Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Fan Changyu followed Chef Li to the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion. Upon entering, she was greeted by an imposing landscape screen, the floor paved with exquisite carved blue bricks, and the doors and windows adorned with intricate hollowed-out patterns of flowers, plants, and animals.

Since it wasn’t mealtime, there were few customers in the building. At a glance, the main hall alone had over a dozen large round tables draped in fine silk, and the chairs were equally refined—not bare, but fitted with matching embroidered cushions and backrests, exuding an air of grandeur.

No wonder the townsfolk hailed the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion as the finest establishment in town.

Chef Li led Fan Changyu to an elegant private room upstairs and said, "The proprietor is inside. You may go in, lass."

After a moment’s hesitation, Fan Changyu pushed the door open and found herself face-to-face with a young woman who was happily gnawing on a braised pork knuckle, sleeves rolled up.

Before the woman lay a table laden with delicacies.

Fan Changyu glanced back at the door, uncertain. "Are you the proprietor of the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion?"

The woman set down the pork knuckle, swiftly wiped the grease from her face with a handkerchief, and cleared her throat. "You must be Changyu, right? Please, have a seat."

Hearing this, Fan Changyu knew she was indeed the proprietor. She thought to herself that the woman wasn’t quite what she had imagined, but she seemed friendly enough.

After sitting down, Fan Changyu asked, "You know me?"

The woman smiled. "Chef Li has mentioned you. Your braised meat is exceptional."

Perhaps having heard about Fan Changyu’s confrontation at Wang’s shop, she studied her with a grin. "Before meeting you, I didn’t expect you to be such a lovely, delicate beauty."

Unsure how to respond, Fan Changyu simply offered a faint smile.

The woman beamed. "My surname is Yu, and my given name is Qianqian. I’m a few years older than you, so I’ll take the liberty of calling you Sister Changyu. As you may know, the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion has ended its braised meat dealings with Wang’s shop. I’ve had someone buy some from your shop to try, and it’s indeed better than theirs. If you’re willing, I’d like to do business with you for your braised meat."

This unexpected stroke of luck would have been something Fan Changyu eagerly sought in the past. But considering her family’s current situation, she hesitated before politely declining. "Thank you for your kind offer, Shopkeeper Yu, but I’m afraid I can’t take on this business."

Yu Qianqian blinked. "Why not?"

Fan Changyu answered truthfully, "After the New Year, I plan to leave Linshui Town."

Yu Qianqian sighed in disappointment. "What a shame. Have you decided where to go?"

Fan Changyu hadn’t settled on a destination yet and replied, "I’m still discussing it with my husband."

Yu Qianqian tapped the table with her slender fingers, looking somewhat wistful. "If your braised food disappears, the town will lose another delicacy."

There was a playful tone to her words.

Though this was Fan Changyu’s first meeting with the female proprietor, she found her quite amiable. Thinking that she and her younger sister might be leaving their hometown for who knew how long, she said, "If you enjoy the braised meat, Shopkeeper Yu, I can teach you the recipe. You can have your staff prepare it."Yu Qianqian, now the manager of a restaurant, had once worked in the kitchen herself and knew how valuable a recipe could be. She quickly declined, giving Fan Changyu a helpless look. "You silly girl, you're too honest. If you ever go to a foreign place, you’ve got to be more careful. Don’t sell yourself out with just a few words."

Fan Changyu could sense the goodwill from the female manager and smiled. "I won’t. I’m willing to share the recipe with you because you seem kind."

Yu Qianqian was amused by her response and thought for a moment. "How about this? Business is at its peak in my restaurant during the New Year period. Banquet orders are fully booked, and the demand for braised meat is high. Those gourmets have picky tastes, and lately, they’ve been complaining that the braised meat here isn’t as good as before. The Wang family’s business practices are shady—they stabbed me in the back before and are now collaborating with other restaurants under the banner of Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion. I absolutely refuse to go back to them. Why don’t you supply the braised meat for my restaurant until the New Year? After that, I’ll figure out how to fill the gap."

