Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Xie Zheng pulled on his robe with a grim expression and had just stepped out on crutches when he saw Fan Changyu descending from the attic, holding an oil lamp in one hand and a Gyrfalcon with its feathers in disarray in the other.

Spotting Xie Zheng, she looked slightly surprised. "Did I wake you?"

The dejected Gyrfalcon, having endured several slaps, immediately let out pitiful cries upon seeing its master—though this time, it didn't dare to shriek hysterically. Its weak chirps resembled those of a chick, and the once-glossy feathers on its head were now tousled.

After a brief silence, Xie Zheng asked, "This is...?"

Changyu swung the Gyrfalcon in her hand and flashed a bright smile. "I've seen this Gyrfalcon around several times. I just bought an old hen, so I set a trap to catch it—never thought it'd actually work!"

Ordinary falcons could only snatch chicks, but this Gyrfalcon was enormous, with a wingspan of nearly a meter. Its strength was astonishing—it had struggled so fiercely on the rooftop that it tore a hole in it. If Changyu hadn't rushed up in time after hearing the commotion, it might have escaped the trap. Only after a few slaps from her did it finally settle down.

She added, "I'll take it to the market tomorrow morning and see how much silver I can get for it."

The Gyrfalcon continued to gaze at its master with pitiful, beady eyes.

Xie Zheng couldn't bear to look at the foolish bird. Keeping a straight face, he lied through his teeth, "No one in the market buys live falcons like this. Their meat is tough and sour if slaughtered, and ordinary households can't afford to raise them. Untamed by falconers, they're too wild and prone to attacking people."

"Oh." Changyu's face fell with disappointment.

She scratched her head. "But this Gyrfalcon injured its leg in the trap, and its wing was hurt when it flapped against the rafters. If released into the wild, it probably wouldn't survive the winter."

The Gyrfalcon let out a weak, pitiful cry at just the right moment.

Xie Zheng: "...I know a bit about falconry. I could try taming it. A well-trained Gyrfalcon could fetch over a hundred taels of silver."

"Eh?" Changyu was astonished, but upon hearing that the bird could sell for dozens or even a hundred taels once tamed, she brightened considerably. Even the prospect of repairing the roof tomorrow no longer seemed like a big deal.

"Then we'll keep it at home for now!"

She immediately found a chicken coop to confine the Gyrfalcon and fetched wound medicine and bandages.

Cowering in a corner of the coop, the Gyrfalcon stared in terror with its beady eyes as Changyu lifted one of its legs to apply medicine and wrap it in bandages—not daring to move a muscle.

Xie Zheng watched as the Gyrfalcon's leg was swaddled like a dumpling, his eyelid twitching twice.

After finishing, Changyu crouched beside the coop, gazing at the Gyrfalcon with the tender affection one might reserve for a hundred taels of silver. "I'll slaughter a pig tomorrow morning and give you some fresh offal to eat."

The pork had to be saved for sale, but the offal could be used freely.

The offal from today's slaughtered pig had already been turned into braised food.

Before returning to her room, Changyu reconsidered. The main hall was too cold—she and her younger sister slept on a heated kang, so they didn't need a charcoal brazier. Worried that Yan Zheng, weakened by his injuries, might suffer from the cold, she had placed a brazier in his room. It would be perfect to keep the falcon there.

After all, that was a hundred taels of silver—it absolutely couldn't freeze to death!

So Changyu turned on her heel, carrying the chicken coop and the Gyrfalcon, and knocked on Xie Zheng's door.Without caring about the expression on the person in the room, she placed the chicken cage in a corner of his room: "It's cold at night, don’t let this gyrfalcon freeze. It’ll stay in your room for now."

Xie Zheng cast a sinister glance at the gyrfalcon: "...Fine."

Once the door closed, the gyrfalcon's beady eyes met its owner's narrow, gloomy phoenix eyes. Dragging its injured leg and with wings missing many feathers, it trembled in fear.

The next morning, Fan Changyu indeed slaughtered a pig and brought half a sliced pig’s lung to feed the gyrfalcon.

It seemed especially cold outside today, with snow nearly piling up to the doorstep. The moment the door opened, a gust of freezing air made one shiver. Looking out through the doorway, a row of icicles hung from the eaves.

Fan Changyu’s hands were red from the cold. After placing the bowl of pig’s lung into the cage, she rubbed her hands together and said to the person sitting on the bed, "It’s the coldest day of winter today. Bundle up when you get up later. I made maoxuewang—it’ll warm you up."

Xie Zheng nodded in acknowledgment, though he didn’t have much thick clothing to wear. Soon after, Fan Changyu brought over a thick coat that had belonged to her father.

Once Xie Zheng put it on, his figure looked somewhat bulky, but his tall stature still made him appear handsome. Moreover, the winter coat was truly warm, keeping the cold wind at bay.

Along with the coat, she also brought a dark blue hair ribbon—one Xie Zheng had seen before, the same one Fan Changyu had angrily tied around her own head last time. He frowned.

When Fan Changyu emerged from the kitchen carrying a large soup pot, she saw that he had already gotten up and washed. "You’re awake? Perfect timing, let’s eat."

The soup in the pot was a bright red, and the air was filled with an overpowering aroma of spice and heat.

She noticed he hadn’t used the hair ribbon she’d given him but didn’t comment. She had given it to him because he was fastidious—though bathing was inconvenient in winter, he still wiped himself down with hot water every few days. He often washed his hair ribbon, and when it took too long to dry, he’d even dry it by the fire pit. She’d thought he could use the new one as a spare.

