Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Early in the morning, Fan Changyu went to the market and bought an old hen to bring back for Yan Zheng to nourish himself.

In the alley, she met a familiar face and greeted them warmly as usual, but the person seemed to avoid something, only responding with a word or two reluctantly.

Now, women who were close to the Song family outright rolled their eyes and kept their distance from her as if she were a plague. "She truly is a Star of Doom and Isolation. Her uncle went to her house a few times and ended up dead because of her. Her live-in husband has been sickly and never gets better. Thank goodness the elder sister of the Song family went to check their birthdates for compatibility. Otherwise, if Song Yan had really married her, who knows what misfortune she would have brought upon the Song family!"

Some who had previously been on good terms with the Fan family also subtly distanced themselves upon hearing this.

If before, when the Song family broke off the engagement and claimed she was fated to be a Star of Doom and Isolation, few had taken it seriously, but these past two days, her household had been plagued by misfortune. If the soldiers hadn’t arrived in time last night, the elderly couple of the Zhao family might have suffered as well. Naturally, the neighbors were wary.

In the past, Fan Changyu would have retorted immediately, but last night, she had nearly implicated the Zhao family, and Yan Zheng was indeed injured.

She pressed her lips together and silently walked toward the Zhao family’s house, carrying the hen she had bought.

As she passed the house of the sharp-tongued woman from earlier, no sooner had she stepped by than the woman flung a basin of rice-washing water outside. Cold droplets splashed onto Fan Changyu’s embroidered shoes and skirt.

Fan Changyu stopped in her tracks and lifted her calm eyes to look at the woman.

The old woman, surnamed Kang, had been neighbors with the Song family before. After Song Yan passed the provincial examination, she had gone out of her way to curry favor with them. To please Mother Song, she often visited to chat and spew endless slander about Fan Changyu.

Perhaps because she still had this use of keeping Mother Song entertained, after the Song family moved to the county town, she was the only one in the entire alley who had been invited to dine at their new residence.

Kang Popo took great pride in this and naturally boasted to everyone about how splendid the Song family’s new house was, how they even had servants at Mother Song’s beck and call, and how capable Song Yan was—all while taking a jab or two at Fan Changyu.

Now, seeing Fan Changyu look her way, Kang Popo flung the remaining half-basin of rice-washing water outside again and cursed, "What awful luck first thing in the morning! I’ll have to hang some dried pomelo leaves at the door later!"

Folklore said rice-washing water and pomelo leaves could ward off bad luck.

Fan Changyu’s lips parted slightly, but seeing the other neighbors either silent or subtly keeping their distance, she pressed her lips even tighter and quickened her steps toward the Zhao family.

The rice-washing water had soaked her shoes and stockings, the cold dampness clinging to her ankles, seeping from flesh to bone, chilling her heart.

When Fan Changyu entered the Zhao family’s courtyard, Aunt Zhao was sweeping snow. Seeing her wet skirt and shoes, she hurriedly asked, "How did this happen?"

Fan Changyu walked straight to the kitchen and said, "The snow on the road hadn’t melted completely. I stepped in it and got wet."

Aunt Zhao frowned at Fan Changyu’s back, knowing she wasn’t telling the truth.

Distraught, Fan Changyu slaughtered the hen and stewed it in an earthenware pot. Afraid Aunt Zhao would press her further, she made an excuse to take medicine up to Yan Zheng in the loft.

"Time for your medicine."

Her voice lacked its usual vigor, sounding somewhat subdued.

When Xie Zheng took the medicine bowl, he couldn’t help but glance at her expression.Her face showed no obvious signs, but he could still tell something was off with her mood. He asked, "What happened?"

Fan Changyu only said it was nothing: "Drink the medicine while it's hot. There's tangerine peel candy by the pillow if it's too bitter."

She sat hugging her knees on a low stool, warming herself by the charcoal brazier, her head bowed to reveal a slender neck, making it impossible to see the expression on her face.

Xie Zheng noticed the hem of her skirt and her shoes and socks seemed damp. "The snow was heavy in the latter half of the night," he remarked.

Fan Changyu vaguely hummed in agreement.

Xie Zheng frowned slightly. There had been no snow at all in the latter half of the night. She was acting very strangely today.

She remained silent, and after Xie Zheng finished the medicine and placed the bowl on the round stool by the bed, he didn't speak either.

The room was quiet for a long while before Fan Changyu suddenly said, "How about I find you an inn? I'll pay the waiter extra to take care of your daily needs."

Xie Zheng's fingers pressed slightly harder against the edge of the bed as he asked, "Why?"

Fan Changyu replied, "The authorities haven't closed the case yet. I'm afraid those people might come looking for revenge."

Xie Zheng said, "Didn't you say there are soldiers secretly guarding this area?"

After a few moments of silence, Fan Changyu looked up at him and said solemnly, "Then stay here and recover first. Leave once your injuries heal."

After she left the loft, Xie Zheng picked up a piece of tangerine peel candy, his lips pressed tightly together. The candy crumbled instantly into powder between his fingers.

