Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Extra Story Five

With so many people and prying eyes, and with a considerable distance between them, Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng ultimately only shared a faint glance across the crowd before she followed Qi Zhu to the grand hall for changing.

On the men's side of the viewing stands, a eunuch came to make an announcement. "In the next match, we have Her Highness the Eldest Princess, the Grand General of Huaihua, Young Master Shen, the Prince of Jianning... Are there any gentlemen who wish to participate?"

This was an excellent opportunity for ordinary gentry clans to connect with the powerful and noble, and many young masters immediately responded with flushed faces, eager to join.

A young master who had already played in a previous match lamented, "Why is the Princess only joining the match now?"

A person beside him chuckled. "Young Master Shen is dashing and romantic, and his polo skills are second to none. Perhaps the Princess is also going to admire Young Master Shen's style."

Someone lowered their voice and said sourly, "Then what's the point of watching this next match? The Princess has a noble status, the Grand General of Huaihua has outstanding martial prowess, and Young Master Shen's polo skills are exquisite. With the Grand General and Young Master Shen protecting her, this match is just for the Princess's amusement. Who knows, by the end of the game, a marriage between the Princess and Young Master Shen might be settled."

Gongsun Yin glanced at the extremely conspicuous white robes Xie Zheng was wearing and said through gritted teeth, "Xie Jiuhang, I've helped you with no small number of things, big and small, over the years. How about you return a favor today?"

Xie Zheng turned his head and gave him a faint look.

The grand hall for changing was not far from the polo field. The men changed in the front hall and the women in the rear hall, separated by a courtyard. A young eunuch stood guard at the corner gate to prevent anyone from going to the wrong place.

Fan Changyu was already in a fitted martial attire, so changing was simple for her. But Qi Zhu's palace gown was elaborate, and removing the pearl and jade hair ornaments to restyle her hair was also troublesome. Even with seven or eight maids bustling around her, it still took the time of two cups of tea.

After changing into the crimson martial attire for polo, Fan Changyu went to the courtyard to wait.

She had never played polo before, but having watched a few matches from the stands, she had basically figured out the rules. There were polo balls and mallets in the side hall, so to familiarize herself, Fan Changyu took a mallet and practiced swinging it a few times in the courtyard to get a feel for it.

Today's polo was a military-style game with ten-person teams. As long as one didn't intentionally injure others, hitting the ball with a mallet from horseback into the goal on the field counted as a score.

There was a stone-carved, openwork window on the courtyard wall. Since no one was around, Fan Changyu used the stone window as a goal and struck a ball towards the opening.

Her aim was excellent. The fist-sized ball flew straight through the window, making the palace attendant waiting at the side gasp in applause.

But the applause quickly died away.

The ball that had flown out was intercepted on the other side of the window by a large, well-defined hand.

The afternoon breeze was gentle, causing the hem of the visitor's indigo martial robes to flutter slightly. The hand that caught the ball had faint, prominent veins. Further up, the wrist was clasped by a ruyi-patterned vambrace, and the narrow sleeve outlined the firm muscles of the forearm, which seemed to be brimming with power.

Thinking she had hit someone, Fan Changyu took a few steps forward, about to apologize. "My apologies..."

When the person turned his head, the rest of her words caught in her throat. She looked at Xie Zheng, dressed in indigo martial robes, and said with great surprise, "You're going to play polo too?"

Martial attire actually suited him better. His ink-black hair was all tied up into a topknot cap. Although his expression appeared somewhat cool and aloof, his exquisite features were full of unrestrained, heroic spirit, making it impossible for one to look away.

Xie Zheng walked slowly to the moon gate and raised his arm, tossing the ball he had intercepted back to her. "I was asked by the official in charge to join in the fun."

Fan Changyu caught the ball he threw back and understood the meaning behind his words. Her and Qi Zhu's team was mostly composed of imperial relatives. If the opposing team didn't have someone of high status, they would likely just have to defer and flatter them throughout the match, which would make the game meaningless.

Just as she was about to reply, a man's voice suddenly came from the other side of the moon gate. "Jiuhang! So you're here. I've been looking all over for you!"

The newcomer had handsome brows and bright eyes, and he smiled before he even spoke. It was Shen Shen. He had been looking for Xie Zheng, and then he spotted Fan Changyu practicing in the courtyard. He suddenly broke into a grin. "I was wondering why a busy man like you would suddenly have the leisure to play polo. So you came to accompany the Grand General of Huaihua!"

