Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

With those black-clad assassins who could come demanding her life at any moment gone, Fan Changyu no longer needed to hastily sell off her belongings and flee Lin'an Town.

She had even managed to secure a long-term deal with the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion. After reopening her butcher shop, the braised meat business flourished more than ever under the pavilion’s endorsement, gradually overshadowing even the Wang family’s shop.

The day before New Year’s Eve, as she was returning home from the shop, she spotted a rather luxurious carriage parked at the entrance of the alley. Assuming it belonged to the Song family mother and son who had returned, she entered the alley only to find a crowd gathered in front of her own house.

Fan Changyu thought something had happened at home again and pushed through the crowd. "Excuse me, excuse me..."

A neighbor asked, "Changyu, do you have some wealthy relatives?"

Puzzled, she replied, "No, I don’t."

The neighbor pressed, "Could it be your husband’s family? That carriage at the alley entrance looks even grander than the one the Song family used when they moved!"

Only then did Fan Changyu realize the carriage owner was here for her household.

Someone nearby chimed in, "That carriage the Song family used wasn’t even theirs—they rented it from a carriage service!"

The tone had already taken on a hint of disdain toward the Song family.

Kang Popo, standing at her own doorstep with a gap-toothed grin, sneered, "Bunch of bootlickers! Just wait until Young Master Yan passes the imperial exams and becomes a top scholar—he’ll have carriages to spare!"

Still confused, Fan Changyu ignored the neighbors’ nosy questions and entered her house, shutting the courtyard gate behind her. Only then did she see a nobleman in embroidered robes and a jade belt seated at the square table in the main room.

When he noticed her, he nodded with a polite smile. Unsure of his identity, Fan Changyu simply mirrored his gesture.

"It’s getting late, so I won’t disturb Master Yan and his wife any longer," he said, rising to bow to Xie Zheng. Turning to Fan Changyu, his smile deepened slightly.

Xie Zheng sat on the other side of the table, his expression indifferent. Though dressed in plain cotton clothes, his bearing subtly overshadowed the nobleman’s. "Take care. I won’t see you out."

Knowing Yan Zheng’s usual brusque demeanor, Fan Changyu still made a token effort to escort the guest to the gate, even though Xie Zheng remained seated.

Once she shut the gate again, blocking the prying eyes of the neighbors, she asked Xie Zheng, "Who was that?"

Xie Zheng replied, "The owner of the town’s bookstore."

Fan Changyu picked up the teapot on the table to pour herself some water. "I thought the bookstore owner was a bearded old man?"

Xie Zheng said, "That’s the shopkeeper. The real owner has always lived in Jizhou’s main city."

When Zhao Xun had come looking for him last time, the alley’s residents had all been out working and hadn’t noticed. But today, with everyone home for the New Year, word had spread like wildfire, causing quite the stir.

As she poured the tea, Fan Changyu realized it was cold. She took a sip anyway, then glanced at the half-drunk cup left by the nobleman’s seat. She couldn’t help but remark, "You served your guest cold tea?"

Xie Zheng lifted his gaze to her, and she clearly read the unspoken "So what?" in his eyes. She was momentarily speechless.

Noticing the packet of tangerine peel candy she had bought again, Xie Zheng pushed a red-paper-wrapped bundle toward her. "I earned some silver writing eight-legged essays. Keep it."Fan Changyu unwrapped the red paper, her almond-shaped eyes widening in astonishment—inside were four silver ingots!

Before she started selling braised meat, her butcher shop wouldn’t have earned this much in an entire month!

Stunned, she blurted out, “Is writing eight-legged essays really this profitable?”

Xie Zheng took a sip from his coarse porcelain cup, his fingers—now free of dark scabs—slender and well-defined like bamboo joints. “The previous essays sold well, so the bookstore gave me a share of the profits. These forty taels also include an advance for the next batch.”

Indeed, the essays he had authored had stirred up quite a storm in the capital. Though Zhao Xun was merely a merchant, he had the shrewdness to protect his family’s business amidst fierce competition. While mass-printing the essays across various prefectures to sell to scholars, he had also concealed their true origin.

During the days the Fan family was in trouble, Zhao Xun’s uncle had been combing through every bookstore in search of the source. Had he succeeded, the number of martial assassins sent to this small town would have at least doubled.

This silver wasn’t given by Zhao Xun purely to curry favor—those essays alone were worth a fortune if sold openly.

All the bookstores under the Zhao family’s name had already made a hefty profit from reprinting his essays.

To avoid raising her suspicions, Xie Zheng had deliberately asked for only forty taels. Yet even that seemed excessive to her.

