Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Fan Changyu asked in confusion, "Why would the authorities lie?"

Xie Zheng slightly furrowed his brows. Considering she had lived in this small place since birth, the highest-ranking official she had ever seen was probably the county magistrate. He found himself unusually tolerant of her naive and simple-minded reaction at this moment.

Her parents might have taught her many principles for navigating life, but they likely never revealed the deceit and treachery of officialdom.

With rare patience, he explained to her, even giving an example: "Just like when your uncle Fan Da wanted to seize your family's property and sought out that Master He. Even in the small political arena of a county government office, there are undercurrents. Further up, in the prefectures and the imperial court, the relationships only grow more intricate—factions, colleagues, marital ties, mentor-disciple bonds... Behind every official lies a vast web of power and influence. Some cases involve the interests of high-ranking officials. What seems like an injustice against common folk might actually be a power struggle among the elite."

After pondering for a long time, Fan Changyu said, "So you mean my parents' deaths might also be tied to the interests of many high-ranking officials?"

A hint of surprise flickered in Xie Zheng's eyes—she wasn't entirely foolish after all.

He lowered his gaze. "I was merely giving an example. The authorities might have told only half-truths, or they might have lied outright. None of that matters. What matters is, if the authorities have given you a false truth, what will you do?"

This question indeed went beyond Fan Changyu's understanding. To common folk, officials were like the heavens above them. A single corrupt official was enough to make life miserable. Hearing Xie Zheng's words, she suddenly realized that not all officials were virtuous and just.

If the entire officialdom of Great Yin was a network of mutual protection, then what loomed over their heads wasn't the sky but a suffocating web.

Fan Changyu only wavered for a moment before her gaze quickly steadied. "When Fan Da colluded with Master He to scheme for my family's property, I thought about seeking help from an official higher than Master He. The highest authority in Qingping County is the magistrate, but he and Master He are in cahoots. Since I couldn't rely on the magistrate, I decided to kidnap my uncle instead."

"No matter how vast the officialdom of Great Yin is, it just means there are more officials higher up. If I knew a high-ranking official, I'd probably seek their help in my uncle's case. If Fan Da also sought out the highest official in the prefecture, and if I still had connections, I'd go to the capital to plead for justice. In the end, this chain of appeals would lead all the way to the emperor."

"The highest authority in Qingping County is the magistrate, and the highest in Great Yin is the emperor. In seeking justice, there's no difference between the two. What ultimately determines right and wrong is evidence and the ironclad law."

She looked at Xie Zheng with clear, fearless eyes. "No matter what my parents' deaths are tied to, I will investigate. That vast web of connections in Great Yin's officialdom holds no fear for me."

Her words genuinely surprised Xie Zheng.

He asked, "How will you investigate?"

Fan Changyu glanced at Changning, who was still playing in the snow in the courtyard. "I'm not afraid of danger, but Changning is still too young. If those who killed my parents take notice of us sisters again, I can't guarantee I can protect her. So before anything else, I'll send Changning to a safe place."

Xie Zheng's expression showed approval. "And then?"Fan Changyu said, "If I were a man, perhaps I would choose to enter officialdom through the Imperial exam or military selection, personally investigating the matters connected to my parents' deaths to get to the bottom of it. But I'm just a woman. I can't enter officialdom, nor do I know any high-ranking officials. The only path left is probably that money can make the devil turn the millstone."

Xie Zheng propped his chin on one hand and remarked, "A good plan, though it sounds like it would take many years. The amount needed to make those high officials turn the millstone for you wouldn't be small."

Fan Changyu choked slightly and said, "This is the only method I can think of right now. Disguising as a man to take the Imperial exam like in operas—I neither have the brains for studying nor a brother's identity I could borrow. Unless..."

She scratched her head. "Should I sponsor a few impoverished scholars? Maybe I'll get lucky and support one with a conscience. After he passes the exams and enters officialdom, I'd have connections there. Investigating my parents' deaths would probably be much easier then?"

This time it was Xie Zheng's turn to choke. He lifted his eyelids and said sarcastically, "What if you encounter another ex-fiancé like your previous one?"

Fan Changyu noticed this person had been acting strangely lately, always bringing up Song Yan at every turn.

She said, "Can we not mention him during the New Year?"

Xie Zheng shot her a sidelong glance and pressed his lips together, as if his bad temper had flared up again.

Fan Changyu muttered, "As if I'm not unlucky enough already..."

Xie Zheng had sharp hearing and caught her muttering. The corners of his lips, which had been straight, suddenly quirked upward. He said, "You can wait a while regarding your parents' case."

Fan Changyu was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Xie Zheng replied, "If your parents' deaths involve many things, while some in officialdom may want to bury the truth, others will want to investigate thoroughly. What you need to do now is protect yourself and your sister while waiting for those who want to uncover the truth to come to you."

Fan Changyu said, "But I know nothing about my parents' past. Even if someone comes to me, they won't find anything useful."