She wasn’t petty—just because she’d said she wouldn’t give it to him didn’t mean she actually wouldn’t!

The pot was filled to the brim, and the freshly cooked soup was scalding hot. After setting it on the table, Fan Changyu quickly pinched her ears with her burned fingers. "Ouch, that’s hot!"

Xiao Changning hurried over. "Ning Niang will blow on it! Blowing makes it better."

Fan Changyu, amused, held out her fingers to her little sister, who puffed her cheeks and blew several times before stopping.

When Fan Changyu looked up, she saw Xie Zheng staring at her strangely. She wiped her face, finding no soot, and asked, "Is there something on my face?"

He averted his gaze. "No."

Suspicious, Fan Changyu glanced at him twice before setting out the bowls and chopsticks. "Try the blood curd! It’s best eaten fresh, but we didn’t have time today."

The soup’s surface was topped with a layer of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers drizzled with hot oil. Beneath lay chunks of pig’s blood, along with braised pork intestines, tripe, and lungs from last night. The only thing missing was a bed of plump, crisp bean sprouts at the bottom—they hadn’t sprouted any at home.

Fan Changyu scooped a piece of blood curd into her sister’s bowl. Xiao Changning gasped from the spiciness but still eyed the pot eagerly after finishing it. "More!"

Fan Changyu gave her two more pieces.Xie Zheng was seeing this hodgepodge stew for the first time. Judging by its appearance, it didn't seem drinkable, and the Fan family didn't have the habit of using serving chopsticks.

For regular stir-fried dishes, one could pick from different sides, but with this pot of stew, it was nearly impossible to avoid mixing.

During his hesitation, Fan Changyu and her sister had already finished half their bowls of rice. Noticing he was only eating rice without touching the dishes, Changyu asked puzzledly, "Can't you eat spicy food?"

"...That's not it."

Eventually, he set aside his dining fastidiousness and frowned as he picked up a piece of dark red cooked blood pudding.

The first sensation was numbing and spicy. It hardly needed chewing—just a slight press between his teeth, and the blood pudding melted in his mouth. Surprisingly delicious.

He went on to try the braised offal in the pot. First braised then stewed, the aromatic braising sauce perfectly combined with the numbing spiciness, making it impossible to resist reaching for more.

By the end of the meal, Xie Zheng had nearly forgotten his usual dining fastidiousness.

Just as Changyu had said, he soon broke into a sweat from the spiciness, completely unfazed by the freezing weather outside.

He asked, "Is this a local specialty?"

Changyu replied, "You could say that. It's a famous dish from the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion in town. That female proprietor knows so many recipes!"

Xie Zheng briefly considered introducing this dish to the military but quickly dismissed the idea. Military meals focused on filling stomachs, not such refinement. Moreover, ingredients like chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns would be a significant expense.

After clearing the dishes, Changyu brought the gyrfalcon from his room to the fire pit. Before leaving, she reminded him, "There's half a pig's lung in the kitchen. Chop it up later to feed that gyrfalcon."

She scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, and added, "If you have time, maybe try taming it?"

Xie Zheng's lazy glance felt like a thousand cuts: "...Fine."

The gyrfalcon in its cage shrank its neck fearfully, resembling an oversized quail.

Satisfied, Changyu pushed the cart to the shop. The heavy snow meant few pedestrians on the streets at this hour.

The butcher's street was equally deserted.

After opening the shop and clearing the snow under the eaves, Changyu discovered the brick stove she'd built outside had been smashed.

She was so angry she almost laughed. Her shop had only been selling braised meat for a few days—already enough to provoke envy and vandalism?

After the incidents with Fan Da and the gambling den, she'd built a fierce and shrewish reputation. Sometimes, a fearsome name had its advantages.

Changyu immediately threw down the broom, planted her hands on her hips, and shouted, "Which spineless coward smashed my things? Too scared to face me, so you pull this crap behind my back? Were your ancestors turtles?"

Trained in martial arts since childhood, her voice carried powerfully down the street.

The neighboring butchers stayed silent, except for Guo Butcher, who protested when her gaze landed on him: "Why're you looking at me? I didn't do it!"

Changyu hadn't actually suspected him—Guo Butcher's face showed only schadenfreude, not a trace of guilt.

The butcher's wife nearby suddenly remembered something: "Oh no, Changyu. Your shop was closed for a month before. Did you forget to pay the protection money?"

This was the first Changyu had heard of protection money. Puzzled, she asked, "What's that?"The butcher's wife sighed, "When you open a shop for business, besides paying monthly taxes to the authorities, you also have to give some money to the gang leader who controls this street. Your shop must have been doing exceptionally well these days, and word must have reached them. I’d say they’ll probably come by again soon."

Fan Changyu understood the situation. Those people had smashed the stove outside her door last night as a warning, and today they would surely come to collect protection money.

She thanked the butcher's wife, first arranging the fresh meat and braised meat she had brought on the chopping board, then placing a long stick behind the door. As she sold the meat, she waited for the gangsters to show up.

At a quarter past seven in the morning, a group of street thugs swaggered their way toward the meat market, their arrogance on full display. People along the way quickly moved aside at the sight of them.

Hearing the commotion, Fan Changyu peeked outside from her shop.

Well, well—old acquaintances!