Fan Changyu pondered for a while. Moving to a new place would require buying a house and land, and there would be no shortage of expenses. The money from selling the pigsty, farmland, and the shop in town might not be enough. Earning a bit more now would be ideal, so she nodded in agreement.

Yu Qianqian was visibly delighted. "You’re really helping me out of a tight spot. Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion used to have a yearly contract with the Wang family, buying braised food at fifty wen per pound regardless of the season. Since meat prices are higher during the New Year, I’ll pay you sixty wen per pound. The restaurant sells at least ten braised pork heads a day. If your home kitchen isn’t convenient, you can use the restaurant’s back kitchen to prepare the meat, and I’ll pay you daily."

Fan Changyu’s own home had been sealed by the authorities, making it inconvenient. She nodded. "I’ll prepare the meat in the restaurant’s kitchen."

It was already late afternoon. Fan Changyu went to the meat market with a servant from Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion and bought ten fresh pork heads.

Her family had previously run a pork shop in that area, and most of the butchers on that street knew her. Seeing her buy so many pork heads, they couldn’t help but ask, "Is Changyu’s shop selling braised meat again tomorrow?"

The servant accompanying her was sharp-witted and immediately replied, "Miss Fan’s braised meat is now exclusively sold at Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion."

Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion was a well-known establishment in town. Even after the Wang family’s fallout with the restaurant, their reputation in town had taken a hit.

Many acquaintances congratulated Fan Changyu.

With her family’s pork shop closed, business had improved for the other butchers. When Fan Changyu went to buy pork heads from them, they gave her a special discount.

Fresh pork heads in the market usually cost twenty wen per pound, weighing around six to seven pounds each, but Fan Changyu paid only eighteen wen per pound.

Using the braising spices and stoves in Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion’s kitchen, the custom-made large pots could braise four or five pork heads at once. Two pots were enough to finish all the pork heads, and the total cost of the braising spices for a full pot was only thirty wen.

Fan Changyu did a quick calculation. Even conservatively estimated, braising these two pots of pork head meat would net her at least two taels and five mace of silver.

For a moment, she was a little stunned.When she ran the shop herself, she had to work from dawn to dusk every day, haggling with the elderly women buying meat, which took a lot of effort. After deducting costs, she only earned about two taels of silver a day.

Now, all she needed to do was spare an hour or two to select pork head meat at the market and braise it at the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion to earn the same amount. It was countless times easier than before.

Remembering that the female proprietor had offered her sixty coins per jin, she felt a bit guilty. She approached Chef Li, who was also in the kitchen preparing broth, and said, "Chef Li, could you tell the proprietor later that she can charge me fifty coins per jin for the braised meat?"

Chef Li frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

Fan Changyu scratched her head sheepishly. "The proprietor is kind, but I feel the payment is too generous. It doesn’t sit right with me."

Chef Li gave her a sidelong glance. "If the proprietor offered that price, it’s because she thinks your braised meat is worth it. Why feel uneasy? Don’t let her youth fool you—she has sharp judgment. Even though she’s been sabotaged by Wang’s this time, her past dealings with them were always profitable. Just relax."

Changyu asked curiously, "What happened between Wang’s and the pavilion?"

Chef Li had nothing good to say about Wang’s. "That money-grubbing old scoundrel! The proprietor planned to open another restaurant in the county town to expand the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion. She ordered twelve pork heads from Wang’s for good luck, and they agreed. But on opening day, Wang’s didn’t deliver the heads."

"The proprietor sent someone to hurry them, but Wang’s hadn’t even bought the heads yet! Another restaurant in town had outbid her and secured a multi-year contract for braised meat with Wang’s. Missing the auspicious time for the delivery was a huge taboo. The proprietor was furious and immediately cut all ties with Wang’s."

Changyu hadn’t realized this was why the pavilion severed ties with Wang’s. Recalling the young master of Wang’s smug face, she remarked, "Wang’s really lacks integrity."

Chef Li snorted. "Profit over principles—typical of petty people."

He then changed the subject. "I heard Wang’s hired people to smash your shop?"