By noon, when Kang Popo from the alley came to the Song family cursing and demanding an explanation, Xie Zheng finally understood the reason for her odd behavior today.

"Fan Changyu! Come out here!" Kang Popo's voice was loud, her scolding skills second to none.

Her shouting drew a crowd of onlookers outside the Zhao family's gate.

Aunt Zhao hurried to open the door after hearing the pounding that sounded like someone kicking it. Seeing Kang Popo standing there with her grandson, looking furious, she asked, "What's going on?"

Kang Popo shoved her grandson forward and planted her hands on her hips, yelling, "Tell Fan Changyu to come out here! Her sister pushed my Tiger Head down the steps and knocked out one of his front teeth. What do you think is going on?"

Fan Changyu had been stewing chicken in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion outside, she stepped into the courtyard.

She saw Kang Popo's chubby grandson, his eyes swollen from crying, snot dripping from his nose—he'd suck it back in only for it to drip out again the next moment. His chin was swollen, and indeed, one of his front teeth was missing.

She said, "My sister has always been frail, and your grandson is several years older than her. How could she possibly push him?"

Kang Popo, hearing Fan Changyu seemingly trying to deny responsibility, spat out angrily, "You think I'm trying to cheat you? Call your Ning Niang out here and ask her yourself if she did it or not!"

Aunt Zhao, noticing the neighbors peeking out to watch the spectacle, tried to mediate, "Let's talk inside. Kids fight and stumble all the time. Arguing out here just makes us a laughingstock."

Kang Popo refused to budge. "I'm here to get justice for my grandson. Why should I care about being laughed at?"

Fan Changyu knew Kang Popo had a reputation in the alley for being shrewish and difficult. Her daughter-in-law had been driven away by her relentless bullying—to this day, Kang Popo still called her a "shameless slut" who ran off with another man, never acknowledging how she had treated her like a beast of burden.Later, her son got involved with a widow, but she despised the widow for having been married before and having a deceased husband, claiming she might bring bad luck to men. After all the fuss, the widow quickly broke things off with her son, who remains a bachelor to this day.

Fan Changyu had no patience to waste words with this woman and said coldly, "Whether you get to demand justice or not, I'll ask my younger sister first."

Fan Changyu called out to Changning, "Ning Niang, come out."

Xiao Changning dawdled out of the house and stood behind Fan Changyu like a little shadow.

Fan Changyu bent down and asked her, "Did you push Hutou?"

Changning pressed her lips together, gripping the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, nodding at first but then shaking her head.

Kang Popo shrieked, "Look at this! A child this young already knows how to lie—what fine family values the Fan Family has! She nodded just now, and now she's shaking her head..."

"Shut your mouth!" Fan Changyu snapped, her voice like a blizzard instantly drowning out Kang Popo's shrill cries.

Kang Popo had thrown that basin of rice-washing water earlier in the morning, and seeing Fan Changyu remain silent, she had assumed she was easy to bully. Now, suddenly shouted at by Fan Changyu, she froze for a moment before screaming even more shrilly, "Is there no justice left in this world? Everyone, look at this! The Fan Family has such arrogance! They hurt my grandson like this and still act so righteous!"

Upstairs, Xie Zheng found the piercing screeching unbearable, his brows furrowing in irritation.

Are all common folk this noisy?

Just as his annoyance peaked, he heard the woman's cold, sharp voice: "Keep yelling, and see if I won’t dunk you headfirst into a slop barrel!"

Fan Changyu's entire demeanor radiated icy fury. She had tolerated Kang Popo that morning out of guilt for the trouble her family's enemies had caused, but now that Kang Popo was trying to push her luck, she wasn’t about to indulge her.

Under Fan Changyu’s glare, Kang Popo felt an inexplicable fear. She quickly glanced at the crowd of onlookers, opening her mouth as if to say more, hoping to use the spectators to pressure Fan Changyu.

Fan Changyu seemed to have anticipated this tactic and said coldly, "You and that old hag from the Song Family have been gossiping about me behind my back—did you think I didn’t know? My reputation is already as bad as you’ve made it out to be. Did you really think I’d still care what others think? If I really wanted to hit you, how many of these people do you think would step in to stop me?"

This shattered Kang Popo’s last shred of defiance. She gulped, her usually unstoppable cursing mouth now seemingly stitched shut, unable to utter another word.

Only then did Fan Changyu crouch down and ask her sister, "Just now, when I asked if you pushed Hutou, why did you nod and then shake your head?"

Changning’s large, round eyes, dark as grapes, were already reddening. Her chubby, delicate fingers clutched at her clothes as she said, "I did push him, but he was too heavy—I couldn’t move him. He chased after me, slipped, and fell down the steps. That’s how he broke his tooth."

Kang Popo immediately started wailing again, "My Hutou said it was you who pushed him—"

Fan Changyu shot her a cold glare, and Kang Popo fell silent once more.

Fan Changyu continued questioning her sister, "Ning Niang, why did you push him?"Xiao Changning hung her head, and large teardrops instantly rolled from her eyes. "He pulled my hair, stole my pine nut candy, and splashed water on me. He said his grandma had just thrown rice-washing water on Sister this morning to ward off bad luck, and since I'm the sister of the jinx, I needed to be splashed too..."

