Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

The candlelight flickered. Xie Zheng's gaze, fixed on her, was dark and heavy.

He suddenly lunged forward and kissed her, biting at her lips. He controlled the back of her neck with one hand, making it impossible for her to even struggle. The kiss was fierce and savage, with a hint of the tyranny of unleashed shackles.

Fan Changyu, with her head tilted back, could only endure it passively. Her every breath was filled with the crisp, mellow scent of wine from his body and the faint smell of soap from his bath.

Her already slightly swollen lips began to sting from his kiss before he finally released them, his hand gripping her jaw as he continued to kiss his way down.

Fan Changyu's chest heaved violently from the lack of air. Without the binding strip, the curve of her chest became particularly pronounced as it rose and fell. The damp clothes clung to her, half-concealing and half-revealing, outlining an alluring silhouette. The shadow beneath the expanse of snowy skin was enough to make one's blood boil.

Xie Zheng buried his head in the crook of her shoulder, panting heavily. When he looked up again, his eyes were an absurd shade of crimson.

He said, "You asked for this!"

He grabbed her half-damp lapels and ripped them down from her shoulders and arms. The fabric bunched at the crooks of her elbows. Under the dim candlelight, Fan Changyu's skin had the warm, gentle white of jade, but the scars she had brought back from the battlefield on her arms and shoulders now became glaringly conspicuous.

Xie Zheng had never seen her body in its entirety. He knew she had an extremely long knife scar running from her abdomen to her waist, an injury from the battle at Lu City, but he hadn't expected to see so many overlapping scars on her upper arms as well.

The dark lust in his eyes receded slightly. He gently kissed the deepest scar on her shoulder and arm, asking, "How did you get this?"

He knew it must have been from the battlefield, but he didn't know which battle.

The kiss was so light, as gentle as a feather's touch.

During her recovery and the journey to the capital, Fan Changyu had read many books. The phrase "as if looking at a precious treasure" subconsciously came to her mind.

Her long lashes trembled, and her entire heart felt as if it had been soaked in warm water, leaving it soft and warm.

A blush crept onto her face, not from physical arousal, but from a trace of shyness that a normal maiden would feel before the man she loved.

She turned her head slightly, looking at the scar on her upper right arm herself. Though she had never cared much for it before, at this moment, she felt a flicker of thought that the scar was ugly.

She tried to cover it with her hand, feigning a relaxed tone. "This was also from the battle at Lu City. I was lucky the Crown Prince's men wanted to capture me alive back then. If the blade had gone a fraction of an inch lower, this arm of mine would probably have been crippled, just like Xiao Wu's."

Xie Zheng moved her shielding hand aside, bent down, and kissed the scar again. His half-damp bangs and lowered lashes concealed the expression in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I was too late."

Fan Changyu smiled, one hand gently caressing his jade-like profile. "Why are you apologizing again? What military officer doesn't get injured? Since I chose this path, these are things I must go through."

Bringing up the battle of Lu City again, she asked the question that had puzzled her for a long time. "General Tang said you were on your way to escort Sui Yuanqing back to Chongzhou and just happened to be passing through Jizhou. But I calculated the dates. You had just returned to the Xie residence in Huizhou to receive your punishment not long before that. Your wounds were probably still bleeding. Why did you set out in such a hurry?"

A shadow fell over Xie Zheng's eyes, which reflected the candlelight. "The Eldest Princess sent a message to Gongsun Yin, telling him about the little emperor's decree of marriage. The eunuch sent to Chongzhou to announce the decree also intended to harm you."

Fan Changyu still remembered that eunuch, the one whose gaze had made her skin crawl.

But hearing Xie Zheng himself mention his decreed marriage to the Eldest Princess, and that the Eldest Princess had also passed on such an important message tonight, she felt a subtle and complex emotion in her heart that she couldn't quite identify.

She pressed her lips together slightly and asked, "Are you... very close with the Eldest Princess?"

Xie Zheng's phoenix eyes lifted slightly. Hearing what she was really asking, he pinched her cheek. "Not at all. Gongsun Yin is the one who has a past with her. I had to rely on him to get the Eldest Princess to help investigate the matter of the Sixteenth Prince in the palace."

