I was busy experimenting with a new recipe just now. Got careless…”

“Ahem! Anyway, let’s get down to business!”

Ma Sao’s gaze shifted to Xiao Hua, who was now shrinking back a little. Her tone softened.

“Agui, who are these two?”

Zhang Agui, who had been spacing out, snapped back to reality when he finally could speak.

“Oh, this is the Wang family’s maid. She says she’s here to give congratulations and gifts to the gang leader on behalf of their young lady.” Zhang Agui pointed at Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua quickly lifted the basket in her hand and bowed.

“And this is—” Zhang Agui pointed at Liu Yao, but stopped mid-sentence. He turned to look at Liu Yao, scratched his head, and said, “Uh… Master Lu, you haven’t said what you’re here for yet?”

Liu Yao’s mouth twitched. She barely kept her composure.

‘You’ve been chattering nonstop the whole way as our guide, and only now you think to ask?’

She took a deep breath, straightened her expression, and cupped her hands.

“I am entrusted by Miss Wang to help investigate the whereabouts of her missing husband, Zhou Hongfang. I heard that your gang recently took in a batch of prisoners. I came to see if there are any clues.

If I have overstepped, please forgive me.”

She added after finishing.

“Of course, I don’t mean to disturb your gang’s peace. But this matter concerns the safety of Miss Wang’s family. I dare not be negligent.”

After listening, Ma Sao hugged her arms, tilted her head, and studied her for a long while. Her eyes carried both scrutiny and curiosity.

The gaze made the girl’s heart uneasy. Several times she wanted to speak, but held back.

“Helping that Miss Wang find someone? I wouldn’t have guessed you were such a warm-hearted young gentleman.”

Ma Sao paused, then continued, “But that batch of prisoners is under our care on behalf of the yamen. Outsiders aren’t allowed easy access.”

‘So that’s how it is. Looks like I’ll have to sneak over later on my own…’

Liu Yao’s heart sank.

But then Ma Sao shifted her tone and suddenly smiled.

“However…”

She looked Liu Yao up and down. The more she looked at this young man, the more she liked him.

“I don’t think you look like a bad person, and the Wang family and our horse gang do have some history.

Making an exception to take you there isn’t entirely out of the question.”

She paused again, then continued after a moment.

“But you have to stick with me. No wandering off, and no contact with the prisoners. If something happens, it won’t be easy for us to deal with, right?”

Liu Yao was overjoyed. She quickly cupped her hands and bowed even lower than before.

“Thank you, Ma Sao! I will remember that!”

Seeing this, Xiao Hua, who had been following behind, also breathed a sigh of relief and muttered softly.

“Finally, no more waiting…”

Ma Sao waved her hand, untied her apron, and tossed it at Zhang Agui. Then she ordered, “Agui, clean up the kitchen. I’ll take them.”

“Huh?”

“What ‘huh’? Get to it!”

Ma Sao shot him a stern look.

“Tch! Got it!” Zhang Agui replied, then lowered his voice. “If Brother Ma hadn’t called me, I’d have run off to play long ago. I wouldn’t be stuck here hemming and hawing…”

“What did you say?!”

“I said, ‘On it! I’m getting the tools!’”

Seeing Ma Sao’s expression turn dangerous, Zhang Agui slipped away in a flash.

“Sorry, sorry. Please excuse us…” Ma Sao put on an apologetic look and laughed awkwardly.

The two left behind exchanged glances and responded with embarrassed smiles.

Then Ma Sao led them out of the kitchen courtyard and toward the backyard stable.