Xie Zheng thought to himself that as long as He Jingyuan's mouth could be pried open, the truth about her parents' deaths would surface.

But if Wei Yan found out he was still alive, even if it meant sacrificing all of Qingping County or even Jizhou, he would try to kill him again. Until the situation was settled, revealing his identity would only invite disaster.

He said, "You underestimate officialdom. Someone will come looking for you."

Fan Changyu was still confused. After wrestling with it for a while, she figured Xie Zheng was probably just trying to comfort her and didn't dwell on it further. She only said, "Lately, I've been thinking more and more that reading makes people smarter. Yan Zheng, you've read a lot, so you're very clever."

Xie Zheng had heard all kinds of flattery. When it came to compliments, no one could think of more extravagant praise than scholars, but he had never paid attention to any of it. Yet now, her straightforward and simple remark—"clever"—stirred an odd feeling in his heart.

Still, he corrected her: "It's not that reading more makes you clever. Reading helps one understand principles, broadens knowledge, teaches discretion, and prevents narrow-mindedness. That's enough for handling people and matters."

Fan Changyu nodded. "My mother used to say that too. It's a pity I was too immature back then—getting me to study was like trying to drive a New Year's pig out of its pen. Now that I want to learn, it's too late."She truly felt the usefulness of learning now. Not to mention anything else, when Fan Da had tried to seize her family's property, Yan Zheng didn't even need to resort to underhanded tactics—he simply found a way to use the law to win the case.

If she were more knowledgeable, perhaps she could even sell pork in more creative ways.

She used to think that cucumber with sugar was just that—cucumber with sugar. But while helping with the braised meat at the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion, she learned that they called it "Green Dragon Resting in Snow." With such an elegant name, the price doubled.

Remembering that he had been teaching Changning to read when she returned, Fan Changyu mustered the courage to ask, "If you have time, could you teach me to read a bit? It won’t take much of your time—just tell me what to study, and I’ll read on my own. If I don’t understand, I’ll come to ask you."

Xie Zheng lifted his gaze, somewhat surprised by her request, and asked, "What books have you read before?"

Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, "I’ve finished the Three Character Classic , Hundred Family Surnames , and Thousand Character Classic ."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Zheng’s expression darkened.

Afraid he might find teaching her troublesome, she pressed on, "I’ve also read some of the Analects and Taixue ."

Xie Zheng’s voice was icy. "You mean the Great Learning ?"

Fan Changyu was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear. She admitted honestly, "I only flipped through those two when I saw Song Yan reading them before. The text was hard to understand, and he treasured them so much that I gave them back without asking what they were about."

After her confession, she suddenly felt a chill in the air.

She glanced at Xie Zheng and found his handsome face now cold and displeased.

Fan Changyu was baffled.

Xie Zheng’s words practically dripped with frost. "Since you’ve already 'studied' the Analects and Great Learning , you can move on to Mencius next."

Fan Changyu was utterly confused. Had she said she had studied them?

She had clearly admitted she only skimmed them without understanding a thing.

Not only that, but during lunch, she also noticed that Xie Zheng had switched back to his original hair ribbon.

Unsure what had upset him, she cleared her throat at the table and asked, "This afternoon, I plan to take some cured meat to sell in town and also bring a piece to Head Constable Wang for New Year’s greetings. Is there anything you’d like me to buy?"

Only then did the man, who had been strictly observing "no talking during meals," speak up. "I’ve run out of paper. Writing the Spring Festival couplets yesterday also used up the ink. Buy some paper and ink—five feet of jia xuan paper, and pine-soot Hui ink."

Fan Changyu’s head spun. "What kind of paper? What kind of ink?"

Xie Zheng frowned slightly and said, "Never mind. I’ll buy them myself."

Sensing his coldness and remembering his injuries weren’t fully healed, she asked again, "I’ll hire an ox cart for the trip this afternoon. Would you like to come along?"

Changning, hearing this, immediately started clapping her chubby hands on the table. "Changning wants to go to the market too!"

Both the big and little one stared expectantly at Xie Zheng. After a brief silence, he finally said, "Then we’ll go together."

Changning was so excited about the trip that she ran circles in the yard and even chased Aunt Zhao’s dog all the way to the alley entrance before stopping.

Fan Changyu hadn’t decided to sell cured meat in town on a whim. In previous years, her father would also take a cart of cured meat to sell in town on this day.Some families visiting relatives and friends, if they hadn't prepared New Year gifts in advance and the meat market wasn't open these days, would mostly buy from roadside vendors.

Upon reaching the county town, Fan Changyu expertly parked the ox cart on the street in front of the county school.

There were many students coming and going here, and quite a few families had rented houses nearby to take care of their sons studying.

When students went to pay New Year respects to their teachers, ordinary tea and wine weren't presentable enough, while expensive gifts cost too much silver. Buying a piece of cured meat as a New Year gift was just right.

