Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Fan Changyu turned and snapped at Jin Lao San and his group, "What are you hollering about?"

Jin Lao San chuckled awkwardly, "Isn't this the son-in-law you took in through marriage?"

Fan Changyu choked for a moment and instinctively glanced at Xie Zheng. The man's expression remained indifferent, showing no reaction to Jin Lao San's words. Relieved, she continued, "Yes, he's the husband I took in, but why are you calling him 'son-in-law'?"

Jin Lao San and his crew lowered their heads obediently and fell silent, resembling a group of timid daughters-in-law rejected by a harsh mother-in-law.

Fan Changyu felt a vein throb at her temple and waved them off. "Today, I only brought you to confront Wang's place to seek justice. Now that justice has been served, go home and never bully men and women again."

Jin Lao San and his men mumbled their assent and left. Fan Changyu stole another glance at Xie Zheng, who stood not far away, feeling inexplicably guilty. But remembering she hadn't done anything heinous, she folded the paper in her hand, straightened her back, and walked over to ask, "What are you doing here?"

Fine snowflakes settled on Xie Zheng's ink-black hair, accentuating his cold, refined features. "The Eight-legged essays I wrote recently sold well and caught the bookstore owner's attention. He invited me for tea. When I heard you went to Wang's place, I came to check on you."

Fan Changyu exclaimed in surprise, "To earn the bookstore owner's praise, your essays must be exceptional!"

Xie Zheng hadn't expected her, seemingly unlearned, to understand such matters. He lowered his gaze to conceal his thoughts. "Having fled from Chongzhou, I know more about the war and hardships there. Even if my writing is crude, it covers topics unheard of in Lin'an Town, which is why the bookstore owner valued it. How did things go with Wang's place?"

The last sentence carried a clear intent to change the subject.

Unaware of his subtle deflection, Fan Changyu walked alongside him and recounted the incident at Wang's place. "...I didn't even hit anyone—just kicked their chopping block and shaved their hair with my butcher knife, and they were scared out of their wits..."

Midway, she suddenly stopped and glanced at Xie Zheng before falling silent.

Xie Zheng had listened quietly as she animatedly described the events at Wang's shop. Noticing her abrupt silence, he turned his head and asked, "Why did you stop?"

He was undeniably handsome, his delicate features as if painted with ink. When he lowered his gaze slightly, the usual impatience at the corners of his eyes vanished, replaced by a fleeting illusion of cold yet gentle warmth.

Meeting his eyes, Fan Changyu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. She scratched her head and asked, "Do you think I'm too... uncouth?"

Xie Zheng's brows lifted slightly, as if surprised by the question, before he replied, "No."

Before his downfall, he might have thought so—but not anymore.

Only those with full bellies and idle minds fret over refinement and elegance. Those struggling for survival worry only about their next meal.

Judging the poor by the standards of the rich is truly asking, "Why not eat meat porridge?"Fan Changyu curled her lips in a faint smile upon hearing this, not bothering to discern whether his words were genuine or merely perfunctory. She kicked a small pebble at her feet, as if having been alone for too long and suddenly craving conversation. Her tone was almost self-muttering, "My father never allowed me to display martial skills in front of outsiders, and my mother wouldn’t even let me near the butchering. She said if a girl did such things, people would gossip. Even if Song Yan didn’t mind marrying me, others would mock and scorn me behind my back."

"For over a decade, I restrained myself. Though far from being a refined lady, I had a decent reputation in town. After my parents passed away, I had no choice but to take up butchering to make ends meet, even resorting to wielding a stick to teach a few lessons. Now, the townsfolk probably see me as some kind of she-devil."

She waved the notice from the money lender recruiting enforcers, half-jokingly adding, "If I ever quit butchering, I could always go collect debts for people!"

Xie Zheng was well aware of how crucial a woman’s reputation was. Already branded as the "Star of Doom and Isolation," and now infamous for her ferocity, the townsfolk might not say it to her face, but whispers behind her back were inevitable.

This woman before him might truly be unbothered—or perhaps she was simply finding solace in hardship.

A stray snowflake landed on his lashes, melting into tiny droplets in an instant. His dark eyes settled on Fan Changyu as he spoke in a tone both lazy and earnest, "Then go collect debts."

Fan Changyu, in the midst of kicking another pebble by the roadside, nearly slipped on the icy path at his words, almost doing the splits. Fortunately, an iron-like hand yanked her arm back in time.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You’re actually encouraging me to do such wicked deeds?"

Her arm was still held by Xie Zheng. Even through the thick winter coat, his fingers could sense the slenderness of her limb—yet it wasn’t soft like dough, giving an impression of frailty. Instead, it felt like the foreleg of a tiger or leopard, lean but powerful.

Paired with those round, glaring eyes, she resembled a scruffy little leopard still trying to puff itself up in defiance.

Through the coat, his palm tingled oddly.

Xie Zheng frowned, withdrawing his hand and averting his gaze. "I meant for you not to fear others’ words."

Fan Changyu mulled it over for a moment before grasping his meaning, the last remnants of gloom in her heart dissipating entirely.

She quickly caught up to the man hobbling ahead on his crutch. "Your leg’s still injured—let me hire an ox-cart to take you back!"

"..."

"Ah—no, I mean, your wound hasn’t healed yet!"

...