He was wearing the same crimson martial attire as Fan Changyu, clearly on the same team as her and Qi Zhu. He immediately clapped Xie Zheng hard on the shoulder. "Excellent! It's been years since I last played polo with you. We can finally see who's better on the field in a bit!"

His voice was probably a bit too loud, as Qi Zhu, who was changing inside the hall, also heard him. She came out, having changed into martial attire, and addressed the two of them, "Prince Regent, Young General Shen."

Shen Shen's father had died early. Logically, he could inherit the title of Duke of Shen, so many in the court called him Young Master Shen. But he also held a position in the court, so quite a few people called him General Shen.

Shen Shen cupped his fist with a bright smile. "Greetings, Your Highness."

Through the latticed window, Qi Zhu had also caught a glimpse of a fleeting indigo hem. A trace of gloom flashed in her eyes, but she curved her lips and said, "This princess is also just fond of excitement, which is why I'm joining this one match. My skills are truly not good. I've heard that Young General Shen's polo skills are superb. Might I ask for some guidance?"

Shen Shen was an extremely easygoing person and immediately smiled. "I would be more than happy to be of service."

Qi Zhu looked at Xie Zheng. "Changyu is also playing polo for the first time. The matter of teaching one's own wife should be handled by the Prince Regent himself."

As she spoke, she gave Fan Changyu a teasing smile.

Fan Changyu looked completely baffled. After Qi Zhu took a mallet and walked towards the front, chatting and laughing with Shen Shen, she felt it was strangely awkward for just her and Xie Zheng to be standing there. She said, "I've pretty much finished practicing..."

"Your form when swinging the mallet is incorrect. You could easily get injured on horseback," Xie Zheng interrupted her.

Fan Changyu stared at him, stunned.

Xie Zheng stepped forward and, from behind, took hold of the hand she was using to grip the mallet. He said, "Your wrist should be level, and your waist relaxed. Don't be so tense."

His warm palm clasped her wrist that held the mallet. When his other hand landed on her waist, certain memories suddenly flooded back. Fan Changyu's waist stiffened uncontrollably. Xie Zheng looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

Fan Changyu forced herself to say, "Nothing."

Fortunately, Xie Zheng was truly just teaching her with single-minded focus.

The ball that Fan Changyu hit after mastering the technique flew quite far. When the palace attendant on the side went outside the courtyard wall to retrieve it, Fan Changyu turned her head and said to Xie Zheng with a smile, "I didn't expect you to know this too!"

A light breeze rustled by, and the scholar tree blossoms fell, blanketing the ground. A few petals landed on Xie Zheng's lapels, but he didn't brush them off. He only raised a hand to pick a tiny blossom from Fan Changyu's hair. "Now that A Yu is happy, will you come back to the residence with your husband today?"

Fan Changyu looked at the man standing tall and elegant under the shower of blossoms. Remembering the words she had overheard when passing the viewing stands, she suddenly broke into a smile. "We'll see how you perform on the field later."

The polo match ultimately went awry. Qi Zhu's horse, for some unknown reason, got spooked on the field and charged straight towards the viewing stands, throwing the scene into chaos.

Fan Changyu was right beside Qi Zhu and could have protected her. But when Gongsun Yin and Shen Shen saw Qi Zhu's horse bolt, they also spurred their horses forward to rescue her. The three of them collided, making things worse. In the end, although Fan Changyu managed to save Qi Zhu, they both fell from their horses and were nearly trampled by the horses charging up from behind. Fortunately, Xie Zheng arrived in time to restrain the oncoming horse.

Gongsun Yin and Shen Shen, the two unlucky souls, collided with each other in the chaos. Both fell from their horses and broke their legs.

What was supposed to be a polo match arranged to find a consort for Qi Zhu ended in such a chaotic mess. Yu Qianqian was also at her wit's end. She ordered people to send the frightened noble ladies and madams back to their residences, summoned the imperial physicians to examine the injured, and ordered a strict investigation into the cause of the spooked horse.

After a thorough investigation, they finally traced it to a noble lady.

The horse Qi Zhu rode was the most docile in the entire stable. A commandery princess was originally supposed to be in that match and ride that very horse. The noble lady held an old grudge against that commandery princess, so she timed it just right to feed the horse fodder laced with drugs.

Who knew that Qi Zhu would suddenly decide to play, forcing the commandery princess to give up the horse, which led to this incident.

Yu Qianqian was furious. Fortunately, when Qi Zhu and Fan Changyu fell, Fan Changyu had protected her, rolling a few times to break the fall, so neither of them was seriously injured.