Changyu said, "Their son sent thugs, but I settled the score myself."

Chef Li suddenly laughed. "No wonder the proprietor likes you. In some ways, your temperament is just like hers."

Changyu felt embarrassed. "The proprietor is capable. How could I compare?"

Chef Li sighed. "She’s had her share of hardships too. When she first came to Lin’an Town, she was heavily pregnant, alone, and worse off than you."

Changyu had often heard about the proprietor’s business acumen but never about her past. Puzzled, she asked, "What about her husband?"

Chef Li shook his head. "Heard he died."

Changyu sighed in sympathy. Chef Li glanced at her again. "The pavilion’s been busy lately, and the proprietor is swamped. She doesn’t care about those extra ten coins per jin for the braised meat. Don’t bother her with it—she’s straightforward and might find such hesitation troublesome."Since he had already put it that way, Fan Changyu naturally gave up on the idea of looking for Yu Qianqian.

After finishing the braised meat at the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion, it was already quite late.

Thinking that the packet of malt candy she had bought for her younger sister was almost finished, Fan Changyu, flush with the two taels and seven mace of silver she had earned that day, swaggered into the candy shop and bought two packets each of malt candy, pine nut candy, and candied orange peel.

The thought that Yan Zheng was actually afraid of bitter tastes made the corners of her lips curl up involuntarily.

He wasn’t afraid of pain, yet he dreaded bitter medicine.

By the time she got home, Aunt Zhao had already started cooking.

Changning, like a sister-watching stone, clung to the doorframe, craning her neck to peer down the alley.

The moment she spotted Fan Changyu returning with several large and small packages, she immediately bounced over like a little ball to greet her: “Elder Sister is back!”

Taking the paper packages and discovering several large packets of candy inside, she lifted her sparkling round eyes and asked, “Are these all for Ning Niang?”

Faced with her younger sister’s hopeful gaze, Fan Changyu felt an inexplicable twinge of guilt. “Your brother-in-law is afraid of bitter medicine—how about we give half to him?”

Before, the mere mention of the word “brother-in-law” had made her feel awkward all over, but now, as she coaxed Changning, the term didn’t feel quite so scorching on her tongue.

Changning generously agreed with an “Mhm.” She often had to take medicine herself and wrinkled her round face. “The black goo is so bitter!”

“Black goo” was her special term for medicine.

Aunt Zhao came out to pour water and overheard the sisters’ conversation. She chuckled and teased Fan Changyu, “Learning to dote on your husband now?”

Even Fan Changyu’s thick skin couldn’t withstand the teasing, and she flushed slightly in embarrassment.

Coincidentally, the medicine was ready. As Fan Changyu carried the packets of candy upstairs, she also brought the bowl of medicine with her.

The person inside wasn’t asleep. The moment she entered, his gaze landed on her, and he asked, “Why are you back so late?”

It was a perfectly ordinary question, yet it carried a strange undertone.

“Did the County Government Office turn up any new leads?” he quickly added, as if to make up for it.

The odd atmosphere finally dissipated somewhat.

Fan Changyu handed him the medicine bowl and said, “The case has already been closed.”

Xie Zheng looked up in surprise, and seeing the expression on her face, he understood most of it immediately.

Fan Changyu voiced her speculation: “It’s probably because the county magistrate was afraid of losing his official hat after so many murders during the New Year, so he rushed to pin the blame on the mountain bandits.”

Xie Zheng remained silent.

That waist token belonged to the Wei family. If the Wei family wanted to suppress this matter quickly, it wasn’t impossible for them to pressure the county magistrate through the prefectural government to close the case.

But regardless, the Wei family had already set their sights on Lin’an Town, and it was no longer safe to stay.

He looked at Fan Changyu. “If this is about revenge, they’ll likely come back. What are your plans?”

Fan Changyu had originally intended to discuss leaving with him after his injuries improved, but since he had brought it up, she said, “I plan to sell off my property after the New Year and take Ning Niang somewhere else to hide for a while.”