Fan Changyu coughed lightly. "No wonder when I met Gongsun in Jizhou, he said he was on an errand for you. Was it this?"

"No," Xie Zheng said.

The confusion in Fan Changyu's eyes deepened. "Then what was it? Gongsun was so secretive about it at the time, saying he couldn't tell me yet."

Xie Zheng's palm gently caressed the scars on her shoulder and arm. "I really can't tell you yet. You'll know when he comes to the capital."

The more he kept her in suspense, the more curious Fan Changyu became. "Gongsun is coming to the capital later?"

Xie Zheng's calloused palm rubbed its way up her arm. When it touched the bloody bite mark he had viciously left on her before the tomb, he suddenly pressed down hard.

Fan Changyu hissed softly and looked up, meeting his dark, heavy gaze.

"Are you sure you want to talk about other men with me at a time like this?"

Fan Changyu wanted to glare at him, but she was momentarily captivated by his intensely aggressive stare. He took her hand and, through her soaked underpants, pressed it down.

Fan Changyu's face instantly turned completely red.

He had been out of the bath for too long, and his underpants were cold, but the heat underneath was still scorching enough to nearly burn her hand.

Fan Changyu was half shy, half embarrassed. Her mind felt like an overturned pot of paste. She somehow managed to ask, "You only take off your top when you bathe?"

Earlier, afraid of seeing something she shouldn't, she hadn't dared to glance at his lower body at all. Later, dazed from his kisses, she had paid even less attention. It was only now, due to his brazen act, that she realized he was only bare-chested.

Xie Zheng was also taken aback by her ill-timed question. He then explained, "It's a habit from over the years. An assassin doesn't care if you're bathing when they want to take your life. In the early years, I always kept a dagger strapped to my leg, never taking it off."

Fan Changyu remembered when she was fighting in Chongzhou, she had run into him by the river during a nighttime stroll. He had been just as vigilant then.

He must have had a very hard life all these years.

She herself had faced death several times in the dozen or so battles she'd fought to quell rebellions. He had joined the army at a young age, facing the Northern Turks who were as ferocious as wolves and jackals. The dangers he had experienced were likely far greater, which was why he was so vigilant.

The more Fan Changyu thought about it, the heavier her heart felt. Not wanting him to sink into such thoughts as well, she changed the subject. "No wonder you asked me to bring your clothes in earlier..."

By now, Xie Zheng had mostly sobered up. Hearing her words, he just smiled. "You were so hesitant back then. Did you think I wanted to take advantage of you?"

Fan Changyu was a little mortified, but on the principle of never backing down, she glared back defiantly. "Who would know your bathing habits?"

But her earlobes were already bright red.

Xie Zheng stared at her earlobes. Just as he had seen them under the moonlight in the cemetery, they were as vibrant as firethorn berries under a blanket of white snow. Because the candlelight in the room was brighter, he could even see that the shell of her ear was also a tempting shade of pale pink.

His eyes darkened, and his voice grew heavy. "You weren't wrong. I'm always thinking about how to take advantage of you."

As he finished speaking, he leaned over and bit her earlobe.

Fan Changyu had just been stunned by his words, and in the next instant, she let out a low "Ah!"

Her earlobe was both pained and numb. His hot breath fanned across the shell of her ear, a ticklish sensation like ants crawling over her skin. A strange feeling rose through her limbs, as if all her strength was being drained away between his teeth.

Her face was also burning hot; Fan Changyu felt like she was about to be cooked through.

She whispered, "Don't... don't bite..."

Her voice trembled uncontrollably by the end.

As she lost herself in a dazzling white light, he guided her hand out of the cold, damp underpants and inside.

...

When Fan Changyu washed her hands in the tub, using the water from his bath that had long since cooled, her face was still red.

Xie Zheng's breathing had yet to even out. His long, narrow phoenix eyes, usually indifferent and severe, now held a lustrous sheen of satisfaction. He quietly watched the slender, graceful figure not far away. She was in such a hurry to wash her hands that she hadn't even tied her sash properly.