Fan Changyu glanced at the gleaming silver ingots, then at Xie Zheng. “Did the bookstore owner seek you out specifically because he admired your essays?”

Xie Zheng nodded. “With the war in Chongzhou still unresolved and the court embroiled in factional strife, my firsthand account of the turmoil there—though rudimentary—stands out from what other scholars have written. That’s why they sell well.”

Noticing that Fan Changyu had fallen silent instead of rejoicing at the sight of the silver, he unconsciously furrowed his brows.

The next moment, she spoke. “You don’t have to lie to me. I already know.”

Xie Zheng’s fingers tightened slightly around the cup. “Know what?”

She met his gaze. “For the bookstore owner to value you so highly, your literary talent must be exceptional. You must have studied extensively before. Were you afraid I’d resent you because my former fiancé abandoned me after passing the imperial exams? Is that why you kept pretending to be mediocre?”

Hearing this, the tension in his fingers eased slightly.

Before he could respond, Fan Changyu frowned and continued, “I’m not as petty as you think. There are countless scholars in this world—just because my ex-fiancé was heartless doesn’t mean all of them are. I understand that much. You didn’t need to worry about such things.”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes. “My apologies.”

Fan Changyu waved it off. She had once hidden her martial skills from the neighbors too. This was his own ability—whether he told her or not didn’t harm her interests, so she had no reason to mind.

Instead, she asked curiously, “If you’ve studied so much, why didn’t you take the imperial exams? Why become an escort instead?”

Xie Zheng replied, “What I want to do cannot be achieved through scholarship.”

Having spent nearly a month together, this was the first time Fan Changyu had inquired about his past. Now that the conversation had reached this point, she pressed further. “What is it you want to do?”The wind passing through the corridor lifted a stray lock of hair by Xie Zheng's temple. He gazed at the thick layer of snow on the courtyard walls and the misty horizon, his eyes turning deep and inscrutable. "Just like how you want to continue running your father's butcher shop, there are things my father left unfinished that I wish to complete for him."

Fan Changyu pondered for a while before her eyes widened in surprise. "Don't tell me your family runs a security company?"

Those who worked as escorts were often people with hard lives—who else would risk their lives for mere silver?

Considering his good education, exceptional martial skills, and experience as an escort, Fan Changyu could only conclude that he must be the young master of a security company.

After a brief hesitation, Xie Zheng nodded.

Fan Changyu suddenly understood. "No wonder you've always said you'd leave once your injuries healed."

She pushed the forty taels of silver back toward him. "Keep this money for yourself. Rebuilding a security company must cost a fortune! When the time comes for you to leave, I'll see if I can spare some extra silver for you."

This wasn't the first time Xie Zheng had heard her mention their eventual parting. Aside from the gruesome-looking but superficial wounds, his internal injuries had mostly healed. Zhao Xun's visit today was to inform him that two hundred thousand dan of grain had already been purchased.

Indeed, he would be leaving soon.

Hearing her speak of it again stirred an inexplicable emotion in his chest.

He pressed a hand on one of the silver ingots, stopping her from pushing it back, his tone firm. "This is for you—payment for the medicine."

Fan Changyu still refused. "When you agreed to the sham marriage, we agreed that I'd treat your injuries. How can I take your money now? That would make me untrustworthy. And you've been writing eight-legged essays despite your injuries, braving the cold wind—earning this silver couldn't have been easy..."

His grip on the ingot didn't loosen in the slightest as his dark eyes fixed on her. "Then consider it payment for candy."

Fan Changyu was momentarily stunned before realizing he meant the money she had spent buying him sweets. She replied honestly, "But buying candy doesn't cost this much..."

"Then keep it for now. You can buy more later."

"Even if I keep buying until your injuries heal and you leave, it still wouldn't cost this much..."

Halfway through her sentence, Fan Changyu suddenly fell silent.

"Buy more later"—did that mean they still had a future together?

A crackling sound erupted from the fire pit as sparks flew, finally breaking the silence in the room.

His response remained unchanged. "Keep it."

Fan Changyu avoided his gaze, staring instead at the hand pressing down on the silver ingot before asking, "What kind of candy do you like?"

Hearing her question, Xie Zheng withdrew his hand. "You choose."

That night, as Fan Changyu lay in bed, she found herself staring at the canopy above, unable to sleep—something unusual for her, as she normally slept soundly.

Though she was carefree by nature, she wasn't completely oblivious.

Yan Zheng might have a temper and a sharp tongue, but he had a good heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked his life to save Changning when the bandits attacked.

He was handsome, literate, and possessed exceptional martial skills.

She had always treated him as a passing guest, knowing he would eventually leave.

But today, he had given her such a large sum of silver and asked her to keep buying him candy in the future?