Xie Zheng, however, replied, “If you’re leaving, sooner is better than later.”

He knew all too well how that man operated. With so many Martial Assassins of the Xuan rank lost in a small town like Lin’an, it was bound to draw his attention.

Fan Changyu said, “The New Year is only a few days away. I’ve taken on a job at the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion to help them prepare braised meat before the holiday. I can earn some silver these days, and selling off property and transferring documents will take time. It’s just enough to wait until your injuries improve before we leave.”

Since the conversation had reached this point, she couldn’t help but ask about his plans: “What are your thoughts?”Xie Zheng thought she was seeking his opinion and was about to advise her to leave as soon as possible if she intended to go. But just as the words reached his lips, he realized she was asking about his own plans—whether he would stay or leave.

Leave?

Without having time to weigh the pros and cons, he hesitated instinctively for a moment.

Fan Changyu said, "My parents probably made enemies in their earlier years outside. If you come with me, you might still be targeted by those enemies. My thought is to give you the divorce papers and leave you some money for travel expenses later. Aunt Zhao and Zhao Da Shu are very kind people—I’ll ask them to take care of you until your injuries heal."

Aunt Zhao and Zhao Da Shu had no children. In their younger years, their son had been conscripted into the army and sent off to war, never to return. It was said he had died far from home.

Fan Changyu planned to leave them some of the farmland in the countryside so they could collect rent from tenants, ensuring the elderly couple would have security in the future.

As for leaving Yan Zheng here as well, it was purely out of fear that he might get entangled in her family’s troubles again.

Listening to her lay out all these plans for him, Xie Zheng felt an inexplicable surge of irritation, and his voice unconsciously turned colder: "I have my own plans. You don’t need to worry about me."

Fan Changyu didn’t know what had provoked him and gave him a puzzled look.

Xie Zheng also realized his tone had been off just now. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his expression had calmed. "If you’re leaving, it’s best to go today or tomorrow. There’s no need to specially apply for a travel permit—joining a merchant convoy would be the safest bet. When passing through city gates, avoid leaving any household registration records if possible."

Even if she were the slowest to understand, Fan Changyu would have realized this was to conceal their tracks.

She asked him, "So, are you planning to come with me or stay here to recover for now?"

When she put it so bluntly, Xie Zheng was visibly taken aback. His dark eyes reflected the girl and the candlelight’s glow. After a long pause, he averted his gaze and said, "I’ll go with you for now."

Lin’an Town was no longer safe for him either. He was genuinely curious about what the Wei family’s Martial Assassins had been digging through her home to find.

His decision was based solely on these two reasons.

Hearing the word "for now" in his reply, Fan Changyu understood his meaning—once his injuries healed, he would still leave.

She said, "Alright then. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the County Government Office again to sell the shop and the pigpen in the countryside to the authorities at a discounted price."

For land transactions, selling directly to a buyer would naturally fetch a higher price—it only required transferring ownership at the government office and paying a fee for the deed.

Only those in urgent need of money would sell to the government at a discount. The authorities would then resell the properties at market price to those in need.

As for the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion, she could just hand the recipe directly to the manager.

Xie Zheng suspected that the Martial Assassins had yet to find what they were looking for and asked, "Are there any belongings of your parents you need to take with you?"

Fan Changyu answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: "Of course there are!"

A barely perceptible flicker of something unreadable passed through Xie Zheng’s eyes.

Then he heard Fan Changyu continue, "I’ll take that set of butcher knives wherever I go. With those tools, I can keep butchering pigs for a living. And if we run into troublemakers on the road, they’ll serve as weapons too!"

Xie Zheng: "..."

Still, his words had reminded her of something. She said, "The case has been closed at the County Government Office, but for some reason, the seal on my house’s door hasn’t been removed by the officials yet. Later, I’ll climb over the wall to retrieve the land deed."Xie Zheng's eyes flickered slightly as he said, "Those masked men who broke into your home that day pried up several of the blue bricks inside, as if searching for something."

Fan Changyu couldn't think of anything valuable left in her house. Frowning, she said, "Surely they weren't also looking for the land deed?"