The damp clothes, which he had rumpled, didn't fit well, revealing the pale nape of her neck and a small section of her shoulder and back. The ambiguous red marks scattered across her skin were particularly eye-catching, and her loose black hair falling over them added to the seductive scene.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes dark. He walked straight over and swept her up into his arms.

Fan Changyu was stunned. Her body was suddenly airborne, and she could only instinctively cling to his firm, muscular shoulders. "You..."

Xie Zheng strode out of the clean room. Only when he pressed her down onto the bed in the outer room did he lower his head to kiss her swollen lips. His dark eyes were filled with an aggressive desire, as if he wished he could devour her whole. "It's still early. I was just afraid of hurting you before."

He took her hand and kissed it, then moved to let down the canopy hanging from the golden hooks. Lying in the bedding that carried his scent, Fan Changyu's heart pounded like a drum.

Her peripheral vision caught sight of the food on the round table. She quickly pressed a hand against his chest and said fiercely, "Go eat. If it's cold, have the kitchen heat it up again."

He still hadn't had dinner at this late hour.

Her hand was also sore, still feeling soft and weak.

Xie Zheng's gaze swept over the dishes on the table, and he suddenly asked her, "Have you eaten?"

Fan Changyu wanted to stubbornly say that she had, but her stomach rumbled at the inopportune moment.

Seeing her embarrassed yet prideful expression, Xie Zheng's eyes softened. He chuckled, got up, and pulled her up as well. "Why didn't you eat first?"

Fan Changyu mumbled, "Who knew it would take so long just to come and call you for dinner..."

Xie Zheng suddenly laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Fan Changyu froze. When she realized what he meant, her face shamelessly turned red again, and she could only glare at him resentfully.

Her hair was a mess, and in her current disheveled state, combined with that expression, she looked quite like a little leopard baring its fangs and claws.

Xie Zheng's long eyes darkened slightly. Any look she gave him now was like a hook tugging at his heart. He couldn't resist, pressing her down and kissing her until he'd had his fill before letting go. He said in a hoarse voice, "Don't provoke me."

Her dress was already half-damp. Xie Zheng found a set of his own clothes from a trunk for her. "There are no women's clothes in the villa. Make do with this for now."

Although the two of them had already been almost completely honest with each other in the clean room, that was in a moment of uncontrollable passion. Now, being asked to change in front of him, Fan Changyu still felt embarrassed.

She took the clothes to the clean room. As she changed, she caught sight of the red marks on her body and the faint, lingering scent of photinia in the air. Thinking of all the things he had done while pressing her against the long table, his suppressed gasps seeming to echo in her ears, her face instantly became hot enough to fry an egg.

She had helped him on the night he arrived in the capital, too...

Was it because she had woken up to find him already gone that time, so it wasn't as embarrassing?

Fan Changyu covered her face with her damp clothes for a while. Once she was sure her face was no longer burning, she changed into the clothes Xie Zheng had found for her.

He looked lean, but his clothes were several sizes too big for her. After Fan Changyu put them on, the sleeves were as long as those of an opera singer on stage. She had to roll up the cuffs and pant legs to avoid tripping.

When she came out, Xie Zheng had already put on an outer robe and lit a brazier. The dishes on the table, which had gone cold, were placed on a small iron table and were being warmed over the brazier.

"It'll be ready to eat after warming for a bit..."

Xie Zheng's words trailed off as his gaze swept over to her and suddenly stopped.

His clothes were too big for her. The rolled-up sleeves and pant legs only accentuated how slender her wrists and ankles were. Her cheeks still held a faint pink blush, like peach blossoms blooming on a branch in March. A few sweat-dampened strands of hair clung to her cheeks, and her almond eyes, as if washed by water, looked at him uneasily, like a small animal that had wandered into a hunting ground.

Fan Changyu tugged at her sleeve, saying awkwardly, "The clothes are a bit big."

Xie Zheng's hand, holding the silver-wrapped Ebony Chopsticks, tightened. He used every ounce of his self-control to tear his gaze away from her and lowered his eyes to continue arranging the chopsticks.

He said, "Make do for now. I'll dry your clothes in a bit."

What he was thinking was, From now on, there's no need to prepare her undergarments. She can just wear mine.

It would be best if she was his, from the inside out.