The two rode an ox-cart back. Along the way, Fan Changyu stopped by the tailor’s to pick up the winter clothes she’d ordered for the family’s New Year celebrations and bought a packet of malt candy for Changning. They finally made it back to their home in the western part of town before nightfall.

When she went to Aunt Zhao’s to fetch Changning, however, she was informed that constables from the County Government Office had come by that afternoon, summoning Fan Changyu to appear for a hearing in three days. After such a long delay, Fan Da’s lawsuit was finally going to trial.Fan Changyu hadn’t thought much of it at first, but Aunt Zhao said with deep concern, “The constable who came to deliver the message works under Head Constable Wang. He let slip some news—Fan Da has been frequenting the County Government Office to visit the magistrate’s advisor these days. That advisor is Guo Butcher’s uncle. Guo Butcher had a feud with your father years ago. Originally, since you took in a son-in-law, the property should have been awarded to you. But now, with the advisor meddling, I’m afraid at least half will have to be given to your uncle.”

Fan Changyu hadn’t expected these two troublemakers to join forces. She immediately frowned. “Why would Fan Da get half?”

Aunt Zhao sighed. “Those officials can decide cases however they please with just a word from their mouths. How could folks like us understand the law as well as they do? Besides, Fan Da went to the advisor. Even if you hired a lawyer, no one would dare take your case and risk offending the advisor.”

Changyu’s frown deepened.

Though the advisor held no official rank, he was the de facto second-in-command at the Yamen. Combined with the old grudge between Guo Butcher and her father, she was sure to get the short end of the stick when the court convened three days later.

Even if she tried to pull strings now, no one she could reach outranked the advisor—unless she could appeal to the county magistrate himself, but that was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Not only did her family have no connections to the magistrate, but given that the magistrate wanted Song Yan as a son-in-law—and she was Song Yan’s former fiancée—she’d be lucky if the magistrate didn’t make things harder for her.

Changyu thought it over and felt a dark cloud looming over her head. She asked, “Aunt Zhao, do you know how Guo Butcher and my father became enemies?”

She only knew that Guo Butcher had a grudge against her family, but she wasn’t aware of the specifics Aunt Zhao mentioned.

Aunt Zhao sighed again. “That happened over a decade ago. The shops on that street have long since changed hands, so you wouldn’t have heard about it while doing business there.”

“Back then, Guo Butcher was a local thug. All the merchants on that street had to pay him ‘protection money,’ or else hoodlums would come and cause trouble. After your father set up shop there, he refused to pay. When the thugs came to stir up trouble, they ended up getting a beating from your father instead. They confessed that Guo Butcher had sent them, so your father took him to court. The magistrate at the time was a true just official—not only did he have Guo Butcher flogged, but he also threw him in jail for over half a year. That’s how the feud between your father and Guo Butcher started. Now that Guo’s family has an advisor as a relative, and you’re caught up in this lawsuit, they’ll surely use this chance to make things difficult for you.”

With such an old grudge in play, there really seemed to be no way out of this.

Changyu remained frowning all the way home.

After dinner, once Changning had gone to bed, she sat alone by the fire pit, idly poking at the ground with a charred stick.

The gyrfalcon’s cage was placed near the fire pit. After a full day of smoke, its feathers had dulled a shade.

The main room was utterly silent, save for the occasional crackle of embers from the fire pit. The gyrfalcon didn’t dare make a sound either, merely darting its beady eyes between the two figures seated by the fire.

When the flames spat out another spark, Xie Zheng finally spoke, watching the deep furrow between Changyu’s brows in the firelight. “Don’t worry too much…”

“I’m not worried. I’ve already thought of a solution.” Changyu tossed the stick aside, her tone firm, but her expression remained grave, showing no sign of relief.Xie Zheng's eyes lifted slightly, the previously languid gaze cooling by three degrees: "What method?"

Going to beg her former fiancé?

That did seem to be the only feasible option available to her at the moment.

After their conversation that afternoon, Fan Changyu no longer treated him as an outsider. She clenched her fingers tightly together, her lips pressed into a nearly straight line: "If my parents knew my plans, they'd probably be disappointed in me too. I used to look down on such actions myself, but right now there's no other way..."

Xie Zheng suddenly didn't want to hear anymore. His cold phoenix eyes reflected both the firelight and her silhouette as he interrupted: "I'll help you."

Changyu looked up, puzzled: "How can you help me?"

Xie Zheng replied: "When officials judge a case, no matter how biased they are, they must base their decision on the Great Yin Law. The reason they could allocate part of your property to your uncle after you took in a husband was simply by exploiting loopholes in certain laws. We have three days—I'll break down the relevant sections of the Great Yin Law for you in detail. When you face them in court, you won't need a lawyer; you'll be able to handle it yourself."

Changyu was both astonished by his legal knowledge and somewhat doubtful: "Will... will that really work?"

Xie Zheng shot her an icy glare, showing no mercy: "Would begging your fiancé work better?"

Changyu looked completely baffled: "Why would I beg him?"

Xie Zheng frowned: "Wasn't that the method you were thinking of?"

Changyu: "...I was planning to disguise myself as someone from a gambling den the night before the trial, stuff my uncle in a burlap sack and kidnap him."

Xie Zheng: "..."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed about confessing such plans, she added: "Head Constable Wang mentioned that if my uncle doesn't show up on trial day, the case would be invalid."

Xie Zheng: "..."