Xie Zheng: "...Probably not."

Changyu glanced at the sky outside the window: "I'll climb over the wall to search after dark."

Climbing walls in broad daylight was too conspicuous. Her home could now be considered a haunted house—sealed off with only government personnel allowed entry. If someone reported her for trespassing, she'd be in trouble again.

Xie Zheng asked, "Did your parents never mention anything you'd need to take when fleeing for your life?"

Changyu replied, "My younger sister."

Xie Zheng: "..."

His slender fingers pressed against his temple as he suddenly lost the will to speak.

Noticing his untouched medicine bowl, Changyu urged, "The medicine will get cold if you don't drink it soon."

The decoction had indeed cooled to a drinkable temperature.

Xie Zheng drained the bowl in one go, whereupon someone immediately offered him a candied orange peel with a smile: "I've tried this—it's sweet and sour, good for masking bitterness."

Her fair hand extended toward him, fingers long and elegant—neither the boneless delicacy of pampered noblewomen nor the prominent knuckles of men. Like distinct textures of flowers and wood, hers was a unique beauty between both.

The orange-hued tangerine peel candy rested on her palm, dusted with faint sugar crystals that glowed warmly under candlelight. The phrase "a feast for the eyes" popped unbidden into Xie Zheng's mind.

Applying this phrase to Fan Changyu... He fell silent at the thought.

To dispel these strange notions, he plucked the candy from her hand and tossed it into his mouth. With a stiff expression, he muttered, "Thanks."

Assuming his awkwardness stemmed from embarrassment about hating bitter tastes, Changyu found his prickliness rather amusing.

Taking the empty bowl, she stood up: "I'll head down now and bring your meal up later."

The door curtain swayed as she left. Only then did Xie Zheng frown at his fingertips—the ones that had brushed against her palm when taking the candy.

They tingled strangely, almost numb—

Downstairs, Changyu found her younger sister feeding something to the gyrfalcon. "Here, eat..."

The bird had retreated into a corner, wings bandaged and clamped shut as it stubbornly refused to open its beak. Its beady eyes wide with terror, it resembled a helpless maiden being harassed by a ruffian.

Changyu asked, "What are you feeding it, Ning Niang?"

Caught red-handed, Changning guiltily hid her hands behind her back: "N-nothing?"

Changyu simply stared silently until her sister, who feared this expression most, obediently extended her hands and admitted in a small voice: "I gave the falcon a candy."

Candy was precious. Offering it to the bird would surely earn a scolding.

Seeing her sister's pitiful expression, Changyu couldn't bring herself to be harsh. Amused, she said, "Gyrfalcons don't eat candy. They eat meat."

Changning blinked her round grape-like eyes. "Really?"

Aunt Zhao chimed in with a laugh: "These creatures are fierce in the wild. Remember that gyrfalcon that broke the east window? Same size, but much fiercer. The one you caught is well-behaved—doesn't attack people and even protects its owner."

After a pause, she added: "Though it does eat quite a lot."A big bowl of meat every day—if she and the old man had to raise this thing, they'd be broke in no time.

Fan Changyu looked at the gyrfalcon with growing fondness. "Maybe Yan Zheng taught it," she mused.

Originally, she had planned to keep the falcon temporarily, have Yan Zheng train it, and then sell it for money. But the bird was remarkably intelligent and had even saved Changning. Fan Changyu decided it would be better to release it once its injuries healed.

That evening, after dinner, Aunt Zhao carried a yawning Changning to her and Zhao Mu Jiang’s room. When she returned and saw Fan Changyu still sitting by the fire pit, she couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you going upstairs to sleep?"

The Zhao family's house was similar to Fan Changyu's, with three rooms on the ground floor. The main room served as both a dining area and a place for the fire pit. The elderly couple slept in the southern room, while the northern room originally had a bed. However, after a gyrfalcon had smashed through the window, Zhao Mu Jiang had temporarily stored all the lumber and the cabinets and chairs he was making for others there.

At the moment, only the attic was habitable.