Fan Changyu was completely unaware of these thoughts. She just found it a little strange that Xie Zheng barely looked at her throughout the meal. Other than placing food in her bowl, he didn't speak. But thinking about what had happened in the clean room, she herself still felt awkward, so she didn't think much of it.

During the meal, Xie Zheng only asked one question: "Did Xie Zhong have you bring the food?"

Afraid he would blame the old man, Fan Changyu said, "I heard you order someone to take the food back, so I volunteered to bring it to you."

Xie Zheng gave a faint "en" and said no more.

The meal prepared for Xie Zheng was already a large portion, and it was late at night. Shared between the two of them, it was just enough to finish without being too full.

After dinner, Xie Zheng cleared the small table and went to the clean room to get Fan Changyu's damp dress, placing it over the brazier to dry.

Fan Changyu watched him do these things with a practiced ease, remembering that time by the river in Chongzhou when he had sat by the fire just like this, drying her soaked clothes for her. The memory overlapped with the scene before her, and a warmth spread through her chest, something so intense it felt like it was about to overflow.

She scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "Um... I can dry it myself."

Xie Zheng didn't even lift his eyelids, only saying, "If you're tired, go lie down on the bed for a while. I'll call you when the clothes are dry."

Perhaps because she had done something naughty, Fan Changyu wasn't sleepy at all now; she felt unusually energetic. It was just the lingering awkwardness that made her squat by the brazier, not knowing where to put her hands and feet.

Xie Zheng seemed to notice her discomfort and said, "There are some military treatises on the bookshelf. They're all ones I've been reading recently. You can take a look."

Just sitting there together in silence wasn't a solution. Reading military books was indeed a good way to pass the time.

Fan Changyu immediately went to the bookshelf, picked up a volume, and sat down opposite Xie Zheng to read. The military books he read were much more obscure and difficult to understand than the ones she had read. Even with his annotations, she had to ask several questions about a single page before she could move on.

Xie Zheng's talent in military strategy was truly heaven-sent. When he explained the obscure concepts, Fan Changyu didn't feel the slightest bit of the confusion she had felt when listening to the tutors she had hired at great expense. She understood everything easily.

To help her understand some historical battles, Xie Zheng even took out several maps for her to compare the terrain.

What had started as a way to avoid awkwardness turned into Fan Changyu completely immersing herself in the military treatise.

When Xie Zheng finished drying her dress and told her to go change in the clean room, she even held him back to ask two more questions before she went.

After changing back into her own dress, Fan Changyu had just picked up the military book again when Xie Zheng went out to call someone to clear the dishes.

Seeing Fan Changyu sitting by the low table reading, with several rolled-up maps and one spread open on the floor, the servant assumed that their Marquis was discussing important military defense matters with the General of the Cloud Banner. They tiptoed in, collected the bowls and chopsticks, and exited the room.

Only then did Xie Zheng say to Fan Changyu, "Where did Xie Zhong arrange for you to stay? I'll walk you over."

Fan Changyu was slightly taken aback. She looked up from the book and said, "The east wing."

His current calm demeanor was a world away from the man in the clean room who had looked like he wanted to swallow her whole. Fan Changyu just felt a strange feeling in her heart.

She saw Xie Zheng stand up, so she followed suit. Just as she reached the door, she was suddenly pinned against the door panel again, her chin seized as he kissed her.

When they parted, Xie Zheng was breathing heavily. He said to her, "I want you to stay, too. But my A Yu will one day be the Marquise of the manor and command the three armies. I must go through the three letters and six rites to marry you, so as not to dishonor you."

He had been drinking earlier, and his passion had been ignited by her words.

But he had completely calmed down during dinner. Xie Zhong had sent her to deliver the meal. If she didn't leave his room tonight, any discerning person would know what had happened.

Even though everyone in this villa was a trusted subordinate willing to die for him, Xie Zheng didn't want them to think that Fan Changyu had simply spent the night in his room like that.

In matters of the heart, she appeared cautious, considering everything before giving her heart away.

But once she truly gave her heart, she didn't care one bit for worldly customs and etiquette.

She had given him her most sincere and passionate self. He could not help but cherish it for her.

His A Yu deserved the best of everything in this world.