Fan Changyu suddenly felt a strange fluttering in her chest.

Tossing and turning like a pancake on a griddle, she only managed to drift into a fitful sleep as dawn approached.The next day, as expected, she woke up late, with faint dark circles under her eyes.

Fortunately, the butcher shop remained closed during New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar year, so sleeping in didn’t matter.

Fan Changyu yawned as she got up to make tangyuan. Outside the alley, children were playing with firecrackers, and the entire town was immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of the New Year.

Yet in Chongzhou, just a province away, a devastating defeat had just taken place—

The capital.

The streets were adorned with festive lanterns, brimming with New Year’s cheer.

An urgent military dispatch, marked for eight-hundred-li delivery, passed through Yongding Gate—but instead of being sent to the imperial palace, it was diverted to the residence of Chancellor Wei.

The courier’s horse galloped swiftly through the snow-laden path, flanked by frost-covered elms and poplars.

The entrance to Wei Mansion was heavily guarded. Two stone lions, clutching treasure orbs in their claws, glared ferociously. Armored sentries stood in a goose-wing formation, while snow piled atop the walls. Even sparrows avoided perching on the withered branches here.

The courier tumbled off his horse and retrieved the dispatch from his chest, raising it high above his head. “Urgent report from Chongzhou!”

The guards at the gate paled, snatched the dispatch, and hurried inside. After passing it to a soldier within the mansion, the soldier rushed to the study, presenting it with both hands. “My lord, urgent report from Chongzhou!”

Moments later, an attendant emerged from the study to retrieve the dispatch.

The entire process was tightly controlled and efficient—this was how all reports delivered daily to Chancellor Wei’s study were handled.

The attendant closed the study doors behind him, moving soundlessly as he presented the dispatch to the long-bearded elder reviewing memorials behind a redwood desk. “Chancellor, an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch from Chongzhou.”

A sinewy, gnarled hand took the dispatch. After reading it, the chancellor slammed it onto the desk. “I should have known that rebellious fool couldn’t stabilize the situation in Chongzhou! How long has it been since the autumn harvest? Why hasn’t any grain been collected from the entire northwest?”

The attendant dared not respond.

The elder stood—not in luxurious robes, but in plain cloth garments—and clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the heavy snowfall outside. His phoenix eyes were narrow and sharp, his posture upright. This was Wei Yan, the chancellor of Great Yin who had controlled the court for over a decade.

After a brief pause, he said, “Summon that rebellious fool back here. Send He Jingyuan to stabilize Chongzhou’s front.”

He had once wielded two most reliable blades—one was the nephew he had raised himself, the other was He Jingyuan. His own son, Wei Xuan, was nothing more than an arrogant fool with ambition but no substance.

The attendant acknowledged the order and was about to withdraw when the chancellor—who had ruled in the emperor’s name for over a decade—asked, “Has Wu’an Marquis’s body been found?”

The attendant shook his head. “Not yet.”

Wei Yan sighed heavily. “That child carried the Wei bloodline. His temperament and methods were the most like mine… What a pity.”

Having served Wei Yan for years, the attendant could somewhat discern his thoughts. Recalling how much more the chancellor had favored Wu’an Marquis over his eldest son, Wei Xuan, he ventured, “Perhaps the Marquis was merely misled by those treacherous villains. You raised him for sixteen years—though not father and son in name, you were closer than kin. The claims that you orchestrated the deaths of Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie are baseless. Where is the evidence? The Marquis never even saw proof. There must still be room for reconciliation. Why must you—”

Mid-sentence, the attendant abruptly fell silent. Meeting Wei Yan’s icy, piercing gaze, he hastily slapped himself hard across the face. “This old servant spoke out of turn!”Wei Yan, however, said, "He will find out one day. He's already grown suspicious. If we don't deal with him while he's unprepared, the Wei family will be the ones at his mercy in the future."

The attendant was stunned at first, then replied, "The Prime Minister is the pillar of the state. Even the Marquis couldn't touch you, let alone now that the Marquis is no longer with us."

Wei Yan closed his eyes and remained silent.

When he turned and sat back down behind his desk, the trace of melancholy on his face had vanished. He asked, "Has the item I sent someone to retrieve from Jizhou been brought back?"

The attendant lowered his voice. "The Martial Assassins of the Xuan unit have yet to send any word."

Wei Yan's expression sharpened abruptly. "What about He Jingyuan?"

The attendant answered, "The spy planted near He Jingyuan previously reported that He Jingyuan seems unaware of the item's existence."

Just then, another announcement came from outside the study: "My lord, the Governor of Jizhou has sent a brocade box by urgent courier."