As soon as Fan Changyu set up her stall, she made several sales. Xie Zheng had originally intended to go to the Bookstore, but Changning kept standing on tiptoe looking around, asking Fan Changyu eagerly, "Sister, can I go with brother-in-law to watch the flower drum performance?"

Fan Changyu said, "Your brother-in-law isn't going to watch the flower drums."

Changning then turned her hopeful eyes to Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng glanced at the less than half of the cured meat Fan Changyu had sold and said, "Let's wait until your sister finishes selling, then we'll all go together."

Fan Changyu estimated it would still take some time to sell all the cured meat she'd brought, so she said, "It'll be a while before I pack up here. If you're not in a hurry to buy paper and ink, could you take Changning around for a bit? She's just curious—once she's had a look around, she'll settle down."

Xie Zheng nodded.

Changning, having gotten Fan Changyu's permission, tugged at Xie Zheng's sleeve excitedly and walked ahead with the energy of a young calf.

Feeling the pull on his sleeve, Xie Zheng thought to himself that if this child hadn't been born weak, she might have grown up to be as fierce as her sister.

Perhaps because the county was preparing for the Lantern Festival this year, most of the county school students hadn't returned home, and the streets were lively. The twenty-some pieces of cured meat Fan Changyu had brought sold out nearly two hours earlier than she'd expected.

As she was packing up, Xie Zheng returned with Changning, who had had her fill of exploring the area.

Changning had a candied hawthorn stick in her left hand and a colorful pinwheel in her right, her face smeared with syrup.

Fan Changyu looked on helplessly and said to Xie Zheng, "You're spoiling her."

Changning grinned, her eyes crinkling. "Brother-in-law bought one for you too, sister."

Fan Changyu said, "I'm not a child, why would I eat candied hawthorn..."

Before she could finish, a candied hawthorn stick was held out in front of her.

Xie Zheng said impassively, "Your sister insisted on buying one for you too."

Fan Changyu had been about to refuse, but noticing he still had one in his hand and remembering he seemed to have a sweet tooth—and now that he wasn't taking medicine, he probably felt awkward eating sweets openly—she couldn't very well refuse. Taking it, she said, "Thank you."

Fan Changyu ate the candied hawthorn the same way Changning did, popping one whole into her mouth at a time, eyes squinting, cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

After eating one and seeing Xie Zheng still hadn't touched his stick, Fan Changyu asked curiously, "Why aren't you eating?"

Xie Zheng's gaze moved from the candy crumbs at the corner of her mouth to the candied hawthorn in his hand. He hesitated, then took a small bite.

The sugar coating was sweet, while the hawthorn inside was slightly sour. The combination of sweet and tart when chewed was actually quite pleasant.

Changning, taking another bite of her candied hawthorn, watched this scene with a grin that showed all her teeth. She was so clever—having brother-in-law buy one for each of them meant sister couldn't scold her.

At this street corner, there weren't just vendors selling goods, but also county school students from poor families who had set up stalls to paint portraits for people.The family of three eating candied haws on the opposite street corner was particularly eye-catching—the man extraordinarily handsome, the woman radiant with smiles, and even the child they were leading was as adorable as jade and snow.

The scholar glanced over several times, quickly sketching on his paper.

Fan Changyu had just finished her candied haws and was tidying up to take Xie Zheng to buy ink and paper when she noticed his expression suddenly turn stern. He strode toward the opposite street corner.

Changyu glanced over and saw only a scholar with a stall selling calligraphy and paintings.

Fearing trouble, she hurriedly took Changning and followed. "What are you doing?"

The scholar had just finished his last stroke when a large hand suddenly reached out and snatched the painting away.

The man who had been eating candied haws on the opposite corner moments ago now stood before him, gripping his collar with a face as cold and terrifying as white jade. "Who told you to draw this?"

The scholar, overwhelmed by the oppressive aura, stammered, "I—I merely found the sight of you, your wife, and your child so heartwarming that I couldn’t resist painting it. If I’ve offended, please forgive me."

By then, Changyu had arrived with Changning. Seeing him poised to strike the scholar in public, she quickly pried his hand from the man’s collar. "What’s gotten into you?"

Xie Zheng said nothing, his gaze dropping to the painting in his hand.

Though the scholar’s technique was ordinary, the figures in the painting were remarkably lifelike.

In it, Changyu squinted happily while eating candied haws, while Xie Zheng’s gaze lingered on her face, as if he had been watching her every move. Changning, biting into a candied haw in front of them, turned back to look at the pair with a grin so wide her eyes nearly disappeared, her expression brimming with mischief.

Changyu let out a surprised "Huh?" when she saw the painting and asked the scholar, "Did you draw us?"

Terrified of the intimidating man beside the sweet-looking young woman, the scholar nodded hastily, showering them with flattery: "Madam and the young master are a match made in heaven, truly a perfect pair. Even your little daughter is so adorable. If you like the painting, consider it my New Year’s gift to you both. May your love flourish, and may you welcome a little son next year."

Changyu nearly bit through the skewer in her mouth.