Upon hearing this, Fan Changyu's face turned icy with fury.

Aunt Zhao's eyes reddened with anger. She had wondered why Fan Changyu's shoes and skirt hem were wet when she returned this morning—it turned out that wretched old hag had thrown rice-washing water on her.

That rice-washing water was used for exorcising evil spirits during construction. To splash it on Fan Changyu as she passed—how malicious!

Aunt Zhao gnashed her teeth and cursed, "You filthy old crone who won't even have a coffin when you die! If you won't accumulate virtue for yourself, at least do it for your descendants! Aren't you afraid the King of Hell will hook out your tongue when you meet him?"

Kang Popo initially looked guilty, but decades of sharp-tongued habits made her lift her chin defiantly. "How am I not virtuous? Did I kill her parents? Did I kill all those people from her family who died recently? Everyone in this town knows she's a jinx—only you and that old man of yours, with no one to mourn you, would take in that cursed family. Aren't you afraid she'll bring misfortune to you one day? If you ask me, the Fan Family should've been driven out of this alley long ago. Who knows when their enemies will come looking for them again?"

"You—!" Aunt Zhao trembled with rage.

Fan Changyu wiped her sister's tears with her thumb and slowly stood up, her gaze like an icy blade. "If I'm going to bring misfortune, I'll start with you, you old hag!"

She sneered. "You want me to move out of this alley? On what grounds? Because you're a rotten-mouthed gossip? If you're so scared, why don't you move out yourself?"

Kang Popo faltered, pointing at Fan Changyu as she tried to retort, but Fan Changyu continued coldly, "And keep your grandson in check. If he dares lay a finger on my sister again, I'll cut off whichever hand he uses!"

Kang Popo's grandson met Fan Changyu's fierce glare and immediately burst into terrified sobs, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Kang Popo shielded her grandson behind her, blustering weakly, "Bullying a child—what kind of—"

Fan Changyu's lips curled in a cold smile. "Bullying? This isn't bullying."

She cast a frigid glance at the boy's arm. "I can chop through a pork knuckle with one stroke. An arm would be even easier."

The boy instinctively clutched one arm, crying and tugging at Kang Popo. "Grandma, let's go home... I want to go home..."

Seeing her grandson so frightened, Kang Popo was both furious and helpless, not daring to confront Fan Changyu directly.

Grumbling curses, she led her grandson away. As she descended the steps of the Zhao residence, her knee suddenly buckled in pain. With a shriek, she tumbled down the stairs, her chin striking the bottom step. She lay there wailing, unable to get up, her mouth full of blood.

The onlookers in the alley exchanged uneasy glances.

Fan Changyu was momentarily stunned too. Instinctively, she glanced up at the Zhao family's attic—just in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of a dark blue robe hem.After her initial shock, Aunt Zhao quickly exclaimed, "Instant karma! Everyone saw it—Changyu and I didn't even step outside. This old thief fell on her own! This is instant karma!"

Kang Popo, being elderly, lost several teeth from the fall. She sat up on the ground, wailing and pointing at Fan Changyu. "It was her! That jinx must have kicked me!"

The neighbors who had been watching the commotion hadn't seen Fan Changyu lift a finger. Seeing Kang Popo's unreasonable behavior, they couldn't help but chime in, "Enough, Kang Popo. We all saw it—Changyu didn't move an inch. You just slipped and fell on your own!"

Just as Kang Popo was about to argue further, Fan Changyu sneered, "Maybe a ghost pushed you—you've done too many wicked things!"

Older people were more prone to believing in supernatural nonsense.

This sent a shiver down Kang Popo's spine. She had indeed felt something strike the back of her knee before she fell. Recalling Fan Changyu's infamous "Star of Doom and Isolation" fate, her lips trembled as she pointed and shrieked, "It's you! You're the jinx who cursed me!"

Fan Changyu crossed her arms. "If you don't scram now, I might just 'curse' you to death."

Now genuinely terrified, Kang Popo clutched her bloody chin and fled the Zhao Family's gate with her grandson in tow.

"She brought this on herself!"

"Who in this alley hasn't been slandered by her tongue? This is truly retribution!"

The onlookers chuckled and exchanged a few remarks before shaking their heads and dispersing.

Once the courtyard gate closed again, Fan Changyu crouched to meet her sister's gaze and said earnestly, "From now on, if anyone bullies Ning Niang outside, you must tell your elder sister immediately, understand?"

Changning nodded obediently.

Aunt Zhao, recalling Kang Popo's harsh words, couldn't help but shed tears in secret for Fan Changyu.

After comforting Aunt Zhao, Fan Changyu's eyes fell on the tangerine peel candy by the gate. She made an excuse and went upstairs to the loft.

Pushing the door open, she found Xie Zheng no longer in bed but seated on a bamboo chair by the window. Though still somewhat pale, he looked much better than the previous days.

Before she could speak, his gaze swept over her coolly. "What you told me this morning—was it all because of what others said?"