Only Gongsun Yin and Shen Shen's injuries were more severe.

By the time this matter was handled, it was nearly dusk. Fan Changyu, along with Changning, returned to the residence with Xie Zheng.

After dinner, Fan Changyu came out from her bath but didn't see Xie Zheng. Only after asking the servants did she learn that he had gone to bathe in the clean room near the study.

Fan Changyu found this strange. Since their marriage, Xie Zheng had almost never avoided her to go to the clean room by the study alone. When she went to look for him, she happened to run into Xie Shiyi carrying medicinal wine, about to go in.

Only then did she learn that Xie Zheng had injured his arm while restraining the spooked horse.

Fan Changyu dismissed Xie Shiyi and personally carried the medicinal wine into the study.

Xie Zheng had already finished bathing. His hair was half-dry, and he was wearing only a single layer of clothing, concentrating on writing something at his desk by candlelight.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. When he saw the medicinal wine in Fan Changyu's hands, his brow furrowed slightly. "The mouths of these servants are getting looser and looser."

Fan Changyu's eyelids lifted slightly. "If you want to raise a group of people who are loyal only to you, then go ahead and raise them."

Her barbed words made Xie Zheng chuckle. He put down his brush. "So angry?"

Fan Changyu placed the medicinal wine on the desk and stared at him coldly. "Why didn't you say you were injured?"

Xie Zheng said, "I injured my arm just by stopping a spooked horse. What if A Yu looks down on me and refuses to come back with me?"

He was still joking at a time like this. Fan Changyu couldn't help but glare at him and said stiffly, "Take off your robe. I'll rub the medicinal wine in for you."

She was genuinely angry. Xie Zheng didn't tease her further. He removed his outer robe, revealing a stretch of honey-toned, firm muscle in the candlelight.

His right arm was already swollen, and on it were two circles of rope burns where the skin had been scraped off. It was from when he had wrapped the reins around his arm to wrestle with the spooked horse.

Fan Changyu poured some medicinal wine into her palm, rubbed her hands together, and then slowly massaged it into his bruised arm. Her brows knitted as she asked him, "Does it hurt?"

Her spring robe was thin. She had just bathed, and her dark hair was simply tied up. As she lowered her head to focus on massaging the medicine for him, a strand fell from behind her ear, half-hiding her pearly white earlobe in a way that was inexplicably alluring. She carried the faint scent of the soap she always used, and the air was tinged with the alcoholic smell of the medicinal wine.

As Xie Zheng gazed at her furrowed brow under the bright candlelight, he suddenly felt his heart grow warm and content. He hadn't been drinking, but he felt a little tipsy.

He smiled faintly and said, "It doesn't hurt."

Fan Changyu sighed helplessly. "You..."

After she finished applying the medicine, she noticed that the robe Xie Zheng had draped over himself was the same snow-white one from the daytime. She asked, "Why were you wearing a scholar's robe today?"

Xie Zheng's phoenix eyes lowered slightly as he answered, "I've never worn one before. Just trying it out."

Then he asked her, "Does it look good?"

Fan Changyu nodded.

He did look good in a scholar's robe.

Xie Zheng's eyes were deep. He pulled up the robe he had taken off for the medicine and suddenly smiled. "Since A Yu likes it, I'll wear it often from now on."

But there didn't seem to be much of a smile in his eyes.

Fan Changyu found it increasingly strange. She frowned and said, "There's no need to go that far..."

Xie Zheng's eyes were dark and profound, his thoughts unreadable. He pressed her down to sit in his lap, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. "Does A Yu still remember this copy of Tiger Strategy?"

Now that she was sitting at the desk, Fan Changyu could see clearly that he had been making annotations on the pages. Judging by the thickness of the book, it seemed he was almost finished.

Xie Zheng kissed the nape of her neck and said, "Last time I quizzed A Yu on military strategy, there were many things you didn't understand. Once I'm done with the annotations, A Yu can take it and have a good look."

It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up. The moment he did, Fan Changyu shot him a fierce glare and said through gritted teeth, "There won't be a next time!"

Xie Zheng chuckled behind her. "Where has A Yu's mind gone? Your husband simply feels that it is my fault for not even having finished annotating the Six Secret Teachings for you. Besides the Tiger Strategy, I will also find time to annotate the other five volumes of military strategy for you."

Fan Changyu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Looking at the detailed annotations, she said absentmindedly, "I seem to recall having a copy of Tiger Strategy in my collection."