Fan Changyu was still preoccupied with sneaking back to her own house over the wall and said, "Aunt Zhao, you go ahead and sleep. I’ll stay by the fire a little longer."

Having lived most of her life, Aunt Zhao could easily tell that this young couple still hadn’t consummated their relationship.

Back when they were staying at her place, the two had slept in separate rooms. Now, this girl was probably planning to make do by the fire pit for the night.

Aunt Zhao scowled and said, "It’s the middle of the night! If you don’t go back to your room to sleep and keep tending the fire pit, you’ll just waste firewood!"

Fan Changyu hadn’t expected Aunt Zhao to cut straight to the point just to force her upstairs.

Thinking that she could still return home by climbing onto the roof from the attic, she slowly stood up. "I’ll go up and sleep now."

At the foot of the stairs, she asked, "Do you have any extra quilts?"

She still needed to make a bed on the floor for the night.

Aunt Zhao refused outright. "No!"

Fan Changyu considered coming clean about the sham marriage. "Actually, Yan Zheng and I—"

But Aunt Zhao wouldn’t let her finish. "I don’t care what you think, but that boy Yan Zheng seems like a fine young man to me. Look at how, when your family was in such trouble, he dragged himself along despite his injuries just to protect Changning. Now he’s covered in wounds—are you disgusted by him?"

Fan Changyu couldn’t defend herself. I’m not being picky about him..."

Aunt Zhao shooed her upstairs. "Then why are you still thinking about sleeping on the floor? If I were Yan Zheng, I’d be heartbroken—risking my life to protect your sister, only to end up being treated like this by you..."

Fan Changyu felt like a wayward man being lectured by his own mother not to wrong the girl, forced to retreat to the attic in resignation.

Only after the door closed did Aunt Zhao’s scolding finally stop. Taking a deep breath, Fan Changyu turned to meet Xie Zheng’s calm and indifferent gaze. Realizing he must have heard everything she and Aunt Zhao had said, she felt not only embarrassed but also increasingly awkward.

She walked toward the chair. "I’ll just rest my head on the table for a bit. Once Uncle and Aunt Zhao are asleep, I’ll climb back home from the attic roof."

Her own attic had bedding, so she could make do there after finding what she needed and climb back before dawn.

She didn’t plan to let Uncle and Aunt Zhao know about the wall-climbing—after all, it was against the law. If they found out, they’d be guilty of knowing and not reporting it.

Xie Zheng didn’t say much.

Once the candle was extinguished, the room plunged into darkness. Fan Changyu rested her head on the table, closing her eyes for a short nap. Xie Zheng’s breathing was light, making no sound at all.

But whether it was the night amplifying her fear or her own delayed reaction, as she thought about returning to her house—where so many had died in the courtyard, and where she herself had killed many that day—the ghastly images of their final moments slowly surfaced in her mind.

Outside, the north wind howled like ghosts wailing.

Fan Changyu shifted positions several times but couldn’t get comfortable. Eventually, she sat up.

Hearing no sound from the bed, she tentatively asked, "Yan Zheng, are you asleep?"

"Not yet. What’s wrong?" His voice was especially clear in the darkness.Fan Changyu pursed her lips, trying to keep her voice steady. "When you woke up at noon, you were drenched in sweat. Did you have nightmares after killing someone?"

There was a long silence before a faint "Mm" came in response.

Changyu felt she'd found an ally and swallowed hard. "It was my first time killing someone too."

After a pause, she asked, "Are you still scared now?"

The room remained quiet for a long while. Eventually, a calm voice came from the bed: "Come here."

"You don't need to be too afraid. Just imagine you're slaughtering pigs. Do you know how to slaughter pigs? I'll teach you later. That way, even if you stop escorting caravans, you'll have a trade to fall back on..."

As she rambled on, she'd already made her way to the bedside and sat down near the headboard. Clearing her throat, she spoke with renewed confidence: "Go to sleep. Old folks say butchers carry such fierce energy that even ghosts dare not approach. With me sitting here, you won't have nightmares anymore."