In the past, she had many difficulties understanding military books on her own, so she had hired many strategists at great expense. Whenever those strategists tried to explain military strategy to her, they looked as if they wanted to bang their heads against a pillar. This made Fan Changyu feel quite embarrassed, so she sent them off to annotate military books for her instead.

The military books Li Huaian had given her, she had passed on to her subordinates as soon as she received them, having no impression at all of which ones he had given her.

Later, when Zheng Wenchang returned that copy of Tiger Strategy, she had casually asked Xie Wu to put it on the bookshelf. When she came across it again later, she assumed it had been annotated by her former advisors and had long forgotten that Li Huaian had ever given her a military book.

Hearing this, Xie Zheng's eyes grew colder and colder, but he only smiled faintly and said, "Is that so? I didn't see it when I was organizing for you. Perhaps it was lost during the move."

Since he said that, Fan Changyu didn't think any more of it.

She was about to get up, but the man behind her held her waist without any intention of letting go. He kissed the nape of her neck intermittently, his intention all too clear.

Startled, Fan Changyu glared at the man behind her with a touch of anger. "Your arm is injured!"

Xie Zheng left a red mark on the side of her neck. When he looked up, his eyes were bewitchingly dark. His voice was very soft, as if negotiating, yet tinged with a smile, as if bewitching. "Then could A Yu be a little softer-hearted and indulge me this once?"

The desire in his eyes was not heavy, but it was entwined with some extremely deep emotion.

Fan Changyu was stunned speechless by his shameless words. In the end, she didn't dare to struggle with real force. When it was over, she rested her head on her scattered long hair, lying prone on the desk to slowly even her breathing. The robes beneath her were wrinkled beyond recognition.

Xie Zheng kissed her cheek and went to the clean room to fetch water to clean up.

As Fan Changyu regained some strength, she got up, and her sleeve knocked a book scroll off the desk. She bent down to pick it up and only then noticed that another book was propping up the corner of the desk. Carefully identifying the characters on the cover, it clearly read "Tiger Strategy."

Fan Changyu looked at the copy Xie Zheng had re-annotated for her in her hands, then at the one on the floor that had been used to prop up the desk. She picked up the one from the floor as well.

When Xie Zheng returned, he saw Fan Changyu holding two books, comparing them under the candlelight. Hearing his footsteps, she looked up at him, utterly confused. "Didn't you say this book was lost?"

Xie Zheng's expression didn't change. "It was lost. Where did you find it?"

Fan Changyu's face darkened. "Xie Jiuhang, are you taking me for a fool! Weren't you the one who used it to prop up the desk leg?"

The servants would never dare use a book from the study to prop up a desk leg. It could only have been him!

Xie Zheng stated faintly, "Was it used to prop up the desk leg? I forgot."

Fan Changyu was speechless for a long moment. She thought it over and over but still couldn't figure it out. "What did this military book ever do to you?"

Connecting this to how he had relentlessly tormented her by quizzing her on its contents, Fan Changyu suddenly felt that the problem might lie with this very book.

Hearing this, Xie Zheng stared at her for a long while before finally saying with an extremely faint smile, "It didn't do anything to me."

Fan Changyu knew that Xie Zheng was angry.

When he got angry, he didn't give her the cold shoulder. He would even answer her questions, but his tone would be lukewarm, and he would smile in a way that made her heart panic.

Fan Changyu couldn't figure out what was going on even by the time she went to bed. When she asked Xie Zheng, he would just say "it's nothing" in that light, airy tone.

With him acting like this, it would be strange if it were nothing.

In the darkness of the bed curtains, Fan Changyu glanced at Xie Zheng, who was lying on the outer side, his breathing light and shallow as if he were already asleep. She finally let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

She must have been truly exhausted today, as she fell asleep quickly.

In the middle of the night, however, she was woken by a stifling feeling.

Damp, hot, stuffy.

The person behind her seemed to know she was awake but remained silent. His broad chest and iron-like arms held her in a tight grip, preventing her from moving an inch, while his movements below were exceptionally fierce.

Fan Changyu could endure it at first, but in the end, she bit down hard on her lip, yet muffled moans still escaped, and she nearly tore the bedsheets.

He then turned her face to kiss her. The kisses were also fierce, carrying a hint of punishment and pent-up anger...

Because of the spooked horse incident, both she and Xie Zheng took leave from the morning court session the next day.

When Fan Changyu woke up, Xie Zheng was no longer in the room, but breakfast had been kept warm for her.

Changning was quite dejected for a while after learning that Gongsun Yin had injured his leg and wouldn't be able to lecture at the Chongwen Institute for some time. After Fan Changyu comforted her and found out that Xie Zheng was in the study again, she thought about the delicate situation between them and decided not to go over directly.

Ever since being questioned by Xie Zheng that day, Xie Wu had noticed that something was off between Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu. Today, he finally had a chance to tell Fan Changyu about the military book.

When Fan Changyu learned that the copy of Tiger Strategy had been annotated by Li Huaian, she looked completely stunned. "Wasn't it annotated by the advisors I hired at great expense?"

Xie Wu was on the verge of tears. "No, it was Young Master Li."

Fan Changyu suddenly felt a headache coming on. She finally understood why Xie Zheng had been acting so abnormally these past few days.

The windows of the study in the Xie residence were wide open. The spring sunlight was brilliant, and the plants in the courtyard were lush and green.

Xie Zheng, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, sat at his desk, engrossed in reviewing the memorials in his hands. Even bathed in the spring light, his features showed not a hint of warmth, only making one feel a cold solemnity.

Suddenly, with a "Haya!" a small wooden puppet jumped onto the windowsill. The puppet wore soft armor with a robe over it, a common outfit for Fan Changyu.

Xie Zheng looked up and saw that the puppet's limbs and torso were controlled by thin strings, a common trick in folk puppetry.

The small puppet raised a long sword. Though crudely made, it unexpectedly exuded an imposing air. A voice came from below. "Once upon a time, there was a young lady who, by a twist of fate, went to battle and became a general."

"An Army Supervisor, knowing she wasn't well-read, gave her some military books. But after she realized the Army Supervisor had approached her from the very beginning only to use her, she no longer considered him a friend and gifted the books he gave her to her soldiers."

Following this narration, a small puppet in a green robe appeared on the windowsill. The small puppet handed a book to the female general puppet, who in turn handed the book to several small puppets with the character for "soldier" pasted on their heads.

"Then one day, a straightforward general asked to borrow a book from her. To show proper etiquette of borrowing and returning, he also returned the military book she had gifted away."

A small puppet with the character "Zheng" on its head offered a book to a puppet with the character "Wu" on its head.

"Once the book was back in her hands, she felt it was improper to push it away again, so she had her subordinate put it away, not even knowing which book had been returned."

"Later on, the young lady got married. Her husband discovered the book and found out it had been annotated by that Army Supervisor."

A much more exquisitely made puppet in a white robe jumped onto the windowsill.

"He was unhappy, but he didn't tell the young lady why he was unhappy, so she couldn't guess. One day, the young lady discovered the military book being used to prop up a desk leg. She didn't remember at all that it was a gift from the Army Supervisor, thinking it was annotated by the advisors she had paid for. When she asked him why he used a book to prop up a desk leg, he became even more unhappy."

The white-robed puppet stomped its feet vigorously on the windowsill.

"So the young lady pondered, why was he unhappy? He even started dressing up as a scholar, a look he used to disdain the most. When the young lady discovered that the military book wasn't annotated by the advisors she had paid for, but was a gift from that Army Supervisor, she finally understood. Her husband was jealous."

The female general puppet walked back and forth on the windowsill with her hands behind her back, looking very troubled. "The young lady thought she had to coax her husband. But her husband was skilled in both literary and martial arts, wise and resourceful, a hero second to none in the world. She couldn't understand why he would be jealous of a mere Army Supervisor."

"After much thought, the young lady felt that she probably rarely expressed her feelings to her husband. So, she went to find him."

The female general puppet walked up to the white-robed puppet. Pulled by the thin strings, the two puppets' heads touched.

"The young lady recently learned a poem, with a line that says, 'Having seen the gentleman, how can I not be glad?' She heard it means that even in wind and rain, seeing you brings joy to her heart. She feels this is exactly how she feels every time she sees her husband, and she thought she should tell him."

The vermilion brush in Xie Zheng's hand had long left a large blot on the paper.

His figure seemed frozen in place, unable to move, yet his heartbeat was more intense than ever before—thump, thump, thump—as if it were about to burst through the flesh of his chest.

When Fan Changyu stood up beneath the window lattice, no matter how vast the world was, his dark eyes reflected only her.

His lady general, bathed in the radiant spring sunlight, leaned on the windowsill with a brilliant smile and said to him, "Xie Zheng, having seen the gentleman, how can I not be glad?"